if we get larger we will definately need more niche things.
I can’t even count how many times I watched niche subreddits get ruined by the tyranny of the masses. As a niche thing becomes more popular, you get more casual lurkers. And those casual lurkers don’t typically have a strong knowledge on the subject. So they’ll start to upvote things that sound plausible and are eloquently written to make the reader feel smart for understanding it. But that doesn’t mean the info is accurate or correct; It just means the info appealed to the masses.
I work in a niche field of professional audio. The audiophile world has a lot of snake oil. Lots of people paying $2000 for solid gold cables when a wire coat hanger would sound exactly the same. I have seen “help, I have a buzz in my speaker and can’t figure out where it’s coming from” posts, where the top comment is suggesting a $7000 complete system rebuild… When all the OP needs is a 50¢ ferrite bead wrapped around one of their cables. But the “rebuild your system” comment was well written and sounded plausible to someone who only has surface-level knowledge, while the “ferrite bead” answer requires more in-depth knowledge on how interference is picked up in the first place. So the “rebuild your system” comment got pushed to the top.
Basically, nobody likes feeling dumb. And if a niche community gets popular, the laypeople begin to outnumber the experts. If a question has an answer that requires more than surface-level layperson knowledge, it will often get buried in downvotes from the laypeople. Not because it was incorrect, but because it made casual readers feel dumb. Even if the experts know better, they’re simply outnumbered.
yup but its a good size from my experience when engaging with it overall. if we get larger we will definately need more niche things.
I can’t even count how many times I watched niche subreddits get ruined by the tyranny of the masses. As a niche thing becomes more popular, you get more casual lurkers. And those casual lurkers don’t typically have a strong knowledge on the subject. So they’ll start to upvote things that sound plausible and are eloquently written to make the reader feel smart for understanding it. But that doesn’t mean the info is accurate or correct; It just means the info appealed to the masses.
I work in a niche field of professional audio. The audiophile world has a lot of snake oil. Lots of people paying $2000 for solid gold cables when a wire coat hanger would sound exactly the same. I have seen “help, I have a buzz in my speaker and can’t figure out where it’s coming from” posts, where the top comment is suggesting a $7000 complete system rebuild… When all the OP needs is a 50¢ ferrite bead wrapped around one of their cables. But the “rebuild your system” comment was well written and sounded plausible to someone who only has surface-level knowledge, while the “ferrite bead” answer requires more in-depth knowledge on how interference is picked up in the first place. So the “rebuild your system” comment got pushed to the top.
Basically, nobody likes feeling dumb. And if a niche community gets popular, the laypeople begin to outnumber the experts. If a question has an answer that requires more than surface-level layperson knowledge, it will often get buried in downvotes from the laypeople. Not because it was incorrect, but because it made casual readers feel dumb. Even if the experts know better, they’re simply outnumbered.