It occurs to me that what we are seeing lately on this forum is an increase in entrpy, which is a natural occurrence that affects most any system. Here's the definition of Entropy: A measure of the disorder or randomness in a system. The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy of a closed system always increases over time.
Many of us have been concerned lately about preventing the disentigration/degeneration (entropy) of this forum due to rude and inapropriate posts. Here's my thoughts about that from the perspective of someone tempted to post back to a rude post (like the one that started this thread):
Most of the time I feel like the best way to deal with flamers/rudeness is to ignore them. However, it depends on the nature of the post and on my ability/willingness to respond. If I can detect a bit of legitimacy to the post and I have the time, I might respond. It is slow today at work, and I feel like a response might be helpful to the remaining members, hence my 2 cents worth.
bnwitt wrote:
The reason for that is that the members of this forum that have all of the information on the amp, have built several of them, know them inside and out and are even selling parts to build them keep promising to send me photos and other info to aid the layout project but in fact never do.
Sounds like the main beef this poster has is a misunderstanding about a business deal with one or two forum members and not everyone here. The correct way to deal with that would be to communicate privately with the parties involved rather than publicly.
bnwitt wrote:
There is a protective attitude that permeates this forum’s long term members that I find very disappointing.
My experience is very positive regarding sharing on this forum. I have found that many members are willing to share not only what they know about the original Dumble schematics, but at times even their own proprietary ideas. But, I can see how someone might come to a different conclusion. I too have felt like some people were holding back. The difference is, I am not jumping to conclusions about why. There are some perfectly legitimate reasons why someone might keep certain design elements to themselves. If you came up with a circuit that is your idea and want to keep it to yourself, how can anyone argue with that? If someone shared something with you in confidence then you can't be expected to give that up to someone else. Sometimes there is some gray area. I have personally seen situations where I got a tip in confidence, but then later saw it posted on the forum. Just becuase person A knows more about a subject than person B does not mean person A is required to tell all. Frankly I think it is a small price to pay to have to read all the post trying to piece the facts together. It really gives you ideas you would never have had by someone just giving it all up anytime you asked for it. If I gave my kid everything he asked for, he would be a spoiled brat (well, more spoiled...)
bnwitt wrote:
It seems that these folks somehow think they can get rich by protecting what they know about a ripped off design that was ripped off from others to begin with.
Again, it is not fair to jump all over someone because they may be selling a few pieces here and there of something they assume someone else came up with. You have to know the whole story. A lot of these folks have spent years figuring this stuff out and I doubt that the amount they are selling is in any way paying them back for the time spent. Most tube amps are using technology someone else came up with anyway, just with slight variation. That's why you have patents, so you can draw a reasonable line in the sand, but still allow for products to evolve.
bnwitt wrote:I have even seen some threads where newbies complain about a lack of centralized info on the amp and are told “read all 27 thousand threads and find out for yourself
We are all learning from what came before, but it does involve work. My experience is I have had to do some work building my amp, but was also given lots of help and given some BIG shortcuts that saved me from giving up at times. Certainly I have been given more than I gave. So, IMHO the poster should be grateful. Could the forum be more organized? Well maybe, but look at it this way: If the newbie gives up because they are not immediately given "the big secret" then they would surely give up when they actually find out how hard it really is to turn a schematic into a great sounding amp. Better that they find out early so they don't waste their time and ours.
bnwitt wrote:
For years, I have been creating layouts designed to help newbies build the same amps I have built without going through the arduous discovery process I had to go through. I do this simply because I believe in sharing and enlightening my fellow man. You will find many of my free layouts on the world wide web if you look.
I have a neighbor who is always doing unsolicited things for my kids. At first we thought it was very sweet, but we soon came to realize this person expected something in return. We understand now that this is a form of manipulation as she brings these things up when she wants something from us. Moral of the story: True giving is its own reward. This other stuff is like getting a bill in the mail for something you did not order.
bnwitt wrote:
Frankly, I find the selfish covetous attitude in here disgusting. Sir Isaac Newton once said “If I have seen further than other men it is because I have stood upon the shoulders of giants.” From what I can tell, there are too many mental midgets in this forum and not enough sharing giants.
With that, I bid you all au revoir.
Well, you have to be present to win....
The point of this post is think before you post or think before you post back to the guy who didn't think before he posted. Get it?
I'm not very experienced at building amps (five to the date) but I'm constantly trying to learn more and appreciate any help (and saying that too) I get from the great guys in here. I'm not just saying 'my amp plays hard, so help me'.. I post pictures, soundsamples, voltages etc..
All solved 
Last thing on the evenings I open the laptop on the bed and read the old (+new) posts as long as my other eye closes, then I know it is time to get some sleep 
