On 2013-11-08 15:55:06 +0000, Stephen Wolstenholme said:

On Fri, 8 Nov 2013 12:51:29 +0100, kay
wrote:


'David in Normandy[_8_ Wrote:
;994785']
I'm a moderator on a very large forum and yes, aside from diplomatic
skills rivalling those of an international diplomat, a thick skin
certainly helps! lol You also need to be a detective and have a keen
nose for detecting bullshit. I've been called every insult imaginable at

some time or other and even been threatened with physical harm. Another

good reason for keeping one's real life identity separate from forum
identities - that's the thing I dislike about facebook, its all
interconnected.
.

Yes, that's what I hate about facebook too. My different groups of
friends have different interests and ways of looking on life; I wouldn't
introduce them to each other in real life, so I don't like the way they
all get mixed into one heap on Facebook.

That's why I gave up using Facebook about a week after I started using
it. My gardening friends were all mixed up with my neural network
associates. I must have looked like a real idiot.


More importantly - I haven't met most urglers. I'm not going to
introduce them into my more intimate circle of facebook friends until I
have met them, and know them well enough to know I can trust them.

If we moved to a forum, I'd prefer reactive moderation. The occasional
nitwit will post, but can be picked up quickly and removed by a mod.
Less work for the mod than reading everything, and gives more
"ownership" (excuse mgt-speak) for the non-mod members of the group.

The main trouble with forums is they need logging in and out. It's
summed up by chap who compares forums with getting lots of newspapers,
only one comes from each newsagent. If I used forums instead of Usenet
I would need hours just to log in to each one as I use lots of
newsgroups.

Steve

You can start Facebook groups and they can be open or closed groups, so
you could start or join, a group for each specific interest. I
currently read and occasionally contribute to groups on food, hardy
tropical plants in UK, exotic plants and foliage plants.
Groups have people who are 'admins' and they can moderate a group, if
necessary but in practice this seems to be exercised lightly, if at all.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

"kay" wrote in message
...

'David in Normandy[_8_ Wrote:
;994785']
I'm a moderator on a very large forum and yes, aside from diplomatic
skills rivalling those of an international diplomat, a thick skin
certainly helps! lol You also need to be a detective and have a keen
nose for detecting bullshit. I've been called every insult imaginable at

some time or other and even been threatened with physical harm. Another

good reason for keeping one's real life identity separate from forum
identities - that's the thing I dislike about facebook, its all
interconnected.
.

Yes, that's what I hate about facebook too. My different groups of
friends have different interests and ways of looking on life; I wouldn't
introduce them to each other in real life, so I don't like the way they
all get mixed into one heap on Facebook.

More importantly - I haven't met most urglers. I'm not going to
introduce them into my more intimate circle of facebook friends until I
have met them, and know them well enough to know I can trust them.

If we moved to a forum, I'd prefer reactive moderation. The occasional
nitwit will post, but can be picked up quickly and removed by a mod.
Less work for the mod than reading everything, and gives more
"ownership" (excuse mgt-speak) for the non-mod members of the group.
--
kay

I haven't read all the posts on this topic so if this has already been
said - sorry.

I help run a garden forum, I also look in at several others and post
occasionally, its worth noting that forums are also struggling to keep going
such has been the impact of facebook.

Also forums are not free, you have to pay to host them, its not a lot but
someone has to raise the money pay the bills etc and although the software
is free to use its not something everyone comes across everyday so you
really need someone who knows their way around phpBB.

Oddly moderation is the easy bit, people seem much better behaved!

I can't say I have found Facebook as wonderful as everyone said I would,
daughter insisted I set up an account but I seldom look at it, I haven't a
clue what I am doing and spend my time getting frustrated or worrying I am
going to do something wrong.

I still look in here most days so I would say its too soon the right an obit

I also occasionally read blogs, but prefer a good mag or book

there that's my 2p's worth

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

On 2013-11-08 15:45:41 +0000, Ophelia said:

"sacha" wrote in message
...
snip

I find it quite amusing that the new definition of 'a good summer' is -
what - 5 weeks of sunshine!

Now when I were a bairn ...

Seems that way to me, too. In memory, every day was spent on the beach
with friends. We were rarely out of the water!

That is exactly the way it was!!! I remember it well! Now last year,
did we not have 3 week bbq weather?

I don't remember 1 week of barbecue weather. I think it must be the
only year when we didn't once have supper in the garden.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2013-11-08 15:45:41 +0000, Ophelia said:

"sacha" wrote in message
...
snip

I find it quite amusing that the new definition of 'a good summer'
is -
what - 5 weeks of sunshine!

Now when I were a bairn ...

Seems that way to me, too. In memory, every day was spent on the beach
with friends. We were rarely out of the water!

That is exactly the way it was!!! I remember it well! Now last year,
did we not have 3 week bbq weather?

I don't remember 1 week of barbecue weather. I think it must be the only
year when we didn't once have supper in the garden.

Oh I didn't see it! I just remember it being forecast!


--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

On 2013-11-08 17:02:58 +0000, Ophelia said:

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2013-11-08 15:45:41 +0000, Ophelia said:

"sacha" wrote in message
...
snip

I find it quite amusing that the new definition of 'a good summer' is -
what - 5 weeks of sunshine!

Now when I were a bairn ...

Seems that way to me, too. In memory, every day was spent on the beach
with friends. We were rarely out of the water!

That is exactly the way it was!!! I remember it well! Now last year,
did we not have 3 week bbq weather?

I don't remember 1 week of barbecue weather. I think it must be the
only year when we didn't once have supper in the garden.

Oh I didn't see it! I just remember it being forecast!

Oh yes, we were told to expect it. Just as we were told this year that
we were entering a ten year cycle of wet wet wet. And then promptly had
several weeks of sunshine! The met office needs a new piece of seaweed
or the help of that man in Kent who (apparently 'always' predicts the
coming year's weather correctly. I won't give a link to articles about
him because they'll frighten those of a nervous disposition, having ad
links attached. ;-) Apparently, he wrote to the Queen to warn her that
the weather for last year's water pageant would be appalling. If so, he
was 100% correct!
In fact, the met offices admit they are pushed to predict beyond 5
days. Before going sailing, we always rang the met office for their
forecast and they preferred to give 3 days at most. Island nations,
such as the British Isles, are just too open to the vagaries of wind
and tide and the overall effect of the Gulf Stream and all those things
combined. While predictable weather would be lovely in many ways, when
I've experienced it over months, I just occasionally found myself
longing for a day when it wasn't inevitably sunny but there'd be a good
English downpour.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

In article , lid
says...

On 07/11/2013 23:27, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-11-07 19:41:29 +0000, Roger Tonkin said:

Well Sacha, you certainly made this group come to life
today, revealing that there are many more lurkers(like
me) out there that only contribute occasionally.

I did subscribe a few weeks ago to a DIY group out of
curiousity (DIY is really a pet hate of mine - I just
get forced to do it!). I gave up after about a week,
as it was running at around 200 posts a day!

KEEP URG GOING I SAY

What seems to have got lost in all the brouhaha is that my original
idea was to keep urg going by suggesting people look for new topics to
discuss.

Well, maybe it's time to comment now that the blog appearance has been
dissected to oblivion. But a general comment on its content first.

I read the blog, and the trouble is that it was too long as it was
really a rant. Short rants are fine; long rants tend to make you turn
off half-way through. And it seemed to want to cover several subjects.
In then end I had trouble seeing the wood for the trees. Was it for or
against GW? Was it about getting children interested? Was it about
supporting nurseries and growers? Did it want more or less detail in
GW

all topics that have been discussed in urg, some endlessly :-( Quite
why anyone thought we needed a blog to remind us to discuss them all
over again beats me.

Janet.

On 11/8/2013 3:18 PM, sacha wrote:

Seems that way to me, too. In memory, every day was spent on the beach
with friends. We were rarely out of the water!

A cousin of mine (a primary teacher), says that remembering summers
that way, means that you had a happy childhood - you only remember the
sunny days.

On 2013-11-08 20:56:11 +0000, S Viemeister said:

On 11/8/2013 3:18 PM, sacha wrote:

Seems that way to me, too. In memory, every day was spent on the beach
with friends. We were rarely out of the water!

A cousin of mine (a primary teacher), says that remembering summers
that way, means that you had a happy childhood - you only remember the
sunny days.

No, no, it was all like that! Honest! ;-)) I wonder if anyone
remembers what they did on the rainy days, quite so clearly. I
certainly don't.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

KEEP URG GOING I SAY

Have been an occasional Poster here for a few years, but a lurker for
much longer, and have seen many changes since using a Bulletin Board
back in the early 1980's. 'BB' 'NG' 'Forums' and Facebook, all have
advantages, (not sure about twitter)
I run a number of forums, some combined with 'web sites' and facebook,
and a twitter feed.
The reason forums need you to register is in an attempt to keep out
spammers, you can allow 'non registered' to view (and even post) if
you wish.
As with every form of communication, unless you get participation, it
does become a 'one man band' get it right and it takes off , for
instance one of my Forums, for the Olympics, had 2000 users, and five
million visits, but that will probably never be seen again. A
combination of different types of social media is the way forward.
For an example of a forum

http://lincolnfuchsiasociety.info/

Derek

On Fri, 8 Nov 2013 16:29:23 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

On 2013-11-08 15:55:06 +0000, Stephen Wolstenholme said:

On Fri, 8 Nov 2013 12:51:29 +0100, kay
wrote:


'David in Normandy[_8_ Wrote:
;994785']
I'm a moderator on a very large forum and yes, aside from diplomatic
skills rivalling those of an international diplomat, a thick skin
certainly helps! lol You also need to be a detective and have a keen
nose for detecting bullshit. I've been called every insult imaginable at

some time or other and even been threatened with physical harm. Another

good reason for keeping one's real life identity separate from forum
identities - that's the thing I dislike about facebook, its all
interconnected.
.

Yes, that's what I hate about facebook too. My different groups of
friends have different interests and ways of looking on life; I wouldn't
introduce them to each other in real life, so I don't like the way they
all get mixed into one heap on Facebook.

That's why I gave up using Facebook about a week after I started using
it. My gardening friends were all mixed up with my neural network
associates. I must have looked like a real idiot.


More importantly - I haven't met most urglers. I'm not going to
introduce them into my more intimate circle of facebook friends until I
have met them, and know them well enough to know I can trust them.

If we moved to a forum, I'd prefer reactive moderation. The occasional
nitwit will post, but can be picked up quickly and removed by a mod.
Less work for the mod than reading everything, and gives more
"ownership" (excuse mgt-speak) for the non-mod members of the group.

The main trouble with forums is they need logging in and out. It's
summed up by chap who compares forums with getting lots of newspapers,
only one comes from each newsagent. If I used forums instead of Usenet
I would need hours just to log in to each one as I use lots of
newsgroups.

Steve

You can start Facebook groups and they can be open or closed groups, so
you could start or join, a group for each specific interest. I
currently read and occasionally contribute to groups on food, hardy
tropical plants in UK, exotic plants and foliage plants.
Groups have people who are 'admins' and they can moderate a group, if
necessary but in practice this seems to be exercised lightly, if at all.

Logging in to multiple groups or forums is too much hassle for me.

Steve

--
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. http://www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. http://www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. http://www.justnn.com

On 11/8/2013 10:51 PM, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-11-08 20:56:11 +0000, S Viemeister said:

On 11/8/2013 3:18 PM, sacha wrote:

Seems that way to me, too. In memory, every day was spent on the beach
with friends. We were rarely out of the water!

A cousin of mine (a primary teacher), says that remembering summers
that way, means that you had a happy childhood - you only remember the
sunny days.

No, no, it was all like that! Honest! ;-)) I wonder if anyone remembers
what they did on the rainy days, quite so clearly. I certainly don't.

I remember one or two really rainy days, running around holding a giant
rhubarb leaf over my head as an umbrella, splashing in puddles, getting
thoroughly soaked, and enjoying myself immensely.

"sacha" wrote in message
...
.. While predictable weather would be lovely in many ways, when
I've experienced it over months, I just occasionally found myself longing
for a day when it wasn't inevitably sunny but there'd be a good English
downpour.

Oh how I missed that in India!!! I so know what you mean! Another place
we lived we never saw snow. Our first winter home and it
snowed, I was so entranced that I think I stood at that window nearly all
day. Soon get used to it again though
--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

"S Viemeister" wrote in message
...
On 11/8/2013 3:18 PM, sacha wrote:

Seems that way to me, too. In memory, every day was spent on the beach
with friends. We were rarely out of the water!

A cousin of mine (a primary teacher), says that remembering summers that
way, means that you had a happy childhood - you only remember the sunny
days.

Are you trying to say our childhood days were not always sunny? Pah g

--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2013-11-08 20:56:11 +0000, S Viemeister said:

On 11/8/2013 3:18 PM, sacha wrote:

Seems that way to me, too. In memory, every day was spent on the beach
with friends. We were rarely out of the water!

A cousin of mine (a primary teacher), says that remembering summers
that way, means that you had a happy childhood - you only remember the
sunny days.

No, no, it was all like that! Honest! ;-)) I wonder if anyone remembers
what they did on the rainy days, quite so clearly. I certainly don't.

I totally agree!!! I remember snow, but that was lovely too

--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

"Derek" wrote in message
...

http://lincolnfuchsiasociety.info/

Ahh how is Lincoln these days? I miss it I used to live in Cherry
Willingham We had a nice garden there, not very big but it was the first
I'd ever had and I loved it
--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/