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Why won't many users and newbies post here?

RRP
RRP Posts: 25,880
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
You know the adage of you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Well I think the same is true with newbies to BGE. In April and May I taught two classes at my dealer's place and out of 24 newbie attendees only one (SmokeDiver) was already familiar with this board. In spite of explaining the value etc to the best of my knowledge not a one has come here, nor registered. Also I have three neighbors with large eggs - who seldom use them - will not come here either. I talk up the board and they look at me like I'm from Mars! They all are computer literate. Am I such a rabid egger that they seem strange to me as I must to them? I thought maybe posting this might solicit comments from newbies. I just don't get it - this is a great board with a wealth of knowledge available at the snap of the finger! I've got another class coming up soon and I thought maybe I could glean some ideas to spur that group to the board.
Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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Comments

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    RRP,
    i'd go a step further and ask... how the heck did they learn to do anything on the egg WITHOUT coming here?

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Car Wash Mike
    Car Wash Mike Posts: 11,244
    RRP,
    Someone that I didn't know bought an egg. A mutual friend of ours told him about the forum, if he needed any help to holler at me.[p]His exact words were, That forum is a cult.[p]Mike

  • icemncmth
    icemncmth Posts: 1,165
    Car Wash Mike,[p]
    We are a cult...[p]When I look at my egg I think....[p]Green Eggs and Ham!

  • Sigmore
    Sigmore Posts: 621
    stike, That's what I'm sayin!!

  • Richard
    Richard Posts: 698
    stike,[p]I have noticed in the last couple of months that newbies are coming in and saying that either they bought the egg due to the forum and friends with one or have been lurkers for years and just now decided to chat. Usually when they need advice, which is what the forum is very helpful with.
  • RRP,
    been competing in BBQ circut for two years with offsets and reverse flows, not a newbie to "it" but the BGE is a whole new ball game and a bit intimidating. And while there are a LOT of us lurking THANKS for sharing and hope to be able to contribute in our own rite in the near future[p]tim[p]

  • stike,
    You are exactly right. I just purchased my BGE and picked it up June 27. Like just about everyone else on this forum, I am a foodie. I have known about BGE for years and finally bought one. fter I placed the order with my local dealer, I found this forum and studied it for the week and a half it took before I got the egg.[p]This forum is part of BGE ownership and use. Face it, the instruction manual is more of an advertisment for eggcesories and the recipes in the manual are from this forum.[p]Using this forum I have learned how to light the egg using paper towel and canola oil (foolproof BTW); how to cook steak the T-Rex way (awesome); learned not to worry about my poor singed gasket from cooking my steak; found countless recipes and generally enjoyed the discourse.[p]Without the forum, I'd be floundering. I may be a fairly accomplished home chef, but I am not an engineer and would have never figured most of this out on my own.[p]I don't think this forum is a "cult" but I have wondered whether most of you are actually gainfully employed. :) Keep up the good work.

  • RRP,[p] Being in the 'newbie' class (3 months Large BGE) the forum is a bit much for the non-computer folks. Me, I hung around and did ALOT of reading for the first couple months. Earlier this week I finally took the plunge and posted a message. It is addicting once you get the courage to post. [p] In any case, I am a true believer of Egg. [p] Cult....Who is our leader..?? TNW.? T-Rex.? HAHAHAHA[p]egg-n-tino
  • I know when I first started coming here they were some new eggers that posted and asked some basic questions, me included. Many of those posts were immediately met with similar responses such as we have archives, why didn't you search before asking THAT, etc. I know it has mellowed in the last few months and those feeling may still be there, but not posted as regular.[p]I have certainly met online, some nice folks. I was not able to go to eggfest last year (son's birthday) and may not this year. I live in north Alabama and have met Tony and Kevin over in Florence, Dan at Grilling on the River this year and saw some people at the Jack last year (I was honestly too nervous to approach because of how large that contest is). Everyone seems very helpful and Dan was very willing to answer rib and brisket questions after all of the turn in from that contest (thanks again by the way).[p]I can say in the last year, I have learned to cook some of the best food ever, thanks to the egg, the help from people here and related websites like TNW. I now have about 20 bags of 4 different kinds of charcoal, 5 different smoking woods, enough rubs and sauce to drown a small animal and a wife who thinks I have lost my mind. She keeps quiet though because the food is good and she does not have to cook as much.[p]All of this has been learned with minimal postings. I probably should be willing to help out new eggers now and get a bit more involved on the site, who knows, I may even make it to an eggfest this year. Now all I need is a creative handle, and get going.[p]Gene[p]

  • Spring Chicken
    Spring Chicken Posts: 10,255
    RRP,
    Yea, same here. A girl who worked with Spring Hen about seven years ago told her husband about my BGE and he ended up buying a large. Since then I've tried everything I can think of to get him interested in Eggfests and this Forum. He doesn't even reply to my emails inviting him to the fests and I've never seen him post. I even gave his wife a new Polder thermometer to give to him and I don't recall him even thanking me. [p]So my next option is to stay in touch while I wait for the day he says he wants to get rid of it and hopefully thinks of me to give it to. Then I'll stop bugging him about all the BGE stuff that's going on around him.[p]Go figure...[p]Spring "Sometimes You're Doing A Disservice To The Water When You Try To Make The Horse Drink It" Chicken
    Spring Texas USA

  • Sigmore
    Sigmore Posts: 621
    CGator, Don't be scared to jump in. The water's fine and there is nothing about cooking that is cut in stone in the world of good food.

  • jwirlwind
    jwirlwind Posts: 319
    Spring Chicken,
    You people on this site need to stop indoctrinating members with all your unorthodox ways of cooking. What a shame, shame shame. lol[p]Chef Jerry[p]indocrtrinated

  • TheHulk
    TheHulk Posts: 157
    RRP,[p]There is probably a lot of lurking going on, but I agree about convincing some owners to get this extra knowledge. A couple of friends always ask what I am cooking and what to cook next. They never hit the board for creative ideas and get fired up about the deliciousness exuding from the pics posted. [p]I save a couple of ideas a day to my dedicated folder of things I have got to try. One sub-folder is all for the things I must try Rick's Tropical Delight has shared. Thanks Rick, I am much appreciative for your talents.[p]The Hulk
  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
    99MD Eggsorcist,[p]
    "I have learned how to light the egg using paper towel and canola oil " Thats a new one for me. Share that one please.

  • HungryMan,[p]I am a newbie and have found everyone very helpful. I researched the T-Rex steak method and coulnd't find the recipe. NakedWhiz didn't call me any names or anything . . just gave me a wesite (his) to go to. I have learned how to start a fire from Elder Ward and how to cook a butt (just cooked my first last night (16 hours)). In just my short four weeks of egg ownership, my wife has put me on a meat allowance. When I went to buy my butt yesterday, she gave me cash instead of the debit card. . .And she does think that the forum is a cult! But I love you all anyway!
  • GonetoSeed
    GonetoSeed Posts: 13
    "I can say in the last year, I have learned to cook some of the best food ever, thanks to the egg, the help from people here and related websites like TNW. I now have about 20 bags of 4 different kinds of charcoal, 5 different smoking woods, enough rubs and sauce to drown a small animal and a wife who thinks I have lost my mind. She keeps quiet though because the food is good and she does not have to cook as much."[p]This fits my house to a tee. [p]I will add that I'm a big user of the search function. I've found that all of my questions have been answered and a Just In Time search gets me the advise I need to move on to the next burning (flashback) question. I've also found that by trying to keep up most days that questions that I don't know enough to ask get asked by other "newbies" and answered by knowledgable veterans. I move move up the learning curve with each question and answer.[p]At the moment I think it would be presumptous of me to provider advise. However, I look forward to the time when my advise benefits a "newbie" and I can payback the forum. [p][p]

  • RRP,[p]If it weren't for this forum it'd be a wonder I could cook anything. I got my egg couple weeks before Thanksgiving. Cooked my Tksgiving Turkey, Christmas Rib Roast, and Pork Butts for New Years. Plus don't know how many things since. My favorite thing now is brisket. [p]Thanks to all the members of this forum for helping me out when I had a question. It is absolutely amazing to me how fast people help out/respond.[p]Thanks, Jerry D
    [ul][li]my pages - to be updated soon I hope.[/ul]
  • RRP,
    Wife and I went to a BGE dinner hosted by Chadwick and Hacks, our egg dealer. It was fantastic and we met about 25 area eggers and wannabes. We wore our HungryMan T-shirts, the "I am an egghead" ones. Everyone loved them, we got some BGE beer coolers for wearing them. The amazing thing was no one seemed to know or admit to knowing any thing about the forum. When I said I am "City Slicker" from the forum, they looked at me like I was from Mars lol. Gary from Chadwicks told me all about the forum when I was humming and hawing about buying an egg. The forum was the final incentive to take the plunge for me, and I try to pop in every day.

  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
    City Slicker ,
    Glad to hear the shirt did you good. Im gonna start giving one away every couple a weeks to forum members. Still have a few orders to fill, they are still a hit.

  • RRP,
    I posted right after getting the bge. Don't know why others wouldn't do the same. Great forum.

  • RRP,
    Since I got my Egg 4 months ago all I do is read this sight and cook. I feel like I know most of these people now. I love this forum.

  • Pork Butt
    Pork Butt Posts: 95
    RRP,
    Wow I was posting before I even bought my BGE. Now I treat this like my home. I have learn so much here it's unreal. I enjoy looking at the poat to learn new ideas and recipes which I have gotten. Even my wife now checks out the forms and she is getting into it. Just look at it this way it's there lost. [p]Pork Butt Mike

  • RRP,
    As a (relative) newbie who has posted quite a bit recently, the one thing that made me hesitate to start, and I think might discourage others, is that a quite a few of the eggers here evidently have known each other quite well for a long time, and are personally acquainted. I have certainly felt welcome to participate, but i have also felt awkward...trying to feel out the 'rules' this egger family forum goes by. Cult, family...whatever you call it, there are always unspoken standards that newcomers to any community have to learn, preferably without being made to feel stupid or ashamed in some way--This discomfort can dredge up other similar times one felt that way (meeting the inlaws for the first time, the first day of junior high, first day on the job, etc.)and make the situation seem more intimidating than it appears to be on the surface or to others observing you.[p]Also -- if any group is at a size it is comfortable with, if will 'by unspoken consent' behave in ways that seek to keep the group the same size, and that may also be a factor among the regulars on any forum. We can only each maintain a certain number of relationships and if the quota is full, we are usually polite to newcomers, but essentially disinterested. (trained in behavioral and systems theory, occupational hazard, sorry)...[p]This is also the first online forum I have ever regularly participated in, so I'm learning how to 'read' the posts. Without tone of voice to hear and body language to observe, I'm often not quite sure if posts are serious, jesting, angry, playful, confused, etc...sarcasm and irony are the riskiest modes of communication (for being misunderstood) and can even sometimes be a mask for cruel intentions...[p]but, whatever...I just really hope to continue to learn more about how to cook great food![p]

  • RRP, I also posted here before I got my egg and have to give credit to this forum for every thing I know about grilling and smoking. But I know for sure there are a large number of people out there that don’t even know how to turn on a computer. I have been into computers almost since they existed. Like someone has already have said it is there loss. [p]
  • Nancy
    Nancy Posts: 24
    RRP,
    Yeah... I go with what Calibrad said. :o)

  • RRP,
    I'm no newbie having owned my Egg for a bit over 4 yrs. I have occasionally posted help suggestions and asked a couple of questions when my cooking seemed to be in trouble. Thanks to those of you up in the middle of the night to coach others on over-night problems.[p]Now, an observation which would lead to a suggestion. I think having a single web forum rather than the .net and .com flavors. Like some of you I find reading the .net version vastly easier except when allegedly posted pictures don't display. I know that to get good coverage of one's suggestion or question one must post on the .com falvor. That' awkward and complicated. My proposal/encouragement would be to merge the two into one and do it soon, I did post a few weeks ago a suggested list of the best features of both that should be encorporated in the merged product.[p]In other words, an easier-to-use single forum would be quite useful.

  • mike
    mike Posts: 152
    calibrad,
    I feel the same way and couldn't have said it better.[p]Mike

  • RRP,[p]I Be a Noob. Not only to the Egg, but to cooking. Other than my famous spaghetti [like making spaghetti is hard!], my chefology has been limited to dried, crusty hamburgers, grilled cheese grease-wiches and shaking the bottle of salad dressing found in the back of the fridge.[p]And -- here I am with an Egg, which I somehow named "Toto." I don't know how to drive it, or even what I can do with it. So, it mostly sits on the back deck all winter, and occasionally grills some hamburger and hotdogs. You know -- that challenging stuff. Isn't that what'cha do with a backyard griller?[p]Then I discover this forum! Oh, my! We aren't in Kansas any more, Toto![p]You guys are cooking up stuff I never knew could be cooked. Yes -- more than a little intimidating. Now, I think I'm a bit bolder than most... so I've ventured into a "real" cook or two, and then have posted a post or two... How many people buy Eggs and never learn that they aren't hibachis? Or [cough, splutter!] Webers?[p]When we Noobs come to understand that everything everyone thinks about cooking goes out the window when approaching the Egg -- more intimidation?[p]My son-in-law, a chef at Hurrah's, finds me with the Egg, he shrugs his shoulders and asks why didn't I just get a Weber, like everyone else. More intimidation.[p]=======[p]It takes a while for Noobs to understand that many people on this forum are also chefs... and know their equipment... and have the Eggspertise to teach us... and are willing to do so.[p]That's the biggest head-game to figure out. Why would anyone take the time to consistently help us Noobs? I still don't have the answers, but I'm so glad you [or is it "y'all"] and the forum exist.[p]Example, I recently had a backyard dinner for 30... didn't have a clue what to do. Eggfoot spent an incredible amount of time talking me through all I needed to know, to guarantee the dinner would be successful.[p]It was![p]So now -- I come to the forum every day, to read the problems everyone else is having, and the solutions which, like clockwork, get posted.[p]Thanks to All![p]~ Mostly a Lurker...[p]~ Broc[p][p]

  • Carbonizer
    Carbonizer Posts: 188
    Broc in Council Bluffs,
    I second that.
    Ask a question here and you get answers and help from people you wouldn't know if you saw them on the street, people from all walks of life and people that are just as busy as you and I but take time to do research if thats what is needed to help you. Someday I am hoping that my experiance's will allow me to help others this much as well.
    Yes, Spring, it is a cult but it may be a Family also.

  • Carbonizer,[p] A family......Now your talking.[p]Seriously, this is one of my main places to get ideas for new cooks/methods/recipes/etc....I lurked for a month and now I can't get enough. Humor, pics and the such just add to the fun. [p]Let's keep a good thing going[p]egg-n-tino