Potential "Beginner/Newbie" forum?

[JohnAndSancho]

Happy Holidays, and an early Happy New Year. 

 

I know I'm pretty new to PT myself, so I'd like to suggest a new subforum for beginners/newbies/amateurs/etc. I know with all of the lockdown/stay-at-home orders, massive worldwide unemployment, lots of people (myself included) turned to plants (and palms!) as a new hobby and a way to stay sane. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly grateful to have found PalmTalk. Reddit has a little info here and there but not much seems to be palm specific. I've noticed PT has a few younger members too. I just think it'd be nice to have a subforum for those of us who are new to this hobby, where "no question is a dumb question," FAQs and so forth. I can definitely contribute a fair amount of "what NOT to do" information - I've learned a few things the hard way and wasted a lot of money on soils, fertilizers, lousy pots, and plants that aren't viable long-term. 

 

I'm just spitballing here, but I do wish such a forum existed earlier in the year. 

 

Thanks for your time, and big thanks to all of the members that have helped me educate myself as I've turned my apartment and my office into little jungles. 

[Chris Chance]

Honestly I never have thought there was dumb questions especially when someone is new to the palm world. What I always thought is great about this site is there's so much information here and also many experienced palm growers that are happy to help newbies. When I first got into palms this was the place I learned most and eventually connected with other palm people. 

To me it seems like a good idea but not necessary to start a new forum area.  Many of us started somewhere and still are learning even after years of experience. I'm definitely not an expert. 

[JohnAndSancho]

I have lots of dumb questions to ask you lol 

[Silas_Sancona]

On 12/26/2020 at 10:58 PM, JohnAndSancho said:

I have lots of dumb questions to ask you lol 

Thinking that is what the " Forum basics for beginners " section was geared toward..

As for questions, agree w/ Chris, there aren't any.. ( dumb questions ). That said,  there are instances however where someone might not like the genuine / experience- based advise shared, and then try to ask  X question in a different way, anticipating the "desired " answer will somehow come about..  ( 99% of the time, It never does.. )

With plants, In many cases, simple trial and error is the best answer, and honestly the only way to learn, even if it means you end up killing a few prized plants along the way.

[JohnAndSancho]

I really got the vibe that the basic/beginners forum was for people who didn't know how to use the forum, which is a whole 'nother thing. 

 

I do 110% agree with the experience part, but if i can help others from wasting time and money like I have, I'm here for it. 

 

Like I said, I'm just spitballing. 

[Steve Mac]

I agree with John @JohnAndSancho, and Nathan @Silas_Sancona, and Chis, @Chris Chance ,  in most respects, I would have expected a couple of Mods or Admins to respond here. 

This thread probably needs to be threaded closer to the top of the tree, To @PALM MOD.  Or to someone who is paid to get new members.

Although I only have basic Hort and admin qualifications and I am retired and often off grid (camping),  so I am of little value to the IPS, but it still frustrates me to see that simple things are not optimized to achieve better monetary outcomes for the Parent site, The IPS.  

It is universally recognized that it is new participants that drive growth to a site, growth of members then monetarily. 

I think this is what John (a new energetic very active member) is saying, "Support us'.  He, like I and most of us, have sent money to the IPS, we have paid to join the IPS, we get nothing (oh yeah, the periodical), we mainly just support the Parent site to sponsor palm research and this forum. 

Just trying to help.

 

 

[JohnAndSancho]

Thanks for the kind words @gtsteve but to be fair I got the free membership. Everything else you said is dead on though. I still think a newbie subforum would be cool and I'll gladly volunteer some time to type up a big list of all the dumb mistakes I've made and show everyone the money I wasted on soil, fertilizer, plants I tried to grow inside that looked like crap, insect treatments, lousy pots - lots of regrets lol. 

[PALM MOD]

Many of the things being thrown around above have been thrown around at some time over the last 15-20 years, which is the age of PalmTalk.  The IPS itself is much older. We are always grateful for feedback and enthusiasm. But I think part of any lack of responses you may be perceiving is that we have discussed many of these things in the past, and the present structure and way things are arranged is a result of many years and many discussions - and knowing that one of the biggest complaints we get is when we make changes.

For people who are new, and people who wish to learn everything they can - and learn from other people's mistakes - there is an unbelievable amount of info in the 100,000+ posts in all of these forums. The nature of a forum is that it is like a big party with many discussions and side discussions taking place at the same time in many different parts of the venue. So, the best way to garner all the information contain herein is to start at the beginning and read it all. There is no way to arrange a spontaneous "party" and have all the information and fun nice and neat and tidy - so that no one misses out on anything.

A suggestion - learning how to make detailed searches gives you a leg up on weeding out what you are not interested in, and zeroing in on what you are after - information wise. 

And I think I can safely say that nobody will judge you for a newbie question. Just ask it and get to know the people here. They can be very helpful. But also realize that it may have been answered numerous times before. So, try a search first. 

As to helping the IPS - PalmTalk is only a small part of it. Visit the Main Site, and take advantage of the terrific newly recorded "seminars" that have been taking place, the latest news, etc. If you are really interested in becoming involved and getting ideas heard and/or implemented - consider becoming a Director. There is always a need for Directors with energy and ideas.

[PALM MOD]

On 5/10/2021 at 2:37 PM, JohnAndSancho said:

Thanks for the kind words @gtsteve but to be fair I got the free membership. Everything else you said is dead on though. I still think a newbie subforum would be cool and I'll gladly volunteer some time to type up a big list of all the dumb mistakes I've made and show everyone the money I wasted on soil, fertilizer, plants I tried to grow inside that looked like crap, insect treatments, lousy pots - lots of regrets lol. 

Just start a topic titled Dumb Mistakes, and make a list with some pics of what you have done and what you have learned. Invite others to add to the discussion, and perhaps it will become one of those valuable topics containing lots of useful information. Use the tag system so that people will find it when searching. This is how forums are supposed to work.