disappointed that my daughters thread was closed

[sufunk]

Reading that thread, i dont see what the skepticism was about???

My daughter just turned 5 and can name about half of the fish in any fishstore. She can also name more corals than her mother,lol. She can name blastos, acans, zoo, acros,etc.

The people in that thread dont give kids much credit. The average 9 year old can work a computer, ipod whatever a heck of alot easier than me. Learning a few fish names is nothing!

[reefing102]

I admit i was a little skeptic but now see that I was wrong. However I don't feel I was harsh. the only i asked was for some pics or specs. - as i hadn't read any of her other posts by then

sounds good but do you have any pics or specs.

[bureau13]

I gotta be honest here...when I first read this thread, my imagination took that other thread in some pretty terrible directions. Now that I've read the original thread, I don't think it was a big deal. If its my kid's thread, its a nice segue into my "If you're going to converse with people on the internet, best you develop a thick skin" speech. No big deal...nevertheless, nice job getting your kids involved dmack, and I still think the Young Reefer's Forum is a good idea.

jds

[1F2FRFBF]

I sincerely apologize if I'm being a bit off topic here, but this particular situation hits a nerve with me. I've seen more and more forums populated by self-appointed "troll police" who are nothing more than online bullies (and how pitiful is that) who would probably wet themselves if they ever had to face the people they were badgering.

I hope some of the "skeptics" can manage to find their way over to this thread and give dmack and his girls a much-deserved apology.

OK, off the soap box and back to our regularly scheduled program...

"Young Reefers" forum? Sounds great!

[TikiDan]

A youth forum would great if you could somehow monitor the slime that preys on children over the web! There are far to many freaks out there wanting to pretend to be a child, inviting other kids over to see "their tank". I would be worried about exposing a "youth only" forum where you know that only kids will be posting.
Just my 2 cents

[pagojoe]

I'm with 1Fish2Fish, I think it's pitiful too. It's one thing to be a skeptic, it's another thing to feel the need to make it known to the world that you're a skeptic -- especially if your skepticism turns out to be unwarranted, and you hurt someone's feelings in the process of proclaiming your skepticism.

[NSC]

As a father I am torn between dmack's idea of a youth forum and tikidan's dose of reality...however the idea itself is excellent;mechanics could be more difficult. A respect or fascination with this hobby should never be criticised or shunned upon especially if it is someone young. All you vendors out there think of all the profit you've enjoyed since Nemo...without a new audience;or a new generation of reef conservationists where will this whole thing be? But I digress...

[AaronKelly]

ive been following the post and was actually interested that a 9 year old even typed about a reef tank, i thought it was splendid... but its the same people that say the negative things... ive noticed a few names that are linked with being negative and they have to learn that not everyone is perfect... and maybe their knowledge can help the less experienced person... think before you speak.

[snuggle2me]

I think a kid forum would be nice with some safety measures involved . Like no locations or contact info allowed and no ingame pms allowed without parental consent mail into reefcentral. I also have to add that my 6 year old is just as excited about this hobby as i am and can tell you exactly what things are called. I dont think we give the kiddies the credit they deserve sometimes. I would also like to say he can use a computer pretty effectively. He learned how to do the basic's in kindergarden this past year. Most primary schools are making basic pc skills standard learning. As things are now i dont think i would let him post on rc unless there was a child forum. I have come across too many post where an adult will throw out insults when talking to an adult . For now ill leave it to my lfs to humor my son with his never ending questions

[jeeperrs]

I have to be honest. I cannot stand RC sometimes. They shut down a thread because of rude people instead of taking the rude peoples accounts away. I am sorry your daughter had to read all the comments they made. I mean if people think it is a fake then they can save their opinion for their own thread and stop getting the threads closed. We had this problem on another thread with rude people cursing because people were suggesting things that they didn't agree with. The result of that was the thread was shut down. So in the end the rude people won and took another good thread off RC.

[snuggle2me]

Thats an idea. Can the mods just pass out a warning to the offender then if they repeat the offence then all their posts get deleted instead of the thread that they posted on. Maybe that would prevent good threads from being shut down and offenders will think twice about insulting if they lose post counts and if they continue to offend then have their account frozen for 24hr, week, then permanently so they cant post anymore. Just my opinion

[A.T.T.R]

ibtl
tell your kids to laugh at these people cause they were picking on a child

[1F2FRFBF]

Originally posted by TikiDan
A youth forum would great if you could somehow monitor the slime that preys on children over the web! There are far to many freaks out there wanting to pretend to be a child, inviting other kids over to see "their tank". I would be worried about exposing a "youth only" forum where you know that only kids will be posting.
Just my 2 cents

Well, that's definitely a good point. I would hope, though, that parents who allow their children access to the internet would be there to supervise the activity. And I think that a youth forum, like any other, would be monitored by moderators, maybe even more closely than usual.

(And listen to us, so easily suggesting even more work for the good folks who run RC!)

But this should be a place where people interested in the hobby can ask questions and share their experiences, no matter what their age, without being put through some sort of bone-headed fraternity hazing process.

We all preach patience when it comes to our hobby; it's a shame that some can't seem to exercise it with regard to fellow hobbyists.

[rlm2005]

My 8 and 9 year old can name everything in my tanks. I think it's great your daughters have interest in this hobby. My daughter is getting her own tank in her room. She requested this and wants to have a clownfish tank and I can't resist setting up yet another tank. Oh and neither of my children refer to clowns as Nemos and Tangs as Dorys. I figure this will be a great learning experience for her. She can learn how to test the water, change the water, feed the tank, ect.

[SteveOhh]

Anybody notice that most of the negative responses were posted by members who listed thier occupation as "student?".........................

And one member who has about 20,000 posts....

[kuoka]

Bless your daughter's heart. I think it's fantastic that she's taking pride in your tank and posting about it. I hope she doesn't get discouraged by this.

[Caleb Kruse]

Thats cool to see that your daughters are taking an interest in the hobby. I just got into the hobby last year (when I was 14) and aclimated dead fish from an online store. I didn't know that they were dead because on the aclimation sheet that they would look like they were dead. So I posted on another forum, and they all called me a troll and stuff like that. So all this to say I know how you feel and don't worry about the people that don't understand.

[DaveP]

Its interesting to see that the rude people on RC don't discriminate based on age. I agree with 1F2FRFBF 100%.

I have been so fed up with certain people on this board for a few years. Its amazing how these people just can't answer a question or stick to the topic. They have to provide their unwanted, off topic , and often incorrect insight.

The tang police was classic.

Sorry, had to vent.....

[drives300]

Dmack, I think your kids were getting some less than positive responses that werent going to benefit them. I have to agree closing the thread seemed appropriate but I do agree with the young reefers section. It is not uncommon now for 7-8-9 y/o to be on the computers and we need to welcome them and act appropriately and supportive around them.

[dc]

Originally posted by jeeperrs
I have to be honest. I cannot stand RC sometimes. They shut down a thread because of rude people instead of taking the rude peoples accounts away. I am sorry your daughter had to read all the comments they made. I mean if people think it is a fake then they can save their opinion for their own thread and stop getting the threads closed. We had this problem on another thread with rude people cursing because people were suggesting things that they didn't agree with. The result of that was the thread was shut down. So in the end the rude people won and took another good thread off RC.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but there's usually a lot going on behind the scenes. As far as rude people winning, well I don't see it that way and apparently other's don't either when they pm you and thank you for locking the thread. This is about 2 young ladies wanting to participate here, not let's bash RC because we don't like the way they do things.

[silvers]

If I was her age and I got trashed like that I wouldent post anymore eather. Its horible how people get flamed on becouse of stupid things like spelling or skepticism. This is a reef forum and the little girl wanted to talk about her tank and people line up to take there swing. If I was her father I would be ready to kick some a$$.

[dc]

As far as the youth forum goes, post in the feedback with a suggestion. I too would worry about preditors, and well we can't seem to control the adults on here half the time, it might not work.

[virginiadiver69]

Originally posted by dc
You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but there's usually a lot going on behind the scenes. As far as rude people winning, well I don't see it that way and apparently other's don't either when they pm you and thank you for locking the thread. This is about 2 young ladies wanting to participate here, not let's bash RC because we don't like the way they do things.

I suspect it may be an issue of expedience. I'm sure it's much easier to just shut down a harmless thread with no explanation than to deal with the spoilers individually.
Maybe it is more difficult for a mod to delete a unacceptable post than I thought.

[plandy]

Well...reading through all this unfortunate but harmless thread I am at loss for words. It does not appear that anyone, both sides, meant deliberate maliciousness. A bit of shoving and pushing of words and somone concerned about the perception of kids being bullied. I've seen kids exposed to much much worse. But they are much tougher then we tend to give them credit for. Let the kids come back, dust off, and open up another thread. We are all embarked on a learning journey. I am a father of a 4yr old with no intention of raising him with horse blinders.

[erbio]

As with anything in life.