Quote Originally Posted by GMichael
I know that I was a lurker for a long time before I made my first post.
Me too. The real answer is that RR is a tight knit group of regulars, even to the point of having inside jokes and seeking equipment advise in this forum whilst surrounded by hardware specific forums. Not that that is a bad thing. Also, IMO discussion tends to focus on indie with a good number of forays into prog. Not really mass appeal genres (which is the point of both, I suppose).

But, its actually a welcoming forum, it can just be intimidating to the noob. I've taken advantage of some of the Comps (equally available to noob and old codger alike) and have been stymied by a number of the artists. Who? The hardware forums get the same goofy disproportionate amount of "guest" traffic.

It's like that scene in Hi Fidelity:

Barry's customer: Hi, do you have the song "I Just Called To Say I Love You?" It's for my daughter's birthday.
Barry: Yea we have it.
Barry's Customer: Great, Great, can I have it?
Barry: No, no, you can't.
Barry's Customer: Why not?
Barry: Well, it's sentimental tacky crap. Do we look like the kind of store that sells I Just Called to Say I Love You? Go to the mall.