Grandma wrote:the tone of a message board always ends up sorting itself out based on the most prolific or prominent posters. '101' posts can sometimes get one response and die, but there are also almost always new things to learn about the basics. for example, i've pretty much taken my french press routine for granted for a long time but this post in the knockbox Is some French press mud normal even for a Mazzer Mini? had some really insightful thoughts that made me re-examine what i thought were givens (i use a neoprene sleeve with my fp.)

so basically, a 'what's first crack sound like?' post will get one reply and die or spark more interesting conversation.

I agree. It really matters who's posting. IMO, a total newb's question is worth reading if it's answered by Schulman, Kehn, Mike Mc- or some others. The same thread answered by near-newbs is just a dreadful bore. And often wrong.

Posts do sort themselves out, but certain signals can be sent to roasters "up front" both to keep this forum geared to people who've gone beyond the "basics," and (more important) to direct new roasters to other sites where their questions are answered in more detail. In this thread, Mike posted 7 good resources (plus 3 etceteras). I like the idea of adding a second box c (one like the current poll question) that includes the question, "New to Roasting? Be Sure to Check These Helpful Sites." And then the list of links. Furthermore, I've no doubt that this "running" resource would be really useful to all of us----especially helping to identify roasting issues we don't fully understand or disagree with.

Martin
(heat + beans, all the rest is commentary)