Why All The Comments About How Wrong Someone Does It?

[iroc]

It seems like everytime someone posts pictures of their tanks the threads with the biggest number of responses are the ones where ppl are pointing out what is wrong with that persons tank. I mean I understand trying to lend a helping hand but why not send a PM. To me it seems like (my case is a perfect example) if I want to avoid such things I have to write "55 gal tank witha bala shark, yes I know the tank is to small but I resured her from a sure death and will rehome her when she gets larger right now she is only 4" and has plenty of swiming room, and yes I know that they perfer to be in groups but since my tank is to small and as I said i resuced her I won't be getting anymore" and then go on to list the rest of my fish. If this isn't done there are sure to be min 10 replys to the thread and at least half will be someone saying my tank is to small for a bala.

Is this becuase everyone assumes that everyone who owns fish is a fish expert, but if you don't think that why don't you send them a PM and explain to them your point of veiw

really this is more of a question then a rant 9 altough rereading it doesn't sound that way, but I am fairly new to this bored and just wanted to know.

 

[Cheffi]

Hi. The way I see it is, if someone posts a photo of their tank and 'asks' for opinions then they are expecting members views of their tank, good or bad, maybe with useful tips and ways to improve or maybe no improvements necessary.

This is a forum after all and if we all ended up pm'ing each other no-one would learn anything or be able to reflect on others opinions.

To be fair if one cannot accept critisicm...constructive we hope...then a forum such as this is not the place to post. Also a lot of people come on here and post info about their tanks not knowing that they may have a timebomb waiting to go off. Not everyone is an expert, some people have setup tanks relying on their lfs's for advice and a lot of the time this can be wrong or conflicting. We are all here to help in one way or another not to slag people off about their tanks or fish but to help them get the most out of their hobby.

Hope this answers your question.

 

[Teelie]

I'll take the relatively few replies my threads get as a sign I'm doing nothing wrong.

Seriously though, there is a lot of "you're doing this wrong" and some people take it too far and border on or even harass other members when they see a percieved "wrong" setup. Well meaning intentions are often lost in the more arrogant or aggressive comments which have no place in assisting someone out.

Sadly though, some members are here merely to slag off or offend other members and make few attempts to hide it. Have to take the good (helpful) comments with the bad (being an ass) replies sometimes.

 

[halfbloodprincess]

It's just plain sad that some members stoop so low and just put people down! It's not some peoples fault if they did something wrong!

 

[Chac]

But it is there fault if they have not done any or enough reasearch on the livestock before buying them, IMO the onus of responsibility lies at each aquarists feet - a lack of reasearch IMO shows a lack of care or interest

& I have never been shy to tell people where they (IMO) are going wrong But I will always try to offer a soloution to the problem *& help them as much as possible

Also PM's IMO wouldnt be a good idea as this forum is here as a reasearch tool as well

 

[halfbloodprincess]

Yes, after I read my post I realized that. It is their fault. But still be nice about it!!!

 

[Cheffi]

Yes, after I read my post I realized that. It is their fault. But still be nice about it!!!

I agree as per my first post last sentance:

We are all here to help in one way or another not to slag people off about their tanks or fish but to help them get the most out of their hobby.

 

[iroc]

I understand the offering opitions about ppl's tanks esp when they ask. However since I have been here I will see someone with a great tank and it will have 5-10 replys but someone with a bad tank will have 20+ and even if in the 1st post the person says something such as I posted orginaly explaining the sitution and thus showing that they do have the sense to know what they will need or more so the fish will need why go on and on and on about how they are doing the wrong thing. I think that the main reason i asked this question is becuase when i 1st came here i was very impressed of how little of this went on compared to other forums I used to visit. But lately i have noticed a trend of more and more harassing ppl and I think a borad with so much to offer as this one does really need that and in fact it can cause ppl who have real questions to be afried to ask them thus hurting all fish keepers

 

[Cheffi]

I understand the offering opitions about ppl's tanks esp when they ask. However since I have been here I will see someone with a great tank and it will have 5-10 replys but someone with a bad tank will have 20+ and even if in the 1st post the person says something such as I posted orginaly explaining the sitution and thus showing that they do have the sense to know what they will need or more so the fish will need why go on and on and on about how they are doing the wrong thing. I think that the main reason i asked this question is becuase when i 1st came here i was very impressed of how little of this went on compared to other forums I used to visit. But lately i have noticed a trend of more and more harassing ppl and I think a borad with so much to offer as this one does really need that and in fact it can cause ppl who have real questions to be afried to ask them thus hurting all fish keepers

That's life though isn't it? If someone has a good tank, ideal setup and fish there is nothing to do except admire it. However we all learn from ours and other peoples mistakes and when they do something right. Even people who don't want to post because they are frightened of getting shot down can learn from other members posts who are not so sensitive of constructive critisism.

It is up to all of us when offering advice etc to do it in a polite and sympathetic way using lots of smilies to put the point across in a caring and friendly way. If at any time it is obvious someone is being picked on by a member you have only to pm a mod to intervene. That's what they are there for. You can't expect a forum with such a huge membership to get along 100% of the time but I think we do pretty well here. I find it one of the friendliest forums around.

 

[iroc]

That's life though isn't it? If someone has a good tank, ideal setup and fish there is nothing to do except admire it. However we all learn from ours and other peoples mistakes and when they do something right. Even people who don't want to post because they are frightened of getting shot down can learn from other members posts who are not so sensitive of constructive critisism.

It is up to all of us when offering advice etc to do it in a polite and sympathetic way using lots of smilies to put the point across in a caring and friendly way. If at any time it is obvious someone is being picked on by a member you have only to pm a mod to intervene. That's what they are there for. You can't expect a forum with such a huge membership to get along 100% of the time but I think we do pretty well here. I find it one of the friendliest forums around.

I agree, it is pretty friendly And if it wasn't for this place I woulda lost all my fish becuase of a lack of knowledge. I'm not saying this place is bad it was more of a question then anything. I mean anything ppl say
over the internet really doesn't phase me personaly. But I have seen it happen to other ppl.

 

[Cheffi]

Feeling bored just went to check out your tank pic's. I loooove your 20gal planted. Really really nice. I'll know where to come for some advice if I ever decide to do a planted community.

 

[raptorrex]

lol a subject close to my heart atm.

it is true we use these forum for advice. but i feel some members are prone to making the statement that their way of doing things is right, even if there are several accepted ways of doing something. posts in threads, that have nothing to do with the thread subject, criticising, some aspect of another member actions. are at the best unhelpful and at worst start an argument, well off the thread subject. don't get me wrong, those who read my thread/posts will know there is nothing i like better than a good argument!!!!!!!!! sadly though most of the time they are not up to sustaining an argument, and resort to insults, or back off, with bad grace!

in a recent thread i was posting in a member felt the need to inform me that what i was doing in my tank could not be done. though i suspect his knowledge of the subject was read as opposed to being from experience. it made laugh, and gave me the chance to take the pi$$ a bit. he made a statement saying it could not be done, if he had prefixed it with " i understand that you cant" or "wont this happen if you do that?" it would have been ok. imo. lol and in my case he was wrong, very wrong.

i make now apology for for linking this thread as i feel the actions of the member could well have cost us a member, personally i would never have returned, if this had been the answer to my first post!
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...p;#entry1352852

 

[DarkEntity]

To be fair, the person was asking about help in a paying work environment, and as far as im concerned the people who work should not be in a job without appropriate training. I wouldnt let my staff work for me without training thus my responce to the person.

 

[Lateral Line]

Since this thread has no pictures of fish or aquaria, it is off topic in the pictures forum. I've moved it here for want of a better place.

In a forum as large as this, you will always get comments on what is posted, and inevitably, some of the commentators will be less then subtle. It is a human trait to be critical, sometimes even when criticism is unjustified.

 

[iroc]

Feeling bored just went to check out your tank pic's. I loooove your 20gal planted. Really really nice. I'll know where to come for some advice if I ever decide to do a planted community.

well thanks but i think my tank is more just dumb luck then anything else. But if you really want to check out the planted forum I got so many helpful hints that I have been able to have a pretty nice set of tanks and i have only been into the hobby since like aug