jim beam wrote:

quick survey:

hands up all those that feel free to criticize a piece of equipment
they've never tried. anyone?

Certainly. I'll always feel free to criticize components which purport to
solve non-existent problems, and are less durable, more expensive, and
incompatible with existing standards.

further example: criticism of new materials outside the experience of the
author and/or based on erroneous "facts" is a particularly interesting
phenomenon.

why do people do it? seriously, i'm genuinely interested by this. any
thoughts?

In many cases I'm sure you could attribute it to what Jobst Brandt calls
MAS, or "Male Answer Syndrome".

--
Benjamin Lewis

Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants,
today it's open to anybody who owns hideous clothing.
-- Dave Barry