hardrockminer wrote: Pagala, it sounds to me like you're a person of principle. Good on you! Since you've gone that far why not simply avoid any online assistance as well? After all, using someone else's knowledge isn't far removed from using their skills.
We're getting a bit off-topic here, but there's definitely a cultural difference between the USA, Canada and the UK. These countries are all very different. I remember a few years ago, when I used to go to these restaurants selling a certain type of food. They had collection boxes in them for some strange organisations - I paid them no mind and didn't care. Then, when the Sept 11 thing happened, that put an end to my visits to those places. Don't get me wrong - I love the food. But I don't give money - which is real sustenance - to people who don't like me.
In the UK there's a lot of reverse snobbery. You walk into a machine shop here and there's a lot of disrespectful joking, impoliteness and crude behaviour everywhere. A lot of bigotry, casual violence, etc. among that sort. I suppose you might think of them as the equivalent of good old boys, or something. But I don't like 'em, I don't tolerate 'em and I let their olde worlde businesses run their course. These are the sort of guys who could buy an Omega Seamaster and make you want to buy a Casio, just to dissociate yourself from them. I'd actually prefer to support Chinese knockoffs. They're like this guy, on steroids:
Gotta say, I do appreciate this forum, for its polite and respectful tone and behaviour, and lack of judgmentalism. That's what attracted me to this place.
But I don't feel I have much in common with motorcycle enthusiasts, per se. They live for oneupmanship, they're competitive over the most trivial things, and they just come across to me (here in the UK) as obsessed with coming across as if they're from the pits, and have made good, and now know everything about everything. I value completely different things from them. People I know with 8, 9, 10 rental properties in their portfolio still drive an old Toyota and try to be the first in line for some discount at Aldi/Lidl. Motorcyclists, machinists, welders, mech engineers, etc.... I just don't get them so I avoid. They can flash the cash and eat a bacon sarnie or whatever, but it's not what I'm into. Hope this makes things clear.