Growing up, I was given the advice that if you want to be good at something, or get better at something, you need to surround yourself with folks that are better then you. I've found this advice to hold true, whether it be sports (competing against the best teams/individuals), hunting/fishing, or in this case bbq/smoking.
For sports and in some case hunting and fishing, there are clubs that you can join which typically have well seasoned individuals that are more then will to pass on the tricks of the trade so to speak, I am part of Bird dog club as well as fly fishing club. Both have individuals that simple enjoy passing on the "tricks of the trade", but don't expect them to give up their best fishing holes, or where they encounter huge coveys of quail.
In my case, since I knew absolutely nothing about smoking, first place I went to was the interenet, and joined a couple of forums, this being one of them. I also went to the class that started this topic. I understand holding secrets close, especially with the competition BBQers. But I think that the success of any club/forum/organization is based on the nurturing of the newbie's.
Having said the above, I think the info shared on this forum, speaking from my experience as a newbie, has been great, very prompt, informative and steered me in the right direction. I can also understand, that after a while, if I'm still asking questions, the help will tail off until I'm able to add or contribute to others.
What I also think this thread was doing, indirectly, was providing input into the quality of the class, which was great and it was hands on. It wasn't intended for competitors, although a lot of what was discussed by Chris he mentioned he specifically used in competitions, like the bite thru chicken. I came out of the class with more info then I know what to do with, and in a year or so, will probably go back to pick up what I've forgotten or couldn't absorb.
For any of the newer folks to smoking that can afford to go to this class, I would recommend it, there was a ton of useful information discussed, and you got to eat your homework!!