kathylove
Pragmatic & Logical
Ok - my very long $.02 worth...
Several people have mentioned that being "just a pet keeper" is fine - and I agree. Just keep in mind that somebody who is only interested in keeping a pet or two will probably not have the same exact interests as somebody who either is already breeding and into genetics, etc, or somebody who wants to get into those subjects. Most breeders were pet keepers at one time, and some (but not all) pet keepers will eventually become serious about either breeding, or just keeping, observing, and learning more about their pets and their natural history, and more in depth, than a pet keeper would care about. Neither is right or wrong, but they are different goals and interests.
My brother in law is a professional computer programmer and all around "computer guy" who is often able to help me with my beginner computer questions and problems. I have no desire to ever get to his level of computer expertise - I only want to know what I need to know to keep my computer "healthy". He is not better or smarter than I am; he just chose to spend his time learning computers instead of cornsnakes (silly choice, but more lucrative, lol!). But I doubt he would find my computer discussion and observations all that exciting, since he probably made the same observations either 20 years ago, or when the particular system was first built. I don't see that fact as unusual, or that there is anything wrong with it.
I don't read all that many posts. I base my decisions based mostly on whether it looks like it will be interesting. If it is a plea for help, I will probably look if the question seems interesting and different, if the person posting seems like they have already tried and failed to find a solution, and if it looks like it is written well enough that I won't have to read it several times just to figure out what they are asking.
OTOH, if it is a post that might just be interesting reading, such as those in Chit-Chat, I look for subjects that sound intriguing. Rarely do I choose to read or not read based on the name of the person posting. There are a few exceptions - those who I have learned from experience often have very good or very bad (IMO, of course) posts may get more - or less - attention from me due to their past history.
In summary, I do have to say that I miss the stimulating genetics discussions on new or possibly new traits that would involve all of the breeder members, and even draw Rich and Don S. into some of them. And I miss some of the silly fun conversations like the old Haiku poetry threads. But as was mentioned, change is inevitable. I am sure this site (like all others) will evolve into whatever the majority want it to become, and that is the way it should be. We will all decide individually whether that is good or bad, and stay or leave accordingly.
Several people have mentioned that being "just a pet keeper" is fine - and I agree. Just keep in mind that somebody who is only interested in keeping a pet or two will probably not have the same exact interests as somebody who either is already breeding and into genetics, etc, or somebody who wants to get into those subjects. Most breeders were pet keepers at one time, and some (but not all) pet keepers will eventually become serious about either breeding, or just keeping, observing, and learning more about their pets and their natural history, and more in depth, than a pet keeper would care about. Neither is right or wrong, but they are different goals and interests.
My brother in law is a professional computer programmer and all around "computer guy" who is often able to help me with my beginner computer questions and problems. I have no desire to ever get to his level of computer expertise - I only want to know what I need to know to keep my computer "healthy". He is not better or smarter than I am; he just chose to spend his time learning computers instead of cornsnakes (silly choice, but more lucrative, lol!). But I doubt he would find my computer discussion and observations all that exciting, since he probably made the same observations either 20 years ago, or when the particular system was first built. I don't see that fact as unusual, or that there is anything wrong with it.
I don't read all that many posts. I base my decisions based mostly on whether it looks like it will be interesting. If it is a plea for help, I will probably look if the question seems interesting and different, if the person posting seems like they have already tried and failed to find a solution, and if it looks like it is written well enough that I won't have to read it several times just to figure out what they are asking.
OTOH, if it is a post that might just be interesting reading, such as those in Chit-Chat, I look for subjects that sound intriguing. Rarely do I choose to read or not read based on the name of the person posting. There are a few exceptions - those who I have learned from experience often have very good or very bad (IMO, of course) posts may get more - or less - attention from me due to their past history.
In summary, I do have to say that I miss the stimulating genetics discussions on new or possibly new traits that would involve all of the breeder members, and even draw Rich and Don S. into some of them. And I miss some of the silly fun conversations like the old Haiku poetry threads. But as was mentioned, change is inevitable. I am sure this site (like all others) will evolve into whatever the majority want it to become, and that is the way it should be. We will all decide individually whether that is good or bad, and stay or leave accordingly.
, whatever hurdles that stand between pet owners and serious breeders might exist, real or imaginary, are so low that the "crossover" into the other territory is quite easily achieved with a little reading, research, and investigation...
