LOL, I just now got here and I was scratching my head just a bit 
But back to the main point. Zowie. I've also been around since the 80s (or so) and I don't think I remember a better forum. I think I can usually hold my own and keep out of trouble but some of the folks here are downright brilliant, with great depths of experience and knowledge. And helpful. This is the Internet so there is always the wheat and chaff thing; that should be a surprise to no one. But with the right filters, I'd say that a lot of what goes on here is better than much of what I saw in my professional career.
Bottom line, I'd have to agree with jrdoner -- In the spirit of open source, we're always happy to be shown how to do it better.
wiremanflash:
I'm new to Arduino and c++ programming.
If it had been me, then maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't have jumped to conclusions quite so fast.
At first I thought I'd really found a pretty cool gizmo and usergroup.
Correct on both counts.
... published books ...
I've only read one or two, and while I can certainly find issues, on the whole I've found them good. I cut the authors some slack as this is a relatively new and fast-moving arena.