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Lay Off the Newbies!

I always try to keep my posts constructive, but there is something that regularly goes on here that I think is detrimental to our hobby - A newbie has a simple question and a bunch of neurotic geezers (of which I include myself) jump on the guy with a million rules and rituals he must follow to achieve his goal, which ends up discouraging the guy right out of hobby. There was one analog thread on static where I recommended Gruv Glide and you geezers started in with so much BS- humidifiers, move to another climate, expensive gimmicks, etc, that GG would kill him and his records.  The end result? By the end of the thread, he sold his analog rig because he couldn't deal with the stress.  In a recent digital thread, you guys are recommending a newbie buy 20 year old transports.  All this does is just make newbies so stressed out that you'll drive them to MP3s.  Newbies need simple answers, commensurate with their experience level.  Buy a Rega table, screw in a Rega cartridge and play records.  They have plenty of time to turn into us.  Somehow we survived, listening to our Sansui receivers and JBL L-100s in bedrooms thick with pot smoke and spilled Boone's Farm.  And we made it.  Sometimes I'm amazed as well.  Let the young have fun while they can. Be well.  
chayro
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa
4,867 posts
 
Real friends don't let their friends drink Boone's Farm.
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
5,167 posts
 
I was a newbie about 18 months ago, and I would have appreciated your post back then. One reason I stuck it out on the forum was that there was a good mixture of sound advice which took a sympathetic approach. By sorting out who the jokers were and who the helpful were, I managed to learn who to listen to. Then, I would just wait for their advice. 

Who were the "helpful"? Those who responded to my OP that:

(a) heard what I was asking and addressed it, specifically;
(b) made suggestions in line with my budget;
(c) justified any suggestions which were pushing me further (in budget or in gear) and explained a bigger picture as to why it might make sense down the road, and
(d) asked me follow up questions.

To the best respondents on a thread, I reached out by private message to thank them, and told them a bit about who I am. In some cases, now, we email instead of use the forum.

Caveat emptor is a good approach to fora, but once you get good advice, thank people personally for it. They deserve the thanks and it solidifies the online connection.

P.S. The hardest part about a forum is that some people are both helpful and jokers, depending on mood. The online world simply unshackles some folks from taking serious questions seriously. All of a sudden, they're at the back of a middle school school bus, cracking wise!
chayro OP
3,015 posts
 
To be clear, I'm not saying that any of the suggestions offered by the more experienced members are wrong per se.   But they are wrong for a newbie. Imagine telling a 10 year old child everything that could happen to them at the beach.  Kidnapping, sharks, jellyfish, riptides and so on. It's all true, but that's not how you do it in the beginning.  Help them build a solid knowledge base and let them enjoy. 
artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5
1,992 posts
 
I've been here for twenty years and it's always been similar to what you describe. As @hilde45 has noted, you need to know the players and which ones know what they are talking about. It's that way on every BB I go too. 
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