Ask The Tapers...
Got a question about taping? We'd love to help! Newbie friendly!
Can I ask to to the site admin to remove the "Newbie friendly" from the subtitle of this section, please?
Thanks.
zamana, You're question and your posts have all been legitimate and responsible, and as such, I'd like to take a second, as perhaps the most vocal of those responsible for the animosity or agitation in this thread, to apologize on behalf of TS for making you feel responsible for the rather heated debates that are swimming around right now.
The fact of the matter is that your initial post broaches into a subject realm which is under constant contention amongst the members here: whether or not public discussion of specific stelthing techniques is kosher, and if not, and if so, what distinguishes "specific stealthing techniques" from general advice.
Again, I think that regardless of who thinks what with respect to this point, I feel that you personally have done absolutely nothing wrong in asking for input in the way you did. I have tried, with my posts, to isolate and address my concerns to fellow TS'ers who are airing their techniques publicly when I (and many others) feel that these should be kept quiet.
Now since this is a forum based on mutual respect and an environment of mutual growth and mentoring, I do feel that it is not out-of-line at all for you or anyone else to ask for help with stealthing practices. I feel that it bears repeating though, that your inquiry was made with the utmost in care granted to the belief that many may not want these techniques aired publicly. In other words, that you asked for responses to be made via-PM is a fantastic thing, and I think it speaks levels to your genuine regard for the "art" of stealthing.
I apologize that you have inadvertently triggered some debate, but please do not take it personally. A lot of us here are always debating stupid crap like this all the time. I think what matters most is that we maintain a certain level of decorum that will ensure that this forum remains to be an environment of learning and not just some petty bickering battle over pedantic nonsense.
I see that you are a rare-poster to the forum, member for bout a year and a half, and I truly hope that this experience doesn't scare you off of return visits and more frequent posts. I remember when I first started visiting TS I was terrified of saying the wrong things or looking foolish or making people upset. I lurked for a LLOOOONNNGGG time, just reading posts and following threads and rarely posting. Over time you'll come to recognize that it is really difficult to truly offend or bother or anger people unless you are making a conscious effort to do so.
This forum has been online for about 7 years, and has nearly 1.6 million posts. Many of the people here (myself included, I'm sure), can sometimes fall into the trap of forgetting that people who are new to the boards may not be privy to the enormous back-catalog of previous posts and discussions.
Basically, don't sweat it. People here, no matter how much it may not feel like it some times, are really great, knowledgeable, nice, and helpful tapers who want to help you grow in the hobby. I'm sorry for the part I've played in instigating this thread to take a turn towards the unfriendly, don't take it personally, I enjoy you and I really respect the hell out of the way you've posted.
Again, welcome to the hobby, and welcome to the (sometimes fiery) TS!
