[Kreepin]

I have been a gear head since my teenage years (the 80's) and looking back I can understand the lack of information available to me and many others regarding high performance audio.
But now with the internet readily available to all, the world has gotten so much smaller.
I don't know everything nor do I claim to be a pro but I have learned a few things and I enjoy learning and testing whenever possible. For instance, speaker placement. Speakers ultimately are what delivers the sound to our ears and getting placement within your space is critical. You cannot fully appreciate all the money you've spent if it's delivered incorrectly. I use Cardas speaker placement guidelines, I struggle getting it right sometimes but tinkering is half the fun.
This is of course just my opinion.

My point is this, why do we still get so much hate and bad characters spewing bad information and advice throughout the internet? I post things for sale wherever I can including so called audiophile groups on Facebook. The crap I get in comments and emails is just insane. The amount of bad advice is incredible and some of this comes from dealers and repair shops.
Sorry but it gets annoying to me personally and I believe it hurts the industry which is starting to die a slow death.

[Big Red Machine]

Well, thank goodness you came here for sane and cordial discord. We don't agree on everything here as well but we will provide a civil presentation of our ideas and methods. There is more than one way to skin a you-know-what. And there's more than one arrangement to get good sound in a room playing with speaker placement. That's what makes us schizophrenic audiophools. If it were black and white we would be soooooooo bored.

[Craig B]

For reasons I don't understand, the "audiophile" groups on Facebook, at least the general ones that aren't focused on one brand or kind of equipment, attract more than their share of mean-spirited folks, especially those who don't "believe" in things like cables. I understand there is plenty of room for debate on cables and other so-called tweaks, and that both sides of the issue are represented here, in our membership, but at least here the discussion is civilized and relatively balanced. On those FB groups, it's pretty one-sided, and just plain nasty, degenerating rapidly into ad hominem attacks. As far as they're concerned, if it can't be measured, it doesn't exist, and anyone who believes otherwise is a fool waiting to be fleeced, and/or a charlatan waiting to do the fleecing.

What's worse is that these posts don't stay among the general group threads, but bleed over immediately into their classified ads (if the group has any). Heaven help the audiophile who posts an expensive power cable for sale. Within minutes there will be posts decrying the cable as snake oil and not worth the cost of shipping, effectively spoiling the sale. I've made the mistake of wading into one or two of these, suggesting that what these self-proclaimed "defenders of the realm" are doing might be considered rude. I asked one if they patrol the used car lots in their city, interrupting sales pitches to warn buyers about cars they think are crappy. They just about took my head off.

I finally quit all the ones I'd joined, other than those associated with specific brands of equipment. Though I recently joined The Music Room's (dealer in the Boulder, CO, area) group, at the request of the founder. So far it seems like a reasonable group of people.

[Kreepin]

I posted a few cables and oh boy, the firestorm of hate ensued. Burmester Silver power cables and Kimber Kable 12VS posts may have put my life in danger. Now the Synergistic Research QLS6 has started to become a problem but I was able to turn off comments thank you Lord.
What is sad is I can go in and see who's made the comment, look at there pics, posts and sale items. Then you realize that this person is actually a professional in the industry. WTF

[Photon46]

My point is this, why do we still get so much hate and bad characters spewing bad information and advice throughout the internet? I post things for sale wherever I can including so called audiophile groups on Facebook. The crap I get in comments and emails is just insane. The amount of bad advice is incredible and some of this comes from dealers and repair shops.
Sorry but it gets annoying to me personally and I believe it hurts the industry which is starting to die a slow death.

IMO, what you're noticing is a microcosm of larger macro trends towards increasing division, mean spirited behavior, and unwillingness to acknowledge the validity of different viewpoints. Plus, those interested enough in such forms of technology to bother reading and commenting about it on the internet are overwhelmingly men and men tend to turn EVERY endeavor into a test of their superiority (to put out politely.) The trend you mention has spilled over into forums that were previously pretty civil in overall behavior. Audiogon used to be a place where polite and well schooled people shared knowledge and was a source of great conversation. Now it's turned into a chorus of argumentative and shrill know it alls who view it as their mission in life to tell everyone how poorly their listening and thinking skills have developed.

As to the industry dying a "slow death," I think you're being excessively pessimistic. High End audio equipment will change in form and the market may become smaller but it isn't going to disappear. Even though cellphones meant the end of single purpose cameras in many if not most homes, the high end photographic equipment is alive and well and I suspect high end audio will soldier on as well. If Apple is going to start offering high resolution music service that means they recognize a trend that's developing so maybe there's a groundswell of burgeoning interest in better sound.