Why do you care?

[ST911]

A post in this thread has some parallels to this one.

There's two different tracks some people take with handing out advice.

The one is simply to take the person at face value and answer the question as stated. Examples would be:...

The other is to try to intuit what the person really wants, or what you think they should want, and answer the question that way....

In the context of this thread, some people assume an automatic need for the second type of response. That's probably not correct, and something I default to myself, but do try to resist most of the time. Just not very successfully.

What I've arrived at... When asked to choose between option A vs. B, answer the question posed unless there's some exceptional reason. . When the reply answers the question, then opine on options and alternatives.

[rob_s]

What I've arrived at... When asked to choose between option A vs. B, answer the question posed unless there's some exceptional reason. . When the reply answers the question, then opine on options and alternatives.

Ah, the old "given your choices I'd pick "A", however..." response. Essentially a combination of the two.

[6933]

What gets me interested is when someone says, "I did my research and bought an Oly, BM, RRA, etc."

[500grains]

not the SME's on the board.

self-made Egyptians?

[Gutshot John]

would it matter which group it came from?

Is it just me or have you or anyone else noticed a trend that the serious collectors that have been a valuable resource on this board are responding less and less often to these types of questions unless asked directly by someone who knows their expertise.

It seems that there is a process of continuity where subsequent "generations" of newer members pick up on the knowledge gleaned from previous generations and then pass it on to the new arrivals?

The older generations tend to have less and less patience with having to answer the same "shrub v. oly" thing ad nauseum? So they simply don't respond, unless poked repeatedly. (Don't poke the bears!)

The unfortunate trend here is that the "old guard" that actually has a deeper understanding of the knowledge remains silent while the newer members who are just repeating what they've been told come off as authorities when they actually aren't.

I don't claim to be an expert or old guard, I just find it interesting that those that answered questions when I first came here, seem less inclined to do so now.

[PrivateCitizen]

self-made Egyptians?

Subject Matter Experts

[Scoby]

The older generations tend to have less and less patience with having to answer the same "shrub v. oly" thing ad nauseum? So they simply don't respond, unless poked repeatedly. (Don't poke the bears!)

The unfortunate trend here is that the "old guard" that actually has a deeper understanding of the knowledge remains silent while the newer members who are just repeating what they've been told come off as authorities when they actually aren't.

I don't claim to be an expert or old guard, I just find it interesting that those that answered questions when I first came here, seem less inclined to do so now.

I too have noticed this. Esp since Nov-Dec.


Scoby

[D. Christopher]

To come clean, I have probably had my fair share of asshole commentary. In retrospect, it was mostly immature.

Maybe I'll be better going forward.

I respect you for manning up and look forward to the new tone.

[S-1]

would it matter which group it came from?

In a way, yes it does. I'm much more inclinde to listen to what a SME on this this board says than anyone else posting. At least you know that they have some real world experience using weapons in adverse conditions and knowledge of the weapons that have been tested in such environments. No amount of square range shooting, "tactical" classes or learning how to shoot tiny groups into paper from 7 yards out compares to that.

I see a lot of collectors and training junkies throw out terms such as "the real world" or "serious gun users", and it makes cringe. Most of these guys have 9-5 desk jobs and wear a suit during the week, so how would they know about real world use? While many of the weapon collectors are great for info regarding the technical aspect of firearms, I don't think that they have the the knowledge or experience to say what equipment is good or bad for "real world use."

A couple of years ago, an active 20+ man SWAT team in my area got rid of their MP5's and HK53's (for lack of CS/support) and purchased FA 11.5" & 14.5" Bushmasters. Last time I checked, they were very happy with them, and they shoot a lot. They also use Kimber 1911's, and have ARMS mounts for their Aimpoints. If you listened to all of the "serious gun users", you would think that these guys will die before they make entry into a crack house because of their choice of equipment. Is there better equipment on the market? Yes, but what they have works for them, and the same things would work well for 90% of the people on this board, it's just not the "flavor of the month" gear, so it gets degraded.