Too Far: Yet Another Rant

[hop_goblin]

I never knew ...



So let me understand this, are any TC regs in the Pu forum these days?

I only stop by from time to time to check the "mis"-information

[brandon]

I never knew ...



So let me understand this, are any TC regs in the Pu forum these days?

I only stop by from time to time to check the "mis"-information

Same... place is hopeless.

[Chip]

OK ... so, any suggestions? I am not a pu-erh expert and will not be any time soon. I check the pu forum for spam and drunken orgies, not much else since it seems to have a life all it own, TBH. Well, certainly very active anyway.

For a while, the mantra seemed to be they were going to take over TC.

You can PM suggestions if you prefer.

[Sydney]

I figure if they're having fun, then while nobody should encourage them to think they're gong fu masters, nothing official (or quasi-official) need take place.

It's cool if knowledgeable people can manage to elevate the level of dialogue here and there, but at the end of the day it's just people talking about tea. Either they wind up getting stuff they like and the spirit continues, or they'll get tired of blowing money on it, and drift away to other interests...

...like bancha.

[ABx]

I stopped going there just about the time that shogun89 starting 'taking over.' The way I've usually found to deal with this stuff, just as a member, is to politely (and publicly) challenge assumptions and judgments. You could also just talk to him privately, though ("we want the forum to be a cohesive whole" "you need to be careful about the information and advice you give" or you could even frame it as recruiting his help to shape things up). The thing about these forums is that if the members that get noticed change their mind then it has something of a ripple effect. You can see this with the ITD'ers; when one or two of us start focusing on something new (and talking about it) then half a dozen threads on the subject will crop up shortly after.

I generally find that this kind of thing happens with teens (who know everything), and to a lesser degree with newbies in general. Once they start feeling confident they want to help out. Some people, especially teens, get over-confident and start playing expert when they really don't know what they're talking about. I don't really know what to do with that other than to just keep an eye out and hope we can head off the next one.

[hop_goblin]

I stopped going there just about the time that shogun89 starting 'taking over.' The way I've usually found to deal with this stuff, just as a member, is to politely (and publicly) challenge assumptions and judgments. You could also just talk to him privately, though ("we want the forum to be a cohesive whole" "you need to be careful about the information and advice you give" or you could even frame it as recruiting his help to shape things up). The thing about these forums is that if the members that get noticed change their mind then it has something of a ripple effect. You can see this with the ITD'ers; when one or two of us start focusing on something new (and talking about it) then half a dozen threads on the subject will crop up shortly after.

I generally find that this kind of thing happens with teens (who know everything), and to a lesser degree with newbies in general. Once they start feeling confident they want to help out. Some people, especially teens, get over-confident and start playing expert when they really don't know what they're talking about. I don't really know what to do with that other than to just keep an eye out and hope we can head off the next one.

You I unleash a can of whoopass in the pu forum? Kidding

[bearsbearsbears]

I don't join in on the pu forums anymore.

It's too taxing to "correct" or offer a different opinion and then ceaselessly defend it against the challenges of n00bs with little experience and the aggressive nay-saying non-native English speakers who didn't understand what I wrote to begin with.

I always maintain that nobody knows much about pu'er, including the soi-disant "experts" and "long-time collectors". Few of these people exist (count on one hand), none of them speak English, and all of them disagree.

Some pu'er addicts may know more than others, but this amounts to amazingly little when compared to the documentation on other more historically popular teas.

In the face of differing opinions from experts and "experts", I take anyone talking from a place of authority with a blood-pressure-raising block of salt and avoid joining what's likely to be an aggravating conversation.