the orchid board is dead
 

yep, the end is here...

once upon a time, there were so many people cruising thru, signing up....because there was real information here. there were photos of EVERYTHING you can imagine, and always someone was handy to help out with a problem.

now, there are hardly any people here, members or not. things don't work well, it takes forever to get a page to load....

if anyone asks for help, real help is discouraged....only the organic non-chem ways are smiled upon....really? when was the last time you ate your orchid? or kept a hive of bees in your grow area? the last time I tried to tell someone with a severe infestation how to get rid of it, my posts were deleted.....

its silly to advise someone to use alcohol and cinnamon for years and then throw away an infected plant because you cant get rid of mealies or scale, and it has spread to your whole collection....toss them out and don't replace them, because its too difficult to grow orchids?

I thought we were trying to actually HELP normal folk to grow and enjoy orchids....who wants to mess with q-tips and alcohol? for hours....for months, years?

when you google a plant, it used to give you oodles of links to orchid board posts....not anymore. very few links are shown. could this be why we have so few visitors and newbies?

nope, the orchid board is dead....I don't think anything will bring it back either. so sad, I really enjoyed it years ago.....

nothing to see here, move on....

I think that a lot of it is due to three things. First, the responsiveness of the board is horrible. The slowness is inexcusable, and should have been fixed months ago. Especially those of us who are Forum Supporters have a complaint - where is our money going? Certainly not to keep the OB working well.

Second, Administration is apparently missing, and that may be a reason for the first issue. Without Administration, Moderators are adrift. But it is the Administrators who SHOULD be here fixing the Board's responsiveness issues. Oh, and perhaps lending a bit of guidance.

Finally, there is a sense among some members that what they say is law. Just because something works for one grower does NOT make it a law, despite their adherence to their ways. There has to be room for discussion. For example, many of us grow quite successfully without RO water, yet to listen to some members doing so should be utterly impossible. I believe that there is a need to set aside ego and listen to other viewpoints.

OB Very Much Alive
 

I am seeing 13 posts on a wide variety of topics this morning alone - ON A WORKDAY. Orchidboard is the most active orchid forum I know of.

Not sure what you are looking for in a forum (dancing bears??). Most forums would envy this kind of activity and participation. Yes, I read opinions I don't agree with - and disagree right back. I have never had my posts deleted that I know of, even when I post in support of using chemical controls of pests, as you mention.

Move on if you like. Or, stand a bit further away from the bus fumes.

I for one don't think the board is not popular, however it is exceedingly slow. One day it will all come crashing down because of the lack of tech support. It will happen sooner or later!

The slow response is a huge issue. It seems moderators have tried to address this with the owner, with no response. That's the way it is now.

This board is a lot more friendly than the others I've scanned. There's also a lot more first-hand information, not just photos of plants with the text OOOH!

I'm curious about your posts being deleted. Lots of people post here about using pesticides, and give fairly detailed recommendations. Note that in some US states it is illegal to recommend use of a pesticide in a way not explicitly listed as approved on the label. Almost no pesticides I have seen sold for home use have labels showing approval for use on orchids.

Some people have tap water that is fine for orchids. A lot don't. Our tap water kills Paphiopedilums quickly. I always recommend people check their tap water before using it on orchids, and use pure water if needed.

I enjoy coming on the orchid board, and always find something of interest. There can sometimes be handbags at dawn, but I tend not to get drawn into arguments. I find there us a good mix of expert opinion and noobie enthusiasm. As echoed in everyone else's posts the only bugbear is the responsiveness of the site.

Off topic. I have to ask "handbags at dawn" is that an English saying or do you have Google auto correct also?😀😁😂😃

I enjoy you all and when the experts get too technical, I hand the posts to the resident genius to interpret.

I never realised it was an English saying...Anyway it means a catfight :lol:

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/handbags_at_dawn

Learned something new today! Too funny!!!:rofl:

Message boards and forum platforms are what is in decline. 10-12 years ago was probably the height of use, then came Facebook. Facebook groups don't show up in a Google search but if you search within FB, there are lots of results. Then there is Pinterest, Instagram, etc.

Communication platforms evolve. There is a whole generation of people who don't want information from a forum (a place to exchange ideas). I'm not sure how they want their information (are there apps?) but the overall decline in orchid interest has more to do with lower OB traffic.

As for the pest control topic, it's just a volatile subject. Besides, the Europeans need alternatives. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe most can't get the same stuff.

---------- Post added at 12:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:23 PM ----------

And I rather like, "handbags at dawn".