Unfortunately, It Needs to Be Said

I'm getting quite sick of this and I'm annoyed that I have to actually make a whole journal about this. Recently, I've been having anti-captivity people bugging me, especially about cetaceans in captivity. Look, guys, before you comment, please note:

1) First and foremost, I post my photographs here to receive critique on them to help me to become a better photographer. Please treat my images as pieces of artwork, not an opportunity to comment on enclosure size, body condition, facial expression, mental/emotional state, recent events in zoo history, your feelings about that particular facility, your feelings about another facility, your feelings about (species) in captivity, vegetarianism, your pets, animal training, animal psychology, why the two or more animals in the picture obviously hate each other/never wanted to be together in the first place, or the thoughts running through the animals' mind at the time of the photograph as determined by you. You MAY comment on lighting, composition, color balance, focus, depth of field, border color, my choice of black and white vs. color, hue of the image, grainyness, reflections, or other technicalities concerning the image as, once again, an artpiece.

2) If you find that bugging me about a journal entry, say a trip report for example (Ah, yes! The perfect opportunity to discuss all that is negative about (insert facility name here). It isn't a photo, so it's a free-for-all!) may be a better idea, think again. Don't bug me on my trip reports! These are for my lovely and loyal watchers who care about how things are going at that certain facility, my views about the care of the animals, or simply how their favorite animal is doing if they've been there before, too. Journals are for watchers, not for you!!

3) You know where to go next, don't you? My homepage! Haha! Nope, try again. This is not the place to blab on and on about any topic.

4) If you are unable to muster up enough self-control to not hit "submit" after writing a lengthy essay about why zoos/aquaria are cruel, inhumane, evil, etc. I unfortunately will have to hide your comment upon finding it. Now, no one else will see it! *sigh* All of your hard work for nothing! Too bad you didn't put that effort into something constructive!

5) So, what then, can you do to let me know about how much you hate zoos and aquaria? You can't flame my photos, bug me in my journal, or clog up my homepage, so what is left? Nothing? I refuse to hear your views and I am a close-minded zoo-goer who enjoys wearing blinders. Right? Wrong! While you are not going to change my mind, feel free to note me. I will discuss captivity with you if we must, but I don't like to argue, so there are some rules:

      *Be civil. Like I said, I hate to argue, but we can discuss.
      *Use proper spelling and grammar. I am not going to waste my time on someone who                                         writes like they are 10 years old.
      *That being said, don't use chatspeak. This is not MySpace or FaceBook.
      *We are not going to agree, so I don't want to go on forever and ever. If you continue to bug me for an unreasonable amount of time, I'm going to stop responding.
      *Don't launch a personal attack. We won't talk at all. I'm fine with an intelligible debate, but not a fight or a flame frenzy.


6) If you want to bug me and there are images of zoo/aquarium animals in your gallery, rethink it. There's no justification for a double standard.

7) Do not go after any of my watchers or people who leave comments. Plain and simple.

8) Chasing online journals, looking for images of animals in zoos and aquariums, and then attempting to initiate flame wars isn't helping any animals. You're only aggravating people who visit zoos and aquariums and are not going to be swayed by the likes of you. People make the difference, not a username without a face, which is what you become once you step into the online world. Sorry, that's just the way it is. If you would like to be an activist, then get active, and get off the computer.

9) If you are unable to stop bugging me, I will report you for harassment.

10) This is a huge website. There are a ton of users, and a ton of groups. If you really want to discuss your views with somebody, why not seek out someone who agrees with you? I'm sure there are plenty of people on dA who hate zoos/aquariums, too!



I really hope most of you take #10 to heart. I love visiting zoos, so I found a community of people who does, too. I enjoy talking to them and hearing about their experiences. You could derive the same pleasure from finding someone with the same interests as you!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Movies: (since dA doesn't support video upload) (Watch them!!)

-"For Dreamers"

-"Earth Day '09"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Awesome Photographers:


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Awesome Artists:



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Groups:



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Listen to What They Say Buttons:


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~