IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM TALON

[Talon]

Due to some recent misunderstandings that I have seen lately. I would like to clarify a few things.

 

This is an African Grey Forum. We come here to learn, to share, to offer advice, to help, to ask questions, to show off our birds, to have a little fun, to play games, share news, enter contests, etc. We make friends, we may develop long lasting friendships. We are A FAMILY. We care about each other, we cry over the losses that are experienced here, we worry about the lost birds, we worry about another members troubles, we check the latest posts daily to see what's new, we are sad if one of our members or their birds are sick. We keep checking in the hopes that all is well when something is wrong, we worry about what is going on elsewhere in your world, we hope and pray for each other here. This is why we are here.

 

And in this family, where we use this technology to communicate with, we find it difficult to see the emotion behind the words, the expression, the tone of voice, the REAL intent that those written words mean. All we are left to with, is our interpretation of those written words that we read. Many members here are busy at work, and want to help so badly, they may post quickly making it impossible to analyze in so many different ways what their reply may or may not sound like. They shouldn't have to, we are all adults here, and need to remember that EVERYONE means well, and are only trying to help.

But what I want everyone here to remember, especially those that are reading replies and posts, is that these posts are written by many different members from all over the world, from different backgrounds, different walks of life. You should not always take what they say personally, if you don't agree with their statements, that's fine, debate it if you like, but know that if you start a debate, you will read many opinions, you may like them or you may not. I have seen members start to feel that they are being personally attacked in these debates. I don't usually find that to be the case, but if I do, it is dealt with very quickly. I have the ability to lock threads, and delete them, I use that power only as a last resort if I am unable to calm things down both on the public forum and in the private message system after fair warning.

 

In closing, please remember that ALL are welcome here. EVERYONE has so much to offer, just because your name may say "newbie" under it, you are still just as valuable as the members that have been here when I was a newbie. Back then, we had 3 rooms and no moderators, thanks to Ceasarsdad and myself, we now we have 15 rooms and 3 admin and 9 moderators. (plus I am in the search for a couple more.)

 

WELCOME FAMILY AND REMEMBER THAT HERE, WE TREAT EACH OTHER WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT. I would hope that if anyone ever has a problem, you will pm me or any moderator for help. That's what we are here for.

 

THANK YOU FOR JOINING THIS FORUM AND BECOMING A MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY! B)

 

Penny/aka Talon<br><br>Post edited by: Talon, at: 2008/09/18 04:43

[BaxtersMom]

Great post Talon, I myself (as you know;) ) have gotten too involved and taken things too personally. It can be so easy to misinterpret things others say or have a strong reaction to something said. We may not always agree on things that are said but I myself will try in the future to be as respectful to other members as I hope they will be to me.

 

It is good to know that we have Administrators and Moderators that get involved quickly and help get things straightened out when misunderstandings or issues get out of control. So a big thanks to all of you putting so much time and dedication to making this community work:) because I really do enjoy it here.

[Talon]

Thank you for this reply. Karma for you for having the nerve to post here where others have kept their distance. :P

 

I am glad that you are happy here. What members probably don't know, is this is a NON-PAYING job we have. All of us moderators and admins do our jobs here because we LOVE our greys and want to help. Donating our time freely for the love of our birds. B)

[lovemyGreys]

It's far to easy to misinterpret the written word.Sometimes people respond to a post & the reader can quite easily take the reply the wrong way. No one here intentionally means to offend another member.There will always be different opinions on various subjects as adults we must respect eachothers views

[Carolyn]

I to have taken, different posts to personally and used my fingers before useing my head and heart. I do thank you Talon for steping in and asking "to take a step back" I have. I am still very much in the learning stages and do give a LOT of credit to people that take in older Greys with baggage, I myself when deciding on a Grey and weighing all considerations and my lifestyle decided it was not right for me, maybe later but not right now It was a very personal and hard decision but it was right for me. So I decided on a baby (so I can load him up with baggage lol) we will grow old together.

Will I make mistakes, of course I am human, will I be corrected off course by either asking questions here or by Mika himself. But we will grow together, and maybe down the line and older parrot will be possible.

 

Thanks for everything

 

Carolyn & Mika

[nims]

Nice post Talon and so true.

 

When people post thought-provoking questions they never know what other people will post. Sometimed its difficult to interpret emotion in the written word (i guess the emoticons do help though )

 

Its a greyt forum and lots of people including myself think this. Where else would I go if I have a grey query?!

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Nims<br><br>Post edited by: nims, at: 2008/09/18 21:49

[Lyric]

Well said and stated everyone, I couldn't agree more. One of the things that makes a forum like this so great is the fact that there are all different kinds of people on here, from all over the world, sharing their opinions, experiences, and stories with us all. It's easy to get emotional about something you feel strongly about and everyone just needs to remember what we're here for, maybe take a deep breath and then, keep posting!

I'm just so happy to have a place to go to share stories with others who have a common interest. There's always someone on here who can relate to another bird lover- it's refreshing. It's nice to know you are not alone in the world and that others share your passion.