Is the IBC dying ?

Precarious wrote:I can't make sense of displaying guns in such a thread as this, but hopefully I am on-topic with a comment:  I have noticed new comers asking advice on this forum and being met with indifference or even rudeness.  It seems as if they are a burden because of their lack of knowledge/skill, rather than a treasure for their fresh enthusiasm.  It didn't happen every time, but it was there and it had a chilling effect on me.  Is that why I don't see so many people asking questions of the group?  Is that why there don't seem to be so many 'newbies' showing their trees and asking for help?  Draw your own conclusion, I have drawn mine.  It seems stale around here, and that makes sense, b/c any group that doesn't value and nurture its young gets weaker.

AlainK wrote:

Bolero wrote:
One of my other Hobbies...22LR Handguns, Top is a Ruger 22/45 Lite, Bottom is a Browning Buck Mark Lite URX

Hi,

Aren't there any other forums for gun maniacs?

OK, you've got a big one, probably think that no other has such a big one.

Although you're a potential murderer, I don't think that the moderators should suppress your post: it's totally off topic, a trick often used by right/left wing activists.

I don't give a shit about your WASP culture display, but by posting that, you are showing everyone that you are a paranoid, dangerous trigger-happy American (Amerikan, USonian - although to me "USonians" are friendly people, but someone displaying a deadly weapon are not).

That's probably what you wanted to claim, but I much prefer to talk bonsai, and when I get off the tracks, I much prefer to show what makes me welcome strangers.

A different culture.

I pity you...

kevin stoeveken wrote:guns sometimes elicit knee-jerk reactions...
but so does religion, politics, sex, drugs, the economy, music, art, manatees, etc etc etc

M. Frary wrote:   This thread should be locked down now before it gets out of hand!

AlainK wrote:

M. Frary wrote:   This thread should be locked down now before it gets out of hand!

Ditto.

M. Frary wrote:  When I get back I'm going to have a suit made from that manatee skin trimmed in baby seal fur.

M. Frary wrote:  Where else will I go to tell people about my Manatee hunt.
I'm heading down to Florida in a van with a Make America Great Again sticker on the bumper, tossing garbage out the window,smoking fatties and praying to the devil the whole way. It's has a vicious stereo that blares heavy metal and has murals of naked women painted on the side.
The gun rack holds 3 assault rifles and I also hang a couple handguns from the mirrors.
When I get back I'm going to have a suit made from that manatee skin trimmed in baby seal fur.

fiona wrote:

M. Frary wrote:  When I get back I'm going to have a suit made from that manatee skin trimmed in baby seal fur.

I think I might even consider paying to see you in that.  Maybe the active moderators could consider a Members in Bizarre Outfits Gallery section? Although they'd need to be clear with their definition of "Members"

fiona wrote:Although they'd need to be clear with their definition of "Members"

M. Frary wrote:  Where else will I go to tell people about my Manatee hunt.
I'm heading down to Florida in a van with a Make America Great Again sticker on the bumper, tossing garbage out the window,smoking fatties and praying to the devil the whole way. It's has a vicious stereo that blares heavy metal and has murals of naked women painted on the side.
The gun rack holds 3 assault rifles and I also hang a couple handguns from the mirrors.
When I get back I'm going to have a suit made from that manatee skin trimmed in baby seal fur.

fiona wrote:

M. Frary wrote:  When I get back I'm going to have a suit made from that manatee skin trimmed in baby seal fur.

I think I might even consider paying to see you in that.  Maybe the active moderators could consider a Members in Bizarre Outfits Gallery section? Although they'd need to be clear with their definition of "Members"

John Quinn wrote:There already is one with 7485 members...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/195463189147/

David Brunner wrote:HI all!  

As you are well aware I do not post often, but I do read often.  I generally confine myself to commenting on things about which I actually know something.  The life or death of IBC is not one of those so this is a bit of a risk…

The question posed was “Is IBC dying” but I think that presupposes a number of other questions (some of which have been previously stated in this thread):

1) Is the decline in IBC participation due to its nonconformance with posting norms on other fora?

Perhaps.  But these other fora exist.  Participation here and there is purely elective.  In an open environment users will go where they perceive their reward for participation is of the most value for their effort.

2) Is the decline in IBC participation due to heavy-handed censorship by moderators?

Perhaps.  But why?  (I must first inform that I was asked to become a “moderator” on IBC some years ago.)  Isn’t having a moderated public debate to insure civility and logic a long-standing tradition in discourse?  I realize that the role of moderator in public discourse has come under assault of late in various venues and has been compared to “censor” or “influencer.”  But moderation of public debate with the intent of maintaining civility without influencing content is I think the best way to pass on reliable and openly tested information to others.  

3) Is the decline in IBC participation due to the absence of postings by some or many bonsai “stars”?

Perhaps.  But such things are bound to happen.  “Stars” due what “stars” must do to retain “stardom”.  IBC has never really been a “star vehicle”.  Certainly, some very talented artists have been (and some gratefully continue to be) frequent posters to IBC and as such the extent of their talent has become more well known.  But it is my view that some “out-grew” IBC and hence stopped posting.  It is also my view that that is fine.  As I stated previously, participation is elective.

4) If IBC does at present have fewer regular participants than other bonsai fora should it somehow change itself to compete?

Hmm?  I don’t think the central question is about competition with other fora or for the number of users, it is about utility.  Does IBC fill a need and if so how can it best do so, bearing in mind that IBC is a collective and does not (should not) rely on any individual.  I for one think that no real change is necessary.  I do not say that because I want to maintain the site as it is.  Look at my posting history, this is not a significant part of my life.  I say this because as a long-time reader of IBC I have found it to be the single most reliable source of information regarding the cultivation of small trees and tree-like plants in pots on the internet!  If one wants posting traffic regarding a comment they posted, IBC may not be the best venue.  If one wants affirmations regarding bonsai progress or prowess, IBC may not be also the best venue.  But if one wants well-reasoned and drama-free responses to reasonable questions about the cultivation of trees and tree-like plants in pots, then for my money I would go to IBC!

Yours,
David B.