Noobs!!

[dcombs44]

This is just me making an observation, but................
I notice when skimming through the forums (especially the "New to the Hobby" forum) that people with minimal experience and knowledge are giving people with the same minimal knowledge and experience some pretty crappy advice on what to do in certain situations. These are things that most experienced reefers would easily be able to tell someone not to do, but sometimes the damage is already done before the experienced guys can catch the thread.

I guess I just wanted to make this post to suggest.....If you're new, and you're not quite sure what you're doing just yet, don't offer advice unless you put a disclaimer on it that it may not be the best advice.

Don't get me wrong, all of us have different methods, many work, many don't, but when I read all of these posts about people telling others to dump chemicals in their tanks to clear this up or bring this down, it makes me kinda sick.

I guess it just seems odd to see someone that started their first tank yesterday telling a guy what to do with his 3 week old tank that's things keep dying in.

I'd appreciate some backup on this, as I know some of you have seen the same things, and have then had to try to help clean up the mess.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

While I agree, this is something that is unavoidable. Instead of suggesting to post a disclaimer, let's think of warning new people to take advice from everyone carefully and do some independent research before attempting any new methods.

 

[dcombs44]

Very good point Travis. It's just so frustrating to see people being given the same bad advice here that you get at an LFS that isn't legit. I like to think that I can come here for a refuge from the people that will tell you anything to make a buck (or from simple lack of knowledge), but it seems that some of that same bad advice carries over to RC. Thanks for the addition to the thread.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

No problem. I sympathize with your thoughts. You don't stay on here for nearly three years and tuck away nearly 12,000 posts without seeing the same trend. The best thing we can do as people that have been around for a while is attempt to correct wrong doings, and give leads for people that need help; post articles, links, etc to back up statements. Also, avoiding stating opinions as facts, but try to ensure what you're saying is an opinion. It only helps a little bit, but a little bit helps.

 

[dcombs44]

I think my most famous words in my posts are, "Some people do this" "I'm no expert, but...." "here's what I know, but I'm sure some others will chime in" "PM so and so, I know he/she's an expert at that"

I rarely give advice without advising to wait for more input. I just wish others would do the same unless they know what they are talking about.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

True. I was just generalizing to all (me included), and not aiming it towards you. Sorry if you read it like that :thumbsup:

 

[rleechb]

I completely agree. Personally, I like to call the sps keepers forum the "jump to conclusions forum" from the ridiculous number of umm.. conclusions.. that... are.. jumped to. Whenever a newcomer posts a thread about an sps dying, there's usually a deluge of "you don't have enough light, you don't have enough flow, you need a new skimmer, etc." posts. Pretty painful to watch.

 

[dcombs44]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10276684#post10276684 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
True. I was just generalizing to all (me included), and not aiming it towards you. Sorry if you read it like that :thumbsup:

Nope. Not at all. I was just adding to your point that.

 

[SDguy]

I would just like to add, that when someone does get corrected for giving wrong info, it should be politely done. No need to chastise the person...a simple correction will do, IMO.

 

[dcombs44]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10276937#post10276937 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SDguy
I would just like to add, that when someone does get corrected for giving wrong info, it should be politely done. No need to chastise the person...a simple correction will do, IMO.

Another good point. There is quite a bit of bashing done as well to people that lack experience in the hobby. It's usually being done by the people that were in the same shoes a short time ago. Although, I've seen some veterens giving some pretty good lashings as well

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10276937#post10276937 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SDguy
I would just like to add, that when someone does get corrected for giving wrong info, it should be politely done. No need to chastise the person...a simple correction will do, IMO.

Oh yes. Definitely a strong point of interest there. More than anything, I would consider the politeness to be more important than backup information. A new person is completely capable of finding their own information, but they have absolutely no control if a they are able to have an enjoyable experience enough to keep coming back to learn more and help others.

 

[BreefMe]

I always say, have several people that you trust implicitly with this kind of stuff.

Without the board endorsing somebody's comments by putting some kind of authorization on their avatar you take your chances.

 

[dcombs44]

It would be nice if there were some more people that could be trusted with the RC Mod/Staff logos so they could catch more of the threads, but few people have the knowledge that those people have.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

There are some. They are called Team RC members. There are quite a few of them. I'll admit that the ratio of Team RC, RC Mods, and RC Staff is beginning to lag behind at the rate of growth Reef Central is gaining, they do what they can, and do a fine job with it. It was a sad day when a few certain people have chose to leave Reef Central. They were dedicated sources of information that anyone could go to.

 

[dcombs44]

I forget about the Team RC folks. I wasn't aware that we had some big names leave??

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Whether it was by their own choice or not is a heated topic, and one that shouldn't be discussed (let sleeping dogs lie), but here is a short list of who we're missing (most aren't 100% gone, but 99.9%), as well as some that have had other worldly callings that keep them from posting often.

Anthony Calfo
Eric Borneman
Ron Shimek
Randy Holmes-Farley
Frank Marini

 

[oct2274]

this is kind of a pointless thread. i've seen just as many people that say they have had saltwater/reef aquariums for years saying things that are totally incorrect just as much as newbies lol.

Ignorance is bliss.

 

[dcombs44]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10277815#post10277815 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by oct2274
this is kind of a pointless thread. i've seen just as many people that say they have had saltwater/reef aquariums for years saying things that are totally incorrect just as much as newbies lol.

Ignorance is bliss.

Sorry you feel that way. It's obvious that a few others don't think that. It was just a topic that I wanted to discuss, so I did. Thanks for the input.

 

[dcombs44]

Travis, I didn't realize that Randy and Eric didn't associate with the forum anymore. The others I didn't so much know by name. I still read quite a bit of both of their articles. That's definitely a sad thing whatever the reasons for leaving may be.

 

[Peter Eichler]

There is a lot of bad info being passed around, and it seems to grow exponentially as the forum grows. A sort of rating system would be one posibility where when someone posts good advice you can give them positive feedback and when they post blatantly incorrect info you can give them negative feedback. Other forums have it and it can work, but I'm not sure how well it would work here. For instance, I'd hate to see people getting negative feedback just because someone doesn't agree with an opinion. On the other hand, if there was a chance of getting negative feedback I think it would deter a lot of people from posting info they aren't very sure of.