Uhmm, well, I didn't mean to hijack the thread.
The original topic was a "sticky post FAQ".
My point is, that may just not be do-able even with just the most common algae: The "FAQ" thread would become exceedingly long to the point of uselessness. An online algal-identification tool AND a simple database of species may the easiest way.
Here is an example of what I crank out, copied and pasted from my database called the MaBMA (for "marine benthic macro algae") catalogue, with heavy editing for brevity:
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Acanthophora muscoides (Linnaeus) Bory de Saint-Vincent 1828
Taxonomic History
First described as Fucus muscoides by Carl von Linne (Linnaeus) in his 1753 'Species Plantarum', this alga was reassigned in 1828 by the Baron Jean Baptiste Geneviève Marcellin Bory de Saint-Vincent, in the course of reporting on a French scientific expedition (1822-1825).
Description
This alga forms an upright, branching, cloudy gray to dirty yellow, somewhat gristly-brittle thallus, with the solid-cylindrical branches usually 2 mm diameter at their thickest and tapering towards branch-tips, and issuing reddish, short (determinate) spinous branchlets at somewhat regular intervals along an imaginary spiral wound about the branch; said branchlets sometimes developing into full branches which again feature reddish spinous growths. The spinous branchlets feature simple hairlike trichoblasts and reproductive structures (tetrasporangia).
closeup of A. muscoides branch, showing the reddish, spinous determinate branchlets. Note the spiralling distribution of the branchlets about the axes.
Habitat & Distribution
Found in portions of the backreef and flats protected from strong wave action, anchored to rocky or rubble-and-sand substrate. Also found as a component of sediment-trapping algal thatch, frequently in combination with Actinotrichia fragilis, Gracilaria spp. and/or certain Caulerpa spp. and other thatch algae. It is sometimes obscured by motley filamentous and filming epiphytes.
This alga enjoys a global distribution, from generally throughout the shores of the tropical Indian Ocean, out into Northeastern Australia. Thence North through the Western Pacific, through Indonesia, the Philippines, along the Asian mainland on up to Japan. It is even found around the frigid Auckland Islands. A. muscoides is also found throughout the Caribbean, along Africa's Atlantic coast, and purportedly the eastern Mediterranean.
Aquaristic Notes:
May exhibit aggressive growth rate, once established. Has a noted ability to anchor to most any surface, including even that of living coral. Thallus, as noted, is brittle. This, in conjunction with strong anchorage, makes it extremely likely that viable tissue is left behind in the course of attempted physical removal.
No known contact risk to humans.
No reported aquarium herbivores.
Please submit your experiences or images of this alga.
Selected submissions will be included, with proper credit given.
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This is taken from a species page, and what I'm proposing is a somewhat-weekly Genus thread, posted to RC and TRT boards, with anywhere from 1 to 20-odd species involved under it.
If we can find some way to rise above inter-BB politics and economics, maybe we can work together. There was a time when TRT and RC were like sister boards, you know...
horge