So.. I just checked and this forum has 17437 registered members.
Yet I see about 10 people regularly posting. Now where are all the others?

Looking at the stats, at this moment: Total users online: 17 Members and 620 Guests Online

New posts reach 100 views in a week or less. So people are reading. Present. looking at things. Yet not commenting, responding, posting their own plants etc.

I would really like to invite all reading the forum to comment. To check "Thank you" if you like a post. Effectively, join the discussion. I realize some responses may be rough around the edges.But polish them up, and there are grains of gold in even the biggest basked of sand. And yes, you may think you have nothging to contribute. So what! Even if you are just starting off, you can join and share your thoughts on trees posted!

Please participate. Let's get this forum to consist of more than just some 10 people chatting between themselves!

To start off, why not pop a little message below, maybe sharing your tree of reason for being here. If you then still have some time, drop a line in the introduction thread. Do it now! We do not bite. Well, not always at least!

I don't have much to show off, most of my trees are in the ground, but I marked 6 trees already to collect in the winter. I stil try to share my opinion every now and then.

On other notes: The messages and signatures of the comments are covering/fading each other for me.

Madartej21 wrote: I don't have much to show off, most of my trees are in the ground, but I marked 6 trees already to collect in the winter. I stil try to share my opinion every now and then.

Cool. Can you create a thread and share what you are growing in the ground, and how you go about things like roots and taper?

I guess it’s not uncommon for there to be “lurkers” (guests and members alike) on any fora who, for whatever reason, don’t post or join in. I’m surprised that only 10 regular individuals do so out of so many members. How many of those 17,437 even visit anymore?

I’m probably guilty of only dropping in every so often (usually when I’m facing a crisis!!)

What could the reasons be? Maybe many members don’t feel they can really add anything to topics/threads, preferring to read what others have written, learning as they go.

Maybe some are worried about asking what they think are silly questions. (Remember, there’s no such thing as a silly question, and pound-to-a-penny someone else has the same one but is too scared to ask!)

And, yes, LB you alluded to there being responses that can be a bit dismissive, but I think this is the exception rather than the rule. Generally that happens when someone asks a very basic question that has been done to death, or something that not two minutes research (on this site no less) could have delivered the answer to.

I get that more experienced bonsaistas grow tired of the same old questions; I probably would too.

Btw, I don’t know if bonsaistas is the right term...or fora the plural of forum...but who cares. :silly: It’s a bonsai forum after all, not the OED grammar site.

Heya Franky,

welcome back No crisis though?

I guess this thread does illustrate my point. It has had 20 views. And 3 responses.

leatherback wrote: ..It has had 20 views...

Is it count if I opened 5 times? Not sure if it counts 1 like one person, or 5 like five views...

Franky wrote: I don’t know if bonsaistas is the right term...

Well, in Portuguese we say bonsaístas, exactly like you wrote above.
In English some say "bonsaists", but I don't know if the word even exists.

Felidae wrote:

leatherback wrote: ..It has had 20 views...

Is it count if I opened 5 times? Not sure if it counts 1 like one person, or 5 like five views...

I don’t think it counts if you keep returning to the same topic. Seems like it registers it once for each user, I think.

Clicio wrote:

Franky wrote: "bonsaists", but I don't know if the word even exists.

It does now. Good word.

My man just call the field “Bonsaiology”.. And “Bonsaiologist” for the person.
/He made up the word “Yesternight” also, so..../