On April 8, 2009 at 09:48, 300ohm said...
have created an item that is inherently elitist, isn't it?
Heck no. The postings and plans and parts lists are in plain, simple, down to earth language that anyone should be able to understand. I would argue that anyone who isnt willing to get their hands dirty by building their own antenna is an elitist snob, heh.
By this definition, your grandmother, and most women, are elitist snobs. The most moral and upright man I ever knew would lamely point me at a screwdriver when there was a mechanical problem because he had zero mechanical skills. His wife thought he gave away too much money to charity and he was on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries. To you he is an elitist because he WON'T get his hands dirty. You condemn him for lack of skill that you assume everyone has. You are wrong --there are a huge number of people who simply don't have the skills even to build an antenna as simple as this.
You're also confusing "elitist" with "someone who likes to keep their hands clean." A reasonable definition for elitism is
The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.
The issue here is superiority. Your superiority. You believe that the people who are willing to get their hands dirty, and who have superior mechanical skills, should have this antenna, and those who would have to go buy it should not have it. At least they cannot go buy it, and I believe you touted this as an advantage of it. I don't mean to overuse grandmothers here, but since my grandmother can't go buy your antenna, your elitism is keeping it out of her hands.
