Late to this topic, ahahaha, but since it's about beating up the corpse of a topic anyway.....
My half quid, or quarter ducat on the issue is that I've never gotten why anyone tires of covering old ground when it's new questions from new people. I never understood it on car forums either, the rancor toward "noobs" who had questions.....I mean, we didn't all start any hobby at the same time, haha, so why would anyone expect that someone coming to the party years later shares the same base of knowledge?
And, even more mysterious is that it seems forums are created, in no small part, to SHARE knowledge with others, yet there is the "use SEARCH dummy" mentality that seems quite antithetical to the whole concept of having a community.
I can certainly understand old guard getting tired of the same questions, but that's part of the job. Those stoic foundational people are what keeps any community alive, and that was the joy in coming here, yes, a smaller group, and not so much "watch conversation topics" as where I was, but also a complete absence of unkindness, and complete welcome for anyone and everyone, wherever they are at. A beautiful thing.
Now, I don't know, maybe if a bunch of watch talk was more common, there would be more, "how many times a day should I wind my automatic" questions, haha, but, for example, elsewhere, that was literally a post, just recently, and, in a HUGE community, this person had one reply. I chimed in, giving a basic summary of autos and, needless to say, it was appreciated by the OP. Others eventually added, as well, and thankfully I didn't see any scornful nastiness posted, but I have seen such, in abundance, there and elsewhere, and, my view is that, if a question bugs someone, don't answer it, but no need to answer with some insinuation that it's a post without merit, no matter how "basic" it may seem, or how often it's been answered.
For me, when I started, YTube wasn't even a thing yet, and the information out there now, on forums, reviews, blogs, etc., is massive so, yes, one can pretty much Google anything, on watches or any other topic, but if someone comes to a watch forum with watch questions, it seems someone with watch knowledge should be able to reply.
I don't know that I would have avoided watch choices I made along the way, as it's all been part of the journey, but I can say that how feedback is delivered, and the overall "tone" of a forum can make a difference to someone trying to learn about watches, or anything. As I've mentioned, I kind of fell out of love with the whole concept, in a forum where choices were judged and members were firebombed and it was like I was in a place where people didn't even really like watches, or each even other (outside of little cliques), which seemed to make for a sad "watch community" concept.
I suppose it's somewhat endemic to any "group think" that can arise, but all I can say is I sure appreciate how things are done here. Maybe some people feel that treating others with respect is being too much of a "snowflake" or whatever, I don't know, but the support and appreciation shared here adds a lot of joy to this hobby. I mean, outside of my brother and a business partner I got into watches (and not even with them, to some degree), nobody cares what watches I have, haha, really, so this is a cool place to communicate with other watch fans, much like any hobby community, I would guess.
So, I say keep flogging away, and welcome all comers, no matter how new, or no matter how "old" the question or topic might be. I personally find it rewarding to be of any help on a topic and I would often welcome the chance to answer "noob" questions at my old spot, and was always surprised that others did not have anything to add, despite knowing far more than me, or would just say something deliberately snarky. The fact that admin would not step in to moderate was even more distressing, and, suffice to say, this community is a great example of excellence that starts with the leadership.
I honestly wish a ton more people would find this little corner of watch heaven.
This place is a rare treasure in terms of forums, period, on much of any topic, in my experience.
WIT rules.