My pain of being a member of ASR
Recently, I've been reflecting on my engagement here on the forum. The discussions in some threads, marked by contentious debates and a focus on proving oneself right, have led me to reconsider my active participation. All too often the arguments are presented in an aggressive and personally hurtful manner.
I value the essence of the audiophile community and the shared joy and passion for the hobby. However, the current atmosphere in ASR has made me question where the true benefit and enjoyment lies. I am also considering whether I can continue to make a constructive contribution to the discussions.
Whenever the turn of the year approaches, I always take the opportunity to make certain decisions. On New Year's Day 2023, for example, I unsubscribed from the Audio Analogue Association forum, where I had been a member for many, many years.
I’d be sorry to see that, I enjoyed our 20th century music discussion and your perspective as a true new music enthusiast. I also find the issue of clutter vs sound quality kind of interesting, although apparently my definition of clutter differs from yours.
However, and I mean this constructively (think of me as from the Netherlands as I say this), your recent experience was unpleasant
not only because some *others* chose to be adversarial,
but also because you were perceived to be engaging in this rhetorical technique:
Just asking questions (also known as JAQing off, or as emojis: ""[1]) is a way of attempting to make wild accusations acceptable (and hopefully not legally actionable) by framing them as questions rather than statements. It shifts the burden of proof to one's opponent; rather than laboriously...
rationalwiki.org
..meaning that what was neutral discussion on the surface betrayed disagreement and possibly condescension underneath.
That’s all fine, btw, I almost can’t help doing it. But we shouldn’t be too surprised when it provokes opposition. The “Neutral Voice” is nearly impossible to achieve, as generations of journalists and non-fiction writers have learned (the new documentary on Tom Wolfe, “Radical Wolfe” is a good recent example of that discussion)