I want to more arguments ..Bonsai Humor Thread No. 2

Wires_Guy_wires said:
Well, they shouldn't.
I mean, I try to be as accurate as possible when giving advice - and I rarely give it in regards to picking species - and I try to be similarly accurate when voicing my opinion. But the two are different things: The former is to help others out, the latter is to help myself out, mainly by spewing my vitriol and ventilating. I try to a high extent to make that absolutely clear by adding the "I think" or "I believe" part. That doesn't always work though.
Maybe it's a bad assumption on my end, but I believe people are well capable of separating the two and also that they're very much capable of forming their own opinion on what they do and don't like.

I don't like maples either. I think they're the most cliche plant family to pick for bonsai, the thirteenth in the dozen. Their care comes down to "water them whenever it's not raining" and "hack them to bits if they get too big". That doesn't mean though, that I'm not growing two arakawas and a heap of tridents and trying to make the best out of them.
I have cool succulents too! Inside my house, not growing as bonsai, but as houseplants. Which is what I think they should be. And people seem to disagree with a passion! I like that about this forum. My hope is that anyone who sees those succulents and likes them themselves thinks something along the lines of "Man, fuck that guy_wires, I'm going to prove him wrong!". I try to support opposing opinions just as much as my own, but I'm biased towards myself of course.

Let it be known from this day forward that I can passionately disagree with anyone and still think they're right.
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You reminded me of this sketch from "Yes Minister"
 
amcoffeegirl said:
Yes- I’m here for the arguments!
nautil.us

Plants Feel Pain and Might Even See

It’s time to retire the hierarchical classification of living things.
nautil.us nautil.us
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"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down?
We might, if they screamed all the time, for no apparent reason."
Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy

Maybe that's why they stopped talking to us!
 
leatherback said:
much more lively, and better in-depth techniques discussions though
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Did the website change? Or is the difference your level of experience and where you are in your journey vs where you were then?

(I mean it's probably both, I wasn't here 10 years ago so I dunno lol)

I’ve been a moderator on a forum like this related to my profession (computer graphics/3D modeling), for about 15 years. A common refrain from senior members is “this was a better place years ago)”. But the thing most people fail to realize is that years ago, they were still trying to get started and learning rapidly, so the entire world felt lively, like there was an abundance of information and discussion. Now that they have more experience, maybe they’re closer to getting to where they wanted to be, things seem less interesting, topics seem repetitive, and they don’t have as much time to devote to discussion. However, the new crop of people interested in these things has a completely different experience. The world is always fresh and new when you’re getting into something.
 
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JoeWilson said:
Did the website change? Or is the difference your level of experience and where you are in your journey vs where you were then?
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There were a few very voal members, and we had more long-term growers active on the forum. In general, there was a much higher level of technical expertise in discussions, and discussions were at a much higher level when it comes to technical abilities. Just check a few threads where @Adair M and @Vance go head to head. Or discussions between @MACH5 and @Brian Van Fleet . We seem to have lost a part of that input.

JoeWilson said:
is the difference your level of experience
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Well, that does come into play, but I still feel there was more depth to the discussions initially.

Browse through the teashouse subforum. There is a reason that subforum is no longer in the alerts system as it got so heated there at times.
 
I'm not able to say, better or worse. I'm pretty satisfied with the way it is now, but I don't know how it was ten years ago. Maybe there could be a way to classify threads by technical credibility, depth of topic, accuracy, etc. Maybe like a ranking or rating system, where you can rate a thread, based on the voter's time in the forum, experience, and number of posts v. reaction score ratio, or something of such a nature. That way, newbies don't have to keep asking the same questions over and over again.
Yes, the search feature is awesome. I'm glad @Bonsai Nut has given us that option. But the sheer volume of threads available, and the variety of different advice sometimes makes it a struggle to discern which instructions are best. I doubt that old threads could be retroactively rated, but maybe future threads could be.
Also, even in the short year I've been learning at this school, I've seen dozens of people show up, ask a few questions, post a few pictures, and vanish. And also some who've been here for a decade or more but they're basically inactive in the forum, so we don't get the benefit of their knowledge, skill, direction, experience, and sometimes witty, snappy admonishments.
I hope this is cyclical, and the pattern returns to what we've been told in this thread was the "Golden Days" of Bonsai Nut. And I hope that newbies like myself will pay attention and heed the wisdom of those who actually know something about this culture. Because one day, maybe, just maybe, we will be the knowledgeable ones. Maybe one day it will fall on us to continue the insight into the next generation.
 
Desert O'Piñon said:
what we've been told in this thread was the "Golden Days" of Bonsai Nut.
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oh mind you.. It was not per se BETTER. There were a lot of spats, and many a feather was ruffled in the time. Tone of voice was different too!.

I think some of the things changes when we had an influx of people newer to bonsai, and started contradicting the well-established and experienced growers on here without any other reason that to participate. They did not recognize that many members here had long-standing histories together which made the banter work.
 
The biggest difference I see from then to now, is the lack of willingness to post some dam trees. Clubs, books, videos, classes, here on BNUT, whatever you choose to learn from. Take the advice and post some trees. Good or bad. You don’t get better by not doing the work. Do the work. Post a bad tree if you have to. Be open to criticism.

As much as smoke used to drive me crazy with some of his ways, he always called out people on here for not posting trees. Anytime someone would be critical of his work, he’d always say, awesome, send me to a post where you did the work on a tree your criticizing me for. Maybe not the best argument, but I’ll be dammed if I don’t see that all the time now. Lots of talk and little to show.

POST YOUR TREES.

Just do it.
 
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