Angry responses

I haven't noticed.

I love how some can detect trends while only being a member for four months. Hopefully the OP is still here come next January. All the new xmas brewers can drive you crazy. Anyway.....for the most part I think the civility in this forum is doing just fine. It comes and goes. But to me, I'd say we are on an upswing.

This is easily one of the most civil internet forums I've ever seen. In fact it's too civil. I want someone to insult me now!

Mr tipsy.....your beer sucks dude...

Cavemann310 said:

Mr tipsy.....your beer sucks dude...

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It took me 2.5 gallons to realize my current batch of Tropical Spiced Weizenbock does in fact suck. However, the rest of my batches were on par with Pliney.

So, you're right. My beer does suck. It really took the wind out of my sails when I realized it a few days ago.

fluidmechanics said:

I have noticed more and more that the responses to fairly genuine questions have responses with a lot of sarcasm and attitude. I understand people are passionate, as am I but belittling someone on the Internet is a cowardly move. This isn't everybody by any stretch, but I just see an increasing number of threads that turn to petty insults. I love the beer and brewing communities, the way some are responding isn't it folks. Anybody else notice this? Oh look, there is my soap box. I'll step do

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HBT is pretty much the most civil board I visit. If I encounter a thread that isn't, I try to just leave. And I don't think starting "soapbox" threads is helpful; maybe you think the same, since your post seems to have been terminated. The phenomenon itself is unavoidable, to a degree, and that's why there are moderators. It's a variation of the "crowd phenomenon" which has been around for a long time. Anonymity breeds deplorable behavior, and I think that potential lies within each of us. Just.....don't, that's all.

And welcome to the Internet.

Sometimes it can be a bit harsh, but those folks don't usually last long.

This is one of the most civil boards I've been on. This and Mustang Steve (Back when I was working on my Mustang...)

Sometimes people try to be helpful and come across as lecturing. I think people get used to having a certain comfort level with their friends around here and maybe newbs don't' get the attitude style. And other times people with differing opinions on how things *ought* to be done chime in against the help already given and this starts a minor skirmish.

All in all, even though it could be better, it's still a very decent board to be on. As a comparison, go to any NEWS website article and read the comments section...

I've been on HBT for about 2.5 years, and have enjoyed every moment of my time spent here. I, too, find the overall tone of the board to be quite civil and very helpful. Sure, there have been posts that have made me angry, but in the grand scheme of things, those irritations are minor when compared with all the help and advice given by the posters.

And perhaps if you get pissed off at a post...RDWHAHB!!! Isn't THAT what we're all about???

glenn514

I was going to post something mean and snide. But can't bring myself to here.

Go check a softball forum. Those are the meanest, nastiest threads I've ever seen (and been involved in). They will even attack people for what socks they wear, or for wearing cut-off sleeves to play in the summer heat. Now imagine a guy yelling at you calling you names because you are holding a carboy wrong, or because you are not siphon the proper way?

This site is like the laid back cool dude at the party that you can call any name under the sun and he's like "That's cool, want a beer?"

Yuri_Rage said:

Recommend use of the "report post" button. Please do not respond to trolling attempts or worse, pick fights.

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Don't worry, Yooper already set me straight with a public warning that me responding to trolling could get me uninvited to HBT. I promise to simply wear out the report button from now on.

Check out a dog forum sometime. Those people can be harsh.

1st off sarcasm can be difficult to interpret over the internet. You can not see my body language OR hear the inflections in my voice.

2nd where are you posting? Are you a noob brewer with 2 posts that is hopping into the General beer discussion board because you posted the same question in the Beginner section 30 seconds ago and have not received instant help? IMO most of the folk in the General section do NOT frequent the Beginner section for a reason. That being they get sick of spewing the same info over and over. If you post noob BS in General Beer section be prepped to get screwed with.
FWIW this very subject, that has NOTHING to do with beer, is actually in the incorrect section and needs to be moved...

3rd did you ever use the search function? I understand that we are not supposed to tell people to "search for that" but really there should be a HBT tutorial right after you generate your account that informs you where that search feature is and how to use it. No one should be able to post until you have gone through it.

davekippen said:

Sometimes I want to get snippy when responses are from people who are short sighted and only push what they know or what they "thik" others should do. For example: Random post "hey I washed and de labeled bottles all day........" Response: "You tool, why dont you just keg....."

Some people cant/dont want to keg... Some people cant/dont want to go to all grain... just answer their damn question and stop pushing your agenda

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I posted something almost exactly like you did...everyone seems to have their way of doing something and they barely read the question before posting what they do. In my example, I was having some issues with my BeerGun and it was leaking air from one of the co2 connections...the first few people were telling me it's an overpriced piece of crap and/or to use the racking cane shoved in a picnic tap method. I had a specific beergun connection issue and wanted assistance, but no one cared about providing help.

There also seems to be a few rather rude "know-it-alls" that seem to be popping up lately, belitting people that don't agree with how they do things. It's frustrating. If I was just coming onto the board, I would like to hear a variety of options. Brewing shouldn't be limited to certain equipment or certain strict ingredient lists. If I'm answering a question, I like to say "This is how some people do it" or "One option is XXX and another option is YYY." People can then decide for themselves what works best for them instead of hearing one person's "my high or the highway" technique. Also, if someone wants to put some extra ingredients in their beer, they shouldn't get flamed by the style police.

I combat it by copying and pasting my posts from previous threads!

TBH, the board is fairly civil (except for the OT area for paid members). And you have to be a grownup and understand that your not going to get a reply you like 100% of the time. There are many different sorts of people here, many you'd want to have no dealing with in the Real World(TM), but they still get to post on your threads or reply to your posts.

Just ignore them, easy peasy.

Holy crap, is my post what you're talking about (walking on egg shells) !!!??? *face palm*

Zamial said:

I understand that we are not supposed to tell people to "search for that" but really there should be a HBT tutorial right after you generate your account that informs you where that search feature is and how to use it. No one should be able to post until you have gone through it.

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I really like this idea, along with a link showing all the stickies (esp the one about fermentation could take 48- 72hrs.)

Been in a lot of forums over the years and the WORST is when someone says "google it" or the forum equivalent. I work in IT and do a lot of research, and there is many times when asking for help can save a lot of time and money. ALSO it increases socialization! If you took the time to read and comment you might as well be helpful, or at LEAST civil.

Yes there are dumb questions, and they do crop up alot, but if you don't want to help, at least don't put in the work to be rude.

homebrewdad said:

Don't worry, Yooper already set me straight with a public warning that me responding to trolling could get me uninvited to HBT. I promise to simply wear out the report button from now on.

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I've been begging her to ban me for months now, apparently spewing random thoughts, poorly considered advice and inaccurate information isn't enough to get me booted . . .

Maybe Yuri will give me my well-deserved shove out the door.

Mishraile said:

Been in a lot of forums over the years and the WORST is when someone says "google it" or the forum equivalent. I work in IT and do a lot of research, and there is many times when asking for help can save a lot of time and money. ALSO it increases socialization! If you took the time to read and comment you might as well be helpful, or at LEAST civil.

Yes there are dumb questions, and they do crop up alot, but if you don't want to help, at least don't put in the work to be rude.

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This. I agree that it's frustrating when people don't search, but know that newbies won't do it most of the time. Just skip the beginner forum if that bugs you (though it can irritate me to see three current threads on that subject, yet the newbie still posts a new thread).

You don't have to act like this is a linux forum (RTFM, noob).

I'm sure we could all answer 99% of our questions using Search. Wheres the fun in that? Forums are about interaction with others interested in the hobby. Even a question thats been asked 100 times before might take a turn into something interesting. Or not. I find that newbies tend to gain a little experience then field the newer newbies (newbiers?) questions, passing on the knowledge. I think thats cool.

I for one never get tired to telling people to watch their ferm temps, simply because I made so dammed much bad beer at first that its become my goal to prevent further carnage to innocent malt and hops.

This place is a little more rough-and-tumble than the NB forum but theres a heck of a lot going on too. I've come to the conclusion that a lot of it is the old dudes just trying to stir the pot for fun. I'm a youngun myself so I usually defer to the farts and chalk it up to early senility brought on by using aluminum kettles. Which if they'd done a dammed search they could have avoided.

There are no stupid questions. Only stupid people who ask questions. Oh yea, and the PKIA's. Pompous Know It Alls, and we all know who they are!

This thread sux

louie0202 said:

I agree with HomeBrewDad though...I have seen a few threads recently about people nagging about Revvy...he's a good guy...but trust me when you tell people they need a hydrometer, they need to read a book, etc....it gets annoying after a while.....or you get the guys....I AM A NEWB>....I DONT FEEL LIKE LEARNING THE HOBBY...>IN 6 SENTENCES PLEASE TELL ME ALL I NEED TO NO!

Yeah some people get tired of that after a while.

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So you don't want people to tell others to use hydrometers or to read books full of valuable information, but you also don't want people to ask for the information here? Are you against people learning?

Oh and, IN 6 SENTENCES PLEASE TELL ME ALL I NEED TO KNOW!

IrregularPulse said:

So you don't want people to tell others to use hydrometers or to read books full of valuable information, but you also don't want people to ask for the information here? Are you against people learning?

Oh and, IN 6 SENTENCES PLEASE TELL ME ALL I NEED TO KNOW!

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You missed the sarcasm, I think. He's against the newbies demanding all knowledge in one post, and subtly mocking them by using bad spelling.

Ask Revvy how many bubbles per hour through the airlock is considered a strong fermentation. Go ahead. I dare you. I come here because I enjoy the discussion. I often learn something and can occasionally share my experience with someone else. When it's not fun anymore I'll stop.

william_shakes_beer said:

Ask Revvy how many bubbles per hour through the airlock is considered a strong fermentation. Go ahead. I dare you. I come here because I enjoy the discussion. I often learn something and can occasionally share my experience with someone else. When it's not fun anymore I'll stop.

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As a Revvy disciple, I find this post to be hilarious.

I've been visiting this forum for over a year now. My post count proves how much I use the search function. Everyone should know how to do it. There are a ton of threads on the same subject. Like the other day I searched "lager bottle condition temps". Holy Fug that's a lot of threads. click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click and skim them all.

Does anyone really care if some topic has already been covered?
It seems to me that the major sarcasm and attitudes are coming from people who have been on here for a while and targets newbies.
Yeah newbies tend to ask the same questions over and over but maybe if people would stop giving others crap for asking something you learned in 1985, shut your pie holes and listen and contribute in a constructive manner then a thread like this becomes unnecessary.

I'm somewhat new and only have been brewing since november. And yes i've asked newbie questions too but it's not because i'm dumb or too lazy to research. Sometimes a fresh perspective helps and looking at an old thread from 3 years ago will not give that. Also the search gives so many threads to scan through that it is easier to post a new one.

If you can't be bothered with a constructive answer, why do you bother looking at the thread in the first place if all you can do is criticize? Are you too stupid to pass over threads you already know all the answers to?

passedpawn said:

Just click the report button

and drop a note to the mods. They don't always do anything about it, but believe me they do look right away. And they'll keep on eye on the thread for escalation of stupidity.

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Yikes, I thought the exclamation symbol was to express how you really!, like a post. . J/k

scottab said:

Does anyone really care if some topic has already been covered?
It seems to me that the major sarcasm and attitudes are coming from people who have been on here for a while and targets newbies.
Yeah newbies tend to ask the same questions over and over but maybe if people would stop giving others crap for asking something you learned in 1985, shut your pie holes and listen and contribute in a constructive manner then a thread like this becomes unnecessary.

I'm somewhat new and only have been brewing since november. And yes i've asked newbie questions too but it's not because i'm dumb or too lazy to research. Sometimes a fresh perspective helps and looking at an old thread from 3 years ago will not give that. Also the search gives so many threads to scan through that it is easier to post a new one.

If you can't be bothered with a constructive answer, why do you bother looking at the thread in the first place if all you can do is criticize? Are you too stupid to pass over threads you already know all the answers to?

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I actually took this to be kind of a fun thread. The OP was serious, but the tone of the thread changed pretty quickly.

The Search function is great for 80% of my questions, but sometimes it returns a million threads that have the exact same title. As I go through each thread one-by-one, they have a handful of replies like "I think the answer is XXXXX, but it would be good to hear from an expert" and then end there. Sometimes after digging for a while, the perfect gem reveals itself: a well-researched reply from an expert, with links to authoritative source material that confirms the answer, etc. Sometimes that gem comes up in the first page of results; sometimes it's buried deeper and makes you really work to find it.

I can see how users could get impatient after searching and then clicking through "duplicate" threads in the search results without finding an answer. It's not that we're too stupid to search, just that maybe we'll get a faster response if we post the topic directly and a human being answers it.

Other online support-oriented forums will lock "duplicate" threads and point users to a single "definitive" thread, but I don't think that's how HomeBrewTalk rolls. It's more of a friendly chat room, less of an authoritarian top-down support site.

It's a testament to the awesomeness of the home brewing community that experienced users will take the time to answer the same questions over and over again, in a welcoming and friendly manner. It warms my heart. And it makes me more likely to be that person mentioned above, who, six months after asking a noob question, will be replying to other green noobs with that answer. And thus the knowledge is passed down from generation to generation in a beautiful circle of life in this incredibly nurturing community.

KingKlong said:

I've been visiting this forum for over a year now. My post count proves how much I use the search function. Everyone should know how to do it. There are a ton of threads on the same subject. Like the other day I searched "lager bottle condition temps". Holy Fug that's a lot of threads. click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click and skim them all.

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+1 for Search.

There's also the instant gratification thing with search - it gets you to results and you can instantly click through to the relevant points.

Posting a new thread requires far more effort - compose the question, sit around and wait for responses, clarify the question, quell OT tangents, etc.

when my fryer wouldn't work properly the other day I read about 4 old as hell threads before I found what fixed it. If I had posted a new topic I would have had to wait on the replies. Instead I spent less than 10 minutes skimming, and tried two things before the fryer was properly working.

Also, that wiki link up there is extremely informative.

Seriously this topic has been covered before. You should have used the search function.

I suggest you visit the Dodge Viper forums for a bit. This place is like rainbows and cupcakes by comparison. Those boys have major attitudes as they are obviously making up for other SHORTcomings...

fluidmechanics said:

I have noticed more and more that the responses to fairly genuine questions have responses with a lot of sarcasm and attitude. I understand people are passionate, as am I but belittling someone on the Internet is a cowardly move. This isn't everybody by any stretch, but I just see an increasing number of threads that turn to petty insults. I love the beer and brewing communities, the way some are responding isn't it folks. Anybody else notice this? Oh look, there is my soap box. I'll step do

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If you think that the posters on here exhibit a lot of sarcasm and attitude...boy oh boy, you really have not ventured far into the dark lands of the Internet. This place is candy land compared to most places I see.

SharonaZamboni said:

Check out a dog forum sometime. Those people can be harsh.

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You didn't crop the ears and dock the tail of your Doberman?!?!?! How DARE you keep and breed that Inbred MUTT!!!! You don't deserve to have a dog.

Seriously, the Barbie forum is more abrasive than HBT.

Obliviousbrew said:

Now I want names...

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I could list a few but that would be in poor taste.

D_Nyholm said:

I suggest you visit the Dodge Viper forums for a bit. This place is like rainbows and cupcakes by comparison. Those boys have major attitudes as they are obviously making up for other SHORTcomings...

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That's why I'm so easy-going and even-keeled . . .

Obliviousbrew said:

Now I want names...

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H-ost said:

I could list a few but that would be in poor taste.

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It was Txbrew. He trains everyday for the internet though so I try not to cross him.