Re: Salt, Ich & Quarantine

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

James Purchase said, among other things:

> I've just re-read your original post, and my initial
> response to it. I'm
> sorry, but I didn't mean to sound condescending, nor
to
> belittle you, and
> neither of those epithets were intended by me. You
asked
> a question, I
> answered it to the best of my ability. If that answer
> went beyond what you
> wanted to read, well, again, I'm sorry.
> 
> Quite often, questions get asked here that are
indicative
> of widespread
> practice . . . Because of the "widespread
practice" . . .I thought it best to give . . .as
complete an answer as I
> could. If that turns my
> responses into "lectures", then I guess I'm
guilty as
> charged. I've never
> been one for quick, pat answers to anything.

Not meaning to speak for James or anyone else, I'd add a
couple of things to what the discussion:

1) it's very easy for the tenor (or emotional intent) of
one's email posts to be misunderstood -- a concise answer
can sound curt and dismissive while a comprehensive one can
sound, to some, pedantic.  Personally, I usually try to
*not* read between the lines when reading email -- it keeps
me out of brawls and I less frequently get my feelings hurt
needlessly.

2) only a small number of people that visit APD ever post
questions to it and even fewer post responses (even fewer
post answers ;-)  ).  But it's wise to think of the wider
audience, both when posting questions and responses.  This
forum is a powerful tool for those of us that are just
hobbyists trying to make things work -- its the broad
audience and discursive participation that makes it so
powerful.  The archives alone contain more useful info than
most of the books in lfs published on tropical fish and
aquatic plants.  Most of the questions that people ask are
questions belonging to more than a few, certainly to more
than just the ones posting them.

3) The hobby is full of myths, mistakes, and misleading
marketing.  Comprehensive answers, such as James recently
gave concerning quarantine, convey a lot of info to a lot
of folks, and it's a nice little tidbit in the archives,
too.  

All this I've said might, too, come off as dime store
pedantry, but that's not how it's intended.  :-) 

Respectfully,
Scott H.



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