Weekly Discussion - Boycotts

[Anonymous]

Weekly Discussion - Boycotts

Recently there has been lots of talk on reef boards about boycotting Tetra for their poor husbandry advice on national TV. In the recent past there have been discussions urging us to boycott large chain stores for their poor husbandry. Do you think boycotts are a good way to help the industry and the public become more educated in regards to responsible reefkeeping?

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[Anonymous]

I support boycotts because I don't want to trade with a business that does Bad Things. However, I am skeptical about how much good they can do. It seems to me there are a lot more uninformed buyers than informed ones, though I would be happy to find out I am mistaken.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with everything Minime said. (even the capitalization of Bad Things). But, if the boycott is only by a certain (educated) group of people, then the boycott won't do much. If everyone on this board boycotted Tetra, What would it do? Think about how much Tetra equipment you've purchased in the last year. MAYBE a heater, or an emergency air pump. It's not like we're using undergravels and corner boxes much. WE are the educated. (both in techinque and in equipment.)

Now, if the people on this board who owned and worked in pet stores boycotted Tetra, It would make a difference. For example, if Rover stopped selling Tetra products in his store, and posted notices why he doesn't sell them. That has a better chance of getting to the real points:

A: selling less Tetra equipment. Which ultimately hurts Tetra.
And
B: EDUCATION OF THE MASSES. It helps to get the word out. It helps teach people WHY Tetra's actions were wrong, and how to correct them.

So Yeah, I do support boycotts, IF they are made greatly public. A couple of people here not shopping at Petco really isn't going to do much. One or two customers a day. Large chain stores can stand to lose a few customers. They are always getting new ones through advertisements and walk in sales. However, if we (the members of the RDO) Make it known to the general public that " We the members of Reefs.org are boycotting Petco because _______________" and publicize it in newspapers, radio, and other media, it would do a lot more good.

My $0.025.

B

 

[Anonymous]

Bingo!, bingo.

Most of us are boycotting tetra products by way of having moved on.

But, in theory, I'm not sure about boycotts. Boycotting a company seems combative, rather than cooperative. I'd prefer to try to work with said company to alter their behavior. Again, that's probably not realistic, what with the almighty dollar driving every single corporation and most people in the world. For truly evil stuff, yeah boycott it up.

I visited a LFS the other day that I had tagged in my mind as "reputable" and was dismayed to see blueberry tetras in their aquarium. I don't know if I actually convinced the owner to alter his purchasing choices, but he did seem to accept my politely stated logic that his business would not fail just because he stopped carrying painted fish.

-me

 

[LauraH]

I think boycotts can be a useful tool when you've got a large group boycotting a company that they had been doing frequent business with. As other have already said, most who have gotten far enough in this hobby to know fact from fantasy, are probably not doing very much business with companies that would perpetuate the kind of ignorance that Tetra did anyway, so a boycott by the more experienced/advanced hobbyists may well go unnoticed by the company being boycotted.

This doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done, if you feel it is the right thing to do. It simply means that it may just be a "feel good" approach that doesn't necessarily accomplish anything. At least not on an individual level. Bingo made a good point about stores boycotting the products. This would make a much more noticable impact.

 

[Jolieve]

Another consideration is, how many of us actually walk into Petschmoe and purchase things there? We've all seen the large fish put into too small tanks. The general lack of knowledge by the staff at this chain of stores... the place is still in business.

The answer to these problems is not a quick fix, and it is not a band-aid. Much like the answers to many of our problems in our aquariums is never a quick, easy fix.

The real answer is to educated the uneducated masses. The answer is to use websites like reefs.org to get the information out there so that the masses educate themselves and realize that good animal husbandry doesn't come out of a box or a petstore.

It comes from knowledge.

Jolie

 

[consigliere]

how bout boycotting reef central : so we can build this site back up to what it once was-the only place for serious reef enthusiasts on the web...c'mon guys don't want to see rdo loose to r/c do you ?

 

[Anonymous]

how bout boycotting reef central : so we can build this site back up to what it once was-the only place for serious reef enthusiasts on the web...c'mon guys don't want to see rdo loose to r/c do you ?

what the hell is "reef central"?

 

[Anonymous]

how bout boycotting reef central : so we can build this site back up to what it once was-the only place for serious reef enthusiasts on the web...c'mon guys don't want to see rdo loose to r/c do you ?

what the hell is "reef central"?

:lol:

I think I heard that name once. I thought the place folded a year ago. 8O :wink:

 

[JarJar]

I think boycotts work if enough people support it and it is well know to
the public/news that it is going on.

I'm boycotting Nissan and Michelin Tire, the French don't support us,
so back at them! :twisted:

 

[Anonymous]

freedom fries for everyone!!!!

 

[Agu]

I think boycotts work if enough people support it and it is well know to
the public/news that it is going on.

I'm boycotting Nissan and Michelin Tire, the French don't support us,
so back at them! :twisted:

Uhhh Nissan is a Japanese company. You could boycott Renault, a Nissan subsidiary, but what;s the point ? Most people would rather get an STD than a Renault, it's cheaper and easier to cure.

Agu

 

[Anonymous]

I think boycotts work if enough people support it and it is well know to
the public/news that it is going on.

I'm boycotting Nissan and Michelin Tire, the French don't support us,
so back at them! :twisted:

Uhhh Nissan is a Japanese company. You could boycott Renault, a Nissan subsidiary, but what;s the point ? Most people would rather get an STD than a Renault, it's cheaper and easier to cure.

Agu

why do you hate Le Cars so much?

 

[horn1004]

PWNT

 

[Agu]

Hate is a pretty strong word, btw have you ever owned a "Le Car"?Or had an STD? Which do you prefer ?

"PWNT" a new four letter acronym, care to explain ? All I can think of is "Pain With New Tights". I understand, my wife thinks pantyhose are a drag too .

Agu

 

[Anonymous]

Hate is a pretty strong word, btw have you ever owned a "Le Car"?Or had an STD? Which do you prefer ?

"PWNT" a new four letter acronym, care to explain ? All I can think of is "Pain With New Tights". I understand, my wife thinks pantyhose are a drag too .

Agu

come on down to the Sump. we like discussing cars and disease

 

[Bone]

how bout boycotting reef central : so we can build this site back up to what it once was-the only place for serious reef enthusiasts on the web...c'mon guys don't want to see rdo loose to r/c do you ?

what the hell is "reef central"?

Reef Central is your Daddy :lol:

 

[Len]

Ok, I think we've veered terrible off topic for this weekly discussion.

 

[JarJar]

Uhhh Nissan is a Japanese company. You could boycott Renault, a Nissan subsidiary, but what;s the point ? Most people would rather get an STD than a Renault, it's cheaper and easier to cure.

Agu

Actually, I think you are mistaken, Renault bailed out Nissan, so it is partly
owned by Renault now.

http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/ASTORY/ ... 09,00.html

 

[Anonymous]

it's supposed to be "pwnd IRL, n00b!"