[Killietalk] Aquabid vs BNL - I prefer BNL

[ROBERT ELLERMANN <ruevenm at sbcglobal_net>]

Hi,
   
      Sometimes I think I must not live in the same reality as other members. So far, I have received the new eBNL without a hitch. I am unaware of any arcane procedures that must be followed to start receiving it. I followed the instructions and it arrived. When I open it, it opens and that is that. I read it and forget about it unless it contains information I need. Yes, Aquabid has taken over the role of the F&EL. I wish the BNL was what it once was as far as fish but these are different times and people go where the opportunity and money is. I don't hear that people have a hard time getting the species they desire. New species seem to be everywhere! I mean who would have ever thought that N. furzeri would have 4, 5 or 6 locations in the hobby! Certain species will always be rare and hard to get. It was true 40 years ago and is still true today. That was always part of the fun of it -- getting them, breeding them and distributing them. If Aquabid serves that function
 today better than the BNL, then so be it. As a culture we have decided that money trumps security so the money Aquabid offers trumps the old AKA F&EL security. Besides, after being a member a while, I believe most people get their fish through shows, auctions, club meetings, friends and correspondence -- I know I do. I joined the AKA years ago because it was the only place to get the fish but today the AKA is its publications, access to in-depth information, exciting collecting trips, science, a stunning magazine and a tradition of the fish hobby conducted a certain way -- with generosity. I'm always a little surprised at how killie people balk at prices for fish that cichlid, livebearer, betta and saltwater hobbyists would not think twice about. In this day and age $25 a pair for a nice fish is normal -- not cheap but normal. I mean coffee is $2.00 a cup! I know I worried about change back in the 90's and I miss some of the old ways but the new ways work too. You loose
 some things and gain others. Such is life. I'm not even sure what all this disturbance is really about.
   
  Bobby

Wright Huntley <whuntley at verizon_net> wrote:
  LeeH920226 at aol_com wrote:
> In a message dated 4/14/07 8:33:39 PM, whuntley at verizon_net writes:
>
>
> 
>> Half the lists are 3 months out of date, and only your group's was very
>> long. [Of course if my club had that many fish at the Jan. meeting, I
>> might not want to update it very soon, either. :D]
>>
>>
>> 
>
> Wright, for brevity's sake I have highlighted just a portion of your 
> response. I will reply to other parts as well.
> First, the forum list is meant to be cumulative so I or anyone else, can get 
> an idea what species/populations are doing well enough in the hobby to allow 
> them to be auctioned in local affiliates.
> 
Excellent idea, but not obvious to the casual (read that careless) 
visitor. The column showing initial posting date is worthless. It would 
be more useful if it gave the most recent update, so skimming would be 
faster. Also is of limited usefulness without font formatting, so 
locations/Codes can be in normal font and Latin names in italics. Latin 
names alone are virtually worthless for our hobby needs, of course.
> Second. I did mention it on KT -- I forget when.
> 
Told ya! Memory is one of my shorter possessions.
> Third, you have hit on a sore topic for me. With my aging and macular 
> dystrophy eyes the web pages are very difficult to read in the newer browsers. The 
> older browsers are easier to read, but are sometimes incompatible with the web 
> content. This is true of many web pages, not just the AKA. So what I do, when 
> it works, is to use Internet Explorer or Netscape to read pages and Safari or 
> Firefox to interact. A royal pain in the "___". I believe that in time (maybe 
> not our lifetime) the designers of web pages and browsers will come to grips 
> with aging eyes and do something. Maybe when the techie generation turns 70.
> 
I only use Firefox, normally. Since I cannot bisect IE from Windoze, I 
have it deeply buried and avoid digging it up at all costs.

Other web sites with forums use decent colors, formatting and 
typography. I visit killies.com every day or more often. I can read it 
and it is not difficult to maneuver in it. I may visit the AKA forums 
once a month, and then I have to relearn all the peculiarities of the 
somewhat strange structure.
> In any case. I once again request contributions to the Affiliate Club Auction 
> Forum from any affiliate club -- official or unofficial. 
I guess I need to go extract a list from the http://sfbaka.net/ site and 
then try to struggle with formatting to see what it is really like. I'll 
post the BAKA fish list if I can get through it. I'm right in the middle 
of moving, so it may be a few days. See my new address in the .sig, 
below. [You can also see my new cabin at http://www.805valleywest.com/.]
> No, I did not place 
> a notice in the BNL. I have already submitted more announcements in the BNL 
> than will fit. Of course, with eBNL, there should be no limit on space. It is 
> only the paper version that cramps the space.
> 
Not if they are to remain the same publication. They are forced to 
comply with the least common denominator.

We have recently been deluged with just how utterly ignorant some of the 
old biases are, but I still bet the BOT never will get rid of the paper 
BNL nor will they stop handicapping the eBNL with its severe 
limitations. [Do you resent as much as I the loooong wait to load Reader 
and a .pdf document, and the time then wasted cleaning up after it? 
Disabling of copy and paste and scroll-mouse functions? Not that the 
Adobe Reader doesn't also crash a lot and really hang up your computer, 
once in a while.] Only when the USPS is shut down for lack of business 
will the BOT finally quit doing their business by mail, and sending the 
BNL the old snail-mail way.

I notice that we are among the oldest active members and yet are asking 
for modernization and change. Hmmmm? I don't think it is an old-vs-young 
problem. It is a problem of mis perceptions, often based on a 
government-school definition of what is "fair" combined with plain old 
foot-dragging. I was particularly taken by the recent suggestion that to 
be fair we should also cancel convention, because not everyone can 
afford to go. :-D RIGHT ON!

Thanks for cluing me in on the forum functions. Remind me I owe you a 
brew in Wisconsin, Lee.

Wright

-- 
Wright Huntley - 805 Valley West Circle - whuntley at verizon_net
760 937-2276 (cell) 760 872-3995.

"I find it necessary to remind myself firmly that the customs of my own tribe are not the laws of nature." Robert A Heinlein

http://www.self-gov.org/wspq.html 

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