What happened in this thread is a prime example of what happens if you utter any sort of criticism of Swarovski: The Swarovski Mafia will be out in force and try to get you. Their tactics are varied but they almost always resort to ad hominem attacks at some stage.
Don't worry, this has happened to others here before.
Hermann
Well sorta... maybe... Hermann. But wait, is it possible there is an "anti Swarovski" mafia here? A case could be made. Methinks though both of these assertions miss the point, are short of the mark.
It is a point Ive raised before that you have already criticized, but I'll speak to again. The Birdforum policy that all opinions are to be respected, protected speech is at the root of this. I get some wont like this and may ironically want to censor THIS opinion. But look at what just happened. The OP reports a potential newish issue with Swarovski construction. I say newish cuz in my 4 years here I dont recall reading about it. The sling attaching hardware affixed to the bino body fails? If true I want to know. We all should want to know.
But even the original post which was based on reports from friends and an authority or two, was a bit far from a direct, first hand report. What was the circumstance? Context matters. How did this happen? It woulda been nice. Instead we have an argument about the bona fides of serious Birding guides and the quality of their indirectly reported experiences. Yikes!
The picture included, added to the controversy. The NL body had an aftermarket part installed. What role did that play? Why was that done? Probably inadvertent. But it surely is cause for a question or 2. Another picture posted was of the failed eyepiece rubber. What purpose did that intend? The OP stated he didnt want to pour gas on things but Im guessing at some level he knew he was doing just that. Saying that almost setup the outcome. Clearly some experienced it this way. Back to the eyepiece pic. To my way of thinking, Im still wondering if these binos were dropped? I see evidence in that pic of that. I admit its a guess. Others have come on and pretty vehemently argued this is caused by sebum, DEET, hot dog mustard... Again not facts just unsubstantiated strongly expressed (maybe even defended) opinions. We dont know.
Denco piles on with a list of 10 or so quotes that, if one took the time to read, you would wonder. What are these people from Facebook or somewhere reporting? Most sound to me like theyre having problems, often complained about here, getting the strap connector properly latched to the bino body hardware. If so how did that relate? Denco is welcome to his opinion, and so yet again we get this. Piling on? Obfuscating?
This is not about a pro or anti Swarovski mafia. That obscures the issue and is itself argumentative, reeks of the personal. It is about the BF notion all opinions are created equal. All opinions are welcome and to be respected. That is never gonna work. It is the direct cause of the controversies that constantly spring up here. And that we are mostly all tired of. Some opinions are indeed fact. Some opinions are based on fact with experience to augment, when fact is missing. All opinions might be qualified with contextual conversation. That would help. Many/most are not. Opinions that have been repeated literally for years, refuted over that same time frame by people who know, and are still be expressed here are not good. This happens as we all know.
How to stop it?
