Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom (Post 4523057)

Awwww, I feel lurved :love:. Thanks for making me feel good during a week I'm not feeling so good, it means a ton.

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom (Post 4465267)

Hi all -

Firstly, I just want to say what a wonderful community YT is, and that I hope this thread can help us all think about improving our presence here during interactions…even if it just means tweaking our posting styles a bit.

I’ll get right to the point: we’ve been receiving a huge amount of communications from members who are concerned/venting about some of the harshness and aggression they’re seeing/perceiving in the community. This harshness pertains to both new and old members - on both the receiving and giving end of things. We’re hearing there is a pervasive feeling that members are being driven away via disrespectful, snarky, disdainful, extremely aggressive, and downright mean posting styles. This needs to stop.

We cannot be a community or call ourselves a community if we don’t come together sometimes, as a collective, and agree to do better. Well, it’s time to come together and agree to do better...to be more aware of giving (yes, GIVING) respect, to be more kind, to be more compassionate and supportive.

No one is asking anyone to be a Pollyanna or to not be themselves. We’re merely asking that, in your interactions, you strive harder and TRULY commit to what is mentioned in the previous paragraph. It’s not that hard -- and if it IS hard for you, then perhaps this isn’t the right board for you and perhaps it’s time to move on from YT to find an environment that does fit.

We are not asking much. If you do think we’re asking too much, then 1) this is not the community for you 2) you’re being self-centered and 3) you need to develop your insight into human beings, other than yourself. WE ARE NOT ASKING MUCH.

It is okay to speak your mind here at YT. However, it is not okay to simply justify any means you deem fit to meet your end goal. We believe in being STRONG advocates for dogs/animals - but not, however, at the expense of the human being behind that dependent and innocent dog. Please do not assume or think that it’s okay to behave any way you please merely because it’s in the interest of an animal. We all need to be decent here and post w/ a modicum of respect…EVEN when and especially when dealing with someone who is doing everything we are personally opposed to. Your opposition to another human being’s behavior does *not* mean you are right, nor is it a fact that they are universally and categorically wrong….it merely means you have opposition. Please learn to deal with it because it’s not going away.

If we see excessively negative and/or badgering posting styles, we will be warning people or suspending people and/or permanently banning members’ accounts.

This is an open discussion in terms of feedback, thoughts, concerns….so please feel free to share. This post is not aimed at anyone, so please do not make assumptions. It was driven by the sheer amount of concerned members who expressed themselves via PMs and on the forum itself. Thank you for reading! :)

Originally Posted by dabarclay4182 (Post 4523603)

Hi again,
Phoenix, long ways away.
I must say, and I am quite new here, and I have not followed all the threads or conversations, but what I have seen, I have been impressed with the generosity of spirit, the graciousness with which folks try to reach out and with what appears to be genuine concern comfort, console, support, entertain and interact with those whom they are addressing.....
After being drawn into hours of fascinating topics and things, I have yet to run across distasteful or negative or aggressive stuff, so if this helps at all to be encouraging...if there has been much of it, it must be in small, in frequent occurrences,....You have a really good community here and I look forward to meeting more of you, your babies and the amazingly wonderful things you do for your pups and the generous sharing of experience and advice.
I am not an experienced threader or blogger or whatever but so far I have greatly enjoyed my visits to your site and look forward to more....I have a facebook page and do not enjoy it I have email and find it tedious f most of the time, tried twitter and the rest but, where does one find the time? anyway, I am enjoying this lovely site and look forward to participating more when I can find the free time to reconnect with you.....

Originally Posted by ClassyCritters (Post 4528113)

I'm new to the forum...I am a groomer I have many yorkies. They are my favorite to groom! I like post in pictures of all my critters and I hope the YorkieTalk community enjoys them as much as I do. I am also a foster parent for Yorkies along with other small breeds. I hope I see a lot of Yorkie pictures from other forum members :)

Originally Posted by JadeD (Post 4535741)

Being new here I have really only seen people being nice, so maybe this post did make a difference. I posted what I THOUGHT was a decent and not rude comment on something though and the person quoted me and basically said I was being rude and I was totally taken back because I thought I was NOT being rude.

I try to be a very supportive and nice (maybe even polite) person on anything that I am on (facebook, a forum, etc).

I hope that I will continue to enjoy this forum as much as I have the past week, since I found it.

I will definitely try to be polite to people and I am sorry if someone took something I tried to keep upbeat as something rude when it was not. I went back and read what I wrote and I still don't think I was being rude to them even after re-reading it.

Originally Posted by Buster Brown (Post 4535777)

I saw that thread and I beleive that the OP was so devastated by her landlord and felt so guilty that they felt attacked by people just trying to help. I do not believe anyone was mean other than the landlady.

Originally Posted by maxdog (Post 4535766)

It is so easy to misread someone's words. The same sentence, said with different inflection, can mean the opposite of what you meant. While the internet, technology, facebook, twitter, etc, can be wonderful tools, they take away the personal experience. The face to face interaction that makes life wonderful and also holds you responsible for your words. There are too many stories out there about cyber bullying. It is so easy to be mean when you are a faceless being. It does take a little effort (not much though!) to be nice to people. So if we all put in a little effort, the world will be a wonderful place !

Having said all that, i have not experienced any problems with this site in the short time I have been here. I absolutely LOVE this site. The people are caring and helpful and full of knowledge. To those people who are holding back due a bad experience - give it another shot! Don't let one or two bad apples deprive you of a great experience. Max will be 2 in May and Sasha just turned 1 in January. I look forward to may years of sharing with the people here.

Originally Posted by wtrfallgirl (Post 4544864)

Uhhh I agree 100% and I hope no one gets mad at me. I'm a newby and I joined today because I am impressed with all the knowledge and information that is provided about Yorkies. I look so forward to asking questions on breeding dogs and learning from others. Most important to me is having the knowledge needed to be a reputable breeder.

Originally Posted by wtrfallgirl (Post 4544864)

Uhhh I agree 100% and I hope no one gets mad at me. I'm a newby and I joined today because I am impressed with all the knowledge and information that is provided about Yorkies. I look so forward to asking questions on breeding dogs and learning from others. Most important to me is having the knowledge needed to be a reputable breeder.

Originally Posted by oneofakind864 (Post 4545679)

I have been shocked by the aggressive nature of many of the replies and the false assumptions behind them I have read on YT. And there have been several times when I saw someone seeking help..and they got lambasted for being irresponsible doggie parents. I've even been on the receiving end of some of that harshness.

It's nice to point out that none of us would be on here if we didn't care about our dogs and specifically yorkies in general. And we are all doing the best we can with the knowledge we have at any given moment.

And yes some on this site are more knowledgeable than others- dare I say "teachers"?...but passing along knowledge can be done nicely making the teacher a loved and resected mentor whose advice is treasured and implemented from then on out...or it can be passed along in a negative way which makes the "student" put up walls of protection and unfortunately in the process "missing the point" of the information being given to them.

But it shouldn't be so hard to be "kind" to each other, even when our methods of parenting gorgeous little yorkies may differ...we are all still here to try to "Help" each other..not attack. Thanks to the original poster for saying what many have thought. Hope it sticks.

Originally Posted by Faerie54 (Post 4546578)

I agree with oneofakind864
Simply put, as she did, we would not be here if we did not care about our Yorkies.
When power becomes personal, judging and finger pointing ensues. We are all teachers and we are all learning as we respectively pass through each stage as Yorkie parents. Sharing news of a recently acquired pup, medical issues, food concerns, potty training, why to breed, or not, what to buy, and where. Opening our hearts, expressing pain as we face saying goodbye, letting go; it's all been written on this forum.
Negative begets negative and peeps often type without thinking; is this how I would want someone to be speaking to, or treating me? Do your word heal, or do further harm?
I look at my two cheerful, forgiving yorkies and smile. For them, each day is a fresh start, a happy adventure. They've been raised in love and kindness, resulting in trust.
I believe we all come to this forum with the same honorable intent, seeking advice, wisdom and support in celebration of these delightful creatures. Kindness and respect for each other will keep Yorkie Talk alive and growing. Shouldn't that be the focus here?

Originally Posted by Faerie54 (Post 4546578)

I agree with oneofakind864
Simply put, as she did, we would not be here if we did not care about our Yorkies.
When power becomes personal, judging and finger pointing ensues. We are all teachers and we are all learning as we respectively pass through each stage as Yorkie parents. Sharing news of a recently acquired pup, medical issues, food concerns, potty training, why to breed, or not, what to buy, and where. Opening our hearts, expressing pain as we face saying goodbye, letting go; it's all been written on this forum.
Negative begets negative and peeps often type without thinking; is this how I would want someone to be speaking to, or treating me? Do your word heal, or do further harm?
I look at my two cheerful, forgiving yorkies and smile. For them, each day is a fresh start, a happy adventure. They've been raised in love and kindness, resulting in trust.
I believe we all come to this forum with the same honorable intent, seeking advice, wisdom and support in celebration of these delightful creatures. Kindness and respect for each other will keep Yorkie Talk alive and growing. Shouldn't that be the focus here?

Originally Posted by Nancy1999 (Post 4546970)

I totally agree with this and this negativity can have an impact on our health. I wish we could focus more on our similarities rather than our differences. Everyone here has something to offer!

Originally Posted by Nancy1999 (Post 4546970)

I totally agree with this and this negativity can have an impact on our health. I wish we could focus more on our similarities rather than our differences. Everyone here has something to offer!