We've had numerous, numerous threads and posts, discussing how "mean" the tone is here and how we ought to be "helping" the new people instead of driving them away. This thread certainly isn't the first of its kind,and I doubt it will be the last.
While many of our members consider themselves friends and talk about things other than guinea pigs and guinea pig cages, the fact is that this is a factual forum with a stated purpose. That being said, it is extremely disrespectful to ALL the members of the forum for a newcomer to bypass all the information on the homepage, all the stickies, and all of the rules, philosophies, and policies section, and immediately go posting away questions that could have be answered by the aforementioned information.
No one expects newcomers to wade through ALL the threads, posts, and information on the forum. It is not unreasonable, however, to expect that newcomers do *some* reading before posting, and therefore, it is not unreasonable to expect someone who has been a member for a month to know that, by our philosophies here, outdoor housing is not an appropriate choice.
Some people can't stand being corrected. Some people are so sensitive in nature that bluntness and/or firmness is interpreted by them as "meanness" and "rudeness." This tendency to interpret things in the worst light possible is, unfortunately, not my problem nor is it the problem of the other moderators.
Our job is not to go around and coddle everyone's feelings and tell them that everything they say, do, and ask is just right and lovely. Our job is simply to enforce the rules, principles, policies, and philosophies of this forum.
If anyone has a problem with the way a moderator has handled a particular situation, the mature and correct way of dealing with that situation would be to a) private message the moderator involved, b) private message any of the other moderators (there are certainly enough to choose from), and/or c) take the problem to CavySpirit herself. The INCORRECT and IMMATURE way to handle a problem is to bring it out into a public thread on the forum.
If anyone finds the tone here disagreeable and/or dislikes the way situations are handled, well, no one is forcing you to stay. There are a great many forums out there, many of which do cater to people's feelings and make sure everything is all happiness and light all the time. You're most welcome to go join one of those forums instead.
In the end, threads like this accomplish nothing, except for getting people all worked up about perceived slights, rather than getting worked up over taking proper care of their pets.