Forum and what it to be.

[Ricardo in PR]

Thanks Kathy, a most illuminating answer. It puts in perspective things not only in this forum but on other forums at well. Having been a witness of what unrestained flame wars, petty bickering and monomania can do to a forum I can well understand the need of firm guidelines.
Is there is a way to deal with these problems in a way that preserves the sense of community and yet keeps the crazy mouth frothers out?
I personally don't know, maybe someone with more experience in the dynamics of forums can pitch in with some suggestions.

[Kentucky]

Thanks to Kathy for the information. I had heard all that before, but it's good to get some facts.

I agree with all of you that it would be great if this were an active forum. However, if it is just going to mimic the other forums out there, I'd just as soon it not exist. I do disagree with Kathy on the subject of making friends on forums. I'm not disputing that that occurs since Facebook has half a billion users doing exactly that, but the internet appears to me to be a strange and sometimes dangerous place to make friendships. It seems a forum on plant issues would be the best choice, but I have no idea how to prevent people from choosing up sides and fighting. If I knew how to do that I would send it to the US government elected representatives.

I can see how a members only forum might improve plant information and minimize conflict since there is the ever present danger of meeting face to face with other forum members with whom you might have insulted in some fit of rage.

However, I can also see the point of view that an open forum might help get new members. If you really look at the membership of some of the forums that seem popular, you realize that many of the posters are just passing through on a pretty quick basis and many are just buying big box/ grocery store plants and have no intention of becoming serious hobbyists (and thus AOS members). I know that some progress beyond that stage, but frankly not many in MHO.

So, I'm pessimistic about a useful, fact oriented forum which I would love. I do think a members only forum might be worthwhile, but I appreciate the opposing view also.

I don't have the answer.

[Andy Ro]

We have forums, there is also a dialogue. But sense of all forums this acquisition of plants. On it dialogue at many forums also is constructed. But, as it is found out in a consequence not the main thing. The main thing - dialogue. And strangely enough, really many break on friendly the relation which are based, as a rule on the general hobbies. All at all on a miscellaneous.
Questions on cultivation and many other things that is connected with plants. But there are also sections which are called:« Not a word about orchids »or that that similar. In these themes it is possible to speak about everything. About campaigns, fishing, about cooking, about any themes. There is a pressure in polemic. Here also very competent conducting a forum by moderators should be traced. And if passions were heated or have passed cultural legal thresholds, themes can be closed. Not without it. It is life and all happens. But! The general spirit of people positive and kind. It also decides the further destiny of a forum. Many try to help to leave a difficult situation. Certainly, some still have insults, but it is a lot of clubmen and in time all is forgotten also a forum lives further. And the one who has been offended, let, as it seemed to it unfairly, gradually"thaws"and continues dialogue in a forum. Certainly, if will want. All of us people, and at everyone in a head"cockroaches"!

Such strong society should have very strong forum, I underline, VERY STRONG LIVE FORUM!!! Well, it would be desirable!

[DavidCampen]

I am reluctant to bother with posting here since the AOS seems to have no commitment to maintaining this forum and thus I would expect it to go away or be reset at any time. I say this because I see that the forum is being used by phantom users for unknown purposes - we now have 107,000 members registered on this forum; the count was only about 80,000 a few weeks ago. I would expect that at sometime soon all user accounts will have to be deleted.

[Kathy-WPalmBeach]

David, from what I can see there are 419 registered members. At least when I click on the 'Forum Users' tab, that is the number that comes up. Where are you getting this information?

[DavidCampen]

Originally Posted by Kathy-WPalmBeach

David, from what I can see there are 419 registered members. At least when I click on the 'Forum Users' tab, that is the number that comes up. Where are you getting this information?

Scroll to the bottom of this page:
http://www.aosforum.org/forum/index.php


What's Going On?
Currently Active Users: 62 (17 members and 45 guests)
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[raybark]

The fact that those "spambot" subscribers exist is simply a fact of life for a forum that allows self-subscriptions. If you were able to see the statistics of other forums, you would likely see the same sort of thing, they just don't display them. The important thing is that those bots do not clutter up the forum with "trash" posts, so why even worry about them? The fact that those spambots do not interfere makes me give kudos to the admins, not knock them.

I, too, have wondered why this forum is as "slow" as it is, but I think in order to get a true answer, you'd need to poll the folks that don't participate. Yeah, some may still have a bad taste in their mouths over former issues, and some may have "political" issues with the AOS itself, while others see this as the place where that "ice cube orchid" question will likely be posted for the umpteenth time (I - being one of the "usual suspects" that frequents forums - actually see it more elsewhere). No doubt there are plenty of more "reasons" - or maybe it's "rationales".

One thing that I perceive is a hard-to-describe "dryness" to the posts and posters here. The former may be due to the intent to keep this forum to a "strictly orchids" theme, as Kathy mentioned, but the latter is due to the posters.

Taking, for example, the threads that (primarily) DavidCampen, Kentucky, and I kept going for a while - greenhouse misting, for one - even though they were very informative and mostly based upon fact, the depth of the discussion and fringes of contention we ran along at times (I was halfway expecting a "Jane, you ignorant slut" comment in some of them) may have seemed a bit intimidating to some. I am not, for a moment, suggesting we abandon that sort of thing, as open discussions of thought processes and the facts of the subject-at-hand are the surest way to learn from each other, but we should probably think more about how we come across to others.