"Gregarious & helpful, but annoying & effective "
Being a glass half full type of guy, there are more compliments there than not, so I'll ignore the 'annoying' part of the shout out & focus on the positives.
I'm also, at all times honest & transparent.
Those who know me, know that, so with that in mind, I'm not ashamed to say that 'I know what I know and I know what I don't know' - the process of learning is exciting to me.
What I don't know is AP.
That is a fact & I'm well aware of it.
It's not an area I've explored in depth nor am I passionate about.
But I will of course help out, when asked, because that's what this entire community is all about, so here is my initial 2c.
It's the first thought that came to mind & before anyone starts sharpening any knives, please bear with me while I explain my thought process.
I think we all have to accept that, aside from the core long-term members, enthusiastic about AP, the vast majority of new members to this section, like all other sections on the forum, want to know:
'who makes the best...?'
And we all know how that question goes down.
:trainwreck:
The majority of these new members will stop by, post their question, cause unnecessary blood pressure spikes, and move on, never to be seen again.
They may get ignored, on rare occasions get an answer, sometimes get referred to
Tobel's
excellent thread, but let's be honest, most likely they get flamed (& that's in all sections across RWI)
They sometimes don't even care why it's the best, they just want an easy answer, some justification from established members, to spend their money on A versus B.
I would go so far as to say it is cause of most of the heated discussions across all sections of the forum & not unique to this section.
And please don't think I condone these type of questions.
They infuriate me too, because there is no denying they are hands down the laziest questions possible & downright insulting to the contributing members (both past and present) who have taken the time to share their opinions.
BUT they have always been asked, and will always be asked, that is something 100% guaranteed, like death & taxes as my nanny used to say.
Everyone also needs to be crystal clear, that any answer given, in any thread, is based on a member's opinion & experts will agree on some things but will differ on others.
Very rarely have I seen 100% agreement on anything on here, closest I believe was ~98% one time.
Saying all that & I know how much you dislike the idea of the NWBIG listing, but it can't be denied that your opinion, above all, is valued very highly - you are the AP section head afterall.
So perhaps, if you had time, you could establish a pinned listing of what
YOU yourself consider the top tier/excellent reps for the most popular AP offerings?
You could call it "Legend's top picks" or something like that, name tbc :graman:
And I know it's a body of work, but I think it'd definitely be worth it in the long term, if you're looking to streamline the section.
Theres no denying the traffic to the NWBIG listing & am sure the tech gurus could confirm, but I imagine it's one of the top, if not the top, visited thread on the whole site.
I wonder if your listing could surpass it
I know of course that no replica watch, available from an RWI TD (even if modded, franken, superfranken etc) will ever be GEN, never 1:1, and all could potentially be called out, by those in the know, but I suspect this listing would save alot of unnecessary consternation within this section.
People can then choose to heed your advice, or not, at the end of the day it's their money & they are grown adults.
While this may look like it is rewarding laziness & in a sense it is, you sometimes have to pick your battles because it makes no sense trying to win them all.
The fact remains that you have a body of knowledge, and a reputation as the AP Expert on RWI, so sharing your opinion, will mean this question is answered once, in one stickied thread, which can then can updated for new factory offerings, if your opinion changes, and also linked to, when the question is inevitably asked.
Then if members want further elaboration, they can research the section like everyone else, but
nobody can ever say they didn't get a helping hand when they happened upon the AP section.
It ultimately boils down to you deciding what is important to you, as head of this section.
Is it bolstering a culture of confrontation, elitism and hostility, or establishing a welcoming section where members can explore & enjoy the brand you yourself proudly champion.
Am sure there are valid arguments for and against my suggestion, and it could be considered pure sacrilege to the AP purists, but if you want less volatility, and more flow within the section, this is, imo, one way to accomplish it, very easily, with one simple posting.
Then you guys can focus on what's really important, something about an instant date change, tachy shaving and sunburst on dials
hwell:
I debated a little whether to post this at all, because I am sure it is a very divisive & incendiary suggestion, but you did say no flaming, so there ya have it, my 2c, for whatever it's worth.
:goodluck:
