message to those who flame others

krazekajin

krazekajin

Active Member
I am always amazed at the ripping that some people get on this board. I am completely aware that one should research, etc. As for LFS bashing . . . If it was not for my LFS(s), I would have never gotten into this hobby. Why should I trust the comments of a person I have never seen before who just happens to have 500 posts on a website over an employee of a store who has its act together with beautiful tanks.
All of us have done things wrong before. The only time some one should be critized and/or flamed for asking questions is when they have asked the same question over and over and ignored the advice.
I am glad that there are those experienced hobbiest who have never lost a fish, researched for six months each purchase, and have never experienced a problem with any thing. For those who are a little less experienced, please be patient and tell us nicely what we have done wrong and how we can fix it.
Thanks for allowing me to rant. I will stop now.
P.S. To most, thanks for allowing me to find awesome advice on this board.
P.S.S It is also encoraging to see that most of the mods on this board who have the experience don't flame and be ignorant. Thanks mods
 
nick76

nick76

Active Member
Originally Posted by KrazeKajin
I am always amazed at the ripping that some people get on this board. I am completely aware that one should research, etc. As for LFS bashing . . . If it was not for my LFS(s), I would have never gotten into this hobby. Why should I trust the comments of a person I have never seen before who just happens to have 500 posts on a website over an employee of a store who has its act together with beautiful tanks.
All of us have done things wrong before. The only time some one should be critized and/or flamed for asking questions is when they have asked the same question over and over and ignored the advice.
I am glad that there are those experienced hobbiest who have never lost a fish, researched for six months each purchase, and have never experienced a problem with any thing. For those who are a little less experienced, please be patient and tell us nicely what we have done wrong and how we can fix it.
Thanks for allowing me to rant. I will stop now.
P.S. To most, thanks for allowing me to find awesome advice on this board.
P.S.S It is also encoraging to see that most of the mods on this board who have the experience don't flame and be ignorant. Thanks mods
you are my new favorite person
 
arandacole

arandacole

Member
I always try to keep in mind the intent. Is the posters intent to educate or to be mean. Sometimes in a written forum it can be confusing as to which it is.
Love,
A
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
i agree, although it can be confusing without being able to see body language or hear the tone of someone's voice. Sometimes it's hard to tell if they're giving good advice or just flaming... i think we should use more of the smileys so people know such as
or
or :cheer: or :joy: for good and
if you're being mean. That might clear up a lot!
 
xdave

xdave

Active Member
Sometimes people get angry when an innocent creature dies because of someones lack of effort to learn anything about that creatures basic needs. If you saw on a cat discussion board "my 3'rd kitten died today, should I get a bigger shoebox?" you'd call the police. Maybe "shame on you for not looking that fish up and killing him" isn't all that harsh. I guess I care more about the death of an animal than the feelings of the person that killed it.
 
teviesfish

teviesfish

Member
Originally Posted by xDave
Sometimes people get angry when an innocent creature dies because of someones lack of effort to learn anything about that creatures basic needs. If you saw on a cat discussion board "my 3'rd kitten died today, should I get a bigger shoebox?" you'd call the police. Maybe "shame on you for not looking that fish up and killing him" isn't all that harsh. I guess I care more about the death of an animal than the feelings of the person that killed it.
Always love your post... I actually like to hang out in the newbies because even though i am new too there are always those who are newer then me.. and i tend to look for those post who are bumping themseleves in search for help.. :happyfish
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
There are some awesome LFS out there, and, unfortunately many more that are not. Some LFS, just can't hire a full-time knowledgeable person to man the store; someone who can address customers' questions and make adequate recommendations. Therefore, there are many stores with hired help that are not terribly knowledgeable, and who have not even kept a tank. Yet, these people are making recommendations and selling rather expensive items to their customers.
Obviously, the lfs is a store and needs to earn a living. They don't make that living off selling fish. Stores make their living mostly by selling equipment and new setups. Therefore, equipment tends to be pushed.
The LFS is out done by online vendors on price and variety. And with the addition of forums, such as this one, its hard to compete since fellow hobbyists can get 24/7 attention in a forum.
Still, there's nothing like going to good a LFS to see new fish, corals, even rocks! Just don't necessarily rely on them to give you good advise! Some do, some don't. Just like the forums. However, in the forums, there are so many hobbyists. We are not here to sell. We are just here because we love the hobby and want to learn and share with folks of like interests. The savvy forum member can quickly pick out who is respected, and who to trust here BEFORE they ever make any purchase.
The best advise I can give is to do a lot of research before doing anything in this hobby. Don't rely on anyone to make decisions about your tank....just learn first before making a purchase.
 
krazekajin

krazekajin

Active Member
he He. No really, I just wanted to remind people that most newbies are trying.
I am convinced that research and asking tons of questions is the key. In Toledo, we have about five saltwater LFS, one being *****. While I do not rely on the advice of the ***** employees, I do buy fish. Their fish are well taken care of and cheap. But there are three LFS that are owner operated and it is thier passion. I have spent hours in there asking questions and then comparing answers. I think that is what more people need to do and think about. Don't just ask one person (either on a board or at a store), but rather ask around and compare answers. Usually you find a common thread in most and that is probaly the road you should take.
 
my way

my way

Active Member
Originally Posted by KrazeKajin
he He. No really, I just wanted to remind people that most newbies are trying.
I am convinced that research and asking tons of questions is the key. In Toledo, we have about five saltwater LFS, one being *****. While I do not rely on the advice of the ***** employees, I do buy fish. Their fish are well taken care of and cheap. But there are three LFS that are owner operated and it is thier passion. I have spent hours in there asking questions and then comparing answers. I think that is what more people need to do and think about. Don't just ask one person (either on a board or at a store), but rather ask around and compare answers. Usually you find a common thread in most and that is probaly the road you should take.
Ive said this many times in the past, get to know the people at your LFS, if you create a friendship with them, chances are they will look out for you. I don't mean you have to invite them for dinner or anything, but learn there names, say hello to them even if they are busy with someone else. BS with them a little when they are'nt busy. Believe me a little goes a long way here.
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
I am NOT a member of the Tang Police, (some will argue) however I get very aggitated at members that ask questions about tang keeping, get answers here they didn't like, lose the fish and then ask why!
Thats when I tend to lose my cool. If I have flamed a person in the past, take it for what it's worth, didn't do it to hurt feelings, just passionate about the hobby.
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
i agree. the only time i'll ever flame someone or i've ever flamed someone is because they come asking for advice, they don't listen to it, and 2 weeks later wonder why their fish are dying. You'll not believe how often that happens!
and i like to test the people at my LFS by asking simple yet difficult questions that i know the answer to. If they get them right, i'll trust them (not fully) but if they're wrong, i won't buy anything when that employee is helping me.
 
S

saltfreak4

Guest
Originally Posted by KrazeKajin
he He. No really, I just wanted to remind people that most newbies are trying.
I am convinced that research and asking tons of questions is the key. In Toledo, we have about five saltwater LFS, one being *****. While I do not rely on the advice of the ***** employees, I do buy fish. Their fish are well taken care of and cheap. But there are three LFS that are owner operated and it is thier passion. I have spent hours in there asking questions and then comparing answers. I think that is what more people need to do and think about. Don't just ask one person (either on a board or at a store), but rather ask around and compare answers. Usually you find a common thread in most and that is probaly the road you should take.
I am not flaming you at all, but I do have a problem with the logic here. Specifically with the LFS owner who loves it and is passionately giving you FREE advise so you can go get fish at the chain store because they are cheaper. SO you pick the brain of the LFS owner and then don't spend money at his shop. I think everyone should listen to this--and I am not trying to be mean here, at all--but that fish store owner who is so knowledgable is spending his time answering your questions, yes, because he loves the hobby, but he is trying to make money, too. So when you go into a store to pick his brain, please spend some money, too. I would pay the extra to keep him around. You wouldn't expenct someone to call you up at your place of employment and ask you to do something that steals your time and yet, they don't compensate you. Just my opinion. The online stores are going to put these people out of business. I would like to keep them around, and people need to understand that these places have overhead, it costs them money to open the door to stand there and be available. Please keep this in mind. No flaming, just another point of view. If everyone went in ask questions so they could go online to buy products these LFS would be out of business.
 
shogun323

shogun323

Active Member
Originally Posted by shogun323
Nicely Done KrazeKajin! Nicely Done.

After learning the background of this thread I rescind my previous post.
 
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