True Lovers of Orchids vs "Crazy Orchid Maniacs"

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Originally Posted by Ray

Aw... You should've seen me in my pumpkin-colored, corduroy, bell-bottoms!

I still have a giant black velvet bow tie. The slinky polyester long-sleeve shirts with photos on them all disintegrated.

[My Green Pets]

I started this thread because I read someone's description of a recently-created orchid forum as being 'relatively asshole-free', and that got me thinking on whether or not I had been an asshole at any point to anyone, and I'm sure that I am not without blame.

After reading through the various points of view in this thread, I feel like the experienced grower, the TJ's newbie, and everyone in between has something to learn here.

I think that the newbies should follow the same social graces that govern any situation where one is entering a new group of people. Temper their enthusiasm with respect for those who have been around awhile. Being the new kid is never easy, but it's even harder when you burst onto the scene with tons of attitude and a know-it-all mentality. That's going to irk a few people.

I guess the counter to that would be that the established growers be more welcoming to the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed orchid newbies, and to be tolerant of their sometimes misplaced enthusiasm.

[Yazz]

Amen...

[turock]

We've all been newbies and immature at one point. It takes patient people to help us grow and advance. It also takes mistakes and some hard knocks!

I love variety, silliness, exuberance, and color in any personality, but extremely narcissistic and insecure people can be difficult to deal with. In my experience, though, these people's idiosyncrasies don't necessarily reflect onto their fellow hobbyists, especially when that hobby has a long, respected history.

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Ummm... cough... If you don't like being around a lot of ummmmm.... DIFFERENT sorts of people.... maybe this is the wrong kind of plant for you.....

[AnonYMouse]

Yes, there are assholes here but you are gonna have to do better to stand out as an asshole.

It would be nice to like everyone but that isn't going to happen. Ignore posts that annoy and move on. Help when you want. My observation is that drama queens and attention whores really can't sustain their energy and fade away. The old adage about being steady holds true. Once the authentic eager noob settles into the orchid routine, there will be more thoughtful posts and less knee jerk reaction posts.

Courtesy and good manners can't be expected from a diverse online community. Too anonymous, you can't call their parents.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

You probably were not the only one. I cringe just a little when I look at pictures of myself from the seventies.

Yeah... Dec 1974 - and my hair wasn't quite at its longest.

[Optimist]

Astrid is always on the ball, alway funny!!! I grew up with a father who saved any kind of plant he found. He never bought any of them. He was so good with plants! My house is overflowing with greenery. I love the look. If I could live in a sun room I would!

The "I hate phals" think I have that too! I hate them so much that somehow I got 15 new ones last year. And if someone is going to charge me 16 dollars for shipping, you bet I have to buy 100 dollars worth of orchids. Oh, and the bark everywhere is not as bad as those little round hydro balls. The cat plays with them. I step on them in the middle of the night. I swear I clean up, but there is always a hidden hydroball waiting to get me in the heel.