One man's Mede is another man's Persian.
I think what it is about will differ for each individual. But technique is meaningless without a defined end product in mind. Thinking about an end result, a photograph or photographic print, frames the discussion about gear and technique.
For me, photographs themselves are about 90% creative vision, 9% process/technique, and 1% gear. Optimal discussion on the forum would be 50% creative vision, 49% process/technique, and 1% gear. Creative vision is something that can be very difficult to discuss, even if a photographer is fully self aware of what their creative vision is. But a photograph has to move me first, before I ever care about process, technique, or gear. And without creative vision, what drives the decision making for selecting process, technique, or gear? So without a photograph or creative vision in mind, process, technique, and gear talk feels a bit shallow.
Gear is easy to talk about without offending anybody or anybody getting bent out of shape. The average amateur photographer is not very good at taking criticism.
If you believe you can, or you believe you can't... you're right.
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