Venting...

[fuzz-juzz]

I feel we should have a section for venting. roblem:
I came across this soaping community a while ago, it's in my native language so I try to educate newbies to the best of my abilities, but I'm constantly getting shot down by oldies in the community who think they know the best.
New low was giving advice to newbies how it's OK to sell CP after 7 day cure or as soon as it stops zapping (?!).
I'm really done with so much stupid... gahhh
This makes me love SMF even more. :angel:

 

[KristaY]

It's so funny you mentioned this, fuzz-juzz. I was thinking the same earlier today. I was browsing some You Tube soap videos for inspiration and saw so many things that are down right dangerous. No gloves, no goggles, lots of clutter around the work area that could lead to disaster, kids and pets yelling and running around while soap is being made, etc. There was one that not only wasn't wearing gloves, she wasn't wearing SHOES! We all know better than to practice these unsafe measures but I always worry about new soapers that don't know better. They may see these videos and think lye is no big deal so don't need to worry about safety. Heaven forbid they have their first big lye volcano or batter spill with no shoes or eye protection. Eek....

 

[seven]

Lol, you're not alone. Handmade soaps are kinda slowly booming over here, but sadly not everyone is willing to take time to read, research, and practice.

Imagine my horror to find a relatively new soaper selling natural sunscreen in the form of balm. Or another selling lotion w/o preservative.

The word natural and organic (over here), unfortunately, not being understood very well by some. Some thinks that EVERYTHING can be made au naturel. I feel like banging my head to the wall.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

It's unbelievable isn't it grrr.
What's even worse is that in the end I got judged and told off for actually having correct info.
I've given up for now, not worth wasting my energy and time.
There's nothing like SMF though, so much support and shared knowledge is a rare find these days on the www.:thumbup:

 

[LBussy]

Sometimes I need to remind myself of an Internet-apropos analogy:

"Arguing with someone on the Internet is like wrestling in the mud with a pig. You never quite win and sooner or later you realize the pig likes it."

 

[shunt2011]

I totally get it as well. I belong to several facebook groups and see the same kind of things. I just bite my tongue sometimes.

 

[Susie]

I leave those groups as soon as I see that info not get corrected promptly. It saves me so much frustration and aggravation!

 

[fuzz-juzz]

Sometimes I need to remind myself of an Internet-apropos analogy:

"Arguing with someone on the Internet is like wrestling in the mud with a pig. You never quite win and sooner or later you realize the pig likes it."

Love it haha!

 

[LBussy]

I totally get it as well. I belong to several facebook groups and see the same kind of things. I just bite my tongue sometimes.

I quit Facebook several years ago, after finally getting fed up with vague self-serving, narcissistic "pray for me" posts. I have a presence there, and people can contact me if they wish (who knows who will really need to find me?) but I don't allow posts, or tagging, or any of that. I treat my Internet persona as carefully as I approach a job interview because it is.

Now, the only time I even touch Facebook is to look at a picture of my new Grandson (now you have to put up with a gratuitous Grandson pic

Anyway ... I realize Facebook is a valuable marketing tool for people in commerce, I get it. Otherwise I always suggest people do as my Dad said and "never miss a good chance to shut the hell up." When we actually had to call people to talk to them, we called the phenomenon "phone balls," where a person would talk real big on the phone and not to your face. Now it's even worse because you can say things to someone you have less of a chance meeting face to face than you have a chance to win the lottery. How a person handles that speaks to their character.

I'm not going to say I have never stooped to the lows other people have presented me. I'm only human, but I try now to surround myself with good people who will not feed that sadistic beast hiding in all of us. There is no advice, no instructions, no help, for which it is worth sacrificing your character.

So my advice (and I know the OP did not ask for it, this was a vent) is to just surround yourself with good people. If you don't know a word in English, post it in German and we value you enough here to figure it out. I wish I could return the favor and write in German. I can only speak it as a result of being stationed there, and because of the context in which I learned I'm most comfortable speaking German when ordering drinks or coming on to a lady.

 

[Cactuslily]

I subscribe to the adage,"I'd rather be thought a fool, than to open my mouth and prove it"
I've been shocked by the level of Internet nastiness. People hiding behind a computer and pseudo name can be appalling. Stupidity can be fixed, ignorance however, cannot.
Thank goodness for the SMF community!

 

[KristaY]

My hubby's favorite saying is "arguing with a fool only proves there's two". He thinks of it every time he starts to disagree with a foolish or stupid person so hangs up the phone, walks away or closes out Facebook. There's no point in trying to give good advice or instruction to someone that won't take it.

 

[dixiedragon]

Confession time - I sometimes make soap with no gloves and no shoes. But I would never make a video of me doing that!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Confession time - I sometimes make soap with no gloves and no shoes. But I would never make a video of me doing that!

None of my soaps have gloves nor shoes....................

 

[soapmage]

I actually left Facebook because of those groups and for other personal reasons for my personal AND biz page page (post reach being sucky due to their algorithms, yada yada)! There was SO much negativity, narcissism, the "I'm so much better than you because I've been doing it the longest", etc... not to mention the racial slurs, name calling, general cattiness. I had enough and it was actually affecting my clinical depression and anxiety. After I removed myself, I actually started feeling better. Granted, I miss some of the people I met there, but I left plenty of contact info so they could find me elsewhere... (has anyone contacted me? Nope).

Also, on the YT soaping vids... all I can say is YIKES on several I've seen. I'm just now starting to make vids myself and am so self conscience about what people will see. I always wear my PPE, my child is never allowed in my soaping room when I'm working unless I'm doing MP or BB's. I only have the one table, so yes, my space can be a bit cluttered, but I keep it as safe as possible and keep everything I need within reach. I know that on my videos, you can see the limited space, but I do what I can with the room I have. But some of the ones I've seen are from very well known soapers who have tons of fans and I cringe whenever I hear the very small children right in the room where soap is being made and lye is being handled! Or my favorite, screaming at the children full blast and not taking the time to edit that crap out or at least muting the volume during that section!!! GAH! Edit that crap before uploading, geez...

 

[Stacyspy]

I'm guilty of not wearing shoes. I know I should. But I certainly wouldn't make a video of it either. When I started making soap again, I wanted to brush up since it had been several years of not soaping. I saw so many "tutorials" that used unsafe practices, vague references, faulty recipes and just outright lies, I decided I would've been better off not seeing them. It concerns me terribly that the uninitiated soaper sees these, and runs the risk of serious injury by following incorrect practices.

 

[LBussy]

Confession time - I sometimes make soap with no gloves and no shoes. But I would never make a video of me doing that!

You pointing at someone?! It was for the sake of the viewers!

 

[not_ally]

It *is* crazy how some of the videos clearly have kids running around nearby. I am dexterity challenged - never been diagnosed w/anything but have always had a lot of spills, accidents, etc. Today, the end of my nose is burnt because I managed to stick it in lye batter when sniffing it, my face has little lye speck burns from splashing myself with lye batter while SB'ing, and I have a nasty 3 week old still-healing cut on my right index finger (do you guys know how much that one gets used, you realize it when it is out of commission) from leaving the SB on by mistake when cleaning. I just ordered a face shield and cuffed lab coat from Amazon

Anyway, soaping safety and caution - especially with kids and pets around - is really important, videos that disregard them are actively dangerous.

 

[TeresaT]

I'm guilty of not wearing shoes. And I slightly burned my foot. Even AFTER I neutralized the dribbled lye water with vinegar and mopped it up with copious amounts of water and paper towels. I must have stepped in a spot that I hadn't neutralized. I'm just glad it was the bottom of my foot and not one of the dogs. After that slight mishap, I decided shoes are cool soaping gear after all. I highly recommend them. "Once burned, twice shy," ain't no joke.

 

[LBussy]

I am dexterity challenged.

True story: I saw my wife trip on a stripe in the parking lot.

 

[TeresaT]

Oh gosh, Not Ally, that is awful! (Have you ever had your depth perception tested by an eye specialist? Might be a good idea. And your inner ear for balance issues by an ENT? Problems with either depth perception or inner ear issues can cause all kinds of weird "klutzy" stuff.)

Anyway, which lab coat & face shield did you end up ordering? I'm still searching. I hate my goggles, they are constantly fogging up. Which forces me to take them off. Where's the safety in that, I ask (smh&rme)?