Tired of anwering questions

[acpart]

I also get tired of answering the same questions, and of responding to things like "tell me all about breeding". One thing I do is to reference people to the caresheets. ANother idea is to personally have the link to a thread where I've already answered these questions and just post it on the thread where someone else is asking. I haven't done this yet but I"m considering it. Another thing is to let it go for awhile and let someone who is less tired of answering the questions respond.

One thing to remember is that sometimes novices don't know what questions are basic and what aren't. I agree they should be able to figure it out by common sense, but sometimes even that's not as straightforward as it sounds. For instance, if someone has never been involved in a hobby where there's a lot of specialized knowledge, they may actually not know that the "basics" could go on for pages, so sometimes we're not just educating someone about leopard geckos but also about how much there can be to know and how you go about finding out about it.

Aliza

 

[MiamiLeos]

What would I get if I bred Agecko to Bgecko? I know theres stickys on really good morph calculators, but I'm too lazy to go do it myself. Feed me mama!

Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[OhioGecko]

In all honesty answering those e-mails is great for PR as well as for marketing. Those people may not buy from you but they will know you have great customer service and very knowledgeable.

How about not making yourselves look like fools on a public forum by complaining and be more proactive about it help a person out and try to get a potential sale.

:main_thumbsup:

 

[tlbowling]

Wow...reading some of these posts really sheds some light on how some people really feel,and all this time I thought you were being nice and helpful. kinda makes you think twice b4 posting, if you're tired of it...just ignor the question.

And you know what the funny thing is? I'm reading all the posts of questions u hate 2 answer, and you're STILL answering them!?

 

[Northstar Herp]

Must not be that bad then, I guess.

Don't be too hard on 'em though, imagine answering the same question over and over again for a few years. I'm sure it could get annoying. This is the Rant forum too:main_thumbsup:

 

[roger]

it's part of being on forums. if you do not like people asking questions do not answer them or do not read the thread. just remember you, me and everyone else asked a lot of questions at one time too and if it wasn't for the people we would not know nearly as much as we do now.

roger i seem to remember you asking many questions not too long ago

Your correct Robin i do still ask questions.the regular husbundry I am quite familiar with since i've had leos for 25 yrs.i do ask questions on the hatching or incubation which i am new to since this is my full first yr breeding but I always try to use the searchbutton first.

 

[roger]

I still feel like I'm on the "asking the stupid questions" phase, but I've often wondered how you "in the know" folks remain so patient and just keep answering the same questions.

Speaking of grammar and the suchlike, how annoying is "an overuse of quotations marks"? Ever get tired of that?

From my wee tad of experience in the herp forum world, it's helpful to remember that each forum takes on it's own personality. This one is pretty much "the leopard gecko forum", so you're gonna get more of those eleven year old breeders who know everything and yet nothing, etc. Leos are the gateway herp, everybody knows that. So I think there's a connection between the herp being discussed and the general experience of the keeper, thus determining the stupidity of the questions... Generally.

There's just one thing I've been wondering still though:

Can I keep my female leo in the same tank with my male tokay?

That hilarious ! reminds me of a post.Someone actually posted "What would happen if I put my cat in with my leopard geckos' Am i supposed to answer moronic posts with a sensible answer?? What do u think would happen ???? Any person with common sense even a 16 yr old would say thats not a good idea to put a cat in with their leo.Gimme a break ppl if u ask 100 times what the warm end should be in your tank google it for petes sake.like it was said this is a rant section to get things off ones chest.To Tlbowling who is offended by the rants this thread is about ranting !!!! so dont get offended pls

 

[OhioGecko]

You can choose not to answer the questions that bother you. I always thought that forums where for people who had similar interests, and the new unexperienced people can learn from the more experienced.

If it is getting frustrating for you to answer questions, take a break for a while and don't. There is no need to belittle someone because they asked a question.

 

[Northstar Herp]

Speaking of using the search function: I've tried it many times and have found some answers that way, but I don't think I've ever had any question answered in it's entirety without asking either in a new thread or adding to an existing one.

 

[roger]

You can choose not to answer the questions that bother you. I always thought that forums where for people who had similar interests, and the new unexperienced people can learn from the more experienced.

If it is getting frustrating for you to answer questions, take a break for a while and don't. There is no need to belittle someone because they asked a question.

Yes I do not respond to some questions, but When someone asks the question "What would happen if I put a cat in with my leopard gecko" to me that is trolling or trying to get a reaction from the members. I am supposed to respond to this sort of question with common sense.Gimme a break

 

[tlbowling]

That hilarious ! reminds me of a post.Someone actually posted "What would happen if I put my cat in with my leopard geckos' Am i supposed to answer moronic posts with a sensible answer?? What do u think would happen ???? Any person with common sense even a 16 yr old would say thats not a good idea to put a cat in with their leo.Gimme a break ppl if u ask 100 times what the warm end should be in your tank google it for petes sake.like it was said this is a rant section to get things off ones chest.To Tlbowling who is offended by the rants this thread is about ranting !!!! so dont get offended pls

I wasnt offended at all. Im just surprised that people would complain about answering certain questions, but find it funny that every post I've looked at pertaining to those things they are ranting about are the very ones they are choosing to answer. Plain and Simple...If they are tired of answering them then why are they still doing it? Personally, I wouldnt want to be seen over here complaining about the people that are asking reasonable questions on this site when I have personally answered their questions...it's like backstabbing. And I'd be thinking that Im trashing my name, and maybe losing a few future customers (if I happened to be a breeder). I totally understand this is a Ranting section, but I hope everybody remembers, that others can see it. That's all.

Now on the other hand....I could not agree more about the people that are asking silly questions and not doing their basic research, there are plenty of wonderful caresheets out there, and Google is great! So they really should do some research themselves. How about the people that are mixing beardies and geckos together, we can certainly rant about that, or the ppl that are keeping 6 beardies in a 20 gallon tank! That is the kind of stuff that is insane! But the people that are asking genetic questions, or what morph their gecko is, I dont think they should be ridiculed. Alot of the genetic calculators are outdated, or some of them are just really hard to understand when they get into copies of genes, and if you are new to genetics, and morphs etc.

But, for the record, Im NOT offended. I just wanted to rant a little myself

 

[roger]

I wasnt offended at all. Im just surprised that people would complain about answering certain questions, but find it funny that every post I've looked at pertaining to those things they are ranting about are the very ones they are choosing to answer. Plain and Simple...If they are tired of answering them then why are they still doing it? Personally, I wouldnt want to be seen over here complaining about the people that are asking reasonable questions on this site when I have personally answered their questions...it's like backstabbing. And I'd be thinking that Im trashing my name, and maybe losing a few future customers (if I happened to be a breeder). I totally understand this is a Ranting section, but I hope everybody remembers, that others can see it. That's all.

Now on the other hand....I could not agree more about the people that are asking silly questions and not doing their basic research, there are plenty of wonderful caresheets out there, and Google is great! So they really should do some research themselves. How about the people that are mixing beardies and geckos together, we can certainly rant about that, or the ppl that are keeping 6 beardies in a 20 gallon tank! That is the kind of stuff that is insane! But the people that are asking genetic questions, or what morph their gecko is, I dont think they should be ridiculed. Alot of the genetic calculators are outdated, or some of them are just really hard to understand when they get into copies of genes, and if you are new to genetics, and morphs etc.

But, for the record, Im NOT offended. I just wanted to rant a little myself

hey no problem.i am the first to acknowlede I can always learn.I am new to breeding so i suck at genetics.i try to use the search button and find all the post pertaining.To me if a new comer wants to know what surface temp the warm end should.To me the common sense thing is to use the search button.i think what gets me frustrated is not the question they are asking but the facvt they dont research first.I got very upset when someone posted the question about could a cat and a leopard gecko get along in the same enclosure.They are the questions that i cant tolerate.I was told by a moderator they have the right to ask that question.my response was that they are trolling and even a 12 yr old knows that u shouldnt put a cat and a leopard gecko together.

 

[Retribution Reptiles]

You can choose not to answer the questions that bother you. I always thought that forums where for people who had similar interests, and the new unexperienced people can learn from the more experienced.

If it is getting frustrating for you to answer questions, take a break for a while and don't. There is no need to belittle someone because they asked a question.

:main_thumbsup:

It's a matter of choice. If you choose to answer great for you, you're being a productive part of this society. If you choose not to answer fantastic someone else will pick up the slack else where.

We were all "Noobs" at one time. Lets educate instead of alienate.

 

[T-ReXx]

Genetics questions are some of the main ones I see on here, and I understand it, genetics can be very confusing to those who are new to them. One thing I would recommend to anyone considering breeding leopard geckos(and if you need to ask basic husbandry questions you shouldn't really be considering breeding yet, that's just a given) is to go to the library and pick up a few books on basic genetics. It doesn't matter what species it is, recessives always work like recessives, Codoms always work like codoms, etc. Learning how basic genes interact with one another will give you a good boost into pairings and project planning. Once you have a grasp of how genetics work, then do some research into leo genetics specifically. Learn the base morphs, and then two and three gene combinations, etc. Learn the visual traits that are expressed by the animals you want to produce and how to recognize them. Things like this help one tell the difference between a mediocre tang and a spectacular tang, the tell-tales of eclipse genes, and the list goes on. When breeding any animal for certain visual characteristics it's very important to be able to recognize signs of animals that are going to express the best examples of those traits. Not all of this can be researched, a lot of it just comes with time and experience, but it's much easier to convey how a pairing will work if the questioner already has a basic grasp of how the genes work. If someone asks me "hey should I pair this tangerine male with that female or that female?" and wants my opinion on what they will most likely produce, it's much easier to explain my advice to them if they know that sunglows are a combination of recessive albino genes and polygenic tangerine/hypo genes for example, than if I have to go through a complete explaination of what recessive and polygenic genes are to begin with.

And one thing I want people to know is that, no matter what breeding stock you have available, know what YOU want to produce first. If you ask me if you should try to make snow glows or sunglows, I'm going to say snow glows because I like snows. Fact is there are tons of leopard geckos on the market and everyone's opinion of what's nice is different. Pick a project that YOU like, not what others think is "hot" or might sell, because generally excellent examples of any morph are going to be sought after first before mediocre examples, regardless of what they are. First question every new breeder should be asking themselves before they even pair is; "if this gecko doesn't end up going anywhere am I going to be happy looking at it for the next 10-20 years?" Because that happens all the time. The entire purpose of breeding leopard geckos is for personal enjoyment, they are in no danger of going extinct, and there really isn't anything particularly rare about any of them(this does not apply to subspecies).

So yeah, learn some basic genetics, and decide what you personally want to see coming out of the egg. Those two steps save a world of headaches, and will often always make it a little easier to sell animals you produce because the buyers know that you are well-educated and put a lot of thought into the breeding process, something that can help set new breeders without the name and reputation of established breeders get on the right road to becoming one of those "elite."

 

[M_surinamensis]

We were all "Noobs" at one time. Lets educate instead of alienate.

There are some distinctions that can be drawn between groups of new people though.

There are those who first attempt to find information on their own. Books and web searches answer most of their questions. They ask questions when they need some clarification or when they have encountered a question that the traditional resources do not cover or do not cover adequately. When they ask a question, they always pay attention to the answer and genuinely attempt to comprehend what they are being told. They are a pleasure to engage and to assist.

There are those who do not attempt to find information on their own. Their first step is to ask questions directly. They often end up lacking the background to understand a simple and straightforward answer when it is given to them. Without doing any research on their own, they they do not grasp the vocabulary involved, additionally they often fail to understand the context of answers once they are provided. They rarely use information they are given in order to build a genuine understanding of the subject, instead seeming to want answers to an endless series of questions. They are often the ones who demand instant gratification and will bump their own threads if nobody has responded in fifteen minutes. They are frustrating to deal with.

There are those who just want someone to confirm something that they want to hear. Generally when they are trying to do something that is less than responsible, less than ethical or less than smart. They will ask a question- a stupid question (yes, these exist)- and then they will become combative with anyone that gives them an answer they do not want to hear. Breeding, feeding, housing, handling or medical care, they want to do something stupid and dangerous and want someone else to support them as they do. They are infuriating.

Unfortunately it seems that more and more people are falling into the last two categories more and more often. I am not entirely sure why, it could just be my perception, but I have a few theories. Availability of information through web searches has resulted in people becoming accustomed to instant gratification. Their expectations have shifted in a direction that encourages a certain sense of entitlement, they do not have to learn anything because they can always search for it. I think there is a definite disconnect when using forums as well- the sense of anonymity, the total lack of visual and auditory social cues. They stop thinking of other participants as people and regard them as a personal search engine instead.

Speaking for myself, I am not the google homepage. I will answer questions for people when they ask something interesting to me personally or when they have demonstrated that they have a genuine interest in learning. They will pay attention, they will have at least put in the personal effort of remembering their eighth grade biology class and they will damn well show some appreciation if I make the effort to type something out, or they will never get to see me willing to help them ever again. If someone does that, those simple little things that show they genuinely want to understand, then I'll write them a book if they need it. If they don't, then I am liable to get irritable.

 

[OhioGecko]

Yes I do not respond to some questions, but When someone asks the question "What would happen if I put a cat in with my leopard gecko" to me that is trolling or trying to get a reaction from the members. I am supposed to respond to this sort of question with common sense.Gimme a break

Trolling is again the TOS and can be reported. At that time the Mods will decide if it is legit or not. You have the choice to get upset on the post or not, but if you retaliate or respond to a post inappropriately, you will risk of getting an infraction yourself. So if the post was truly a troll, and you respond inappropriately, the troll accomplished what they set out to do.

The best way to handle a troll is to ignore them and report the thread.

 

[OhioGecko]

There are some distinctions that can be drawn between groups of new people though.

There are those who first attempt to find information on their own. Books and web searches answer most of their questions. They ask questions when they need some clarification or when they have encountered a question that the traditional resources do not cover or do not cover adequately. When they ask a question, they always pay attention to the answer and genuinely attempt to comprehend what they are being told. They are a pleasure to engage and to assist.

There are those who do not attempt to find information on their own. Their first step is to ask questions directly. They often end up lacking the background to understand a simple and straightforward answer when it is given to them. Without doing any research on their own, they they do not grasp the vocabulary involved, additionally they often fail to understand the context of answers once they are provided. They rarely use information they are given in order to build a genuine understanding of the subject, instead seeming to want answers to an endless series of questions. They are often the ones who demand instant gratification and will bump their own threads if nobody has responded in fifteen minutes. They are frustrating to deal with.

There are those who just want someone to confirm something that they want to hear. Generally when they are trying to do something that is less than responsible, less than ethical or less than smart. They will ask a question- a stupid question (yes, these exist)- and then they will become combative with anyone that gives them an answer they do not want to hear. Breeding, feeding, housing, handling or medical care, they want to do something stupid and dangerous and want someone else to support them as they do. They are infuriating.

Unfortunately it seems that more and more people are falling into the last two categories more and more often. I am not entirely sure why, it could just be my perception, but I have a few theories. Availability of information through web searches has resulted in people becoming accustomed to instant gratification. Their expectations have shifted in a direction that encourages a certain sense of entitlement, they do not have to learn anything because they can always search for it. I think there is a definite disconnect when using forums as well- the sense of anonymity, the total lack of visual and auditory social cues. They stop thinking of other participants as people and regard them as a personal search engine instead.

Speaking for myself, I am not the google homepage. I will answer questions for people when they ask something interesting to me personally or when they have demonstrated that they have a genuine interest in learning. They will pay attention, they will have at least put in the personal effort of remembering their eighth grade biology class and they will damn well show some appreciation if I make the effort to type something out, or they will never get to see me willing to help them ever again. If someone does that, those simple little things that show they genuinely want to understand, then I'll write them a book if they need it. If they don't, then I am liable to get irritable.

This is very well thought out and worded. I agree 100%, but....... Again we have the ability to choose what upsets us and how we respond.

I like your method of just not helping out someone who will not listen to your previous help. It is much more rewarding to help someone that does listens and follows your advice.