[Gpdd] ANNOUNCEMENT: How to Avoid Getting Your Post Rejected

Admin gpdd-admin at gpdd.org
Thu Mar 10 12:26:25 EST 2011


Dear members,

We wanted to take a moment to clarify some points about posting to the 
GPDD.

First: in today's litigious environment, we need to be careful when 
giving advice regarding medicine and veterinary procedures. Few - if any 
- of this membership are veterinarians, so while we may offer advice, we 
cannot diagnose, prescribe for or treat medical conditions. Granted, 
combined we probably have many *centuries* of practical guinea pig 
experience  :-) and know a great deal more than an uninformed vet, we 
cannot make certain statements without giving a reason or source.

What this means is that when giving advice, health opinions, or 
challenging a post, you need to provide some kind of justification. By 
justification we mean the source of the information, whether it is 
personal experience or a specific article or book that you got the 
information from. We don't mean your post needs to look like a term 
paper with footnotes and bibliographies; all we are asking is to quote 
your source.

Examples:

OK:
"Snuffling can mean different things; I had a piggie that snuffled only 
when she ate. I took her to the vet and he said she had over-active 
salivary glands."

NOT OK:
"I heard that snuffling was nothing to be worried over. It's an 
over-active salivary gland."

OK:
"According to the book 'Diseases of Domestic Guinea Pigs' (Richardson), 
Bumblefoot (pododermatitis) can be managed with baytril."

NOT OK:
"Get some baytril and dose him up."

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Next: Brevity
There are times when a long post is appropriate, and there are times 
when a short post is *more* appropriate. Virtual events, Rainbow Bridge 
memorials and descriptions of health/behavior problems are all good 
reasons for long posts. A reply to a health question should be brief and 
to the point: the person that asked probably needs the info quickly, and 
they also need to know where the info came from if they want to relay it 
to the vet or want to research it. Also, there's no reason that you 
can't contact the person off-Digest with more information in depth, or 
put "contact me for more info" in your post.

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Personal Messages vs. Posting
Personal e-mails are just that: personal. Dialogs between people should 
not be sent to public forums, unless both parties are aware of it and 
agree. Don't assume that just because someone sent you some good advice 
or shared personal observations that it's ok to post it elsewhere (this 
is a basic rule of online etiquette everywhere, not just the GPDD). 
Unless the person gives you written permission, or you can edit it so 
that the person *cannot* be identified, it should not be part of a post.

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Last: The Language Barrier
Before you hit "send", think about what you wrote. Remember that the 
GPDD is international, that for some people English is a second 
language. Also remember that a word can have many meanings or 
interpretations in different countries. An American that's "pissed" is 
angry. A Brit that's "pissed" is drunk.

Peter Gurney (bless him! Candles were lit!) talks about worming on his 
care pages (http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/worming.htm). BUT - he's not 
actually talking about guinea pigs getting worms, but keeping intestinal 
flora healthy. His advice is aimed toward guinea pigs that are allowed 
to graze and/or live outside.

In the USA, where piggies rarely graze outside, "worming" is not a 
common practice; instead people use a probiotic or similar for 
intestinal health (see GPDD archives).

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By sticking to these simple guidelines (and don't forget to use the 
proper Header and Subject lines!) for your posts, you will make things 
easier for our Moderators as well as reduce or eliminate the chance of 
your post being rejected.

Thanks for your cooperation and continued support!

GPDD Admin and the GPDD Team









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