offering building advice when you personally have none?

[Rodent]

a recent thread makes me wonder something:

why does a person with no assembly/modding/woodworking/electrical/engineering/finishing/building experience offer advice on how to do things when they have no personal experience to credibly answer the question posed? to be clear, I'm NOT talking about offering an opinion on how something looks/sounds/plays/etc ... I am specifically referring to people offering advice/critique/etc ... on how to do things when they have never done anything themselves.

doesn't this defeat the whole purpose of asking questions here?


I completely enjoy the postings from both experienced pros and first time hackers who discuss and/or show how they've done something - many times I am forced to rethink something I've done a certain way by a post from someone who simply did what seemed most logical to them with the tools and skills they had at hand. I also enjoy the posts from those who are seeking advice for a fist assemble/mod/build - it brings back memories of when I first was deciding to take the plunge. For all those who are building/modding/assembling for the first time - keep up the posting!!

but to those who have never assembled/modded/built anything even remotely related to a question posed ... why do you offer advice on how to do it? why do you say a principle or method is unsound?

I'll admit I'm a little frustrated and confused on this, and that it's not just here that I see this.

I am concerned that many without experience might actually consider these uninformed ramblings as fact and attempt to follow what was suggested, unaware that the advice offered is just something that somebody made up or read somewhere on the internet. when something does go wrong, are these same "advisors" willing to follow thru and compensate the unsuspecting they've lead astray?

all the best,

R

[Al Heeley]

Thats the drawback with the www and all this info-sharing. Best thing I can suggest is to only take advice from people who you know or have seen their own builds documented, and like what they have done themselves. If you read advice from someone who has no build threads and little post counts then you accept the information at face value & your own risk. And what works for one person does not work for all. And there's more than one way to skin a cat, eh?

[T-Bird]

Hi.

As usernames, no matter how descriptive those might be, none of us really exist here in the web. Anyone can become an "expert" in a matter of minutes if their searching skills are top notch. That same applies to every field, not just building things.

That's the main reason I personally won't give any more on-line instructions about amp repair for example, as I almost had a ****-fit once when I found out that the person asking the questions didn't know a squat and was most likely to electrocute himself. And I'm not kidding either.

As for the build threads or actually the lack of it, some of us started building instruments before the digital cameras became affordable and popular and for some reason it just didn't seem important enough to take analog (I just love that ) photos of the builds. It would seem silly to me to explain verbaly a bass or a guitar that I made 20 years ago and sold 10 or 15 years ago.

Have to do some digging when I have time, there should be a few photos somewhere .

Regards
Sam

[SERPENT865]

I agree with most of that but sometimes I have given advise on something that at the time I was reading/studding up on before I actually did it......... . Does this mean that I should not take the advise of a "REAL" builder and pass it on to someone else just because I didnt do the actual work.?

[Rodent]

Originally Posted by SERPENT865

I agree with most of that but sometimes I have given advise on something that at the time I was reading/studding up on before I actually did it......... . Does this mean that I should not take the advise of a "REAL" builder and pass it on to someone else just because I didnt do the actual work.?

S -

if you're passing along this kind of information, it's best to qualify it by first saying that this is what you have read, or that this is what you are studying, and be clear that is not something you are suggesting based on personal first-hand experience

if done this way, all can be significantly clearer on what's being presented

edited to add: the key is that critical details can (accidentally) be omitted from the reference sources you're studying/referencing ... key missing details that can lead to a less than successful attempt at doing whatever is being referenced. first-hand experience reveals many of these details, and they can then be communicated within the content of the discussion at hand

all the best,

R

[Phil Mailloux]

Edit:

I don't feel like starting a bash war at this moment or do a public lynching either. I'll go chill with a beer now (at 7:30am)

[wilser]

Of course you shouldn't pass anything as FACT if you don't have personal experience with it, just because someone with experience told you so. In this case you must always say "I heard from So&So that Blah is Blah".

Of course, you can see that most of the people who pass rumors, popular beliefs or plain assumptions as fact here in the LC do not have any of their profile information filled in.

Indeed it is very, VERY frustrating.

[PilbaraBass]

3 things to remember...

1. always test before you try
2. always wait for the real experienced folk to chime in on a subject.
3. when responding to unqualified advice, always begin the post with ...."what the hell do you know?"...

[allenhumble]

I have not completed a build but I am in the process of doing so. If some asks a questions that is not as far along in the process as I am I do have the experience to answer the question. My advice might not be as good as some of yours, in fact most of the advice that I give is to look at the how to section and refer some of the suggestions that have worked for me.

[Son of Magni]

It is my understanding that people of the male persuasion have an unstoppable desire to provide advice and opinions on any subject. Regardless of whether they have any knowledge or experience. So any and all advice received should be tested against our personal experience and hopefully crosschecked with other sources. Or more simply, don't believe everything you read...

[Rodent]

Originally Posted by allenhumble

I have not completed a build but I am in the process of doing so. If some asks a questions that is not as far along in the process as I am I do have the experience to answer the question. My advice might not be as good as some of yours, in fact most of the advice that I give is to look at the how to section and refer some of the suggestions that have worked for me.

A -

offering wisdom from experience on what you've personally done is perfect! so what if you're only part way completed with your build ... offer up your experiences on what you've done to date. you may have insights that even Vinny at Fodera could learn from


but when offering advice on what you haven't yet done ... preface it with something to the extent of "I've read that this is the way to do that" or "my research on this topic has lead me to this workflow that I am about to perform"


invisible glue joints to you,

R

[wilser]

when in doubt, always trust the mid-hump®

[wilser]

Originally Posted by Rodent

Vinny at Fodera...
R

who at where?

[Al Heeley]

I reckon most of the time if anyone posts bogus advice which clearly shows they do not know what they are on about, other posters on here soon shoot them out the water anyway. After a few confirmatory replies, you can soon get the general consensus of opinion about whether advice and info is genuine or helpful, or not. It's part of the natural self-regulation of these types of forum.

[PilbaraBass]

Originally Posted by Al Heeley

I reckon most of the time if anyone posts bogus advice which clearly shows they do not know what they are on about, other posters on here soon shoot them out the water anyway. After a few confirmatory replies, you can soon get the general consensus of opinion about whether advice and info is genuine or helpful, or not. It's part of the natural self-regulation of these types of forum.

precisely! this is a forum, an open venue for discussion, it's not an online "how to" book...different folks of different experience levels all have something to contribute...heck, even the "poser" has something to contribute in that they will often bring up pieces of "myth" and "folklore" and lay it out there to be either supported or debunked

[allenhumble]

Originally Posted by Rodent

invisible glue joints to you,

R

?

[DSB1]

This is one of the drawbacks of the internet and should be considered when getting advice from it.

Believe me, there are a lot of experienced folks out there who love to teach those who are willing to learn. Look around, there are some close to you (I mean in real life, get off the internet you nerds ).

[Rodent]

Originally Posted by allenhumble

?

like saying all the best, but in a nerdy kinda luthier way (may all your glue joints be invisible)

atb,

R

[allenhumble]

[quote=Rodent;5590625]like saying all the best, but in a nerdy kinda luthier way (may all your glue joints be invisible)

atb,

R[/QUOTE
Cool I didnt know if you saw some thing on my bass that I didnt.

[Jazzdogg]

While there are some very knowledgeable and experienced posters here, one of the things I seem to notice most is an abundance of misinformation on two topics: finishing and wood technology; despite the fact that some of the "advice" and "wisdom" I've read here is just plain wrong, much of it is uttered (and defended) as though it were gospel.