The goal of this Forum is to provide a fun and friendly arena for the exchange of ideas and plant materials by connecting people to one another.

If you are new, please take the time to introduce yourself and tell us about your interest in figs. Newer members, even when they feel like a kid in a candy store, probably need to start slow. Members with years of experience will need to remember that they were new, once upon a time.

We encourage the interchange of ideas and the exchange of plants and cuttings among the members, so that everyone benefits. We expect everyone to treat each other with respect and to reflect that in the tone of their posts. Personal issues and problems with individual members are best handled through PM or e-mail. This is an open forum, so there will be some spam from time to time. Please report it to the moderator and it will be removed. Please be respectful in your choice of words. Profanity is not necessary.

We strive to make the Forum as fun, friendly, and helpful as possible, but exercise some judgment and caution when dealing with other members. In the internet era, not everyone is who they appear to be. A few are here to take advantage, rather than to share.

Many, many subjects have been well addressed in the past, so a quick search with answer many questions, often in great detail. There is a search feature in the upper right corner. For an alternative method, see http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/How-to-search-the-forum-using-2-or-3letter-terms-5972738.

For new posts, take a moment to find a suitable and descriptive title. That will encourage people to read your post and answer your question. It will also help people who come after you to search for topics and material relevant to their situation.

When replying to a thread, try to stay on topic. Otherwise, feel free to start a new topic. Before starting a new thread, consider adding to an existing thread on the same subject. Neatness and tidiness help when trying to find things.

We encourage experimentation, and the exchange of ideas that accompany those attempts. Please share you experiments, successes and failures. That is how we all learn, but please be careful to report them as such.

With regard to cuttings and plants: there are many sharing and giving members on this Forum. We encourage that, but please understand that many of these private collections are maintained at considerable expense. So, enjoy the generosity but expect to help defray those costs. It is not possible to collect every variety in one year, so be patient. If you have other things of interest to the fig community, they are welcome. While we do not prohibit selling, if you are a business, then you should have your own website.

From the moderator’s perspective, this should be a fun an enjoyable place where people can meet and share and learn. I really want to keep “interventions” to a minimum, and so far I have been able to adhere to that goal.