Anyone else annoyed by FB groups?

[0175westwood29]

I’m obviously a member of many FB groups 

 

many are fine however there are many who you can’t escape the standard weekly questions of 

 

“best overdrive for rock?”

 

”best Aby switch”

 

and many more questions.

 

is it just me or do some simply use those pages as google? 
 

might be an unpopular opinion tho? Same as when people ask about ohms and cabinets? I know you need to learn somewhere and that’s fine you can tell when someone is new to things. But again a simple search can give you the answer 

[ahpook]

Perhaps the folks there like the chat and interaction with others as much as finding answers to their questions.

 

The difference,  perhaps,  between looking something up in a book as opposed to asking your friends if they know the answer ? Same info, different vibe.

[Doctor J]

The same could be said for this forum, lots of people looking for, and offering, advice on different things. Much of which has been asked before, several times. Not everyone has been engaged long enough to have seen it all before, it's not their fault. Just let it slide, it's not worth getting upset over.

[0175westwood29]

5 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

The same could be said for this forum, lots of people looking for, and offering, advice on different things. Much of which has been asked before, several times. Not everyone has been engaged long enough to have seen it all before, it's not their fault. Just let it slide, it's not worth getting upset over.

I can see that for sure, but I do think here there is a much more open and accepting nature to those type of posts 

 

also many here myself will normally have looked for an answer first elsewhere, or know that ppl will also have gone thru a similar issue. 

[zbd1960]

With any specialist hobby there are always newcomers. I'm in various online groups for various hobbies/interests including music, bass, photography, astronomy, hill walking, and bookbinding...

If you're new to something and you've not been through the gamut of standard/common questions and queries, you're inevitably going to repeat what others hae asked before. FB is particularly bad since its search functions are limited and poor. 

 

Of all the hobby/interest related ones, the ones that I get most exasperated with are the photography ones. This arises from a lot of people getting a snazzy camera and not appreciating that it's not a 'point and shoot' device if you want to get the best out of it.

 

The irritating ones for me are the local ones with the "when does Sainsbury's open" which can be more quickly answered by an online search for Sainsbury's... 

 

It's not worth getting overly excited over - I just scroll past the ones that don't interest me. 

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by zbd1960

[0175westwood29]

12 minutes ago, ahpook said:

Perhaps the folks there like the chat and interaction with others as much as finding answers to their questions.

 

The difference,  perhaps,  between looking something up in a book as opposed to asking your friends if they know the answer ? Same info, different vibe.

I can see that, I can but, then there are ways to start conversations like that? 
 

If someone was to ask what’s you favourite fuzz for doom? That’s a much better question and will get you interaction than asking what’s the best fuzz for doom 

[spencer.b]

I agree with the OP to an extent and don't get involved however over on talkbass I see loads of people getting really arsey about someone asking a question when there may already be a thread about it and the tone is often harsh and a bit nasty , I love that on here people will always point a newbie in the right direction 

Edited October 17, 2023 by spencer.b

[ahpook]

31 minutes ago, 0175westwood29 said:

I can see that, I can but, then there are ways to start conversations like that? 
 

If someone was to ask what’s you favourite fuzz for doom? That’s a much better question and will get you interaction than asking what’s the best fuzz for doom 

 

YMMV but to me they're essentially the same question.

 

 

[ahpook]

44 minutes ago, zbd1960 said:

The irritating ones for me are the local ones with the "when does Sainsbury's open" which can be more quickly answered by an online search for Sainsbury's...

 

 

I can see what you mean, but asking on a group has a feeling of connection, that looking on a website doesn't - I think some folks really value that.

 

It's a bit like popping to the shops and whilst having a chat about the price of ackee, you ask the shopkeeper if they know what the weather's going to be like later.

 

A bit

 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by ahpook

[neepheid]

It's what "let me google that for you" links were made for

 

[fretmeister]

Perhaps the person has googled but in the 20 million results there were dozens of different answers and they don't have the personal knowledge to know which is the right choice.

At some point we have all been that person. Far better to ask a group of people who have more personal experience than trusting a random search engine.

 

Being welcoming to people in a community is part of being in that community. Discussion is part of being in a community.

If someone has a problem with such questions perhaps that community is not for them.

 

There is little more off putting to new people than the 'elders' mocking a person for not knowing something. That sort of thing actively discourages the next generation and ends up killing the thing we love.

 

Either answer the question properly or scroll past and ignore it.

[ahpook]

3 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Being welcoming to people in a community is part of being in that community. Discussion is part of being in a community.

If someone has a problem with such questions perhaps that community is not for them.

 

There is little more off putting to new people than the 'elders' mocking a person for not knowing something. That sort of thing actively discourages the next generation and ends up killing the thing we love.

 

Either answer the question properly or scroll past and ignore it.

 

Now, that's a generous dose of uncut truth.

 

Well said.

[0175westwood29]

1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

Perhaps the person has googled but in the 20 million results there were dozens of different answers and they don't have the personal knowledge to know which is the right choice.

At some point we have all been that person. Far better to ask a group of people who have more personal experience than trusting a random search engine.

 

Being welcoming to people in a community is part of being in that community. Discussion is part of being in a community.

If someone has a problem with such questions perhaps that community is not for them.

 

There is little more off putting to new people than the 'elders' mocking a person for not knowing something. That sort of thing actively discourages the next generation and ends up killing the thing we love.

 

Either answer the question properly or scroll past and ignore it.

I’m mocking no one, and totally understand….when you first start out it can be daunting, but asking what is the best fuzz for doom here or on google you will get the same varied and random answer’s except here you will get certain bias. 
 

im never rude and I do like to comment saying it’s always best to find your way and use this group to maybe narrow down between certain pedals. 

[asingardenof]

4 hours ago, 0175westwood29 said:

I’m obviously a member of many FB groups 

 

many are fine however there are many who you can’t escape the standard weekly questions of 

 

“best overdrive for rock?”

 

”best Aby switch”

 

and many more questions.

 

is it just me or do some simply use those pages as google? 
 

might be an unpopular opinion tho? Same as when people ask about ohms and cabinets? I know you need to learn somewhere and that’s fine you can tell when someone is new to things. But again a simple search can give you the answer 

 

Some do use FB groups for Google, but a lot of the time they're asking for opinions from people who have used certain bits of gear. Only up to a point though; asking for recommendations for strings is pretty pointless as you'd get 50 different suggestions, and unless someone has £2k around to spend on strings in one go one may as well just pick a brand at random and try it.

 

There are certain types of post that do grind my gears though:

1. "I've just put an order in for this [brand] bass. What does everyone think of it?" - I've just bought this, look how great I am/please validate my impulse buy I did no research on
2. "I've just bought this [brand] bass, what upgrades should I do?" - I've heard modding is cool but I've no idea what the failings of my current bass are or what I want to improve as I've never played it
3. Pretty much anything from Jeff Berlin

[nekomatic]

I’m just annoyed by Facebook in general. If there was another way of loosely keeping in touch with the dozen or so people I feel I need to stay on it for, I’d ditch it like a shot. 

[fretmeister]

2 minutes ago, nekomatic said:

I’m just annoyed by Facebook in general. If there was another way of loosely keeping in touch with the dozen or so people I feel I need to stay on it for, I’d ditch it like a shot. 

 

I have fewer than 50 people on mine and I know almost all in real life.

 

And I also use the Facebook Purity browser plugin to clean it up a lot more. Adverts / Keywords / Subjects / People I might know etc etc. All vanquished.

[nekomatic]

2 hours ago, fretmeister said:

And I also use the Facebook Purity browser plugin to clean it up a lot more. Adverts / Keywords / Subjects / People I might know etc etc. All vanquished.

Ooh, good shout thanks. Although reading their FAQ reminded me about the Feeds view which is a lot better than the default. 

[TimR]

Its just people either being too lazy, unable to use Google, or too busy. 

 

There are a lot of people who just don't have the skills to limit their search to keywords, or even work out what keywords to use.

 

And to be honest, the more people like that there are around, the more likely a lot of us, with good IT skills are going to stay in high paid jobs. 

 

Plus it's better to strike up a conversation with someone about the merits of a bit of gear than it is to Google lots of reviews and comments on other forums etc. 

 

You don't have to answer or even read every post and/or comment. 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

This is a massive non-issue. Not everyone is as experienced and knowledgeable as others. Where better to ask advice on pedals than on a (hopefully) friendly facebook group?

 

[Wolverinebass]

So, just to be clear. Does this mean that Facebook groups aren't good for metal?

[12stringbassist]

I've left the Bass Players group on Facebook.
I didn't let the door bang my ar$e on the way out and it's no loss at all to them.

 

It seems to be full of kids who either think;
* people with only 4 strings are inadequate.
* people with 5 or 6 strings are superior.
* various bass players who have sold millions of records are cr@p because they aren't in Slipknot or whatever band.
* putting oil on your strings is the way forward.
* demonising pick players

 

I could go on and on.
Quora is as bad. I try to avoid that, or it's a couple of hours down the rabbit hole looking at people saying 'why is such a bass player so popular' etc etc.
 

Edited October 19, 2023 by 12stringbassist

[0175westwood29]

10 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

This is a massive non-issue. Not everyone is as experienced and knowledgeable as others. Where better to ask advice on pedals than on a (hopefully) friendly facebook group?

 

But is not advice, that I can understand if say there’s a lot of noise in your signal, ie advice on solving an issue makes sense, asking a question that’s more for google ie what power supply for my 9v 50ma pedal…. Isn’t advice or someone being a novice to me

[fretmeister]

2 hours ago, 0175westwood29 said:

But is not advice, that I can understand if say there’s a lot of noise in your signal, ie advice on solving an issue makes sense, asking a question that’s more for google ie what power supply for my 9v 50ma pedal…. Isn’t advice or someone being a novice to me

 

 

So what?

 

Some people want human interaction rather than a search engine. For some people who live alone it might be the only non-work human contact they have that day. For those who work at home as well it might be the only human contact on that day of any kind. It might be extremely beneficial to their wellbeing to even engage with another human on something as boring as a power supply.

 

Asking what you think is an inane question does you no harm at all. But not asking it might do them harm.

 

You seem to be obsessing about this and that is not good for you. People are different. I really don't understand the love for football / baked beans / Jeff Beck / Jaco Pastorius / etc but they make other people happy so that's ok with me.

 

Accept that people are different and let it go.

[neepheid]

My usual glib answer was probably unhelpful.  Allow me to expand (and possibly add to the unhelpfulness).

 

I would only use the "let me google that for you" approach once an appropriate level of banter had been established.

 

I can see why some people might prefer to ask - sometimes it's not as simple as searching, there is an art to sifting out the garbage and frankly incorrect information out there that a search can throw up.  It's even worse when it's a situation where there isn't one single right answer and you're looking for the "best" answer, which google et al cannot help you with.  Sometimes people are just looking for reassurance.  And just because their question is worded tersely, that doesn't mean they haven't searched previously, that is an easy assumption to make.

 

Basically, dinna be a grump.  If someone is insistent on being a grump, I'd suggest they go and eff off and be a grump somewhere else (either on their own or have a grumpiness contest with some other grumps) instead of taking it out on some poor noob who had the temerity to ask a question that the grump considers easy to answer.

Edited October 19, 2023 by neepheid

[itu]

I think... some basic knowledge could be gathered about bass, its setup including strings, amp + cab, and some basic accessories (case, pedals, cabling). Most of the newbies could start with those stickies, and lots of threads could be omitted.