chrisbassist
Fish Addict
After reading this post: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/307725-ph-effectiveness-on-autotrophic-bacteria/page__pid__2722221__st__0&#entry2722221 as a post made for beginners, I began thinking about a couple of things,
1. The sheer amount of information in the beginners resource section
2. The complexity of some of it.
just so you don't think i'm blowing it out of proportion or making mountains out of molehills or whatever expression you want to use...
1. the amount of info.
I copied and pasted all of the first posts of each topic linked to in the beginners resource into pages on my mac, I have done no formatting or anything. Also, I've left out the list of members willing to donate media, and I've also left out the post about where to find ammonia, since i couldn't be bothered to go through all of the posts.
Words: 40,659 could have been more but i left the ends off some articles, where it just said "cheers XXXX"
Pages: 160 A4
Am I alone in thinking this is too much to expect a beginner to read before getting their fish?
2. complexity
as an example, what is cycling?
answer given here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355
basic answer: cycling is the term used to describe growing the bacteria which will make our tanks safe for fish
1,674 words vs 18 words.
while I am in no way attacking the accuracy or quality of the articles which have been written, I find it obvious that they are written by people who know what they are doing, have a high level of understanding, and have probably forgotten what it is like to be new to the hobby and not understand what people are going on about.
When people sign up here, sometimes it's too late to advise a fishless cycle (like when I joined as an example) but when it isn't, people are directed to a section with over 40,000 words, to try and understand something they came here to understand. If you really think the info there is great, and is being used properly, all you need to do is hang around in the new tank section for a couple of days. the amount of questions on things which are already explained in the beginners resource tells me that people either find the section too intimidating, or that it's too hard to find. and when half of these people have already been directed there, with a direct link to the section, it can't be that.
I know people won't read all of it, and that some bits will wait, like hatching brine shrimp... or about different types of wood, but it's still there, adding to the amount of things presented to "newbs"
Now to end this post, I would LOVE to present you with an easy solution to what I believe to be a problem. but honestly? I don't have one, and suspect it doesn't exist. Maybe the easiest thing would be to break it up into a beginners resource section and an intermediates resource section. at least that way the beginners can focus on what matters to start with and get that done before worrying about the rest. I think the Ideal solution would be to keep those articles, under an intermediate section, and have more basic articles written which are stripped down to the bare minimum, and incredibly simple. with each article ending with a link to the more in depth article if people want to learn more.
Oh, and please don't take this as an attack, it's not meant as one, i just thought I would air my view on how to make the place more accessible for beginners.
1. The sheer amount of information in the beginners resource section
2. The complexity of some of it.
just so you don't think i'm blowing it out of proportion or making mountains out of molehills or whatever expression you want to use...
1. the amount of info.
I copied and pasted all of the first posts of each topic linked to in the beginners resource into pages on my mac, I have done no formatting or anything. Also, I've left out the list of members willing to donate media, and I've also left out the post about where to find ammonia, since i couldn't be bothered to go through all of the posts.
Words: 40,659 could have been more but i left the ends off some articles, where it just said "cheers XXXX"
Pages: 160 A4
Am I alone in thinking this is too much to expect a beginner to read before getting their fish?
2. complexity
as an example, what is cycling?
answer given here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355
basic answer: cycling is the term used to describe growing the bacteria which will make our tanks safe for fish
1,674 words vs 18 words.
while I am in no way attacking the accuracy or quality of the articles which have been written, I find it obvious that they are written by people who know what they are doing, have a high level of understanding, and have probably forgotten what it is like to be new to the hobby and not understand what people are going on about.
When people sign up here, sometimes it's too late to advise a fishless cycle (like when I joined as an example) but when it isn't, people are directed to a section with over 40,000 words, to try and understand something they came here to understand. If you really think the info there is great, and is being used properly, all you need to do is hang around in the new tank section for a couple of days. the amount of questions on things which are already explained in the beginners resource tells me that people either find the section too intimidating, or that it's too hard to find. and when half of these people have already been directed there, with a direct link to the section, it can't be that.
I know people won't read all of it, and that some bits will wait, like hatching brine shrimp... or about different types of wood, but it's still there, adding to the amount of things presented to "newbs"
Now to end this post, I would LOVE to present you with an easy solution to what I believe to be a problem. but honestly? I don't have one, and suspect it doesn't exist. Maybe the easiest thing would be to break it up into a beginners resource section and an intermediates resource section. at least that way the beginners can focus on what matters to start with and get that done before worrying about the rest. I think the Ideal solution would be to keep those articles, under an intermediate section, and have more basic articles written which are stripped down to the bare minimum, and incredibly simple. with each article ending with a link to the more in depth article if people want to learn more.
Oh, and please don't take this as an attack, it's not meant as one, i just thought I would air my view on how to make the place more accessible for beginners.