Audiogon forums and other transitions given focus on dealers and vendors


14 years is a long time and I did not realize it's been that long as a member on this forum; time has certainly flown as the old saying goes.  I remember how the forums and the buy/sell part of Agon used to feel and work and noted that the collaborative nature of Agon has fallen off a bit over more recent years in favor of far too many dealer ads, dealers feuding with others, etc..., a lot more trolls and arguments, etc.....

Is it just me or do you all notice this to a greater or lesser extent? Am I getting too nostalgic?  I get the business model change and need to fun the site so it survives so as long as dealer ads are reshuffled so that they appear AFTER audiophile used gear ads I would not mind so much,...the main issue seems to be how the forums have fallen off in quality in some respects and there is a lot more 'noise' that unfortunately has caused the partial or full exodus of a lot of members that used to post and live here frequently to other forums' sites.

I wonder if there is a way to start improving this all and getting it back to more of the forum, content and environment that it used to be.  
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xzephyr24069

Showing 2 responses by cleeds

saudio
People with no experience are stating their opinions as facts. They have not even owned or heard the equipment they are talking about.
Yes, that is an issue. It’s really up to the reader to sort out who are informed posters, and who isn’t.
Trolls are abundant.
I often flag ’em for the moderators. If that doesn’t work, sometimes I email the moderators directly. They will address trolls and other forum abusers.
Threads that start out good are always hijacked and ruined with discussions not even related to what the OP started out with.
Those are things worth bringing to the moderators’ attention. They will delete off-topic posts.

My pet peeve are the frequent "have you confirmed your claims with scientifically valid double-blind listening tests?" challenges and demands for data. Often, these posts come from those who don’t even know what constitutes a proper scientific listening test. And they derail the conversation.
Now we have a whole thread dedicated to limiting or eliminating contributions from "manufacturers, distributors, retailers and importers."