Hello there Humble Buddy. Nice thread
I don't think anyone says that about you. I don't anyway, well at least not out loud
Me on the other hand, I can't hardly post anything without the tang police, UG filter police, no quarantine police, anti dry food police, Supermodel police or Geezer Squad berating me for my ancient school methods.
(I am well beyond Old School)
I have to pick very carefully which threads I want to open my big mouth in. I have many ideas in my bald head which I would like to impart on some Noobs but I feel it will be a many years long thread of arguments like my immunity thread became. AS you know, there is a big box and many people feel secure in it and new, or old ideas are hard to comprehend for some.
If you have been doing something for 50 or 60 years you accidently learn things which after a while seem easy. I am always being called a know it all, but if you have done something successfully a dozen times, and done it unsuccessfully two dozen times, you probably know more about it than someone who did it once and no matter how you try to tell that tale, you will be a "Know it all".
As for forums, I am not sure why many forums are receding in posts. I know me and you post a lot. I personally don't know more than one person with a salt tank semi near me and I never saw his tank. Here in New York we have a lot of aquarists but I think they are hiding or on facebook.
We do have a local group here on Long Island which I am not a member of. I have nothing against them and probably 30 years ago I attended a couple of their meetings which were fun. I am just not a joiner, the Army got me out of that. I would just like to go occasionally if I am in the mood.
I come on here (and 5 or 6 other forums) every day to search for some place to interject something in where my old opinions won't elicit too much negative talk as I don't like to argue. If I wanted to argue I would tell my wife she looks fat in those shorts. (Of course my wife is not fat but I am just reaching for something to say) But I like this forum the best by far.
I love these threads but shy away from the vast majority of them because I feel so bad for the original poster due to the fact that the hobby has grown so much since I started it in the fifties (yes, fish were invented before that) and there is so much information, which in my opinion is wrong or even harmful that I don't want to stir the pot, especially with my thoughts which are many times totally opposite from what is advocated.
(Which is why I wrote a book, no one argues with me but some people have been known to set it on fire and throw it at my house
)
The vast majority of posts on all forums comes from Noobs with one or two years in the hobby and although their advice can be helpful, they may not have enough experience with that particular problem to offer helpful advice. If a doctor cured one person of acne one time by telling the patient to listen to RAP music three hours a day until the person reached 21 years of age, he may not be the ideal doctor.
Or for instance if someone has an algae problem people will say to change the water, don't change the water, shut the lights, add more light, feed less, don't feed, add hydrogen peroxide, raise the temperature, lower the temperature, use stump remover, change the bulbs add manatees etc.
Anyone would get adenoids reading all of that and may cause some people to just give up and I don't blame them.
It is very confusing. When I started it was much easier as there was no one in the hobby to give advice so you tried something, it didn't work and you tried something else. No arguments, no confusion. If I got disgusted I picked up my wooden vat I used for a tank and grew tomatoes in it.
There are some really great people on here which is why I was on here at 5:00am.
I truly like this place and I don't think I ever used the word Truly in my life.
