How Times Have Changed (re: What's TGP Really All About?)

[onestop]

So as I was heading up to bed, I received a PM from a fairly new member (with a moderate amount of postings, asking about another new member with even fewer postings) and if a recent transaction went well. The newest member with lesser postings just had a transaction with me in the emporium (great by the way) and the other guy wanted to know if all went well. Fair enough and I was glad to report that he should proceed without any concern.

I bring this up because it got me thinking that TGP has grown at such a rapid pace, that we're not only seeing a lot more activity with newer and somewhat unknown members in the Emporium, but a higher than normal percentage of posting activity in The Gear section has shifted in focus.

First off, I get it. It's a forum and it should be all about free speech. I'm with you there. But for some reason, I can recall when I became a member almost 4 years ago, there was a time when I felt as though the focus was a lot more educational. Sure, plenty of opinion on the hottest pedal of the week and how it smokes the creation of sliced bread but I could search "buffer" of "buffer placement" (assuming I was interested in adding a buffer to my setup) and you'd see a ton of really useful threads talking about the good, bad and ugly with buffers and the benefits and disadvantages.

But today, if you type those same search terms in, it's one pissing match after another with a few "informational" threads sprinkled here and there. Again, it's a forum. I get it. The web and social networking has evolved. I get it.

I suppose I'm just asking for not just senior members, but all members to help spread any and all knowledge that you might have when it comes to gear in The Gear section.

Let's help each other learn from our experiences and less time casting suspicion on why builder X is getting out of the business or why builder Y or online store Z decides to hook up on exclusive, one-time deals and then suddenly, decides to extend a run of a certain type of pedal.

That stuff is what it is. Let's get back to a little more blocking and tackling and helping each other learn from our experiences and talk gear and all's that great about gear.

Now let's carry on with business and have some fun. I love this place, I have made some really good friends here and want to continue to learn from you and share my lessons and learnings in return

 

[missing_dave]

Honestly and tactfully said..I'm picking up what your laying down..

I too have had great transactions, learned great stuff along the way..and improved my tone and knowledge at TGP..oh and its fun!!
I could stand to see more of that around here on some occasions.

Happy New Year and happy tone hunting !

 

[re-animator]

i think its because those of us who have been here for a while think we know everything now.

 

[sanhozay]

I've been around for awhile and nothing has changed much other than the headlines. People behave pretty much the same, and although the shock & awe ratio has stayed the same it probably feels like more because there's more membership. People on the net don't do understated because it flys under the radar, which encourages tenfold asshattery. Like anything, if I put crap in crap comes out. Lately, I try to put in strawberries because I like strawberries. And they smell better.

 

[David-R]

I too have had great transactions, learned great stuff along the way..and improved my tone and knowledge at TGP..oh and its fun!!

+1
I can honestly say my tone has improved significantly due to my participation in the Gear Page. The advice, reviews and comments of many have helped me find reasonably priced gear that sounds good and works well for me.

 

[NeilYoungFan]

The thing I don't like lately is that many threads that pop up don't offer anything and they are simple questions. I believe they could be solved by just sending a pm to a fellow TGPer that is familiar with the subject.
Also, most of the time I try to only post about gear I've used and have personal experience with. I have the impression that some folks just post answers based on what they have read or heard.

In any case, I still consider TGP a place where I can learn things and gather info concerning gear. It's just that now I can make out which posts are valid are worth and which not.

 

[Jon C]

IMO the signal to noise ratio has dropped to a fraction of what it was 3-4 yrs. ago ...

way more "noise", far less useful information ... part of the growth process, probably, but where several threads on every page used to have something I was interested in reading, it has gone to where I may go through several pages before finding anything of interest.

I don't know if the % of pissing contests, etc., has gone up relative to the # of members, but with many more members come many more posts, and a constant % of dreck results in a lot more b.s. to wade through to find something useful.

I've been around since the fairly early pre-TGP PRS Forum days. Back then & in olden TGP times there certainly were some battles, but there was more of a community feel as opposed to a free-for-all in Times Square. That's the byproduct of exponential growth, I guess. This is not, btw, an "everything was better back then" post, in case some take it hat way. Just a statement of personal observation & utility.

 

[Reckedtrek]

I'm still pretty new here, very new compared to many of you. I was trying to get useful info at another "gear" site/forum (HC) and it was generally not an easy or enjoyable process over there. Then I read some posts over there about how TGP sucks and is boring, I put 2 and 2 together, checked out TGP, and low and behold, it is a much better place for me and for what I'm looking for gear and conversation wise. So while I can't comment on if TGP was better a few years ago, I can say it's dramatically better than other sites I've been to in the last year.

...then of course the HC servers crashed and many of the people I was glad to leave behind showed up here- like a bad dream.

TGP is still a great resource of useful, relevant information- you may just need to sift a bit more before finding the gold nugget you'd been searching for!

 

[leesa]

Well said. The TGP has been awesome for me to learn about the nitty gritty of gear and guitars. I was straight up guitar into amp player for a while, but have learned the value of decent gear. On the flipside, the TGP has also introduced the concept of GAS for me...getting over that now though.

 

[geoangus]

I'll admit I ask more than I offer in knowledge, mainly because I don't like to BS about things I don't know. But if the general question posts annoy you veterans, how would you guys prefer the uninformed go about finding stuff out?

I weed through the search results, and surf youtube, proguitarshop and manufacturer's sights for demos, but often end up with questions about how would X work with Y on my board, are they redundant effects, etc.

I wish I could bring something useful to the party, but right now, I got nothing and relish the pearls that those who know are willing to offer.

 

[onestop]

But that's all good "geoangus" Feel free to continue to ask away and through the act of listening and two-way communication, you too will continue to build your knowledge base and before you know it, not only contribute but also lead discussions :d

"John C" did a nice job of summing up a good portion of hat I was trying to articulate:
"signal to noise ratio has dropped to a fraction of what it was 3-4 yrs. ago ... way more "noise", far less useful information"

 

[walterw]

...the signal to noise ratio has dropped to a fraction of what it was 3-4 yrs. ago ...

way more "noise", far less useful information ...

well, that's really the entire internet, and most of the rest of modern society, isn't it?

i would argue though, that while the ratio may not be as sweet, the overall amount of useful stuff has increased. the trick is all in the filtering.

all we need is for folks to really search before starting new threads on the same old subjects, write in complete sentences (with punctuation, please), and avoid general asshattery, and we can keep this place the wonderful resource that it is.