Newbies should take note

bsshog40

I think new people coming to this forum should take at least one day to look thru threads and take note of those that offer information and knowledge to others that are posting. There are a lot of knowledgeable members here that are willing to help. It's sad when a new person comes here and slowly starts falling down the rabbit hole. Arguing against advice and slamming respected members for their comments. Eventually they see less and less members responding to their posts and wonder why. Sad!!!

[Deleted User]

I hope I am not considered to be one of them. I try to be respectful and understanding. I know that 95% of what is posted in response to my threads is to help me.
Sometimes the harsh reality of things can be difficult to accept or understand. I want to enjoy this hobby and make some new friends along the way. If someone makes a wise crack I am able to ignore it or see the humor in it. I have been told and have also learned that forums can seem cold. Little emotion can be understood with written words but if I take the time to soak it in. I have come to an understanding that people are trying to help and educate people just coming into this hobby. I certainly would not want to be left alone to navigate these somewhat murky waters only to fall prey of more of what I already have. The insight I have learned from this group has been tremendous. I think this is a great group of people!
Don't fight it, join in and participate.

PeakRarities

@Watchtower said:
I hope I am not considered to be one of them. I try to be respectful and understanding. I know that 95% of what is posted in response to my threads is to help me.
Sometimes the harsh reality of things can be difficult to accept or understand. I want to enjoy this hobby and make some new friends along the way. If someone makes a wise crack I am able to ignore it or see the humor in it. I have been told and have also learned that forums can seem cold. Little emotion can be understood with written words but if I take the time to soak it in. I have come to an understanding that people are trying to help and educate people just coming into this hobby. I certainly would not want to be left alone to navigate these somewhat murky waters only to fall prey of more of what I already have. The insight I have learned from this group has been tremendous. I think this is a great group of people!
Don't fight it, join in and participate.

@Watchtower, Op is not talking about you, I promise 😂. There are a few active threads right from another newbie that acted like a child and started lashing out at the forum in his first threads. You have been respectful and well mannered in all of your threads. Click on the thread titled “this might be the score of a lifetime” or “mods please delete” and you’ll see why Boss Hog posted this.

MFeld

@Watchtower said:
I hope I am not considered to be one of them. I try to be respectful and understanding. I know that 95% of what is posted in response to my threads is to help me.
Sometimes the harsh reality of things can be difficult to accept or understand. I want to enjoy this hobby and make some new friends along the way. If someone makes a wise crack I am able to ignore it or see the humor in it. I have been told and have also learned that forums can seem cold. Little emotion can be understood with written words but if I take the time to soak it in. I have come to an understanding that people are trying to help and educate people just coming into this hobby. I certainly would not want to be left alone to navigate these somewhat murky waters only to fall prey of more of what I already have. The insight I have learned from this group has been tremendous. I think this is a great group of people!
Don't fight it, join in and participate.

From what I’ve seen, you’ve received a good amount of criticism over some of your coins and purchasing decisions, some of it from me. Yet you’ve been non-defensive and polite and listened and learned. Not everyone is willing or able to do that.

I hope you will continue to benefit from the forum and enjoy your collecting.

jesbroken

In my opinion, Bobby, the ones needing your advice, have no intention of taking it, as they are merely wanting to either show off some item they feel will impress the heck out of us, regardless of knowledgeable advice to the contrary OR(big or) they are simply trying to fire up those they know will go berserk over their parking lot finds or invisible errors.
Your advice is great and I hope some read it and utilize it's wisdom.
Jim

Namvet69

@bsshog40 My thoughts exactly. My first visit to CU was to read various thread topics because I wasn't looking for a specific answer but rather to empower me to be a more competent coin collector and student of history. I continue to reap the benefits of digesting this knowledge. And have some fun along the way. Peace Roy

bsshog40

I started this thread with no intentions of pointing a finger at all newbies. Merely a suggestion for those wanting to learn. There have already been plenty that have fallen too far and have disappeared. This thread is meant for those that can still pull themselves out and have respect for members and maybe regain respect from members again. And @Watchtower ,you are correct. People just need to take some of the comments and remarks without judgement. Knowledge comes in all forms of opinions. Some nicer and some harsher, but in the end it's all informative.

BryceM

Some of the conflict comes from the predictable nature of new collectors to make certain mistakes.

Most of us have made them. Most of us wouldn't have listened to advice from unknown individuals in our early days either.

Hope springs eternal and those who have acquired a little bit of knowledge are dangerous, as in many areas of life.

We tell them and we tell them...... do they listen? Occasionally, but it takes a certain level of maturity to accept that fact that you might be wrong.

OAKSTAR

Probably not practical but sometimes I feel there needs to be 3 categories within this forum; Novice, Mid Level and Expert.

Again, not practical here but In a previous life, I had to take an on-line class and pass a test to gain access.

bsshog40

@OAKSTAR said:
Probably not practical but sometimes I feel there needs to be 3 categories within this forum; Novice, Mid Level and Expert.

Again, not practical here but In a previous life, I had to take an on-line class and pass a test to gain access.

Ya, but then I'd be missing out on all the Mid Level and Expert info until I graduated. Lol

OAKSTAR

🤣 😂 LoL!! Very true @bsshog40! You and me both!! LoL!!

1630Boston

@bsshog40 said:
I think new people coming to this forum should take at least one day to look thru threads and take note of those that offer information and knowledge

,
,
I took years, lurking, to figure the site out and learned SO much [keeping my mouth shut]
see below,
,
,

gumby1234

Its the newbies with attitudes. Like the ones that argue with everyone here and says they are wrong and that their parking lot coin is a rare and valuable error. Those are the ones we can do without and they usually disappear as fast as they appeared.

oih82w8

The "search" feature works pretty good to see if any key words or phrases have been used in previous threads.

spyglassdesign

@Watchtower definitely not you bud. You seem eager to learn and are willing to recognize when you hit your head and try to learn. This is about the newbies trying to impress the pros here with their first or second posts. Many aren't here to learn but to show off. And that doesn't usually go well because they get defensive when they are given opinions here counter to their beliefs.

BryceM

@gumby1234 said:
Its the newbies with attitudes. Like the ones that argue with everyone here and says they are wrong and that their parking lot coin is a rare and valuable error. Those are the ones we can do without and they usually disappear as fast as they appeared.

I bet 50% of these or more are alts from a handful of trolls. 'tis the nature of Internet forums.

AlanSki

I’m in the opinion that the internet is full of varying opinions that may differ from my opinion. There are much more things to worry about than the opinions I don’t like. That is my opinion on opinions.

jmlanzaf

@bsshog40 said:

@OAKSTAR said:
Probably not practical but sometimes I feel there needs to be 3 categories within this forum; Novice, Mid Level and Expert.

Again, not practical here but In a previous life, I had to take an on-line class and pass a test to gain access.

Ya, but then I'd be missing out on all the Mid Level and Expert info until I graduated. Lol

And who would administer the test?

jmlanzaf

@AlanSki said:
I’m in the opinion that the internet is full of varying opinions that may differ from my opinion. There are much more things to worry about than the opinions I don’t like. That is my opinion on opinions.

You're wrong. 😉

ricko

Numismatics is a huge field, and most entering the hobby have no idea of the minting process or the various aspects of valuing a coin or identifying varieties. Forums - a form of social media - allow communication between individuals, however, it is two dimensional. It totally lacks the qualities of interpersonal communication of expression, tone and identification of parties involved. Some realize this, and involve themselves to expand knowledge in their sphere of interest. Others, assuming possession and transitory acquaintance with a topic qualifies them to expound freely, ignore or challenge inputs through their innate ignorance. This is not exclusive to numismatics - but is glaringly obvious here from time to time. Tolerance is key, as difficult as it may be in some instances. Have fun... Cheers, RickO

Catbert

I think writing grandiose thread titles like “deal of a lifetime” guarantee a bad start on a forum with experienced collectors and dealers. Having a little humility is a good thing whether one is a newb or a seasoned forum participant.

NeophyteNumismatist

Thanks for this. This is really great advice. I am new(ish), and I can remember an interaction I had on Half Cent dies states that I am less than proud of. I was passionate about trying to get a all (or most) of the 1804 C-6 Die States, and was essentially told that it would be greedy of me to do this. I was offended, because I thought this was such a great idea, and I reacted. I almost immediately took my post down, because I knew I over-reacted.

Turns out, the person on the other end was @BillJones - a guy that I don't know personally, but have a deep respect for his knowledge and kindness he exhibits toward the collecting community. And... more than not knowing who I was talking to, he was right... once I stepped back and cooled, I was able to understand that for myself. I enjoy Bill's posts and advice, and the level of insight he brings is R.7 on these boards.

@Billjones may not even remember this interaction, but I have never forgotten it, and still regret it. I would like to officially apologize to Bill for that.

The point in telling this story is to acknowledge that we can all get passionate.... but, if we all work to stay objective and cool-headed we can learn a lot from each other. In that respect, I hope that the shadow I cast is more encouraging and curious than that of an easily-offended and mouthy newbie.

I am my own work in progress.

keyman64

I lurked for 6mos - a year before I ever posted/joined.

spyglassdesign

@jmlanzaf said:

@bsshog40 said:

@OAKSTAR said:
Probably not practical but sometimes I feel there needs to be 3 categories within this forum; Novice, Mid Level and Expert.

Again, not practical here but In a previous life, I had to take an on-line class and pass a test to gain access.

Ya, but then I'd be missing out on all the Mid Level and Expert info until I graduated. Lol

And who would administer the test?

@MFeld 😅👀

Fraz

@jmlanzaf said:

And who would administer the test?

No matter, we’ll find you a good tutor before you have to take it.

bsshog40

Another thing to consider is age. I didn't get back into serious collecting until around 2005, I was 46 yrs old then. I was able to accept harsh advice much better at that age than what I probably was able to in my 20's. I have kids in their 20's and 30's now and it's a bit of a challenge to give advice to them and hope they listen. You never know who you are corresponding with on an internet forum nor their experience. It's sad to say but some of the younger generation think us old timers are out of sync with the modern world. What we learn by experience is hard to compete with what google spits out. All we can do is try!

Aotearoa

It's easy for the experienced to suggest what the inexperienced should do. I agree with @ricko that we the experienced could be more tolerant. I can't control what someone else does but I'm in full control of what I do.