Reddit Axolotls and Holtfreter's

[Autistic Catholic]

If you aren't aware, there is a forum called r/axolotls on Reddit and it is engaging on a crackdown on misinformation. Unfortunately, misinformation seems to be "information misliked" and it's crackdown may actually end up harming axolotls. The moderators of that forum are strongly against Holtfreter's solution which @wolfen routinely recommends as a preventative against fungal infections and a solution to stop fungal infections. I don't know why, but r/axolotls has decided to come against me for suggesting Holtfreter's solution as "spreading misinformation". It seems moreso that it will prevent solutions for many sick axolotls on the site that end up with recurrent fungus. Holtfreter's is well-established in university settings and in axolotl husbandry. r/axolotls war against Holtfreter's is an act of misinformation and spreading misinformation.

 

[wolfen]

to be honest it is pointless to try arguing with people that are so determined to be correct that they will swear that black is white.

 

[Autistic Catholic]

This is literally how they replied to me...

https://www.reddit.com/r/axolotls/comments/15xvb7u

No comment on my link from the University of Kentucky either which has been keeping axolotls of all ages in modified Holtfreter's, adults and juveniles at 40%, since the 90s.

They banned me for spreading misinformation. So I cannot even counter with legitimate university links. Instead, people are now being fed misinformation that only larvae are kept in Holtfreter's or that all university labs somehow only use distilled water...

 

[frogenjoyer]

Disappointing but unsurprising. Except in some niches where it can sometimes be helpful, Reddit is just a toxic ecosystem of misinformation designed to make pompous, self-righteous people with room-temperature IQs feel like they're smart and informed. I hate to use the phrase "echo chamber", but each subreddit's mutually agreed-upon revisionism on nearly every subject is more than enough to write off the website. I hope more people will start taking anything on Reddit with a grain of salt (2g/L). Many animals will suffer because of their hubris, and there's not much worse than that.

 

[wolfen]

after your posting this I decided to have a look at the subforum, after a while I decided I would respond to some of the postings, although the people receiving help were quite receptive I can honestly say that some are very brave as they are having to run the gauntlet of people baying for blood or just there to poke fun and bully, this has been anything from demanding that people surrender their pets to making jokes about how good they are at photography, what is more confusing is the upvote system where they are being encouraged.
I have also found that they will remove any information under the guise of misinformation ever if copied straight from a vet book.

 

[wolfen]

as an update I now have a permanent ban for "posting misinformation", which in a way is frustrating as there were a lot of people genuinely needing help for their axolotls but are instead thrown to the wolves.
there is one good thing they are doing though which is to encourage people to house axolotls in 30 gallon minimum which I suppose is something at least.