A Talker's vs. Player's Forum

[JamesD]

I need to state at the onset that I'm not bashing anyone, and I'm not insinuating that those with high post-counts aren't skilled players. This is just an interesting thought.

How much time does an average post take? Not sure. But, you have to consider new thread versus a post on an existing thread. The latter most often involves reading some existing post(s) in that thread. There's time spent searching, sometimes, and there's time spent reading the thread titles when looking for something that catches your attention. There's also time spent thinking - that's right, thinking; it takes time to formulate a thought and then type it.

There are other factors as well, but the point is that each post on this forum takes some time. How much? I don't know, but for agrument's sake let's crunch some numbers.

Posts = 10,000
Avg Time Per Post = 60 seconds (considering above factors)
Hours Spent Posting = 166 hrs & 40 mins (that's almost 1/2 hour per day for a year)

If you double that number, and there are definitely people here with 20,000+ posts, then we're talking nearly an hour a day of play time for an entire year...without missing a day.

Now, we know that some people like to write short essays (like this post, for example), which would arguably take up to 5 times (or more) longer than what it would take to write a short post. We're talking about a lot of time here that could be spent actually playing our Les Pauls rather than talking about them.

What's my point? I guess it was just to share this extraneous information - I thought it was interesting.

I know the arguments will be 'well, I spend the same amount time playing as I would even if I wasn't posting', or 'I don't cut out my play time, I cut out TV' or whatever.

It's still interesting to consider the time spent posting here. Do we love playing our Les Pauls, or do we love talking about them more?

Does it really matter? I don't know, probably not.



(Man, I just wasted a LOT of time that I could have spent playing! Arggghhh!)

 

[Boleskinehouse]

I've been playing for over 20 years now. Sometimes I don't feel like playing guitar, although I force about 2 hours on myself a day. This post took about 30 seconds.

 

[JamesD]

Yeah, I know how that goes. I've been playing for 26 years, and sometimes have to force myself to play as well.

Damn, what am I doing here?! I just got a new JVM205H last week!!! I just wasted 30 seconds!

It's all about balance, really. I'm not suggesting that anyone stop visiting or posting here. I've learned a lot on this forum, and I've had fun doing so. I've also been inspired by some posts I've read. It's worth it, so please don't anyone get me wrong. My motivation was merely to share a random thought. Perhaps I should have titled the thread differently. Oh well...

 

[Rev 48]

I'm on my break......Ive been teachin guitar all afternoon
So if its alright with you James I will cruise this forum for a while

 

[Boleskinehouse]

Then you have the folks who come in here and automatically know everything about your life by your post count. I've never been able to understand why it bothers so many people. I've told the mods to just set mine at zero and they won't do it.

 

[ScottGrove]

These days, I would rather talk than play. I would rather buy guitars and look at them than play them.....then go write about them. My glory days are long gone, but I still love the damned guitars, just the thrill of playing is all but gone. I spent about 4 minutes here.....had to pee halfway through writing. lol

 

[AXE]

Screw Playing!!!!

I'm an INTERWEBZ SUPESTAR!!!oneone111!!!

 

[Jason]

I'm at home 5 days a week and don't play my guitars all that much lately. I see what you're saying here, but playing guitar is just as much a waste of time as any other hobby.

 

[kreature]

It's just the nature of the internets....

you never know if the guy telling you "piece of gear X is so much better than piece of gear Y" is actually playing those "pieces of gear" or just looking at them and basing their views on folklore (or are victims of some kind of a marketing campaign)

after a while though, you do develop a sense of who actually might know their shit. But, even then it's important to put what they say into practice, make your own decisions, and trust your own intuition.

A lot of this shit comes down to opinions after all.

It also may be useful to remember that old rule (read: "generalization") "Those who talk, don't know. Those who know, don't talk" haha it's a big generalization but, it has some roots of truth, I guess.

 

[JamesD]

I know what you're saying. I've actually developed respect for people on this forum, and I've never met them, don't know anything about them other that what they've posted here, and in most cases I don't even know what they look like.

Let's be sure here, again, that I was passing judgement on anyone with a large post-count. I think I probably have at least an hour or more of time on this site for every post I've made because I mainly do a lot of reading here.

This may actually be the most worthless thread on the site!

 

[dcmey]

I spend about an hour playing a day playing guitar and 10 - 20 minutes on this forum each day. I don't know where thast puts me.

 

[Axis39]

Guitar playing is a hobby for me... I actually stepped away from it for about ten years in the middle of my life... the typical reasons, family, responsibilities, yadda yadda...

Back before I took a hiatus from playing I was an okay player. But, I really didn't know much about music theory or why some notes sounded better... or why some guitars were crap! LOL

Do I wish I could make it as a pro? Yeah. Do I wish I could get back to gigging regularly? Even without getting paid? Yeah... Heck yeah! But, life is what it is.

Since the Internet came along and I discovered guitar forums, I found answers to questions I'd had for years. I came back to guitars before I came to guitar forums and I'd been playing a lot and those old questions popped up again.

Sadly, I probably do spend more time reading about guitar playing than actually playing... though I've honestly been trying to swap that ratio around some.

But, sometimes I'm at work with a few down minutes or when I first get home from work and wanna be stupid for a few minutes before making dinner or whatever, those are the times I head towards on of the forums I frequent...

But I snuck out of work early, mowed the front yard and have been playing for about two hours.... Guess I can spend a few minutes goofing off! LOL

 

[dennistruckdriver]

....I've told the mods to just set mine at zero....

I wish post counts could be hidden. I know most of mine are very deep, such as: or or , and occasionally a . Sometimes I'll say something as meaningful as, "Is HC still down?" or "Dude, you're an idiot...." or "Aewsoem". Most of my posts are not so insightful, however.

 

[VictorB]

Do we love playing our Les Pauls, or do we love talking about them more?

Both. People get way too hung up on other people's post counts. Usually someone with a low count is ragging on someone with a high one... You never see it the other way around, do you?

I think that tells you something.

 

[VictorB]

I've told the mods to just set mine at zero and they won't do it.

I'll add a zero to the end of yours..... Imagine the attacks! Then your playing will really suck!

 

[mobprop667]

why is it that every few weeks, there is a new guy wondering what is up with the post counts, while not checking on what the posts are actually saying. most of the higher posters have quite a bit of knowledge of LP's, and isnt that what we come here for in the first place?

 

[AngryHatter]

Now ask how much time is spent masturbating and you'll REALLY be surprised.

 

[Fracture]

 

[standard man]

I wish post counts could be hidden. I know most of mine are very deep, such as: or or , and occasionally a . Sometimes I'll say something as meaningful as, "Is HC still down?" or "Dude, you're an idiot...." or "Aewsoem". Most of my posts are not so insightful, however.

 

[dennistruckdriver]

Maybe those with low post counts are just retarded and don't know how to type fast?