Looking at all the forums in the list, I would be classed as a beginner in the vast majority of them! 🤓
Newbie status frequently seems to go unrecognised by responders, resulting in responses of an overtechnical nature.
I agree with leadbelly's statement above, but often newbies can be so bamboozled by tech talk that they never make a return visit to their thread!
Newbie status frequently seems to go unrecognised by responders, resulting in responses of an overtechnical nature.
I agree with leadbelly's statement above, but often newbies can be so bamboozled by tech talk that they never make a return visit to their thread!
Tell me about it. Between my three degrees I think I'm up to 14 years of post-secondary education. School is fun. I enjoyed it. 🙂
Tom
And some expert responders will recognize this and dial back the technical level of their response. But that, of course, requires some level of awareness around who they're talking to. That can be difficult to determine online. Some experts would likely also prefer to be seen as the guru at the mountain top. Those experts are not particularly helpful for beginners (and sometimes not for other experts either).
Beginners may also have to accept that they have to ask more than once to get a useful answer. "Sorry, I'm a newbie could you point me in the right direction?" Then show some ability to make progress in that direction.
Tom
That's exactly right. The reason is that people who respond are usually more motivated by hearing themselves talk about whatever they have to say on the subject and seeing themselves as experts than actually helping resolve a question - which is human nature and understandable, but it is a side-effect of how web sites direct human interactions. For the inquirer, it is a delicate game of trying to coax answers out of people in spite of themselves. This same dynamic plays out on countless other interest-area forums dominated by retirees.
It's important to note that responses are more often wrong than right, no matter how many years the person has been practicing this hobby or occupation, and that everything you know about electronics is out there on the internet now, partly because you have posted the answers. This makes many people defensive. The world has changed in that the economics no longer make it sensible to take electronics to a "tech," and millions of people save huge money and time fixing their own stuff, and pursue it as a hobby.
It's clear the administrators are not keen on this idea and it's not going to happen. But if you're going to ask for donations, it is a better idea to orient a site in a way that is useful for a broader group of people and listen to their input.
This is a big one. I would go so far as to say that every member has to accept that they may need to ask twice; I can think of so many of my threads having been killed by members with a chip on their shoulder. This is probably most confusing to newbies.
Did you read Post #3?
I'm curious where your sense of entitlement is coming from. DIY Audio is free to use. Nobody forces you to make a donation. Maybe newbies aren't as big of a group as you thought. Your not-so-veiled threat of withholding donations unless you get what you want seems rather odd.
Tom
Here's a recent thread with a newbie finding some dissatisfaction with a certain wise old tech:
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/where-to-get-capacitors.396515/#post-7284916
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/where-to-get-capacitors.396515/#post-7284916
Good example of a newbie doing the right thing. So what makes you think a certain wise old tech won't just be himself in a newbie subforum as well?
and for those who suggested "google", from the OP of that same thread.....
"Wow what a dick. It's an old AVR that I don't even care about. I'll throw the entire stupid thing in the recycle bin for all I care. I didn't know I needed a degree to try and learn about Audio equipment. We aren't all born with them. It seems I have picked the wrong place to ask for advice. .................................And FYI when I looked them up by the numbers that are printed on them, Google gave me results for resistors, that's the only reason I was calling them that!"
"Wow what a dick. It's an old AVR that I don't even care about. I'll throw the entire stupid thing in the recycle bin for all I care. I didn't know I needed a degree to try and learn about Audio equipment. We aren't all born with them. It seems I have picked the wrong place to ask for advice. .................................And FYI when I looked them up by the numbers that are printed on them, Google gave me results for resistors, that's the only reason I was calling them that!"
I have known so many technical people like you and was like you. BTW there's a ton of free psych material on getting over dependance on your technical expertise for self affirmation. I am going through it trying to change careers.
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That idiot came off sounding like a teenager with attitude, no skin off MY hide.
Plus, he's attempting to putz with something and describing parts using wrong terminology and trying to justify them.
PLUS, wanting perfect troubleshooting and answers across the internet.
It's like "I have this car, and the wheel's loose"
So he gets an answer: "Tighten the lug nuts"
And his answer is "Are they under the dashboard?"
When he's actually talking about his steering wheel!
I've no time for anyone like that, because if you're THAT uneducated and cannot research a bit to use the correct terminology, forget bothing others.
that thread makes a good case for consolidating newbie threads in one sub-forum, it could actually be a sticky there entitled "Do Your Homework Before You Post"....
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/where-to-get-capacitors.396515/#post-7284916
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/where-to-get-capacitors.396515/#post-7284916
Don't either of you two realize no one gives a crap what you two think are minimum standards to be met by someone willingly wanting to try our hobby?
We are still talking about ELECTRONICS aren't we?
I am a newbie to electronics, but not to industry. Recklessness is not a virtue.
I am a newbie to electronics, but not to industry. Recklessness is not a virtue.
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You've got a serious case of tunnel vision. The irony is if you punted off all of us on the forum who started off in this hobby by playing around with old items we didn't really understand yet you would lose some pretty big names from the forum that you probably eagerly follow.