Welcome!!!

[MaryHM]

Welcome to the newest forum at reefs.org! Threads concerning industry
related issues pop up in the main forum on a fairly regular basis. I
attribute this to the fact that more hobbyists are aware of where their
animals are coming from and want to insure that they are not contributing to
the detriment of the world's reefs. Reefs.org took note of that concern and
figures it warrants its own forum, so here I am! For those of you who don't
know me, I'm Mary Middlebrook. I have been in the industry since 1989- both
retail and wholesale. I now own an import/wholesale facility and am
extremely active in industry reform issues. I am the only wholesaler in the
country serving on the board of directors for both the Marine Aquarium
Council and the American Marinelife Dealers Association. In other words, I
feel fairly competent to lead an industry forum and look forward to
discussing these issues with all of you!

Now for some rules. I've been witnessing and participating in industry
threads for a few years now, and they always seem to get extremely heated.
That only makes sense, because most of these issues are very personal and we
are all quite passionate about our opinions. However, I will not tolerate
people flaming, getting personal, being continuosly sarcastic, or any other
similiar behavior. I expect everyone to treat each other's opinon's with
respect- even if they are completely off-base and ridiculous.

Also, due
to the heated nature of the topics, I highly recommend that you read and
then reread the thread prior to posting. Lots of times people get all worked
up and respond to something they "thought" someone said. All that does is
create a lot of confusion and aggravation.

With all of that said, I hereby declare this forum open! I'm really looking
forward to hearing everyone's concerns and opinions and hopefully we can all
learn something about this very important subject!

 

[Bill2]

Let me be the first to welcome you to the your new forum

Bill

 

[SPC]

All right, let me tell you a thing or two

, just kidding Mary. Let me be one of the first people to say thank you very much for this forum and your time. I feel if we as hobbiest wish to make a difference then we must start with intelligent and mature conversations.
Thanks to Chucker, James, Charles and all for their wisdom in adding this forum.
Steve

 

[jamesw]

Yes! Now I have a forum that I can rant and rave in and Mary can't do anything about it!

Just kidding. I really look forward to discussions with you all here. So lett-er rip!

Thanks Mary for your time and dedication.

James Wiseman

 

[tazdevil]

Hey james, might want to consider moving your "not my fault mentality" thread here to start, BTW that one is going great, makes me rethink everything I've already done, and that I wish I found this forum before my LFS found me!. Mary, welcome, looking forward to the info this generates.

 

[Anonymous]

Well neat.

 

[Gatortailale1]

cool,

A new place to post my thoughts. I look forward to discussions on what is new in the industry.

 

[naesco]

Chucker, Mary, I am very concerned about the existance of this forum.
The reason why I am concerned is that those of us who are concerned about the ethical side of reefkeeping may be denied the more general forum.
It is my opinion that if for example we hammer the powder blue tang, clown tang, cleaner wrasse etc. issue, it will sink in with other reefers and particularly with newbies.
It has been my observation that often new posters take up the call almost verbatim the minute ethical fish and coral issues come up long before the obvious posters post. That, quite frankly makes me feel good and is worth the occasional flame in my direction. (not that I have not been guilty)

It is important that these ethical issues continue to be a part of the mainstream post and not sidelined to this forum.
So perhaps you can define a little better what is industry and what allowable please.

 

[MaryHM]

Hope this answers your question:

If you posted a thread in the main forum titled "Mandarin gobies die in captivity" and the focus was "Beware of these fish, they are hard to keep and here's why", that thread should stay in the main forum.

If you posted a thread in the main forum with the same title, but the focus was "These fish should not be collected", it should be put here.

Of course the idea that they shouldn't be collected would probably come up in the first example- whether or not it would be moved would depend on the primary focus of the topic.

The purpose of this forum is to discuss broadbased industry issues- like those presented in the "Not My Fault" and "Lobby" threads...not a specific animal by animal discussion about what is ethical to keep.