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Query Corrections Referral Page...

Spell checker    3/24/12
Hi Bob,
 I know you have mentioned many times about queriors checking their spelling before sending.  The below link is a free spell checker that works great with Internet Explorer.  All you need to do is right click on your text and select iespell. May want to post on the dailies.
 http://www.iespell.com/download.php
 James
Will do. Thanks. B 

Your question has been referred here for correcting. There are more than a sprinkling of spelling, punctuation and/or grammatical errors for you to correct before re-sending your query. We ask this for common courtesy's sake... There are a few tens of thousands of folks using WWM daily... and we don't want to appear ignorant, backward, or present poor examples to the public. Please:

1) Run your writing through a grammar, spell checking tool on your computer, or have someone who is proficient in English check over your work. Scientific names of organisms can be easily checked via computer search, directory tools. Some of the most egregious errors: Netspeak is not acceptable... e.g., you, not "u"...  People's names, the personal pronoun "I" are capitalized (not "i"), manufacturers and their product names are proper nouns, thus are capitalized... Beware of homonyms... words that sound the same, but don't mean the same thing (e.g., their vs. there).

2) Re-send.

Don't have the time to use correct English? Please go elsewhere. We don't have time, patience for such laziness, nor a wish to present poor examples to others.

Thank you,

WWM Crew

Some Ejemplos:

<<Sabrina here....  Begging, PLEADING, that queriors use proper capitalization!!  At the very least, show some respect for yourself and capitalize the letter "I" and your name!  Fixing all of these is no small task for me/us, but will take you only minutes....  Please use proper grammar when writing in....  -SCF>>

<... we don't accept all cap. messages, nor image files that are more than a few hundred Kbytes... see our requirements where you found how to write is, and -resend. Bob Fenner> - 12/18/2012
Subject: HYBRID TANG ID.
THIS IS MY BLACK TANG HYBRID OR "Zebrasoma Rostratum X", I'M TRYING TO ID BOTH PARENTS
  AND FIND OUT HOW RARE ...

So in the past week this has appeared on the under side of all my rockwork.      1/3/17
I can not find any info online about it. Salinity= 1.024Temp= 78.7NH 3&4= 0
KH= 8.5NO3=5MG/LNO2=0PO4=0
Please respond to Jason_
<Uhh; your email is deleted. Re-send with a file of a few hundred Kbytes; not 35.4 Megs. B>

Ich in eye?        1/21/17
<... WHY did you send a 5.6 meg file!? SEE and follow our instructions or GO ELSEWHERE. Am out on an island in Fiji; can't download. JUST READ on WWM re Cryptocaryon, AND re (FAQs) on Diseases of Acanthurus leucosternon. Bob Fenner, disgusted>
Morning crew,.
I've uploaded photo of a powder blue I've had for about two months. Seemed fine until yesterday, and I woke up and saw this on the eye.
I did quarantine, saw Ich on his body over the past few weeks. All fish are hit with Prazi pro, water quality is apparently good enough for sps, no measurable nitrate , minimal phosphate.

Snake Eel boo boo?
HI!
Alri
Carrie :)
<Umm; is there summat more Car? BobF>

…..oooO…………..
…..(….)…Oooo…
……)..|…..(….)….
…..(_/…….)...|…..
……….....…(_/…….

Can you please try to ID THESE 2        11/27/15
<STOP ! Your mail has been deleted due to too-large file size. SEE and comply w/ our requirements; crop, re-size and re-send. Bob Fenner>
Sorry best pics I could get can you please try to ID these for me before I pull out ally hair thanks guys for all your info and all the good reads

Yellow Tang fin rot    3/23/14
Hi. My name is Ted
<Ted; see our file size requirements... resize and resend all>

male swordtail not interested in females     12/23/12
hi, i have 2 female swordtails-a red wag and a white lyretail. now i had a normal finned white male,....
<Hi James,
For the sake of our readers (many folks benefit from reading the daily answers we receive, so all are posted), would you please correct this (capitalize beginnings of sentences, etc.) and re-send?  We, as volunteers, do not have time to correct these ourselves.  Thanks!
-Sabrina>

Please fix your grammar (spaces twixt words...) and re-send... B - 11/30/2012
-------- Original Message --------
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 1:22 PM
To: crew@WetWebMedia.com
Subject: Clear flower type organism on lr
Hello again crew.Hope all is well.I took your advice,I gave the carpet
anemone away to someone who has a seperate tank just for the carpet,and I
kept the bubble tips.Could someone identify this growing on my lr?Should I
remove it?Also,a gentleman across the street,a neighbor,is employed by Sea
World,he tells me that they house a half dozen or more of different tangs
in a 90 gallon display.Is there something Im missing?How are they able to
keep that many tangs in such a small set up?Apologies in advance for the
ignorance,Jerry.(p.s. against my neighbors wishes,I contacted my local
marine store,they were happy to trade my hippo tang for store credit,as
they did not have any medium sized blue tangs,only small,so now I just
have
one yellow tang per your request.)
Subject: WWM incoming do-overs   - 12/02/2012

Geez Bob,it took more time to post my question and criticise my grammar
than it would've if you had just simply not answered or posted it at
all,when in fact,you answer many people who revisit your FAQ site  and
make
mistakes in their grammar over and over again,even when you remind them in
previous emails  not to do so.Not sure where the prejudicey stems from,as
I
am new to your site. I apologize for anything I may have said that
offended
you,and waisting your time.Really no reason for a reply,as to just further
the confrontation.Thanks.Jerry
.... still unacceptable. We're not here to deal w/ folks who won't follow directions. The "reasons" for requiring that YOU/queriors send along proper English are gone over where you found to write us. BobF.
Re:  - 12/02/2012

<Too many errors... B>
Once again,thank you for the stern criticism,pointing out the complete
waiste of YOUR time to continue on with my less than perfect
grammar,instead of just answering a simple question.Im extending you an
offer that I would never normally do without consent from my producer.I
host a very popular morning radio show here in Orlando Florida, Monday
thru
Friday from 6 am to 11am,im inviting you to call in and be a host on my
show.The day you pick,i will make sure the topic of discussion on the show
for that day will be "grammar".You pick the date,and you must call at 9 am
sharp.Im employed by Clear Channel Communications,and upon accepting my
invitation via email,i will immediately send you the contact info you will
need to call in.Dont disappointe me Bob,you obviously enjoy
confrontation,and I get paid for it.Cheers
Re:  - 12/03/2012
Such a disappointment Roberto.
<Just not so much time, interest Jerry. Cheers, BobF>

Aye yi yi! Stop SHOUTING! Re-key and re-send your msg. NOT IN ALL CAP.s!      11/27/12
Subject: algae
I HAVE A 40 GALLON ABOVE GROUND FISH

Re: SETUP PHOTO 7/8/9... tens of megs of pix rejected due to lack of WWM space... re-size already!  – 5/22/12
TO WHOSOEVER WANTS TO BAR ME
Yes why not ? Go ahead and block me. You've accused me of blocking your server. Just how do I do that? Now I see you've deleted my photos. So there really is no debate, tolerance, or patience with you guys is there. I understood this site was all about information, the sharing of ideas, and experiences. Well is it?  Maybe its about playing strictly by your rules
and being subject to summary justice e.g. your threat to bar me. Now here's the thing. Though  it may have began as a personal project the site is now a public institution- no longer yours for the taking but ours for the listening. You have successfully developed a fantastic resource and all credit to you. All I am saying is the site is more than the sum of its
\individual parts and you've a responsibility to treat others as you would like to be treated.
So bar me if you must but don't threaten me.
ROBERT
 http://wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm
Don't have a cow man... learn to re-size your graphics...

Dinoflagellate problem 90gl saltwater tank. Do over     3/23/12
Your email has been permanently deleted... 22 megs? Re-size and resend no larger than a few hundred Kbytes.
Dinoflagellate pt2

Okay, instead of sending picture, here is One. I hope you read my last email as far as all the details with my testing.
<... no... the entire email was shunted to spam... We only have 50 megs of space... You'll have to copy/paste or re-key all and re-send>

dither fish, do-over     2/23/12
hi crew, my name is michal,i recently set up 40 gallon (100x40x40) mbuna
tank.there is 3 yellow labs and 4 rusty cichlids,wanted something not
overlly agressive.all fish about 2-21/2inch.my fish were hiding most of
the
time so i got 3green barbs as dither fish.cichlids dont bother them at
all,my fish is now swimmig all the time,so they do a good job!my first
question is can i remove these barbs after some time?or cichlids will go
back to hiding?there is no agressivnes at all,they were just shy.what is
your opinion?also i have lots of brown algae in my tank,cannot get rid of
it.tank has been set up for 2months now,ph 8,ammonia 0,nitrite 0,nitrate
5ppm.temperature 80f.lights are t8 2x30watts 50/50bulbs.im also running
phosguard in my external filter,water changes 20%weekly.i clean it off
when
i do water change but its just coming back in few days.any ideas?thanks a
lot for your help.sorry for bad speling.thanks
<No reason for apologizing. Am sending this back to you to run through a spelling-grammar checker. Please do and re-send. Bob Fenner> 

> On 12/17/11, WetWebMedia Crew <crew@wetwebmedia.com> wrote:
> > Fix your English and re-send.
> um was this sue?  i didnt reply back.>   12/27/11
<Hi Jasmine.  No it wasn't me; likely one of our site editors who screen queries when they come in. They apparently returned your query because it contained spelling and/or grammar errors.  Things like not using capital letters at the beginning of sentences (like your 'w' and 'i' above), or missing punctuation like apostrophes (such as your word 'didnt' above).  They do this because the site is an international reference database that relies on language translators so it can be read and searched by people around the world no matter what language they speak.  In order for the database to be functional, words need to be written accurately.  Because so many people are now using their phones to write messages and editing them for errors, it's apparently becoming more and more of an issue.  >
<Just run whatever query you were trying to send us through a 'spelling and grammar' check (feature on your word processor) and re-send it to us.  Hopefully that will work!  Sue >

Subject: Do overs   2/16/10
<15 megs in pix, deleted. Try re-sizing, running your writing through a grammar and spell checker and re-sending.>
Yes I have these few crabs in one of my saltwater tanks and I would like to move them to my reef tank if they are reef safe. I have attached a few photos if you could help me identify them. I believe the black and brown one is just a different colored emarld mithrax crab but the purple colored hermit I cant find anywhere.

re: 125gal question -- 08/08/07 hey Neale don't ever come to my neighborhood cause ill break your jaw.....everything died great idea genius <Someone didn't take their bromide this morning...>

re: 125gal question -- 08/08/07 hey Neale just messing with you so far so good...water is just settling now so we will see. By the way the only reason i said hey at the beginning is because you provide a service and i needed help we are not friends and i didn't think you guys were so sensitive sorry. And don't talk down to peoples mistakes nobody including yourself is perfect. Thanks <Hello Michael. Yes, WWM provides a service, but we don't get paid for it. We do it to be helpful; it's all about volunteerism, the desire to give back to a hobby that has given us so much pleasure. Even if we were paid, that shouldn't make a difference. If you go into a bar or restaurant, you still say "Hello" and "please" and "thank you" to the serving staff; you don't say "hey" and order a beer. (Well, you could do, but speaking as someone who's worked as a barman and as a waiter, I can assure you rude customers are the ones upon whom staff play little pranks from time to time. Best not to think about it if you have a queasy stomach!) Finally, you could just check the House Rules for sending e-mails -- one thing we expect here is a reasonable standard of English, including "I" instead of "i", that sort of thing. Since we have literally dozens of messages to sort through each day, when people make an effort to ensure their messages are easy to read and clearly laid out, we appreciate it. So don't take umbrage, don't focus on my one line reprimand but instead read through and digest the many lines of help I offered. If you still have queries or don't agree, write back, so we can discuss. Good luck, Neale>

Re: filtration and oxygen  -- 07/18/07 Thanks Tom for your advice! This is Rene, here. <<Nice to 'meet' you, Rene! Glad to have been of help earlier.>> Sorry about forgetting to proof my question. I don't bother with capitalization and some punctuation in _personal_ emails, as it makes for faster typing. <<Understood.>> I agree, however, that the presentation should be grammatically correct on a public forum such as this. I will do better in the future! <<Much appreciated. Some folks just don't 'get it' and, consequently, get their letters returned unanswered until they do get it, in many cases. Where names are concerned, I like to work with folks I've worked with in the past if I can be of assistance to them. E-mail addresses don't always 'ring a bell' with me but names usually do. Plus, I like to think our readers consider themselves to be 'real people' to us and not simply nameless hobbyists.>> Thanks again. <<You're more than welcome. Best regards. Tom>>

Re: cuban hogfish introduction... Making the effort... courtesy required   7/7/07 Looks like you are new to the internet email and chat etc. or you are prejudging me because you have a problem with my name since it's not Bob, Tony or Joe???? I sense unbelievable arrogance in your tone..! <Uhh, no slight intended; we just require that folks try their spelling, grammar checkers... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/QueryCorrsRefPg.htm Bob Fenner> On 7/3/07, Shaji and Kala Varughese  wrote: > thanx for the quick reply. ok... i was thnking the same thing. i just > moved the daughtyback to a 10 gallon tank i have. now my cuban hog is very > happy. do you think the daughty back would forget it's past? i am hoping > when i put him back in the tank after a week or 2, he will be like a new > fish in the community???? hopefully he will get along with the cuban > afterwards.

Please fix your English and re-send 6/29/07 Hello again Bob Iv read alot on your web site! And dont get me wrong I think its the best out there! But sometimes I read a few different articles on the same thing and they kind of go in different ways. I know all my questions are on your site but on some subjects it just makes me fell better getting it back from a direct question. Espiecially from you because I know your the man when it comes to aquariums!!!!!!
.....................
Most recent nastygram... The message is in my box. I have this ready to sent if you'd like.  M ======= Hi Todd, Mich stepping in here for a moment. Bob asked you to make corrections to your letter and resend it because there are many, many errors. Fixing them takes a good bit of time and is something YOU should be able to do on your own. You appear to be a native English speaker and we of course make exceptions when the writer is a child or if English is not the writers' primary language. We are here to help you with things you can't figure out on your own. All we ask is that you do what you can to help yourself. This includes not wasting our time making corrections to grammar and spelling, which for goodness sakes the computer will do for you. I've made correction on your most recent email below. If I've counted correctly, there are only 9 sentence and there are 17 errors. It gets tiresome to make these corrections. It feels especially disrespectful after someone has asked you to make these corrections. This is a volunteer organization, we are here to help, but we do not want to be taken advantage of. We will gladly help you with your situation, but please fix the multiple errors and resend. Hey Bob how<'>s it going, Todd again Did I not spell everything right? I hope you didn<'>t take anything the wrong way? I wasn<'>t expecting that email you sent me!!!! Kind<-a> <+of> rude if you ask me!!! I<'>m pretty good at <E>english but <I>i<'>m sure I might have made some mistakes. Why do you guys have this web site for people to ask questions and then get upset and rip on them when they ask questions? I<'>v<e> read a< >lot and know a< >little but definit<e>ly not an expert like you( and I<'>m not saying that in a bad way) Sometimes I get a nice person and sometimes I don<'>t! I thought for sure you would be one of the nice ones!!! Sorry for the trouble, won<'>t email you again Todd

<Goodbye, good luck, good riddance. B>

RE: Most recent nastygram... Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:16:53 -0500 Robert All u had 2 do is let me no that tha ennglishh had 2 hav no mistakes. I get eeemails all the tim that r worsest then I. Thats justed how most peoples emailer!! I did not thinked it was go n 2 b graded. And if you guys r thr 2 help then y do u hav 2 b rude bout thngs? I giv u compliments and u just sa whatever good riddance!!! y dont you JUSTtell me 2 use the computer to check myself? I would of without a 2nd though, 2 try 2 help u out. Iv talked 2 others peoples on yourer web that justest try 2 make u fell stupided 2, not only english butt fishes stuff 2! I couldnt imagine acting like u to a beginnerest in something that me's really gooder at!!!! I can write fine, its an email asking a question about a fish aquarium for crying out loud!!! Not an english test!!!! Out of the 10 people I showed the email to, they all said oh my god what a weird o!!! Its a web site, not one of your published books!!! You should worry alittle less about helping with english and alittle more with the fish subject!! And like I said all you had to do is let me know that you needed to correct the english, and I would of done it for you without a question!!!! Instead you guys need to tell me how bad I'm at english!! And I have to say your the only question/answer website out there, on any subject, that has ever acted like this, that I have ever been on!!!!! I have to go now I have to get on a ENGLISH website to get some FISH AQUARIUM info!!!! I just dont get some people!!! I wish your books sucked, then I could throw them away!! But they don't, so I cant!! "MY FAVORITES" See, yet another compliment!!!!!!! Later, Bad English Emailer Guy <Heeee! Do please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/faqstips.htm re our rationale for asking folks to write in plain Anglish... Cheers, BobF>
RE: Most recent nastygram... Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2007 00:30:54 -0500 Like I said all you had to do is tell me. Never been to that part of your site before. I had no idea about the how to ask a question. <Mmm, no biggee... But "that part" is the portal to inquiring... We're on a course of re-doing a sort of "site map" or "using WWM" guide... Your momentum is adding to the end of our inertia. Cheers, BobF>
RE: Most recent nastygram... Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2007 09:55:16 -0400 Bob, you're too classy. ;) <Hey, when are you joining us in responding to all? BobF>

Apologia in response to "Not Happy with the Help Received" - 6/7/07 Dear Crew, <<<Hi Jason, Mich here.>>> I could not help but notice the rather acerbic correspondence you received, which I copy: > *Not Happy with the Help Received* > * * Wow, thanks for all that help you promised. > <<I promised you nothing>> > Let me reword it in "lingo" you may appreciate. My "LFS" XXXXed me over. > they sold me a tank, fish, live rock and live sand, and said, "get to it." I got: > 16 lbs of live Fiji rock > 10lbs of live sand > a 12 (not 25) gallon nanocube tank > a clown ( A. tricinctus) > A Kaudern's ( or Banggai) Cardinal > Mysis shrimp > And Formula two flake food > A basic heater > I wasn't sold (or told) that I needed anything beyond that. I've remedied > that not, thankfully (and expensively). My cardinal died, for obvious > reasons. I wasn't even aware of what cycling the tank was, until earlier > this morning. I got my questions answered, no thanks to you or your crap > "search tool." For God's sake, one would think that someone of your obvious > knowledge would overlook the grammar in a hastily typed, panic laden, > email. I was unaware that marine hobbyism required MENSA level emails. > Especially when one is requesting help. Apologies if I've wasted your > time. My clown is fine, and my tank is cycling beautifully now. Thanks. > (for nothing) -Bryna > <Ah, good. BobF><<Mmm, there are over ten thousand visitors to WWM > daily... in just the English rendition... queriers are referred to using the > search tool, indices as we NOT only lack the resources to reiterate the same > information, BUT there are VERY often side issues, further questions that > people will answer for themselves by delving into what is archived... If > this is a waste of ones time, I suggest looking into a more passive > hobby/interest... like "video-fish" that one can turn-off when they're > bored. RMF>> The response by the bearer of the initials RMF <<<Robert M. Fenner, the WWM guru>>> is far too kind to this inquirer, Bryna. <<<Ho buoy! Hopefully he won't see this! Hee!>>><Indeed! RMF> Ergo, I would like to publicly reply to the aforementioned inquirer, who seemingly, believes in the obligation, vis-à-vis the benevolence, of WWM to grant help. Bryna is angered by WWM's requirements of proper grammar and spelling, which she finds excessive to say the least, and coins such frivolous practices as "MENSA level [sic] emails". Furthermore, she expects unconditional help, implicitly at the cost of other inquirers and more importantly, that of the WWM staff. <<<Yep.>>> Monetarily, to be sure, WWM solicits but donations; concordantly, it would be rather erroneous to demand impeccable replies to one's queries. <<<Yes, when a service is provided for free, out of the generosity of one's heart, it is generally appropriate to say "Thank you".>>> RMF summarizes this quite well: "I promised you nothing". Furthermore, WWM is not a government organization required to grant assistance of any sort, or to any person. WWM is not even morally bound, by any standards, to grant any sort of help whatsoever. It follows that any help that WWM does provide is in their charity and something that inquirer's ideally would be thankful of. If that be not the case, at least the inquirers ought to be respectful of them. <<<Yes, you would think this would be obvious, wouldn't you?>>> The requirements of proper grammar and spelling serve, at the very least, to improve legibility. Bryna, who submits a hastily-written letter, expects WWM to decipher her query to her satisfaction, and to reply diligently. She asserts that she lacked the time to produce a well-written letter; I dissent, on the grounds that ammonia and nitrite accrue at a reasonable pace; it follows that either she seems to suggest either that nutrients digitally climbed from 0 to some incredible value, or that she simply failed to pay any attention to the system, until it was blatantly obvious that something was quite wrong. I add facetiously, that she epitomizes the lesson, "haste makes waste". <<<A good lesson!>>> Proper writing (or even an attempt at satisfactory writing) <Hee!> is additionally a gesture of respect toward recipient, whom she flagrantly disrespects. It seems rather reasonable to display such respect to the person one is asking for help from. <<<A common courtesy.>>> There is no need for obscenities be they censored or not -- albeit I suspect WWM were responsible for the X's. <<<Perhaps.>>><This/that is correct. My doing. RMF> Ironically, her disrespect of WWM is quite obvious in her follow-up letter. <<<Yes.>>> It is clear that Bryna egregiously dived headfirst into a swimming pool only to resurface with a painful head injury. <<<I would concur.>>> If there is one point that is quite obvious from WWM and from other resources as well, it is that the hobby of keeping nano reefs is not trivial, and requires not only interest, but dedicated research as well. <<<Yes.>>> That she simply arrived at her local fish store to purchase the items and livestock--which she enumerated in her correspondence--is a testament to her lack of any sort of research or patience. That she wishes to pass the blame to WWM and the local fish store is tantamount to expostulating before a jury that one trespassed upon a law in ignorance, in the hope of exoneration. One's ignorance is not the fault of another. <<<Hmm, sounds like you're in law school.>>> I urge that Bryna would for herself, reflect upon the events leading up to the incident and truly determine the cause. Let one's knowledge not be in abeyance. <<<Yes.>>> Kind Regards, <<<Thank you for your letter, Mich.>>> Jason C. Wang <Wowzah! RMF> when you say please...complete sentences... fix your English and re send what is that suppose to mean???? Are you trying to help me or talk about me???? <A little from Column A, and a little from Column B. The idea is to encourage people to write properly and politely. If you don't make an effort writing to me, why should I make an effort to write back? I don't get paid for this. Mistakes with English because someone is very young or not a native speaker of the language is fine. But when people don't say "thank you" when I helped them and instead simply send another demand for yet more information, as you did, that's rude and demanding. So you shouldn't be surprised when people are less than cordial when writing back. Remember the Golden Rule: do unto others as you'd like others to do unto you. Cheers, Neale> Please send understandable, non "net-speak" message to allow us to help you  4/25/07  Thanks for your message. I can assure you, on behalf of the WWM Crew, we do very much want to help, but our time is limited just as yours is, I am sure.  Please take a few moments to send this message with proper capitalization, punctuation, etc., so that I (or another Crew member) do not have to do so myself. See here for some tips: http://wetwebmedia.com/faqstips.htm Thanks, Jorie>

High Nitrates, Ammonia, Lack of Reading, Understanding - 1/20/07 Thank You, I did figure out what was causing all the brown in my tank, when the tank was originally set up by an aquarium person, I purchased a pump for the sump, Well he  put a metal ring around the pump to hold the hose on there and a bread tie that also had metal and they were both corroder with caked on rust, I have since fixed this problem and now no longer have the brown. and I think the nitrates were high and ammonia because of this, It's been three to almost 4 months since I have had this tank set up, and at the over flow at the top there are bio balls also and they were never cleaned and that is where the water goes, When I cleaned it they were all slimy and really dirty, done a 30% water change and nitrates and nitrites were greatly reduced, I will do another water change, in another week to completely remove them. I also bought a Nudibranch, black and neon orange but, Unfortunately the damsel I have, killed him  lol. And I Thank You very much for all your info and helping. <Please, before you contact us again, for our sake, read where you have been pointed to! This is five separate emails from you in net-speak, complete with misspellings, improper punctuation, and lack of proper capitalization. PLEASE read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/QueryCorrsRefPg.htm and http://www.wetwebmedia.com/faqstips.htm . This is not a request, this is an expectation. We are an all-volunteer staff, who post all our correspondence for all to see, read. The cost of our assistance, is this expectation of proper English. -JustinN>

WWM, and proper English... not a request...   1/7/07 You know I am so glad that the WetWeb crew is more concerned with my spelling and grammer than the fact that my fish is sick. in the time it took for you guys to send me an email back asking me to fix these things my lionfish died. <Try to see "it" our way... We don't have time for fixing the small "payment" (English is the "coin" of our realm... in other words, you want our free help, write in the medium, properly)... Tens of thousands of folks use this database daily... many are non-native speakers, children, folks of diminished capacity... I refuse to dedicate thousands of hours of my life, efforts at presenting "garbage"... No sale. Bob Fenner>

Re: (no subject) ?  12/21/06 no there are there is no other fish in the tank and yes the tank is  cycled <Where are your complete sentences and punctuation? How about the previous correspondence? At very least a subject that your response may be related to? We get hundreds of emails every week, we do not remember specific situations based on email addresses. -JustinN>

Please re-submit query using common courtesy (e.g., capitalization, punctuation, etc.)  11/16/06 We would be glad to help, but would ask first that you consider the humans on the other end of the e-mail that have to sort this grammatical nightmare; please re-send using proper English conventions, such as capital letters and punctuation marks, and someone would be happy to respond.  Thank you, Jorie. Tuxedo Urchin example of RMF rudeness, impatience    7/20/06 I have recently set up a 175 salt reef tank with the help of your book and the LFS. <Hope/trust all is going well> I have a tuxedo that has been very happy, going around decorating himself and eating well.  Two days ago, the branch of pulsing Xenia he carries around on his back sucked up into a powerhead, he refused to let go. <Mmm, will, should in time> I turned the head off and waited until he moved away.  Yesterday he shed all of his decorations.  Today his blue strips are turning brown. <"Bummed"> I decided to turn to your web site which I have always found helpful. Sometimes I think the people don't read the writer's entire message before responding with insults but I have just tried to overlook that. <Heee! Okay> Today, however, while researching information about the Urchin I came upon this: I Sea urchins just ate my feather duster and leather coral... poor English, lack of planning  9/28/05 Hello. you have a very informative site. I love it. I have 2 pin cushion and 1 pencil urchin, the other day, I noticed the pencil urchin was on top of the feather duster, and I didn't think anything about it.  the next day he was still there, so I pulled him off, and the feather duster was just a pile of mush. his pipe was all soggy and it just fell apart. there is a small piece in there still, but I am positive it is dead. I sat the urchin in the back of the tank. later that day, I looked at the tank, and he was on top of a small new sprout of leather finger coral. now that am <There is no such word> paranoid, I moved him and he ate it too! it was gone! so now am constantly moving them around, the pin cushion ones too. cause am worried. I always keep a leaf of romaine lettuce in the tank, ok the glass w/ a veggie clip, and the LOVE it. they will devourer a leaf in a matter of hours. so any advice about the urchins eating my duster and coral? <Learn to spell, use your grammar checker to learn... and use resources ahead of time to check the compatibility of the organisms you intend to buy. Bob Fenner, too short of patience with ignorance today> Since you hear from a lot of people from other countries I am surprised you would take such a stance and be so unfriendly. Sincerely, Kathye <Can generally tell if a writer is penning something from a distant country, or a person is of limited capacity, or a child... But do indeed admit to a limit of patience with laziness on peoples' parts who are in turn so rude as to send us poor efforts. What you/the public sees is "fixed"... there are a hundred or two "corrections" in most any given days FAQs... and I tire of fixing these 15, 20 or more minutes daily... But "courtesy is contagious", and I do agree with your sentiment, that I should be more patient. Thank you for your note. Bob Fenner>

ThE mIsSiOnS tRiP..... NNS?   6/14/06 What do u mean by that? also, i thought u breeded bettas! do u? i need help with that area! lol plz! <English please>                                       ---------------mIcHeLlE gAlLeTtO-----------------

Re: ......ThE mIsSiOnS tRiP..... sorry that you were missinformed but this is in english! thank you! come again~ lol jk JKJKJKJKJKJKJK!  so what do you mean by in english please? <Beginnings of sentences are what? Capitalized? English... plz? i, u? Learn to/use your spelling/grammar checkers... Bettas are not breeded... Just give me what I want... and no one gets hurt> Thank you for contacting us at WetWebMedia.com   3/4/06 Your reply is below <<Maria, I tried responding to this email, but re-writing it was taking far too long.  Please write back using proper grammar and punctuation, and I will be glad to help. Thanks, Lisa.>> <Thank you, RMF>

Just Words   2/2/06 I am planning on creating a new reef tank. The process is very slow. Prior to establishing the tank, I have been reading everything I can including your Daily FAQs. <Hotay> Just a quick thing, several times the response has been the original email contains a non-word. For example, Also I hear "a lot" <Ah yes... the roving spell-checker... fixing the eponymous alots into a lot/s> I realize that you like to publish grammatically correct inquiries, but I don't believe that reply is correct. Certainly lot is a word. Perhaps, it is meant that alot is not a word. <Ah, yes> Webster's has a definition of lot that would apply to the original inquirer: 7 : a considerable quantity or extent . Great site by the way! Sorry to write in over such a trivial manner. John <Thank you for this. What is that line from Herbert and the movie version of "Dune" re the Harkonens? "The process of removal continues". Cheers, Bob Fenner> <... the beginning of sentences are capitalized... I, not i... > Classic  1/27/06 _____________________________________________________________ http://www.WetWebMedia.com - your first source for ornamental aquatics information! Date:  Thu, 26 Jan 2006 15:30:12 EST what do you mean by grammar? do you mean excessive punctuation perhaps? i do not see any gross errors. let me know. Already Answered Question on Naso and Cyano? Look in Today's Dailies  12/03/05 Crew, <<Person.>> I am thinking that the original email below did not make it to you...???  <<You are, which would be understandable, but incorrect. I believe James (Ye Olde Salty Doggie) replied this morning if I recollect correctly. Oh.. or.. it could have been AdamJ, too.. shoot, now I can't remember! But I'm fairly certain it was answered.>> I see other emails from more recent dates being answered in the daily FAQ's, so I thought I would re-send.  <<Don't rely on those dates as the actual reply date. Often folks may not date the queries they answer, or they put them in their folder then answer at a later date. If without a date, then I date with the day's date. Here.. care for a date? Mmm.. dates.. where..? oh yeah, don't use those as accurate dating. The query could be a week (and sometimes more) old. We add those more so folks researching can have a more accurate idea of *when* a specific reply was posted (sometimes can be very important in light of new facts on one subject or another). I really hope that made sense.>> Thank you in advance for your reply. Regards, Steven <<Steven, I'm going to hold onto this JUST in case YOU didn't get James' reply or were unable to view the dailies here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/daily_faqs.htm. Marina>> 

In defense of Marina, and Ready to Roast? 12/2/05 I am offering an opinion rather than a question. <<Alright.>> I have been reading the "Today's Frequently Asked Question," section each day for a few months. There have been some barbed comments from some of the people submitting the questions on the apparent tone of the answers. <<This is not unknown, yes.>> The crew often has to correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. <<Daily, and there are times when those that need correcting far outnumber those that don't -- rarity I've come to greatly appreciate.>> Some of the submitted questions may not be expressed clearly or with an economy of words. Some readers take his personally or take offence to this. I have to take side with the crew of WetWebMedia. I find the information helpful, and often expressed in a colorful and entertaining manner that to me reflects a passion for their work, and interesting personalities. I don't feel it is asking too much from anyone submitting a question to carefully proof read what they have written. I have submitted questions myself and been on the receiving end of being told on some of my faulty logic in my approach to problems, from Marina as it turned out on one occasion, <<D'oh! Oh JEEZ....! really? Which one?>> and found her answer informative and entertaining. <<Whew!>> She did not have to waste time on spelling and grammatical errors either. <<I didn't here, either. Thank you.>> So to some of the readers out there, lighten up and have some fun with this section. I personally will look forward to my next roasting. Mike Lomb <<You have me laughing out loud here, Mike! A little humor makes life better, and I certainly appreciate your finely-honed sense. I would like to say thank you on behalf of the rest of the crew for you very kind words.  Marina - Whose best roast always comes from the oven>> 

Why Do I Do It?  12/1/05 Why does Marina spend her time "mothering" answers provided by members of your staff. Seems odd; adds nothing, other than sarcasm, to otherwise noble efforts of the crew. Just curious. Steve (a fan of several years) <<I'm assuming that's a question, not a statement (questions always end with a question mark "?", not a period ".").  Most often I'm aiming for clarification, not sarcasm (for instance, when someone's wording isn't clear - at times spelled so incorrectly I cannot find a definition or mention of the word at all - or intelligible). Of course, conversely, if I make a mistake or misstatement, then I absolutely positively want to be corrected, as I do not wish to remain ignorant. I also try to shoot for disseminating good information. If you have been reading on a daily basis then you know that I do provide information as well.  There are those times when I do indeed intend to be sarcastic, as our attempts to encourage those who write in showing some effort in trying to use written word in a manner resembling intelligibly are constant. There is no mistaking those. Now, if you're talking about grammatical, spelling, word use or other errors (such as the lack of proper punctuation in your first sentence), that is my "job" with WWM. If the persons writing and/or responding don't, then I must, which of course puts me in the position of "mothering" (which I call "educating"), doesn't it? Since I do come off as sarcastic, then I apologize to you and our crewmembers, as this is not my intent.  It is to educate ( and for many it has been entertaining as well).  Marina>>

Marina's Mothering 12/2/05 Just wanted to say thanks for all of Marina's 'mothering'. <<You are very welcome.. I think. (You've put a smile on my face.)>> Your 'mothering' was a tremendous help during some recent dialog with Adam J. Don't stop! I consider your 'mothering' a valuable contribution. <<My goodness, thank you for the compliments, and I am most happy that I have contributed in a helpful way.>> BTW. The little flamer is in the community tank, doing great and 'rules the roost'. <<All is as it should be!>> Happy Holidays to all! Roger <<And a big wish for you and yours as well. Marina>> 

Reminders (or new info, depending who you are) on WWM Posting Protocol 10/11/05 Hello All, <Mar...> For you new folks, you'll get to know me - for those of you familiar with me, well, here it goes. I am sending this out as a reminder (or, new information for those of you who aren't hip to the sitch, yet). <Heeee!> *Emails in all caps: Generally we don't even answer these, they are returned to the sender to be retyped properly. I won't post them, so there are currently two in the "sent" folder that were (*very* kindly/patiently) answered, but won't be going up in the dailies. They are an eyesore.  Bob, if you want them posted, just let me know and I will, but I haven't the time to retype entire queries. Fortunately these are relatively infrequent.  <Nope... I send a note back if I see... and just delete if someone happens to respond> *Corrections: I do spend a good bit of time correcting queries, unless there is note made in the response regarding egregious errors (we want folks to see what NOT to do). However, I will not spend time correcting the punctuation, grammar, and/or spelling of WWM crew. I won't name names, but I must assume that if you know you're just not good with this stuff, will you PLEASE use the spell-check feature that comes with just about *every* word processing program that exists (I really don't care what you use, just use it!)? Please capitalize "I", the first letter of sentences, etc., etc. There are typos all the time, these don't take up a great deal of time and these aren't the problem. But when there's a whole response that's filled with such mistakes, it becomes a daunting task to sort out. <Yepster... this takes ten to thirty minutes of my time daily... and have spent several hundred hours "going back" re format issues...> That's it (for now.. ugh), of course we have yet to put together a WWM P&P or anything like that. OH! I forgot to remind everyone to have some fun today. It's Monday, and Mondays need fun.  (We are currently rather envious of those of you who are languishing in Hawai'i, and the family is itching to go diving again - criminy, obligations!) <Sabrina and I are... doing the FAQ thang, and moving bits about, and having a good old time. BobF> Your WWM Drill Sergeant/Novelist, and Occasional Cook, Marina

WWM, English, time... 9/28/05 while you try to teach me proper grammar my fish is dying thanks a lot!! <Sorry for your inconvenience... do understand that this is an "all volunteer" operation... We don't have the time to fix folks' communication, just enough to try and respond... >  I apologize for the language my gf is really distraught about the fish <I do understand this... frustration... after putting a few hours per day into this "project" for the last decade, seeing its development, having so many good friends help... many leave out of time constraints... What could we do to improve? BobF>

Hey, This is Patrick Jewell, About to Read  11/20/05 Crew of Wet Web Media, <Howdy> I am doing a research paper for my Written Communications Class. We are writing a paper on a subject that experts disagree on. We can choose anything that we want to write one, that a expert would disagree on. I chose Fluorescent Vs. Metal Halide. My thesis statement is: "Many experts disagree which lighting method overall benefits the aquarium the most. So considering all aspects (pros and cons) of Fluorescent and Metal Halide lighting, which one benefits the aquarium coral habitat and its owner the most?" I came to you because you are an expert. If I could get a short statement (like three or four sentences), of what lighting do you favor most and facts that you know off hand to support your argument. Then can you put your credentials at your signature. Example: John Smith Masters in Zoology, University Aquarist for (X amount) years. <<Do autodidacts count?  Marina>> If you could help me with this it would be awesome. <... Please glean what you're looking for by reading here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marsetupindex2.htm the articles and FAQs files on light/lighting. Our respective degrees are posted on the "About the Crew" pages, linked on the homepage. Bob Fenner> 

Pregnant what? Parents... please watch/supervise your children... 8/14/05 hi my names tasha. am 15 nd just got my first fish tank. i have my   suspisions that 1 might be pregnant but am not to sure. its side has like balloned and its a silvery colour. can you give me advise as i am not sure? thanks very much tasha from england <... What sort of fish is this Tasha? Please take a look here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlivestkindex.htm Scroll down to the Livebearers area... Bob Fenner> Re: hay yeah sorry forgot to mention that there  goldfish <Please scroll down to goldfish... and read. Bob Fenner>

Stocking, scientific naming conventions, punctuation... hi guy sorry for using this but I tried to on the site but could not. any way I have been planning for my new tank I just got going. I have read and got a lot of info here. via your article and forum. but I get conflicting advice so I was hoping to ask you about my stocking levels and fish choices. I have done a lot of research and think I might have my list ready. been planning the whole tank set up off and on for the last year. got everything, I hope, except the coral list just started working on that. but will be getting mostly SPS with some LPS and softies. the total coral load will be medium not going wall to wall corals. will be using T5 lighting when I am ready for them. I have a 72x18x20H tank about 150lbs of live rock with ½' sandbed. 45 gal sump with 30lbs of miracle mud and Caulerpa. A Sedra 1200gph and 586gph pump for the return. Total circulating water 140gal. measured. currently have 5  damsels in the sump. Will run like this for 6mo. Then add the crabs and snails. (Creature list below ). Run with these for additional 3mo. . Approx 9mo. tank running before first group goes in tank. damsels back to the store. then add each group 1-2mo. Apart. the numbers are about the max size I think they will get plan on buying small. Group #1 1-green clown goby (Gobiodon atrangulatrus)'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦...1' 1-yellow clown goby (Gobiodon okiwawee)'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦..1' 1-lineatus fairy wrasse (cirrhilabrus lineatus)'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦..4' 1-Red Parrot Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus rubriventralis)'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦...3' Group#2 1-regal angel (pygoplites diacanthus )'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦.10' 1-false percula clown (amphiprion ocellaris) '¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦4' 1-blue hippon tang (paracanthurus hepatus)'¦'¦'¦.'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦.8-9' Group#3 1-flameback angel brazilian (centopyge aurantonus)'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦3 1-mandrine goby (synchiropus splendidus)'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦...4' 1-orcid dottyback (fridmani pseudochromis)'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦'¦.4' CREATURES: 1-cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis)) 1-electric blue hermit crab (calcinus elegans) 2-emerald matrix crab (mithrax sculptus) 5-zebra hermit crabs (calcinus laevimanus) 5-red legged mex. hermit crab (clibanarius digueti) 1-red flame serpent starfish (ophioderma rubicundum) 1-tiger serpent starfish (ophiolepsis superba) 5-nassarius snail (nassarius vibex) 10-turbo snails (turbo fluctuosa) I would like to thank you for considering my question. and really thank you for providing us with all the info. found on your site it is really an amazing site. Thanks to the whole staff you guys are awsome!!!!! gary but name on the site is hlama <Beginnings of sentences, companies and their products, the pronoun "I", genera, your name... are capitalized... Please fix this message and re-send. BobF, who doesn't have the time, predisposition to correct folks writing.>  

An ich epidemic!! hi crew, oh, no. even more bad news, it looks like ich is spreading to the rest of my saltwater fish. right now, I'm putting them each in a freshwater bath with rid-ich. I read that you can try to kill the disease by lowering the salinity of the tank. what is the salinity I would have to change it to? and how long should I keep the tank at this level. Since this would be the first time I would be doing this, if there is anything else I would need to know, please inform me. Also, is this risky to the health of the fish themselves? Would I be better off just giving them treated baths. thanks a lot mike <Mike... all this is answered on WWM... please don't send such illiterate messages to us... and no HTML, please. BobF>

Not Going to Try Sharks, but Let's Try This Again.. I am not going to go with that shark tank at all now.  I have a 44 gallon hex tank, freshwater. is it easy to change to salt water? I am thinking about making a reef aquarium in it would a hex be good? I know about all the fish and stuff but can you just give me some ideas on good reef fish? I already know I want some clowns in it. what do I do with the gravel? I might keep it because it is white. I have a penguin bio wheel filter this wont work will it ? if it does not should I buy a canister filter are they good? because I don't have enough $ to buy a wet/dry. and I was also wondering what a cheap protein skimmer would be. www.drsfostersmith.com can u look there they have some very cheap ones like the Visi-Jet Protein Skimmer, and others thanks a lot  <<Chris, while happy you're not going with a shark tank, I must first refer you to this page, please. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/QueryCorrsRefPg.htm.  Next, you state that you "know about all the fish and stuff", yet your following questions belie the untruth to that statement. Please make use of the VAST amounts of information we already have on site dealing with exactly your questions. Thank you, Marina>>

Not Going to Try Sharks, but Let's Try This Again.. II Ok I found the info I needed, thanks but I must say that you spelled below wrong. "Yet your following questions belie". I'm not the only one who is spelling stuff wrong here JK, I'm only 15 anyways. <<Ah, the perfect age, but not an excuse my friend. My son and "stepdaughter" are both 15. So, a little lesson in vocab - "belie" has nothing to do with "below". Belie is more telling, below is just a place. Can you make a sentence using "belie"? (Re-using mine is no fair.) As for the information, I bet you've found a whole lot more than you expected. If you run into problems or are having trouble understanding what has been posted, *please* feel free to write in (using proper capitalization & punctuation, of course). Thanks! Marina >>

Non-Shark Guy Not Getting the Point & Why We Do Things the Way We Do! Sorry, but when I am writing an E-mail to someone I want my questions to be answered I don't want a grammar class. <<Sorry Chris, but you clearly are not getting the point. You may not want the grammar class, but I've already gotten my schooling done years ago, and no one has to clean up a thing for me. I don't relish having to do it for anyone else. In any event, you are missing the whole idea. Here it is put as plainly as I can... 1) Your questions already *have* been answered, by our *all volunteer* crew, many, many, many times. We have spent countless hours getting everything organized. We've even set things up so those who can't be arsed to go looking in appropriate categories can use our Google bar! Yes, there's a great deal to read through, but at LEAST it's (relatively) easy to read through because we ARE worrying about punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and so on. 2) Because we archive EVERYTHING, we make do make this effort, a great deal of effort as a matter of fact, to ensure that all messages are edited for proper punctuation, GRAMMAR, spelling, capitalization, proper terminology, nomenclature, and so on.  Now, imagine having to slog through huge amounts of email such as the first one you sent in, with questions that are already answered on site, and still having to edit it, correct it, essentially retype the whole thing, to then post an answer to a question that's been asked many, many times. It's a pain in the butt, Chris, it takes phenomenal amounts of time. We can only hope that people will be understanding about our limitations, as well as our reluctance to continually have go through this exercise this for every message sent so inconsiderately. 3) Because this site is used by an international community is another important reason for being such sticklers. This means that non-native English speakers need to be able to translate easily. It may not affect you so much, but for others it can be a real pain. There are few sites that actually do what is done here to the *extent* that is done here. Our site is also of use to scientists in biology and other fields, we wouldn't be as useful to these people if we paid no attention to how content is presented. At that point, it becomes exceedingly important that what is put up is as accurate and proper as possible. 4) My last and final point regarding the link I sent you. Here it is again: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/QueryCorrsRefPg.htm.  As I said, it may not be a big deal to you, but imagine getting dozens and dozens of emails every day that have to be picked apart and/or retyped! Talk about a pain in the arse. We are not a bulletin board, we are a site where the combined years of knowledge and learning are being systematically organized and archived/filed away so that it can be accessed and used by others. ALL for free! We are not going to compromise certain standards just because some folks think it's not a big deal, to US, it IS.>> Your are blowing this way out of proportion, but thanks for answering all of my many questions. The last guy I talked to did not even care. <<I don't know who you asked, and I'm sorry that whomever it was didn't care (though I honestly doubt that's exactly what it was). It seems overblown to you, you're sending in ONE email, why is it such a big deal? But for us, you are one of hundreds, you see? For something that can take any of us more than an hour or two each day (such as my job of editing and placing), this rapidly adds up. I apologize if I was short with you, but I personally can spend hours working on site each day, and I also work VERY hard to ensure as few mistakes as possible get through.  I hope you understand our position on the matter. Marina>> 

Cool Beans, Apologies Ok sorry that I was so harsh I just didn't see your did not see your point, sorry. Chris <<Chris, thank you very much, not just from/for me, but speaking for the rest of the crew here. I should also let you know that what I wrote was as much to you as it is to everyone else out there. In the meantime, I do hope that you're finding the information you need, I'm also going to suggest a couple of books like Martin Moe's marine books - he has schematics that show how filtration works, and they're good enough that if you like making things yourself you can *easily* make a LOT of what you need. It's how I did things when I started the hobby, I just couldn't afford to buy everything ready-made off the shelf. Marina>> 





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