the orchid board is dead

[rbarata]

I don't use facebook and don't plan to use it soon, nor even just for orchids. I like to preserve my privacy so why give away all my life by my own decision?

There are several orchid forums in my country that moved to facebook. I didn't follow this migration. So, if that is the future, I'll be an anonymous orchid grower that no one know.

I have seen a lot of newcomers to OB lately. Many of them just want a quick response about an orchid that was agift and is dying. After that, we don't ear them anymore. I think we should do our best to keep them interested in orchid growing by making any explanation a simple one, just the basics, otherwise they'll get scared and run away (and probably kill the orchid).

The main OB issue is the lack of maintenance that results in the problems mentioned and, at this moment, what saves this forum from being dead, is the constant flux of messages. When I want to participate in a forum, first thing I do is check the qty of replies to the posts. That is a good indicator of the "forum dynamics".
If that nº is low, I don't even bother to subscribe.

OB doesn't lack in dynamics, only maintenance. All these ups and downs are just part of the daily life of a board.
Some people go (and announce it to everyone), some other go without saying good bye, new people come, others come again.

Well, this is a great forum with great people and a poor maintenance.

[Dollythehun]

Originally Posted by flexdc

I whole heartedly agree with you. How many times have I heard "I water it once a week and it never flowers for me"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay, I am slightly insulted by that remark. I enjoy learning from you all but, there are times when I need a simple(ish) answer and you get so detailed with PPM, Lumens and Kelvins that I glaze over. I then PM one of you to explain it to me. I am not stupid nor lazy. I might be able to overwhelm you in my field of expertise but, that is not what the OB is about.

I come here because it is a peaceful diversion from my life. I learn a lot and enjoy getting glimpses of your personalities. Please don't paint all novices with the same brush...and when do you cease to be a novice anyway, there is always more to learn.

As to the function of the OB: I considered becoming a FS but, where does the money go? I understand storage is cheap, is speed expensive? Along with orchid facts, the slowness teaches me patience...

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Okay, I am slightly insulted by that remark. I enjoy learning from you all but, there are times when I need a simple(ish) answer and you get so detailed with PPM, Lumens and Kelvins that I glaze over. I then PM one of you to explain it to me. I am not stupid nor lazy. I might be able to overwhelm you in my field of expertise but, that is not what the OB is about.

I come here because it is a peaceful diversion from my life. I learn a lot and enjoy getting glimpses of your personalities. Please don't paint all novices with the same brush...and when do you cease to be a novice anyway, there is always more to learn.

As to the function of the OB: I considered becoming a FS but, where does the money go? I understand storage is cheap, is speed expensive? Along with orchid facts, the slowness teaches me patience...

I've made the same argument in other threads - that oftentimes the level of responses given are way too high for the knowledge/experience of the asker. Sadly, when one makes comments about this one is then shot down by other posters who feel it is unimportant if their answer works for the asker, and only important that they appear knowledgeable and intelligent (and I think that this is often subconscious). Often, though, such answers simply make the responder appear officious. And I agree wholeheartedly that such responses are as likely to drive a newbie away as they are to encourage them. If my doctor launches into an explanation about the Krebs Cycle and molecular energy when I ask him about my diet I'm going to tune him out.

Sometimes, seeking a one-sentence answer is simply going to be what people are doing. Does this mean that we should disrespect the asker? No, such a sentence should be written to the asker's level if it's going to be of use, and otherwise the answer is utterly worthless. A newbie is easily inundated by too much information, or by information for which he needs a translator, and in most cases there is a much simpler, easy to understand answer that can be given. Does a student who just bought their first orchid really need to hear of PPM when that same person's orchid will survive just fine if they just dilute to 1/4 label strength and be done with it? I doubt the newbie is raising the plant for contest. And sometimes, a person just needs to be told, "Your orchid is going to die. Sorry."

And regarding being an FS, I am one and have written to administration to voice my concerns. If I receive no response, I will cease being a Supporter though not a Board user.

[rbarata]

And I agree wholeheartedly that such responses are as likely to drive a newbie away as they are to encourage them.

Right!

[AnonYMouse]

Since we've veered off topic...

To be honest, I often sigh and don't post.

I try to respond according to what is presented. It isn't all about the level of orchid experience but communication (punctuation and paragraphs, spelling sometimes count), age, language and personality; some people are touchy, some people are "I me mine", and some people are just jerks. Some people just want a simple answer to complex problems (teasing info out of a n00b becomes tedious fast).

Sometimes I see a post and won't read it (solid large block of text) and sigh.

I mostly stay away from the advanced and scientific sections because some of it isn't either (tetchy people's posts), some of it is over my head, most of it doesn't concern how I grow things. There are some interesting readings, tho.

And I wait for the page load and go do something else and come back to a timeout error and sigh.

Back to OP's topic.

I think they felt dissed.

[Dollythehun]

I'm not sure we are totally off topic, if the topic is why is the OB dying off (if, in fact, it is).

I try to punctuate correctly and use paragraphs. But, honestly, I sighed in relief when I finished my MA. I do get what you are saying...and I read on because I have learned that eventually (most) things get clarified.

---------- Post added at 07:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:09 PM ----------

And, I try hard not to be touchy.

[jkofferdahl]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Since we've veered off topic...

To be honest, I often sigh and don't post.

I try to respond according to what is presented. It isn't all about the level of orchid experience but communication (punctuation and paragraphs, spelling sometimes count), age, language and personality; some people are touchy, some people are "I me mine", and some people are just jerks. Some people just want a simple answer to complex problems (teasing info out of a n00b becomes tedious fast).

Sometimes I see a post and won't read it (solid large block of text) and sigh.

I mostly stay away from the advanced and scientific sections because some of it isn't either (tetchy people's posts), some of it is over my head, most of it doesn't concern how I grow things. There are some interesting readings, tho.

And I wait for the page load and go do something else and come back to a timeout error and sigh.

Back to OP's topic.

I think they felt dissed.

I love so much of this post! In fact, I wish I'd written it.

While my writing on these posts may not be overly literate I at least try to post so that my words make sense gramatically, and so that the intent of my posts are clear. Ppl who post in runon sentences w/no punctuation n text-message spllng and stringing tgthr unrelated phrases bcse its easier to be inane illegible incomprehensible that to rmembr those stupid rules some mean tchr drilled into ur head in skool... you get my point. If a poster wants a response, said poster owes it to those reading the post to write, if not grammatically and punctuationally correct, in at least readable sentences. With two degrees in English I suppose I am predisposed to such thoughts, but I think that the ability to simply communicate in writing is becoming a lost art. Without it, it can be very difficult to express a thought, and equally difficult for a reader to understand the thought. I therefore also skip posts and posters where the communicative ability is sorely lacking. They hurt my brain to read, and at my age I need to maintain my brain's health as best I can; I've used up a lot of brain cells at this point. If others wish to look at this as a form of intellectual snobbery, well, fine.

There is a post elsewhere on the OB about building a greenhouse. (And I am using this as an example but not as a snipe at the OP there.) The OP most likely knows nothing about greenhouses, and very little about the wide range of needs among orchid genera. As you say, drawing enough from him to even consider the possibility of addressing his wants was extremely difficult. In my work as a reference librarian I encounter questions like this frequently, especially from students, and have learned how to ask questions and draw out the person's real needs, but most often what I discover is the the asker really has only a vague idea of what they are asking for to begin with. In an online forum it's exceedingly difficult to do an "interview" with a poster to really understand what they need.

However, even in the most difficult and vague of questions or obvious newbie nature of the poster, I think it's important to try to address the OP's needs (given a modicum of ability to communicate on their part). I would rather recognize a person's possible lack of information and experience and therefore both try to help and encourage them than to short them and thus possibly turn them away from our delightful hobby. So yeah, I think that it's possible that there have been some newbies who have felt dissed.

[AnonYMouse]

The OP isn't a newb hence the thread.

[jkofferdahl]

Oh, no, the OP in this thread isn't. In fact, the OP is a poster here for whom I have respect. Otherwise I'm not sure I'd have put so much energy into my replies.

[ula]

Hello, I'm one of those people who phased out of OB solely to how slow it's working now. Otherwise I think that this forum is still a great place- noticed the waning participation in the last two years.
The photography is often amazing, a true mine of orchid knowledge not to be found anywhere else on the Web, great ideas...
Is all the info presented accurate? Of course not, but it's like that everywhere (even peer revied science papers sometimes carry research errors), nobody is forcing anybody to do anything, we always pick and choose.
The English language woes are naturally present; we come from all over the world, speak different mother tongues, use different expressions, sometimes type too quickly .
Overall OB is still a great place to be for me, just please make it faster 😰.