SparkFun Forums 

Where electronics enthusiasts find answers.

By theropod
#192337
Hey Everyone,

After having been given a Nano I dived into the community head first. In doing so I joined another forum dedicated to the Arduino platform. Having read a great many posts there I found a repeating pattern which I find highly disturbing. If someone asks a question that is only marginally off topic senior posters will chide the poster in what I see as overt bullying. If someone asks a question about an Arduino clone board it causes the knee jerk reaction that any problems using those clones is not worthy of a response, or the poster is again intimidated for not buying genuine Arduino products.

Never mind that many people don't know the difference betwen a clone and the real deal. Never mind that obtaining a real Arduino in some countries is almost impossible. Never mind that some people have a family and don't make $75 K a year, and buying a cheap knockoff allows them to enjoy these little jewels when they otherwise wouldn't be able to. Never mind that many genuine Arduino products are not competitively priced, and someone developing a commercial product will seek a profit minded alternative. Never mind any of that, just buy the real thing or be prepared to accept treatment that I find to be socially unacceptable.

/Rant(end)
RS
By lyndon
#192366
I'm assuming you mean the official Arduino site forums? There are bunch of notable a-holes over there. That said, I've been chided on this very forum here for buying $2 Arduino clones instead of "official" Arduino boards. Seriously, it's OSHW; who cares where it's made?

Some people are just closet bullies and it comes out online. I shrug it off and get on with life!
By theropod
#192371
Well, I am reluctant to name names, but you could be on target. <wink>

Having spent a great deal of my professional life (paleontology) telling folks the same thing over and over I find it unacceptable to assume a position of arrogance when newbies ask earnest questions. It doesn't matter what one knows if you treat those asking the question as if they should already know the answer, or that asking a question is unacceptable. Neither party gains from that, and the community is diminished. I have learned more from this forum in a few months than I ever expected, and I am gratful. Hopefully I can give back and my off grid backup engine control will eventually be something the entire community can use in future development. If we become so concerned with profit, and where this or that is purchased, that we lose sight of the reason we are all interested in these efforts then there is no true Open Source. IMO.
By dak246
#192387
theropod wrote:Hey Everyone,

After having been given a Nano I dived into the community head first. In doing so I joined another forum dedicated to the Arduino platform. Having read a great many posts there I found a repeating pattern which I find highly disturbing. If someone asks a question that is only marginally off topic senior posters will chide the poster in what I see as overt bullying. If someone asks a question about an Arduino clone board it causes the knee jerk reaction that any problems using those clones is not worthy of a response, or the poster is again intimidated for not buying genuine Arduino products.

Never mind that many people don't know the difference betwen a clone and the real deal. Never mind that obtaining a real Arduino in some countries is almost impossible. Never mind that some people have a family and don't make $75 K a year, and buying a cheap knockoff allows them to enjoy these little jewels when they otherwise wouldn't be able to. Never mind that many genuine Arduino products are not competitively priced, and someone developing a commercial product will seek a profit minded alternative. Never mind any of that, just buy the real thing or be prepared to accept treatment that I find to be socially unacceptable.

/Rant(end)
RS
Welcome to the esoteric world of forums my friend, where who you virtually know, how many posts you've posted, and how much knowledge you know (and more importantly, how much you can show off said knowledge - as long as it isn't in the form of help, ironically enough), is all that matters. I've been a member of this forum for 10 years and have probably used it more than some people with 1000+ posts (just searching and reading, usually not even logged in), and find it's much more pleasant that way! This one is actually better than most.

By the way, don't let anybody put you down for buying clones. I don't know anything about Arduinos (I have a "thing" with them), but there are many cases when clones are great, because they allow you to save money for the things that you SHOULDN'T buy clones of, or can't (any and all wireless ICs, for example).
By theropod
#192389
Oh, it wasn't me buying the clones. It was someone "over there" that was asking a simple, and what I considered legitimate, question about his clone Arduino. A senior member came down on the user way too hard, and didn't even bother with the question. This is not the way to build a community. I know I will not participate there ever again.

As a matter of fact my gift clone Nano I HAD used to drive my barn door tracker went up in smoke today. I got in a hurry and ran the extension cord out to my new permanent pedestal (a 55 gallon plastic barrel filled with water, two steel anchor posts, ratchet stapped barrel to said posts and sitting on a fine crushed limestone bed) and plugged the business end directly to 110 AC. I have a polarized DC outlet clearly marked as 12V, but in my haste plugged it in to another clearly marked 110 outlet. That setup is going to be changed first thing tomorrow! The outlet is going to be replaced with threaded studs and some extra solar panel connectors that are foolproof and can only be connected with the right polarization. The protection diode, 7805 voltage regulator, Nano and 2003 unipolar driver all failed dramatically! I have already been over on eBay and bought 3 Nanos from a US supplier, and yes they are clones.

My ego is not so fragile, or vital to my self worth, that I need acknowledgement for sharing what little I know. Judging by this afternoon, and my utter failure to pay attention, that isn't so much anyway. Still, if just relating my failure helps someone else it has been worth it. I find I learn much more from screw ups than any other way. Trust me I have learned almost everything I know that way. Lol

RS