Ausbonsai not very active?

[Beano]

Can you even search Facebook posts like on a website? That difference in functionality between fb and a forum makes the forum much more attractive to me.

[bonborn]

I agree with frankeldein, facebook is not the way forward. I don't use it, Facebook is terrible.

What exactly warrants it to be so terrible. It's easier to sign up to, easier to follow certain posts (threads), instant notifications, ability to tag people for their views, better control for admins, better private messaging options, quick easy photo upload.

Beano of course you can search posts. You can follow and save posts as well.

I agree the app invades into your phone quite a bit but so does a lot of the other apps as well. Its not just facebook. I have never heard of facebook app using these information to target anyone adversely.

[squizzy]

For those unaware Ausbonsai is already on Facebook. I am sure you can posts pictures on there.

Squizzy

[treeman]

disagree...i wrote a lenghty reply but when i viewed it, it went blank.....
the jist was
no joiny joiny
no looky looky
as easy peasy
and a big thank you to those who actually reply
80 views-0 replys

I don't understand this concept. It seems to me to be exclusiveness just for the sake of it. I really can't see how not being able to view actually encourages people to join. I would have thought it would be the opposite. I know I certainly would not have joined 4 other US forums if I could not see what was going on first. People are lazy, if it means joining to look at something, it's much easier to click and go somewhere else.

[Matt S]

Changes to this forum aren't set in granite, they can be reversed if necessary. Unless the admins have a reason we haven't thought of, we could allow everyone to see the photos and see if it increases activity.

Getting existing members to contribute more would also help. I know I've been posting less lately; work is usually busiest around now and the kids are demanding a lot of attention and I'm struggling to spend time on my trees. Anyone have a cloning machine?

Matt.

[Redsonic]

If this forum were to move exclusively to Facebook, I for one would no longer be a member. I have major issues with the loss of privacy you have to tolerate in order to use Facebook, and refuse to join it. If you are not paying, you are not the customer; you are the product.

I have noticed the reduced activity on Ausbonsai, but it is still a great forum and I visit it every day. I have never had problems uploading photos to a post, and am grateful that we don't have to use a photo hosting site to share pics.

The advice that I and others receive on this forum from the experienced members who contribute is priceless. I browse far more than I contribute, mainly because as a newbie, I have less to offer and more to learn.

[Max]

Hi Treeman....thank you for your reply

Being new myself i found it disconcerting early on posting pics of my sticks in mud, having 80 odd views and a reply saying "grow it in the ground and dig it up in 10 years" something like that anyway , what i really wanted was others to show pics of that same tree of theirs from 1-3 years, 3-5 years etc etc, as well as saying, " i fertilize with such and such" and someone else says "i use such and such". The conversation then progresses, this, i think, should be enough to stimulate outsiders to join. Tony Tickle posted about yamadori a few weeks ago and got hardly any replies.He was only just out here, so yes maybe allowing outsiders to view pics might get a few new people from wherever like Andreas from Thailand and his fantastic trees or Raynor from Sth Africa and his privit ID and others from India growing Casuarinas, but they may have only joined because the trees they are growing are natives of Oz or they enjoyed the to and fro of our banter and the positives we give to fellow nutcases, just look at what your thread has achieved, all the borers are coming out

Cheers mate
Max

[Nelso]

Squizzy answered this best for me...
I consider myself as an intermediate bonsai enthusiast who has less questions but even less answers. I just don't have the experience personally for an opinion on a lot of the subjects.
Also every good tree I finish styling i think to myself finally a tree worthy of posting....
But then i take a photo of it and it looks crap and unworthy all of a sudden for posting. A photo always seems to show up all the faults in the tree and never looks as good as in real life. So i never end up posting the picture....

[morrie]

i have been in forums that went to facebook and died.... Fb is social media, forums are a community of knowledge
this forum's is one of the best
i'm not a big poster ... what i do post is with cautious embarrassment, some have got no replies... many have provided great insight
i look through the new posts most days... i learn heaps

[Beano]

Squizzy answered this best for me...
I consider myself as an intermediate bonsai enthusiast who has less questions but even less answers. I just don't have the experience personally for an opinion on a lot of the subjects.
Also every good tree I finish styling i think to myself finally a tree worthy of posting....
But then i take a photo of it and it looks crap and unworthy all of a sudden for posting. A photo always seems to show up all the faults in the tree and never looks as good as in real life. So i never end up posting the picture....

This is exactly the reason I don't post much anymore. My trees look completely different in my eyes to what the camera sees, then I think I can't share my efforts because it looks very crap compared to other contributors on here. Generally because of that I often get few to no replies, I feel.

[treeman]

You shouldn't worry too much about the stage of development your trees are at. First, tree quality has nothing to do with the age or the size of the tree. Desirability maybe - and that's also pretty subjective, but not quality. Personally, I prefer looking at a well shaped stick than a badly shaped or boring mature bonsai. That's why I like to keep banging on about the importance of getting the foundations right above everything else. All the other stuff comes with time. Pictures never do justice to the tree but it's still worth posting pics of young material because that's when you are still able to influence it.

[Theodore]

Considering this thread started a little over 24 hours ago and already has 25, now 26 comments tells me this site is alive and well.

If the topic is engaging, it will generally get a very enthusiastic response.

Personally, if a post is asking a question that has been answered 100 times before, I will just move to the next one. The search functions are very good, try using them! BTW, have you ever tried to find something on Facebook......this forum shouldn't go there for that mere fact alone.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.

[Pearcy001]

Personally I'm more than happy to post a photo of my crummy trees, even knowing thats how others look at them. But I post these photos for a reason that many other reluctant users may not have considered.

The treads that inspire me and that I love on AusBonsai, are the treads that show me the changes that one can achieve over time.

Posting the photos of your 'stick in a pot' now, are what will be the inspiration for new enthusiasts in the future.

My threads are all clearly posted by a beginner as you look at them now - but in 5, 10 maybe 20 years time when I'm still posting on the same progressions, we will (hopefully) see the amazing changes that have occurred over time. This will hopefully keep the hobby alive and growing for others in the future.

Its these posts that start off as a so called twig (before turning into a chunky based, super ramified and aged beast) that make me want to keep going. If it was just the finished photo I think it would have all seemed unobtainable to me in the beginning and I may have packed the hobby in already.

Showing what you have learnt and put into practice is what you will be proud of in years to come, and these changes will be what others users in the future post about. This in turn will creat the additional thread traffic that some may think is lacking at the moment.

Don't be embarrassed of a tree because you think it's not worthy, it won't be that stick in a pot' forever. If you are worried anyone will think it's not worthy, just remember they will be eating their words when you turn it into a masterpiece in the future.

Just my 2c, be proud and 'F' the haters. Don't worry if you don't get a reply to your update now, others will be drooling over your tree in the future.

Cheers all,
Pearcy.

P.S. - No thanks Facebook, I like the forum as is

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

[Max]

Cheers Treeman and Pearcy.....prepare to be bombarded by my sticks in mud

[Beano]

I got some new pots this year, I looooove them so there'll be some photos after repotting of my better sticks.