Is a forum good or bad I wonder?

J

JillA

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In the days before t'interweb, if we had a problem we had to ask friends we knew (and knew their horemanship skills) or think it through, do some research, mainly in books by recognised authors, and work out a solution for ourselves. Are we losing this skill, do you think, is it too easy to log on and ask someone else what to do next? And is this making us better horsemen (well, women) because of tapping into a sum total of everyone's experience, or worse because we aren't working it out for ourselves?
Discuss ;)
 
You should still find stuff out for yourself and forums should be a tool not a definitive answer to all issues.
Some people quite frankly don't know what they are talking about but still comment and if that advice was taken seriously then harm to human or animal could be a real problem.
Personally I would take the advice and then research it myself as sometimes forums can make you look at a problem from a different angle.

However it's not the advice I have problems with, it's the nasty, bitchy comments that normally follow from some users that can't help themselves.
 
I find the forum a really usefull place to get advice and guidence from people and along with the "real life" horsey folk I know and all the books etc there are it makes for a nice combo and I hope will make me a better horsewoman and carer for my lad :)
 
I think it is good. Last time I had horses and kept them at home I knew no one at all in the area with horses as there weren't any apart from a few field ornaments about five miles away. Now I have the forum to chat on and through Facebook found a reasonably local friend who I have gone on hacks, competitions and will be going to clinics with. Happily she has a daughter a similar age to mine who is also horse daft :)
 
Good idea. You have a wider selection of people and experiences and quickly learn who on a forum you respect, just as in real life. Knowing someone personally does not mean they have better knowledge and skills that someone unseen. The negative is that some people do hide behind their keyboard and are a lot harsher than they would be face to face!
 
I think it's good so long as you are careful about who you listen to online. I've learnt so much over the past few years on various forums that would have taken years and years of personal experience to gain the same level of knowledge
 
Spit That Out said:
You should still find stuff out for yourself and forums should be a tool not a definitive answer to all issues.
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Hmm... well for that matter, you should take books and advice from "experts" under advisement too! To me if it quacks like a duck, looks like a duck - it probably IS a duck but it also could be a quacking lookey like a duck thingey so best keep a partially open mind. I'm pretty sure about Newtonian Motion, Evolution and the General Theory of Relativity but everything alse is up for grabs.

However it's not the advice I have problems with, it's the nasty, bitchy comments that normally follow from some users that can't help themselves.
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That's just like the feedroom the minute you've walked out the door isn't it? Been like that on most yards I've been on - well amongst the girls of all ages anyway, I was largely immune but I can remember hearing one woman ranting on about "people" who don't ride their horses nodding in my direction - I didn't say anything out loud but couldn't resist inviting her to ride out with me at 04.30 to watch the sun come up - hehehe! I didn't see her and sadly neither did her horse, kept in for 12/14 hours a day.
 
they are good in alot of ways (people with the same interests and can talk for hours about horses!) however i have found that some people either get over paranoid about things, think they are better than they actually are or they lose their nerve because of reading about other accidents or incidents that have happened to others and think it will happen to them.
 
Generally I think it's great. I know I have picked up a lot of useful tips and information. I'm sure we all find that there's certain people who we are pleased we don't know in 'real life' .
There's always more than one way to skin a cat so to speak so not everything is gospel - take what you want and leave the rest. Lack of tone is probably mainly contributory to many problems as I can write something that sounds cheerful and pleasant but it's read back differently.
Certainly in times of trouble the support on here can really make a difference in coming to terms with whatever the problem.
 
I have to say from my point of view it was the best thing I ever did was to join this forum. I was at the end of my teather trying to find the help and advise that I needed regarding the loss of my leg. I had tried everything including the web to try and find the help and advise that I needed. The people on here came up with ideas, names, numbers of others who could offer the help and support that I required. They have also picked me up when I have had bad days and wanted to give up they gave me the support and kick up the bum that I needed, they have also shared in the really great times when we have achieved something new and done really well. I have also picked up on different tips and items of tack to look at different web sites to look at. It does not mean that you do everything that they say its still your choice and you can look into their ideas and see if it would help you or your horse. I would be lost without HHO, even now I know that if I need them they are there for me, and in a strange way I think of the ones that really are behind me as virtual friends, also I have met some of the people on here and now I have made great new friends as well.
 
If you use it like wiki it's fantastic. It opens up a range of ideas or illnesses etc which would never have been considered before and is fantastic for telling you to get on with something or to tell you not to give up. When the worst happens everyone rallies round.
Just don't rely on any point as gospel, take each as an opinion or a way which has worked for them.
 
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