Recently somebody asked a question about whether a particular SS gas
grill was a worthwhile purchase and many responded with suggestions of
buying entirely different outdoor systems. When you think about
it-there are a plethora of options out there. One division would be
fuel-here is a partial list:

gas
electric
charcoal
wood

Then you have different ways to apply the heat (for the lack of a
better term)

direct
indirect

Then you have different rates of cooking

fast (direct heat)
slow (offset smoking)
super slow (cold smoking)

Then you have amount of preparation/time required

Turn a knob (gas grill or electric unit like ECB)
Some effort (charcoal fired units)
More effort (offset smoker)
Lots of effort (cold smoker)

With or without seasoning, rubs or sauces

Then you have hybrids of some or maybe all of the above.

Is there one best method-nah it all boils down to taste and how much
effort a particular method requires. It was a real shock to me when
close friends said my 10+ hour offset smoked ham and brisket was way
too smokey for them. To me it was manna from heaven. SO when we start
talking about which method is best-I think we better consider taste
here-best for whose taste and how much effort they are willing to make
is the question.

My future to do/try list includes a cold smoker, one of those neat
porcelain cookers and a big honking smoker made from a 250 gallon fuel
tank or maybe from scratch using a large 24" or 36" steel pipe and
mounted on a trailer. The latter is an excuse to buy a plasma cutter
and a mig welder. Yeah I like toys.

So when somebody asks which "cooker" is best-well determining which is
best covers a lot of territory and wow do we all have different tastes
and amount of effort we are willing to make.

If anyone can stick in more segments/partitions in the above, please
do so cause when the game is finished, don't want to have missed a
single wrinkle.