Anonymous User
Banned
Speaking of a co-founder of two bonsai forums, I appreciate what Brent has said on the first page very much. He has professionally critiqued the major bonsai forums that are in existence now, giving both the strengths and weaknesses of the same. This sort of input is more valuable than many realize, it is rare, and it can only serve to improve the forums if they choose to listen.
I am a firm believer that no one forum can be all things to all people, to try and focus on all things tends to dilute the whole.
When AoB was first in development we made a decision to leave the culivational aspects of bonsai to other forums and to focus on the art aspect only, something that has never been done before. Strangely AoB became very successful with the very advanced artists and wildly hated by the not so advanced. Another thing is that AoB was designed to be more of a magazine or a "on-line coffee table book" than a discussion forum, although the means for discussion are there, it is not promoted. AoB has found a niche which is galleries of the some of the greatest bonsai, interviews of great artists and influential people in bonsai (have you seen Brent's?), and articles dealing with art and design theory as it applies to bonsai.
Later, with KoB, we worked toward a knowledge base of quality information for the serious bonsaist, focusing on cultivation, it was decidedly not a "happy birthday" forum nor a one stop shopping forum where you could buy/sell, auction, get a date, chat, rent a car, and get a college degree while you enjoy a makeover.
This being said, I think a forum like this would be more successful by focusing a little. Leave the buying and selling to Ebay but keep the beginner to advanced crowd active. We were all beginners once and there were always a few willing to answer our questions, even though they had answered them a zillion times before we came along. However, advice given should be open to debate and differing opinions should be allowed to be expressed. Information given should be "certifiable" however by results, sources, or references. If someone tell me that I should water my Pines with Goats milk, I want to see results, sources, or references!
In order to better serve beginners, you need advanced members and also content that will keep them coming back. Besides a few noted artists like Walter, Jerry, and experienced growers like Brent, there are not many advanced bonsaists that play Robin Hood and bounce from forum to forum just looking to help someone. Give them a reason to be here and they will participate.
I also think that moderators should moderate seldom and moderate wisely when they need to. On too many forums the moderators confuse authority with knowledge, suddenly becoming bonsai masters overnight. When corrected on advice given, they tend to abuse the authority slightly. Moderation need not be difficult, at AoB where the subject matter is "art" (debated hotly elsewhere) we have never had to ban a single person in two years, in fact we do not have moderators at all. (No debates? See the "Future of Bonsai" thread.) I believe we have deleted about a dozen posts in that time, all but two were spam.
I think you have a good forum underway here and it will grow if you remain open and focused on what it is, a bonsai forum. There is plenty of room for more than one forum, I visit a few myself everyday. Forums need not battle each other and as GardenWeb taught us, you can't lock your members in.
My two cents worth,
Will Heath
I am a firm believer that no one forum can be all things to all people, to try and focus on all things tends to dilute the whole.
When AoB was first in development we made a decision to leave the culivational aspects of bonsai to other forums and to focus on the art aspect only, something that has never been done before. Strangely AoB became very successful with the very advanced artists and wildly hated by the not so advanced. Another thing is that AoB was designed to be more of a magazine or a "on-line coffee table book" than a discussion forum, although the means for discussion are there, it is not promoted. AoB has found a niche which is galleries of the some of the greatest bonsai, interviews of great artists and influential people in bonsai (have you seen Brent's?), and articles dealing with art and design theory as it applies to bonsai.
Later, with KoB, we worked toward a knowledge base of quality information for the serious bonsaist, focusing on cultivation, it was decidedly not a "happy birthday" forum nor a one stop shopping forum where you could buy/sell, auction, get a date, chat, rent a car, and get a college degree while you enjoy a makeover.
This being said, I think a forum like this would be more successful by focusing a little. Leave the buying and selling to Ebay but keep the beginner to advanced crowd active. We were all beginners once and there were always a few willing to answer our questions, even though they had answered them a zillion times before we came along. However, advice given should be open to debate and differing opinions should be allowed to be expressed. Information given should be "certifiable" however by results, sources, or references. If someone tell me that I should water my Pines with Goats milk, I want to see results, sources, or references!
In order to better serve beginners, you need advanced members and also content that will keep them coming back. Besides a few noted artists like Walter, Jerry, and experienced growers like Brent, there are not many advanced bonsaists that play Robin Hood and bounce from forum to forum just looking to help someone. Give them a reason to be here and they will participate.
I also think that moderators should moderate seldom and moderate wisely when they need to. On too many forums the moderators confuse authority with knowledge, suddenly becoming bonsai masters overnight. When corrected on advice given, they tend to abuse the authority slightly. Moderation need not be difficult, at AoB where the subject matter is "art" (debated hotly elsewhere) we have never had to ban a single person in two years, in fact we do not have moderators at all. (No debates? See the "Future of Bonsai" thread.) I believe we have deleted about a dozen posts in that time, all but two were spam.
I think you have a good forum underway here and it will grow if you remain open and focused on what it is, a bonsai forum. There is plenty of room for more than one forum, I visit a few myself everyday. Forums need not battle each other and as GardenWeb taught us, you can't lock your members in.
My two cents worth,
Will Heath
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