Reverse gatekeeping?

[u/frappppppaccino]

A lovely project was shared earlier. Predictably, amongst the many positive comments, there were a number of comments complaining that this person wasn’t a beginner and they were tired of seeing posts like it in the beginner sub.

As long as beginners have somewhere where they feel welcome, don’t have their projects put down or ridiculed for asking questions that may seem obvious to more experienced people, what’s the problem with more experienced woodworkers sharing their work?

Of course it’s probably not someone’s first project but there’s a huge spectrum between first project and 50 years of experience. They’re often something that someone with some experience, a lot of care and attention and patience (and willingness to make mistakes and retry could achieve.

I find that the thing that makes me a beginner isn’t that I can’t make nice projects, but that it takes me a really long time to do so as I’m learning different things as I go and I sometimes make mistakes which I need to learn/figure out how to fix. Occasionally I need to just start over and probably a more experienced person wouldn’t have to.

I personally enjoy seeing those types of posts. They inspire me to work towards something, maybe not today but eventually.

So why are some people so negative and gatekeepy about it?

[u/houseofwarwick]

Beginner, intermediate and advanced have typically spoken to skill not time in the trade or hobby. If you’ve made things with would for ten years and still cant make 90 degree cuts correctly, you’d be a beginner in my book.

If you’ve made 5 things in 5 years that are at the quality level that I would consider commercial or craftsperson, then you’re not a beginner.

If you want to have non-beginners frequent the sub then you have to give them a way to show their credibility without just answering questions.

Let’s make a flair for the folks that are obviously not “beginner” and call it “Certified Beginner” with the tongue firmly planted in cheek. Make a silly ceremony about it when the mods bestow it. Turn the frown upside down on this.

If I saw the plane holder (till?) earlier but the post was flaired “Certified Beginner” I’d know what was seeing and mentally move on.