shame on us

[bukster]

when i started frequenting this site my enthusiasm for the hobby was greatly bolstered by everyones willingness to help me and hear me out, understanding i was less than a genious on the subject.
but now more and more i'm reading threads where the more experienced people are less than willing to give the time of day to people with more basic questions. or heaven forbid someone makes a mistake and has a 9 page thread tearing them to pieces.
if we ever wish this hobby to grow at all we are going to have to have more compassion for the beginner. i mean we wonder why more people don't see what we do in fish but as soon as someone starts to we beat it right out of them.
shame on us.

i may be the only one thinking this but hopefully not. input please.

 

[frnchjeep]

Definatly not the only one. I've seen some great people leave this site (or think about leaving) for the very reasons you speak of. I guess some people never heard "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all".

 

[fishdance]

Its a 2 way street. I have noticed some people not appreciating well intentioned advice they dont want to hear or posters asking the same question that has been asked many times (which a search either here or online) would easily answer. Others will keep asking but not answer or provide essential information or the query is just too wide. On rarer occasions a poster will not even thank people for help or simply expect people to help in a demanding manner.

I usually dont answer these types of posts rather than criticise though. While I do like to help people, I dont get paid to come here or help people so I see nothing wrong with people being a little selfish sometimes. Some of the queries are pretty dumb!

 

[bukster]

some are definitely dumb i agree. but on the other hand i've done so much (including working at petsmart yuck!) to try and help the hobby we love. i go out of my way every chance i get to help incourage locals in their endeavours. and when i get on here just to read people bashing anyone they can to make themselves feel better it kinda hurts. there is a difference between an expert who knows everything, and doesn't want anyone else to know anything, and a somewhat experienced keeper willing to help.

 

[fishdance]

I dont think anyone likes a basher and people have LONG memories including those who havent been bashed personally so I wouldnt worry. People who bash dont appreciate the true community spirit and will either tire & leave or not get the full benefit of this community.

Perhaps there should be some more appreciation shown to mods and other well experienced helpful people? As I mentioned earlier .. its a 2 way street.

 

[X24]

yes there are a few bad apples among every forum regaurdless of topic, but there are still some good ones. ie. our excellent moderating crew and some experts in almost every field weather it be fishdance spreading his knowledge on fish breeding, or beblondie and polypterus telling us info they get from their jobs

almost every thread there are people willing to help solve problems and answer questions

 

[bukster]

i definitely agree. there are loads of great people here that are very helpful. but as fishdance said, people have good memories and one basher can make a much bigger impact than 20 helpful people. thanks though. i wanted to make sure i wasn't the only one thinking this way though. hopefully a few noobs will see this and realize we're not all bashers

 

[frnchjeep]

Your right, it is a 2 way street. This includes the fact that while you aren't being paid to help noobs, you aren't paying to be here either. I try to help out wenever possible. I get a lot of good information from this site, and when I have some info that someone else needs, I am more than happy to giving it up. 2 way street. I get more annoyed with "professionals" that have a condescending attitude, than I do with a noob's dumb question. No one knows everything, and every "professional" was a noob at one time.

 

[mike dunagan]

keep in mind a lot of times if an answer is given in a thread people will not say the same thing over and over again... also remember sometimes giving good advice gets people who are not so nice to tear into you.

I try to remember there is much more good than bad...

 

[basslover34]

It seems to me that some people on here really do seem to be getting the high and mighty egos and unfortunatly it's coming from a few people whom have high post counts (which apparently makes them feel as if they are Pros) and will have a bunch of newer members jump on the band wagon when they start their bashing sessions ... usually because of a misunderstanding of what the original post was about.

No one is perfect and we all have made comments which could be considered questionable towards other posters, keeping that in mind we should (I beleive that I am trying to live up to this personally) ensure that everyone has a fair chance to learn what they are here to learn. Understanding that everyone starts somewhere, some people take ALONG time to learn something and ask a million questions... but at least they are showing an interest in a hobby which not many are interested in to begin with.

Stand up for the people who deserve it and show that this board won't stand for bashing.