Haven't posted in a while but...
I have to agree with Sofa_King, jonwienke, and the others labeled "critical" or "snarky".
This is primarily a hobby site so isn't usually expected to be as critically scrutinized as a professional oriented site. Still, there are many participants here who are either very knowledgeable hobbyists or professionals who have accumulated a lot of that knowledge by their own research and/or traditional schooling not to mention long hard years of experience.
I, for one, would rather look at such individuals as a valuable resource and try and tap into that for my own edification and benefit than treat them as "annoying nit-pickers" ruining my "fun".
Were I the OP, and assuming I was armed with only a limited knowledge of antennas, I would, firstly, have asked the folks on here (and other sites) about this "cool thing" and gotten their opinions to ponder and think about before plunking down my money. Given the nature of this item, I would post questions most likely in the "Antennas" section or maybe in the "Beginners" section if I was really a neophyte in terms of antennas. Now, on the other hand, had I already purchased this antenna as the OP did, and gotten "great results" using it, and felt the need to express my feelings about it I would think about doing so in either (again) the "Antennas" section or the "Reviews" section. I would also not reprint the add for the antenna, rather, I would simply state something like: "Hey folks, just bought this antenna which seems to work great for me. Seems to work much better than what I used to use (wherein I would describe what I used to use for comparison). Here is the link to the add on (wherever). I am not knowledgeable about antennas so took a chance but am getting what I perceive as great results." I might also add: "What are your thoughts?". If I did the later, I would expect a critical response, not necessarily critical in the sense of deliberate "snarky-ness" but still, some kind of technical critical analysis. Given that I admitted to purchasing said item with little to no foreknowledge, I would, most likely, expect some criticism concerning my purchase.
Yes it is, unfortunately, easy to get "snarky" when one is very knowledgeable about something and is dealing with someone who is just the opposite. I try not to do this when asked legitimate and well-meaning questions but have slipped up more than once I have to admit. But, overall, I personally think it is a very wrong thing to do and should be avoided ("snarky" response to a legitimate question).
However, it is even easier (and should be expected, I think) to be "snarky-leaning" when presented with something like "Hey guys, really excited that I just bought this super-doohicky that is working so fantastically for me! Much better than what I had before!" Then reprint the entire add for the "doo-hicky" and then NOT explain what I used to use to compare it with. If one does that, I kind of think one should expect some heavy criticism.
There seems to be a tendency to equate "being critical" with "being deliberately mean". Yes, sometimes that's true which is very unfortunate but, I think, it's usually not the case (intentionally, anyway). If we cannot criticize what is written here (by this I mean properly analyze in a critical fashion) at all because it may be perceived as "mean" than how are we to proceed?! How are the less knowledgeable folks out there that may be reading these posts expected to learn and make better choices? If no critical posts were allowed to what the OP stated and all one had to go by were posts like "Hey great! Glad it works for you!" and similar then no one learns anything except that it was great for the OP!
Honest critical well-informed thinking and analysis is extremely important especially to technical discussions and concerning technical items that cost money to buy and probably MOST especially for the benefit of those less knowledgeable concerning the subject who may be making purchasing decisions based on the related discussion.
-Mike
