Repeat Questions

[Thunderkat]

I have noticed that after a while most questions people ask here seem to repeat (tap water/ro/di water, hair algae, basic id, ect...). Is it possible to make a sticky that answers these questions in great detail that way people can just easily go there?

[SBreef]

MAAST is putting together a library, just for this purpose. But you will always have someone asking the same questions again. You could answer them and suggest what to do, or once the library gets up, pass that along to them.

[hoho19]

MAAST is putting together a library, just for this purpose. But you will always have someone asking the same questions again. You could answer them and suggest what to do, or once the library gets up, pass that along to them.

It also may be a case of not knowing what to search for. I have some bubble algae on my chaeto. I did not know it was called bubble algae and was searching for things that related to chaeto. Nothing revealed any good results so I posted a picture and somebody replied about bubble algae. I was then able to identify it and find some fixes pretty fast because I knew what I was searching for. You will always have some basic questions. A library is awesome for lots of things but identification is hard. Lets say you have a yellowing looking fish. You might have to search a lot of ident pages to find your yellow fish and figure out it's a yellow tang.

Just some thoughts.

Libraries rock though and I would be excited and use it if MAAST put one together.

[alton]

I believe our hobby is changing so fast that a question that was asked a couple of years ago might have a new answer today. Look at how we combat phosphates today verses three years ago. How many aquarist have SPS corals today verses a year ago. I don't think it hurts asking the same question over and over again, but I have three kids and are use to answering the same question over and over again.

[dwdenny]

but I have three kids and are use to answering the same question over and over again.

I know what you mean and I only have one for now that is.

[Thunderkat]

I am not upset at helping folks out with the same problem, its just that I am starting to get into nanos and SPS and I know many questions I have about the two areas have been covered in great depth and I just don't want to look silly when I ask those same questions again :blush

[GaryP]

We have also tried to address these common problems by tailoring the talks at our monthly meetings to help educate folks about these problems. For example, this month;s topic is on nuisance algaes. Past topics have included water chemistry, filtration, aiptasia, flat worms, etc.

The point about not knowing what to search for is well taken. Hopefully, when the library is completed we can just send someone to the appropriate area of the library. The problem with the quicj answers that most people get here is exactly that. They are quick answers and we rarely are doing a service to the person with shooting off the hip with a quick answer.

I think its better to provide the resources to help educate that person. For example, you will see someone ask what to do about low calcium or alkalinity. The answer they get is usually something like "Dose B-Ionic." Now, did that person really learn anything, except they need to make a trip to the LFS? Not really. There are rarely simple questions or simple answers in this hobby. They need to know why their calcium or alkalinity is low and the basic chemistry to go along with it. They do not need to become a chemist to understand the basics of aquarium chemistry. However, the basics are essential.

Going back to the question above, did the well intentioned person that answered the question give any information on how to dose the product, or where in the system, under what conditions, or the need for testing in conjunction with using supplements? Blindly dumping in additives is rarely a good idea and can cause bigger problems then was originally the case. So, did he really do a service to the person with the question?

You may have noticed that I have started answering such questions by providing links to resource sites. I have been flamed in the past for my wordy replies to questions here. The reason for that is what I described above. Rather then retelling the same tales over and over again I have taken the approach that the best thing to do is provide the resources for the person to do their own research and as a result become a better informed hobbyist. If the person is too lazy to do that after I have given the info to them, then I don't have much hope for them anyway. This hobby does require some dedication and willingness to put in the work to succeed. If that is not there, then I normally recommend they move on to gold fish. At least their failures will be less expensive.