It’s true. I’ve been lurking over on the UP forum, mostly on the grounds that they have some really interesting (and long!) arguments.
But now I’m scared 
They’ve got two threads running there at the moment:
“Mounting Your Pipes”
followed by
“Impregnated Wood”.
And you should see the foofaraw about the ins and outs of narrow-bore chanters!
Aye laddie yerll be needin ta steer clear o them Pipers they are a right strange lot, and the size o thier chanters is most important ta them. 
ahh…size does('nt) matter?
Those long Bb chanters…
Oh, poor Gary. He must be a closet pipe player. We should all give him our support and condolences.
Is it true that people that play pipes are scarier than those that play Bodhran?
Blimey, now there’s a question… methinks only someone who owns a bodhran would be brave enough to post it on the UP forum. You should see the blood on the walls over there from the “GHBs at Irish Cultural Events” thread!
But seriously… there are people that play the bodhran?? Wouldn’t it need to be a musical instrument for that to happen? 
PS… my bank manager has squashed any foolish notions I may have harboured in respect of UPs. I think my neighbours bought him off!
No
Speaking for the women pipers…
of course size matters!
Justine
Sad isn’t it - how so many can loose sight of what the tradition is and always has been about - HAVING FUN!!! Ah well…we just pass the communal popcorn bucket around and watch the feathers fly. Pipers do have a bit more to get upset about if something isn’t working the way it should as most have poured thousands and thousands into their instruments. Then you get the added joy of folks with 40 pound egos stuffed into 30 pound ego capacity heads… It’s pretty comical at times. Still, all in all the u.p. community is a fairly good bunch. Try strapping into a set sometime - it will expand your horizons that’s for sure!
As an owner of a U.P. practice set for eight months (I would not DARE describe myself even as a ‘Beginner Piper’ at this stage),I agree that Pipers are very single minded.
They have to be.
This is an instrument which costs an arm and a leg,and in the wide world of musical instruments,it is a pretty specialised and outre choice to make.
ergo,most pipers are total ITM fanatics.
If you look at the respondants on these boards,then you’ll find the widest range of musical styles being played by the whistlers,followed by the fluters( mainlyITM,Baroque,Classical)…then you have the Pipers.
Of course,no group is mutually inclusive!
Which reminds me.I MUST PRACTICE THOSE PIPES! 
This may be illustrative: a piper friend once mentioned to me that what with all the day-in and day-out necessities of tuning, mucking about with reeds, dealing with leaks, etc. etc., one needs to have infinite patience in that all-encompassing experience that is pipering. By default, one’s impatience is often unfortunately directed at others, including one’s friends.
That was by way of an apology to me, incidentally. I found it acceptable given his choice of instrument. It’s easily one of the most difficult to master.
As an afterthought,I said that Pipers need to be SINGLE MINDED.
I’m not-I p*ss about with whistles,Flutes,Recorders,and sometimes the Practice set.
Jack of all trades?
Enough said!
Way off topic here but what Kevin and Brian said about the dedication involved in getting anywhere near a decent sound on UP’s reminded me of a time when I sat behind a Pedal Steel guitar.
Eight strings,an open tuning,four knee levers,over a dozen toe levers and a big lump of steel resting on the strings,thats before you put on the talon like fingerpicks.
The permutations are almost infinite.However,in the right hands( toes,knees and fingers as well),like UP’s,this instrument can take your breath away.
Listen to the Steel work on James Taylors original recording of “Sweet Baby James” for an example of this.Another great Steel moment is in Steve Earle’s “My old friend the Blues”.
I could go on for hours here but better get back to the Wacky wonderful world of Piping…
Slan,
D.
I’m lucky.
I bought a practise set a few years ago and promptly found out I’m never going to be a piper (despite my chosen moniker). Woohoo! No intense pipe nuttiness for me! 
TTFN.
I think it is “That Sound”. Yelpies, slurs, pippety-popping, variations and that neat Ghost D…
When you can finally out stubborn the Irish Octopus and do one good tune like you want, the first time all your hairs stand up and you are off in the distance hearing your favorite piper play.
Then you screw it up and the naughty words…
OMG they’ve got a thread all about Caning now!! Is there no end to the depravity? 'Scuse me… I’ve…just got to… go over there for a minute…
personally, i’ve always been afraid of drummers. they like to hit things with sticks.
Its not that sort a caning
The titles to threads in the pipe forum are often coded (by the masters) and contain implication far more sophisticated than the beginner or whistle player could possibly allow for. Same with the names of certain pipe tunes. They’re intended to scare whistlers and bodhrunners away, or simply to confuse them.
Fair warning though: If you see titles by posters with usernames such as “glands” (“Mounting your pipes”) don’t read too much into them. Titles by beginners such as “The Reed and Me” or “Oiling Your Stick” are pretty harmless. Look more for titles like “The Close Scape” or “Gouging the Tone Chamber.” “Backstitching for Pleasure” is really only something a level 33 piper would relate to. “Shivering the F Spot” might raise a few eyebrows as would “A Rush in the Bell.” But, “A Popping Strap for ‘The Bucks’” vs. “The Open Session” illustrates the diversity among pipers.
This is just a beginning. If you like reading the pipe forum…then enjoy! Just realize the master pipers are not even slightly amused at all the childish arguments seen on the forum. It’s seen as more of a large elementary school, or juvenile detention center, with an occasional teacher’s conference held within.