Exposing forum expertise and experts.

[JLcribber]

"Experts" don't hang out on free forums and just give away what they know. It's how they make their living. They are experts because they paid to be educated and have a piece of paper to show for it. You can talk to Pamela Clark one on one anytime you like. But it ain't free. The collective data base of knowledge that is posted on this board is an "expert" in every aspect. One just has to read and search for almost any answer. It's at least been discussed at length.

 

[JLcribber]

There are doctors that you can truly trust with your life in their hands. There are other doctors I would not trust to take out a sliver. Reputation. Experience. Knowledge. Ability. Performance. Just a few aspects of a real expert.

 

[flyzipper]

I really enjoyed the perspectives shared throughout this thread, so thanks for that! I learned a lot about how AA operates.

My intention was to summarize the key points, but that would be a disservice to anyone coming to this thread. The details throughout shouldn't be diluted in a summary.

My favourite learning...

It´s worth noting that the staff team read everything.

I already had immense respect for the work they do, but that degree of commitment was unexpected. Amazing.

My regret... using the word "expert". That appears to be a charged term

 

[The_Mayor]

My regret... using the word "expert". That appears to be a charged term

Maybe instead of "expert," "there are some people who have shown themselves to be knowledgeable and thoughtful, such that I usually feel I can trust their advice. And, if they say something I initially disagree with, my first thought is to reexamine what I believe, because it may be that there is a legitimate other way of looking at this issue."

Makes a terrible acronym, but kind of sums it up for me.

And, of course, we really should give everyone's opinion that level of respect (after all, a stopped clock is still right twice a day), but honestly if someone doesn't have a good track record of being right, or at least thought-provoking, I'd rather use my phone to figure out what time it is.

 

[fashionfobie]

And, of course, we really should give everyone's opinion that level of respect

Respect is key. Showing humility is a close second. It is ok to be wrong, as long as you are willing to make the changes. We are all learning, even people with decades of experience. The way I see it is to never place arrogance above another's wellbeing. I have seen fantastic ideas for parrot friendly foraging toys from new members as often as I have seen from old members. We are all experts in the sense that we see birds as being meaningful creatures who share this world with us.


I would argue that almost all new members come here because they want the best for their bird. They feel either excited to share their experiences, even if they are still learning, or they are having a problem and sincerely want help. This may be optimistic, though I imagine anyone coming to a bird centric forum has some hope that they are helping a bird somewhere, their own or otherwise. Being respectful is the surest way to steer fellow bird people to what they actually need. Proper advice and better husbandry practice is the end game! Sometimes it takes a bit of push and pull to get to the solution, but that is part of learning. How sad would the world be if we knew everything. There are 28,000 + species of birds! - Plenty to keep us interested and engaged for multiple lifetimes.