So, here's a potentially quite stupid "compromise" idea...

New folk often feel reassured if they get very concrete suggestions. We know that there is no sane one-size-fits-all concrete suggestion that any of the experienced folk here would stand by.

But what about concrete stories about how the experienced folk here started out? There are a fair few shaving superstars around here, who all seem to have very different styles and personalities. If a newbie were to identify with the style of a particular old hand, then they might feel comfortable walking in his or her footsteps while they find their own path.

So what if folk were to start using the "About me" section of their profile pages to answer the questions "What kit did you use for your first few straight shaves? What was good and bad about it?"

Do you all think that would be a neat way to reassure the new folk, or would it just cause more confusion and trouble?

Quite aside from helping out the newbies, would folk here be interested in hearing the origin stories of our local heroes?