Doing a study on Forums

[MitchM]

Originally Posted by -LMAO_

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any comment will be a good comment guys

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LMAO,

Since you asked,...

Your username tells me that you are not very serious here.
Your posts are mainly for buy and sell purposes.

If people did tell you what they were thinking, why would people think you really understood where they were coming from?

You asked some questions to get the ball rolling, which is a good idea but you seem to be making a lot of assumptions in your questions.
You seem to think forum members are male, married with a family and have employment with co-workers - and that we spend too much...lol.

Maybe some of us live in denial as well...lol.


For the record, I hope this forum (or any other out there) has not created problems for anyone's participation in the hobby. I don't see how it could.
If forums do create problems for the individual, there are probably larger issues for that individual that need to be dealt with.

I have absolutely benefited from forums like this because they have offered me educational programs and materials that I would not have access to otherwise.

I would like to see forums for our hobby succeed but a lot of the scientists that contributed early on have left. That's too bad.
We are only left with the research papers they have left behind.

I understand what Reef Pilot is saying about seeing is believing as far as what to use for guidance for getting the best out of your aquarium, but short term glamor is not an indicator of long term success.
I see a lot of anecdotal evidence creeping back in and being taken for as fact. That will set our hobby back again.

Thank you for your input, the first half of your response will aid me in writting about peer to peer communication. It will help me explain what can be infered from the most miniscule of things.

I appreciate your comment

[MitchM]

Originally Posted by -LMAO_

It will help me explain what can be infered from the most miniscule of things....

right....

"LMAO,Since you asked,...Your username tells me that you are not very serious here.Your posts are mainly for buy and sell purposes."

No, honestly i was serious. You stated that you read my name LMAO, and im assuming you thought it meant Laugh My Ass Off. And due to my username being that I would not take seriously what users on this forum have to say, correct?

However, what you dont know is my name stands for Live My life Against Odds. I had a few health complications when i was a child. But i understand why you would make the inference that you did.

Thats why I said it would help me understand peer to peer communication, because its fascinating how you took something so little like my name and applied such a over arching statement to my behaviour and personality on this forum. Regardless if its right or wrong.

Who knows how many people do what you just did. Hence a issue or problem that may be present on this site or sites like this. Essentially what my paper is about.

So thank you sir

[Reef Pilot]

And you have to include something in your paper about the drama and entertainment that often happens on the forums. Here is today's example..., LOL.
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...=106216&page=2

And how people are often so different when you meet them in person (for the better usually) than how they may seem sometimes on a forum.

And I think some people just take themselves too seriously...

ahah yes i will try to incorporate that somewhere :P

[EmilyB]

Originally Posted by -LMAO_

However, what you dont know is my name stands for Live My life Against Odds.

Um, I think you forgot an L.

I know :P I chose not to put it in there. I had it as LMLAO on another forum and was asked to change it, dont remeber y, so the mods on that site changed it to LMAO so i ran with it :P

Jeez louise a lot of questions about my name and not a lot for the study :P ohhh well

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Originally Posted by -LMAO_

I didnt want to post questions because it creates bias but I guess I have to


How much time do you spend at work reading these forums?

Well I am on both Canreef and BCAquaria multiple times a day (Head mod on the latter). Altogether probably between half an hour to an hour a day reading and posting on threads.


What do your co-workers think of that?... Or your boss?

I am self-employed so my boss says it A-Okay with him.


Why do people participate on forums? To learn,... or to gloat...., or sell frags?

I participate to learn cooperatively. Reefing is an art as much as it is a science. What works for one person may not work for someone else. I also come here looking for what is for sale. I don't often post frags for sale any more but I have probably met over 100 local reefers & fish keepers during the last decade or so. I joined almost a decade ago but was a lurker for a while before that.

Does your wife support you or not?

She was the one who got us started on reefing after watching Finding Nemo, she says "I want a sw tank with an anemone and a pair of clownfish. Ok?" Well, I'm OCD and ran with that. She was very happy when I downsized from a max of about 1000 gallons total volume in our small 2 bedroom suite but I still have 4 tanks (largest is 165g with 90g sump) and as long as they look good and everything stays healthy and presentable, she's fine with it. We used to go to the LFS together but now she sends me with the kids.


what does your chidren think about your hobby?

They love it. Both daughters (2.5yrs old Isabella and 5.5 years old Felicia) love to watch the fish, feed the tanks and they both help with water changes. Felicia has been helping by holding the hoses when I do my siphoning or pumping since she was 2 and Isabella has also been doing it for almost a year now.

Have you ever been ridiculed/ made fun of, because of your hobby by other people?

Not really. They are more amazed that everything is alive in there. Then they go home and decide that freshwater is boring and colourless so a lot of them switch to sw.

has spending money on your aquarium caused serious financial problems?

Sometimes. It is a very expensive addiction which is the first thing I tell anyone asking for advice about maybe setting up a reef tank. I used to sell enough frags and other stuff to cover most of my expenses. Lately, its been more in the red.

Has meeting anyone on canreef caused you problems?

Nope. A lot of my best friends are "fish friends" from Canreef and BCAquaria. I find that most local reefers I have met are pretty standup people. I wish I was better with names because more often than not, I can remember someone's screenname than their real name.

Hopefully this stirs up some debate
Thanx guys

Hope that helps. Anthony.

Hey Anthony, I really appreciate your input, thank you so much!!