Future of Forum
 

Although I hate Facebook, I have been on there a lot lately and came across this group:
Catasetinae (Can), Cyrtopodiinae & related intergenerics
There is a lot of activity and although FB isn't the best forum for discussion, a lot is discussed.
Two weeks ago I came across the Catasetinae group on Flickr. I was awe struck by the quality of pictures, and range of species and hybrids.
I just wonder what you guys thought about the future of the forums.
I felt like there have been fewer posts lately but did a quick unofficial search. There were more post on Catasetum in 7/15 then in 7/09.

I LOVE that FB group you posted. They have really great stuff. In fact, I think I use FB as my main orchid information gathering source and fix for pics. Flicker is really good too, but the sheer number of high quality orchid groups on FB is really amazing. OB is a bit obsolete at this point (sorry OB, I still love you!!).

The really great thing about the FB orchid groups is that I get to participate in several Cattleya walkeriana, amethystoglossa, and nobilior groups based in Brazil. American breeding of these species is at least a decade (or more) behind the Brazilians and Japanese (as indicated by many American's reluctance to call certain strains of walkeriana a hybrid), so its nice to see what the breeding trends are like in places like this where they know what they are talking about.

Other really high quality American growers and breeders are significant participants in FB groups like Cattleya Lovers and American Orchid Society, plus there's orchid trade and sell group that is pretty active. Mauro Rosim (who used to be on OB and is still on Flicker) also posts just about every day in Cattleya Lovers.

FB is the new orchid forum king (again, sorry OB!!).

---------- Post added at 12:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:01 PM ----------

I forgot to mention Stephen Moffitt posts just about everyday in Catasetinae Fever and others.

I don't like FB or any other form of social site...unless restricted to a very specific subject or interest.

OMG! There's group on FB just for C. walkeriana? Cat. Lovers (I don't mean those cats)? Ahh, Orchid Trades???
Excuse me. I have to go log into FB.
Steve, you are an enabler!

I'm in the Brassavola and hybrid group which is awesome!

I love the forum format for in depth discussion but it seems these other formats are taking over. I don't think OB is going anywhere but some of the other orchid forums? I've always thought there were too many orchid forums. It would be a much better discussion if everyone participated in one group.

There are lots of very narrow topics on FB, including those dedicated only to one species or genus.

There are a ton of groups!! Its great!

I'm not quite a fan of facebook groups. I kinda like the relative anonymity offered by various boards on the web. It feels more like a community here rather than , literally, a group of strangers on facebook. Yes the numbers of active members may be larger, but there's just an appeal to OB that facebook doesn't offer. :)

I don't care for FB at all, so I personally will never hang out there. It's a big world with lots of different kind of people, so I highly doubt that FB will kill sites like this one. Plenty of room for different sources of information and sharing.

A group is only as good as the individuals themselves. People have come and gone on this forum before this. I like OB and believe it has a future.

I use facebook very often, but i really can't find any groups really suited for me. Since I'm fascinated by species orchids but not all over the cattleyas/phalaenopsis, this forum and a few others will provide invaluable information on them. So yes, this forum may still have a future.

This and other forums work for me. I can pick and choose what threads to read, focus in on a sub-forum and find a question/answer posted days/weeks/years ago.

With FB, you are going to have to wade through lots of posts from a big group or little resource from a small group.

That's something I didn't consider with FB. I'm not sure you can search FB. I have to admit the forums are a great source for information. Searching for information on a particular species or whatever is invaluable. I have learned so much from the forums.

You can search Facebook, top left on page. Says "search Facebook" and has a magnifying glass near where you click. Just write your species or whatever in that spot and click.

Some groups are interesting but save a few people (like Braem) or some you already know, you can't evaluate their knowledge and the quality of the answer.

Plus threads disappear easily especially in fast turn around groups.

It's easier to have competent answer, by knowledgeable persons on forum away of FB, plus the search is faster and threads don't disappear that easily.

I've marked that groups on FB with a restrictive policy, enforced, are better than truly open ones where we are lost under noise and happy dying phals. (no prejudice, I'm a phal weirdo)

I agree, and while I spend a lot of time on the FB groups, I still love this site and come here everyday.

The funny thing about the FB groups is that I've followed the best growers from OB over to the FB groups, so I know the advice is sound. You also get a LOT of the big growers on the sites I listed and others. There is a crazy amount of knowledge being thrown around on the FB sites by the world's best growers. Fred Clarke, Bernie Butts, Stephen Moffitt (for all my fellow Catasetinae fans), Claude Hamilton, Cesar Wenzel and many, many others are posting their first bloom crosses that you or I wouldn't otherwise see for years or even decades. Not to mention many really outstanding hobby growers and hybridizers!

Not that I'm saying you have to pick either FB or OB. There's plenty of room for both! I'm just saying, until you've poked around the FB pages, you don't know what you're missing. Anonymity can be retained with name change, there are groups of all sizes to accommodate people that like small, medium or large groups and as wintergirl pointed out, searching the FB pages is very easy.

Again, I'd like to point out that I'm in no way bashing, dismissing, or predicting the downfall of OB. I'm just saying there's a lot of good stuff out there being posted by amazing growers who are willing to share their secrets.

Orchid Board was the first forum I found that got me started on Neofinetia falcata orchids. A little over a year ago, a member of this forum created a Neofinetia Facebook page and invited everyone to join that page. So a lot people went there. I joined several months later since I'm really not into Facebook.

I joined that page and found friends there sharing information, posting pictures. But there are people on there who are self proclaimed "experts" that told people, in no uncertain terms, where people were wrong, and lectured every one else. The Facebook creator kept posting that people should be nice and play well together. To prove a point, he banned, incorrectly, a member whom he thought was a "rabble rouser". Probably done at the request of some of those self proclaimed experts who could not tolerate being questioned about their highly valued opinions.

So I left that Facebook page and created my own Facebook page. My page is slowly growing in numbers. I think most of the people joining my page are refugees from the bigger, unfriendly group.

It is easier to post pictures on Facebook than here on Orchid Board. But the value of this board is the breath and depth of its structure. There are a lot or orchids and this board does offer the opportunity to view all different orchids in one place. This board is equivalent to the AOS page where different orchids are presented.

However, where OB shines, is the ability to see an orchid, discuss an orchid, and update the post. It is really difficult to re-visit a story that is a month old in order to update that story in Facebook.

I spend time on Facebook, but I come here too. If anyone wants to ensure the future of this board, you donate money to keep it going!

I love your page Matt, it's great and you are always so friendly, thank you for making it. I like the FB orchid pages, but I like OB too. OB has such a great number of people contributing to it and you can post about anything you want. I also believe it provides a little something that FB cannot (can't put my finger on it but it's there) I like the format a little better here. However, I go to each resources many times a day, I say the more the better :)

I don't have a FB, don't want one, won't be getting one. I'm not the only person that feels that way either.

I also like the structure of a forum much better.
Its much easier to browse through and all the information is stored in order.

Thank you Mandy! I call that page "mine" but I hope you and other members there feel it belongs to all of us.

I think here is great, and I honestly hope this forum keeps on going. I'm not a fan of Facebook, because I'm kind of a "structured personality" type: I like things in one place, not have to sift through pages of "junk" to get somewhere, and not too many options for everything, lol. I just feel like Facebook gobbles too much of my time without giving me the "information return rate" I'm looking for.

I have to admit that FBs appeal for me is the fast pace. There can be days between a question and a response here on OB. Most of my posts get hardly any replies here on OB as well. With FB I feel more connected and it feels more like I'm talking to friends rather than a bunch of strangers.

I love OB for the good information I have received here, but I feel more connected to other hobbyists over on FB. I recently created a group over there too which makes it even better since I felt the AOS page was a bit redundant in some aspects.

If anyone is interested here are the groups I joined:

Orchaholics anonymous

Plantznthings whats growing page

Catasetinae group

Orchids trade and sales

AOS group

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