"Dogman" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 13 May 2010 12:24:55 -0400, "Paul E. Schoen"
wrote:

Dogman, I think you don't understand the intent of this thread. It asks
other people to talk about their own dogs. It does not mean for you to
talk
about other people or their dogs.

Actually, Schoen, I can pretty much talk about anything I want to talk
about here, and I don't need anyone's permission.

And so can you.

But in case you didn't know, even after four years here, the name of
this discussion group isn't rec.pets.dogs.tell.me.all.about.your.dog.
It's a discussion group about canine BEHAVIOR (training, operant and
classical conditioning, etc.), not a gabfest for people who just want
to yap about their little Muffy.

r.p.d.misc would be the appropriate place for that, wouldn't it?

That may be, but it is an unused wasteland, along with rec.pets.dogs and
rec.pets.dogs.activities. So, like it or not, this is the "active"
newsgroup, and its use is determined by those who post here, and not by the
desires of individuals or ancient history. When I cam on board in 2006 there
were many threads that were not specifically about *trained* behavior.


It's perfectly normal (maybe even desirable) for a thread to drift at
times, to topics that are tangential to a group's intended topic, and
for people here to talk about their own dogs, but it's quite rude to
actually initiate an off-topic thread intended expressly for that
purpose.

When we voted to split the original .dogs newsgroup into the multiple
groups we have today, it was done with this very problem in mind.

I can see why some here may prefer to just gab about their dogs (and
there's nothing wrong with that!), because they probably feel like
they can't really contribute much to discussions regarding canine
behavior, training, etc. But I strongly encourage them to do that
somewhere else, e.g., r.p.d.misc, or r.p.d.activities. Not here.

That's precisely what those groups are for.

On the other hand, you (and others) can say whatever you (or they)
want here, too, and you (or they) don't need my permission either.

It's an un-moderated newsgroup.

But don't expect that you (or they) can to do that without hearing a
few choice words from me about it.

There are now many more newsgroups than active participants, and most of
them are dormant. The reason for splitting into distinct categories may have
made sense in the "good old days", where the newsgroup may have been flooded
with dozens of new threads every day, but now there are maybe one or two a
day. And many of those posts should really be in r.p.d.health. You can waste
your virtual breath by posting your "choice words", but you aren't going to
change anything.

My post is an invitation for others to
talk about *their* experiences with various collars and *their* dogs'
*behavior*.

And my post was a dig at your rather silly post (which you made
primarily to get some more attention, of course), and at anyone else
here who's always in search of "The Magical Collar That Will Make
Training My Dog Unnecessary," the very antithesis of what this
particular newsgroup is all about.

See how that works?

Your sillier posts (the ones that have nada to do with canine
behavior) serve basically as fodder for my cannons, and I want to
thank you for providing me with so many great opportunities to
ridicule you.

Keep up the good work!

As I keep repeating, I'm here to make you famous.

Muttley and I already are. And you are becoming infamous.


And we have yet to hear one peep from you about your own dogs. Do you
actually have any? Consider this an invitation to join this thread in the
spirit in which it was originally posted.

First, you already know about me about all that you're ever going to
know about me, unless I decide to tell you more.

Second, I don't need your permission to do anything.

Most of us are fairly open about ourselves and our dogs, so that we become
more "real" to each other. We need not reveal personal details, but
certainly it is appropriate to provide a brief personal bio and some
information about our dogs and their *behavior*. You may prefer to remain a
"mystery man" who may or may not have dogs or even actual experience with
training. You may give advice you get from a book, and pretend to be a "damn
good trainer".

PS: You avoided an opportunity to talk about Muttley, and maybe
actually learn something about training, when you ignored my previous
post to you, regarding the importance of demanding prompt compliance
to all commands, and in all situations, and not just on those
occasions that you think might warrant it. That was an implicit
invitation for you to actually discuss canine behavior, but, as usual,
you whiffed, preferring instead to just gab about your latest purchase
of a "Magical Collar That Will Make Training My Dog Unnecessary."

This thread is about other people and their dogs. If you want to discuss the
reasons for demanding prompt compliance to certain commands, and how to
obtain that, please put that in another thread. Especially if you feel so
strongly about it, and if you want usenet to be a valuable source of
information. On that note, when you have something important to say, you
should not mark your posts "No Archive", as all your sage advice winds up in
the bit bucket instead of being preserved in the Google archives for
eternity.

Paul and Muttley