What's up with some people?

fuzz1974

New member
I just couldn't take it any longer so I have to vent.

After reading posts on RC for a year or so and posting several times myself, I have to say, It is getting old all the people who put things like "dumb newbies" this and that into their posts.

There was even a mod who said in a thread that the dumbest thing he has done since getting into the hobby was: agreeing to be a mod on the new to hobby forum, for dumb newbies.

I was and still am a newbie in the sence that I don't know everything there is to know about the hobby. And I find it hard to believe that ANYONE on here does know EVERYTHING about the hobby. Everyone on here was once a NEWBIE!!!!!

Just because someone is new to something does not in any way make them dumb, stupid,slowheaded I could go on for days, but let's not. All it makes them is NEW to a hobby.

This is a great informative website, however, I can't help but wonder how many people do not post for the fear of being flamed or called stupid for their question. Many people before finding this site, go with the advice of whoever is into the hobby and have a tank set up, which is probably their LFS (local fish store) This does not in any way make them dumb, it does however make them uninformed.

And I thought this site was a place of information, to learn things you didn't know before. Reef central has been a great place for me to learn, and to check out if this or that is in fact either true, or useful. RC has also been a place that if someone said the things they say in a post to someones face, it could in fact lead to someone having lumps put on their head faster than they could rub them.:bum:

Let's do everyone a favor and shy away from using "dumb newbie" "stupid newbie" in a post, unless we are talking about ourselves doing something stupid. Sorry for the length of this post, I just had to say it.

Fuzz
 
I am a completely new to the hobby and have probably asked questions that I wouldn't have asked had I done a little more research prior to asking, or wasn't even really asking the right question to get the information I was really seeking, but have never felt ostracized or insulted by the responses (or lack thereof).

There are tons of posts that probably go unread by a large percentage of the readership here that scroll off the first page bc there are many posts made that could be answered by spending a few hours reading all the pinned posts and the offshoots from them.

I understand the desire for near instant gratification in posting questions that pop into my head but most of them have been asked and answered many times before. This hobby isn't rocket science, although there is a lot of chemistry, but you can't pick it up in a day, either.

I think most people are very open and friendly here and the few that aren't don't deter me from enjoying the forums.
 
I am not saying that EVERYONE says it. The ones who do really annoy me. I to have had great succes here with regards to questions asked and answers givin. I too read alot to find out for myself. I have not been called a dumb newbie, but the post I read where it does say that bug me. I know what your thinking don't read it then. When the reply comes in the middle of a post it is hard to not read it.

I appreciate your response Austin, however I was refering to the post that say that. Not the ones that don't.

Fuzz
 
That moderator you are referring to is well known for his sarcastic, biting humor. Yet, he is extremely knowledgable, helpful, and even patient when asked just about any question, even the ones that have been asked a million times before, that the poster could just as easialy find the answer to with just a little effort. He has probably done more to help educate new hobbiests than any other single person on these boards. If you had ever read any of his threads, I'm quite certain you would have gotten a chuckle out of his response, rather than a frown.

Let's do everyone a favor and lighten up. Why take it so seriously?
 
Don't let a few bad apples bother you. Some people just get sick of seeing questions asked for the millionth time. Why these people choose to take the time to reply and tell you this, rather than just answer, I don't know. If I reply, it's with an answer, or I don't reply at all. If it requires a lot of info, I provide links. Other people are just jaded, bitter, rude or even antagonistic...whatever you want to call it. I have found the ignore option VERY useful. :) Otherwise, 99% of people on here are nice and helpful, IMO.
 
You guys are way off track here. I am talking about a person that has NEVER been here before.

As for the comment from rev. If I have read his post I would know that it was his humor. I know that, but someone new here does NOT know that. All they see is a mod calling someone a dumb newbie.

And SDguy: you say that people get sick of seeing the same queston asked a million times, but it is the FIRST time that this one person has asked that question. They might not know it has been asked a million times, and it is important to them and they get a response that might P-them off a bit. I am not refering about myself. I am talking about the people that are new here. How would you feel if you went to your family doctor and asked him a question and he flies off the handle, because he is tired of hearing that being asked, why not go online and find your plan of attack for your ailment.

You guys are reading way to far into what was meant.

Fuzz
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6925351#post6925351 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fuzz1974
You guys are way off track here. I am talking about a person that has NEVER been here before.


You guys are reading way to far into what was meant.

Fuzz

Um, OK, I have no idea what your issue is then.

Have a nice day, and happy reefing :)
 
Of the people who use phrases like "stupid newbie" (more often "stupid newbie mistake") I would bet that the vast majority would readily admit that they have made mistakes similar to the one under discussion and that there is nothing personal intended by it. I am a "stupid newbie" and happy to be such for the time being.

I haven't seen any threads where A calls B stupid. I have seen a few heated discussions where A tells B he is wrong and headed for certain disaster if he doesn't change his ways. But where that happens I figure that a person's right to say what's on his mind does not include the right to be taken seriously and so I let it go and move on.

I read the "Dumbest thing..." thread and saw the comment from the moderator (don't remember his name) you refer to. I took this more to be a dry comment about the amount of time he has to put into the moderating job when he has a million other things to do. I got a chuckle out of it having been in a similar spot myself.

And this points to a limitation of this form of communication. Text cannot carry tone of voice, facial expression, and body language which we rely on when talking face-to-face. We try with emoticons, but they can't cut it. I try to give the writer the benefit of the doubt when something sounds a little blunt or harsh at first gloss.

Matt
 
Hey, everyone gets a porcupine puffer in their a$$ every now and then. Maybe everyone should be a bit less sensitive to such comments and take them for what they are worth: NOTHING :D.
Just do the best you can do, keep asking questions and keep improving. Maybe at some point, you'll be even better than 'they' are.
 
I would think the big grinning smilie face would give it away. Maybe I'm just more observant than others. :rolleyes:

I've never seen the behavior you're referring to on this board. Can you even point to a real example of someone actually calling another specific poster a "dumb newbie" or anything like that?
 
Hey, Fuzz I feel the same way you do, to many people get Internet Muscles because there is no consequences.
 
I hate everyone and everything, and you're no exception. :)

Seriously, it's typed language. How it sounds is how you read it. If someone is calling you "stupid newbie" (I've never seen it), imagine that it's Catherine Zeta-Jones giving you a little "instruction" in her lingerie -- trust me you'll feel better.

Yes it may be wrong for people to post "stupid newbie," but only if you take it seriously...
 
I have checked out just about every forum on the internet, and I must say, this is the most intelligent, patient, and compassionate group I have seen. I have asked a question many times only to scroll down a few postings and see the same one. But I have always gotten answers to my questions.

As for the spelling, we're all scholars here compared to others! Check out other saltwater forums and you'll see what I mean. As an English teacher, I cringe. I had to fight the urge to red line and return! Finally, I came here. Thanks to all for the help and support.
 
I think a lot of the controversy is aimed at some of waterkeepers posts in the beginners forum....

.....Its basically an attention getter with sarcasm.....

and its to help answer questions to newbies that come up repeatedley...

Having been on this site for years....I see the same questions asked over and over and over and over, etc....

Basically.....when you get here, dont automatically jump the gun and start firing off questions...do some research and searching first....10/1 says you will find you answer faster and with broader results with some searching..

also, those of us that do enjoy helping people on this board can only answer questions like "what type of lighting for my reef?" or "What is a protien skimmer?" so many times before the part of our brain that houses our reef information starts to degrade.....

....and lastly you dont get to far by feeding from the silver spoon...sooner or later, you need to learn by researching and relying less on having all your questions answered without any work....

Personally....rarely do I ever ask a question. Its not because I know everything, but because I can get a more broad answer by research. If I posted a question I might only get 1 or 2 peoples opinions...and you cant get more bias then that.

I am stepping down, the soap box is open.
Goby:strooper:

PS. I am not trying to open a can-o-worms here....I just know that some people get frustrated when they see newbies always asking questions and complaining.

ANyway, take that with a grain of salt.

Happy Reefing!:bum:
 
Re: What's up with some people?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6924858#post6924858 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fuzz1974
I just couldn't take it any longer so I have to vent.

After reading posts on RC for a year or so and posting several times myself, I have to say, It is getting old all the people who put things like "dumb newbies" this and that into their posts.

There was even a mod who said in a thread that the dumbest thing he has done since getting into the hobby was: agreeing to be a mod on the new to hobby forum, for dumb newbies.

I was and still am a newbie in the sence that I don't know everything there is to know about the hobby. And I find it hard to believe that ANYONE on here does know EVERYTHING about the hobby. Everyone on here was once a NEWBIE!!!!!

Just because someone is new to something does not in any way make them dumb, stupid,slowheaded I could go on for days, but let's not. All it makes them is NEW to a hobby.

This is a great informative website, however, I can't help but wonder how many people do not post for the fear of being flamed or called stupid for their question. Many people before finding this site, go with the advice of whoever is into the hobby and have a tank set up, which is probably their LFS (local fish store) This does not in any way make them dumb, it does however make them uninformed.

And I thought this site was a place of information, to learn things you didn't know before. Reef central has been a great place for me to learn, and to check out if this or that is in fact either true, or useful. RC has also been a place that if someone said the things they say in a post to someones face, it could in fact lead to someone having lumps put on their head faster than they could rub them.:bum:

Let's do everyone a favor and shy away from using "dumb newbie" "stupid newbie" in a post, unless we are talking about ourselves doing something stupid. Sorry for the length of this post, I just had to say it.

Fuzz


where did you see someone call somebody else a dumb newbie?
i have been involved with threads where somebody asks a question, gets an answer then goes off on the answerer because they didn't like the answer they got. at that point people will post negative responses about the person asking the question because that person either already had an answer in mind before they asked the question or were so hard headed not to be able to take advice anyway. that is where most hostility towards newbies comes from. i have never seen anybody get sarcastic with a newbie until they start it first.
 
Hey even as a newbie, I loved Waterkeeper!

His biting humor made me want to read more of his writings, not leave the hobby.

There are jerks everywhere and I agree that there are those that flame without merit - but if someone flames me, what do I care? Chances are I will never meet this person and even then, I probably wouldn't listen to them anyway.

I still say this forum has helped me 1,000 times for every time I've been flamed.

Robert
 
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