defiantsystems wrote:The difference between being a help desk worker and a member of CM.O is that you were paid to provide people information. No one here is being paid to guide newcomers along the path of making chip music. Just because you ask a question here doesn't mean you're entitled to a response or a response you will like. Typically people come on here with a sense of entitlement because they did one Google search but didn't bother to research anything after that. So they register an account, make a thread, and waste everyone's time asking the same questions like "where do I buy a Gameboy?" or "what mixer should I buy?" There's a wealth of knowledge here, show that you're actually committed to creating your art form by putting the time into researching. Even if I know the question has been asked before but the person opens with "I can't find anywhere" I at least know they tried to find it before posting and will be glad to redirect them to the correct thread.
If I'm not getting paid to answer questions, but I want to answer them, I'll choose to go at the problem in the way that costs me the less energy.
And to me, that is just answering nicely.
To be honest, I don't see how newbies could "waste everyone's time" by asking the same questions everyone's asked. People choose to answer them. And to be honest, it takes more time and effort to be harsh than to be blunt.
It is not my business if they're devoted to their art or not. And neither should it be our business!
defiantsystems wrote:That "spray paint in your dad's garage" comment was less about custom DMGs and more about the typical noob modus operandi: find out about chip music, get the "me too" attitude, register on CM.O, do zero research, create a Facebook fan page, buy a Gameboy, paint it, buy LSDJ, quit two weeks later. I've been creating chip music for almost 4 years and have seen people come and go and litter forums with the same questions on their way out. It's very rare that I even post here because I have to sift through a bunch of noob threads before I even find something interesting, typically new releases, new trackers, new hardware developments and yes I look at the custom gear threads.
CM.O isn't the only chip community on the internet either. There are other chip forums you could go to where everyone will pat each other on the back for figuring out how to track mediocrity and you can discuss what Pokemon you caught that day.
You really like your Pokémon example, don't you? Just saying.
So the newbie goes in on the bandwagon and starts asking frequently asked questions and wasting cash on stuff they'll never use. Oh believe me, we've all done that at least once in our lives. It's nothing new at all.
Why not let them be? You're not forced to answer to them, you're not forced to read their topics. They're rather easy to spot, too; one can skip them if one wants. And if you're right and they're just in for the ride and they'll get tired of it, that's what's gonna end up happening whether you spend time with them or not. Who knows, maybe some will stay for a while longer than expected?