Personally being a member of multiple dog forums I know how beneficial they can be...but also can see the harms they may cause. Do you think that public dog forums are good for other owners and if so in what ways? Can you think of any reason why a public forum would be a danger or trouble?

Steven_L wrote:

Personally being a member of multiple dog forums I know how beneficial they can be...but also can see the harms they may cause. Do you think that public dog forums are good for other owners and if so in what ways? Can you think of any reason why a public forum would be a danger or trouble?

I am also a member of multiple dog forums. I feel that any forum is only as good as the people that use it. The sites that I use are very beneficial because they are filled with good ppl who really want to help others and thier dogs. From offering basic information to more specialized solutions for health and physcal care, these site are critical.

This is not to say that they are not without problems. When you bring together a wide variety of ppl with different ideas and upbringings you will always have a difference of opinion. This can cause arguements, flaming, and even worse! The key is make all of the users understand that the purpose of the site is to have a common goal and that everyone MUST keep thier eyes on that goal. It really shouldn't matter HOW you acheive the goal ... As long as the goal is reached. To this end, I think it is VERY important to clearly spell out the goal and build the "code of conduct" around that goal.

To many times, personal pride gets in the way! We all need to adopt the way of the pack. In a pack, dogs, wolves and any other species that live in a pack situation live to support the pack, NOT just themselves. If we can get this point across, the forums (And the World) will be a better place and we will all get to our goals A LOT faster.

The only other real problem I see with a forum type of site is that ANYONE can pose as an expert, or someone that KNOWs all about a subject. With this kind of problem, it is important that visitors get more than one opinion before taking any advice to heart.

The up side, is that ppl can post thier thoughts in the same thread to either back or refute a clam or a bad idea.

You took the words right out of my mouth! Truth be told...I don't know where'd I'd be without forums. Of course I've learned a lot from books, but from forums you don't only learn from people who are more knowledgeable than you, you can also find links to many reputable sites that help expand your knowledge, most of the sites on K9Domains directory, I've found because other members mentioned them.

Of course there will always be those that are looking for trouble, but what can we do about it, those kind of people we can find anywhere really.lol

Personally for me, the forums were cool whenever I was 13-14 and I had nothing else to do. Over the past few years, I went from getting along with virtually everyone to clashing personalities which made more enemies and fights then anything. That is when I just stopped, about a April, and told myself it wasn't worth the stress or drama in my life when I had enough going on with drama in the family. I was on variety of forums from dogs to cats to country music. I made a lot of friends though these different forums, some life long friends like Samantha and Steven. Only recently I've been coming back to forums I like and Steven I must say I do like this beautiful forum of yours. You did a wonderful job and put alot of hard work into it. Anyway, I will just state my opinion now...

I believe that forums are only as good as the members and the personality of the forum. In the multiple forums I've been in, I only came out liking two to three. I won't name names of the forums but the two I really liked, had kind members. Of course maybe one or two nasty members but overall the people were friendly, somebody would post get tons of replies and friendly ones too. If someone had been pushed down and had low self-esteem you could talk about it and the members would be there supporting you. While about 3 other forums I was on were terrible and the members clashed with my personality. If I'd post photos of my dog, I'd get rude replies saying he was basically ugly because at the time he had a skin condition. Or opinion I made were shoved down my throat when reality of it was, opinions have no right or wrong answer, no matter how many facts you can shove down ones throat. Most of the reason I stayed on those forums was to talk to Steven, but thankfully he got AIM so I didn't have to get on those forums. While those forums I found unfriendly and hated getting on, others found fun, friendly. So I feel forums are only as good as the members and the majority of the personalities. Always remember, one thing you might take as a joke might be cruel and offensive to somebody else.

Now to answer your question, I do think they can pose trouble for a few vast reasons. Number one being that if you have an issue with your dog, some people are dumb enough to go to a forum and let random people diagnose the dog. If you're having any problems with your dogs health seek vet attention immediately. I have yet to see one person on any forum I am on have a degree in veterinary. Another reason could simply be the attitude people give when answering a question. I've seen posts where somebody would post a question trying to fix a mistake they made but some smart-as, has to crush them down for a simple mistake and makes the person fill 10 times worse then they already did. Instead of trying to help the person with their problem they just yell at them. Third is the amount of bullying I see going on. There is no excuse to treat people, the way i've seen in forums. Some lady joins, she has a designer breed which she rescued from the pound and everyone jumps on her saying how wrong it is to own a designer breed, who cares if its rescued its a designer breed so its no good? Seriously, sometimes it makes me sick to go on forums and see the replies people get. While there are flaws in forums there are also benefits of them. For one would be if you want an opinion from people on a new product or how to train your dog to do something, or break a bad habit. Making new friends with people who share common interests as yours or just simply wanting to show off your pride and joy.

That is my opinion on forums, I am sorry if anything written offends anyone certainly not my intentions.

No its not offending Carrie. I'm sure we have all seen our share of arguements and comments to which we can't help but shake our heads too. But you know what has helped me? Its to simply brush off arguements. I mean if someone is trying to pick a fight with you, and they are eagerly waiting for an answer, how do you think they are going to feel when they look over that thread and see that no one has answered? Who feels silly? They do!lol.

Also what helps is to always be positive and look at what you have gained while being on a site (not just forums). If you can do that, you'll be able to enjoy forums more. Its always easier to make friends if you post informative and non-biased information, because if you pour all your emotions into a post then many people will just roll their eyes and move on. And when you try to talk to them they'll think "Oh its the drama member". So it helps to know when to be insightful and didactic and when to put a little humor and emotion into it.

Good points though

I think it is ok to be on a few...such as this one, and a breed specific one. I like my schnauzer ones because if i have a question, many people on them have more experience or knowledge than I do , since im still a fairly new dog owner.

I also like being on general dog forums because it's interesting to see, learn, and meet other dogs and their owners. I just joined not long ago and i already want more pets and of different varieties, hehe.

Hahaha thats the great thing about forums though! They allow you to see different varieties of breeds and pets and before you know it you want one! I always commend new dog owners such as yourself for joining dog forums because it really shows that you are interested in learning, I do hope that you are able to learn as much as you can