- Joined
- Nov 22, 2005
- Messages
- 344
So back in the day, when AB first started out along about the time VL also got up and running there were some really cool and advanced folks on here as members. I was a very active member here for many years. I personally knew many people who kept a vast array of scorpions, tarantulas, and true spiders as well as centipedes. We all were very much concerned with the advancement of the hobby and the availability of some of the more rare species. We all bred our species and we studied- we read and most of us seemed extremely competent to do our own research about whether certain species were communal or not, or what the best husbandry conditions were to successfully breed and grow them. It just seemed to be a very bright and shining time for this hobby. I would get on here at least every day if not 10 times/day and I was always excited to see what new observation or what new trick one of us had come up with to advance our hobby. Not only was the wealth of knowledge on AB and VL growing, but so was the improvement of our photography. Members were taking some really breathtaking photos- photos that were as scientifically and taxonomically valuable as any you would find in an arachnology journal. It seemed that time was a turning point for arachnoculture- the time when this hobby would be growing and never look back.
Then something happened...
It seemed like our generation of keepers, breeders, and investigators left. I started medical school and got married. I know others moved and their personal lives changed dramatically as well, leaving them with less time available to immerse themselves in this hobby they love. There was a time when had you logged on here never would you have seen a thread subject like "what is the coolest scorpion?" or, "what would kill you the fastest- a deathstalker or getting hit by a train?" or, "need a spider ID!" and the spider in question is some microscopic house spider and the photo provided is so blurry and dark you can barely even be sure it is a spider at all. I cringe every time I log on here every month or so and read posts about how someone's P. imp is "sick" because it is not moving and they thinks it's going to die. There are so many posts and so much information about Emps that all someone would have to do is look up the answer to any question or concern they need, but it doesn't seem the new generation is doing that. No one is digging deep into the husbandry and research and it seems that people aren't doing the true work like we used to. There is very little of "substance" on the boards these days. It's sad for me because of how the great ambassadors of this hobby worked so hard and made this whole thing what they were all about. We took a ton of pride in all this and being knowledgeable- not in folk tales or common names, but in the truth and the natural history. I hope it can get back to that someday. Thoughts?
Then something happened...
It seemed like our generation of keepers, breeders, and investigators left. I started medical school and got married. I know others moved and their personal lives changed dramatically as well, leaving them with less time available to immerse themselves in this hobby they love. There was a time when had you logged on here never would you have seen a thread subject like "what is the coolest scorpion?" or, "what would kill you the fastest- a deathstalker or getting hit by a train?" or, "need a spider ID!" and the spider in question is some microscopic house spider and the photo provided is so blurry and dark you can barely even be sure it is a spider at all. I cringe every time I log on here every month or so and read posts about how someone's P. imp is "sick" because it is not moving and they thinks it's going to die. There are so many posts and so much information about Emps that all someone would have to do is look up the answer to any question or concern they need, but it doesn't seem the new generation is doing that. No one is digging deep into the husbandry and research and it seems that people aren't doing the true work like we used to. There is very little of "substance" on the boards these days. It's sad for me because of how the great ambassadors of this hobby worked so hard and made this whole thing what they were all about. We took a ton of pride in all this and being knowledgeable- not in folk tales or common names, but in the truth and the natural history. I hope it can get back to that someday. Thoughts?