The (Q) + (A) thread! (Use it!!) :P

[SaulsMom]

Yee gods, this is all so familiar.

I hang out on rec.equestrian, (The Wreck) one of the last active "rec" newsgroups which has been thumping along since the late 80s. A very good friend, my mentor perhaps, is a large animal vet who has seen it all. (I've known her personally since she was in vet school, and then rediscovered her at rec.eq a few years ago where she's been a fixture for years.) She tends to reply in a very curt manner (although she's incredibly verbose in person) to simple questions, mostly because the info is so very obvious to her and at the tip of her tongue, so to speak. For this she has been accused by newer posters of "pretending" to be a vet because she's not welcoming to young people and encouraging them to take part in the hobby.

To which she replies that it's the inexperienced owners who end up doing the most damage because they cannot believe that animal husbandry is as simple as it is. Start overthinking everything, or start neglecting to monitor your animal's condition, and everything crashes on your head. And then the vet has to come in and fix it. With a welcoming and positive attitude? Not.

I'm very grateful for the amount of knowledge here--I've learned more about corn snakes than I thought there was to know, actually. But I can see how it is that more senior members get bored or frustrated with the same old questions time after time from new snake owners.

All I can say is that if you can come to some understanding of *why* an experienced animal owner/trainer/breeder has been successful, or what they've had to go through to learn how to deal with setbacks, then you're more likely to search out an experienced person's opinion. By the same token, experienced animal owners are under no obligation to answer every newcomer's question with a smile on their face.

I think this is less of a newbie/oldie issue and much more about attitudes of respect, no matter how old the poster.

SaulsMom

 

[tyflier]

If I may be so bold...

I am one of the "newbie" owners that have only 1 snake and I have had it for less than a month, but I still have an opinion on the subject of question, answers, and the search function.

I did alot of research before purchasing my snake. I also read the basic care FAQ on this forum, and googled "corn snakes" so many times it is a permanent fixture on my google home page. Let me say that yes...every basic care and feeding question can be and has been answered, numerous times, by following these functions and links. And they have been answered in such a way that every person, young or old, even having never used a computer before, can find them, understand them, and put them to immediate use in order to ensure the health and safety of their new pet.

With that said...there are still questions that need answering, and for this, I am glad there is a section to post these questions. When I have had some, people have been extremely helpful in answering my questions and assuring me that my snake was OK, and I didn't need to worry. Like most new snake owners, the best thing for me to hear is "It's doing fine, don't worry." Sometimes all you need is to know that it is normal behavior.

It is incredible how much information is available on this forum, and how many intelligent, reputable and experienced snake lovers are here and willing to give information.

With all of the above being said, I think it is important to note that for some people, it is as much about the interaction as it is about the information. I think jdizzy is a perfect example of this. He is a young, intelligent, and enthusiastic individual that craves the personal interaction from the members here as much as he needs the information. Perhaps it is about feeling "validated", or perhaps it is simply a matter of needing to feel like they "belong" to the community. Whatever the reason, alot of people simply want to feel as though someone is having a conversation with them regarding the topic that interests them. It can be tough, if you don't know any other snake owners, to simply sit around and talk snakes. This forum allows that. Some of these basic questions seem to be a desire to fulfill that need in some people, and I don't think anyone should be chastised for that desire of community. It is what internet forums are all about...bringing people of common interest together to simply "talk shop".

I understand that many of the long-time members here must get inundated with the same questions, worded almost the same way, over and over. It is easy to understand why people don't feel like these questions should be asked ad-nauseum, and I agree. The search function works extremely well, and should be utilized, along with the exceptionally well written basic care FAQ that has been posted.

But I think it is more beneficial for both the new owners AND the community as a whole if people are directed, in a civilized manner to these search functions, and encouraged to "talk shop" in the general chit-chat forum.

It is inevitable that in a forum such as this, with so many members of various age groups, localities(worldwide, even), personal interests, races, creeds, classes and all other "seperating" factors, that arguments, disagreements, and clashes of personality will occur. It never fails.

But the commonality is that we all love snakes, we all want the best possible care for our snakes, and we all want to help bring new people into the world of herpetological husbandry. I don't think that the repetitive "Use the Search Box" answers are going to help in this last endeavor. It will tend to put off new users, and they may not ask important questions out of "fear" of being chastised.

I think that every member, new and old, experienced and not, should feel welcome. Unfortunately, that means that basic questions are still going to be asked, repeatedly. But it also means that new members will be civilly re-directed to where to find those answers, and a community feeling needn't be lost. There doesn't have to be the feeling of "us vs. them" in terms of new users vs. old users. The phrase "use the search function" or "it's in the FAQ" only needs to be said one time in a repeated post. And it can be said in conjunction with an answer that will help to make the topic poster feel welcome, not like they are an idiot for asking the question.

Something like, "Yea, it's called being in 'blue'. It's normal. If you have more questions, you can use the search function above or read about it in the FAQ." , both answers the question that has been asked a million times, directs the user to the location of answers to ALL of his basic care questions, and STILL makes the person feel welcome and comfortable being here. And it only needs to be said one time, by one person to accomplish all of those functions. An answer such as "It's in the FAQ. Do your research" doesn't help the newbie feel comfortable in the care of their snake, and definately tends to alienate new users.

So, yea...I'm sorry for such a long post. But as both a huge fan of the search and basic care FAQ, AND a fan of the feeling of community that *should* be established in forum such as this, I wanted to get my opinion out there.

One last thing...as far as inexperienced care-givers answering questions...some of us HAVE read all the FAQ's and care advice available. While we may not have had the time experience to answer these questions, there should be no reason why we can't provide the answers we found ourselves to someone else. If I found an answer to a question I had in one of the myriad resources available, and someone asks this same question, should I not answer based on the research and information I found myself? If it is OK to tell someone to use the search function or read the FAQ, and I have already done that, do I really need to wait until I have 20 snakes and 10 years of experience to provide the answer I found myself? I don't think so. My "regurgitation" of the answer from the FAQ is as valid as reading the FAQ themselves. This is, of course, assuming that my answer is correct and accurate, not some guesswork that will make matters worse for the person answering the question. Bad advice is just that regardless of where or whom it comes from. The same is true of good advice, no?

 

[Jdizzyfizzy]

Somebody who takes time to write a post like that is very very welcome as a friend and a fellow member of the community, i read it all, and i agree with it all, have a great new year, my new year resolution is to be Good,To Co-Operate, and to USE the search button, it is important people know this to Stop the flame wars and all the arguments, afterall we all want whats best for out snakes!

Regards,
George

 

[DogStar5988]

I think just the fact that people are coming to a forum like this to learn says good things about their commitment to their pet. Its a lot better than the people who just buy a snake and let it die because they never bothered to learn the proper way to care for it.
p.s Just because someone only has one snake, for two months does not mean that they have not done more than enough research to answer peoples questions correctly.

 

[Jdizzyfizzy]

Ive had my snake 2 weeks, i bought him without doing any research but i can asure you the last 2 weeks ive spent about 6-10 hours a day reading around the net, and asking on here, so its all good, and ill try my best for him, i now know basic care knowlage for a corn snake, the only things i need to learn is breeding but thats a whole 2008 thing

 

[Nanci]

Whatever the reason, alot of people simply want to feel as though someone is having a conversation with them regarding the topic that interests them. It can be tough, if you don't know any other snake owners, to simply sit around and talk snakes. This forum allows that.

My friends/coworkers/family/boyfriend/cycling forum are bored to tears with me talking about snakes, showing pics of snakes, window shopping for new snakes, living and breathing snakes. I have a lot of free time- at work- my workload varies a lot, but I always have to be near a phone, so that leaves me with lots of computer time. At home, my BF works 12 hours shifts- that leaves a lot of free time, and I am pretty tired of Seinfeld, The Simpsons and King of the Hill. What better place to go to than here, where people actually share my enthusiasm and love for snakes?

I treasure each and every new photo and post.

Nanci

 

[Nanci]

i can asure you the last 2 weeks ive spent about 6-10 hours a day reading around the net, and asking on here,

George, the sheer volume of your posts leads me to believe you _never_ sleep...(Not that that's a bad thing.)

Nanci

 

[Jdizzyfizzy]

Me? Sleep? muhaha, i'am on my christmas holidays from school so i spend from 1pm "when i wake up" to 5am on the computer, soon ill start school again, in a week, so ill be on like 5 hours a night instead of like 19 or w/e lol, but my OCD is killing me, every post i make i'am thinking is the admin gona bann me when i come on? because i promised to be good then started more arguments, i just hope the admin acsepts that from now on ill be good, and i hope he locks all my old/dead/unwanted topics,

Regards,
Jazz,
Whoops, I mean George.