Should reading The Lab require validated registration?

[T-Dogg]

Ya know... I stumbled upon this site, and didn't really start coming here with the best of intentions in mind... My primary goal was to put a piece of esoteric gear in my rack that I couldn't otherwise afford -- basically crossing the line that separates those in it for knowledge and those in it for personal gain and profit. So I came here looking for an easy way out, searching for parts lists, taking advantage of other's hard work... Well thats exactly what I did, and in the end I wound up with my prized piece o' gear and a slightly guilty conscience for not contributing anything back in return. Its not talked about much but I'm sure a lot of people do just that -- they get their gear fix, whatever it may be, and move on.... Obviously this is not in the spirit of what you guys are really trying to do. But to be completely honest, I'm a resourceful enough dude to have been here "taking advantage" of the group whether or not I had to register...

Now the other hand, along the way I got interested in how this stuff actually works. For the first time in a long time I got that souped-up feeling of wanting to learn something -- kinda like the first day I picked up a guitar. In the end, I think it was the "welcoming nature" of the forum and easy accessibility of information actually fed my desire to learn, and now I'm interested in DIY more for the right reasons... The "open" vibe around here draws people in, and makes a newbie like me less afraid to ask a question and actually learn something... I'd like to see it remain unchanged in that regard, so I'll vote "no"...

 

[moosapotamus]

[quote author="buttachunk"]After seeing a newbie berate and attack Kev, I think that there should be some kind of shelter from the most ignorant freeloaders.[/quote]
Nah, just grow some thicker skin. It comes in handy in other situations, too.

~ Charlie

 

[alk509]

Wow, 4 pages in a day! Two things:

About Buttachunk's comment: I agree with you 110% about that jackass insulting Kev. That shit ain't Kosher here. But I'm not sure I'm comfortable with kicking and banning people out... That sort of stuff I don't agree with.

Regarding PRR's comment about IP's a while ago: If loging in is NOT necessary to keep an IP log, then in my view there's no point in registered-only access... Having said that, I still don't see a convincing reason for keeping the forum open. Of all the arguments i've seen so far against a registered-only forum (people won't want to spend 10 seconds registering, people won't find us, it's a waste of money, etc.) none of them make sense to me.

Peace,
Al.

 

[HiString]

This is reminiscent of the thread/poll I started about sub-dividing the forums.............a lot of opinions without too much substance to back a lot of those opinions up.

Personally I don't think it is too much to ask lurkers to register as a member..........they can still sit on the sidelines and watch the action until they feel comfortable enough to jump in. In doing so, it may be possible (as it is on some other sites) for the required email address which we all supply, to be either an ISP or business based email address rather than a Hotmail or Yahoo addy.

None of this will stop the unscrupulous individuals but it may make those with less than desirable motives for being here, stop and think twice before doing something which may create problems. We, as a community are not here to pander to the sensibilities of those who wish to lurk anonymously. Surely, a legitimate registration is a small price to ask considering what is on offer here. Kev's reminder of the GroupDIY "Mission Statement" laid it out quite clearly................this community is not and should not be about monetary profit outside of the community.

Don't lock the doors or hide away the goodies inside, but by all means require anyone who wishes to come in and have access to everything to register as a member.

If people are unwilling to register, then just maybe they aren't worth having here.

 

[JPrisus]

[quote author="HiString"]This is reminiscent of the thread/poll I started about sub-dividing the forums.............a lot of opinions without too much substance to back a lot of those opinions up.

[/quote]

You're gonna find that anywhere on the internet though... people are gonna say what they like and what they don't. That's inevitable in a field with so many options and personal taste involved. However, there are plenty of people here building SSLs and Pultecs who have no clue what an original (or quality variation) sounds like. People are saying how great their homemade compresser sounds when the comparison is a Behringer, monitored through a Mackie desk and some GuitarMart sale monitors. In my opinion, that's the biggest problem around here... someone asks how a clone sounds and performs, but if you don't know what it should sound and perform like, how can you justifiably offer an opinion on it? I'm not saying these guys shouldn't be building DIY clones, go for it, have fun, knock yourself out. I'm just trying to avoid the gross misconceptions, and like anywhere else on the internet, take it all with a huge grain of salt. I inquired about the SCA preamps once and got some smartass answers when I asked how they compared to the originals. what the f*ck is that about? it's an honest and very viable question for someone debating the benefits of DIY or buying the real thing.

I really like this forum and the knowledge i've gained in the past few weeks, but sometimes it really does seem like the high school cafeteria 'star trek geek' table. And those guys were just as much @$$holes as the jocks, just in a different way. Closing yourself off from others benefits NO ONE.

 

[BYacey]

I think it is best to deal with the individual situations as they happen. A decision based upon emotion is almost always the wrong one. We have a close knit community of like-minded individuals here that all get along happily without the condecension and back biting that goes on in some of the other forums I have seen.

We have all started out knowing nothing and gradually accumulated knowledge and expertise through mentoring from others. Nobody should feel like an outsider because they have nothing to contribute; eventually they will. A wise man will keep his mouth shut and his ears open until he has something worthwhile to say.

Mandatory registration will not eliminate the little flare-ups that will happen from time to time. Hopefully these sh*t disturbers will eventually just go away.
Bill

 

[lanxe]

I have quickly skimmed the responses (so hopefully i am not being redundant)......................

if this community is worried about people profiting off of their designs (like SMGaudio tried), i think we have little to worry about.

you all know how time consuming it is to build one of these projects (even the simple ones)..........it is too much work to make a realistic profit (even if they make larger quantities). it also will get monotonous soldering the same pcb's over and over and over again.

i say if anybody wants to spend hours and hours on building a clone for a small profit, let them waste their time and money. we have all seen that the people that have tried this learn quickly that, even on ebay, they cant sell their clones for the price of what you can pay for a real one.

just my thoughts. the forum has taught me more than any text book because it tells of peoples real experiences.........lets keep it open for others to learn.

 

[SteveG]

It's funny that self - confessed plagiarists are worried about being plagiarised!

Besides, I've been a registered member for a few months now, and whilst I would agree that there are very knowledgeable and helpful people who post here, I don't think I've seen any trade secrets.

Anyone really capable of putting out a proper commercial product (technically competent, CE/UL compliant, profitable, etc) wouldn't need to hang around here waiting for 'table scraps' anyway.

Personally, I only bother to sign up to sites that I like and wish to contribute to. I wouldn't waste my time signing up for a site I'd never seen!

 

[HiString]

The problem was that the guy that caused this "issue" had blatantly used not only what I believe is a design legitimately "owned" by Gyraf, but had also used images of the Gyraf unit in his eBay advertising.

As has already been said, one of the original philosophies that this particular DIY community was built on is that any "designs" posted within this community are not to be used for commercial gain.........sure, we have a number of members here who have gone to the trouble of making parts, pcb's and limited run kits available within the community and I don't think anyone begrudges them the right to make something on the deal, BUT these items are only for members here, not for sale outside the community.

Obviously it would be near impossible to stop a repeat of the recent situation but registration including a legitimate ISP based email should at least make it easier in the future, to "deal" with any member that attempted to abuse the "hospitality" of this community.

In regard to this recent incident, we, the community, were lucky.........next time it may be different.

 

[JPrisus]

how exactly were we the community lucky? More like any potential bidder/buyer was lucky that he didn't end up getting scammed for no product or a half-assed product. It didn't affect me at all personally. It cracks me up that everyone is so worried about this, like someone stole their idea for a high school science fair project.

 

[HiString]

:roll: :roll: