It would be nice if it were a place for MG's to visit with other MG's. I often come here hoping to get a lift or recharge but find it's more like our Answerline. But being gardeners, and MG's at that, it's hard to not help folks with their questions.
Would referring these questions to another forum or giving a link be considered rude?
Thoughts?

I enjoyed this forum when it first started because it was a way to learn about the differences in the way the MG program works in different areas. I was surprised by that, thinking it was fairly uniform throughout the country. Also, like nmgirl I wanted it to be a place to just chat with fellow MGs. Sometimes to cry about problems, sometimes to shout about successes.

I'd prefer it NOT be a place for others to ask us gardening questions. That said, rudeness is never good in our position and I've been happy to help with some of the questions I've found here. I do sometimes refer people to the appropriate forum but never, NEVER do so in a rude manner. I give a brief answer and tell them they can find much more in-depth info on the forum addressing their particular problem.

I really do wish there were more MGs posting here. Tell your fellow volunteers about this place and see if we can liven it up a little!

Sandy

Site makes it clear in forum description (above) that what you want the forum to be for is what it's supposed to be for. So all you can do is skip posts by those ignoring the guidelines.

So perhaps we should redirect non-MG questions and topics to the correct forum or their own Ext. office?
Should we sort of answer the questions and then wave them off or what? It seems rude to just shunt folks but on the other hand will they take their questions somewhere else if they still get answers here?
One problem with ignoring them is their post will hang at the top of the topic list until someone has posted a reply. So what do we say? "Go away" or "MG's only" or do we refer them elsewhere?
I do feel diplomacy is needed.

As it is with so many other situations, folks don't always read the instructions or the headings at the top of the forums so it is pretty much inevitable that general gardening questions or ID requests will surface here from time to time. Even a lot of very new gardeners understand that one of the primary directives of the Master Gardener program is to assist others and they are just asking for help. And, forum-inappropriate (or should I say other forum-appropriate) questions pop up frequently just about anywhere you visit on GardenWeb. That's always going to be an issue with those new to gardening and/or new to GW who may not be aware of the extent of the forums available to them or where exactly might be the best place to posit their questions. One has the options of a) not responding at all; b) answering to best of one's ability; or c) politely advising them that Forum X might generate more and better responses. As long as it is done with tact, there is nothing wrong with directing someone to another forum.