Would you talk to people the same way in person?

• Say someone asked you a question on the street, or even if Y!A was a service on phones rather than on the internet. Would you talk to people the same way? Would you still tell them if they were plain and simple a BYB and an idiotic, irresponsible person? Would you scream at them to go to the vet with their dog that's been having seizures, or would you calmly tell them to do it? Do you think talking to people over the internet sort of dulls things down - you can't just type "You need to take your dog to the vet right away." anymore. You have to type "GET YOUR DOG TO THE VET!!" or you know your answer will just be skimmed over. I'm curious to get people's opinion on these two things...do you think you would talk to people the same way about their dogs, questions, or problems if it were in person rather than over the internet? And do you think the internet sort of 'dulls' things down? I ask this in the dog section because I spend the majority of my Y!A time here and I know many of the types of questions asked, and I see a lot of 'yelling' in answers ;) Personally, I do think the internet lacks the intensity of a lot of things. Being called stupid on the internet isn't nearly as bad as being called stupid in person. The anonymity helps a lot too - you don't know the person, and odds are you'll never talk to them again. On the other hand, if someone asked me a question in person, I would definitely try to calmly explain why breeding their teacup mini yorkichippawannapoo is a bad idea rather than how I may react if I was in a bad mood and came across the question on the internet. What about you?

• Answer:

  I like to think of myself as a face value kind of gal... and I'll never say anything behind someones back (or hide behind the anonymity of the internet) that I wouldn't be willing to say directly to a person's face. I can be opinionated (and we can all be in a bad mood), but even if there is a question posted that makes me want to scream, I try to be at least somewhat respectful and patient with my reply. Answers on Yahoo should be informative, knowledgeable, and helpful. If someone is asking a specific question, the answer should give them some kind of insight that they may not find on their own. I see so many answers that are yes or no - with no explanation why. Education is the key to helping people become better owners, and better owners have healthier animals and know how to care for them responsibly. Patience is hard to exercise sometimes, particularly when the question reflects a complete lack of disregard for what many of us consider basic care. And I have told people (to their faces) not to breed their dogs (or goats, or rabbits) because the animal wasn't worth breeding. I would then go on to explain why, but I'm not going to sugarcoat my explanation, either. And yes, the "take it to the vet" responses drive me nuts when it's often something that may not even come close to justifying a vet call. I'm sorry, I couldn't justify a visit from my farm vet if I had a chicken who was acting under the weather, yet I see that as a standard response for "why is my chick..?." questions in the birds section all the time. Most farm vets won't treat adult poultry, much less chicks - and I don't know of anyone who takes a chicken to a vet for anything! Not that everyone online (or in the general public) has the same regard for others. I asked a question awhile back and got blasted for being an irresponsible owner when my dogs got ahold of one of my goat kids and mauled her to death. I was heartbroken when it happened and questioned if I should consider putting the dogs down. I got responses that were insulting, inflammatory and downright hurtful. Not that I didn't already feel horrible and responsible - but to receive some of the self righteous and downright insensitive responses I got made me want to stay off Yahoo for good. No, I don't think any of these responses would've been the same if the people posting had to look me in the face. As one who remembers life before the internet, I'd say that the lack of true interpersonal contact leaves room for inappropriate responses in forums. We all have our opinions and our own personal experiences, and online forums are designed in a way to give people the chance to ask questions and gain knowledge from others with the same interests. It shouldn't be a mechanism for disparaging others simply because you can. Those who lack tact should go to the video store and rent "Bambi". Thumper's mother was a very wise rabbit - as she put it, "If you ain't got nothing nice to say, don't say nothin' at all". Good question on here - thanks for asking it!