MWJB I didn’t know who any of these people were one year back. Then I stumbled on James H and was originally ambiguous. However, I read his Coffee Atlas, which is excellent and highly useful, and made him credible to me.
Then I looked a bit further and found that a percentage of his videos were informative, highly nuanced, well thought through; that he does respond (sometimes) to comments (impossible to do all if you look at the numbers), that he would modify his position if new knowledge convinced him to do so and would do this publicly without prompting, and that although many, perhaps most, of his videos are entertainment, those intended to have solid content were usually useful.
BTW, not what to buy but rather what questions to ask oneself and vendors too before buying.
This made me think it was worthwhile to look at other YT channels. MAJOR FAIL! I found myself experiencing a range of reactions from “well-intentioned at best; his mother is proud of him” though “entirely repulsive”. Very occasional exceptions include a few noted on this forum, TWG et al.
On reflecting further I found a small number of persons, some now deceased, online in forums, whose posts were so packed with evidence-based opinions as to be very worth following. One of them left the primary forum I used then and I wound up here to keep listening. (Thank you Jake & Dave)
And thanks to the many non-YT persons who post across several forums with intent to provide good data, seasoned opinions, sound advice. If all those of good intent simply ignored “influencers” they would eventually disappear in puffs of hot air.
