The problem isn't that this place is full of noobs. Noobs are great, and you're 100,000,000% correct that we were all noobs at some point, and that noobs are exactly what gives a community vitality and fresh new potential.
The main reason why I'm still here and haven't moved on is because, once upon a time, I was a noob that received a lot of help and yes, a smackdown or two when I was being obtuse. So, now that I have enough experience to start helping, I feel obligated to return the favor. I love helping people, and I do it for myself, not for any kind of gratitude-whoring or attention-getting.
My problem is the idiots. The spammers, the shills, the excessive fanboys, the attention whores, the people who are just so damn thick that the only way you get a point into their skulls is with a heavy, pointed object.
HF needs to grow a pair and get rid of these people. I'm not going to name names, but most of us know them anyway. They're ruining the community, and for the sakes of avoiding accusations of totalitarian moderation (which will always fall on heavily, even if appropriately, moderated communities) nothing is being done about it.
Why do you think the older members are so ticked off? Why do you think the newer members have become so defensive about older members pointing out that they don't know what they're talking about? These specific idiots spout off their nonsense, which new members repeat because they don't have the experience to see who's a shilling, nonsense-spewing blowhard and who actually knows their stuff. Then, they get pointed out to that they're wrong again and again, and hey presto, they get defensive about it (rightly) and start to hate any older, more experienced member automatically. Which in turn drives older members away.
Diffuse the trouble-makers. Get rid of them. Then, this community can start to revitalize itself. Rebuild trust between older members who don't have to /facepalm anymore than they have to, and newer members who won't have to consistently hear that they're wrong.
Get rid of the idiots, get rid of the massive egos, get rid of the inane, mindless threads that lower the intellectual standard in the forums, and this place will get back on track.
P.S. Sorry for the aggressive tone. I just feel strongly about this, that's all. I still do care about this place.
P.P.S. we need a "newbie silencer," i.e. a continuously updated guide/FAQ that's stickied in every forum and relevant to the question at hand. So, when someone starts to ask "what's the best $100 headphone for iPod" we can automatically point them to that thread, and then close their thread. When this is done enough, many fresh posters will see that yes, we DO want them to use the search engine, and yes, there IS already a wealth of information out there. And, we do this without having to make anyone mad. When the precedent is set, 75% of the useless posts will be avoided.
All it takes is some commitment, and a FAQ that's constantly being updated. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate or contain every last bit of info, its purpose is to point people in the right direction, after which they can start research themselves.
This way, when it's time to ask, they ask much more pointed, specific questions that relate to their situation.
And we'll hear no more of "what's the best closed headphone for gaming" repeated 10,000 times daily.
