From: ExoticRainforest <Steve at ExoticRainforest.com> on 2009.08.24 at 20:39:08(19849)
I have received a few private emailsasking why Aroid l isn't online as a chat forum. There are severalvery good reasons one of which is I highly doubt our aroid botanistshave the time to post on a chat forum and prefer to receive requestsfor information in email form.
There are several good aroid forums on the net so let me point you intheir directions so you can join and participate.
University ofBritish Colombia Botanical Garden:
http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f'2
Of the forumsavailable my personal preference is UBC. The forum is moderated bybotanists and they strive to keep the conversation "clean" Theyquickly edit anything that gets "nasty" and remove any SPAM that slipsthrough and they also are helpful in pointing out blatant errors. There are some very knowledgeable folks on UBC and we often bat ideasback and forth so you may like this one as much as I. Often theconversation can be very good and there rarely any conflicts. Thething about UBC I like the best is you receive an instant notificationwhen someone has responded to a thread you indicate you'd like to knowabout or to which you have made a post. Photos are easy to post (onceyou read the instructions) so people can see what you're talkingabout. So far we've not had any aroid botanist join but I'd love tosee some participation if any find the time.
For those of you that love Amorphophallus and Arumspecies, for some reason we don't get a lot of talk on UBC about thatgenus. Personally, I'd like to see more so please consider joining thegroup.
GardenWeb AroidForum
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/aroid/
I sometimes post on GardenWeb but that forum is not moderated and isowned by a for-profit company out of New York City. Generally I findGardenWeb to be good, however more than once I've seen people that weredoing nothing other than trying to trade plants be run off by a fewmembers that thought the person was attempting to sell something. Although rare, there have been attempts by a few people to insist onlytheir opinion should be given any consideration and the posts have been"testy". Believe me, that is an understatement. I was asked twicepublicly to leave by one individual. Another called me a "pompous___" when I tried to explain a photo on the board of "Anthuriumcubense" was not the species.
The owners will sometimes remove posts that are really "over the top"but someone has to take the time to let them know. One of their"editors" told me in a private note they just don't have the time toread everything. This forum tends to appeal more to folks that likebasic info and some really don't enjoy reading anything related toscience. I've been nailed a few times on there for using "scientific"language even though I do my best to explain it. But GardenWeb justmay be the one best for you and several members of Aroid l use itregularly so check it out. GardenWeb does not send notifications asfar as I can figure out.
Dave's Garden
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/
Dave's Garden is aunique forum since it is a "for profit" company and you pay to usetheir member service. Anyone can look up plants on their pages butyou'll also find a lot of advertising for shoes and other items on thepages. I know of quite a few IAS members on the forum and theinformation on the threads is often good. LariAnn Garner publishesregular articles about aroids on Dave's which I often read. All theplant photos are added by members and my main problem with Dave'sGarden is there are quite a few improperly identified species on theirpages. When I've tried to point those out the owner's often do notrespond and in one case simply told me I was wrong even though Dr.Croat has identified the plant. If you want to post a correct photoyou must pay the member fee to be able to do so. Anyone can make notesat the bottom of a page if you wish to correct an error but I'm notsure how many people go past the first photo. You have to become afree member with limited access to do so. Still, Dave's is a very goodforum that covers many plant interests. I am not a member so I don'tknow how the forum works for certain.
I've seen a few forums come and go from around the globe and if youknow of one please add it to this list.
I would encourage all of you that enjoy chatting about aroids or othergenera to use the one that fits your needs best. I'd really like tosee more of you join UBC since we can really bat ideas back and forthquickly. I often learn new things from others on that site.
Now, for those of you that are going to ask........... Yes, I did leaveUBC just over one year ago and swore never to return. One poster tookit upon themselves to be less than kind in some of their posts and madesome very strong accusations. I'm not sure why, but the moderatorsdidn't take those down as they normally do. I have little use for suchcombativeness in any on-line forum and my current approach is simplynot to respond. After I left I had a lot of mail asking me to returnand elected to do so about four months ago. I have enjoyed all theexchanges since I returned. So now you know!
Steve
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