Beginners, don't run away, please!

[Brumby]

While I do appreciate what you are saying, those who have not made any real effort and expect to be hand held, do get some direct feedback - and so they should - but it doesn't have to be blunt (unless they need that level of frankness to get the message).  It would be nice to be able to guide them into reasonableness ... but that isn't always possible - especially for the odd snowflake that we see.

Certainly, practical RF doesn't need all the fundamentals, first principles and theory - but it does require more appreciation of the electromagnetic processes than an Arduino and measuring an on/off signal for an LED is a lot easier than a 10MHz carrier.

As for this comment:

Be very selective in what you read about RF (or anything for that matter) on the Internet, as there is a lot of  duck poo out there.

... if they don't know how to be selective - who's going to show them?


Certainly, in this day and age of sophisticated module solutions for $5 from China, a lot of the appreciation for what goes into them is lost.  When beginners come here, we should try (and I know this can be hard in some cases) to lift the veil of obfuscation.

[Brumby]

I really fail to see the point of this thread (or the content that populated it)

It's really contained in the original post.

Actually I don't see that anything OP wrote will actually help, it just led to several pages of whatever (don't know how to describe it)

Regardless of this forum, I find it that if you put enough effort into googling your problem and reading up on it, and then come to a community and ask, nobody will go hard on you.
Somebody is giving away his knowledge for free and that should be also respected.

That is what will usually happen here, too.

What I wanted to say is that although you may not know something, some basic manners should be there, on your part, if you're asking for help. Don't just come with an attitude 'solve it for me' or 'give me'. Such attitude deserves a proper response.

Honestly, apart from experienced members going at each other occasionally, I haven't noticed any overreactions towards the rookies. Maybe there have been, but nothing that caught my attention.
And what little hostile behavior I found on the board was usually met with a strong negative reactions from other members.

This might be as good as it gets, not sure there's room for improvement, at least not considering we're just human and this is a public forum with people from all over...

It seems you have missed the point entirely.

This thread was started NOT because of any deliberate attack on the beginner - far from it.  Nor was it about any perceived "attitude" from the beginner.

It was directed towards those that came in and started their own chest-beating that ignored the beginner's need.

[TheUnnamedNewbie]

I can understand where the OP is coming from. I am not going to claim I am an expert or I have the solutions, but I have thought about this a few times, so I'll share my thoughts here.

The first is regarding the "let me google that for you" attitude. I've seen this a lot on stackexchange as well, where I used to be an active member but stopped being one because of a few people who, in my humble opinion, ruin it for everyone.

It might not be in those exact words, but it often comes down to something along the lines of "This information is easily available on the internet, so you should just research it". 99% of these responses get me worked up and angry because they don't help. When you have some experience with the topic, it's easy to forget how hard it can be sometimes to find information. A beginner doesn't even know what to look for, or how to ask the questions. They don't the terminology to use to ask questions. They also don't understand the field enough to know what questions to ask. And when they do get some results, they can't compare different answers - you need to know some basics before you can know if a website is ridden with errors or bad advice. And often the advice is so overwhelming you don't even know how to interpret it.

In other words, telling them to "go do some research since the information is available" is not really helping them and just makes you look like a jerk, who isn't willing to help but is willing to take time to tell the person that they are not going to help them. And if the person asking the question has done research but just failed to get the information they need because they are lost in the amount of information available, it will just push them away from this great hobby and/or profession. Imagine if you had to figure out if a certain bump on your skin was bad or not, and when you went to ask a person in the field of medicine they just gave you 3 1000 page books on dermatology and told you "just look it up, it's in there!". I imagine most would be no wiser after this and still not be able to tell what is going on because there is just too much info. But if that person told you "oh, have a look at this chapter here in this book, it covers that kind of info" or "we categorize these bumps by this and this property, so this example is of this type and you should look for this and this terms". All of these probably took that person the same amount of time to tell you, but the last two will help you get started, and the first will result in most people just going "ehhhh" and not get any results.

I do understand how "annoying" it can be when some beginners come here thinking they know electronics because they can blink an LED on a arduino. But at the same time, I feel like it is not fully their fault when some help pages and such for those platforms is written like there is no complexity beneath the arduino.

And as people who have been doing this for years you see problems beginners might not. And then we like to go off and discuss them, not contributing any information to the OPs point. EG, someone asks about a resistor divider and it turns into a discussion about impedance and errors and tolerances....

[Brumby]

I can understand where the OP is coming from. I am not going to claim I am an expert or I have the solutions, but I have thought about this a few times, so I'll share my thoughts here.

The first is regarding the "let me google that for you" attitude. I've seen this a lot on stackexchange as well, where I used to be an active member but stopped being one because of a few people who, in my humble opinion, ruin it for everyone.

It might not be in those exact words, but it often comes down to something along the lines of "This information is easily available on the internet, so you should just research it". 99% of these responses get me worked up and angry because they don't help. When you have some experience with the topic, it's easy to forget how hard it can be sometimes to find information. A beginner doesn't even know what to look for, or how to ask the questions. They don't the terminology to use to ask questions. They also don't understand the field enough to know what questions to ask. And when they do get some results, they can't compare different answers - you need to know some basics before you can know if a website is ridden with errors or bad advice. And often the advice is so overwhelming you don't even know how to interpret it.

In other words, telling them to "go do some research since the information is available" is not really helping them and just makes you look like a jerk, who isn't willing to help but is willing to take time to tell the person that they are not going to help them. And if the person asking the question has done research but just failed to get the information they need because they are lost in the amount of information available, it will just push them away from this great hobby and/or profession. Imagine if you had to figure out if a certain bump on your skin was bad or not, and when you went to ask a person in the field of medicine they just gave you 3 1000 page books on dermatology and told you "just look it up, it's in there!". I imagine most would be no wiser after this and still not be able to tell what is going on because there is just too much info. But if that person told you "oh, have a look at this chapter here in this book, it covers that kind of info" or "we categorize these bumps by this and this property, so this example is of this type and you should look for this and this terms". All of these probably took that person the same amount of time to tell you, but the last two will help you get started, and the first will result in most people just going "ehhhh" and not get any results.

I do understand how "annoying" it can be when some beginners come here thinking they know electronics because they can blink an LED on a arduino. But at the same time, I feel like it is not fully their fault when some help pages and such for those platforms is written like there is no complexity beneath the arduino.

And as people who have been doing this for years you see problems beginners might not. And then we like to go off and discuss them, not contributing any information to the OPs point. EG, someone asks about a resistor divider and it turns into a discussion about impedance and errors and tolerances....

Again ... this isn't really what inspired this thread.

I repost this:

This thread was started NOT because of any deliberate attack on the beginner - far from it.  Nor was it about any perceived "attitude" from the beginner.

It was directed towards those that came in and started their own chest-beating that ignored the beginner's need.

[Syntax_Error]

Ok, it might not be the inspiration for the thread, but it is this person's take and original comments. If that's not allowed, and only parroting the original intent and sentiment is permitted, then close the thread, because all that can be said already has been.

[Brumby]

Before criticising, please READ.

This comment:

I can understand where the OP is coming from.

is then immediately followed by very clear statements which do NOT address the OPs message.  While what they say is not wrong in itself, it is NOT what the OP was on about.

My only purpose in responding as I did was make the distinction between what the poster thought the topic was about and what it IS actually about.  This happens all too often in a forum and it can really cause confusion.  Sometimes battles ensue that were not at all necessary.

Communication is important - and having the subject correct is a key to having a meaningful discussion on that subject.  At least that's what I've found.  If trying too keep the subject clearly in focus is "only parroting the original intent and sentiment", then I must plead guilty.  But ... can you have a meaningful discussion about roses by talking about drag races?  I know I'd struggle.

This, however...

... then close the thread, because all that can be said already has been.

... is pretty much how I feel as well.

This thread needs to rest - but the original message remembered.

[Docholiday]

Negative critisism should be allowed, if it is constructive.


Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

There is always a way to positively direct and aid without criticism.  If you cant find a way, let someone else do it.  We are talking about a thread for beginners to post their first successes.  They will know when it is time to post in that thread.

We are talking about beginners making their first blinking led.  First beeper.  Bidirectional software controlled motor.  Driving their first LCD character module.  First MCU thermometer software.  Simple opamp headphone amplifier.  Stuff like that.

There has always been a problem here on this forum with these bully's that would rather use criticism than critic.  Perhaps they themselves do not know how or they are just mindless weak individuals.  The accountability on this forum has been from one extreme to another.

When I joined this forum there was this individual that had a PCB design software called Auto Trax I think.  Anyway he was being harassed by the bullys' to the extent that he over-reacted after being provoked by them.  He did something he should not have done.  Subsequently, these bully' complained to the Dave (owner of this site) and resulted that Dave banished him forever and deleted his account.

The application he had impressive in what he created considering as he is a one man shop.  However, he was criticized in many, many ways by these bully's.  Once it started by one the rest jumped in. It was clear there were faults on both sides however, originally perpetuated by the bullies but the odds were overwhelming for him when it turned into a free for all against him - just too many of them.

To add further damage when complaints were made bad decisions were made on irrational reaction.  I cannot blame Dave completely, he is a young guy and was trying to quell the situation with the senior members as best he thought he could, by the way they were the ones that generally escalated the situation and it spiraled out of control from there.

I belong to many other forums and can assure that these cowards exist everywhere in one form or another.  It is just best to ignore them.  Just think of what a pitiful existence of a life they have that there only self esteem is to bully others into their submission.  These are the types that turn into child beaters, child molesters, beat women for their own self satisfaction.  They are easy to identify, at first one will start alone then others will join in - cowards the whole lot of them.  I loved to arrest them and just watch them when they realize they are going jail - crying and balling for their mama's.  Because in prison they will become the humble little bitches they really are.  I never felt sorry or remorse for them not even pity.

So you new guys hold your heads up high and ask those questions as many times as you want.  There are those on here that will answer them, guide you, and help you - Ignore the others.  Just remember everybody here on this forum and others like it were not born with this knowledge.  We ALL started the same way! Knowing nothing, zero, zip, zilch.  We all did the magic smoke many times, bought stuff we did not need, made bad PCB designs besides, how else is their to learn if we do not make mistakes.

[Mechatrommer]

it seems this thread reaches page 4, so...

The application he had impressive in what he created considering as he is a one man shop.

so do you still use AutoTrax until today?

However, he was criticized in many, many ways by these bully's.

you seems to jumped in the story in middle way. you have no clue why these bullies exist... cause and effect. when we tried to make a constructional criticisms (usually based on more reputable examples), and its been taken the wrong way, or the person being advised insisted he's doing it the right way, then you should understand why bullies emerged. but the word "bully" is your own choosing, i dont say its bully, i say its "constructional criticisms", most newbies and young men (including some "worshiped" contents providers in the net) cannot accept this they live in their own definition contaminating people's mind.

so in the end, some people are chasing their own tail by trying to enforce what is utopian right or wrong to them or others. without a proper guidance or references, how can you be so sure that you are right? define "inappropriate" define "insulting" define "conduct poorly", and provide your references (it could be yourself (not you) or your arse fart saying) it could be a neverending debate. we have people across globe around here, spreaded culture and language barrier. even in one country we have different personality, interest, way of speaking, influence, interpretation etc. some people seem harsher but thats not what they are intending to do, they maybe well mean educating others, but in different ways etc. i think R&R dave provides in beginner section already suffice and simple and clear enough to understand. no need further complicating the rules.

edit: dont worry friend its going to be ok. opps i used the word "dont worry" i should get the hell out and fuck myself.

[TheUnnamedNewbie]

Before criticising, please READ.

This comment:

I can understand where the OP is coming from.

is then immediately followed by very clear statements which do NOT address the OPs message.  While what they say is not wrong in itself, it is NOT what the OP was on about.

My only purpose in responding as I did was make the distinction between what the poster thought the topic was about and what it IS actually about.  This happens all too often in a forum and it can really cause confusion.  Sometimes battles ensue that were not at all necessary.

Communication is important - and having the subject correct is a key to having a meaningful discussion on that subject.  At least that's what I've found.  If trying too keep the subject clearly in focus is "only parroting the original intent and sentiment", then I must plead guilty.  But ... can you have a meaningful discussion about roses by talking about drag races?  I know I'd struggle.

This, however...

... then close the thread, because all that can be said already has been.

... is pretty much how I feel as well.

This thread needs to rest - but the original message remembered.

I got the original message as "We should try and make sure that we don't  dissuade beginners from posting here because of the responses they get, or how the topic changes". Why? Well, from the first post:

(...)

To the "experts". STFU. Remember this is the beginners forum, not the bitch and whine forum. You are here to help the beginners with some advice. It is not the time bitch and argue with everyone who doesn't agree with you. If you think that the time for you to exercise your superiority over others is to debate into oblivion something the OP never asked is now, fuck off. Go start your own thread and argue there. Help the beginner with their original question and stop being a diva or go away. If you aren't answering the OP's question then you are being an asshole.Go start your own war somewhere else and stop scaring away beginners.

Yes, parts of this is quote does point to the problem, but I also interpret parts of this as "actually help instead of posting non-helpfull comments". Hence, my answer is in fact on-topic, on-topic in the larger concepts of "how do we make sure we communicate well with beginners and don't scare them away".

In addition, the first post also contains statements such as

Fanboys of brands, fuck off. Rich assholes who think that everyone needs to spend $1,000 just to be part of the "club". fuck off. If you can't help the OP with something useful relating to their needs, fuck off.

Which to me is also not about what you claim is the only topic here, which is, if I understand what you are trying to say, "experts should stop arguing with each other on beginner posts".

In addition, I find it bold of you to claim that you get to decide what is and is not the OPs idea here, since you aren't the OP. Why is your interpretation of the OPs statements necessarily more correct?

And all that aside: I wanted to share this idea because I felt like I could contribute to the concept of "being a good educator", which everyone on this forum that tries to help, in any way-shape-or-form here is.   

[paulca]

As a beginner I do find some of the answers off putting and discouraging.

Consider something like a mains transformer.  An early project a lot of people complete is creating their own power supply.  However when experienced people arrive in threads about this they tend to use it as a venue to demonstrate their advanced knowledge of the topic.  This information is valuable, but to a newbie it swamps them.  They believe they need to be able to calculate reactive power and apparent power, understand phase angles and the calculus involved and they will need to isolation test their transformer with a 1KV pulse generator and run signal generators through it etc. etc. etc.

Thankfully I am not deterred and a bit of reading else where I found some correctly pitched tutorials which take care of most of the complex bits by simply buying a suitable transformer designed for the purpose in the first place.  Taking sensible precautions with the mains side of things and understanding that it will work absolutely fine and how to tell when it's not and what to do about it.

It's not that the advanced information and how to calculate things so you don't run into problems isn't valuable, it just that for a beginner into the field of AC it makes you think you need to know all this stuff in advance.  The reality is you can experiment, test, measure and then when you run into problems consider understanding why.  Even then a simple qualitative answer is often better than the full equations and quantitative reasoning.

For example... VA rating.  My instinct told me that this is Volt-Ampere which sounds like watts, power.  So if I needed 10W I would buy a transformer that was rated to something above 10VA.  But in a lot of places, even in beginners forums, if you search for or ask this, you get the whole trigonometry answer about phase, reactive/apparent power etc.  The things I now understand is after you have done all those sums it turns out that, give or take a little here and there it is, for most purposes equal to watts.  If you assume it is watts and don't have a highly inductive or capacitive load ... and add a good 50% safety overhead then it will 99% of the time be fine without the maths.

When you have done your experiments or built you first few power supplies you can come back to the details and learn how to calculate things up front.

The difficult bit is finding the information in small enough chunks at a time and wading through the complex mess of quantitative details without getting discouraged and giving up.

[Brumby]

I got the original message as "We should try and make sure that we don't  dissuade beginners from posting here because of the responses they get, or how the topic changes".

Well, that is certainly correct ... but that is not how your post came across.

In addition, I find it bold of you to claim that you get to decide what is and is not the OPs idea here, since you aren't the OP. Why is your interpretation of the OPs statements necessarily more correct?

Bold?  How about "observant" or "empathic"?

This is not the first time this issue has been raised.  I have done it before myself and Lightages showed the same support there as I have here.  You will notice he has some "Thanks" on points I have made.

It is clear that we both share the same feeling about the subject - so how is it "Bold" to agree?

Even then a simple qualitative answer is often better than the full equations and quantitative reasoning.

For example... VA rating.  My instinct told me that this is Volt-Ampere which sounds like watts, power.  So if I needed 10W I would buy a transformer that was rated to something above 10VA.  But in a lot of places, even in beginners forums, if you search for or ask this, you get the whole trigonometry answer about phase, reactive/apparent power etc.  The things I now understand is after you have done all those sums it turns out that, give or take a little here and there it is, for most purposes equal to watts.  If you assume it is watts and don't have a highly inductive or capacitive load ... and add a good 50% safety overhead then it will 99% of the time be fine without the maths.

Excellent example. 

The difficult bit is finding the information in small enough chunks at a time and wading through the complex mess of quantitative details without getting discouraged and giving up.

THIS IS WORTH FRAMING!!

So I did...

[vk6zgo]

So you new guys hold your heads up high and ask those questions as many times as you want.  There are those on here that will answer them, guide you, and help you - Ignore the others.  Just remember everybody here on this forum and others like it were not born with this knowledge.  We ALL started the same way! Knowing nothing, zero, zip, zilch.  We all did the magic smoke many times, bought stuff we did not need, made bad PCB designs besides, how else is their to learn if we do not make mistakes.

No, we didn't ALL  do the magic smoke many times--- a few times, yes!

Many of us read everything we could find on the subject, then built something somebody else had designed,maybe modified it, then worked on stuff that had been made commercially, absorbing the lessons of how good design works & bad design doesn't.

We then maybe made a few more of other folks designs, & maybe then designed something from scratch (or maybe we never did design something)
Somehow, through this process, we got to "know a fair bit" about Electronics.

I've never been a believer in "learning through making mistakes".
You can't live long enough to re-make all the mistakes made in a century plus of Electronics, so you have to find some things out by reading the results of other people's efforts, anyway, so why not keep reading & minimise your mistakes?

[Docholiday]

So you new guys hold your heads up high and ask those questions as many times as you want.  There are those on here that will answer them, guide you, and help you - Ignore the others.  Just remember everybody here on this forum and others like it were not born with this knowledge.  We ALL started the same way! Knowing nothing, zero, zip, zilch.  We all did the magic smoke many times, bought stuff we did not need, made bad PCB designs besides, how else is their to learn if we do not make mistakes.

No, we didn't ALL  do the magic smoke many times--- a few times, yes!

Many of us read everything we could find on the subject, then built something somebody else had designed,maybe modified it, then worked on stuff that had been made commercially, absorbing the lessons of how good design works & bad design doesn't.

We then maybe made a few more of other folks designs, & maybe then designed something from scratch (or maybe we never did design something)
Somehow, through this process, we got to "know a fair bit" about Electronics.

I've never been a believer in "learning through making mistakes".
You can't live long enough to re-make all the mistakes made in a century plus of Electronics, so you have to find some things out by reading the results of other people's efforts, anyway, so why not keep reading & minimise your mistakes?

Reminds me of one of my favorite English authors of short fiction Neil Gaiman said " I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something".  It may difficult for you to understand its meaning but I hope for others reading that it helps you open new avenues and give you encouragement to open new horizons for you.

I understand your reply and I partially agree with you but this is the "Beginners" section of the forum and as such formalities however we wish them to be or should be are in reality is not applicable here.  These are students, hobbyists, tinkerers, etc just starting out.  They are in fact our next generation of EE's, inventors, and we as professionals should respect that.  Lets guide them to success and during the course introduce methodologies of work flows, research, etc. So they too can continue this process.

Perhaps what is needed is an Intermediate, and Advance sections so those with so much knowledge (anger) can vent their personal frustrations there and not on a beginners forum.  That way we can see how smart you are and tells us how we should be working and that you never created any magic smoke and other tall tales of success as an EE.

By the way I attend an Ivy League school here in the US (full scholarship) and working on my last year Masters in EE.  My professor has always encouraged her students to expand their horizons and if we are not making magic smoke we are not thinking outside of the box.  Why? she wants us to expand our horizons, go beyond the limits of our design, thoughts, and ideas.

[Docholiday]

I really fail to see the point of this thread (or the content that populated it)

Regardless of this forum, I find it that if you put enough effort into googling your problem and reading up on it, and then come to a community and ask, nobody will go hard on you.
Somebody is giving away his knowledge for free and that should be also respected.

Personally I haven't noticed any bulling on the forum towards new people (some members going at each other, but not significantly). People are generally politically correct, patient and sensitive, and I guess it has to do with the type of the community here.
 

No one should go hard on you.  This is the beginners section and a beginner should feel comfortable to ask any question he or she wants.  Without being told what to do first.  Scolded, berated, chastised, should not be a part of the beginners section of this forum.

If you are holding a monetary value to the knowledge you have and feel entitled because of it then perhaps this website is not for you time to move on.  Its about sharing ideas, knowledge, and experiences with all regardless.  Most importantly, is helping others.

Respected how? Respect for one another as human beings is one thing but demanding respect because you have an EE and/or years and years of experience in my opinion and my opinion only - As Chef Gordon Ramsey would say "Fock Off" you are not entitled to that kind of respect. 

You haven no right to put yourself or anybody else in such a high degree of respect.  That is only reserved for individuals men and women that place their lives in protecting others, and saving others. It is their right of passage that is earned with their lives and commands that type of respect they are entitled to.

For someone like you and I as well as others the closest we come to respect as human beings is respect for one another we will ever get.

[BravoV]

I guess this type of thread is an exception ?

-> 220V power over 24 AWG UTP cable to the transformer for 5V DC 3A for RaspberryPi

[Brumby]

That thread suffers from two fundamental problems - both of which originate from the OP:  A poorly phrased question and a combative defence of it.

Poorly phrased questions we can handle - sometimes inelegantly - but we can get there a lot of the time.

Bad attitude, however, is something over which we have no control.

[Monkeh]

That thread suffers from two fundamental problems - both of which originate from the OP:  A poorly phrased question and a combative defence of it.

Poorly phrased questions we can handle - sometimes inelegantly - but we can get there a lot of the time.

Bad attitude, however, is something over which we have no control.

Thread smells like troll.

[BravoV]

A thread lock down to Mods had been requested on that thread, hopefully they will do it, as it will be a fine specimen preserved, especially for this thread. 

[Docholiday]

A thread lock down to Mods had been requested on that thread, hopefully they will do it, as it will be a fine specimen preserved, especially for this thread. 

I second that motion!

[drussell]

A thread lock down to Mods had been requested on that thread, hopefully they will do it, as it will be a fine specimen preserved, especially for this thread. 

I second that motion!

Unfortunately, the OP already deleted all his replies and edited his first post so the originally fine specimen of "how not to ask a beginner question" is no more. 

[BravoV]

A thread lock down to Mods had been requested on that thread, hopefully they will do it, as it will be a fine specimen preserved, especially for this thread. 

I second that motion!

Unfortunately, the OP already deleted all his replies and edited his first post so the originally fine specimen of "how not to ask a beginner question" is no more. 

Yeah, bummer, bit too late few minutes I guess. Also probably that thread's OP probably read my post on preserving his "valuable" thread contribution before destroying the specimen. 

Ok, there will be always another specimen to hunt down, and no more pre-warning next time, report 1st, and once its properly "preserved"by mod, and post it as a good specimen later here. 

[Brumby]

Oh, wow.  Talk about backpedalling.  That was a level above even what I had picked up on.


To any beginners reading this thread, don't be fearful of asking a question - even if you are not quite sure how to word it.  Just make your best effort and if it is unclear to us, we will try to sort it out with you.

Whatever happens, be prepared for a variety of different responses - there's people from all around the world here ... and a phenomenal amount of knowledge.  All we ask is for some simple courtesy - and an expression of appreciation won't go astray.

... and remember, every contribution by every member is done in their own free time which they do voluntarily.  The reason we do is that we want to encourage interest and help people develop their skills in electronics.

We also want to make sure you are aware of safety issues.  The last thing any of us want is for you to find out what "One flash and you're ash" means - first hand.

[Enlargee79]

Just thought I'd drop this 2c in.

In my reasonably limited experience here, the users have been nothing but incredibly helpful and friendly. I think that bears mentioning.
So thanks to you guys that trawl through here with your palms permantently, albeit silently affixed to your forehead.

[Distelzombie]

I am a few hours on here and get answers that I either never wanted or that simply say "Don't worry about it."
Of course I'm only a few hours young, but I guess it depends on when you are online to what kind of experience you make.

[paulca]

I am a few hours on here and get answers that I either never wanted or that simply say "Don't worry about it."
Of course I'm only a few hours young, but I guess it depends on when you are online to what kind of experience you make.

Yes.  Answers sometimes get pedantic or "blingy".  It often hard to determine if answers are saying, "Your idea won't work, period."  or if they are saying, "You'll probably be fine, but I would do it differently", or "It might work, but the standard way is..."

So you will get a mix of bling, pedantry, hobby horsing and people trying to reassure you "You'll be fine, don't worry about it."

Personally, I take the "Don't worry about it" as a starting point, but the bling and pedantry as a target for progression.