Sorry to hear this, but I can understand. I’m relatively new here, but your posts were always standouts.
I get what you say. I also participate in photography forums and the same thing happens there. Discord vs discourse.
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Message me if you want to rant. I feel you.
Edit: Actually, just email me. I’m out.
This place used to be cool and constructive It’s changed for the worse, and I just don’t want to be here anymore. Cya.
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Well said! (20 chars)
Easy come easy go
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22 years ago: Usenet Ban a Slippery Slope? | WIRED. Having been collateral damage in that particular incident, I’ve not seen any passionate fan forum that does not spiral down into the vitriol that @Torq and @ProfFalkin got too tired of.
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Well. Forums contain a mix of the population. And having met a large mix of the population, it can only turn to shit.
Take the latest little stint in the LCD5 thread. Someone goes “EQ is a must, it brings out more detail”.
The informed and rational response was given by Torq. The “that isn’t correct at all”.
And the reply was “you’re wrong”.
In this instance, this person couldn’t even think beyond their own personal experience to fathom they are wrong, and chose to instead knee jerk respond negatively. And that sums up people.
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The message above troubles me more than anything else I’ve seen in the last couple days of minor tempests in teapots. It also troubles me that at least 5 people “hearted” this message.
I say this because of the history of the COMMERCIAL forum as generously hosted by @andrew and @taronlissimore to support their BUSINESS Headphones.com. We are not at simple hobby forum. We are here per the generosity and mercy of a BUSINESS. This forum was super super small for the first year, and its former character probably followed from about 5 people, especially the supremely welcoming @prfallon69 and also @Torq’s rigorous focus on content and discipline.
It grew and attracted a different audience in direct relation to the BUSINESS GROWTH EFFORTS of its owners. This included at minimum bringing in @Resolve and starting “TheHeadphoneShow” on Youtube. New membership spurts followed from Youtube episode releases, as intended to drive business to Headphones.com and this forum. You, @ProfFalkin, can thereby also thank yourself for attracting the recent crowd through participation in at least one episode (e.g., Tube Amp Roundup).
The early days of this forum were highly reactionary against the dogmatism and immaturity of some other headphone sites…such as one where measurements are the only thing that matters and another where the mission statement openly says the hosts can and will act like children.
Growth of a business brings in a random cut of the buying population, and thereby shifts any culture toward the average. One can either let it slip away, or work to preserve what can be preserved in an imperfect world and a BUSINESS environment.
Given my cynicism regarding human nature, I don’t think you’ll find a better FREE FORUM than what @andrew and @taronlissimore have laid out and tried to accomplish.
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Sorry to hear that Torq but I know what you mean. Not so much here (at least on the threads I participate in) but at some other websites there are too many experts who think they are “the way”. They refuse to accept the fact that everyone else is not like them and their doggedly opinionated, repetitious, proclamations of what is good and what is not, get tiresome. And anyone who doesn’t agree with them is wrong. Possibly they do it to convince themselves that they are right, or maybe to garner attention, or maybe they are just plain mean spirited and have to whine and attack others because of their own personal shortcomings. This hobby and its various forums should not be about defending ones position on what they hear and what is best. It takes the fun out of what should be a fun pastime.
“Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt”
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@Torq Fair winds and following seas. Thank you for all you’ve done. I’m said to hear about this, but I can’t say I’m surprised. I saw a lot of this same over-identification with equipment and grandstanding in the camera hobbies sphere, e.g., Sony vs Nikon, MFT vs FF, etc. I wish I had a way to address it, but humility is a strange thing - those who need it the most don’t value it, and those who value it don’t need any more.
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I agree. This forum is by far the best online forum for headphone audiophiles, especially as it has a better vibe and tone among the people here.
I like it a lot and it is my go-to place for insights. I also use time on other specific audiophile forum, but mainly because I am also very into IEMs. Unfortunately that forum allows a well-known YT reviewer to act like a bully and accept his strong verbal attacks on people he disagree with or people he dislikes.
But not here, so this is the best forum to support and follow.
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I remember 3 years ago when some times there was no post for a whole day! Torq was happy with Elegias as a closed back and Tyler loved his HD700.
Now we welcome new members every day and have a new post in less than an hour. Diversity increase and bring more of the good and the bad and that is part of becoming bigger and popular.
I respect individual decisions, but lets also try to save this forum.
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I’m not sure what your point is here. You use a lot of bolded words so I feel you are trying to make a significant point hit home, but it seems confused at best. What does the commercial nature of the forum and it’s history have to do with The Professor not liking where he feels it has gone?
Normally I’d suggest we move this to an off topic thred, but
- its not clear anyone other than Torq cever did that kind of organization.
- hes not here to protest the use of his thread to talk about the issues that led to his and the professors decision
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I think some of the “hearting” of ProfFalkin & Torq’s goodbye posts was not happy they were leaving but supporting their overall comments and them expressing how they’re feeling. That was why I liked the comments anyway. I doubt I would have bought the Pendant SE had it not been for Torq’s review, which I must have read 5 times and have bookmarked. Both will be very missed!
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All the best going forward Torq. You are a true Gentleman. I wish you and your family health a d happiness.
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Sorry to hear that ProfFalkin. Take care. Best wishes.
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Here, here. Well said @SenyorC. It’s a sad day that we lose members of such standing in the community. I for one will greatly miss them.
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@Torq - Very sad to hear that from the voice of reason of this forum that everyone here looks to, who is very informed and technically knowledgeable, has heard and spent time with the best of everything, and is still nonjudgmental, never says there’s only one answer or one valid opinion, and appreciates gear independent of cost or prevailing or preconceived perceptions. I’ve learned a lot from reading your posts and from your demeanor.
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I subscribe to every word you wrote tjg, Torq´s knowledge is an extremely valuable asset for those of us trying to learn or perhaps looking to purchase audio gear, his willingness to share it with others, penmanship and forum etiquette are an example to follow. His posts (and ProfFalkin´s too) were something I always looked forward to reading, they made this forum a great place to be at and I disagree with Torq in that I believe he does makes things much better by being part of them. I wish the best to both of them and hope we are able to enjoy their contributions again at some point, until then, thank you very much and I hope you remain healthy and happy.
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Sorry to see you go, @Torq! Maybe I didn’t always agree with your opinions but I always respected them. Your depth of knowledge, however, is not debatable. And so the fact that you often have a different perspective is the very reason why I enjoyed reading your posts.
As a relative newcomer, I have grown frustrated with how difficult it is to explore this hobby in an open-minded yet meaningful way. The signal-to-noise ratio in the other forums I’ve seen is too low. Maybe it’s just a limitation of this communication method. I know I find it frustrating enough to convey proper meaning and intent in my own posts that I’ve started to not bother.
Anyway you were definitely a big part of the signal here, so I’m bummed. Perhaps you can start a blog instead? This topic is already a good start.