Ranking and Filing Noobs

[talasiga]

Ranking posters, if it were feasible, only solves one of the problems. ........

Notice how little we know about the Original poster. Well all the advice is to some degree valid but who's will produce the most desirable outcome? And who decides what that outcome should be, the giver or the recipient of that advice? In many instances, the recipient is not qualified (hence n00b) to fully appreciate the wisdom of what was dispensed. There are so many unknowns and that's why we get everything under the sun.

........

And thus the question of ranking of "noobs" or "newbies" arises, not only in terms of ranking but also bona fides .....

I mean, lets say O'Carolan were to appear in the Flute Forum and claim to be a newbie to flute which he would be seeing as the current state of Irish fluting was hardly around when he composed.

We really need to know what type of newbie we're talking too, don't we?

You know, like, I have often been tempted to claim myself as a newbie, having only played whistle since about 1960 and flute (dizi and bansuri since 1971 and Irish flute since 1993). I have performed on stage, been recorded, done a soundtrack for an animated video, played for live dance theatre, busked and the rest BUT I still consider myself a newbie in many respects.

So please don't expect me to come here on hands and knees asking the sort of questions that some other type of newbies (including the Risen O'Carolan) might ask. And don't expect my newbiness to put up with inadequate or condescending or presumptious advices from "experts" when I know I can do better advisings, in some instances. "Better" is not about an absolute value but a contextual one.

The "expert" needs to be aware of the "newbie" as well as vice versa.

To use a Dilbert structure in my next utterance, if I may:
We are all newbie most of the time but occasionally have our moments of expertise

Given all that, what do you think of the, in principle, idea of a ranking systen for newbies?

I commend the poll.

[Jack]

I vote no.

I'm not sure if I'm a "personal friend" of a moderator. They're all my friends, but I don't know how you define a "personal friend."

Regardless, I have long been an advocate of abolishing any ranking systems (including post count). Ergo, I vote no.

[mutepointe]

we can take some risks. it's not like anyone's life is dependent upon learning how to play the whistle/flute/or any other without taking at least one wrong turn. or at least what seemed to be a wrong turn at the time.

let's run with scissors and put the butter knife in the toaster.

and if we did rank them, would there be color coding? that could turn bad.

[Jack]

The old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" begs the question: is it broke? I think most reasonable people would agree that the answer is no.

[pipersgrip]

i think that the rank noob would make someone feel low.

[Denny]

The old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" begs the question: is it broke? I think most reasonable people would agree that the answer is no.

so ya got Walden...

who else?

[cowtime]

let's run with scissors and put the butter knife in the toaster.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!

[anniemcu]

If it is based on anything other than posting totals, you're in for a slippery slope, and if posting totals are any indication, some of us know a whole lot more than we think... and I think it's a bad idea.

Now, i do think that there could be an official 'expert' designation that is earned, but that would mean the powers that be would have to come up with a set of qualifications that we may not all agree with, so once again, the slipper slope...

[Nanohedron]

I'm a fan of suchness over distinction, myself.

Should I vote?

[talasiga]

yes Nano, vote for the third option. I am pretty sure you could think of yourself as a personal friend of at least one of the moderators.

This should not be construed as ordering you how to vote. I would never ever consider ordering Wisely or anyone else how to vote.

[Nanohedron]

I am pretty sure you could think of yourself as a personal friend of at least one of the moderators.

But it is well said that one cannot be a friend to others before being a friend to oneself, in case you're unfamiliar with self-loathing.

And anyway, to vote signifying that I'm a mod states, well, nothing, actually, in light of the poll. Unless that was your point after all.

[talasiga]

I had to wake up at 5 this morning for to drive my better half to a meeting in a little city 2.5 hours from home, to arrive in said city in traffic jams following a weekend of "unprecedented" cyclonic weather and massive floods (and to recover her car, the victim of massive puddles).

see
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/20 ... 949038.htm
and
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... e+flood%22
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS7gXBl4ZWI

I am posting a lot today because I am not well. This is my way of cheering myself up when I am not well enough to practise music. I do not take pain killers.

On the question of newbies, has anyone ever made a little baby laugh?
Isn't it nice, the appreciation of a newbie?

[Innocent Bystander]

The oldsters are a lot more rank than the newbies. Don't worry, the newbies will develop their own odour in time. And with a certain amount of abrasion they'll be nicely filed very quickly.

[jbarter]

How would you do it? It would have to be on a forum by forum basis. For example, I am not a whistle newbie (I'm cr*p but no noob) but on mandolin I'm an absolute beginner and if I asked questions in the flute or piping forums I wouldn't even rank that high.

It would be much more useful to have some form of grading at the other end of the scale. Something along the lines of:
This person knows a lot.
This person doesn't know a lot but thinks they do.
This person knows nothing but pontificates anyway.

Can't see either system being workable in the real world. (Does C&F count as "the real world"?)

[Martin Milner]

How would you do it? It would have to be on a forum by forum basis. For example, I am not a whistle newbie (I'm cr*p but no noob) but on mandolin I'm an absolute beginner and if I asked questions in the flute or piping forums I wouldn't even rank that high.

It would be much more useful to have some form of grading at the other end of the scale. Something along the lines of:
This person knows a lot.
This person doesn't know a lot but thinks they do.
This person knows nothing but pontificates anyway.

Can't see either system being workable in the real world. (Does C&F count as "the real world"?)

You need to add:

This person knows a lot but usually only gives out crumbs of cryptic information