I have been methodicly reading through the posts, starting with the oldest and working my way through to the recent ones. I find this forum, overall, treats most newbies with great tact and patience. Sure there are exceptions, but having spent time on one of the foremost Rottweiler forums, that routinely chews up and spits out its newbies, I thank you. I have learned something valuable everytime I read you and the ugly comments are few and far between. I still have a lot to learn and you have made it easy to ask questions and learn. Us Rott folks can learn alot from you Lab folks. Maybe that's part of why everyone loves Labs....

It really depends on people's moods :)

But for the most part - we are all pretty nice people!

This forum can get quite nasty when a few psychopaths decide to pick on or single out a person whether they are newbies or not. You can just choose to use handlers to show your dogs and you get jumped. You can say something that gets taken out of context and you get jumped or you be associated with the wrong person or be the wrong person and get jumped here. These threads, after the moderators decide when enough is enough (or if you're their best friend or call them and go crying to them) will remove those threads. Trust me it gets ugly on here mainly because people can hide behind anonymous names, much like what I'm doing since I'll get jumped on by my psychotic stalkers and get trashed on here again. Nobody deserves that but it happens all the time. Such is life. You just develop thick skin or you get out.

I agree. When I first came to this forum I wasnt anonymous. I was jumped on all over. Now mostly I just visit to read.

If the downside to anonymous posts is the ability to be rude, the up side is the ability to speak your mind without so much worry. I have learned more on this forum than all the others put together and gained a great deal of insight. So I truly appreciate all the opinions expressed. Sometimes I do think, "Wow, what is that person's problem?" but for every rude post there are 100 which are interesting, informative and food for thought. I love it!

But, a LOT of the information which is posted anonymously is incorrect. So, if you don't know who is giving advice, etc., then you have to wonder if they really do know what they are talking about. You could get just as good (or bad) info by asking a stranger on the street, sometimes.

Absolutely a lot of advice is incorrect. As is the case on any internet forum. But I think when the poster is anonymous, the incorrect advice is more quickly called out. If I know the person who gave bad advice I might bite my tongue for hurting their feelings, you know? In either case I would take ANY advice with a grain of salt and I still think it's a great forum!

While anonymity tends to allow people to speak their minds - or gives the impression that it does - I'd like to know who the rude / nasty people are for the simple reason that I'd not do business with them ! When I don't know who they are, I can't make that choice ...

I have often thought about the idea that I could be responding to a nasty post on here and what if it is someone I know or I am friends with at the shows. With being anonymous, you never know who it is on the other end. Although, sometimes we do know exactly who it is whether they are anonymous or not. I have seen things get very nasty on this forum. Most of the mean and nasty threads have been removed and that is why when reading through, it all seems very civil. All and all I have learned a lot from this forum both good and bad.