Thread: General Question and Answer Database Idea

Bart,

We can certainly do a wiki if that's what everyone prefers. I'm not sure I believe it will be self stimulating enough to grow and mature, but forums and faqs aren't prefect either.

Regarding your comment "We need guidance by someone with a consistent vision and methods that work well together and lead to successful shaving with a straight razor." ... maybe I misunderstood, but where are you going to find such a person, let alone one for each and every newbie?? At recent registration rates that's potentially a hundred additional tutors needed every week. And, if you don't believe my paragraph about the more experienced guys fading away because they're tired reading the same questions over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.... well, you get what I mean. Couple this with the issue that what works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another and it gets even more complicated.

The philosophy that's been working well for many years on SRP is that everyone is expected to help someone who is a little less experienced than they are... a pass-it-down sharing of knowledge... everyone being a tutor of sorts. The classical tutor/student relationship only builds a strong bond between the tutor and the student while in the SRP model each student has as many tutors as the number of questions they ask and or read. The former would seem to be nothing more than two people sharing info, while the latter builds a whole community of people exchanging ideas and information while helping each other to succeed. One is "me"- focused while the other is "us"-centric.

My $.02, YMMV

Originally Posted by Bart

But even with a good wiki, there will be so much conflicting information present, that beginners will need personal guidance. What we newbies in fact need is a tutor-apprentice relationship. We need guidance by someone with a consistent vision and methods that work well together and lead to succesful shaving with a straight razor. Shaving is a craft. It should be passed along by people, not learned out of books, or through internet articles. Not every tutor would pass along the same methods, but that's okay. There always comes a time that an apprentice becomes well versed enough to start figuring out his own individual way. That's when true craftsmanship starts.

I disagree with you. Straight razor shaving is an art, but many aspects are also a science and this is the portion that could easily be taught to many people without a time consuming one on one relationship. Beginners should be trying to learn the fundamentals in the beginning and these do not need to be explained again and again on an individual basis because in the beginning everyone is the same; a blank slate. This is why Lynn's DVD is so popular. Those who watch the DVD will have most of their questions answered (and many questions that they have not even had yet as well) and will have a much better foundation for straight razor shaving than the newbies that just come and start asking the normal questions. My vision would be to adapt a portion of what is presented in Lynn's DVD to a FAQ or Q and A type of a format so that the newbies can learn the fundamentals from those with the most experience. After they have learned the basics then they are much more likely to benefit from the collective wisdom and different opinions of everyone on the forum in the more advanced/controversial issues. This is my view.

David

OK at the risk of taking the bull by the horns I have started (or should that be re-started) a thread in Newbie corner;

http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=15985

I will ask for Joe to make it a Sticky. It uses a post from another thread but I felt it necessary to start the thread fresh to encourage viewing.

Please, PLEASE comment on how helpful or otherwise you find the thread. Consider carefully advice you add.... well the information is all there in the thread.

Please PM me with any other FAQ threads you'd like to see started and i'll try to trawl through posts to find an adequate answer to use as a starting point. Alternatively leave a message on this thread about what you'd like to see. In fact for preference do the latter, otherwise i'll get a load of PMs asking for a honing FAQ....

All input greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Sandy

Originally Posted by sidneykidney

...
Alternatively leave a message on this thread about what you'd like to see.....

A "services" answer with categories for sharpening, barber hone lapping, etc.... e.g. AFDavis11, heavydutysg135, LX_Emergency, other members who sharpen. JoshEarl on lapping barber hones (sharpening too?). Maybe include their rough location like east coast, west coast, Europe.

Originally Posted by Sticky

A "services" answer with categories for sharpening, barber hone lapping, etc.... e.g. AFDavis11, heavydutysg135, LX_Emergency, other members who sharpen. JoshEarl on lapping barber hones (sharpening too?). Maybe include their rough location like east coast, west coast, Europe.

A very good idea and I do see that to some extent it is included in my first FAQ thread post.

However i'm not sure if thats not something that isnt better done seperately? Certainly location and service are invaluable, but how would we decide who should be recommended? Can you recommend yourself?

Those I listed have been doing it awhile and seem to be recommended by others in the forum. I have recently seen LX_Emergency highly recommended by older members.

Probably do it separately or provide a link to such in whatever the final format will be, wiki or sub-forum by category?

Maybe model the Q/A links after the current forum categories?

Personally I would shy away from a grading system for various reasons, caveat emptor? Or provide a feedback system where users can personally recommend by experience.

Originally Posted by Sticky

Those I listed have been doing it awhile and seem to be recommended by others in the forum. I have recently seen LX_Emergency highly recommended by older members.

Probably do it separately or provide a link to such in whatever the final format will be, wiki or sub-forum by category?

Maybe model the Q/A links after the current forum categories?

Personally I would shy away from a grading system for various reasons, caveat emptor?

I would agree that 'grading' is a bad idea! My thought was whats stopping me from saying for example 'i'm a very good honemeister, I can help you' when clearly i'm a RUBBISH honer.

Recommendations is one idea. As for the Q+A/FAQ the aim is yes to eventually follow the same format as current categories eg shaving/honing/stropping etc....

Originally Posted by sidneykidney

...
My thought was whats stopping me from saying for example 'i'm a very good honemeister, I can help you' when clearly i'm a RUBBISH honer.

Right now there is nothing stopping such a post anyway.

If a honemeister's name is put on the "sticky" list and he gets more bad reviews than good ones, simply mention it in the sticky or handle it by pm maybe.

Most likely that problem would sort itself out as the members involved would surely post about it somewhere.

This looks like a fairly enthusiastic vote for 2 members to place in the "services, vintage razors" category.

I have no idea if they also do sharpening separately.

Originally Posted by heavydutysg135

Straight razor shaving is an art, but many aspects are also a science and this is the portion that could easily be taught to many people without a time consuming one on one relationship.

True, and that's why Straightrazorplace could use a far more elaborated information section, than it has now. I still think a wiki has superior cross-referencing capabilities that would help the user find his way in the vast amount of facts. Also, a wiki offers a structured way to discuss and finetune the presented facts among the different authors involved.
I also agree with your viewpoint that newbies should do their homework and learn the basic facts before they start shooting obvious questions that are already covered a zillion times by previous posts.
BUT, and I speak out of personal experience, in spite of all technical information I digested even before coming anywhere near a hone, I still couldn't get my Friodur sharp enough to give me a comfortable shave. I kept reading and trying for three weeks. Than I asked a direct question on the forum, giving as much information as possible about what I did and why I did it. I received a heartwarming amount of answers. Unfortunately they got lost in cyberspace during the Big Blackout. Some said "more polishing on the coticule", others "more strokes on 4000", some suggested buying a DMT1200. It's like asking on a cake-baking forum "How should I bake a cake?" You would end up trowing yeast, baking powder, natriumdichloride, dried plums, rasins, rum, brandy, apples, chocolate powder, almond powder, cherry's, and a whole bunch of other "unreplacable" ingredients in one bowl and bake it at three different temperatures. I don't think it would be the best cake. I read a post of someone saying that, with his second straight shave ever, his razor was pulling heavily. Someone said: "poor lathering", another: "poor shaving technique", yet another: "stropping disaster", someone suggested buying a pasted strop, the inevitable "send the razor to Lynn" was also present, among a bunch of other conflicting suggestions. Excuse me for not seeing how that guy was helped. I think the forum excels as a community for people sharing the same passion. Experienced users can have rewarding conversations and discussions on a wide variety of topics concerning the straight razor. But for a newbie seeking some guidance while taking his first steps with the straight, it leaves a lot to be desired. Your proposal to structure the present information kinda proofs my point, I think.
My proposal for a more tutor-apprentice approach to guide newbies through their first few weeks of straight shaving, isn't meant to replace the forums, and it certainly isn't meant to discourage any attempts to creating a Straight Razor FAQ. All those things are meant to compliment one another. After all people have been learning the use of the straight razor for many decades in a pupil-tutor situation, usually a father-son relation.
In an ideal situation, I would have introduced myself as new to the straight razor, on the introduction channel of the forum. Someone experienced would have come forward, gave me a welcome, pointed me to the FAQ and suggested I read it first, especially chapters X an Y for absolute beginners. He would have explained me the basics of the tutor-apprentice method and told me, for the first few weeks, I could PM him with questions at any time. That wouldn't have stopped me from posting in the forum, and it certainly wouldn't have stopped my "shaving godfather" from suggesting to post certain problems on the forum, or to do some additional reading in the FAQ. In time I would have been glad and proud to return that favor to yet another newbie. I know lots of newbies would not seek such guidance, 'cause it calls for a certain intimacy that many people have become afraid of nowadays. I also know lots of newbies would never give the future FAQ more than a quick diagonal read, because that calls for a certain self-discipline that many people have become afraid of nowadays. Nevertheless, both "instruments" would be a great addition to the functionality of the StraightRazorPlace. This is my vision.
I'm sorry that, at this time, I am not versed enough in the art (or craft) of the straight razor to contribute much to the future FAQ. I think it will be an interesting project, and I wish you experienced straight shavers lots of fun while working on it.
Bart.