Is this cage good?

[tcraighenry]

The funny thing is that "knowing what I'm doing" came after a lot of mistakes. And I think that's true of most people. I don't think the grand majority of people find this forum, learn everything about chins, and then buy one from a quality breeder.

Ugh yeah, we did so much research before we got Christopher and Vincenza. And we still didn't know half of what we needed to and lost one. This place is a pretty good resource, since chinchillas are so high maintenance!

I was a little wary of posting here at first though :O

 

[Pooky125]

Haha feel free! It was a pain to make, and took forever, but I love it! And it is bolted to the back of the cage with four carriage bolts, so no worries of squished chins cause it can't fall over. Pictures of the progress on facebook --> http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.278034655596191.65473.144858985580426&type=1

Oooh, thanks! Love the pictures. Will help with the designing of my own.

Ugh yeah, we did so much research before we got Christopher and Vincenza. And we still didn't know half of what we needed to and lost one. This place is a pretty good resource, since chinchillas are so high maintenance!

I was a little wary of posting here at first though :O

I'd done research on chins years ago, long before I ever had them when I was bored one week. When I found my two on craigslist, I knew the old owners had most of it wrong, and I went about my way fixing it. Mind, it took a while, but it got done. Even still, I'm sure if I posted pictures of my cage up now, I'd still get flamed for it. It's as safe as I can make it, it works, their happy, healthy little buggers. I don't think I should have to justify why I do the things I do to other people. Particularly when they're so hard headed they won't consider another way of doing things. Especially for all the research I did constructing and decorating it.

Really, I think what bothers me the most about all the people jumping on the beginners, is that the mods don't step in. That's what they're there for. Start giving out warnings and banning people who can't play nice with others. It would only take a few banned members before the attitude turns around.

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

I belong to another hobbiest pet forum with well over 50,000 members, and in the 9 years I've been a member there, I've NEVER seen the holier-than-thou attitude I see displayed here. Frankly, it puts me off of this forum quite a bit. If it weren't for the vendors, I wouldn't be a part of it.

Agreed. Although a member on here has told me she's part of various pet forums and it's the same at all of them. Maybe some of those people are here too, ha. And about the merchs....most of them have websites now,

The funny thing is that "knowing what I'm doing" came after a lot of mistakes. I had the plastic shelves and bad treats because I didn't know any better... when I did... I changed what I was doing.

I realize you made mistakes just like everyone else. I was more implying that you have a well-established herd, I don't see threads where you're losing chins every few months, and you have good, solid advice that you delve out calmly. So clearly you have your you-know-what together.

Really, I think what bothers me the most about all the people jumping on the beginners, is that the mods don't step in. That's what they're there for. Start giving out warnings and banning people who can't play nice with others. It would only take a few banned members before the attitude turns around.

I can tell you right now why the mods/admins don't step in---they, along with several select members who've been here since CandQ, are one big chummy family, so they don't mind when their buddies are disrespectful and express no couth. I have seen one specific member literally attack people on here, call them names (all of which, I thought, was against forum rules), and no one said a word---because this person is one of their apparent proteges. But if someone does that that's not part of the clique, of course they pounce on them like wolves. On top of that, I've been in the chat room where members AND admins/owners gossiped about a member they found annoying. Yeah, doing that is against the rules somewhere too. But as one person explained to me when I questioned it, "I can do it, I (helped start) the joint." :clap: What an excellent example to everyone at this forum.

I've seen said members "defend" their actions/words by saying, "We tell people over and over again to do this, do that, then the people don't listen, and their chins die. It's hard not to get frustrated after awhile." Guess what? NObody's making them be admins/mods. If they're that jaded, maybe they should quit.....they're little help to the constant influx of new members that need all of the help and benefit of the doubt they can get.

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

I was a little wary of posting here at first though :O

I can't tell you how many times people have said that. That should be a sign to the higher-ups.....:help:

 

[Pooky125]

I can tell you right now why the mods/admins don't step in---they, along with several select members who've been here since CandQ, are one big chummy family, so they don't mind when their buddies are disrespectful and express no couth. I have seen one specific member literally attack people on here, call them names (all of which, I thought, was against forum rules), and no one said a word---because this person is one of their apparent proteges. But if someone does that that's not part of the clique, of course they pounce on them like wolves. On top of that, I've been in the chat room where members AND admins/owners gossiped about a member they found annoying. Yeah, doing that is against the rules somewhere too. But as one person explained to me when I questioned it, "I can do it, I (helped start) the joint." :clap: What an excellent example to everyone at this forum.

I've seen said members "defend" their actions/words by saying, "We tell people over and over again to do this, do that, then the people don't listen, and their chins die. It's hard not to get frustrated after awhile." Guess what? NObody's making them be admins/mods. If they're that jaded, maybe they should quit.....they're little help to the constant influx of new members that need all of the help and benefit of the doubt they can get.

Things like that, make me wish I had the money and resources to set up a new chinchilla forum that was properly managed. There HAS to be a better way then this...

 

[greychins]

While I agree that there are a lot of problems with this forum... the thing is that all the people all come to this one. All the big breeders and all. I've tried to go on other forums before, but there just isn't the wealth of knowledge that there is here... and that's why I stay.

But yeah, some people can get away with murder here while the rest of us just have to live with it. People have suggested that there be put some sort of rating system for the classifieds. Like the way ebay has, so you can rate your transaction with certain sellers. They always shoot down the idea, with really stupid reasons to try to back it up. In reality... the people who would have the poor ratings are the same ones running the joint, so.... no wonder there's no rating system.

Can't say I love the forum, but it's a good source of info... which you really have to have a thick skin to use.

 

[LovinTheSmallAndFurry]

Things like that, make me wish I had the money and resources to set up a new chinchilla forum that was properly managed. There HAS to be a better way then this...

I can't tell you how many times I've thought of doing that myself.

While I agree that there are a lot of problems with this forum... the thing is that all the people all come to this one. All the big breeders and all. I've tried to go on other forums before, but there just isn't the wealth of knowledge that there is here... and that's why I stay. Yeah, I've checked out other forums as well, and you're right, the knowledge is not there...yet.

But yeah, some people can get away with murder here while the rest of us just have to live with it. People have suggested that there be put some sort of rating system for the classifieds. Like the way ebay has, so you can rate your transaction with certain sellers. They always shoot down the idea, with really stupid reasons to try to back it up. In reality... the people who would have the poor ratings are the same ones running the joint, so.... no wonder there's no rating system.

Can't say I love the forum, but it's a good source of info... which you really have to have a thick skin to use.

You nailed it, GreyChins. I have talked to a plethora of people who wished there was an alternative. The fact is, it could be done....if someone knew someone willing to start a site, surely others have enough know-how to get it established, advertised, etc. What irritates me is that certain members have scared the **** out of so many others....as tcraighenry said, "I've been afraid to post." This is a FORUM, a website. This is not a Congressional hearing. No one should be afraid to speak their mind here. The biggest problem is that trying to get this stuff changed won't happen because the highest-ups don't mind it. In fact, I think they look at it as a source of power.


There are certainly enough of us--and enough of you guys with the education/knowledge--that joining a different or starting a different forum would not be that hard. It's just a matter of how.

By the way, in case I was to get my account deleted by an admin (I would not put it past them) for some made up reason, look for me on another chin forum. I would not be hard to recognize.