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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

I thought the Irish had a sense of humour????

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21 Aug 2012 13:43 #1 by ipcompto (Ian Compton)
Wow i thought the Irish were meant to have a sense of humour????I got a call to day this guy asked me what i had in fish tanks......................i replied fish..............he got angry and called me a smartarse and then hung up............what was the correct answer?He asctually said to me what do u have in fish tanks....

for future reference do not ring Aquatic Village unless you have a sense of humour because if i answer the phone this is the way it is going to be......if u dont like it there are dozens of better shops out there i am sure!
:)

Have a nice day!

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21 Aug 2012 14:23 #2 by christyg (Chris Geraghty)
Maybe you should have started with WATER :crazy: :crazy:

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21 Aug 2012 15:08 - 21 Aug 2012 15:10 #3 by JohnH (John)
Don't know what happened there - it has posted twice! Or is it your 'influence' getting into the Forum workings Ian???


I have always found the Irish - unlike many of the English - to have a brilliant sense of humour.

It couldn't be that just perhaps your's is just a little too - shall we say - 'unorthodox' for the normal run-of-the-mill telephone correspondent?
Having said that I have always found you to be funny, witty even, but perhaps that's because my 'SOH' is a bit twisted as well.

Remind me to not phone AV!

John :evil:

Location:
N. Tipp

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.


ITFS member.



It's a long way to Tipperary.
Last edit: 21 Aug 2012 15:10 by JohnH (John).

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21 Aug 2012 15:16 #4 by davey_c (dave clarke)
are ye sure the caller was irish?.. not all share our humour!
what do ye mean "better shops".... surely there couldn't be :lol:

Below tank is for sale

my plywood tank build.

www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768

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21 Aug 2012 15:45 #5 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic I thought the Irish had a sense of humour????
Humour? Absolutely, you won't find better and the Polish community are catching up very quickly.....

Facetiousness on the other Hand may not be as readily accepted, I would be pissed off too if I'd gone to the bother to get your contact details to have some Buffoon answer as you did and I'd imagine any other professional Retailer to maintain a modicum of class in it's activities, the unfortunate thing is, not everyone Knows Aquatic Village or the mentality or quirkiness of it's owner so maybe you just need to accept that good Telephone ettiquette can lead to a better response from the Caller.

Kev.

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21 Aug 2012 16:45 #6 by maggy88 (Wayne Mc Glynn)
ah ian now that wasn't nice :evil: ha some people just don't get sarcasm or have a sense of humour. it's his loss for hangin up, i always enjoy my trips to av, always seem to leave in a good humour!!!

wayne

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21 Aug 2012 16:57 #7 by BlueRam (Sean Crowe)
Haha Ian you know your self that people that know you knows that sarcasm or have a sense of humour is what they need around you

Sound like this fella was a new customer as you didnt know what you where like

ina way it is funny but in another way getting as many customers in the better even if they dont have a sense of humour

Think ill give AV a ring when im feeling down :laugh: :laugh:

Sean

Sean Crowe

ITFS Member

Location: Navan

Always Remember Surviving Is Not Thriving

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21 Aug 2012 21:37 #8 by christyg (Chris Geraghty)


Sound like this fella was a new customer as you didnt know what you where like


Sean


A new customer that's not coming back, good job there's no recession :lol: :lol:

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21 Aug 2012 22:06 #9 by igmillichip (ian millichip)
I have no sense of humour at all.

But I can't wait to phone AV with a few stupid questions. :evil:

Irish Tropical Fish Society (ITFS) Member.

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21 Aug 2012 22:27 #10 by Acara (Dave Walters)
I was only in the country a few weeks,and one day was standing at the front door of of a large department store on Grafton Street(doing security) when this clown comes up to me and grunts "where's your shoes?" I replied "on my feet" with a big smile. The plonker went and got the store manager and moaned and bitched about me.

Try and have a laugh with someone and they carry on like that.

always on the lookout for interesting corys.pm me if you know off any!

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21 Aug 2012 23:39 #11 by murph (Tony Murphy)
I'm still waiting for the 6' fish to arrive. Barby season is nearly over (not that it really started this year)

Ginger and lime or chimurra?

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22 Aug 2012 08:43 #12 by ipcompto (Ian Compton)
Ha ha thats a good one..........if someone said that to me i would be in stitches...thats what u call a great comeback.....i love my job i work 24/7 at it i look after my customers as best i can we still have a huge loyal following....i am not going to change my behaviour to suit anyone fullstop....if the pope walks through my door ill ask him why he is wearing a dress....the queen ill sat how do you doody my lady and give her a big hug lifes to short....i do things my way and sometimes there are casualties so be it....if the whole world decides that im a tosser let them u know what....ill be happy enough playing with my fish collection and having a laugh with all the people that dig what i do...im a fish fanatic my dad could not control me i used to keep fish in a biscuit tin beneath my bed for years he never knew....we fell out for ten years when i turned his garden in to a pond...the gardai used to have to come get me when i used to dissappear for days on end fishing with only a tin of beans and no tin opener for compaionship....in fact my dad was the most sarcastic man on the planet.......Eureaka......blame my dad....this is all his fault ......no thats not fair he used to stand up for me when i was caught poaching and he was a legend actually.....and in a few weeks he would have been proud of me when my 14 6 inch arapiama arrive from Peru...saved from the cooking pots of the locals to be brought into Ireland for the first time direct from South america....he would be proud of my plans to build a monster tank to hold some of the monsters we have helped to create....he would be proud to know that his son runs the only fish shop the promises to take back and rehouse any animal or fish that we sell....no one else does this....so beat that for a policy u begrudgers out there that should silence the armchair fish keeper wana be warrior....mmmmm anyway i thought that crack about the shoes was brillant and i for one would not chastise someone for saying that Alan Quinn told me yesterday that a few heads came in to Pet Plus in tallaght and one of them asked him in a stupid knacker accent are any of those mice pregnant...Quinner turned to him and replied no none of them are pregnant mice.....cause they are hamsters.....i thought that was funny......:)

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22 Aug 2012 11:17 #13 by davey_c (dave clarke)
got a couple of laughs already so cheers lads but in fairness did the person on the phone expect ian to name every fish in his tanks?... next people will be ringing asking what are the fish on his next shippment(don't get idea's now lads :lol: ) they should have been abit more specific otherwise there are lots of shops that would literaly lick your arse to sell maybe 2 fish or group of 6.... :crazy:

Below tank is for sale

my plywood tank build.

www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/forum...k-build-diary#137768

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22 Aug 2012 15:01 - 22 Aug 2012 15:02 #14 by stretnik (stretnik)
Replied by stretnik (stretnik) on topic I thought the Irish had a sense of humour????
The problem here is that everyone here thinks that everyone contacting a supplier is as knowledgeable as them, why assume this? The Guy/Girl might not have known the difference between an Aquarium or a Vivarium, would it have been so difficult to put aside ego and just be polite? While it is funny and reminds me of Halloween pranks like ringing the Zoo asking for Mr Lion etc, you may think it' s only one Customer you loose but bad service and smart ass Telephone manners does more to ruin a Company's success and may prove online shopping to be the way to go.

I wonder how many other Sponsors would react the same way, If a seasoned Aquarist asked that question I would say he was fair game and should be named on this site in big bold Red Letters but as the potential Customer may have been a newbie, would it not have been better to go along with him and explain? If we got a question on the Forum from a newbie asking what Fish do and someone replied Swim or something, the person answering would be torn apart.

Kev.
Last edit: 22 Aug 2012 15:02 by stretnik (stretnik).

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22 Aug 2012 19:34 #15 by wylam (Stuart Sexton)

Ha ha thats a good one..........if someone said that to me i would be in stitches...thats what u call a great comeback.....i love my job i work 24/7 at it i look after my customers as best i can we still have a huge loyal following....i am not going to change my behaviour to suit anyone fullstop....if the pope walks through my door ill ask him why he is wearing a dress....the queen ill sat how do you doody my lady and give her a big hug lifes to short....i do things my way and sometimes there are casualties so be it....if the whole world decides that im a tosser let them u know what....ill be happy enough playing with my fish collection and having a laugh with all the people that dig what i do...im a fish fanatic my dad could not control me i used to keep fish in a biscuit tin beneath my bed for years he never knew....we fell out for ten years when i turned his garden in to a pond...the gardai used to have to come get me when i used to dissappear for days on end fishing with only a tin of beans and no tin opener for compaionship....in fact my dad was the most sarcastic man on the planet.......Eureaka......blame my dad....this is all his fault ......no thats not fair he used to stand up for me when i was caught poaching and he was a legend actually.....and in a few weeks he would have been proud of me when my 14 6 inch arapiama arrive from Peru...saved from the cooking pots of the locals to be brought into Ireland for the first time direct from South america....he would be proud of my plans to build a monster tank to hold some of the monsters we have helped to create....he would be proud to know that his son runs the only fish shop the promises to take back and rehouse any animal or fish that we sell....no one else does this....so beat that for a policy u begrudgers out there that should silence the armchair fish keeper wana be warrior....mmmmm anyway i thought that crack about the shoes was brillant and i for one would not chastise someone for saying that Alan Quinn told me yesterday that a few heads came in to Pet Plus in tallaght and one of them asked him in a stupid knacker accent are any of those mice pregnant...Quinner turned to him and replied no none of them are pregnant mice.....cause they are hamsters.....i thought that was funny......:)


Best rant i've read all year, brilliant :laugh: :laugh:

Stuart.

Multi tasking: Screwing up more than one thing at a time.

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23 Aug 2012 21:28 #16 by fionakoi (Fiona Wynne)
Hi Ian, thought I'd check out your post since you mentioned it earlier on in the shop. It's a pity more people don't have a sense of humour as in the current climate we all need a good laugh. Hopefully this person rings back and gives you a chance, as anyone who has come across you before will know that you have a wicked sense of humour and quick wit.

Ps. I set up the second external on my tank tonight so I'm looking forward to crystal clear water now. Hopefully the UV light will help reduce the algae in the tank.

Fiona

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24 Aug 2012 01:29 - 25 Aug 2012 03:45 #17 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie)
we do Ian we do, i had a guest here at the hotel i work in once ask me if the Gas fire was real or Gas, i think the look on my face answered her more than me saying "well you answered that question yourself" and watching her trying to figure out what i meant... and some people look bemused when you they ask for ice and you tell them " of course just hang on a minute i'll get you fresh ice not that frozen rubbish ", we do have a sense of humour but not all of us have as wicked a one as you, but must say i am enjoying reading this thread
Seamus

Fishkeeping the Only way to get wet and wild

currently 25 tanks, and breeding is the aim of everything i keep
location:Limerick
Last edit: 25 Aug 2012 03:45 by sheag35 (Seamus Gillespie).

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24 Aug 2012 15:54 #18 by paddyc1 (Paddy Corrigan)
Ian,

As you know I am a sales rep for a well known Irish baked bean manufacturer (who shall remain nameless).
When in a supermarket, I often get asked where things are by customers.

A woman asked me one day "Where do you keep your cream crackers love?"
To which I replied "In my press beside the tea bags".

She said "No love, where do you keep them in the shop?"

"Why the Jaysus would I keep my cream crackers in the shop?" said I.

Needless to say she wasn't too impressed, but like you Ian, I have to amuse myself somehow to get through the day !!!

Regards,

Beany & Barny

Tallaght, Dublin 24

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24 Aug 2012 23:19 #19 by christyg (Chris Geraghty)
F#*# em if they cant take a joke :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

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25 Aug 2012 09:57 #20 by Pat (Pat Coogan)
I got as big a sense of humour as the next guy but looking from the callers side I took a day off work recently and armed with a list of fish shops drove around to seven shops in 1 day to see what was out there.
I could have saved myself a trip to one shop in Dunlaoire as he only does Marines and I only keep freshies.

But Ian anyone who knows you would have to expect an answer like that and thats why we keep comming back.

btw the kids loved the iguana out roaming the shop on sunday.

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26 Aug 2012 22:41 #21 by Jim (Jim Lawlor)
Ian,
you also have to allow for the fact that you dont know what's going on in that caller's life or what sh*t he already went through that day.

The comedian Andrew Maxwell gives a brilliant example - he did a gig for the biscuit industry in England and it went really well. He was shooting the breeze with lots of the reps afterwards and someone said if there's ever anything we can do for you - just ask. So he says "well, there's one thing I want to ask - about Wagon Wheels" - and some guy at the next table stand up and screams "They're the same F******g size - you just got bigger!"

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27 Aug 2012 12:17 #22 by ipcompto (Ian Compton)

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