Forums Restructuring

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

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  1. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    in response to vicarious: i was responding to specific statement that had been made; not a person.

    your post, on the other hand, was singling out a person and saying that shouldn't be done. that's a bit of the pot calling the kettle black, now isn't it?
     
  2. lily

    lily Active Member 10 Years

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    I am so sorry this forum is closing down. I am really going to miss it. I've learned a lot over the past few years from many of you, especially Ron. I just want to thank you all for helping with all my gardening questions.
     
  3. wcutler

    wcutler Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout 10 Years

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    Lily, you're in the Pacific Northwest. Your gardening questions will still get answered in the Gardening in the Pacific Northwest forum, the first one listed. That in line with Daniel's statement in his first posting here (my italics)
     
  4. lily

    lily Active Member 10 Years

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    wcutler - Oh, I am really happy to hear that. Thanks so much for letting me know. Now I can wipe the tears away. <smiles>
     
  5. Katalina25

    Katalina25 New Member

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    Oh no, don't leave me danc, please!

    Leaf, forums will seem to take forever to get even a decent size community and as you joined UP.net you must be patient. Poaching members is not the way to look good.

    Do not be under any illusions 'over there' is going to suddenly develope such a community as over here over night..it won't, you all will have to pull your weight. Add to Google and other search engines. Make sure your John's meta tags and in particular the <title</title> tag are in the header.

    Answer all questions that are asked. Someone 'over there' it would seem left a poster without a question being answered in the succulent forum, thats going to get you nowhere, people come to forums for help.

    Make it interesting.

    Goodluck!
     
  6. Dana09

    Dana09 Active Member

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    Katalina,,
    Hi, I don't think Leaf was trying to poach, just give others a place to try out
    but as you say.....if people are not responded to they will not return as it just feels downright unfriendly, especially if they had been here before that, where people have been very friendly.

    D
     
  7. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    It's not poaching to offer alternatives.
     
  8. Katalina25

    Katalina25 New Member

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    I was thinking about the time its been advertised nothing more.

    Its not that an alternative is needed because these forums are still running, anyway leave it.
     
  9. leaf kotasek

    leaf kotasek Active Member

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    katalina, i'm aware that this site isn't replaceable and that it takes a lot of time to build a good community.

    and i certainly wasn't poaching, thanks.
     
  10. kevind76

    kevind76 Active Member

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    As far as people not reponding to posts or threads, it is understandable, given the size of the forum, that not everyone will read everything. I have started at least 2 threads in my short time here that not a single person responded to. Doesn't feel too good, but it is understandable.
     
  11. Dana09

    Dana09 Active Member

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    Yes,
    No answers?
    Definitely understandable in a large forum and especially if it is down-sizing but not as mentioned above, at the smaller forums trying to gather new members here. As some active members have left here ,perhaps that is why you are not getting responses. It used to be that in the hort board many q's & a's were easily asked and answered.


    D
     
  12. kevind76

    kevind76 Active Member

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    No, it has nothing to do with the members leaving. These posts were months ago - one in November and one in January. Not a big issue, but I thought I'd mention it since a similar comment was made, like what Dana and Katalina said.
     
  13. bedixon

    bedixon Active Member

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    If it's not too late to offer my bit... I, like everyone, am shocked and dismayed to learn of these changes after being away from this forum for a while. The emotion expressed in this thread is testimony to how important it was to many people, although as I understand things, information will still be available to us, there hasn't actually been a death. This forum for me has been an amazing source of knowledge the past few years; it's like having an encyclopedia at the fingertips, so easy to use. Sometimes I just check in to see what's being discussed in my areas of interest without any particular question in mind, but I have logged on countless times seeking answers to gardening questions, without contributing nearly as much as I've gained. Having said that, if I had an answer to someone else's question I was always pleased to add to a thread. I'm dismayed to read comments from some suggesting that we are "treated like children" by having each post moderated... for an educational forum where each post has potential value as information to be archived, moderation is necessary, as they need to be categorized in the right place for others to easily access. Where there is a responsibility to protect copyright of photos etc, moderation is also necessary. There are many reasons why an educational forum needs to be closely moderated. Social forums don't have the same responsibilities or concerns. So, when we want to learn, we go to school... when we want to play, we go to the playground. I'm not putting down the social aspect of this forum, I honour the connections made around the world (I now have a friend across the country that I email quite regularly because of this forum after exchanging plant cuttings) but when i think of why it was established in the first place, as a place of exchange of knowledge for gardeners of all levels, I can see how incredible a task it would be to have to read all the thousands of "extraneous" posts.. ie, those that don't have actual gardening info and are not of interest to the archives or anyone outside the thread. Put yourself in that position just for a moment.
    This will continue to be a valued source of information for me, and I want to pass on my sincere appreciation to Daniel and anyone else involved in having made it available... it's an incredibly beautiful day, I'm off to the garden! I've just finished preparing rows to put sweet potatoes in, I've heard they'll grow here on the west coast and I'm eager to give it a try... just have to figure out a way to keep the chickens off the plastic mulch...
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2010
  14. Dana09

    Dana09 Active Member

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    Just can't hep masef

    TRY USING CHICKEN WIRE????

    D
    rofl
    yes another beauty day out there and going to try to pot up my smaller fig tree to take with me when I move house.
     
  15. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Probably much too early (and cold) for planting sweet potato plants.
     
  16. bedixon

    bedixon Active Member

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    yes, Ron, much too early to plant, but i'm told preparing the site early on and laying out the clear plastic to warm up the raised soil will ensure success. I'm doing it now because there's just so much that will have to be done later as the weather warms up. I have my plants on order and will not be putting them in the ground for some time. With all the rain we've had the soil is wonderful right now to dig in, loosen out weeds and hill up... the plastic will retain all that moisture... as for the chicken wire !! I've been using an awful lot of that stuff! It's over my asparagus bed too but it doesn't stop them from trying to get in there.. at least they can't do much damage from scratching and of course there's the bonus of the poop they leave behind,. The sweet potato area is a bit big to cover with wire, but I may have to surround with a makeshift fence... they want to scratch at the plastic and have already put holes in it. I also use stucco wire to make tunnels for covering rows of planted veg. Today I'm putting in some carrot seed, and covering with newspapers and straw, then wire tunnels for protection from the chickens.
     
  17. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Makeshift fence works well here. I use fiberglass rods that were part of an electric fence set up and a light chicken wire called emu fencing. Lighter to manage. I am still on both lists and therefore being serious here and lighter on the other. :)
    Liz
     
  18. johnnyjumpup

    johnnyjumpup Active Member

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    Dear Daniel,

    I agree with the comments above. It is a sad day indeed. I want to thank you for all your hard work and say it has been a real pleasure to have this invaluable resourse at the touch of a few buttons. I wish there was some way to lighten your very heavy workload so we could continue to enjoy these forums. I have looked at others and have never found one that was anywhere close to this one. It has been a wonderful link with intelligent, lively gardeners in the province and around the world, particularly since I live in a fairly remote region of the country though certainly not as remote as many others.

    Thank you again.
     
  19. johnnyjumpup

    johnnyjumpup Active Member

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    Dear Daniel,

    I agree with everything Silversurfer said. It is so sad and will be greatly missed. It has been a great priviledge to have been able to participate. I want to thank you for all your hard work in managing these forums. I am computer illiterate but I can see what a burden it must be, leaving very little time for other things.

    Could you please clarify what forums will be left and if we can participate in those or at least read them?

    Thank you again.
     
  20. cedartable

    cedartable Member

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    Dear Daniel,
    I, like many others, am very disappointed that the Plant Identification thread is no longer active. I had only just discovered it before the restructuring, but I found it very helpful and instructive. I live/work in an isolated situation where there are no botanists and only a few knowledgeable plant enthusiasts. The UBC Plant ID forum was an avenue for getting plants identified and for learning by reading other posts. It was my impression that the UBC Plant ID forum attracted knowledgeable people and provided remote plant identification and also served as a teaching/learning tool.

    I see from your original thread that it was decided to "maintain the forums that directly relate to UBC Botanical Garden's priorities" and I appreciate that - there always needs to be limits to something. However, the UBC Bot Garden home page states that its mission is "teaching and public display of temperate plants from around the world, particularly Asian, alpine and native plants." and I would contend that the Plant ID forum supports that mission. I also believe that it supports research - perhaps not necessarily UBC research - by providing a quite professional service (and one that does not seem to be available elsewhere on the internet). These days, surely, any effort to record/identify and protect world plant biodiversity should be supported. Something cannot be protected, knowledge about it cannot be disseminated, if it has not been identified. And in the words of Baba Dioum "In the end we will conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught."

    The UBC forum had/has the opportunity to lead the botanical community and reach out into the world to help and teach people about plant biodiversity. Kew Gardens, The New York Botanical Gardens and the Missouri Botanical Gardens are not doing this. I sincerely ask that you forward my comments to the directors of the UBC Botanical Gardena and Plant Research Centre and I continue to hope that they might change their minds and reinstate the Plant Identification thread.

    Sincerely,
    cedartable
     
  21. togata57

    togata57 Generous Contributor 10 Years

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    Well said, cedartable.
    I second your cogent statement, and appalud you for it.
     
  22. emandeli

    emandeli Member

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    I am a newbie to the forum and do however live in the Pacific Northwest. I was only on a few weeks when the notice for restructuring went down. I feel really sad because it was really interesting, fun, exciting to speak with people about plant ideas etc from ALL over the world. I felt like I was connecting to other parts of the world I wouldn't have a chance to in this lifetime. I hope there will be another place to go to. I will use these forums but I definitely don't like the changes...but I understand the reasoning behind the restructuring.
     
  23. joclyn

    joclyn Rising Contributor

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    i'll third it!! very well-stated, cedartable!! /clap /clap
     
  24. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Plant ID has been kept, folks, at least last time I checked. It's now called "Expert Identification".
     
  25. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    If I double-post, please excuse me... The Plant ID section has survived, although I'd say its header is a bit misleading. It's now called "Plants:Expert Identification" with the note that participants need 100 posts minimum to post there. Daniel, is that what you really mean? Or is it more that anybody can post an ID question, and only 100+ post-ers can reply to make the ID?
     
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