@happypalms - your number of postings

[Josue Diaz]

On 8/25/2024 at 6:12 AM, palmfriend said:

Hi,

With all due respect -  is it really necessary to start a new thread for every little thing that comes to your mind?

Eg.: There is already an all famous color thread in this forum, why (always) opening a new one? I read this as a manifestation of the way your mind organizes information. In categories, in groups, clusters. You are asking another person to modify their method of processing information to match a structure that you find more appealing.

There are constantly eight or nine threads from you on the front page, pushing other threads permanently down the ladder. 

I think this forum is originally made for a world wide palm loving community to share experiences, requesting opinions or support etc. etc. on a somehow rational basis (what is rational to you and the way you process information may not be what is rational to someone like myself, or @happypalms)- but not to tell the whole world permanently about your feelings...(this post is specifically about your feelings.)

As much as I really honor your tribute to the palmy world - I would appreciate that you reconsider your posting frequency to our all benefit! Here you are imposing your method of organization and information processing on behalf of all Palmtalk users - which is a reiteration of the previous two paragraphs/statements above.

@admin 

If I get warned or punished for this comment, so be it - but I think that expressing my opinion as another palm admiring member of this forum about this situation should be legit. I believe it is legit to express your feelings

To all other members: Please do not post "likes/thumb up" etc. Let's discuss it on a rational basis. This original post is not rational, but rather subjective., and quite specific to you. My attempt at an objective discussion is here in blue, and also below 

 

 

Lars 

I hesitate to even respond here (I was always a quiet observer in class). I can't help but think that this is a prime example of varying personality types surfacing in a group setting. This happens in children's classrooms all the time, and in adults, at the workplace as well. I find a parallel here to how my wife and I differ IMMENSELY in the way we handle structure/order. She is a planner. Her life is highly structured. Her time, hobbies, etc. Mine are not. I meander through my hobbies, I have a general structure to my time where it's necessary, but I find it burdensome to create structure where it's not. Doing so would bring about a certain level of stress which would then take the fun out of whatever that may be. My mind and her mind function differently.  Neither is less than or better than the other. 

I'm reading through the original post, and have some observations: The prompt is to discuss it on a rational basis, but the majority of the post is subjective. I added some of my thoughts in blue above. 

At a very foundational level the solution is not to modify the forums (yes, adaptations such as those discussed here will help remedy some of the symptoms that stem from our own inability to cope with different peoples' methods and structures), but rather to be introspective and learn to adapt to people who we share space with. Living or engaging in community requires a certain degree of flexibility. Imposing methods and structures simply because the more outspoken members feel it is the better way will often disenfranchises and silences those who are introverted or who process information differently. Differences in the ways we post is a very trivial matter in my opinion, though not entirely different from problems that arise in all group settings. If we can learn to adapt here on this online forum, those skills will help us to adapt when these types of rifts happen in the real world. @happypalms should not impose their method of processing information on anybody, and @palmfriend shouldn't either. We are all, after all, guests on this platform, and it belongs to no one individual. 

 

JD

[LowDesertBoil]

I agree with this guy!

[MJSanDiego]

I can't believe I could not stop myself from posting in this thread. I don't see the issue. I am with @Harry’s Palms too.  If one believes the posts are clutter just use the ignore user feature. Or skip the thread and move to the next. Or scroll down if you like it. How hard is that. It's not like Meta. All of the posts here are related to palms 🌴 

[Jonathan]

2 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

I hesitate to even respond here (I was always a quiet observer in class). I can't help but think that this is a prime example of varying personality types surfacing in a group setting. This happens in children's classrooms all the time, and in adults, at the workplace as well. I find a parallel here to how my wife and I differ IMMENSELY in the way we handle structure/order. She is a planner. Her life is highly structured. Her time, hobbies, etc. Mine are not. I meander through my hobbies, I have a general structure to my time where it's necessary, but I find it burdensome to create structure where it's not. Doing so would bring about a certain level of stress which would then take the fun out of whatever that may be. My mind and her mind function differently.  Neither is less than or better than the other. 

I'm reading through the original post, and have some observations: The prompt is to discuss it on a rational basis, but the majority of the post is subjective. I added some of my thoughts in blue above. 

At a very foundational level the solution is not to modify the forums (yes, adaptations such as those discussed here will help remedy some of the symptoms that stem from our own inability to cope with different peoples' methods and structures), but rather to be introspective and learn to adapt to people who we share space with. Living or engaging in community requires a certain degree of flexibility. Imposing methods and structures simply because the more outspoken members feel it is the better way will often disenfranchises and silences those who are introverted or who process information differently. Differences in the ways we post is a very trivial matter in my opinion, though not entirely different from problems that arise in all group settings. If we can learn to adapt here on this online forum, those skills will help us to adapt when these types of rifts happen in the real world. @happypalms should not impose their method of processing information on anybody, and @palmfriend shouldn't either. We are all, after all, guests on this platform, and it belongs to no one individual. 

 

JD

Thoughtful, insightful, compassionate and well reasoned...post of the year so far for me, well said!

[flplantguy]

Just for clarity this is the "nanny nany boo boo" i refered to. Not jokes in this thread but responses outside it that are not needed and dont contribute.  I was working all day or i would have posted it sooner.  I also follow a major weather thread, and this kind of stuff on it has kept me from posting at all there. I would hate for that to make its way here (i remeber the intense arguments here about another hot topic that got threads shut down)

[tinman10101]

I'd never thought we would reach a point in the forum where we are complaining about too many posts and how they are posted. I prefer more posts than none at all. I remember back in the days when it was quiet and I yearned for anything new in the forum. It's constructive and/or joyful to share our palm experiences and as a community, we should embrace each ones individuality and we all know there are some characters on here.  LoL. 

Kidding aside, trying to restructure something is a headache for the moderators that volunteer their time here which I for one take for granted. We all have alternate lives outside of palms so this should be our personal zen place.

I'm gonna say it ... this is what I tell my kids every day;

" You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. ". 

PS I love this forum so please don't ban me. 😁

[knell]

I feel a bit defensive for HP since they remind me of myself when I first discovered palms, except they have seemed to channel that energy eternally.

Not to get too stats nerd on everyone, but they have “won the day” 11% of the days between now and when they joined in 2021 and have one and a half likes on average for everything they post, so their presence is obviously valued, and if that is skewed by relative low activity from other users, it is all the more reason to foster that kind of spirit rather than dampen it.

Just my 2 cents, I agree that it is nice that this is a place where people can still have a civil discussion in 2024.

[JeskiM]

Normally I stay out of these kinds of threads as I simply only have my opinion and no real "solutions".  It's impossible to please everyone all the time, and I prefer a forum where moderators are not heavy-handed and the members can appreciate any "eccentricities" of our fellow family members. So, here's my opinion for whatever it's worth:

Sometimes I greatly like the flood of posts that I have seen here. There's a lot of information to be shared, absorbed, and learned from that I otherwise would not be seeing or possibly even looking for. I appreciate that, and also because the poster is from Australia which has a lot of plants I am very interested in (not so much the palms) and this provides a window / insight that would be very hard, nearly impossible to see into otherwise.

However, at the same time, yes I do see it as annoying sometimes.  Partly it depends on my own personal mood at the moment, but also because sometimes it is simply too much "clutter" at a time when I may be looking for / wanting something else. Maybe as a way to explain how I can see it as annoying is through me explaining my thoughts with another individual on a different plant forum:

There is an individual on another forum that I visit where that person has spent a huge fortune on buying a very large collection of plants, they must have many thousands of species collected at this point.  Nearly every plant they purchase gets a separate thread with the same question posed: "Can someone identify this plant for me ?".   So there are now hundreds of these threads out there from that individual.   At first, for me it was very annoying as it made no sense (to me) how someone could get into this hobby / obsession without figuring out / learning to identify a set of plants that they themselves are clearly interested in.  For me that is the fun/frustrations I have with plants: learning how to identify them ... don't even get me going on the confusion of identifying some Copiapoa or some Old World Cypress species.  Then to see this individual asking for other peoples time to help them identify 80% + of their own collection became annoying.

As time went by, for me, my take on this changed.  For me those posts started becoming more of a game / challenge. That individual was getting their hands on some crazy, rare, obscure species that I knew nothing about, and a lot of the other forum members knew nothing about. It ended up being fun, for me, to try to identify those plants and be the 1st person to get it right.  It was fun to simply watch those threads play out and a lot of times I learned something.

At this point It's obvious that that person will never change, but I had changed some, and grew with it.  Yes, I sometimes have to scroll past all those threads, but I do with a chuckle sometimes, and other times I just groan as I am skimming by them.  Lol.

Anyways those are just my 2 Cents and if you read my whole comment then I hope you can relate to my experience and thought process and thanks for spending your time reading what just spilled out of my mind.

In conclusion:  I am very happy that this thread has not gone "sideways" and fomented ill will between individuals because I have seen threads like this on many forums, conversations between family, coworkers, friends, etc blow up into giant disagreements which ruin relationships and to me that is even more nonsensical and more damaging. Congrats to this forum and it's members for being mature adults in this thread !

-Matt

 

 

 

 

[happypalms]

@happypalms iam a hobby grower who loves plants with a passion. Palms to a complete obsession status like a lot of us on palm talk. A true collector at heart of anything in the plant kingdom (especially rare palms). My garden is 25 years old and is larger than two acres (I have five acres which will get planted eventually). Which gives me a lot of content material to make posts with. on top of that I have literally thousands of plants in containers of exotic plants and Australian native plants so more content material to make post with along with a passion for visiting anything to do with being outside in nature more content material. I left school at age 15 and made my own way in this world working ever since I left school at age 17 I wanted a palm nursery I did that 25 years ago and life got in the way and my nursery fell to the side. Now I have that opportunity again to do what I wanted in life. Sharing my knowledge on growing plants not just palms. Iam definitely not a walking encyclopaedia on palms or plants. My enthusiasm is driven by sharing this knowledge. Plus I just want to show my garden like all of us on palm talk. I never grew up in the technology world like a lot of people out there nor I did not pass at school iam from a single parent family. I own my house and land and have made my way in the world not every person is liked in the world. It’s a free world you can be whoever you want to be and Iam Richard Moy @happypalms.

kind regards 

[palmfriend]

16 minutes ago, happypalms said:

@happypalms iam a hobby grower who loves plants with a passion. Palms to a complete obsession status like a lot of us on palm talk. A true collector at heart of anything in the plant kingdom (especially rare palms). My garden is 25 years old and is larger than two acres (I have five acres which will get planted eventually). Which gives me a lot of content material to make posts with. on top of that I have literally thousands of plants in containers of exotic plants and Australian native plants so more content material to make post with along with a passion for visiting anything to do with being outside in nature more content material. I left school at age 15 and made my own way in this world working ever since I left school at age 17 I wanted a palm nursery I did that 25 years ago and life got in the way and my nursery fell to the side. Now I have that opportunity again to do what I wanted in life. Sharing my knowledge on growing plants not just palms. Iam definitely not a walking encyclopaedia on palms or plants. My enthusiasm is driven by sharing this knowledge. Plus I just want to show my garden like all of us on palm talk. I never grew up in the technology world like a lot of people out there nor I did not pass at school iam from a single parent family. I own my house and land and have made my way in the world not every person is liked in the world. It’s a free world you can be whoever you want to be and Iam Richard Moy @happypalms.

kind regards 

Richard,

Posting a comment like this after these turbulent days is a sign of greatness! 

Thank you very much - and all the best for you 

and your garden!

kind regards 

Lars 

[happypalms]

1 hour ago, palmfriend said:

Richard,

Posting a comment like this after these turbulent days is a sign of greatness! 

Thank you very much - and all the best for you 

and your garden!

kind regards 

Lars 

Arigato gozaimasu 🌱

[Jonathan]

2 hours ago, happypalms said:

@happypalms iam a hobby grower who loves plants with a passion. Palms to a complete obsession status like a lot of us on palm talk. A true collector at heart of anything in the plant kingdom (especially rare palms). My garden is 25 years old and is larger than two acres (I have five acres which will get planted eventually). Which gives me a lot of content material to make posts with. on top of that I have literally thousands of plants in containers of exotic plants and Australian native plants so more content material to make post with along with a passion for visiting anything to do with being outside in nature more content material. I left school at age 15 and made my own way in this world working ever since I left school at age 17 I wanted a palm nursery I did that 25 years ago and life got in the way and my nursery fell to the side. Now I have that opportunity again to do what I wanted in life. Sharing my knowledge on growing plants not just palms. Iam definitely not a walking encyclopaedia on palms or plants. My enthusiasm is driven by sharing this knowledge. Plus I just want to show my garden like all of us on palm talk. I never grew up in the technology world like a lot of people out there nor I did not pass at school iam from a single parent family. I own my house and land and have made my way in the world not every person is liked in the world. It’s a free world you can be whoever you want to be and Iam Richard Moy @happypalms.

kind regards 

Beautiful...

[Jonathan]

1 hour ago, palmfriend said:

Richard,

Posting a comment like this after these turbulent days is a sign of greatness! 

Thank you very much - and all the best for you 

and your garden!

kind regards 

Lars 

And so is this. 

These two posts should be engraved in a memorial.

 

[Tyrone]

I think a forum where nobody posts much is pretty much pointless. A forum like this should encourage posting and just general engagement in the topic of growing palms. Nobody’s enthusiasm and posts should be dampened. We would have a real problem here if everybody restricted what they said and did just in case it may offend someone, somewhere who posts less.

[miamicuse]

I think the issue some have is not the number of postings at all, but the number of threads.  This boils down to the different posting habits/styles of different posters.  Some likes to be specific and create threads that get into deep discussions and exchange of knowledge, while others may be more about the exclamation and celebration of feelings and events of the day that's they would like to share.

Some of the longest threads like "So What Caught Your Eye Today?" and "How Bout a 'Color' thread?" here and "Why not grow orchids?" and "Cycad cones and flushes" in the Off Topics forum are really great threads and every so often I look through them my eyes got wider and wider on the what I see and being able to see them grouped together like that is incredible.

Now, imagine if these long threads do not exist and every post in these threads was posted as an individual new thread.  Instead of 6000+ posts in 4 threads nicely catalogued, you will have an extra 6000+ threads scattered around, and I would argue that the scattered threads will get much less views and participation and once they get to page 3, 4, 5 will rarely be seen again, while the longer threads will get new posts added daily, weekly and many more people will see them (sometimes more then once) resulting in more sharing.

Another analogy is discussion forums vs social media.  As many of you may have noticed, discussion forums like this one are becoming very rare these days, and replaced by social media like FB groups, Instagram, Twitter now X and the like.  This I believe reflects a change in how people like to interact, especially the younger generations, to post a quick short expression of the moment and it's a one off thing it's about the moment then you move on to the next moment next subject.  It's not meant to be resurrected a month later to dissect and discuss.

Just different posting styles and everyone has one.

 

 

[LowDesertBoil]

Lucky dog! You got a nice greenhouse!

[RiverCityRichard]

I would say as someone who is pretty new to growing palms, I enjoy @happypalms posts. I find myself learning a lot, seeing palms I have never heard of, and it’s cool to see the differences on the other side of the world.