Can You Keep Finches From What You Learn on the 'Net Alone?

[Myzomela]

Yes that's the point.

You read some things that are just based on folklore that have been passed down from one person to the next, but have never been questioned. And it can be difficult to sort through things when you start from a very low knowledge base.

Therefore you need to speak with people who have had proven long-term success with whatever it is you are interested in, listen to what they say, question what they say to see if it actually makes sense, then apply it as much as possible to your situation.
You may need to tweak things as you go. If it isn't working then you need to question what you are doing and how well you are applying those factors to your birdkeeping.

Aviary design and build, feeding regime, species mix and choice, nesting sites and materials, your daily & long term husbandry regime and your observation skills all need to be reassessed.

Some people just don't do well with certain species!

But with good information, helpful advice from this forum and plenty of enthusiasm you will be off to a great start. Just don't be scared to ask questions.

[SamDavis]

Forums ( not all ) where members are comfortable enough to question each others theories are invaluable when it comes to unbiased information .

I think this is perhaps the most valuable aspect of this forum - the ability to share and question others methods and theories (politely). I find this easier to do in a somewhat anonymous forum compared to face-to-face where there are personal social interactions which affect the communication. In addition, many (or probably everyone) has there own management, feeding, etc. preferences and people have success with a wide range of strategies (suprisingly in some cases). There are often no correct strategies, just strategies that work for you.

[arthur]

There are lots of knowledge sources these days, but still only 2 ways of gaining experience 1) first hand 2) from the mistakes of others

You get a longer lasting lesson from the first . . but the second is a lot cheaper

If I were a beginner I would use this forum as a 'sieve' which should enable you to separate the wheat from the chaff

I think it was Deb who said that there is no such thing as a silly question . . but take care as there is such a thing as a silly answer

Just remember this as well:

"Some people have 20 years of experience. . .other people have 1 year of experience 20 times!"

[finchbreeder]

And on here, hopefully, people will tell you not just what they do know. But what they don't. e.g. try such and such. Sorry, hope others can be more help.
LML