It seems plain there are a certain percentage of oldtimers here who no longer have patience for newbies and their lack of knowledge and experience. Rich, might it be possible to create yet another forum for those who feel like their valuable time and knowledge is being wasted here on what they consider inane questions? A place where “more important” matters can be discussed? Just an idea. Might help keep the peace.
Cheers,
David
David, I understand what you are trying to do with this post but I don’t see the situation the same way as you.
It seems plain there are a certain percentage of oldtimers here who no longer have patience for newbies and their lack of knowledge and experience.
It seems to me that the so-called old timers no longer have patience for any opinions that differ from their own narrow views.
… might it be possible to create yet another forum for those who feel like their valuable time and knowledge is being wasted here on what they consider inane questions? A place where “more important” matters can be discussed?..
What!? Do any any of these oldtimers have a gun to their head? No, nobody forces them to answer questions they consider “inane”. If they don’t want waste their “valuable time and knowledge” then they shouldn’t do it. However, if they do decide to “waste their time” they have made a choice of their own freewill and have forfeited the right to bitch about it.
If the oldtimers no longer see a purpose for themselves on the Board then perhaps they should just say their peaceful and polite goodbyes (instead of their final tantrums) and move on …
On 2002-03-15 21:22, garycrosby wrote:
David, I understand what you are trying to do with this post…
You sure about that Gary? Methinks Feadan has his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.
If the oldtimers no longer see a purpose for themselves on the Board then perhaps they should just say their peaceful and polite goodbyes (instead of their final tantrums) and move on …
But move on to where Gary??? It’s not like there’s a plethora of messageboards for whistle players out there. And I’m not just posting with Jessie or A.LeeAss in mind. There are others who have been quite a bit more civilized with there impatience towards repeated questions and ignorance. If there are indeed “more important” topics that need addressing I think a more advanced forum might be appropriate. Perhaps it is the sort of messageboard evolution that is needed at this point.
P.S. No Stevie, I’m dead serious.
[ This Message was edited by: Feadan on 2002-03-15 21:35 ]
I’m a newbie with lots of “inane” questions, but I’d think the oldtimers would be glad to share knowledge and experience. I just recently found this website and have no idea if my questions are repeats or not - I would assume many of them are, but I have no idea how long ago. Please be patient with us. You oldtimers were once newbies, too.
On 2002-03-15 21:41, susnfx wrote:
I’m a newbie with lots of “inane” questions, but I’d think the oldtimers would be glad to share knowledge and experience.
There are those suffering a bit of burnout who have a hard time answering repeated questions time after time. It is quite understandable.
Please be patient with us. You oldtimers were once newbies, too.
All too true. 
But move on to where Gary??? It’s not like there’s a plethora of messageboards for whistle players out there.
Personally I don’t care where. If this Board is no longer a useful resource for the oldtimers then they don’t have to be here. Nobody is forced to be here.
And I’m not just posting with Jessie or A.LeeAss in mind. There are others who have been quite a bit more civilized with there impatience towards repeated questions and ignorance. If there are indeed “more important” topics that need addressing I think a more advanced forum might be appropriate. Perhaps it is the sort of messageboard evolution that is needed at this point.
Perhaps some of those oldtimers should start some “more important” topics - nobody prevents them from doing so. Last time I checked you can post any topic you want to discuss.
At the risk of being repetitive, if you don’t want to answer a question that have already answered a hundred times then don’t answer them; but, if you do then you have made your own choice and you can’t blame it on anyone else. If you are feeling “burned out” because you keep answering the same questions over and over why don’t you stop doing it?
Well, I’m not a newbie but I am guilty of asking some of the same questions I’m afraid.
it is usually pretty obvious by the topic that it’s a newbie question so if you don’t have the patience to go over it again…just ignore it. Yes, we were all newbies once… unless some of you were born that way. Gm
I suppose the “old-timers” were never “newbies” and never had “inane” questions themselves. The good thing about having internet message boards is that there will always be someone who knows more than you do and always someone who you can give advice to. If we separate people, that won’t work anymore.
Creating a seperate forum does not mean that all the more knowledgable people will go away. Only those whose patience levels are waning. There are plenty of folks who will stick around to try to help newcomers.
Well…I’m off to bed. I guess it was a crazy idea. Heck, next thing you know I’ll be suggesting we have a “hugfest” or something. 
Cheers everybody!
On 2002-03-15 22:36, Feadan wrote:
Creating a seperate forum does not mean that all the more knowledgable people will go away. Only those whose patience levels are waning. There are plenty of folks who will stick around to try to help newcomers.
The only crazy thing about it is that If You Build It, They Will Come. And I mean all the theys that are out there, experienced or no. There is no way to limit someone’s participation on a particular board if you make it. Who would referee such a board? Who would decide what questions were tedious? Would you make it a free for all that said “okay, you have the right to chase anyone you deem inane and repetitive away”?
Ok, here’s an sample case: You start C&F level 2, and on it, you make a charter saying “you must have X amount of whistle experience to ride this forum”. Well, Bob has been collecting whistles for 3 years. Binky has been performing professionally for 20. Biff has been tootling around learning the same song for 10. If all 3 of these people post the same inane repetitive question, how will you differentiate? =) Lots of experienced people ask dumb questions too. If all 3 of them wander around and post OT things, who is going to chase them away, and how? You see the problems.
In my opinion, what is going on with some people is personal burnout. If people are tired of helping (and that is NOT a bad thing – it happens sometimes; we all need breaks), then they should stop reading irritating posts/questions. If they can’t stop doing that, then maybe they need to take a break from the forum altogether for a few weeks to regain perspective. It’s not easy to do, but sometimes it’s necessary.
The other possibility is to build in some sort of filtering system in the board, whereby one could filter topics and users one did not want to read input from – but that’s a lot of work for the people who run the joint already, and I for one am not willing to ask them to do that, when we could just as easily start a Usenet newsgroup dedicated to whistles… then people would be forced to rely on themselves as personal referees via their news clients (and no, saying it’s too hard to set up a news client isn’t an excuse when you’re comparing it to the time others have put into building the board).
my 49 cents – won’t even buy a cuppa joe anymore.
stimps
(my edit was to change a word for clarity)
[ This Message was edited by: stimps on 2002-03-15 23:15 ]
If a newbie may chime in:
I may be a newbie on this particular forum, but I’ve been banging around forums of various types ever since the BBS and Compuserve craze way back in 1980. You would be amazed how many times I have seen situations like this over the last 20 years.
This kind of thing can happen with any closely-held, close-knit group, especially when that group lays claim to something technical, eccentric, or out of the ordinary (such as playing the tinwhistle). Every once in a while, such forums will segment into two or more camps, usually along the lines of experience or knowledge. Words may be exchanged, feelings hurt, and members lost, but they always sort themselves out in the end, and the ones who survive are usually the “live and let live” types. Fortunately, these more tolerant types seem to be the norm on this particular forum.
In short, those of you who read the message traffic over the next few days may think that Rome is burning and Nero is fiddling… er, whistling away while it burns. Not to worry - as someone pointed out earlier, there are not a lot of places where tinwhistlers can debate the merits of chiffy versus airy.
Newbies there will always be, and blessed be they that pick up a Generation for the first time. Old timers there will always be, and they should be forgiven those times that they bristle at the 100th “why do Generations suck” message thread.
My advice, for what it’s worth - keep everyone in the same room, just like it is. Those that love this place will keep it alive for the rest of us.
In a valiant effort to make an on-topic comment: anyone know if the brass-slide tunable Dixons are available from any USA dealers yet?
On 2002-03-15 23:50, Captain Dilettante wrote:
If a newbie may chime in:
Hee, make that “newbie”! =D Welcome, Captain! You’ve made a great point – newbie to one forum ne newbie to all.
I’m afraid I can’t answer your question, because I’m not allowed to look at any new whistles until at least the year 2005 (spoiled by my overton). =)
stimps
I’m afraid I can’t answer your question, because I’m not allowed to look at any new whistles until at least the year 2005 (spoiled by my overton). =)
Great idea for an Overton advertisement! “Laddie, you don’t buy an Overton; you marry it!”
[ This Message was edited by: Captain Dilettante on 2002-03-16 09:59 ]
If people are burned out answering
newbie questions time after time,
there’s a remedy: don’t do it. Others
will.
I don’t think there is a problem here.
Howdy folks,
If the old-timers don’t reply to newbie questions, then how will this knowledge get passed down through the ages? It would be very bad if it came to the point where newbies were afraid to ask a question. I remember my first post on the board. I was very nervous, but the person who replied back to me, said, “now that wasn’t so bad, was it? Welcome to the board.” Will we not afford the newbies the same considerations granted the old-timers? I know that since my first post I have asked repeat questions. The reason they are repeat questions is that I am soooo old, I can’t remember what I have asked. Now where’s my Geritol? JP
Well, I’m a newbie to this board and a newbie to whistles, but I am NOT a newbie to forums and message boards, and I must say this is the most exciting one I have found in a LOOOONG time!! The search engine seems a bit tedious and sometimes it comes up with threads that don’t seem at all pertinent, and sometimes it comes up with so many threads it would take days to go through. I am also experienced on the internet and DO research before I post here. And gee, I have been posting a lot, because I like this forum and have gotten some really, really fine responses to my posts.
There aren’t any other whistlers in my area, and just the chance to talk to others who do is a Godsend, let me tell you. I’ve just had an exciting event happen in my Whistle World which I want to share (see the post on the brass Walton, soon to come), which a lot of people will find totally uninteresting - but I gotta talk to SOMEBODY and you’re it.
Just to make you all feel better, too, I took up whistling because I was having a severe bout of clinical depression that I HAD to pull out of, and music seemed a good way to go and certainly better than medication. The music helped a lot, but finding this site has helped even more - for a while there, I had trouble just getting up the energy to go on the internet at all, and here I am spending hours at it again following up on the links you have posted here. And all the new ideas you good people have given me, I can just say WOW!
I’m a isolated whistler with problems with the City Comissioners, and it sure feels good to be getting support of Chiff and Fipple folks when I can’t get it around here! Bback to music and whistling!
Great idea for an Overton advertisement! “Laddie, you don’t buy an Overton; you marry it!”
Hee! It never steals the blankets either.