Forums Restructuring

Discussion in 'Forum Announcements and Feedback' started by Daniel Mosquin, Feb 1, 2010.

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  1. danc

    danc Active Member 10 Years

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    Hmm, I slept well last nights, had no idea what was going on. I would have rather expected the earth magnetic shield to drop down close to null as part of the polarity inversion process, a super volcano to erupt, the salinity conveyor belt to stop, or other major cataclysm to produce its devastating effects sooner than anyone could think about the "Universe"BC's collapse. Yes, for me UBC is a Universe. Not since 2-3 years ago when I started the set up of my small garden and referred to UBC to learn about a plant or another, but since I had an unexpected crop of pinus parviflora seeds, too many just for me, and wanted to give them away to somebody who needed and appreciated them. That was the starting point. It was about sharing. For me, in a very short period of time, UBC has transformed from a simple database to an extra dimension added somehow to my small garden project, which will reach its maturity or rather puberty in 10-20 years. Whom am I going to talk to or listen to about plants, especially conifers, from now on?!

    Maybe there is a way to avoid this collapse. I don't know what can be done. There are implacable arguments. And I understand volunteering from outside UBC is not an option, but was the help of the possible willing UBC students taken into consideration?

    Anyway, beside the mentioned ones, I want to express my gratitude to the professors Ron B, Michael F and others who have been putting their effort into this.
     
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2010
  2. gfixler

    gfixler Active Member

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    My utmost thanks to all who have worked so hard behind the scenes. I never even realized it was heavily moderated, which says a lot. I come from the film effects/video games world, and it's the same for us. The harder we work, the less anyone realizes what we've done, because the immersive experience takes over.

    I feel like I have a dagger in my heart over the impending loss of the plant ID forum. The folks in there have responded to me so quickly, and with such amazing accuracy, helping to uncover the world around me here in LA. I will miss it and all of you dearly. That said, I'd love to hear alternatives for plant ID help, and if you're so obliged, I'll leave it up to you as to whether or not to save spamming the group here by PMing me with any suggestions, or sharing with the group for others in my situation.

    Thanks again so much to the staff of UBC and to my fellow hobbyists!
     
  3. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    To those from away, I wanted to mention sadly that there are other garden forums, in the list provided at the top of the Forums introductory page... quite a good list. I have explored some of them, and have not taken the time to really get immersed in them, but one or two struck me as quite good. A little more chatty and beginnerish than here, perhaps, but I don't see why an ID forum or a more advanced forum couldn't be established in one of these with the same participants. I know it won't be the same, though. If any of you have done this and have adopted a new forum, please let us know which one. Meanwhile I think if your plant interests cross into plants growing in the Pacific Northwest, there is no reason stated that you can't participate in that forum here at the UBC Gardening Forum...
     
  4. togata57

    togata57 Generous Contributor 10 Years

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  5. Katalina25

    Katalina25 New Member

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    We have that as a link in Daniel's list Togata..expats lol

    The ones there are also here posting.

    I believe in share n share alike.
     
  6. Katalina25

    Katalina25 New Member

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    I'm here for the long haul, and my own sites of course Janet.
     
  7. Frog

    Frog Generous Contributor Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Yes I did mean to be inclusive in my thanks as well: Thank you also Eric LaFountaine and all the UBCBG staff who have supported this project! I have really appreciated these Forums and hope that they will continue!

    frog
     
  8. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Katalina25, you referred to your own site, could you post that here? You may have announced or given it previously, on a quick look I couldn't find it, not sure which one it is -- I am caught in a time bind [isn't everybody though?] and don't want to search time-consumingly on here for it -- could you either send it to me by PM or just quote it here?
     
  9. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    Janet,
    GOOD PLAN! I just redid some of my "Small Space" garden this morning and was wondering if it was too soon to post what I did. To post or not to post - that is the question. I didn't want to add any burden what-so-ever onto Daniel and Eric, which is why I'm a bit reluctant. What do you think?
     
  10. Canadianplant

    Canadianplant Active Member

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    Ive been on here for a few years, and I joined to help with my addiction to houseplants. I then became obsessed with palm trees, then bamboo, now im crazy enough to try to grow musa basjoo in my area. I most of my plant knowledge to the people here, including daniel, LPN, Photopro and many many others.

    Id like to thank everyone for emparting their knowledge on me, and thank daniel for running a very well respected forum. Thanks for all the help!
     
  11. vicarious1

    vicarious1 Active Member 10 Years

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  12. Canadianplant

    Canadianplant Active Member

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    Just a wake up call... this country was founded on foregners, and it will always have them... if you dont like the way the country or how the people are.. get out...
     
  13. Barbara Cameron

    Barbara Cameron Active Member

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    danc said in a previous post that volunteering from outside UBC is not allowed. Why? Aren't the Friends of the Gardens (I may have the wrong title) volunteers from the community? Any info on this subject would be useful.
     
  14. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    I am pretty sure that allowing volunteers to run this from the top level would be a problem for the Botanical Gardens but why not one or two of the sub-forums, to start? That wouldn't be such a bad job. The only thing is the duty to delete bad posts, soothe irritated conversationalists, etc., etc. -- keeping on top of this would soon turn into a 24-hr job almost, which would be difficult for any volunteer. I think we need to urge them to hire a student to do the security and crazies-screening, leaving the botanical and overall appearance of the Forum to the Gardens staff. It would be a wonderful job for a computer science undergraduate, even... Even if none of our posts got "on" the forum for a few days until screened, that would be fine with me... I can wait. I have heard that there is a new director for the Botanical Gardens and perhaps all this difficulty comes from that angle, but anyone, even if he didn't have a new boss, would find the work load that Daniel had very difficult. He was on medical leave, too, and must have had a really difficult year. Let's urge them to hire a student or students to do the security and even the computer behind-the-scenes work, or assist Daniel and Eric more, anyway... many students would rather do that than work in the cafeterias or checking out books in libraries, etc...
     
  15. togata57

    togata57 Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Oh, my.
    I believe, Canadianplant, that vic was advocating a philosophy of inclusion and acceptance, which appears to be the opposite of yours.

    Agree with vic 100% on the following points:

    A forum is of the public; without the public there is no forum.
    This public is composed of people, and these people come from every country and philosophical background and style.
    By wiping out our defining, individual characteristics, by accepting members who behave in a prescribed way, this Forum indicates its rejection of the public.

    Without the public, there is no Forum.
     
  16. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    "GOOD PLAN! I just redid some of my "Small Space" garden this morning and was wondering if it was too soon to post what I did. To post or not to post - that is the question. I didn't want to add any burden what-so-ever onto Daniel and Eric, which is why I'm a bit reluctant. What do you think?" from Barbara Cameron above, re posting...

    Why not post in the Gardening in the Pacific Northwest, Barbara? Just give your post a heading which others can return to in reply, creating a thread, as before, and we just pitch in and discuss small gardens that way? I don't think that anything that is strictly garden-oriented, free from personal politicizing over a variety of issues, would create any hazard or work for Daniel and others -- it would be scanned quickly and not considered problematical. You fit the geographical area, there should be no question. Just put "Small Space Gardening" as your topic, and we can follow from there in the same thread.
     
  17. Canadianplant

    Canadianplant Active Member

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    I agree with acceptance, and inclusion, but when I see this about my country in not going to be very impressed

    "The reality is after living and working in 13 countries worldwide and speaking 6 languages this country is filled with people who regret the good'ol ways, before all the foreigner invaded."

    Im part ukranian, and if it wasnt for these "invaders" I wouldnt be here. And if you think of it in gardening terms, our yards would look totaly different without " foreign invaders".

    calling anything an invader in my opinion is the opposite of acceptance and inclusion
     
  18. vicarious1

    vicarious1 Active Member 10 Years

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    calling anything an invader in my opinion is the opposite of acceptance and inclusion[/QUOTE]

    Sorry to disappoint or any missunderstanding: What I meant to say was.
    But when one goes on BBS forums or like the Vancouver Forum and other places on the Net where anonymity is the rule or simpler when you sit still and sort of "eves drop, listen in public places" you would be amazed on all that "we" the ex foreigners are called much worse than "invaders".

    I have hear more and more here people "regretting " the times where jobs where not taken away by this race or that race etc especially since the economy is not afloat as it used to be.

    Anyway sorry this takes us a long shot from gardening may your plot be full of healthy green.

    I do not understand I thought this Forum is closed and still get all these message that someone posted something.
    I did not mean to offend any immigrant as I am one myself.
     
  19. Canadianplant

    Canadianplant Active Member

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    Ahhhh dude lol im sorry

    The down side of the internet.... you can easily misinterpret words:S I didnt mean to offen dyou either dude :S
     
  20. Dana09

    Dana09 Active Member

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    I had thought that a place as well established as UBC would have been a safe place to call home.
    I feel like a weed, tossed on the compost as being not up to snuff and definitely undesirable, a failed experiment.
    But, RIP UBC 'ordinary' gardeners' forum, if that is the state it is in.
    I'd rather say it here. I won't gossip or mention UBC at all elsewhere.

    Thanks for the effort, anyway.

    D
     
  21. Katalina25

    Katalina25 New Member

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    LMAOOOOOO Danc

    Give over, of course you are wanted..cough..needed here.

    You made some great posts, certainlly not a tossed out weed.

    Its up to us to stay and see what fab changes the admin has lined up, maybe a few nice surprises too. You should realise they won't allow such a resource to simply 'fade away'.
     
  22. Katalina25

    Katalina25 New Member

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    Vic,

    Drag the mouse along the sentence you are quoting then hit the small icon which is the last on the right in the menu above the text box.

    That way you won't have any broken tags like the </quote>
     
  23. janetdoyle

    janetdoyle Active Member 10 Years

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    Dana09 -- keep up with your posts in the Gardening in the Pacific Northwest forum and be an "answerer" to posts in the new gardening questions forum, and stay with us. There is a new Director and I wrote to him, he replied that they are going to try to keep this whole Forum going when they again review it this year, I suspect it is a temporary measure to relieve work loads and get things done over-all -- plus a serious drop in investment funds of the University and in over-all funding too-- don't make Daniel and others feel any worse than they do by having to do this... Anyway, we should all argue that the Forum is a valid Continuing Education function for the University and since [I think I am right here, correct me if I'm not] BC does not have a provincial horticultural/agricultural Extension Service this Forum is all the more necessary. I think this latter point is an argument we could use.
     
  24. Katalina25

    Katalina25 New Member

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    Amen to that,

    I had the feeling it may turn out yet to be well which is why I have no intention of signing anywhere else.

    Everything is here we could ever want for our chosen subject of gardening and all that includes.

    Hopefully we will all take a glass from the tray and toast this forum in champagne in the months to come.
     
  25. danc

    danc Active Member 10 Years

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    Let me be more precise by quoting:

    So it's up to us not to give up and continue to put a positive pressure on the deciding persons. Maybe 3b will be replaced by 3c or other option soon. In a way we are part of the decision making process and in consequence this time lag was provided for us to play our role.
     
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