I am a new member in the eastern United States and arrived here during my research of Ridgetail Monitors (Ackies), of which I have four, and Argus Monitors, which I'd like to have but probably cannot house.
I read through ALL of the archived material pertaining to these monitors that was available prior to the forum update and found it incredibly educational and very valuable.
I joined the forum to keep up with new posts and to help add to the population and traffic, and as a side benefit, I am learning to read Australian. ;-)
Although I have kept reptiles since I was about 7, and am in my mid-60s now, I do not have enough specific knowledge to contribute very much here on anything, except very general topics and a few things I am personally experienced in.
My thoughts:
There is a vast amount of knowledge available here, both in active members' current contributions and in the existing posts.
Advice given is usually sound from the beginning, as evidenced by agreement by several experienced forum members.
With the large number is extremely experienced members present, it would be great of one or several could develop 'care sheets' for the various animals discussed here. Information that many members take for granted is buried in single posts answering specific questions: "Is xx degrees warm enough for my Woma?" gets answers like "everybody knows this is too cold/hot", whereas if a care sheet existed, everyone would know.
I quit school and went to work in construction when I was 15. I have worked my way up through the ranks, served in the military, finished my education and got some college, ran my own business as long as my health would allow, and currently manage a business building homes, "Thin-skinned" is really not in my vocabulary, but when I see comments like "the Americans think ____ care is appropriate, hahaha", I wonder if those persons would or could substitute actual knowledge for their criticism of inappropriate care. Thus the suggestion of compiling some care sheets that could be available through the site. I would personally give more credence to a care sheet generated at a site local to the animal's habitat, vs a foreign seller that just wants to make the animals seem easier to case for and thus sell more easily.
The information that initially drew me to this forum now seems unavailable. Are the archives gone, or have I just failed to see access? Having some sort of access to that huge repository of information, and search engine recognition, would seem to be a big plus with regard to drawing new members.
There is often a condescending tone used by experienced members when a new keeper is asking "stupid" questions, which I personally find as a little 'off putting'. Perhaps it is only a cultural difference I have yet to fully understand and I am mistaken, but I am describing what it seems.
As a very long term member of other forums specializing in other subjects (ham radio, firearms), I get that answering the same old questions by people who could have done a bit more research can be tiresome. Candidly speaking, a little patience and tact would go a long way toward making this a bit 'friendlier' to inexperienced keepers/new members, a source of the desired 'site traffic'. I often have "casual questions', but after seeing the treatment some members get, I keep these questions to myself and try to research my way out of it, when I could have just asked. Certainly, there are times when a member asking a question probably deserves a bit of derision, but these 'stupid questions' are exactly what others read when researching stuff and DO have intrinsic value, so a good answer does more than just serve the presumably lazy member that asked.
I hope not to have ruffled any feathers, but as a new member that visits almost daily, these are my impressions.