Quote Originally Posted by littleindiangirl View Post
Well, I can totally understand if that new person with a few months under their belt was told the exact same things they are now telling other newbies because they had issues and they dealt with them!

How do we know it's all regurged info? I've watched many new people come and go in the year I've been here, and how many have dealt with the same problems? A lot!

Why should anyone giving good sound basic advice have to validate their "experience" or just keep their mouths shut? Who knows if they've tangled with the same issues?

I think it's wrong to think only people with so many years/months of experience is the only one worthy of giving advice. Sometimes, its the newbies who have their trial and errors still fresh in their mind and can understand the frustrations of the new keeper better than some old pros can.

I dealt with some major husbandry issues, and using my own trial and error and advice from this forum, was able to get my tank settled pretty nicely, but later one decided to switch to tubs when our "family" expanded. Did I let other new people know what exactly worked for me and how to do it themselves??? Heck ya I did!

Just because some of it is regurged info doesn't necessarily mean the basics are wrong.

I think a lot of the time it's the tone we set in a thread. I know how difficult it is to not offend someone new to forums, and sometimes they are used to the feel of another forum where flaming and harsh insulting responses are common. We need to remember that.
You are talking about discussing your own experiences....I am talking regurgitation of others experiences. I can explain the difference if you like.

In most situations, the problem does not arise from keepers (new or old) giving sound advice. The problem comes from keepers giving sound advice without knowing the concepts behind the advice. Speaking from experience never hurts anyone and is very beneficial to the community. Speaking like yours or someone else's experience is the 'word of god' can be offensive and hurtful.

This 'set in stone' approach to distributing reptile care information is the deterant. Saying "You have to do it like this" and "You have the choice to do it like this, this, and this" are completely different.

I agree with the 'tone' statement. That is something that is lost with internet communication and leads to tons of misunderstandings. Facial expression and tone of voice are hard to type