Suggestion: 'fishkeeping experience' section in Member Profile

[prairielilly]

IMO there are times when it would be helpful to know how long the person advising you in a thread has been keeping fish, aside from how long they have been a member of FishLore. I have also seen many posts of late from new members who are definitely not new to keeping fish, and I think their experience should be noted for other members' benefit.

If this were simply a box to fill in in the profile section eg. 'six years' it wouldn't be relevant as it would be dependent on the last time the user updated their profile (similar to the 'aquarium age' box).

What about a 'box(es)' stating 'FW/SW fish keeping/plant keeping experience prior to joining FishLore'?

Opinions?

[Shawnie]

its all posted under their names as to when they joined....as far as how long keeping fish, just ask them

[Nate McFin]

Best way to take advice from any internet forum is with research to back up said advice. Many people come here( myself included) thinking that the advice given from the expert at the LFS was great advice....here I am to know different. It doesn't take long on this forum to know whose advice you can trust.

[prairielilly]

Originally Posted by Nate McFin

Best way to take advice from any internet forum is with research to back up said advice. Many people come here( myself included) thinking that the advice given from the expert at the LFS was great advice....here I am to know different. It doesn't take long on this forum to know whose advice you can trust.

Agreed completely, and I have been doing an awful lot of reading on the side as well. Hopefully I didn't give the impression here I don't trust the advice I've been receiving, because I most certainly DO - that would be why I have tanks full of healthy fish now! All advice is always appreciated, and when ppl disagree and it turns into a discussion so much the better, we all learn from it.

Shawnie: I did think of that too, but there's a lot of ppl on the forum...

Don't you agree it would be good for interests' sake? as well as for info?

[Shawnie]

under each of our names it says when we joined..but yes all info is good and all experiences to share are always helpful to someone

[prairielilly]

Originally Posted by Shawnie

under each of our names it says when we joined..but yes all info is good and all experiences to share are always helpful to someone

? yes, but not my original question...lots of members have been keeping fish for many years before joining FishLore, others join as newbies (as I did).

[Red1313]

One issue here is that just because you haven't been keeping fish long doesn't mean you don't know what you're talking about. And having had a couple goldfish live in a ten gal for a few years doesn't mean that you do know what you're talking about.
Just something to keep in mind.

[prairielilly]

Originally Posted by Red1313

One issue here is that just because you haven't been keeping fish long doesn't mean you don't know what you're talking about. And having had a couple goldfish live in a ten gal for a few years doesn't mean that you do know what you're talking about.
Just something to keep in mind.

Agreed. I didn't say that it did.

[Mike]

I agree with what everyone is saying. Someone could easily lie about their experience and being an internet forum I hope that people don't rely only on what you read in a forum as the final word on something. I do like the suggestion though. For the most part everyone tries to help each other out on Fishlore and having all the info available helps. I made a profile field that shows up when the member fills out the info. You can update your details here: http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/pr...do=editprofile

If you make a selection in the drop down it will show up in your posts above the country flag. If not, it won't show up at all.

Thanks for the suggestion!
Mike

[Fla_Larry]

Pro's & Con's to each side. Prairielilly makes some good points in that it would in many cases be good to know the "NooB" might just know a little more than would at first be indicated by their "Join Date", I do know there are more than a few just recently joined who have been in this hobby for many years, but for any number of reasons may also have been absent for longer than some here have been keeping fish.

Of Course as Mike Says, they can "Fib"

On the other side also as a few have pointed out:

Red1313
One issue here is that just because you haven't been keeping fish long doesn't mean you don't know what you're talking about. And having had a couple goldfish live in a ten gal for a few years doesn't mean that you do know what you're talking about.
Just something to keep in mind.

and this is an equally valid point, that said however if i where looking for someone with that type of experience, that would be the person i would tend to listen to.

Something like a quasi-resume, that would touch on previous experience.
to give the advise seeker a better point of reference than simply a "Date Joined". a little something to point out... hmm maybe this person might just know a bit more than at first glance would indicate. and by the same token just because someone has been here and posted a thousand or so messages really also is a not so good indicator of experience, or even good information, but they may be excellent source of "specialized" knowledge.
Carpenter, Plumber etc, am i gonna listen to the Stock Broker or the Framer when i ask a question about building a stand, or do i listen to the Electrician or the Realtor when it comes time to do some DIY Lights?

It doesn't have to be much, just enough to give you a point of reference.

Just my 0.02 worth anyways YMMV

[Shawnie]

he added it to our profile section fla larry

[Fla_Larry]

[Lucy]

Something to keep in mind, as with post count and rep points, let the advice given speak for it's self.

[haedra]

I've just updated mine.. so everyone can know I'm a noob! Hee hee

[Fla_Larry]

yep, i keep my NooB status right up front in my sig.

I still think we need a Mr. Burns smiley ... Excellent ...

[prairielilly]

Very interesting debate.

There were sections added recently to the Profile for 'quarantine or not' and 'water conditioners used'. I see this as being the same way. Everyone's contribution is valuable and always appreciated no matter how long they've been doing this for, but if you would like to know the person's actual experience level for whatever reason you wouldn't want to be like, "Oh thanks for your help. And you have been doing this for how long?" It would come across as unappreciative to say the least, which is entirely NOT the intention. This is far subtler and hopefully not inflammatory. I'm glad it's optional too for those that disagree. For the record, I've yet to question the experience level of any one who's advised me on anything here, but I did think it would be nice to have around should it ever come up.

I myself am proud to be a newbie learning more and more each day from you fine people. I'm happy to be here

Decided to also remove my real name as my 'nickname'...considered putting in what I'm sometimes called at work tongue-in-cheek (Chaos Magnet) - seems to apply lately...

[Butterfly]

Originally Posted by prairielilly

considered putting in what I'm sometimes called at work tongue-in-cheek (Chaos Magnet) - seems to apply lately...

surely not!!
Over the years we've had various threads asking people how long they've been keeping fish, maybe it's time for another one prairielilly
Carol

[prairielilly]

Originally Posted by Butterfly

surely not!!

born klutz in so many ways...I am scarred from walking into walls and doors, and foot-in-mouth disease is common in our family...may as well smile!

[Fishin Pole]

Good Thread Prarielilly...........I agree and went and updated my profile.........Only thing is, i have more than 3 tanks (7 to be exact)........Is there anyway to list all of them or are you allowed only 3 listings for tanks?.........Any other members know the answer to that question?.......

[agabr123]

Originally Posted by Fishin Pole

Good Thread Prarielilly...........I agree and went and updated my profile.........Only thing is, i have more than 3 tanks (7 to be exact)........Is there anyway to list all of them or are you allowed only 3 listings for tanks?.........Any other members know the answer to that question?.......

unfortunately no, but you can list them in your signature

[Fishin Pole]

Thanks Alex!........eventually i will get around to doing that

[aquatic mouse]

It's so cool to see an idea made real...and so fast!

[Lucy]

Originally Posted by aquatic mouse

It's so cool to see an idea made real...and so fast!

Mike's terrific, isn't he?

[Butterfly]

Originally Posted by Lucy

Mike's terrific, isn't he?

Yep he is He lets this be "our" site not just his. Everywhere I look I see improvements that were suggested by different members and he has put them into action. I think that's really cool
carol

[sirdarksol]

I think that's why Fishlore is running strong while so many other, similar forums have floundered (pardon the pun).
When Mike is asked to change something, he considers it. Even ideas that he (or the mods) thinks are a bad idea from the get-go, he considers for a few days, listening to options, before rendering a verdict.

[aquatic mouse]

Yay Mike!

[Toxic]

I feel real bad for things that I did in the past. I did not completly understand the cycle, I always did it with fish, I assumed the cycle was over when the brown algae/diatoms showed up....I raised fish to big for the aquarium... I have been at it since I was 10....but I did what I thought was best....now I know better thanks to this forum.

Thank you....everyone

[Mike]

Thanks. I'd be a fool to not listen to all the smart members and mods we have on here. Many (if not most) of the improvements made over the years started as suggestions from the members and moderators.

A website is only as good as the members that frequent it and the mods that help run it an I'm willing to bet the farm that we have some of the best members and mods anywhere. Bar none.

[prairielilly]

Originally Posted by aquatic mouse

It's so cool to see an idea made real...and so fast!

Seconded, thirded, fourtheded (ok not a word...)

You guys rock!