Politeness

[pica_nuttalli]

in my experience, the worst offenders in terms of "bluntness" are Andywg

What have I done? I take offence at this and shall now post about how mean everyone is to me!

Since Andy doesn't really frequent newbie threads and actually gives wonderful, intelligent advice (IMO)

Okay, maybe I will let your earlier transgression slip past...

sorry, CFC; didn't mean to offend you just don't put the same flourish on being deliberately antagonistic.

Is this aimed at me again? Where on earth has this rep come from?

haha, ok, now i'm satisfied. i'm only teasing you andy! you're just so nice and prominent. a poster boy, if you will. for how to be blunt. but with wit! and while i'm being effusive, style!

i have no idea why i'm so foolish today.

 

[PlecMama]

rude members can be divided into "people in their 30s who like monster fish" and "young teens that don't know no better"

Heyyyyyyyy, wait a minute, there's nothing wrong with being in your thirties and liking big fish

 

[fall-apart-dave]

You should try visiting some of the forums I visit sometimes... I'm into classic cars, both restoring them and customising them beyond anything they were designed to do (hot rods, off road, drag, whatever) and you get people who have just spent litereally THOUSANDS of £ building an engine from scratch, to have forgotten something very small or simple, or even been unlucky with a substandard critical part like a crankshaft or timing gears, totally write off the engine and all they get are posts like "haha!" and "Idiot... I ALWAYS do blablabla" Not helpful at all! With fishkeeping there is a general consensus on how things should be done. With custom building off roaders or hotrods out of 40, 50, 60 + year old cars, there isn't. It's all down to your own experience, creativity and intelligence. Makes for a very bitchy cliquey scene at times, especially in the VW scene. We might look like a happy bunch, but if you aren't doing the "In" thing at the time (at the moment it's lowering, California looks and narrow wheelbase) you get snubbed.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

rude members can be divided into "people in their 30s who like monster fish" and "young teens that don't know no better"

Heyyyyyyyy, wait a minute, there's nothing wrong with being in your thirties and liking big fish

big /= monster and monster /= big. (although i suppose that makes no sense if you've never been forced to program in C or Matlab...)

in any case, i suppose that i must concede to Suzie's metapoint and admit that excessive bluntness knows no boundaries and defies categorization.

 

[chibi]

There are some people who are on here that are flat out rude, yet I have a feeling you may be a bit of a sensitive person. I mean, I'm a very direct person, and I like it when people don't beat around the bush. If your tank looks terrible, I won't go "Well, your plants are okay... but...". I think a lot of people on here are like this.

Sorry to be blunt, and this is probably what you're talking about and I'm furthering the point, but... you just gotta live with it. The internet is not for the sensitive. However, there is a line between being honest and just being rude. I am not for rudeness in any way.

 

[kribensis12]

Hey!!!!!! How come my name wasnt mentioned as being mean? Oh yeha, im realitivly nice, or am i? That is the eternal question. Anyway, i have noticed that many people *cough* Discuslova *cough* havent been very nice to the newbie's. I try to be nice, becasue in essence we are still newbies to the information that we discover everyday. So, i think of it as if ia sked a quesiton about Blue Ram's( check out the southamerican section!), i expect people to eb nice to em, as i am a newbie to ram's. The same way a Actual Newbie to about everytihng in fish keeping expects us to be nice to them. Also, i ahve notyiced this phrase been used often on here" Your dont listen, and you should leave the forum!"
Kribensis

 

[ICEEGRL]

and... "You have already been told. If you aren't going to listen... don't ask!"

What if we simply forgot and don't know how to work the search?

 

[PlecMama]

I think, even with the search working, a lot of the time people come and ask a question that has already been asked because they want their own answer, not a second hand answer that someone else with the same problem had, it's part of feeling like it's *your* problem that's being resolved, and therefore you feel more helped.

Plus, posting that you have a problem means you're sharing it and that in itself feels better. Psychiatrists all round the world are making money because people want their problems to be heard by an interested party, I'm sure they could look a lot of their problems up on the internet too.

Having said that, if you have posted a problem and people have answered, it's always wise to remember that no matter whether you liked the answer or not, the poster may have a point. So if you post "my tank of 40 common plecs are looking a bit sickly" - and everyone says "get rid of 39 of them, you're overcrowded, you dummy" - even though the answer is a bit rubbish, the facts are still there, you do need to get rid of most of them and you are overcrowded. It gives you a place to start from when you try your next search.

 

[TribeOfShroom]

Hmm I have noticed a few responses that might be taken the wrong way on this forum, but I've never received a response to any of my questions that have had any bad attitude or implying that I don't know what I'm on about. Now I'm sure that most members of this forum try to be polite as possible, but as others have said before me, sometimes there really isn't any other way of putting an answer. For example:

Q: "I've got a new tank with 30 guppies in a 20L tank and they're all dying! whats wrong?"

A: " Your tank is overstocked and because of this the ammonia & nitrite levels are poisoning your fish. Reduce the number of fish in your tank and do a 50% water change. Then 25% every 2 days/weekly etc."

I'm sure no-one means to cause offense and if someone does offend you, just ignore it. This is a forum for knowledge and help when you need it to keep your fish happy.