to all PT'ers...

[Corinna]

Amen!!!!

[wolfie]

bump.

[EssTer]

That was well said

[popcornbird]

I totally agree. Well said.

[lbaker]

Yes, BUT.. if someone we know (even if by this site) and we think they haven't thought something through, or are making a serious error in judgment or rash decision - not talking about a recent thread necessarily, but one by a very young girl quite some time ago, that really had nothing much to do with her animals but more of a personnal nature - should we not risk "hurting feelings"? There should be a way we can disagree out of concern.. and not be poo poo'ed for being "mean" or "uncaring". Sometimes it's because we DO care that we can't hold our tongues.

[tatsxxx11]

As is so often the case in life, it is not what we say, but HOW we say it. Advice dispensed, opinions expressed with concern and kindness, with thoughtfulness, are more likely to be heeded, listened to, than words expressed in anger or judgements passed in haste. I always try to put myself in "that person's" position before even thinking of responding. Having said that, I'm glad to have friends here I can come to for advice and support and welcome their thoughtful responses.

[primabella]

As is so often the case in life, it is not what we say, but HOW we say it.

Thank you Sandra, I was thinking just this.

I totally agree wolfie. Thanks.

[My Peanuts]

I defiantly agree, 100%. However, this is a board of very passionate people. I would call all of us "overboard" by conventional society standards. Even constructive criticism can be taken the wrong way. It would be nice to have a completely civil message board, but look around; this is the closest thing to it. I was reading another board where someone said Happy Birthday to the moderator and got flamed by the rest of the group Needless to say, I am very picky about what I say and where I say it. Even though I sound like a suck up for saying this, but PT is by far the best.

We speak up beacuse we care, and I see nothing wrong with that.

[DJFyrewolf36]

This is honestly the most polite mesage board I have ever run across. Ive been on A LOT of internet dohickys, and this by far has the lowest *and least harsh* flame rate. I find it amazing that wolfie cared enough to post this thread reminding people to be nice and that people didn't flame wolfie for doing it! This is the only board Ive been on where people don't curse every other word and where people can and do express thier real feelings without fear of being flamed or worse attacked *some boards are notorious for having people that think its funny to emal bomb/hack/boot somebody because they arent in the "in" crowd*

Thank you PT for being a haven of deciency and respect amongst a whole lot of poo!

[spunkymeow]

Very well said. There is no perfect pet owner. Besides, who even knows what that is. B/c that one has a different opinion than that one.

[tikeyas_mom]

Everyone loves their pets, and I hope everyone takes good care of them.

[dukedogsmom]

From now on, if my opinion isn't the popular one, I'll not say a word. I'm sure a lot of you will appreciate that.

[DJFyrewolf36]

Originally posted by dukedogsmom
From now on, if my opinion isn't the popular one, I'll not say a word. I'm sure a lot of you will appreciate that.

I won't DDM. The whole point of a discussion forum is well....discussion. Whereas I don't agree 100% with everyone here ALL of the time, I do enjoy and find it educational to read posts from people who have differing opinions. I personally do like looking at all sides of a discussion so my opinion is a better informed one. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know everything, not even close. If someone has something to add, I am more than happy to read it even if I disagree. I'll tell you I do and why, *In a calm, and rational manner and as politely as possible* and add the information I based my opinion on. My hope is that I can get a response back so that I can discuss the topic further and explore it, maybe changing my opinion in the process.
I'm here to learn and discuss...and disagreement is part of the learning process I believe. If everyone agreed with me or I agreed with everyone, there wouldn't be all that much discussion!
Besides, DDM, whats right isn't always whats popular, and whats popular isnt always right.

Edit:
Wolfie, I agree with you!

[CatMama78]

At first I didn't understand what this thread was referring to. I missed, but I did go back, research and read them. And honestly I thought the threads were pretty civilized. Others are right, this is the kindest message board I have ever come across. Typically there is a lot of cussing, meaness, racism etc on other boards. Part of why I love it here is everyone is so kind.

But, I also think people should be able to express their opinions, in a mature manner. And everyone did. The ones judged to be harsh, were pretty tame to me. I think when you post something on a public message board, you should be prepared to have people disagree with you, and should be prepared for backlash and esp. in that circumstance I can understand the so called harsh opinions. Just my 2 cents.