Don't hate me. (big rant)

[1fish2fish]

I don't sip my haterade... I take it in jello shots... on occasion I've been known to have a hatertini but only after really long days.

[BlakbirdxGyarados]

I only drink my haterade when one too many people tick me off... for a week or so. (Hard to annoy, lol)

And I'm not old enough to drink a hatertini. xD

[Sweeda88]

LOL, 1f2f. I think everything I drink turns into haterade around that time of the month. I'm sorry if I've hurt anyone.

[Alex09]

Originally Posted by 1fish2fish

I have to constantly remind myself that the majority of the members here are young.

Look. This is a big mean nasty world. If your gonna get upset over some random person on the internet maybe you shouldn't be logging on.

This is THE nicest fish forum your going to find, believe me. Lately I've seen a lot of newbies getting upset and calling foul when they're just being given information. Just because we don't hold your hand and sugar coat everything doesn't make us bad or mean.

And just because you've had this or this happen when keeping fish doesn't mean it's right. I had a VT that lived 3 years in an unheated 1 gallon bowl with weekly water changes... just because he lived that long does it make it right that I did so? Anecdotal evidence means nothing if there is cold hard facts disputing it (a prime example being the neon tetras).


Now if the above post seems harsh or mean I'm sorry. I'm not one to sugar coat, I am direct, I call things like I see them. A lot of members here are similar... maybe if y'all stuck around longer than a month you'd learn that. It doesn't mean we are not nice people and it doesn't mean we hate you and want you to leave.... quite to the contrary. I'm actually a very nice person but I'm not fake and I will not beat around the bush and say "oh your tank is lovely but um.. if it's not too much of an inconvenience.. um.. maybe you might possibly consider um.. ". To really know a forum you have to stick around longer than just a few weeks.

In closing I just want to say... people are not obligated to be nice to you. That's just the sad truth. Same thing applies to the internet. I would hope that everyone on this forum showed respect for each other.. but that doesn't mean we all have to agree.

*Applause*

[BlakbirdxGyarados]

Originally Posted by Sweeda88

LOL, 1f2f. I think everything I drink turns into haterade around that time of the month. I'm sorry if I've hurt anyone.

I think I can relate to this. xD; As much as I may deny it during those times, LOL

[vaygirl]

I edit quite a bit of what I want to say. Keep in mind, a lot of us are older too. We've let go of our need to tread lightly. We don't have much time left on the planet, so we need to use fewer words and get straight to the point. :P

Sometimes the internet doesn't do justice to the tone we're trying for. If we're short, it doesn't mean we're mad. Maybe we're on our way out the door. If we all caps a word, like 1fish said, sometimes it's emphasis and not hollering. If we give you advice, I would hope you would always follow up with your own research.

There are a lot of kids here. They don't make the decisions in their household. We can tell them things but their at the mercy of their Moms and Dads, who may believe that things should be done differently. Attacking them and making them feel bad is not going to solve anything. Shaming people into better animal care never works in the long run. Only education can.

I'm 39, married, with a house of my own and I forget that I used to answer to someone other then me. Everyone should ask about situation here before they get into specifics of care that involve a lot of money or a major change in the environment.

[Jupiter]

I haven't looked through the topic yet, but I just wanted to say...

While it is true that I have seen an increase in blunt and somewhat rude posting in the past few months, I think there are a lot of members here that are a bit too sensitive as well...all in all, this is still a very friendly and helpful site.

[BlakbirdxGyarados]

Originally Posted by Jupiter

I haven't looked through the topic yet, but I just wanted to say...

While it is true that I have seen an increase in blunt and somewhat rude posting in the past few months, I think there are a lot of members here that are a bit too sensitive as well...all in all, this is still a very friendly and helpful site.

My guess is that they're sensitive because they are young and/or are hoping and praying they're doing the right things for their fish, and if they are told they aren't, they freak out, panic, don't know what to do, etc.

[Dragonlady]

Anyone can SHOUT advice from mountaintops, but the whisper is louder and seems to be have more longevity in memory ....whatever that is.

[RiverStoneBetta]

Originally Posted by Jupiter

I haven't looked through the topic yet, but I just wanted to say...

While it is true that I have seen an increase in blunt and somewhat rude posting in the past few months, I think there are a lot of members here that are a bit too sensitive as well...all in all, this is still a very friendly and helpful site.

Well, still being relatively new (time wise) here, I haven't seen near as much rude postings as on other sites, and this forum is far more friendly to other users, which is why this is the only betta forum I frequent.

That said, I attribute a lot of what less-then-smiley posts I see on either:

1. There are umpteen-bajillion other threads about the same emergency or question, all relatively new and the question has been answered the same way almost every time. A little bit of reading beforehand could have saved us the trouble, and they could have asked any other questions on those previous threads. (Yay for research!)

2. Questions that members ask are going unanswered that drastically affect the answer involved. We ask for water readings, tell you how to get them, and the person will not cooperate. After your 3rd or 4th thread like this, it gets frustrating because there is a betta in trouble, and our help isn't making it to him.

But when I posted on here about Möbius having fin rot, I wasn't jumped on here. I didn't hear: "You obviously don't know how to take care of your fish, or he wouldn't have an illness." Even his previous owner didn't say "OMG you're a fish killer, I want him back." I got six bajillion questions about my water changes, but that's just collecting information to make sure I'm treating correctly. On other sites, I heard all the crap comments I posted above.

So all in all, I think this is the best betta forum out there. At least to the best of my knowledge.

Not so on other sites.