Why are there so many people on the "Beginner" forum?

[Homercidal]

I think that people who are upset by noobies constant questions without searching shold not be in the beginner forums at all. It's going to happen. If you don't want to answer them, then don't click on the reply button. It's easier, and it saves a bunch of frustration for everyone. Trust me, there are MANY MANY people willing to respond with a helpful answer. We have a special area just for arguing.

 

[jsweet]

We have a special area just for arguing.

Maybe the people who like to yell at n00bs in the beginner's forum just haven't figured out how to use the search feature to find that "special area"...

 

[Pappers_]

I can still remember the basics of my first ever post on this forum, and it still haunts me today. It was the second most stupid post I ever made on this forum (The first most stupid post being all the posts I made since then)

Made me go and look at my first thread (not post, the search function won't go back that far, only the first 500 responses). Anywhoooo, my first thread was a clearly thought-out, insightful, and penetrating question on the use of yeast nutrient supplements.

Something along the lines of "are they good?"

 

[TotemWolf]

I would rather see 10 new brewers ask the same questions 10 time a day and have that question answer respectfully, than see 1 new brewery driven away by rude answer from some who's just frustrated about the way this a every forum out there works in the real world.

 

[birvine]

Tw: +1

 

[onipar]

It's a paradox.

This is a *discussion* forum, but many would have you use it as a reference manual.

People come here because they want to *discuss* home brewing and have a bunch of people answer a question that they can then ask more about if need be. There are plenty of other resources if what they wanted to do was just read and find answers.

That being said, the search function is a great tool, and a lot of times I'd rather just use that instead of start a new thread about something I know has been asked already. It's just a lot of times new brewers want to become part of the community, and they do that by discussing their problems and insights.

It doesn't hurt to politely mention the search function while answering a noob's question. But I can say from experience, when I first started posting here, once in a while someone will just come along and say "There are already hundreds of threads about this," and leave.

That's more of a put-off than anything else.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

my first thread was a clearly thought-out, insightful, and penetrating question on the use of yeast nutrient supplements.

Something along the lines of "are they good?"

Well, are they? I don't use them any more, personally.

 

[Brandonovich]

I would rather see 10 new brewers ask the same questions 10 time a day and have that question answer respectfully, than see 1 new brewery driven away by rude answer from some who's just frustrated about the way this a every forum out there works in the real world.

I totally agree with this and I am constantly amazed at the amount of effort that some people put into posting that they have already answered a question in another thread. If you don't want to answer, then don't, there is no reason to make someone feel like an idiot for asking a question. Also, answers to questions change over time. The consensus opinion on a question may have changed a great deal since July of 2008, and sometimes a question needs to be asked again.

 

[sonex]

the biggest favor we can do for a noob is politely answer his question and then explain the search function and point him to good reading like how to brew. All of us have learned so much on other brewing topics by looking for a answer to a question and stumbled onto unrelated info we never new.

 

[Pappers_]

Well, are they? I don't use them any more, personally.

Yeah, people told me to use them, but I generally ignored them

5,000 posts later, I'm still ignoring good advice.

 

[wildwest450]

For the most part, I stay out of that revolving door of the same 5 questions over and over and over and over...................
And for some reason, people won't believe something until you say(type) it directly to them.

_

 

[seabass07]

Yeah, people told me to use them, but I generally ignored them

5,000 posts later, I'm still ignoring good advice.

Clearly your beer is messed up, you just don't know it yet.

 

[smyrnaquince]

Here is one noob's (mine) perspective. Sometimes it is hard to phrase your question in a way that produces meaningful search results. Sometimes, you are just not experienced enough to understand that your question really is the same as that other posting you saw, because you think you have some special twist to your situation that makes the other answer not applicable. Sometimes, you just need someone to reassure you (you personally, not some other guy who posted last year) that it will be alright. I have fit into each of these categories at least once.

Think of the Beginners Beer Brewing Forum this way: If I came in person to a club meeting, asked a question, and was told to go look it up in the book of notes kept in the corner, I might not come back to that club again. If, instead, some people couldn't be bothered with me (read: "experienced folks who don't read the Beginners Beer Brewing Forum"), but others helped me (read: "experienced folks who read the Beginners Beer Brewing Forum and give helpful advice"), then I would probably keep coming back to those club meetings. Sure, if I come to every meeting pestering folks with a lot of questions, then someone should take me aside and suggest I read Papazian or Palmer or whoever. (But I only need to hear that from one person per question.) But if I have a reasonable question and I'm not asking too many, then why not just help me out?

 

[wildwest450]

Here is one noob's (mine) perspective. Sometimes it is hard to phrase your question in a way that produces meaningful search results.

Here's a non n00bs perspective. How hard is it to peruse the first 2-3 pages of posts, in the beginners forum? I guarantee there's multiple threads on the same subject, over an over. Nearly every question has been asked thousands of times.

Do you get how enraging that is to those who actually want to help?

I may be prone to rage quicker than others, but you get the point.


_

 

[smyrnaquince]

Here's a non n00bs perspective. How hard is it to peruse the first 2-3 pages of posts, in the beginners forum? I guarantee there's multiple threads on the same subject, over an over. Nearly every question has been asked thousands of times.

Do you get how enraging that is to those who actually want to help?

I may be prone to rage quicker than others, but you get the point.


_

Fair enough. (But I do get frustrated with posts with subjects that say nothing about what the poster is asking. )

 

[Yooper]

This. Briefly answer the question, and politely point the user to the search function for future use.

I think that people who are upset by noobies constant questions without searching shold not be in the beginner forums at all. It's going to happen. If you don't want to answer them, then don't click on the reply button. It's easier, and it saves a bunch of frustration for everyone. Trust me, there are MANY MANY people willing to respond with a helpful answer. We have a special area just for arguing.

I agree. My feeling is that we should answer the question. OR don't respond at all and let someone else answer. My biggest complaint is a long drawn out explanation of why the poster may be wrong for even asking the question.

I have to honestly say that if I would have received a "WHY did you secondary?!!>? We get 10 posts a day about that and we don't do it anymore!!!!!@" reply to my first question, I wouldn't have stayed on this forum.

But because of the friendly respect I received, I stayed and became a pretty darn good brewer. And, of course, moderating the biggest homebrew forum ever on the internet!

I think the "rules" for answering a beginner's post should be that the answer is short and to the point, but with a brief explanation. No tomes, no links to blogs, no comprehensive analysis of every pro and con, but instead a gentle encouragement to read more and ask more questions when needed.

 

[birvine]

Yooper: well-put.

B

 

[jmendez29]

I think if the beginner forum gets a pass on the search feature being a requirement before posting. Any other forum the search feature is your friend. Also sometimes I do searches and don't really find the answer I'm looking for. Like my recent smack pack issue. I searched but did not think I found a post that was just like my situation. So I posted.

I'd like to expand on this a bit. I've been on other forums where I was obviously a noob and had questions. I tried the search function, but honestly, I wasn't familiar with the terminology or even the process to know what it was that I was looking for. And in some cases, I didn't know if what I was looking for even existed. It may be a case of not knowing that a search function exists, it may be that they don't know what to look for, it may just be that they are dumbazzes. Any which way, gotta cut the guy a break. He's just as curious as we all are, do your best to feed that curiosity.

 

[Brandonovich]

Also, you sometimes get a thread that has 27 pages of responses. Do you look at every page? That is many times an indication that the question you are asking is one that has many possible answers, and that evolves over time.