Quote from: Broadmonkey on Tue, 24 July 2012, 14:38:21 I am usually just a lurker, and don't post much, and so I am mostly here to read the "experts" suggestions, advice and so on. So the restreiction of needing 10 post seems stupid to me. Before I can post anything relevant I need the gear for it, and groupbuys/the marketplace is one of the best ways to get it. the idea of restricting new users even further seems unfair to me.



If you don't contribute to the community somehow then you shouldn't expect to get much back from the community. I am not saying everybody needs to be out there writing custom protocol convertors or making custom keycaps (but wouldnt that be cool?), just contributing to discussions and offering your insights and opinions on community matters is plenty.





I would be willing to argue that buying an item from a community member is contributing to the community. If somebody wants to unload something and you take it off their hands, you have done them a favor. Many people will not know how to add to a discussion as a new member of the forums because they won't know a whole lot about keyboards in the first place. You have to learn, and the best way is by experience. Right now, there isn't a whole lot most newer or inactive members can contribute to the site because they might not always know a whole lot, or they might not have anything to say. It doesn't invalidate their presence either.Many have gotten started with keyboards purchased from other geekhack members. People on OCN always point you here if you are looking for a keyboard, and that's reasonable. This is how you get involved and once you've felt the difference you can understand why a keyboard is such a big deal. You cannot become a member of a community because you want to, the other members have to let you into it, and right now we aren't allowing newcomers to easily get involved. If I didn't get my first arcade stick for cheap, I probably wouldn't have continued to play SHMUPS or fighting games because playing with a normal controller just doesn't feel the same.