Does Philately Have More 'Self Interest' Than Other Hobbies?

It is all relative and "compromise" is inevitable.
There are maybe stamp dealers we dont like and at times we compromise and buy a stamp from them because they are the only source. Thats compromise...I dont like it...but it is not the same as compromising myself.
If I ever engaged with a sexist, racist, homophobe. I would be compromising myself. Whatever information he/she wants to share, I have no need to know.
It works both ways of course. Many people seeing my Facebook account (actually I have about five accounts) might well be offended by views expressed, my profile pic, my baseball cap or my tshirt.
In part I pose (we are all posers arent we?) in this way as a warning......"dont engage with me.....you wont like me".
I think thats totally acceptable. If I am at a stamp fair and there is a conversation where people even older than me are saying that "its always Basutoland to me...I will never say Lesotho"......then thats not only a conversation I dont want to join. Its a group/club/society/hobby that I want to keep distant.
Such people get cover from saying and thinking this because they feel they are in a safe (for them) space.
But not a safe space for me.
That doesnt make me anti-social. In fact I am social enough to have a mate (wife) and reproduce...(my service to generations yet to be born)
The idea that I might want to mate with and reproduce with any stamp collector I have met over the past 50 years is amusing. Sociability has its limits.
But I am not anti-social. I am just unsocial.

FitzjamesHorse,
I agree it is relative. Nothing wrong with being unsocial, some of us have a front door welcome mat which reads "Go Away". And to be honest, I think that while I have aged and my eye sight has grown worse, I can somehow see the BS in others better as I have grown older. Not having to deal with others is something that makes having online relationships better than in real-life relationships; not turning on your PC is easier than hiding behind your sofa when someone is at your front door (but the door mat described above helps with this).

Does philately attract 'loners' more than some other hobbies? I migrated from restoring old cars back to philately in part due to the physical aspects; pulling engines and balancing transmissions on my chest was fine when I was younger but lifting heavy albums off the shelf is certainly more palatable when I am recovering from dialysis every other day. Perhaps philately attracts older people because it is more a sedentary hobby rather than a 'loner' hobby?

I wonder how many of us would enjoy an opportunity to sit with some of the folks in this community for a beer? I know think of a number of folks here that I would like to share an adult beverage with, and like you, I consider myself a bit of a loner.
Don

I shy away from that term, here it appears in the press, in times when
there is generally criminality.
I consider myself an introvert, I can happily chat to most beings,
I do like friendship, but as soon as the talk heads towards local gossip, or the current word's negativity, I am looking for escape.

Not suggesting I am in this class though

I started a thread last week about 'Meta' and the new VR world that is the next step in the online, information sharing evolution. In my opinion this is going to magnify both the good things and the bad things of the current online environment. As has been pointed out in numerous threads;
- the quality of online information can be questionable
- some may be hesitant to share info if they think they might be ridiculed or bullied
- the anonymous nature of the internet supports behavior that might not otherwise occur
- technology often races a head of the consequences and laws
- philately has a legacy of monetizing information sharing which may be facilitated as a 'loner' type hobby (less sharing allows for more monetization opportunities)

What happens when FB and Google drags everyone into VR and the things listed above become even more predominate? Based on my experience and familiarity with how VR works with our brains, experiences will not only be more influential but also persist longer.

The good news; information we receive during an experience (as opposed to reading a thread) will be easier to retain and recall. If you wander into the SCF Bar and grill, sit down with some of the folks here and they share quality information on perforations, chances are great that you will learn something new (greater than simply reading something). The bad news, the same holds true when incorrect information is shared.

So what is the solution? Ideally, and how it is supposed to work now in online communities, people build good reputations and trust develops. But we all have seen how well this works. Not only are some folks afraid of participating, in some online communities' people have been driven to suicide. My point is, we are coming close to living through another paradigm shift in information sharing yet we still have not come to grips with the last one either in general or specifically in philately. Philately would be well served if it would develop methods and ways to reward information sharing, address bad quality information, and incentivize the building of good reputations.
Don

The problem is the world does not agree on who vets "bad quality" information. The primary ills I see (common to other hobbies) are elitism and being overly judgmental of others in social interactions (clubs, forums, etc.)

On being "social".
A very interesting thing happened yesterday.
As I can travel free by public transport anywhere in Ireland, I tend to make a weekly trip. Among other things, I like to photograph post offices in the Republic of Ireland an connect them to the STamps on a Roll issued in those post offices.
The number of post offices has dwindled to approx 935 and I have SOARs issued in about 903.
And I have pics from about 540.
Of course COVID travel restrictions have had a big impact.
So I am back on the trains...I have been on more trains than Hank Williams and Box Car Willie.
5.30am...my wife left me to the local station.
At 8.30am I am in Dublin and at 10am on a train for Cork City where there are around 20 post offices (a two or three day job) but my window of opportunity was limited. 12.30pm to say 4pm.
I had forgotten just how much of the north side of Cork City is composed of steep hills.
Anyway I got a bus (free) to the first post office on my list. And my first problem...there were surveyors working outside. It would not be a clear view and I positioned myself at a gate to a family home unaware that a lady was about to drive out.
She was a friendly sort and I asked directions to the next on my list. Thinking Id be confused by her directions (I was!!) she said......."I will take you there".
Of course over the past three years I have encountered many nice people who "get" what I am doing, others who think I am a harmless eccentric and the vast majority who are just indifferent.
The big difference is that yesterday this lady was genuinely interested and supportive. She drove me to EIGHT post offices. For me.......unsocial as I am....it was a genuinely moving experience.
I achieved more thru information exchange than being a loner.
And she gave me a hand written note for my wife telling her how much she enjoyed the stories of our family adventures up and down dangerous mountains to get a pic and SOAR from a remote post office.
So 4.30pm train out of Cork.
And 8.50pm train home.
ANd 11.00pm I am home. ANd saying of all my day trips this was the best...being social. It actually worked.

I would have been suspicious and not accepted the ride.

Nice story.
But Fitzjames, I thought you would have taken your Horse.

At least you wouldn't have hijacked the car then, Al.

Lovely story, FJH. Reminds me of a time in the '70s when my ex and I, scruffy, with lots of hair, arrived in Lagos in the Algarve, to find it crammed. A passing lady took charge of us, took us to various possible places to stay, rejected the odd one she didn't consider good enough for us, and eventually found us a room with a young couple glad to make a few escudos for the night. She spent loads of time on us, and wouldn't accept anything other than effusive thanks.

John Becker- a nost recent example of the tactics to get the readers to provide data, albeit more forward, but the intent is the same - one-upmanship.

https://www.linns.com/news/us-stamp...-clark-stamp

--Self-interest ---elitism---overly judgmental------less willing to share ----this is about sharing information .

REALLY !!!! Maybe it is experience ,knownledgeable collectors just get to the point that they are feed up with what they see from other collectors especially at clubs ,stamp shows and even chat boards .


These long time experience collectors just decide why bother dealing with these clowns and walk away .

I'm saving this reply for any future threads on 'Why Is Our Hobby Dying'.

In my opinion posts like this are a cancer on our hobby. Even if true, why post something like this? The only impact will be to suck the motivation out of helping others. If you really think that this chat board is a waste of time then you should not mind me axing your account here.
Don

Don -


Thanks for speaking out, Don, and I couldn't agree with you any more than I do. I feel sorry for misanthropes, but I don't see a place for them on forums like this. If a thread like this, with so many interesting stories and analogies in life, can't give a person a positive outlook and inspire them to be a little more social, what will?

I don't think anyone can grumble about Floortrader's readiness to share material here or his willingness to answer questions. Take the odd rant with the good stuff.

As a dealer, maybe I can add a somewhat different perspective. I have always (well, 50+ years) tried to share what I have learned, or resources that I have found (ad free). It was done in "enlightened self interest" as I had faith that if I was excited about a new collecting area, or interest, I could transfer that enthusiasm to a new collector who might become a valued client.

As time has become more precious to me, I have become less tolerant of the "users only" who take my time but do not give back to the hobby (or to me). How many times to I have to tell ebay buyers to buy only from reputable and knowledgeable dealers. I also advise asking questions in advance of buying, not after. I have no sympathy for those who get burned because of their greed.