Are people scared to post here now?

[professorhat]

Not sure if it's just me, but I remember when I used to come here and 70-80% of my posts were answering people's queries and the rest was having a laugh / cable threads (inevitably!). I've pretty much given up the cable threads now and yet I rarely see queries these days. Are we scaring away the average person with all these ridiculous arguments?

 

 

[aliEnRIK]

Thats the reason I asked them to include 'private messaging' on the site so people who ARE scared of being flamed can simply pm someone about their queery

Unfortunately they dont seem bothered about it.............

 

[Anonymous]

I feel that as a forum it works really well.... members are nice and polite, but when i joined about a month ago i did feel a little bit of an idiot, all of these grown men talking about expensive equipment and their opinions and it all just seemed a little too much like my questions about starting out in the world of hifi were inferior to these cable debates and such lol...... but other than that im really enjoying being a member and being a member of many forums this does seem to be one of the friendliest, most helpful (not only time but advice wise) and community oriented forum experiences of the lot.

 

[Andrew Everard]

If there is a danger that the few people working on their own agendas are dissuading newcomers from posting questions for fear of being attacked, private messaging is not the answer.

We are determined to make this forum a place where people can ask questions and receive advice in a friendly atmosphere, not an arena for the usual axes to be ground.

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew I agree with you. And it is on the whole a friendly forum. The only flamming is of a scientific nature when it occurs. Can't really do much to stop that.

But it would be nice to see the forum's functionality improve in time. Like it or loath it that includes Private Messaging. Especially as a method for people to discuss meeting up and possibly exchanging gear. It would naturally need to be monitored and rules established, but if other can do it, so can WHFSV. That said, you have an advantage. You have a well respected and liked brand. Do let us know what's in the pipeline.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Will Harris:Do let us know what's in the pipeline.

There's a wishlist as long as your arm, but the pipeline is, at the moment, even longer. At the moment, we don't see private messaging as a priority - the suggestion that newcomers may be put off is of more concern right now.

 

[Andy Clough]

I really hope that we're not scaring people away, that is absolutely NOT our intention. All debate welcome, but as professorhat says, let's keep it friendly.

And Will, agreed, we'd love to improve the Forum's functionality. That's very much on the agenda, but it's part of a bigger plan that for several reasons (cost/time) is unlikely to happen this year.

 

[up the music]

Is it me or has it gone quieter since JD got his new job?

Perhaps a 'Cable Queries' room so all those cable wars can be isolated in a special controversial corner?

How about a 'Common Queries' sticky covering bi wire/bi amp, do I need a DAC with my PC, post formatting and other recurrent queries.

Can you send a What HiFi mug to PJPro for his excellent 'how to' threads?

Just thought I'd add to your users wish list......sorry AE, now it's longer than your arm.

 

[The_Lhc]

Andy Clough: I really hope that we're not scaring people away, that is absolutely NOT our intention.

I don't think anyone's suggesting it's you guys, it seems to me that in the last couple of months or so there's been a handful of people join who's only intention is to be negative and criticise everything here, be it other forum members and their opinions, the magazine, the staff, everything.

I don't get that, if you've got nothing positive to offer and especially if you seem to think the magazine and the opinions of the staff are not worth the paper they're printed on, then what is the point of coming here? Unless it's simply to try to make yourself feel superior to the poor little proles who don't understand cables properly.

I used to enjoy answering queries here, now I think long and hard about it because if I'm even only 99% sure of my facts then I won't bother because I know damn well someone will pull me up on the 1%, even if it's almost completely irrelevant to the question being asked.
Hell, nobody even gets my name wrong these days, what's the point in anything anymore?

 

[John Duncan]

up the music:Is it me or has it gone quieter since JD got his new job?

Yeah, too busy doing the private messaging business case, buddy...

 

[Anonymous]

up the music: Perhaps a 'Cable Queries' room so all those cable wars can be isolated in a special controversial corner?How about a 'Common Queries' sticky covering bi wire/bi amp, do I need a DAC with my PC, post formatting and other recurrent queries.Can you send a What HiFi mug to PJPro for his excellent 'how to' threads?Just thought I'd add to your users wish list......sorry AE, now it's longer than your arm.

Having an FAQ section and a "war room" for cable bickering seems like an excellent idea, one I've seen work well elsewhere.

I started the define an active speaker thread to get some more Q&A going on a related topic, active speakers seem interesting, but talking only about the speakers of one brand is polarising.

In the last few months since I was active on here (new baby intervened) there is a bit more confrontation on here.

It is up to us to ask the questions that we want to see answered and respond to those we think are interesting. Cable conversations will peter out if no-one responds to them

+1 on mug for PJPro

 

[Anonymous]

Also pre-filtering new questions is a great approach. Before someone posts a new question, take the question and use the text to do a search. This will find the "which speakers for my K2 amp" type queries.

Not simple to implement, but look at getsatisfaction.com for an idea of how it works in practice.

 

[Andrew Everard]

It's always worth doing a forum search before posting a first-time question.

Now this forum has been running in its present form for almost two years, chances are someone else has asked the question before...

 

[up the music]

Yes, the AE in my last post was confusing. I meant Andrew Everard. As I own AE speakers I can see how you may have thought that's what Im meant.

To reiterate, the list of suggestions on forum changes grows longer. I'm not advocating a room especially for Acoustic energy owners.

Sorry for any confusion.

 

[John Duncan]

up the music:Yes, the AE in my last post was confusing. I meant Andrew Everard. As I own AE speakers I can see how you may have thought that's what Im meant.

To reiterate, the list of suggestions on forum changes grows longer. I'm not advocating a room especially for Acoustic energy owners.

Sorry for any confusion.

I think there should be a room for Airport Express owners though. Joel especially would like that (one with padded walls, preferably).

 

[Anonymous]

I think a specific room is a good idea too.... but what id say not to do is make an area just for newcomers, mainly because people might not check it as often (being too caught up in cable wars lol) and queries might go without reply. That said i wouldnt change much concerning this forum, its very well administrated and has really nice and helpful members in my experience.

 

[JoelSim]

JohnDuncan:up the music:Yes, the AE in my last post was confusing. I meant Andrew Everard. As I own AE speakers I can see how you may have thought that's what Im meant. To reiterate, the list of suggestions on forum changes grows longer. I'm not advocating a room especially for Acoustic energy owners. Sorry for any confusion. I think there should be a room for Airport Express owners though. Joel especially would like that (one with padded walls, preferably).

Agreed.

We could also have another AE room, Arcam Excellence

 

[John Duncan]

JoelSim:
JohnDuncan:up the music:Yes, the AE in my last post was confusing. I meant Andrew Everard. As I own AE speakers I can see how you may have thought that's what Im meant. To reiterate, the list of suggestions on forum changes grows longer. I'm not advocating a room especially for Acoustic energy owners. Sorry for any confusion. I think there should be a room for Airport Express owners though. Joel especially would like that (one with padded walls, preferably).

Agreed.

We could also have another AE room, Arcam Excellence

Red rag/bull - alternative words beginning with E.......

 

[Anonymous]

I only initially joined this site to ask a question, which I got a lot of good answers. I have always found it friendly. I suppose if a newcomer looks through the forums before posting, the same names keep popping up. This may look as if it's a bit of a closed shop.The reality is the regulars are the ones who are the most open with knowledge and advice.

If you want to see what it's like to get hassled for asking questions or expressing an opinion try some gaming forums. They can be vicious.

 

[John Duncan]

NSYGrinner:If you want to see what it's like to get hassled for asking questions or expressing an opinion try some gaming forums. They can be vicious.

Or dpreview...

 

[Big Aura]

Interesting thread. It does seem like there's a bit less newbie traffic tho... Perhaps it's a recession thing - no-one's buying snazzy kit, so they don't need advice.

On balance, it's a well-run forum and people are extremely nice. A lot of the stuff that is, or is perceived to be (or degenerates into), slagging matches re objectivity is borne of ignorance, e.g. I was sceptical when WHF reviewed a front-porting speaker and said it worked better when placed back from a wall. It seemed a bit of a non-sequitur, but I asked the question and someone helpfully pointed out that, although it ported to the front, the base came out in all directions. Made sense, but wasn't (to me) initially obvious. Likewise with power cables (until Trevor79 enlightened/bamboozled me) and also a recent thread on speaker stand reviews. I think stuff like that - explaining, would help cut a lot of the sniping (though, as I say, there's precious little of it!). Some people like proving others wrong (makes them feel clever) and other just love knowledge.

WHF has invested heavily in audition rooms and people (just count the editors!!), so explaining some of the more oblique conclusions would be a bonus.

Cheers

 

[professorhat]

Good thoughts, have been busy today, but was wondering on the train this morning whether it was just me or whether it was just because there are lot more posts these days so I'm just missing the queries. It seems a few others are thinking the same, though I agree, in the main this is still a very welcoming forum and is certainly a lot better than many others I've seen.

Also interesting to see how someone has kind of proven my point though by attempting to hijack this into yet another cable thread...

 

[John Duncan]

Cables? What about them?

 

[professorhat]

Good makeshift belts.

 

[idc]

As of now 'In the past 24 hours, we have 51 new thread(s), 536 new post(s), and 71 new user(s).'. Is this up or down on normal traffic?

I have strayed elsewhere, but this forum is the only one I have experienced where you do not need a degree in electronics and it virtually runs as an ongoing chatroom (not that I been to a chatroom, just that some threads result in virtually instantaneous replies. I have also noticed far more regular posters here than elsewhere. One forum I have been to had two posters dominating all threads. I think joining any forum is a bit nerve racking at first, that is not exclusive to here.

Can I add my vote to having a separate 'Cable wars' section and is it possible to move threads that have been posted in the wrong section?