I agree for the most part with many of those points. My biggest stickler is with 5 & 6.
When noobs come to me I try to be as gentle as possible while getting the point across. It really annoys me when a more seasoned reefer gets aggravated and annoyed with someone new to the hobby and starts lashing out. There's really no need to be condescending or a tool because you've "been there" and "done that". The noob may not be a chemist so he may not immediately understand the relationship between calcium, magnesium and alkalinity. That noob may not totally understand the nitrification process, and at times I have to google to make sure I mean nitrates instead of nitrites or vice versa. We’re all at different levels in the hobby and we should use these opportunities to help educate those who are less experienced but still thirsty to learn.
Some of us have more pricier and rare stuff, but that does not make you any better than the guy with a tank full of xenia and blue cloves. Our end goal is always the same; to have the best tank for US. That may not be the best tank for me or the next guy, but as long as it's the best for THAT reefer, it's all good. My buying a $300 frag does not make me or my tank any better then the guy who bought a $10 frag so there’s no need for the arrogance or condescending tones I have seen used on here and in the Hidden Reef. It might get annoying to constantly answer the same basic questions, but we need to check ourselves and tone it down and just HELP. If you can’t do that…just keep your mouth shut and let someone else who wants to see a fellow reefer do better speak up and provide some guidance.
But on the flipside, some noobs do need to take the advice and use it instead of getting upset and thinking the advice is coming from a “no-it-all”. I’ve always said that you can’t be listening if you’re busy talking…
It takes two sides.
