the orchid board is dead

[wintergirl]

To me OrchidBoard is the "thinking person's" orchid board. I do like all the different personalities and thoughts everyone brings. I have joined Facebook orchid groups but there is still a need for a group such as this and I plan to stay.

[rbarata]

One thing I've mentioned before (not only makes sense but also eventually will be asked by someone) is a brief description of the growing conditions when showing new blooms. Useful info and increases the quality of the forum. In my oppinion this should be a rule.

[Fernando]

That 'rule' may be a good thing in theory, but it mostly doesn't work. I've seen that in aquaria-fish-forum in many places; if you want an answer at all you must fill in a two-page-form, what means you must measure all parameters ... and if you did so, the answer mostly does not refer to neither parameter at all! (Who is going to read a two-page-form?) And when IT DOES, I'll bet the forumer who asked for advice isn't willing to change his view at all ...!

If you need more info for a good answer (which makes sense), ask. And if you see by the answer that the request is merely rhetorical, wait for another user to try an answer.

Just look at the 'watering with ice-cubes'-threads ... that s what I mean.

[rbarata]

That 'rule' may be a good thing in theory, but it mostly doesn't work. I've seen that in aquaria-fish-forum in many places; if you want an answer at all you must fill in a two-page-form, what means you must measure all parameters ... and if you did so, the answer mostly does not refer to neither parameter at all! (Who is going to read a two-page-form?) And when IT DOES, I'll bet the forumer who asked for advice isn't willing to change his view at all ...!

What I meant was something like Temp: whatever HR: whatever and that's all.
To me that's enough because these are the main problematic parameters for me but they are a good starting point. Others might have different questions...

But my sugestion has a deeper goal which is to create an habit among forum users.
After all we not only like to admire each others flowers...we also grow them.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by rbarata

What I meant was something like Temp: whatever HR: whatever and that's all.
To me that's enough because these are the main problematic parameters for me but they are a good starting point. Others might have different questions...

But my sugestion has a deeper goal which is to create an habit among forum users.
After all we not only like to admire each others flowers...we also grow them.

I think this kind of information can be asked by anyone viewing a post that wants to know.

Making it required/a "Rule" is impractical, for several reasons.

1). I might not know the temperature, humidity, etc. in detail. If you asked me about the humidity of my indoor growing space, I'd only be able to guess because I have not replaced my temperature / RH meter from a few years ago.

2). A lot of people may have just purchased a plant and have no idea of it's requirements.

3). Some people just may not care to share the information (sort of like having a secret ingredient to a family recipe that is not divulged).

4). I personally will be happy to share information about how I grow a plant, but that information could be bad advice instead of good.

I think all content should remain voluntary.

[rbarata]

I think all content should remain voluntary.

Maybe the term "rule" was misemployed by me. Let's call it "good practice".
If someone shares that info and I see I can meet those conditions (or have them already), I may consider getting one of those orchids instead of just saying "Wow, lovely flowers!".

[orion141]

Well I surely hope the board is not dead in any way shape or form. I am still an orchid novice but have learned a ton from the people who post here and continue to learn on a daily basis. I would be happy to contribute if we could get the website back to its original speed.

[u bada]

I was on a different orchid form about 10 years ago (along the lines of timeline that was mentioned as to when forums in general were more popular) and it was quite the place, everybody chiming in with lively conversations and even various arguments... but as we all can see things change so quickly it's just hard to keep up with what's in and what's out where to go and where not to, etc., and what everyone is doing... but whether there's a lot going on and or not here it's good to keep a little community, through the good and hard times, right?

and I came her because this place really is more happening than other places, even the old doing. I actually tried to join another forum (which I will not name but suffice to say they are definitely more into species which is probably more what I'm into myself) but there were issues creating an account and after so many emails to administrators and to their FB page with absolutely no reply I gave up, ended up here and pretty happy.

I'm kinda surprised people seem a bit disappointed with activity here, seems real active to me... and honestly, as someone else said, it's really like a getaway for me (when I have time to getaway) so reading posts long or short, technical or not, it's really a pleasure either way...

that all said, man, the technical web stuff etc. sure is slow, that's really the only detriment in my opinion

oh and another thing... the orchid communities are just good to keep going, I feel like more and more people are just falling away from hobbies with living things, kinda sad really... science, life, all that... especially younger generations like mine and towards the millennials... sounds like maybe older members can get frustrated, and I get it, but just spreading the word about plants and orchids well we just need that as a society I think...

[Zabeta]

I just stumbled on this thread belatedly and feel compelled to add my two cents.

I love this forum. When I first started keeping orchids a few years ago, I joined several forums, and this one was by far the best. Speaking of censorship, I left another popular one when some of my wording was changed for no apparent reason, other than the moderator obviously thought his version sounded better. Not that I take offense at someone thinking my phrasing needs improvement (it often does), but just at the affront of someone thinking it was okay to change another person's language.

Aside from the fact that this forum avoids that kind of minute and needless censorship, I also really appreciate the level of expertise on display. Yes, sometimes the answers are very technical, but isn't that what we're looking for - a variety of answers to our questions from people who know a lot more than us? I get a lot out of reading the posts here. There will be periods, usually when I'm very busy, when I'm not compelled to read much on the forum, but at other times I binge on the posts and learn so much from them, even when I don't actively participate in the discussion.

It is really slow, though, and that's annoying.

[charlesf6]

A very nice posting, and I thank you and I'm sure a lot of others will follow suit.