Should participation here be regarded as a competitive exercise?

I find it a challenge to see if I can post a question with a mod pulling it and wanting me to reword it, or complaining about a run on sentence.

I so want to say something about the preferred usage being “run-on” sentence.

I think, ideally, Q&A sites are designed to be competitive, in that you want people to strive to give the best possible answer.

However, Fluther is divided into 3 sections and the ‘competitive ideal’ only applies to the General Section. Hence the tougher requirements for posting in General.

Fisticuffs at dawn…hootspah!

Nahh, not really. It is what you make it. You can aggressively debate or you can just chill or a lil of both. In my previous incarnation here back in 2012, I would get into heated and drawn-out debates with people. Now I just wanna chill and talk about art and cookware (but nobody ever asks any questions about either ;_;)

Someone who is obsessed with lurves, popularity or winning the debate will certainly agree.

Did I waste my money buying a set of Circulon, @Banjo_Pickin_Appalachian_Wizar?

@ibstubro I’m not familiar with it, but it looks comparable to Calphalon. Hard anodized nonstick isn’t really my cup of tea. More of an All Clad/Le Creuset kinda guy myself.

I have been told that after Circulon got really popular, they downgraded the finish, @Banjo_Pickin_Appalachian_Wizar. I believe it.

I’m just a home cook looking for durable. No aspirations to ‘chef’. :-)

Mr. Banjo, earlier this year I bought a whole set of Chantal pots and pans. They’re stainless steel. Some kind of Japanese steel without any nickel. One frying pan has a nonstick coating, but I don’t remember what it is. They cook very well and clean up easily. I really like them a lot.

The cushions are doing fine.

@Hawaii_Jake I’ve actually got my eye on a Chantal copper tea kettle :3 And I’m glad to hear it! Sorry I haven’t posted pics in the other thread yet. My life has been hectic.

In the old days, you could take an old beat up or burnt out Chantal kettle, ship it back to the company, and they would send you a brand new one. Those days of course are no longer with us.

I just looked up Chantal pots and pans, and I might be leery of anything that can be bought in sets from Target, Bed Bath and Penny’s.

I bought my Circulon at Kohl’s and I believe it might be a somewhat lower end, mass produced version than the pans that gave them the initial reputation. Possible (IMO) that the original quality is available at a higher cost somewhere less mainstream?

I would be more leery, if something was said about the steel Chantal uses to make their cookware. I couldn’t care less where it’s sold. Exclusivity does not equate superiority.

I wasn’t running it down, @Hawaii_Jake, by any means.

But I know that things like the Waterford Crystal stems sold at Kohl’s (and I’m not even talking about the Marques line) bear no resemblance to Waterford’s vintage crystal. It’s even marked differently.
To the best of my knowledge, the original quality crystal is still available at venues that don’t require 500,000 identical sets to stock all the outlets.

Being leery isn’t a bad thing, and doesn’t equate to “wouldn’t buy” for me. Just that I’d put in a little extra homwwork.

Thank you for the clarification. I did some homework. Chantal uses a few different kinds of Japanese steel for their cookware. I bought a set from Amazon that I don’t remember seeing at mass market retailers.

Nope. And I love how this turned into a cookware discussion. CAST IRON RULES.

@augustlan cast iron is god-tier. Lodge is made near my hometown. Older cast iron is superior, though, because they used to machine the cooking surfaces smooth which is more conducive to a nice even seasoning. I still like enameled cast iron, though, because pretty colors and you don’t have to worry about seasoning at all.

Competition might be one thing that could be said, I would go more in an exercise in illogicalness. I guess to debate for the sake of debating and ignoring logical points because they go against your morals or beliefs isn’t really a competition, unless you are trying to prove what you believe is true based off nothing more than you believe or not.

Y’all get back to skillets now.

Myy great grandmother used to fry the best potatoes in an old cast iron dutch oven (I think I still have it?), but I never got the knack of iron.

We used cast iron to blacken fish, chicken and prime rid at the Cajun restaurant, but there was no finish. It was kept to ash by the heat.

I really don’t think so. People here are basically immune to trolling/flame-baiting and other such things. A debate here is putting your perspective out there with others and letting it all settle out. I have not found this anywhere else.