Quick Tips for taking
Dinosaur in Stride

Quickstride
Quick Tips to Taking Dinosaurs in Stride
Tue Jan 15 13:36:35 2002


Yeah, I know, pretty corny title. Anyway, since I know there are a lot of people here interested in dinosaurology, perhaps as a career choice, I thought I'd share some of the stuff I've learned over the years as I've studied dinosaurs (on an amateur level, of course). There are, unfortunately, many myths floating around out there, some of which most people don't even stop to think about, and many people who seem more interested in turning peaceful discussion boards into literal war zones than in actually exchanging information and ideas. Which leads into my first list of tips: how to talk to other dinosaur enthusiasts. Seems simple enough, doesn't it? Believe me, if you look at some message boards, you have wonder if dinosaurs EVER actually get discussed. Well, here are my tips:

1. If you would like to get a discussion started on a topic you like, you should do one of two things: a) politely state your opinion on a subject and then ask if anyone else has ideas on it (beware though, some people will pounce on you right away and tear your theory apart without much reason other than they're obnoxious) or b) ask some sort of question on the topic. Try not to ask something like "Can anybody tell me about Triceratops?" because this will only get you a list of statistics on Trike (size, habitat, time, etc.) which you can easily look up on your own, without having to bother other people about it. Rather, try and come up with a question in which people can voice their own views rather than just facts (like "What do you think the primary purpose of Triceratops' frill was?")

2. Be polite. If someone asks a simple question or gives a faulty theory, don't jump on them and be rude about it. Just present the facts as you know them, and avoid saying stuff like "You're wrong," or "Your theory makes no sense." Things like this make people defensive, and that can spark a fight. And if someone does it to you, don't stoop to their level and be rude back. If they are being really nasty to you, just ignore them completely (including anything they may have to say on the topic). Individuals like that want you to get angry so they can have all the more reason to fire insults at you, and nothing really gets done. People who resort to mud slinging also generally don't have much to say on the actual topic at hand, anyway, which is why they attack individuals instead of ideas.

3. If you're like me and get sick and tired of the same three topics (T. rex, raptors, and how inaccurate JP3 was) try and change the subject to something you'd rather talk about by posting a message about it (like in tip #1.) Generally, though, the unfortunate fact is that for a lot of people raptors, T.rex and JP3 ARE dinosaurs for them, and they have no interest in discussing anything else. You can probably find someone else who is equally tired of the same old topics, and you might be able to get a separate discussion going. And as long as the rex/raptor/JP people are respectful of your discussion, just let them have their fun.

That's all I have for right now, if anyone wants to add anything feel free to (I'm no expert!) I might do a few more of these (like how to find reliable sources) in the near future.

Breathe Deep, Seek Peace,
Quickstride

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