I have a theory based on just "knowing guys" and sittin' around the ol' cracker barrel.
When you sign onto any hobbyist forum, part of you expects to find very knowledgeable guys with an indepth understanding of the sport. If a guy mentions a "1911" the assumption is that he not only shoots them, but can detail strip them, design modifications, perhaps owns thirty of them.
In point of fact, he might own one, and shoot it every few months.
We refer to a guy who comes here just to read as a "lurker," but I also think there's a guy who is really trying to be a "learnker." He doesn't know a lot about things, and he makes the assumption that everyone here knows every item about firearms and their history.
So he simply asks, "What's the best." If fifty people say "the pre 1964," then that's where he begins his studies and perhaps his purchases.
Now before you laugh, take a look at a parallel condition--that being our THR discussion of knives. You'll see the same few guys responding, but 50 people reading.
Same thing with the Keeping Sharp area of Knife Forums. It's a tight little group. In fact, Ben Dale opines that there are only five tinkers using waterstones (or Japanese tools) for the typical commercial sharpening of hobbyist knives. The rest come to learn.
I think it's a very good thing!
The only way I've ever learned anything--including riding V-twins--was to walk up to an expert and say, "I'm a newb, teach me how."
A newb is not a poser, and it only takes a few minutes to explain a concept, a book, or direct the guy to a member here who works in that field. And we should be cognizant that lots of guys feel a tad sheepish about the outright asking for help.