Advertising gives us a free forum. Cost of doing business and if one doesn't like the ads, there are other forums. Proofreading and the "preview message" can catch most errors and those that are missed, usually aren't all that serious and can be downright funny sometimes. Off topic posts can add life and humour to an otherwise tedious subject and is often called, "having a conversation". GW's SC&M is probably one of the most popular focused forums there is. The number of posts and speed at which the pages advance is proof of that. If one checks out the member page of the OP, one will find he is no longer with us. Seems he/she went a little, um, overboard, shall we say. Some other multiple personalities were also deleted that may or may not have been related. I agree, no apology was necessary. Lloyd P.S. After going through this thread again, I realize I did not cast a vote, I do not think a unique BSF forum is needed.

Hi Guys Hmmm politics, I'm not sure if I understand what the problem is here other than the fact that we (BSI members) elected Delegates, but the Delegates elected not to discuss such an important issue with it's members. I have had contact at various times over the last six months or so with each of our Delegates (Aus) but at no time did they elect to ask an opinion of a member, therefore I shall elect not to elect either of these Delegates again until such time as they realize that they were in office for the members, not for their own personal opinions, or self importance. I feel disappointed for all the hard work done by Derek & others over the years & now people seem to think it's all falling apart. Well no it doesn't have to, don't just complain offer suggestions to help fix the situation instead, for one the way I see it, the BSI is only taking control of Administration of the BCR, as it is we register our hybrids with the BSI now & that goes into the BCR, then the photo's get posted on FCBS, so what is going to change, you don't register hybrids with FCBS it is only a photo index for you to look at pictures to aid in ID's. If this is correct it means you register with the BSI, you send a pretty picture to FCBS for all to see, or any other photo index around the world for that matter, as any site can post your picture, but only the BSI can register your hybrid name, therefore not much is changing as FCBS was & still is only a photo index (I believe that's what's on it's Title page) not FCBS Bromeliad Registry. I do feel it is time in this day & age of computers that all BSI members should get a copy of the minutes in one form or another so that we know what is happening in our Society, as our Delegates don't seem terribly interested in keeping us informed here at home after the meetings. "Lets be Heard" Hmmm $25.00 bucks is not going to fix the problem of so many "Neo. Binalotatrash's it's only going to help keep the great load of Neo. Ulanfils out there instead of in land fill. (sorry those names are already taken) My hat goes off to Lisa for acknowledging in an earlier thread that her little white variegate (as nice as it is) is one of so many like that out there now, so it's not worth adding another one, there's a hybridiser setting a good example worth following, congrats Lisa for self policing, only the best will do. Back in the early 1900's the Plant World had Expo's where new plants/hybrids were presented & given Awards of Merit etc, so where did this system go, Derek suggested a Certificate of Merit system but nobody was overly excited about this, so it seems to have fallen away ?? Offer a constructive suggestion don't just complain. My suggestion to Derek & others recently has been to include in local Society Show Competition Schedules, is a section for Best New Hybrid Award (locally produced not imported) with a respectable reward/incentive offered, some of our Societies are pretty well cashed up, so how about the Societies stepping-up & remembering what they are here for, THE PLANTS. Another section that should be high on the agenda is "Best Species, Seed Grown", forget the hybrids we need to save Species, I thought that's what Societies were, partly, all about. I don't know that printing this thread in a news letter is the way to go as most Society members aren't members of the BSI, & it probably wouldn't interest most of them anyway as most are just sit on the fencers anyway. I feel it should be sent in it's entireity to all members of the Board with notice, it is our Society not just the elected Delegates & we are interested in what's going on. I know I will be asking our next intending Delegate a few questions before I cast a vote, "where do you stand on the above matters ??". NO I'm not offering to do this as a Board member has been involved in this discussion, he should step-up & do it, as an elected Delegate it is his position to act on members requests & show the Board we're not happy with the way things are going. Pinkbroms

It's difficult, if not impossible, to delete a presence online. Even if you delete your user name, there's still going to be cached ghosts of your posts available via Google, and every post has every contributor's IP address for anyone to see. This kinda goes back to the online privacy thread a few weeks back. You either have to just deal with the lack of privacy once you go online or don't log on, ever. Because every single action is being tracked and linked back to your online identity in some form. If you enjoy the forum, I wouldn't leave over a friendly email. You can live your life wondering what if's or being paranoid that someone is stalking you or you can take reasonable precautions and continue to enjoy your interests. Ultimately it's your decision of course but I think you're overreacting and I would at least give yourself a couple of days before making that decision. I'd also ask him where he got your email because it could be something completely innocent that maybe you forgot about. Maybe you emailed someone else at some point and they passed on your email address. It could be anything but it's unlikely that it's malicious or sneaky in nature, especially if it was a thank you email.

There are times when someone would like to privately email a GW member - maybe they would like that person to check out their thread or maybe they have a question specific to that person's kitchen. In any case, the ability to privately email a GW member does exist. . . Emailing Members Etiquette There is "etiquette" involved in emailing others. If you email someone privately, it's common courtesy to be willing to reveal your email address to that person - especially if you want a reply. Anonymous emails are discouraged, even if you don't expect a reply. Another point, which shouldn't have to be mentioned but does: Be polite and don't "bully". Don't email someone to tell them you don't like something they said/did/etc. Many people find it easy to criticize/blast others b/c they are, for all intents and purposes, anonymous. Let's all adhere to the mantra: "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything". Lastly, please be aware of what we all agreed to when we signed up for GW: This form is not to be used for advertising or promotion. (This includes links to your own commercial sites in a signature) . . So, how do you email a GW member? First, be sure you have email turned on for your account: In the upper right corner of most GW pages, you will find a "Your Profile" link - select it. Scroll down to the greenish-yellowish shaded area at the bottom with all the checkboxes. Select "Members" from the dropdown box labeled "Show my email address to:" (As of September 2013, this does not appear to affect what is displayed in the "Posted by" line) Check the box next to "Allow other users to send you email from your profile page or if you wish to receive message reply notifications." Now, select the "Save Your Member Profile" button below the shaded area. You're done! You can now receive replies to your private emails. Note: If you don't want your email address showing up in general, then set the "Show my email address to" option to "Members" just before you send your private email and set it back to "None" after you've sent your private email. Next, you need to get to someone's "member page". There are several ways to do this: Option 1: Find a message the person has posted and open their page by selecting the "My Page" link next to their member's name in a message. For example: Posted by buehl (My Page) on Tue, Sep 24, 13 at 22:27 Note the "(My Page)" next to the member's name (in this case, "buehl"). Option 2: Use the URL below. Replace "" with the person's GW username: http://www.gardenweb.com/auth/nph-logincheck.cgi?action=public_profile&user= In the case of member "buehl": http://www.gardenweb.com/auth/nph-logincheck.cgi?action=public_profile&user=buehl Option 3: Use GW's "Member Pages" page. From the navigation bar along the top of most pages: Hover over the "Tools & Resources" option. A dropdown menu will appear. From the dropdown menu, select: Member pages Select the "Search for Members" link Enter the member's user name in the "Names beginning with" box Optionally, use one of the other search criteria as well Select the "Search" button In all cases, it will bring up that person's member page and, if that person is willing to allow others to email them, it will include a link that says "Send me an email". Select the "Send me an email" link. On the next page, enter: The Subject of your email - make it descriptive and informative Your message Optionally, check the box to "Send a copy of this to my email address" (This sends a copy of the email to your email address.) Select the "Submit your message" button The email will be sent.