One place to post

[Racers]

Yes lets have a beginners section then we can all point and laugh at them :wink:

Seriously, I can't see the point, it works fine at the moment, people ask questions and they get answers.


Pete

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I don't laugh at beginners - everyone starts somewhere. I laugh at people who profess to know what they're doing, and obviously don't...

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Not that there are many here.

 

[bugbear]

As long as beginners don't feel like they need to become an expert themselves before daring to post,

Reading people's early posts, there often does seem a degree of trepidation before posting that a 'softer' section might overcome.

That's probably because they've read some existing threads and seen the venom that some questions
that might well concern a beginner can engender,

BugBear

 

[AES]

QUOTE:
Where did you go to get all your useful free advice? Not a beginner area because we don't have one, but from the other areas where all the experts lurk, so it seems to be working well as things stand.

As long as beginners don't feel like they need to become an expert themselves before daring to post, they'll reach a wider audience in the other areas. I've not been here long but UKWorkshop seems to be a very friendly place to be, not like some of the 'stuffy' forums I've come across over the years .... People new to working with wood can happily post here alongside established experts - do you really want to herd them into a special section where they can be handled differently?

Chris
UNQUOTE:

IMHO, Chris has got it 110% right in the above post. I know we're "all" (i.e. most of us) resistant to change, but as I have experienced, the site works VERY well just as it is.

For those proponents of a beginners section, ask yourselves where would you post a query on, say, turning, if you have just bought a lathe and have no prior experience or knowledge? In the Turning section, or in a (new) Beginners?

And when does a "Beginner" stop being a beginner?

When I've had Q's (I'm very much a beginner in very many areas) I've just posted in the appropriate area and have always had help.

FWIW
AES

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

don't forget one thing and that's if you click on the "view new posts" link at the near top right of the page it will list every single recent post from all active forums in chronological order. That way you don't actually need to enter any individual forum. That's how I review the site all the time. Then I get an overview of what's going on across everything. I can then see where Jacob's been by the trail of debris and complaints reports

If I've not had chance to visit the site for a couple of days and I've missed the bus on new things then I'll dive into the individual forums that interest me.

 

[mind_the_goat]

+1 for no beginners section. I rarely read posts based on their section, I just trawl through the 'New Posts' link. I find it interesting to pick up tips all aspects of the craft, even ones I don't do, which is most of them. However I'm sure many people just follow their own area of interest so to creating a beginners section would mean many of these people never seeing the questions, it would mean checking through 2 distinct forum sections, one of which included many things of no interest to the experts in their own field.

I now feel a little guilty about the light hearted banter aimed at the OP, please don't be put off by this.

I've got a bouzouki.
Hope that helps.

Indeed it does, I am one who delights in all manifestations of the Terpsichorean muse!

 

[skippy75]

I would like to see a power tool section but I think the general woodworking thread works well enough for beginners questions.