mhardy6647
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Why has Audio (and maybe all hobbies) become so hostile?
- Thread starter CDMC
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Digital VAX 11/780
MSTARK
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I’ve been in this hobby for over 20 years. From casual audiophile to CES insider. It didn’t matter who I was around, the general mood was always friendly, supportive and accommodating. We supported each other and no one would dare to put down fellow member or random enthusiast for his/her choices as far as hobby was concern. No showboating, smart a$$es and “know it all” egomaniacs. That included manufacturers/engineers who were part of community.
It all changed with social media and forums that start popping up all over the web. The rest of this story was probably mention somewhere in this thread already. But basically it comes down to several “tribes” that predictably had to clash.
Those who really know.
Those who don’t know jack.
Those who want to learn.
Those who care about music more then hype.
Those who live for the next new hype.
Those who like the hobby but keyboard a$$holes make them sick.
And the last kind, the funniest bunch,
YouTubers (who I really enjoy BTW).
They might be cheesy, funny or truly sincere, I don’t really care. It’s entertaining and sometimes, it’s really informative/helpful.
Well, that’s my 2 cents.
Hope I didn’t offend anyone. After all, THIS is just some guy behind the keyboard.
It all changed with social media and forums that start popping up all over the web. The rest of this story was probably mention somewhere in this thread already. But basically it comes down to several “tribes” that predictably had to clash.
Those who really know.
Those who don’t know jack.
Those who want to learn.
Those who care about music more then hype.
Those who live for the next new hype.
Those who like the hobby but keyboard a$$holes make them sick.
And the last kind, the funniest bunch,
YouTubers (who I really enjoy BTW).
They might be cheesy, funny or truly sincere, I don’t really care. It’s entertaining and sometimes, it’s really informative/helpful.
Well, that’s my 2 cents.
Hope I didn’t offend anyone. After all, THIS is just some guy behind the keyboard.
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My best friend growing up had a studio in his house that his older brother owned. Another friend owned 3 movie venues
and a high end audiophile business. Best set up and system I ever heard was a Crown amp powered Altec Lansing
speaker system in an old theater owned by a friend. The acoustics of the venue were impeccable. It was so good
I gave up for years and concentrated on headphones!!! (the room does matter...who can afford a room like that!?)
That being said I have met many professional sound guys in my life and always enjoyed the conversations.
They were always very nice to me. I have met some audiophiles who were extremely snotty and who had
absolutely zero technical acumen. I found them fairly laughable as a young man. I am a geek and really enjoy
the technical aspects of the hobby and have found I enjoy engineers and fellow geeks the most pleasant and
fun people to be around. My dad was a senior engineer at IBM and some of his coworkers were great guys
to hang around with.
People today are quick to say mean spirited and hateful stuff from the safe space of their keyboard...and that makes me sad.
On the upside because of the same keyboard I have met and conversed with Doctors of electrical engineering, some of whom's
textbooks I had in my library. Every single one of them were very nice to me and it was fun to bounce ideas off them
and have them as a resource. It does not get any better than this!
The worst thing I do online related to this hobby is read the reviews on stereophile. I laugh and laugh until my sides
hurt. I don't comment ever but...when I want to lose it I go there.
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I think it's mainly the anonymity. Passion and money spent are definitely a part of it, but I think most of these disagreements would be quite civil face to face.
OP
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When I started law school our email was hosted on a Vax server. A friend of mine commented, “I like vax when it came out in 73.” I don’t miss my cheat sheet of commands.
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wasn't that Jack the Ripper's motto?
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Anyone who thinks that nastiness in this hobby is new wasn't around in the days of the newsgroups like rec.audio.opinion and the others.
OP
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I was. I don’t recall it being as bad. Maybe my memory is more romantic than the reality.
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Oh man it was absolutely viscous! The tribes divided up quickly and it was never ending sniping between the "objectivists" and the "subjectivists."
I mean, there was lots of good conversation too, but it was really muddied by both ideological and personality conflicts on that board. It got very personal between many of the main players.
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"Why has Audio (and maybe all hobbies) become so hostile?"
Because people would rather be right than happy.
Because people would rather be right than happy.
John Dyson
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Kindness just doesn't matter any more. It is all about power, control and self. Maybe some of the intolerance and ego salving comes from a lack of control of ones own life, a perceived lack of freedom. Perhaps maybe some of us nail ourselves to the computer keyboard/display and simply forget about humane behavior. The 'computer doesn't care' -- it is just a box.
Of course, there are real people on the other side of the conversation. Kindness wins, in fact, even in a heated discussion, kindness still often wins -- but kindness is NOT the same as allowing oneself to be a punching bag.
A person acting like a jerk an really look bad if the target of the abuse continues to rationally stand their ground, but also be kind and maintain dignity.
John
I don't think it's the hobbies that have changed. I believe it's social media. There have always been narcissists and opinionated jerks, but online forums have given them a platform to scratch their itch with minimal consequences.
I've been kicking around online message boards more than 20 years, I avoid feeding the trolls.
I've been kicking around online message boards more than 20 years, I avoid feeding the trolls.
I agree. It's so easy to be rude or nasty when you don't have to speak to face to face.
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
I read this thread to the end and I still don't know what it's about.
SIMPLE,
Once you allow many people to hide anonymously behind their keyboard, they all become 10 feet tall and bulletproof.
Just the facts my friend, just the facts.
Other symptoms of this problem may be the popularity of the Survivor TV show and UFC.
Folks just seem to be more in your face than ever. Combine that with the scheming Survivor
is/was known for and you get to our modern times. This is my 2¢ on this topic.
Folks just seem to be more in your face than ever. Combine that with the scheming Survivor
is/was known for and you get to our modern times. This is my 2¢ on this topic.
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
SIMPLE,
Once you allow many people to hide anonymously behind their keyboard, they all become 10 feet tall and bulletproof.
Just the facts my friend, just the facts.
That takes 7 pages?
That's been a reality of the Internet since the mid 1990s.
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