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Post by gerbilmummy on May 21, 2007 14:41:27 GMT -8
Just read peter's announment. No facility to add to his thread so started my own. I think that whitmore resigning as an administrator is a great loss to this forum. I have personally benefitted from her advice and support on matters arising on this forum. All the very best Loz much love ;D
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Post by kelis on May 21, 2007 14:48:50 GMT -8
I too have read that thread. And sadly, I must agree with all the reasons whitmoregirl stated.
Now granted I haven't been on lately because my life has been busy, but whenever i do get a chance to log in, I constantly find myself reading threads where people are asking questions your supposed to research BEFORE you adopt gerbils.
You'll be missed whitmoregirl, but I understand your reason for resignation!
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Post by pepandmax on May 21, 2007 19:04:27 GMT -8
I, too, am very sad at whitmoregirl's resignation! She is a very valued member of the forum and did a great job as an admin. Let's all be thankful that she was a member here--she made this forum better by her presence!
Regarding kelis's comment:
I understand what you mean, and yes, it can be very frustrating. But you will find irresponsible and ignorant people no matter where you go in the world, and the wonderful wide world of the internet is no exception. The purpose of the forum is to offer input and advice to anyone who asks.
If you do start to feel like a broken record ("What's the best type of litter," etc.), feel free to do a search, post a link, and show by example how to use the wealth of information in the forum. I know it's so tempting to reply with a snarky "AHHH not another question like this!!"--and yes, I've been tempted. Still, it's always better to lead by example.
Nicole
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caz
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Posts: 6,237
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Post by caz on May 21, 2007 23:21:31 GMT -8
I'm personally very sad that Loz has decided to resign but I understand her reasons too. She's been a great admin and will be sorely missed.... I hope you're going to stay with us anyway Loz?!? Caroline
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on May 22, 2007 8:13:43 GMT -8
Like everyone else here, I too feel sad that whitmoregirl has resigned as admin. Like pepandmax wrote, the purpose of this forum is indeed to offer input and advice to anyone who asks. No matter how experienced or how informed they are with gerbils. This forum is not just a place where experienced gerbil keepers can discuss gerbil topics. I think it would be very wrong if people who have purchased gerbils without doing research before would not be allowed here to ask questions or asking for help. Preventing that or discouraging such people to come here would be bad for gerbil welfare in my opinion. Because than they cannot change how they keep or handle their gerbils. Personally I cannot get that angry with people who have bought gerbils without knowing how they need to be cared of. I do can get angry on people and pet shops that do sell gerbils (or other animals) just to get as much profit as they can and without informing their customers. They should advise and inform potential new gerbils owners before selling gerbils to them. Peter
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Post by tweak on May 22, 2007 8:14:28 GMT -8
Well can I just say that I'm new to gerbils and I did a lot and I mean a LOT of research and asked questions at the pet store but what I've read was contradictory and practicarly all cases wrong as was pointed out by many of you who were kind enough to give advice... For example everything I read and was told said that I could never introduce a lone gerbil to 2 siblings and if it weren't for people on here telling me how to do an introduction Raz would probably be on his own to this day, but I also know now that loads of people would have asked the same question previously. I know that the comment about ignorant and irresponsible people is not being directed at me (sorry if I sound like I'm taking it personally) but I'd just like to say that its a bit strong. I only realised about the 'search' option the other day so I'm bound to have asked questions that other people have asked long ago as I didn't have the time to search through every thread in the hope of finding one that is relevant. Plus when a new question comes to mind you don't automatically think that people will have asked it previously.
This does sound snappy and I do appologise because if we were talking it wouldn't, its easy to misinterpret the tone of writing. I'm merely pointing out that not all of us who ask the questions that have previously been asked are ignorant and irresponsible.
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Post by AndreaS15 on May 22, 2007 8:27:20 GMT -8
That's really sad, as she was a wonderful moderator. Though i have to agree with her decision, i find it very hard to read posts on this site anymore. I have been a member for quite some time now and find myself drifting away from a site i once really enjoyed. My personal 'beef' is so many young children breeding without the proper information needed to raise a litter, and then what comes afterwards, re-homing, health concerns ect. ect. I don't mind giving the poster an answer to a question already posted, but I have read posts from less experienced gerbils owners giving wrong information to other new owners. Yes, there are always going to be people new to the ownership of gerbils as well as other pets, and yes there are always going to be immature questions, but i guess i really enjoyed the board when it was older more experienced people helping one another, learning new things from one another and it was just more tight knit. meh... guess I'm not one for change... must be my old age LOL We will miss ya Whitty!
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on May 22, 2007 8:29:33 GMT -8
I agree with you Tweak! It is indeed easy to misinterpret the tone of writing. And indeed when a new question comes to mind you don't automatically think that people will have asked it previously and not everyone has the times to search the many posts on this forum. It would be be great if everyone used the search option right away, but that is just not the practice and that is OK in my personal opinion.
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Post by pepandmax on May 22, 2007 8:49:41 GMT -8
Perhaps this is just crazy me, but I'm happy to see that whitmoregirl's decision has sparked this conversation. This may be an opportunity for this forum to grow and develop It would be an interesting, albeit somewhat academic, exercise for us to write a mission statement or statement of purpose. Anyway, I hope this discussion stays open, respectful, and fruitful--let's see what happens! I would like to make a suggestion: from now on, a moderator should post the forum rules (or a link to the forum rules) in every member introduction thread. If we see members join without posting in that forum (hey, I didn't notice that particular board until I had, like, forty posts!), then we will post or PM the new member, as appropriate. Hopefully this will cut down on some of the really repetitive, basic questions. Thoughts?
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caz
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Post by caz on May 22, 2007 9:06:18 GMT -8
Sounds a good idea to me Nicole! However, as I'm seeing it (and this is my opinion ), it's not so much that new members ask repetative questions (that's what we're all here for to guide them and point them to the right links etc.!) but I think lately there have been some who have been reluctant to take on the advice given and indeed this is their choice. This obviously results in frustration/exasperation from those more experienced and they consequently bow out of the thread concerned leaving the new members with less experienced advice Just how I see it atm Caroline
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Post by tweak on May 22, 2007 9:25:09 GMT -8
I have noticed some touchy conversations to be honest in the short time I've been a member here so I agree with you Caz, but I can't really see anyway of correcting it.. unless perhaps theres a note somewhere in your personal information that says how many years you have cared for gerbils. I expect some people don't take on board advice because they don't want to but others may not because they don't realise how much experience that person who is giving advice has... I know there is the newborn pup and gerbil god etc but it doesn't really show how many years you've cared for gerbils just how many posts you've entered..., thats what I assume anyway, please correct me if I'm wrong.
That is a brilliant idea Pepandmax.
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Post by vacampbell on May 22, 2007 9:53:26 GMT -8
Sounds a good idea to me Nicole! I think lately there have been some who have been reluctant to take on the advice given and indeed this is their choice. This obviously results in frustration/exasperation from those more experienced and they consequently bow out of the thread concerned leaving the new members with less experienced advice Just how I see it atm Caroline I completely agree with that and it is very frustrating and it tends to be the very young members. (Please PM me if any of this is directed to me as well though ) I'm not very good at using the search engine, I find it quite difficult. Maybe someone could post 'a how to use the search engine!' in the appropiate place...
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caz
Member
Posts: 6,237
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Post by caz on May 22, 2007 9:55:18 GMT -8
Get your point Tweak about it's not an easy thing to correct, but then that's what the mod's are for aren't they - to keep everybody in line and the forum a happy place to be? And as for experience and posts well I'm a classic example - I have over 5 thousand, but have only cared for gerbils for 14 months. I've certainly not bred and am useless with the genetics and colours etc. oh, and I chat too much lol! so no, the posting reference number is not necessarily a good gauge Caroline
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on May 22, 2007 10:21:01 GMT -8
Perhaps this is just crazy me, but I'm happy to see that whitmoregirl's decision has sparked this conversation. This may be an opportunity for this forum to grow and develop It would be an interesting, albeit somewhat academic, exercise for us to write a mission statement or statement of purpose. Anyway, I hope this discussion stays open, respectful, and fruitful--let's see what happens! I think is indeed good. This forum is of course far from perfect and we all can learn. I also like the idea of a mission statement very much. I would like to make a suggestion: from now on, a moderator should post the forum rules (or a link to the forum rules) in every member introduction thread. If we see members join without posting in that forum (hey, I didn't notice that particular board until I had, like, forty posts!), then we will post or PM the new member, as appropriate. Hopefully this will cut down on some of the really repetitive, basic questions. A very good idea! We should indeed start doing that. I have noticed some touchy conversations to be honest in the short time I've been a member here so I agree with you Caz, but I can't really see anyway of correcting it.. unless perhaps theres a note somewhere in your personal information that says how many years you have cared for gerbils. I expect some people don't take on board advice because they don't want to but others may not because they don't realise how much experience that person who is giving advice has... I know there is the newborn pup and gerbil god etc but it doesn't really show how many years you've cared for gerbils just how many posts you've entered..., thats what I assume anyway, please correct me if I'm wrong. The rankings based on the number of posts doesn't say anything about how experienced someone is or how much that person knows about gerbils. It does only say something on how much they post, nothing more. But even the number of years someone keeps gerbils won't say if that person's advise is good or not. Users here have also different attitudes towards gerbils and/or animals in general. That can also result in not accepting someones advise and can is one of the reasons different people can give different adivise. What one person feels is good or ok can be for another person be not that good, wrong or even animal cruelty. And nobody here knows everything! Someones advise, no matter how experienced they are, is law! Get your point Tweak about it's not an easy thing to correct, but then that's what the mod's are for aren't they - to keep everybody in line and the forum a happy place to be? That is indeed why we moderators are here. ;D But even moderators can never please everybody, but we do our best.
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Post by tweak on May 22, 2007 11:12:26 GMT -8
I do understand that peter, but i'm refering to some cases which I won't specify but for example, where dangerous things for gerbils needed to be removed... sometimes its not untill someone knows that people reallllly know what they are talking about that they may accept that peoples advice is worth while. When I say 'correcting it' I mean for people to just accept that the people giving advice have however many years of experience and they are just trying to pass it on.
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