Horological Meandering

This is a wonderful site; a wonderful community (for the greatest part), and a very comforting cyber-home-away-from-home.

What makes it so?  There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of watch-related websites to which we could subscribe, and perhaps many of us have, or do.  The common experience, and it seems the common consensus, is that PPro has that ‘something other’  - that ‘je ne sais quoi’ – which sets it apart from most other sites.

Is it the level of technical expertise here?  No.  There is a high level of expertise available from some very capable contributors who are very generous with their knowledge and their time, but the same may be said of other sites.  We have our Suitbert, Ei8tohms, Marcus, Don, Magnus et al, but so too do other sites.

In the same fashion we might ask: is it the industry insight?  Quality of writing?  Standard of photography? Enthusiasm of posters? Welcoming of newcomers? Breadth of coverage?  Again, in each case the answer probably has to be ‘No’.  All of these things, to a greater or lesser degree, may be found on other sites.  Our enthusiastic contributors bring all of these things to the table, to be sure, but it would be short-sighted not to recognise that the same holds true elsewhere. 

From a personal perspective the defining feature of this site, and the ‘glue’ which for so long has bound so many of us together, is the small but powerful set of guiding principles upon which the site was founded; which gives the site its unique character and agreeable ambience.

Coming in as a newbie many years ago was a nerve-wracking experience.  Similar forays into other well-known sites had been ‘cold’ experiences: not hostile, but also not welcoming, or tolerant of the inexperienced.  PuristS (as it then was) could not have been more different.  The first tremulous post was immediately met by a very warm welcome from none other than Lord Arran, the collector’s collector.   He was quickly followed by Thomas, Art (the walking definition of courtesy),  Andrew and many other old-timers, some sadly lost to us now. The bonhomie continued to pour from that day, as all of you have experienced yourselves.

What has been so thoroughly satisfying over the years, so very refreshing, is the almost complete lack of sniping, carping, feuding, back-biting, trolling or shilling here.  Sure; as with any global collection of anonymous contributors – as with any family - there has been the odd flare-up, but these are distinguished by their rarity and usually very quickly resolved.

To what do we owe this very agreeable state of affairs?  Well, at first instance kudos must go to the foresight of the PuristS founder, Thomas Mao, who laid down the fundamental guidelines for participation on this site – the ‘virtual dinner party rules’, if you will.  They’re in the masthead (^^^) at the top of this page.   

We were gently reminded of this Code of Conduct by long-serving mods Mike (‘mkt33’) and Daos (‘dxboon’) in a recent Bernard Cheong thread, now locked.  We were also reminded, although a reminder should not have been necessary, that this is a Code of Conduct to which we each subscribe when opening a user account here.

So why is there a nagging sense that there are those amongst us who have elected to ignore, even to flout, that Code of Conduct?  

There are understandable and forgivable occasions when the Code of Conduct is not followed to the letter: the new contributor who has neglected to read or recall the Code; the impassioned poster who has allowed her or his better judgment to lapse slightly in the heat of an exchange; the attempt at humour which fails for the want of subtlety in cyberspace or (let’s face it) the odd post constructed under the affluence of incahol.

What is not understandable, and what is not forgivable, is when a momentary lapse becomes a course of conduct; when a polite correction and then a clear warning is blithely ignored; when a request for better manners is brushed off or laughingly dismissed. This is sometimes the habit of a contributor new to the virtual dinner party table, one who is used to the rough-and-tumble of other sites and expects to be able to sit at this table wearing the same wrestling mask and muddy boots.  It is much more disappointing, though, and more debilitating, when we see brazen self-aggrandising, self-promoting, shilling and stirring posts from those who know full well what we as a community ask and expect as the small, agreed price of being here. 

If you see any part of yourself in this latter description, please pick up your fabulously expensive watches, collect your virtual designer coat and scarf, leave the virtual dinner party here, get into your virtual exclusive supercar and drive back to your own virtual dinner party, where all of your apparatchiks must surely be missing you. The rest of us would like to get on with the discussion we came here to have.

Cheers,

pplater.

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