Look!  A bunny!

That looks like a pet for sure!  Nothing like those white cottontails around here!  Maybe he'll gift you some free pellets!
Suzi

No worries, no stress. It is helpful if the full name is used once, either in the title or in the thread because like I (and others) said before it is helpful when doing searches which saves on a lot of repetitiveness in thread questions. But if you don't it's not the end of the world. We'll live. I don't think anyone is suggesting making it a rule (at least I am not). Just a suggestion.

And in other news, another bunny! His name is Mr Billy BunBun.


And puppies!


Enjoy the day

Jon the big cheese of the forum whom i respect is very easy going and jokes to help make this a pleasant place and then he shows us some wonderful dark type fig pictures.

One of his best jokes is his claim to fig paradise . hmm  ; )
Jon still looking for that pool boy ?

Some will continue to hit and run after becoming a member as Jason once pointed out.
Wait you dont know who "Jason" is because i did not use his screen name ? Stick around read and learn like the rest of us did and or are doing or simply ask.
That is meant for no person in particular. 

Some will continue to lurk perhaps for a good while before joining and in doing so learn the phrases and get an idea of a persons personality in their journey here. ; )

Notice the "smiley" face above ?

Now on a light note.

Anyone have a nice picture of dark type figs cause i been seeing some awful whites ones being posted by some members most of this season.  :)~

Thats me sticking my tongue at you .

As a newcomer, I speak with hesitation.
1) No one has ever mentioned the introduction, good idea, just never mentioned.
2) It is a lot like education in that the educators expose knowledge and the students should make an effort to further the study, on their own.
3) No one should, for a moment, believe that there is a "minimum post",
good manners dictate careful advancement in any social situation.
4) Seniority has a responsibility with it, and as I see it, the "senior" group post and respond very well.
5) I really would like people to like me, it is an option, not mandatory for survival
6) Now I shall start a new thread and post my introduction.

IT IS ABOUT FIGS

Thx
Danny K
Marshall Tx

I appreciate the humor and all, and I'm glad to see some lighthearted notes here.

I will say this: 

Frank, I don't know you well, but from what I can tell, you have the same love as we do for the same stuff, and that's powerful.  I really appreciate everything you contribute, even the the suggestions - could live without CAPS LOCK in the post subjects, but that's another story ;).  I hope you stick around and share, regardless of what is said in this thread or whether or not any changes come out of it.

For anyone who doesn't know and might not think it from his firm posts in this thread, Rafed is one of the most giving people at this forum, both in real life, virtually, and it doesn't stop at handing out free cuttings and trees.  There are dozens of forum members that have met him in person and can vouch for what a wonderful guy he is.  Dude has reached out to me a few times to put my ass in check when I get a little pushy with some folks about their conduct on the forums, I've met him in person, and he's given and traded more with me than I can express, enabling me to share with tons of other members.

That said, Rafed has a very valid point, and I think Martin has expanded on that point very well ("don't know who Jason is yet? stick around..."). 

All of us had a learning curve coming here the first time, and I personally don't think it's too steep --- clearly, dozens of new people come on board year after year who get the hang of it.  Learning goes hand in hand with any online community, especially forums, and it takes time and interaction.  A lot of us heavy-participaters LIKE that it takes time and interaction, because that's what separates the die-hard fanatics from the fly-by-nighters, because it's the die-hards and fanatics that keep this place going, and keep it awesome.  We need that die-hard passion and curiosity to keep this place alive, I feel like (when you dumb things down) you run the risk of taking that "something special" out of the community.  Just my opinion, of course.

There have been practical and impractical suggestions over the years I've been here.  Such as ...

* Identify all of the abbreviations at the end of fig names:  That would be awesome to know where everything comes from and what the abbreviations mean, but then you open a can of whoopass for those sources, and you may end up killing the availability of many and exposing a number of private collections.

* Stop using abbreviations instead of the full variety name:  You're asking people who are already contributing to do a lot of extra work just so every possible human - whether truly interested in our passion or not - can completely understand what's being said without a second thought. 

There have been a host of others, but you know what?  I don't feel like typing them ;)

I think all of the regular faces at F4F are generally open to suggestions, and I think everyone should continue to put them out there.  I appreciate that someone thinks enough of this forum to make suggestions on ways to better the experience for everyone (so, thanks, Frank!)

But for me ... while I appreciate the suggestion, I'm not going to stop using the phrase "BT" for Brown Turkey.  Personally, I don't think enough of it as a variety to waste time typing the whole name out.  I have that much contempt for it.  Part of me can't help but think, "I had to figure it out ... why can't everyone else?", but ... meh.  I'm not gonna go there, because that's just my selfish side talking ;)

My two cents--what Jason said. 

Thank-you all for contributing your opinions, comments...suggestions.

In retrospect, I should have not reacted so quickly, and tempered my comments with some careful consideration, rather than and emotional utterance-in-print.  I am sorry, and my remarks were not really deserved by you forum members.

I chose to leave them in context, and not delete the whole post/thread.  It's a good learning experience for others, and especially for me.

I will take all your suggestions in the spirit in which they were given.

Not good to post responses when you are having a stressful day...note to self.

Mea maxima culpa.

Frank

No problem, bud.  I don't think anyone here is sweating.

I said this earlier. People can get defensive and emotional in a discussion and In the process lose sight of the main issue.

Nobody is telling anyone not to use short forms anymore. Read my post again please. The problem is, If we go to the extreme of only using BT, VdB, these terms are not searchable. Try them.

As a forum, you want it to be a useful tool for everyone interested in figs.  The simple suggestion is to begin writing with the full name and then it can be your BTs, VdBs, etc after that.  Nobody is saying to stop these completely.

Ok, I know I am a nobody. I thank Frank for bringing this up but I should not have waded in. 

I just want to end with this.  Although I am new I was speaking up more for the good of the forum, not for personal interest nor to impose on others. But people speaking against it, are you reacting because you think the suggestion is no good for the forum or is it more because you just don't like to be told to change your way? Is it a rational reaction or a emotional reaction?

Peace. Good night.

Figo,

If you read post #6 you may understand it a little better.
This very same person turned his back on the very same people that welcomed him and embrased him from day one. All for what? Was it to fulfill his own ego? I don't know! Only he knows.

How disrespectful of him to say what he said, trying to make what we thought were his friends look like villians!!

Is it that big of an issue to the newcomers that warrants some change? I think things where fine till now and quite a few members expressed this, old and new.

Let me ask you this question Figo, For a person that's only been here a week, what changes do you think need to be made and why? Were you here under another name? What have you contributed to this forum? Do you plan on being here short term or are you here for the long haul?

Last but not least you stated you would like to put an end to this but yet ask a question. Which one is it? Do you want to end this or do you want to keep it going?

They say silence is Golden. But some things just can't be ignored. This is a great community and I am very passionate about it. I have worked very hard to help preserve the respect of this forum.

And yes, I'm trying to be nice about it.

Figo,

You made a reasonable, rational suggestion to improve the forum. That doesn't mean the responses you get will be of the same kind. 

" Ok, I know I am a nobody. I thank Frank for bringing this up but I should not have waded in. "

Why would you think this? Your opinion is valid, and it's good to hear the first impressions of new members. A new set of eyes can bring a different perspective to things. The fact that you can't search for "BT" or "VdB" is an important one. Threads with a lot of great information on these figs will not be able to be found trough searches unless the full name is in the thread or the search function allows for 2 or 3 letter word searches.

I do like Rafed's point of introducing oneself. It would be nice if there was a "Introduce yourself" thread stickied to the top of the board. This is common on many of the fruit forums I frequent. 

Post your zone and location in your signature. Good night sir.

Wow--hadn't checked in on this thread for a while. at least it's never boring around here!

Just a thought for anybody trying to track down the meaning of an abbreviation: You may be able to figure some of them out by clicking on Encanto Farms Nursery (linked at upper left of the F4F page) and look at the "varieties" section, which is in alphabetical order. Not every variety is listed there, but a great many of them are, and an abbreviation may be all you need to settle on the correct variety.

Welcome, all newcomers & lurkers!! It's a great forum, with great (and passionate) people! If you ever happen to touch a nerve and think things might be spiraling out of control, that "take a deep breath" advice is worth it's weight in BMs (Black Madeiras, of course). ;-)

Task task at hand for you, Figo:

Please show me a thread that has nothing but abbreviations.

This is your main assertion, bit for the life of me, I absolutely cannot find one.

I just want to make sure you aren't throwing down the gauntlet over a problem which doesn't even exist.

And one othER point - we aren't all great spellers here.  Some of the tougher names:

Marseilles
Anything "Bordeaux"
Madeleine de Deux Saisons

If search ability is the real issue, how are you supposed to did when many misspell these?

At least if you abbreviate the name, you can still search forum-specific using Google (I can show you how. Will make a thread about it!)

Hi Rafed,

You are a truly nice guy.  I know that for sure.  I do like this forum, and the people here. I may have registered only lately, but I have been using (lurking if that's the preferred terminology) forum to read about figs and I learned from here about figs and I know this is a gathering of many wonderful, selfless people.

As a matter of fact, I read sometime back about your hospitalization, and the outpouring of support for you here.  It was truly overwhelming.  At that time, I had the urge to register and show my support for you too even if I didn't know you.  However, I just felt it difficult then to just do it.  It just seemed strange to start your first post with something like that. I don't know how to explain this, it just never happened. anyway, this is besides the point.

I'm truly sorry if I have upset you or anyone here, particularly those who have been here long and comfortable in their ways and had been irritated by posts.  Trust me, I didn't set out to do that.  I thought I exercised great caution in writing objectively and respectfully.  If I had offended anyone, I am truly sorry.

I do want to say that what got me writing here (and I thought I had 'contributed' in this sense) by adding my 2 cents worth about the abbreviations and search functions was merely like feedback from a newbie's experience.

The idea of writing the name in full first and then followed abbreviations later seems logical to me.  It was somebody's idea earlier on in the thread.  I take no credit for it.  But I thought honestly if everyone follows that, it should be good for the forum and information search.  it was never about me or for me.

I am afraid I may have been miscontrued as a newbie coming in with demands and insisting on things. I can only say I have given feedback or suggestion, I have never insisted or demanded things. I am afraid part of that reaction stems from the fact that I am too new and people sometimes has suspicions of newbies.  Trust me, I have no other agenda.  Please, I am in fact very mindful of my positition, was almost too shy to speak up at first actually.

In hindsight, and what do they say about hindsight? I should have been more careful, intro myself first, spend more time here making friends first and then later on make suggestions. That may have gone down better.  But this is me.  I am the classical devil's advocate in real life, always speaking up what I thought were objective opinions only to upset lots of people with my frankness.  I sometime regret this aspect of me.

Hi, I don't write in too often, but have been a contributing member here for a little while. I felt that I would weigh in on this thread with my opinion.

I think that "no abbreviations..." is extreme, however I think that at least within each thread, if not within each post to the thread, the full name should be spelled out at least once. It is not that big a deal in my opinion, and it seems to me to be a courtesy to those who will read the thread/post. I don't see anything wrong with courteous. :)

On another note, I've been really busy with work and the garden lately, but soon I will be posting some pictures of the figs as they ripen (both dark and light, I ain't prejudiced.) I am also anxious to share pictures of last years and this years seedlings. Last year I started some with unknown pollen parent on Panache, and this year I started a couple that I had made the cross using some local hardy females and one of the caprifigs developed in Ira Condit's breeding program. I'll start separate threads when I get around to sharing those pictures.

Can some one PLEASE kill this useless thread. 

Figo,

Sometimes it's best to ask than to take. Respect is earned, not taken.

Nonetheless, this is water under the bridge.

Let me be the first to say "Welcome to the forum".

If you have a question always know this, we are here to help. Helping is our passion, this is what motivates us. We thrive in getting it done right and won't stop till it is right.

Good luck

On a positive note, here is more info on how to be a "power searcher" here at F4F or anywhere else on the web!:  http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/How-to-search-the-forum-using-2-or-3letter-terms-5972738

Hope this helps someone else out.  I've used this tactic more times than I can tell you.  If you've ever noticed I will come through and link people up with threads all the time ... like pulling a needle out of a haystack ... that's pretty much how I do it.

This should negate the discussion of acronyms and abbreviations if used as indicated (I hope).

At first I had no interest in commenting on this thread. Then after reading through it completely three times. I saw something else between all the comments. Thank you all. I do mean all. Wow, the power of the freedom of speech. You all have exemplified how we come to the third side on a coin. The answer that satisfies.