When it comes to open source hardware, Arduino is a huge success story: a project that sparked an ecosystem, and one that has broad appeal amongst beginners and advanced users alike. I purchased my first Arduino board - a Duemilanove - in 2009, and have since been building up a sizable treasure trove of various components and controllers.
As a project Arduino is awesome, and as an ecosystem it’s as impressive as it is vast… and that means it’s pretty damn impressive.
So how come the Arduino forums are so toxic?
Where enthusiasm goes to die.
Before we go any further, it’s worth re-iterating the context around Arduino: a relatively inexpensive open-source hardware platform that lowers the bar for hobbyists that want to explore electronics. For many it’s an introduction to electronics, for others an introduction to programming, and for some brave souls it’s even an introduction to both.
Through the availability of ready-made circuit modules, as well as a thriving ecosystem of associated software libraries, projects can be as simple or as complex as the user wants them to be.
A cursory glance at the official Arduino forums could allow you to forget much of this context though, and it’s difficult to Google an Arduino related topic without finding yourself in a forum thread that’s devolved in to snark, or - perhaps more frustratingly - one littered with authors who feel the need to profess their intellect via tetchy signatures. For many these forums are more an outlet for ego than education, and snark as opposed to support.
Now before I continue I ought to make something clear: these aren’t the bitter ramblings of someone who made a questionable post and was rebuked. I’ve never posted on the forums, nor have I even registered: I just don’t think it’s worth it.
A cursory glance at a thread I have currently open contains a user who proudly proclaims they “don’t speak Fritzing” in their signature, whilst an argument develops over a simple question regarding capacitor usage. Meanwhile, the original poster has abandoned the thread.
The issue of abrasive and hostile attitudes isn’t even a recent issue: and it’s been happening for years, with complaints on other forums; in fact it’s fair to say that it’s so entrenched in the forum that it’s become part of its very culture.
And it’s sad: I wonder how many Arduino starter kits are eagerly opened up, only for any enthusiasm to fade after the owner ventures online with a simple question or query.
Ultimately it leads to a very simple question: would it be best for the Arduino project to distance itself from its official forums?
Whilst mothers all over the world have likely uttered the words “if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all”; I personally prefer “if you’re using a forum that’s often frequented by beginners as nothing more than a masturbatory aid for your ego, perhaps you’re a bit of a tool”.