Small windswept shimpaku juniper - initial styling

Gabler said:
I spent about ten years on and off killing trees before I took to the internet to figure out what I was doing wrong. I've grown more from three years using this website than I did in ten years dabbling on my own. The great thing about this website is that you don't need to learn as many things the hard way.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that you can just read about bonsai and immediately know how to do it. You have to go outside, test new skills, and refine your understanding as necessary. However, it is equally incorrect to say that you'll learn more by getting your hands dirty than you can online. You need both theory and practice. This website is a great resource for the former (and it really doesn't have much drama).
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YouTube is a great source for dramatic free bonsai techniques. Sure you need good info and practice to help people learn the art. These forums could be deterring people from getting into bonsai as well.
 
Joelshack2362 said:
These forums could be deterring people from getting into bonsai as well.
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I can't tell if you're trolling or not, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

How could all of this enthusiasm and free information possibly be a deterrent?
 
Gabler said:
I can't tell if you're trolling or not, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

How could all of this enthusiasm and free information possibly be a deterrent?
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Enthusiasm is something we humans pick up on through face to face conversations. Again why YouTube is a great source of Enthusiastic dramatic free learning. Good talk Gabler.
 
Gabler said:
I guess I'll never learn why this website scares folks away from bonsai.
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Because if you dive into the archives, you'll find a bunch of grumpy people. Nowadays it's more relaxed, but still sometimes things get heated.
If you are sensitive to intonation of written text, like I am, one nasty comment can ruin your week. I've had/let that happen to me.
I don't have the mental fortitude to deal with that sometimes, especially from people that I respect and look up to, and the best for me in those situations is to stay away from the forum.
That's a me-problem though, and I don't want anyone to put on their silk gloves just for me. But it's a perfectly reasonable response for me to walk away from agitation and snarky comments.
I think we can all agree that hobbies are more fun if they're fun!
It can be quite scary to walk up to the big guys and tell them "Hey, I got this plant right here, what do you think?".
If they want to shit all over it, you can't stop them from doing so.
Except by not engaging at all..
 
Wires_Guy_wires said:
Because if you dive into the archives, you'll find a bunch of grumpy people. Nowadays it's more relaxed, but still sometimes things get heated.
If you are sensitive to intonation of written text, like I am, one nasty comment can ruin your week. I've had/let that happen to me.
I don't have the mental fortitude to deal with that sometimes, especially from people that I respect and look up to, and the best for me in those situations is to stay away from the forum.
That's a me-problem though, and I don't want anyone to put on their silk gloves just for me. But it's a perfectly reasonable response for me to walk away from agitation and snarky comments.
I think we can all agree that hobbies are more fun if they're fun!
It can be quite scary to walk up to the big guys and tell them "Hey, I got this plant right here, what do you think?".
If they want to shit all over it, you can't stop them from doing so.
Except by not engaging at all..
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Ah. Thanks. That answers my question.
 
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I know I can get snarky sometimes. I try to temper it but I'm not always successful.

I agree with Wires Guy, there were regular proverbial blood baths around here sometimes
 
When I see rude comments, I tend to call them out, but that's mostly because I'm nosy and meddlesome. I don't think I've ever been genuinely offended by anything posted on here. It honestly didn't occur to me that a rude comment could scare someone away from bonsai as a hobby. I'll have to be a bit more careful about what I say and how I say it.
 
Paradox said:
there were regular proverbial blood baths around here sometimes
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Those were the days lol...

honestly though, it was a higher caliber of bonsai here in the past and with more experienced folks arguing, there was always lots of good info being exchanged in between the punches.
 
Gabler said:
When I see rude comments, I tend to call them out, but that's mostly because I'm nosy and meddlesome. I don't think I've ever been genuinely offended by anything posted on here. It honestly didn't occur to me that a rude comment could scare someone away from bonsai as a hobby. I'll have to be a bit more careful about what I say and how I say it.
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Sometimes people can be very sensitive about any kind of criticism. There was a poster here that I wont name that likened it to an attaboy syndrome where people got upset if you werent giving glowing comments about everything they did and they just wanted an attaboy
 
Nybonsai12 said:
Those were the days lol...

honestly though, it was a higher caliber of bonsai here in the past and with more experienced folks arguing, there was always lots of good info being exchanged in between the punches.
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I hope to get to their level eventually, and I plan to stick around, so maybe I'll make that a long-term goal: to elevate the level of bonsai discourse on this forum.
 
Paradox said:
Sometimes people can be very sensitive about any kind of criticism. There was a poster here that I wont name that likened it to an attaboy syndrome where people got upset if you werent giving glowing comments about everything they did and they just wanted an attaboy
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LOL he was insufferable. but in fairness he could churn out a good tree....
 
Nybonsai12 said:
LOL he was insufferable. but in fairness he could churn out a good tree....
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I have a guess about whom you're discussing, based on reading old threads. If it's the former user I have in mind, then I wish he were still around. Great trees, great advice, and a little too cantankerous.
 
Gabler said:
I have a guess about whom you're discussing, based on reading old threads. If it's the former user I have in mind, then I wish he were still around. Great trees, great advice, and a little too cantankerous.
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user i was talking about was Sawgrass... talented artist for sure, but miserable on the forum.
 
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