Unfortunately, regardless of the subject matter being discussed, when you have open forums on the internet, you’ll find several types of participants. First, and thankfully foremost in most cases, you will have people that have a genuine interest in the subject being discussed, along with a willingness to learn and share their knowledge with others. Then you have those that just like to stir things up while enjoying the anonymity provided by the internet, and not really contributing any worthwhile information. The third (and most annoying in my opinion) type are those who consider themselves indisputable experts on any or all aspects of the topic being discussed. And, when their self-proclaimed expertise is brought into question by other contributors, they recoil and fire back with additional self promotion, while never providing evidence to substantiate their claims of omnipotence, which only serves to further erode their credibility.
After you’ve spent some time on the forum, you’ll be able to recognize those who know what they are talking about and those who don’t. Vic