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At the risk of being unpopular
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. There are only so many times one can be fascinated by a runner bean failure, a lawnmower that doesn't, or mildew on Michaelmas daisies. It's hardly any wonder numbers have dwindled to the downright pitiful. So please delurk, all you present lurkers and put in your two pennorth! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
At the risk of being unpopular
"Sacha" wrote in message ... On 2013-11-07 20:33:35 +0000, Ophelia said: "sacha" wrote in message ... On 2013-11-07 18:58:52 +0000, Ophelia said: "Sacha" wrote in message ... snip I will post one thing though before I go back into lurkdom and hope it will be useful. Thank you and may I say that I hope it's absolutely wrong!! ;-) Groannnnnnnnnn so do I!!!! Purely as speculation someone else said that to me today - about a bad winter, I mean. His belief is that, having had a good summer, we'll now get a hard winter! I don't think 'optimism' is in his dictionary! Not sure about that. From the posts here not everyone has had a good summer. Well, not ideal anyway! 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 ... -- http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/ |
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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. |
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At the risk of being unpopular
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 ("If you are discussing the Chelsea Chop, go into it properly and talk about the whole process or it makes no sense and it will go wrong", but "And please never let any of us have to endure 6 minutes of how to jet wash a path ever again!!". Why not? it's as much a part of gardening as anything else done in that outside space. And, I don't remember it being covered before in GW or urg. So there you are, a new subject!). That's why I almost never read blogs. They are just someone else's ideas on what I should be doing or thinking about. It's just a "When I want your opinion I'll give it to you" statement. I was interested in the point about getting children into gardening. I suppose that some children may be interested, but I would guess that children have a few other interests (other than the glass-faced tap and drag machine). Other than planting a daffodil bulb, and getting a runner bean seed to sprout, I can't remember doing anything relating to plants when I was of primary school age. But then I was living in a city in a house with a very small back-yard garden. I think I tried growing some runner beans outside, but don't remember the outcome. But there most certainly weren't the distractions then that kids have today. We tended then to make (ie physically construct) our own entertainment. Can you see /any/ kids doing that today? Their entertainment comes ready-packed. Could they focus on one thing for more than 20 minutes, unless it's a film or video game? It's probably why sites like twitter are so successful - you only need a span of attention of a few seconds, and that is in line with what most user's limit is. The problem is that you can create anything in the virtual world so easily with the minimum of effort. That's the attraction. Look at the people walking round any NGS garden. They are all of, or near, retirement age. If you see anyone below 50 they stand out like a sort thumb. I must have been to over 50 gardens in the last 2 or 3 years, and even at the weekends never saw a child. But I didn't expect to. I am not sure about the statement "...kids love to garden and are naturals as they don't worry it might not work." How many kids love to garden? A small minority I expect - probably less than a fraction of a percent at best. The may seem to like gardening at school, but what would be the alternative to the gardening hour? And how many kids have the facilities to garden today, as house plots get smaller and smaller, and the gardens proportionally more so, as far as I can see. It would be interesting to see when the urg regular posters - and even some or the lurkers - started gardening. With me, an interest in plants started with a present by a friend of a couple of cacti, and I was near 30 at the time. It must have been another 5 years before I started gardening in earnest. So I don't think that there is much point in spending a lot of time trying to get children involved in gardening. Those who are interested will take it up and stay interested. Those who aren't will either never take it up, or might later in life. Only then might they become urglers. Rant over. Or should that be my #Shoutyhalfhour (whatever the # means) over?! Did you stop reading half-way through? ;-) There are only so many times one can be fascinated by a runner bean failure, a lawnmower that doesn't, or mildew on Michaelmas daisies. It's hardly any wonder numbers have dwindled to the downright pitiful. I am sure that you actually mean "a select few"... So please delurk, all you present lurkers and put in your two pennorth! May I qualify that? Please add your comments, but only if you have something to say. There are already enough posters here who waffle on and on. Don't argue - I write as one with great experience! -- Jeff |
At the risk of being unpopular
On 2013-11-07 23:37:35 +0000, Ophelia said:
"Sacha" wrote in message ... On 2013-11-07 20:33:35 +0000, Ophelia said: "sacha" wrote in message ... On 2013-11-07 18:58:52 +0000, Ophelia said: "Sacha" wrote in message ... snip I will post one thing though before I go back into lurkdom and hope it will be useful. Thank you and may I say that I hope it's absolutely wrong!! ;-) Groannnnnnnnnn so do I!!!! Purely as speculation someone else said that to me today - about a bad winter, I mean. His belief is that, having had a good summer, we'll now get a hard winter! I don't think 'optimism' is in his dictionary! Not sure about that. From the posts here not everyone has had a good summer. Well, not ideal anyway! 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! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon |
At the risk of being unpopular
On 2013-11-08 15:10:16 +0000, Jeff Layman said:
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 ("If you are discussing the Chelsea Chop, go into it properly and talk about the whole process or it makes no sense and it will go wrong", but "And please never let any of us have to endure 6 minutes of how to jet wash a path ever again!!". Why not? it's as much a part of gardening as anything else done in that outside space. And, I don't remember it being covered before in GW or urg. So there you are, a new subject!). That's why I almost never read blogs. They are just someone else's ideas on what I should be doing or thinking about. It's just a "When I want your opinion I'll give it to you" statement. I was interested in the point about getting children into gardening. I suppose that some children may be interested, but I would guess that children have a few other interests (other than the glass-faced tap and drag machine). Other than planting a daffodil bulb, and getting a runner bean seed to sprout, I can't remember doing anything relating to plants when I was of primary school age. But then I was living in a city in a house with a very small back-yard garden. I think I tried growing some runner beans outside, but don't remember the outcome. But there most certainly weren't the distractions then that kids have today. We tended then to make (ie physically construct) our own entertainment. Can you see /any/ kids doing that today? Their entertainment comes ready-packed. Could they focus on one thing for more than 20 minutes, unless it's a film or video game? It's probably why sites like twitter are so successful - you only need a span of attention of a few seconds, and that is in line with what most user's limit is. The problem is that you can create anything in the virtual world so easily with the minimum of effort. That's the attraction. Look at the people walking round any NGS garden. They are all of, or near, retirement age. If you see anyone below 50 they stand out like a sort thumb. I must have been to over 50 gardens in the last 2 or 3 years, and even at the weekends never saw a child. But I didn't expect to. I am not sure about the statement "...kids love to garden and are naturals as they don't worry it might not work." How many kids love to garden? A small minority I expect - probably less than a fraction of a percent at best. The may seem to like gardening at school, but what would be the alternative to the gardening hour? And how many kids have the facilities to garden today, as house plots get smaller and smaller, and the gardens proportionally more so, as far as I can see. It would be interesting to see when the urg regular posters - and even some or the lurkers - started gardening. With me, an interest in plants started with a present by a friend of a couple of cacti, and I was near 30 at the time. It must have been another 5 years before I started gardening in earnest. So I don't think that there is much point in spending a lot of time trying to get children involved in gardening. Those who are interested will take it up and stay interested. Those who aren't will either never take it up, or might later in life. Only then might they become urglers. Rant over. Or should that be my #Shoutyhalfhour (whatever the # means) over?! Did you stop reading half-way through? ;-) There are only so many times one can be fascinated by a runner bean failure, a lawnmower that doesn't, or mildew on Michaelmas daisies. It's hardly any wonder numbers have dwindled to the downright pitiful. I am sure that you actually mean "a select few"... So please delurk, all you present lurkers and put in your two pennorth! May I qualify that? Please add your comments, but only if you have something to say. There are already enough posters here who waffle on and on. Don't argue - I write as one with great experience! In the immortal words of Mandy R-D "I would say this, wouldn't I" but in fact that blog has actually achieved what I was getting at. You've read it and discussed it. Even if you didn't like the format, as some didn't, you didn't just dismiss out out of hand and you did actually have something to say about it. That was the whole idea, so thank you for catching on! Just to take the children aspect of it, one of the reasons that comes up often among professional gardeners/nurserymen, is the lack of young people going into the industry AND one of the reasons given is pretty much related to what you said about making your own entertainment when young. Country children used to spend a lot of time outside so almost learned a certain amount by default. And city children's parents often used to grow some veg in a very small plot or have an allotment, so the concept of planting something and watching it grow was learned early on. Children may have moved away from it but then returned in later years when they had families of their own. Now, entertainment and any leisure activities seem to come mostly pre-packaged and it's said to be hard to prise the teenagers off the sofa! As to when urglers first started gardening, I hope you'll start another thread on that. I must admit a couple of cactus had never entered my life to get me interested, so I wouldn't have thought of that! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon |
At the risk of being unpopular
"sacha" wrote in message ... On 2013-11-07 23:37:35 +0000, Ophelia said: "Sacha" wrote in message ... On 2013-11-07 20:33:35 +0000, Ophelia said: "sacha" wrote in message ... On 2013-11-07 18:58:52 +0000, Ophelia said: "Sacha" wrote in message ... snip I will post one thing though before I go back into lurkdom and hope it will be useful. Thank you and may I say that I hope it's absolutely wrong!! ;-) Groannnnnnnnnn so do I!!!! Purely as speculation someone else said that to me today - about a bad winter, I mean. His belief is that, having had a good summer, we'll now get a hard winter! I don't think 'optimism' is in his dictionary! Not sure about that. From the posts here not everyone has had a good summer. Well, not ideal anyway! 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? -- http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/ |
At the risk of being unpopular
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 |
At the risk of being unpopular
On Thu, 07 Nov 2013 15:16:54 +0100, David in Normandy wrote:
On 07/11/2013 15:06, Sacha wrote: Thanks, David but no thanks! While I see the point you're making, my personal view is that urg should remain advertisement free, with the exceptions of sig.files rules already in place. The fundamental problem with advertisement free forums is they don't have the finance to pay for the site or its bandwidth. This means either asking members to pay a subscription fee and that is extremely unlikely to succeed or to use free hosting, which may have limits on the bandwidth anyway and include adverts by the host, over which the forum operator would have little or no control. There is no easy or palatable alternative to the Usenet based URG as far as I can see and as most of us tend to agree, it is gradually slipping into oblivion. I'm late to this thread and haven't read it all yet. The Maple Society forum is hosted by the University of British Columbia botanical garden as a service. Perhaps we have some connection to a garden or institution that would be willing to host a forum? Personally I have no problem with moderated forums, although someone has to volunteer to do the moderating. -E -- Gardening in Lower Normandy |
At the risk of being unpopular
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 |
At the risk of being unpopular
"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 |
At the risk of being unpopular
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 |
At the risk of being unpopular
"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/ |
At the risk of being unpopular
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 |
At the risk of being unpopular
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At the risk of being unpopular
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. |
At the risk of being unpopular
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 |
At the risk of being unpopular
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 |
At the risk of being unpopular
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 |
At the risk of being unpopular
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. |
At the risk of being unpopular
"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/ |
At the risk of being unpopular
"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/ |
At the risk of being unpopular
"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/ |
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"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/ |
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"S Viemeister" wrote in message ... 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. No, I can't say I remember any of that! The days truly were long and sunny:) I don't know if anyone agrees with me but we used to have proper summers and winters. -- http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/ |
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In article ,
S Viemeister wrote: On 11/8/2013 10:51 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. I remember having a shower in the warm rain, not wearing a stitch of clothing - but I was only a little piccaninny, then. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
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On Sat, 9 Nov 2013 10:15:11 -0000, Roger Tonkin
wrote: In article , says... I totally agree!!! I remember snow, but that was lovely too:) One of my snow memories is of course sledging in the recrationground behind our house. Steep hills and trees at the bottom -Elf & Softy would have a fit today!. Mind you I do remember one incident where a friends big brother did fail to stop and hit a tree, braeking his leg. Great excitement was had by all as an ambulance (never saw those much) actually came into the park, drove across the hollowed football ground to collect him. Dont remember much about him or the accident, just the ambulance! All the hills we went sledging and breaking bones are now covered in houses. One hill finished up in Hollingworth lake. When it froze in winter we sledged or walked on the ice. The whole lot made a creaking noise as we walked across, about a mile. The river that fed the lake also froze over in 1962/63 winter and the water level dropped as the flow stopped. This formed an ice cave for us to explore. We were risking drowning and being crushed at the same time. Extreme madness. My brothers still live near the lake. They say it has not froze over for years. Global warming in Lancashire! 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 |
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On 2013-11-09 09:22:10 +0000, Stephen Wolstenholme said:
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 No logging in required. They're just in a list to the side of my page, so I simply click on the name of the group and I'm there, just as I'm here using my newsreader. It may be different with closed groups. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
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On 2013-11-09 09:27:20 +0000, Ophelia said:
"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:) We always get excited about snow here, too. It doesn't happen every year and not always in large quantities. When that happens, it does lose its charm quickly! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
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On 2013-11-09 10:15:11 +0000, Roger Tonkin said:
In article , lid says... I totally agree!!! I remember snow, but that was lovely too:) One of my snow memories is of course sledging in the recrationground behind our house. Steep hills and trees at the bottom -Elf & Softy would have a fit today!. Mind you I do remember one incident where a friends big brother did fail to stop and hit a tree, braeking his leg. Great excitement was had by all as an ambulance (never saw those much) actually came into the park, drove across the hollowed football ground to collect him. Dont remember much about him or the accident, just the ambulance! My parents house in Guernsey has a steeply sloping lawn and our first winter there it snowed - extremely rare and unusual. I remember me and friends hurtling down the lawn on tea trays, while my mother stood their wringing her hands. Maybe she was worried about those trays! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
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The other forum uses better software, with much more control on what shows on your screen (eg new posts, or new posts only to threads you've contributed to). And again it can store your password so logging in is one click. I don't find it any hassle. We're better disciplined on the second forum, starting new threads in the particular area when we get thread drift. And if we don't, the mods will often split a topic. That means people have all the techie stuff together and separated out from the idle chat. It works well - it's the "idle chat" that gets people posting every day, and it's often the ones posting in the idle chat area who have the knowledge to answer the techie questions. I'm not saying forums are better than usenet. There are some things they do well, and some they do badly - like threading. If you have to make the move, you can change your behaviour to make the effects less of a nuisance. |
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On 2013-11-09 12:52:07 +0000, Martin said:
On Sat, 9 Nov 2013 10:53:31 +0000, Sacha wrote: On 2013-11-09 09:27:20 +0000, Ophelia said: "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:) We always get excited about snow here, too. It doesn't happen every year and not always in large quantities. When that happens, it does lose its charm quickly! As soon as the snow turns to ice on the roads and pavements. It so rarely happens here but if it does, I try not to drive. I'm just not used to it and there's exceedingly little room to manoeuvre in these lanes. Last year, when there was some ice, Ray tried to stop an impatient driver turning off a main road onto one of our narrow lanes. This person pulled past him and zoomed up the lane anyway, only to zoom back out again quickly when he saw the Tesco van sliding straight down it towards him! Both were very lucky that a usually busy main road was empty at the time. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
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"Martin" wrote in message ... On Sat, 9 Nov 2013 09:33:48 -0000, "Ophelia" wrote: "S Viemeister" wrote in message ... 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. No, I can't say I remember any of that! The days truly were long and sunny:) I don't know if anyone agrees with me but we used to have proper summers and winters. If you ever had camping holidays you must also remember some very wet muddy holidays too Never went camping as a child. -- http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/ |
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"Roger Tonkin" wrote in message ... One of my snow memories is of course sledging in the recrationground behind our house. Steep hills and trees at the bottom -Elf & Softy would have a fit today!. g We used to slide down the banks of a small frozen river behind our cottage (we hoped it was very frozen) on sheets of cardboard. I did get my feet wet once but no big drama:) Didn't never not 'ave no posh sledges! Mind you I do remember one incident where a friends big brother did fail to stop and hit a tree, braeking his leg. Great excitement was had by all as an ambulance (never saw those much) actually came into the park, drove across the hollowed football ground to collect him. Dont remember much about him or the accident, just the ambulance! lol all to do with priorities dontchaknow :)) -- http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/ |
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"Sacha" wrote in message ... On 2013-11-09 09:27:20 +0000, Ophelia said: "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:) We always get excited about snow here, too. It doesn't happen every year and not always in large quantities. When that happens, it does lose its charm quickly! Oh yes! Especially when it starts to get sludgy and mucky! -- http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/ |
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In message , Ophelia
writes "S Viemeister" wrote in message ... 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. No, I can't say I remember any of that! The days truly were long and sunny:) I don't know if anyone agrees with me but we used to have proper summers and winters. We've been keeping monthly rainfall records for about 15 years now and the average for each month closely correlates with the average for each month up to 1956 (my wife studied geography and has a geographic atlas published in that year). Wettest months are Oct and Nov closely followed by August and July. -- bert |
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On 09/11/2013 13:19, bert wrote:
In message , Ophelia writes "S Viemeister" wrote in message ... 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. No, I can't say I remember any of that! The days truly were long and sunny:) I don't know if anyone agrees with me but we used to have proper summers and winters. We've been keeping monthly rainfall records for about 15 years now and the average for each month closely correlates with the average for each month up to 1956 (my wife studied geography and has a geographic atlas published in that year). Wettest months are Oct and Nov closely followed by August and July. But where are you? |
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On 09/11/2013 13:02, Ophelia wrote:
We used to slide down the banks of a small frozen river behind our cottage (we hoped it was very frozen) on sheets of cardboard. I did get my feet wet once but no big drama:) Didn't never not 'ave no posh sledges! I always made my own from planks of wood, from about the age of 11. |
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