Once Upon A Time

[Tindomul]

Originally Posted by Marty

Grab a cup of hot coco and sit by the fire, I'll tell you a story.

... Once upon a time I inherited a bunch of orchids from my brother... being clueless about them I decided to join a forum, which shall remain nameless. Right away I was ridiculed for my lack of knowledge and quickly got pissed off by the attitude of the few bullies in the know how. I'm not the push over type so the situation quickly escalated and an argument erupted and flame war started. I was then told to get lost and if I don't like their forum to start my own and run it the way I want it... I remember I was mad as hell because not only did I not get any orchid info but I also left the forum insulted. ...I created a forum where I wanted everyone to feel welcomed no matter what the knowledge and skill level or country of origin, etc. Few times we had people that tried to make OB what other forums were, but we put an end to any belittling of members. The trend quickly caught on and our awesome moderators liked the openness of orchid board and the friendly atmosphere... Here we are now, OB seems to be the busiest orchid forum on the web now and the place where I was ridiculed has been left in the dust. It hasn't always been easy though, one time I had the idea of cooperating with other forums and creating a sort of global community with forums talking with each others. My intentions were taken the wrong way and I was accused of basically trying to channel traffic to orchid board, which was idiotic. Since then I decided that it's best if we run our dog and pony show on our own terms without cooperation from other boards.

In a nut shell that's about it... OB was really created because I got ticked off, so the moral of the story is, be nice to people or they will make their own forum, which will later kick your ass!

Good story. I don't remember when I became mod, but I remember it had something to do with me being here all the time
Now, I remember the whole forums not liking our offers of alliance. Oh well. But we do have one forum we remain on friendly terms with. Big Leaf Orchids Forum run by Peter Lin.

[kiki-do]

You know, Marty told his story about how OB came to be. Inquiring minds (that would be me) want to know who jumped in next like Tin mentioned. Sue briefly mentioned a few were onboard before she became involved. Anyone want to share their thoughts and first experiences? Also, how long has this site been around?
I know I lurked around for the longest time, afraid of not being able to figure out the "ins & outs" of posting and finding needed information. What made me really want to jump in and participate was that you all had the special ability to combine a friendly "down-to-earth" quality with professionalism and that is a winning combo in my book.
I know there are other orchid forums on the internet, but for me, this was the friendliest and most inviting. I don't even bother going elsewhere.
I am also awe-struck by the many participants from other countries. Here I am....sitting at my computer... in my little booknook reading room...and learning about my favorite hobby of orchid growing.... getting feedback from the nicest people from all over the world. It just doesn't get any better than that!
I'm making my hot cocoa just in case more stories unfold.

[Dorothy]

Well, Kiki, not unlike yourself, I began lurking the OB April of 2007, yep, just last year and I couldn't help but to join very quickly. I, too, found my welcome warm and inviting. I had the honor of being asked this year to become a moderator and with a lot of consideration about the position, agreed and haven't looked back
I am very glad to be a part of such a wonderful community of people with the dedication and passion they have for orchids.
Everyone here is so generous in sharing their experience, advice, photos and their love of Orchidaceae.
I thank you all for making OB what it is today -
The Best Orchid Forum on the Net!

[Marty]

If you want to see who joined when, you can look at the member list sorted by join date: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...joindate&pp=30

Tindo is an old timer here , he joined 5 days after the forum was opened

[Tindomul]

OMG! Im an old timer!!!
Yes, those were the Dark Days of Orchid Board. I posted a question and didnt get an answer till a week or two later. Mine was the only question on the forum during that time as well hehe. But I liked the idea of the place and Marty worked hard and had lots of bright ideas on how to increase membership. So here we are. We were lucky enough to get some good p people joining like Cheryl who was the brainchild of chat night subjects that probably attracted lots of new members and consolidated relationships among the existing members. Other members came along that really up the quality of the forum. Ray, Littlefrog, Oscarman, Sue, Jane, Gin, etc..........................

[kiki-do]

Tin, looks like you're an oldy but goody. I love hearing these stories.

[Bird Song Farm]

Tin, I know your friendly welcome to me was the reason I came back. This was the first *forum* and before that *BB* that I actually felt welcome.
AL