Diagnoses

[Alex R]

It's a strange forum this, and it gives me hope for... was going to say the human race but actually it's more hope for the future of liberal politics and laissez-faire discipline. Why? Because of all the forums I've been on, this one has the least moderation (none at all I suspect), and the best behaviour. People are genuinely respectful of one another here and it is most unusual. It's as though the lack of policing makes people feel they have to be responsible for themselves. Relations between forum members and 'mods' can be a little bit teacher-pupil, or parent-child. We're not children though.

[lowell]

I think this forum is helpful and kind, and thus it breeds such. This is not to say someone won't be called out if they're rude or stupid.

[52 Bill]

This is not to say someone won't be called out if they're rude or stupid.

Isn't this self-moderation? Everybody here has an style, some are more forceful than others, but that's the whole Alpha dog thing that happens everywhere.

Sometimes we get OPs that are complete electronics novices and sometimes they are seasoned techs that are just stumped with a problem that they haven't seen before. In either case their personality has a lot to do with how successful we are at helping them. I've seen you guys go through all sorts of pains to try and get an OP to see a different side of something that they just couldn't or wouldn't get. For whatever reasons, some people just can't be taught.

Sometimes the problems can be cured with a simple one step solution, sometimes not. I work for a Fender dealer and have for a long time. I've seen certain things through the years that turn up here, so my personal experiences can sometimes be helpful. But I learn just as much from all of your personal experiences with things that I don't have a lot of experience with.

I'm too old and nowhere near as selfless as Enzo (how many different boards does he and JMFahey post on?), to really fight some of these battles. I get my points in here and there, but I leave the heavy lifting for those of you who are still willing to do it.

[Leo_Gnardo]

It's a strange forum this, and it gives me hope for... was going to say the human race but actually it's more hope for the future of liberal politics and laissez-faire discipline. Why? Because of all the forums I've been on, this one has the least moderation (none at all I suspect), and the best behaviour. People are genuinely respectful of one another here and it is most unusual. It's as though the lack of policing makes people feel they have to be responsible for themselves. Relations between forum members and 'mods' can be a little bit teacher-pupil, or parent-child. We're not children though.

Not as if we don't have our fair share of "conservative" thinkers. But we do a pretty good job of working together to solve problems. Plus we have a splendid spot for those who feel the need to expound, in the "Soap Box" and "Lobby" areas, maybe the "Storm Drain" too. Good thinkin', whoever got those going! Makes for interesting reading. Anyway I can't think of anything more conservative than the Truths of Nature aka Laws of Physics, we all have to deal with that the same way, break 'em and you're busted every time.

[Enzo]

An important skill is keeping the anger and hostility from the political discussions down in the lower sections where they belong, and not up here in the technical discussions.

[Leo_Gnardo]

An important skill is keeping the anger and hostility from the political discussions down in the lower sections where they belong, and not up here in the technical discussions.

Look what ya got started Enzo, it's a good one!

[The Dude]

Isn't this self-moderation? Everybody here has an style, some are more forceful than others, but that's the whole Alpha dog thing that happens everywhere.

Sometimes we get OPs that are complete electronics novices and sometimes they are seasoned techs that are just stumped with a problem that they haven't seen before. In either case their personality has a lot to do with how successful we are at helping them. I've seen you guys go through all sorts of pains to try and get an OP to see a different side of something that they just couldn't or wouldn't get. For whatever reasons, some people just can't be taught.

Sometimes the problems can be cured with a simple one step solution, sometimes not. I work for a Fender dealer and have for a long time. I've seen certain things through the years that turn up here, so my personal experiences can sometimes be helpful. But I learn just as much from all of your personal experiences with things that I don't have a lot of experience with.

I'm too old and nowhere near as selfless as Enzo (how many different boards does he and JMFahey post on?), to really fight some of these battles. I get my points in here and there, but I leave the heavy lifting for those of you who are still willing to do it.

That's pretty much me to a tea. I've usually got the MEF screen up all day at work. I'll "hit a few keys" while waiting for the iron to warm up or for speaker glue to dry or something of the sort, but I've got stuff to fix, so I haven't the time to get in too deep or deal with an "unruly" OP. I think of this place as many things- a temporary diversion, on the job training, a place to get a little help from time to time, and mostly a community of like minded individuals that I can relate to and respect.

[Enzo]

As someone who earlier in life used to sit on a bar stool every night of my life, I think of this place as a bar. You have your regulars and old timers. You have the youngsters, and you have the occasional outsider who strides in and then we never see again. Maybe like a sports bar, except it is an amps bar. We have our amp fans, you know the ones who know what year Fender changed the knobs from 20 grooves around the center to 24 grooves (or whatever), and what years anything was made. Gotta know all those years, man. You got the people who are like a coach, knows the inner working inside out, then you have the armchair quarterbacks who know all the conventional wisdom they have gathered off the internet, but really don't understand circuits. Like sports fans who can tell you exactly where the local team coach went wrong last game, we have the souls who can by their third post to the board tell us exactly where Fender/Marshall/Laney/whoever went wrong in their design. It is always a design flaw. The local college coach just announced his latest recruiting for the upcoming season and the bar flies will tell him who he should have signed instead, and our guy can order an amp and tell us all the "mods" he plans to do before he has even hear the first note out of it.

And just like a bar, there are guys you don't mind sitting next to, and others you want to always be on the far side of the place from. Only thing we don't have here is Last Call.

[The Dude]

...... and you, Enzo, are our "Norm".

[g1]

Only thing we don't have here is Last Call.

Or Happy Hour

P.S. Can I be Cliff?

[DrGonz78]

Or Happy Hour

P.S. Can I be Cliff?

Just don't go all postal when we work you so hard shipping out all those heavy amps.

P.S. Can I be Woody? He always got hot chicks!!

[potatofarmer]

One of the most helpful things I do is, well, generally keep my mouth shut. There are few instances where I think I might have something to add, and even then I'll write up a post, read it, and ask myself if it's really necessary, if it's really going to help. Probably 3/5 don't get posted.

Hm, that's pretty much how I act at bars...

[Chuck H]

If this is a bar... That might explain why I'm hammered at 7:00am

[Mick Bailey]

I think of this place as a bar...... Only thing we don't have here is Last Call.

Or girls.

Now what sort of a bar is it where only guys hang out?

[Enzo]

I'm not sure, but the arty section of our town has a number of them. The guys tend to be detail oriented, they count the teeth on your zipper as you walk in.