You won't have Alan Hyatt to kick around, but...

[Harvey Gerst]

"I know that these guys came here as a courtesy to help mentor and educate recordists with their vast knowledge and experience. But some took offense that someone knew more and refused to be open minded. Why would professional people who work in the industry continue to come here where the attitude meter is pegged by amateurish wannabes with chips on their shoulders."

As a courtesy? I don't think it's that simple. Ask yourself a question: why would a pro come here in the first place? What's in it for the pro? All the pros here share their knowledge, but what are the motivations? In some cases, to demonstrate their superior knowledge - a kinda ego thing. In some cases, they like the atmosphere here. In some cases (one I think), to raise the general level of ignorance here a notch or two. In some cases, to improve sales. But primarily out of courtesy? Nah.

I came here originally because I was curious about this board. I found some of the statements being made by some people here were just plain wrong, or fueled simply by advertising hype.

I stuck around to try and help people understand this stuff a little better, not because of "ego" or to "demonstrate my superior knowledge"; just to help people understand how some of this stuff really works so they can make more intelligent choices when buying and using microphones.

I don't think my "sales" have gone up since I've been here, nor have I hawked the fact that I've been a moderator on that forum long before I came here.

I'm not sure I always do things based on "what's in it for me". I've loaned mics to home recordists in the area, when their mics wouldn't do the job. I loan equipment to other studios when they need it, and I've helped people design studios that I knew were going to be in direct competition with me.

And please note that I didn't mention anywhere on this board the fact that Alan, Brent, and I were going to be moderators for that new forum, nor did I mention anything other than the fact that Brent now works for Alan and my opinion that I thought this would be a plus for this forum. (Actually, since some of the people who post here also post there, it was only a matter of time till everybody here found out about the new forum anyway.)

Okay, about the 'abuse'. About the anti-spam police. I've tried to bust spam on this board, but it isn't working as well as it used to when Dragon was here. But maybe that's what's not so clear here and now: spam used not to be tolerated here. Simple. And if you look at a lot of the people who give posters a hard time for advertising here, you'll find a high percentage of old hands among their number. Well, maybe the wind's changing, then, you say? Maybe some of these older posters should keep quiet? Hmm...

Some people say they're sick of the anti-spam police. Well, I'm sick of spam. So, who's right? Some people are willing to endure spam for the sake of knowledge. Some aren't. So, who's right?

I can't answer that. I have my own rules of conduct for posting here, and it doesn't include hawking myself (or hawking anything) for possible personal profit. I know I really hate the bickering here - A LOT.

 

[MISTERQCUE]

I went to RO originally because Harvey hosts a forum there.But even he rarely posts there.I see more of his wisdom right here!

That's because we pay him in losta' banana-float sundae's and
strawberry cheese-cake to impart his pearls of wisdom!

 

[StevenLindsey]

Isn't there an ignore function here? Seems like one could just permanently ignore persons who propagate the bickering and go merrily on with the business at hand. I'm glad that some of you guys stick with it in spite of the mess. Whatever the reasons that people like Harvey or Blue Bear or..... many others post their information here, I have benefited exceedingly. Sometimes it's kinda like a free technical school on here. When the good people are gone, this board will devolve into what many of the other boards are - mostly chatter about idiotic useless subjects and body parts. This is the most informative site that I have found so far. I certainly hope that some of you guys stick around. And come on back Alan and use the ignore function. Heck, there's jerks everywhere! I may even be a jerk myself. But I surely do appreciate people who know what they're talking about and are willing ( for whatever reason ) to share.

 

[Harvey Gerst]

That's because we pay him in losta' banana-float sundae's and
strawberry cheese-cake to impart his pearls of wisdom!

As long as it's a sundae without the nuts, and plain cheese cake, please.

 

[chessrock]

Are we still on this subject?

yaaaawwwwnnnn ! ! !

 

[chessparov]

Harvey and Bruce (Blue Bear) are two of the "pros" that immediately leap to mind as going way beyond the call of duty.
(There have been others too).

How about a "When In Rome" netiquette?

The vast majority of members here would rather have access to
knowledge even when a member "happens" to mention something they make/do whatever.
As long as we keep the credit cards away from the kids,
aren't we otherwise adult enough to filter information?
It's typical that the movers and shakers in any field will be
provocative/sensitive/opinionated- goes with the turf!

My 2 cents
Chris

 

[ozraves]

Hi Steve (Oz)
Nice to see you here as well.Thanks for the review of my new jazzy clip over at HarmCent.I went to RO originally because Harvey hosts a forum there.But even he rarely posts there.I see more of his wisdom right here!

I hope I said something helpful. I hate it when my ego tells me to give someone advice on their musical journey. There's a 50 percent chance I'm giving the wrong advice. Anyhow, I liked it. I'd like to hear more Texas (or where ever else your roots are) in it. And, that's hard to say being an Okie.

Steve
http://www.piemusic.com

 

[Leeking]

Damn! does this mean I should cancel my SP C1 order for a greater mic that's better than both the SP and Marshall????

ah, what the heck! I am getting my C1 anyway.

All the best guys!
Leeking

 

[TexRoadkill]

Are we still on this subject?

yaaaawwwwnnnn ! ! !

Uh oh, Chess is getting bored. Somebody hurry up and try to promote something

 

[TheRealWaldo]

Hey dobro,

My posts were never deleted for what I posted, but rather what others posted in response. i.e. people offering me money, or telling me to charge. Dragon didn't want that around here.

To date, I've had a total of 2 posts removed. One was a thread that I did not start (I think when Upstate first offered some stuff up for auction, where the proceeds would be donated to me). The other was me asking for input on features to add to NWR...

I was initially extremely upset, and thinking about leaving for good, but I did converse with Dragon for a couple hours on the phone, and we got a better understanding of eachother.

W.

 

[chessrock]

Uh oh, Chess is getting bored. Somebody hurry up and try to promote something

Man, you guys haven't seen anything yet untill Crawdad and I hit the streets with the the quadruple tube / triple-exciter emulator 101. Man, I'm gonna' be spamming the hell outa' that thing.

 

[dobro]

Harvey, when I said "In some cases (one I think), to raise the general level of ignorance here a notch or two", I was referring to yourself mostly. The other observations applied to other people who've been here. I don't see ego in your posts, and I don't see you flogging anything.

The reason I didn't mention anybody by name was that I didn't want feelings getting hurt.

Waldo: thanks for the clarification. Only *two* hours on the phone with Dragon. Musta been one of his good days.

 

[hk_runner]

I just came across this thread, and noticed that the phrase "to raise the general level of ignorance", if interpreted literally, would have a meaning opposite to the intended meaning.

I am sure in dobro's message the phrase was intended to mean "to raise the general level of knowledge". It was intended to mean making the (mostly ignorant) members more knowledgeable, rather than making the members more ignorant.

I don't pretend to be a language teacher. I'm just trying to be helpful. Sorry if I have pointed out something that is obvious.

 

[littledog]

hk, perhaps american english is not your first language, which would make it understandable why you would find that expression distressing and/or confusing.

You will find, though, that when you get beyond textbook use of the language, and get into the area of regionalisms, slang, idiomatic expressions, and colloquialisms - that it is very common for colorful expressions to mean the exact opposite of how they would be interpreted according to a strict syntactical sense.

For example, one might say: "HK may know something about English, but he ain't no Noah Webster!" A non-native speaker might be thrown by the double negative, but no one familiar with idiomatic english would have the slightest doubt as to the meaning.

The same is true for the "raise the general level of ignorance" remark. While technically incorrect, it was colorful and amusing, which in artistic writing usually takes precedence over precise syntax. Of the hundreds of people who read the remark, it is safe to say that probably no native speaker misinterpreted it, and chances are you were the only one disconcerted.

If by some chance you ARE a native speaker of English, my only advice would be that being too literal-minded is not conducive to the creation or appreciation of either literature, art, or music.

 

[jeap]

its hard to tell what it means...

there are some ppls here who "raise the level of ignorance".

arent there?

after all when i first came here i knew everything and now i dont know anything at all!

 

[FZfile]

Well put Jeap.

I feel the same way.

I know so little now that I'm beginning to believe that bliss is a place......like my basement.


I certainly aint no genius but I am smart enough to be able to weed out the crap and glean information useful FOR ME and thats why I found this place....to get information FOR ME in MY situation.


I also know that anyone with any common sense can also weed out what is not useful FOR THEM in THEIR situations(i.e. the crap).

Remember....one person's crap is another person's crap sandwich.

If you see what you think is spam....fine....police it for YOURSELF.....I can police my own damn spam.

Too many cops ruin a mob.

I came here with a mild interest in occasionally capturing sound on a crappy little cassete 4x with 1 sm57, and now I have a fierce interest in recording on an ever-expanding 8x digital set up with 8 mics and some clue as to how not to "just get lucky" using them.

A LOT of that info has come from people like Harvey and Alan and Ed and many obviously more experienced people than myself.

And in the rare instance that I may be able to give some my thoughts and ideas about something than that will serve ME in solidifying those ideas in my head and may even help someone with something THEY find useful for THEMSELVES.

Better jobs are done with better tools and the tools keep getting better (and cheaper) all the time, and if someone who posts on this board happens to be involved in producing tools that I may want or may NOT want to use (an advantage of a consumer-based but FREE society) then I applaud them and will take what I can use from what they have to say and try and make good use of it.

THANK YOU EVERYONE.!!!

One thing I do know is that it is not possible for me to record music while I am typing this nonsense on this BBS trying to show my support and appreciation for people like Harvey and ED and Alan and all of those people who seem to be fed up with people who care more about this BBS and its format and rules than they do about why this BBS is here in the first place.

...and thats to help anyone who is interested make better music better.

-mike

 

[dobro]

hk-runner: you're right, it was clumsily expressed. I meant 'raise people up out of their ignorance'. Duh.

 

[tdukex]

"to raise the general level of ignorance",

I just thought he was being sarcastic.

 

[chessrock]

Put in another context, it could be phrased:

Raise the general level of ignorance TO . . . something else; assumed to be a state of non-ignorance.

FZ, I agree. Let's all sock those spam cops in the nose a couple times.

 

[jeap]

ignorance is a matter of degree isnt it?

everybody is ignorant about something arent they?

so it is not neccessarily a bad thing...

if you go through life with your eyes and ears covered screaming "i dont want to know!" then i guess that would be bad...

but thats a certain type of ignorance namely willful ignorance.

isnt it?