About Orchid Board and Where it Started
 

I have a few questions for you mods out there. First, I was wondering how long this site has been going and other details. Like, this is an awesome site and I am sure it has been around for a while, and I definitely want to see it stay for a LONG time. Second, who chooses new mods, how are they chosen, and how often are they chosen? I am sure there are a lot of others out there who care for this board and are thinking about these things and how we can work together to continue to keep this board the awesome place it is. And finally..... :cheer: :cheer: :cheer: :banana: :banana::banana: :dance: :dance: :dance: :thanx: :thanx: :thanx: :lovesite :lovesite :gh :lovesite :lovesite :thanx: :thanx: :thanx: :dance: :dance: :dance: :banana: :banana: :banana: :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

This site was started by Marty in May 2005 and it has steadily grown since then. The very first post was by him (under the username Anonymous, he soon changed to the username Marty) back near the beginning of that month.

Marty's interest in orchids goes with his interest in vivariums which is where he grows them. He runs some sister sites on the same servers as OB (www.vivariumforum.com www.dartfrogz.com and www.geckosunlimited.com) but I believe Orchid Board is the most active of them all :biggrin:

For the last few years Marty has not taken such an active part in the day to day discussions on the forum, but he's still working hard in the background on our behalf, keeping the servers running... upgrading the server in the middle of last year because it was getting overloaded with the volume of traffic, running our calendar completion and various other administrative tasks.

The costs of running the servers and keeping this place online come from the forum sponsors, google adds and forum supporters (those with a http://www.orchidboard.com/community.../supporter.gif under their name) but I believe money is always pretty tight to keep things going.

Anyway, it's basically Marty's forum and he laid the groundwork for the friendly place it is :lovesite with instructions to moderators to not 'over moderate' and to just ensure we keep away spam and watch for unfriendliness.

Ultimately Marty chooses new moderators but I think usually based on advice from Sue (cb977). Sue herself is not posting as much as she would like recently but she's still around a lot behind the scenes removing spam and keeping an eye on things.

I'm the most recent moderator, having been invited to help out in August 2009. Sue and Dave (Oscarman) are administrators (and moderators) and Tindomul, Carol (justatypn) and Dana (CoolPhrog) are the other moderators. We also used to have Dorothy, but she passed away last year, which was a very sad time for us :tombstone: :(. I think they are chosen when needed. At the time I was chosen Tindomul was away and the others were unable to help as much as they had in the past for various reasons, so Sue talked to Marty about adding someone else to help her out.

Between us we keep this place clear of spam and running smoothly and in a friendly manner. Except most of the time it's only really the spam we have to contend with, because this place has such an air of friendliness it just keeps going that way with very little intervention :gh

Great question. I always wondered about this topic myself. BTW I love your enthusiasm. :biggrin:

Could this be made a sticky? Especially Rosies brief history of OB.

:Tup: :agree:

i too was wondering about this. thanks for posting cody!

I was only bitten by the orchid bug a little while ago myself and I'm a very new member here, but I just want to say that I LOVE THIS FORUM.:)

I belong to a few other online forums to support my other hobbies (cycling, electronics, etc). I won't say that anyone on those other sites is really mean, but you don't have to look very far to find bickering, petty disagreements, and generally unpleasant attitudes. A lot of "I'm right, and you're wrong" attitude. Overall, most folks on those forums are friendly, but that underlying negativity is always there. I thought it was just an unavoidable part of life on the internet.

So what a refreshing surprise when I joined the Orchid Board! I've been reading countless posts, drooling over all the great pictures, and dreaming about all the orchids I'm going to aquire - and I haven't seen any negative, petty, or unpleasant posts! The people here are so friendly and helpful! This is unlike any other forum on the internet that I've come across. Thank you Orchid Board!!!

So, the question is: does growing orchids make people calm, friendly, and easy-going? Or are calm, friendly, and easy-going people the only ones with the patience (or desire) to grow orchids?

I haven't belonged to too many forums, but agree that OB seems to be exceptionally friendly, and I'm really glad I found it! :D

Good question - I would think the answer is a little of both maybe ? I do think that growing any plants is kind of "Zen" - watering or repotting, you're in the moment, but it's a peaceful pastime. And I do think growing orchids can be quite the lesson in patience ;)

I've made the Sticky and changed the title to (hopefully) something that indicates what it's about :)

You wouldn't want to be around when I break a spike, drop a pot or am dealing with the latest round of mealybug infestation:rofl:
I think this site stays so friendly because the Mods are awesome. At the first signs of any sniping, they nip it right in the bud. There are a lot of other sites out there, but I find this is the best by far.

Bill