What Is With All the Links To Threads Instead Of Answers?

[mikethompson]

Kola,I hate to disagree with you, but I've found this forum to be nothing but helpful and friendly, and I am certainly not in the old boys club. I came here with a "I don't know much about pipes but want to learn" attitude and that's reflected into the "I know much about pipes and want to teach you" attitude I get in my replies. I don't get my flakes crumbled if someone answers with either a link that I may have missed in a search instead of a personal anecdote.

 

[sablebrush52]

Links also can provide content that a real time answer can't always provide, like specific images.
Just for laughs, I did a Google search for "pipesmagazine does briar breathe". Took all of 20 seconds, which is a lot less time that I might spend writing a response. The search turned up images from another forum of cross sectioned bowls showing that briar doesn't breathe.
Oh, and in case you wondered, briar doesn't breathe. Just another myth.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Mostly, I don't post links because I probably have misunderstood the original question in the first place, and my brief wrong and confusing reply is quite enough,.. I don't have to provide links to reference materials for my own idiocy. ::

 

[georged]

Oh, and in case you wondered, briar doesn't breathe. Just another myth.

100% not true.
As a test, I took a perfect condition, pre-war SG Barling that smoked fine and soaked it in a bucket of STP oil additive for a week, then encased it in an eighth-inch-thick layer of Gorilla Glue... Oxygen-sealed that puppy tight. Didn't smoke for shit after that.

 

[fitzy]

wait for a 5 second commercial

Time for you to use Adblock plugin for Chrome. Blocks all that crap. Although websites hate it and some force you to turn off your adblocker.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Georged, you may be right. I did that to a cat once, and same results. Didn't smoke for shit.

 

[cigrmaster]

Ok so now that we have all determined that links are bad and should never ever be used again( that is what you guys are saying right?) we can go back to answering questions the old fashioned way.
One of the things that drew me to this site in the first place was the amount of help a new smoker could get. When I first joined I had been smoking a pipe for the better part of 15 years with a few year break in the middle. I learned so much from the guys here and it made my enjoyment of my pipes and tobacco go up a whole other level. When I asked a question, I got answers. I didn't get a link. I know that over the years we do have tons of threads answering these basic questions but if all I got was a link with no other words, I don't know if I would have kept asking questions. My love of American artisan pipes was directly from a guy named Big Vance, he helped me explore these artisans and I will be forever grateful. Big Mike told me about cube cutting my flakes. Someone told me about an allergy they had to red virginia blends, that saved me tons of money and time, and it allowed me to focus my cellaring to where it is today. Maybe after being here so many years we forget what it is like to be a new smoker. I think that we never know what answer we may give that helps a new smoker get over that hump and makes pipes and tobacco a huge part of their lives.
I will never tell anyone what to post or how to post it. I know that for me, I will always write out an answer as that was done for me when I first came here.
Zack, you had better have gotten a lot better with your stems as my gums are as soft as a baby's ass.

 

[georged]

Harris --- It's all making sense, now... The problem has nothing to do with links, it's that there aren't enough guys here anymore whose board name starts with "Big".

 

[joeman]

I've spent considerable time on other forums prior to joining here, and can tell you that I've seen BOTH response methods as very helpful, depending on the nature of the question. And seeing the responses here...I do not see a general consensus.
I do not believe it's lazy at all to respond with a link, particularly if the linked topic is spot-on and provides much value. I'm an admin/moderator on another forum where I've hung out for 6 years...and there have been many instances where a question is asked which has been asked and answered once, if not many times. The response might be "we recently discussed this HERE", including a link. More times than not...the very same thing was addressed, and received many thoughtful responses...and now the repository of previously shared information on that very topic was put to use much like a book checked out of a library. Yes, one can search for content on his own and may find the answer...but how cool that someone remembered that there's already a whole thread dedicated to this very thing already here...and received lots of helpful responses. Makes a LOT of sense to me.
I also am a huge proponent of the discussion and banter which ensues when we ask and discuss things in the context of the pipe community. "Most" guys don't join here only for the purpose of simply being pointed directly to the information they need, but because they enjoy community. So while I personally see great value in a well placed helpful link...in the bigger picture, it's more about the community that I'm part of than just receiving the information I asked about.

 

[joeman]

Oh, and in case you wondered, briar doesn't breathe. Just another myth.
100% not true.
As a test, I took a perfect condition, pre-war SG Barling that smoked fine and soaked it in a bucket of STP oil additive for a week, then encased it in an eighth-inch-thick layer of Gorilla Glue... Oxygen-sealed that puppy tight. Didn't smoke for shit after that.
I also disagree that briar breathing is a myth. A number of years ago before I adopted the pipe resto methods that I presently employ, I thought it was a good idea to coat a briar pipe in olive oil once I cleaned it...(no disrespect to those of you who oil your briar); it deepened the color of the briar and left it with a low lustre. The briar absorbed the oil into the grain...some pipes quite a bit in fact...and then upon the next smoke, the oil came gushing out once the briar became very warm. This happened across the entire surface of the bowl...heat was causing what I would refer to as breathing...and out came the oil.

 

[crashthegrey]

Joeman, you touch on an important point. Ask any carver who oil cures pipes and they'll mirror your experience.

 

[joeman]

Crash, I've carved some as well...and would personally never oil-cure for this reason.

 

[5star]

Usually when on various forums I will do a search before posting a question. I know it can be irritating for the vets and subject matter experts to repeatedly answer the same ole questions. If that search doesn’t come up with relevant information or is several years old and possibly outdated, I’ll post my questions. I may even open with something like- “Hi fellows, I did a forum search but only came up with 3 year old posts. Perhaps you can help me with this please, . . . “ Though I don’t always state it, I’ll do the search first. Sometimes others suggest other search terms that bring up information that my search missed.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Responces also have changed over time. When I first got here, no one suggested drying out your tobacco till bone dry, which has helped many of us get more flavor from our tobacco. Some it may not.

Also, opinions on removing warm stems, how to deal with stuck stems, even tongue bite has changed with members trying new things and finding new solutions that work for them. Sure, if someone asks about how to avoid bit, one might turn to discussions in 2012, but then they'd miss many great suggestions on drying, breathsmoking, etc... Also the new ways we divide tongue bite from tongue burn. Right or wrong there are new responses to old questions, and it is still all evolving.
I am not opposed to someone posting a link, but maybe adding a few sentences would help, and it would maybe trigger more advice. I know that if someone asked about how to clean a pipe, and I see a link posted, I am probably not going to read the link to see what advice the OP was given. Someone might have just posted a link to a thread on how to unclog their toilet for all I know.
No absolutes. Post links and discuss... Make friends and be helpful. Ask more questions of the OP. Maybe something else that is not obvious to us is going on. What irritates me more than someone posting a link, is a new member posting an obscure question and then never returning to the thread to engage.

 

[huntertrw]

"...the oil came gushing out once the briar became very warm. This happened across the entire surface of the bowl...heat was causing what I would refer to as breathing...and out came the oil."
Alfred Dunhill had this same experience. Accordingly his process placed heating elements in the treated bowls, and over a number of days Dunhill employees periodically wiped away the exuded oil until they were indeed "cured."

 

[olkofri]

Another problem –and a big one– with links is that many are to old threads that contain photos that have now been permanently disabled by Photobucket. I was linked to another thread regarding my bloom/mould question and instead of a useful picture there was this 'update your account or no photo' sign. Of course, that's not the fault of anyone here, but it has certainly rendered many old threads less helpful.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

Another problem –and a big one– with links is that many are to old threads that contain photos that have now been permanently disabled by Photobucket.

That's Photosuckit. Photo... suck it. Because Photobucket can suck it after that crap move they made.

 

[nevadablue]

Links to Answers Link

 

[sablebrush52]

I just posted links! I just posted links! :nana:

 

[warren]

I've played links golf and posted a score.