Hmmm. I'm thinking...maybe Orrin, I am thinking of another forum that both you and I used to post on, and there was an ocecat...does that ring a bell?

I was here a couple years before Spike made us actually register to use the forum back in 2001; I dragged that out as long as I could before giving in. Remember when he wanted us all to pay an annual membership fee? I know there are others who were already here when I first arrived, but my memory isn't worth very much nowadays.

I was at the AOS forum a bit earlier than here, and on rare occasions, posted at rec.gardens orchid forum. I moved to the "other" forum in 2003 when the AOS forum self-destructed.

Jane you met me. Couldn't you tell I was an asian guy in a blonde wig? :-)

Who was the woman who used to post "Stick it somewhere and forget about it"? She stopped posting over a year ago. Michigoose, It's nice to see you back from the "dark side". Please stay awhile :-). You are missed.

The forum is now owned by G.E. Corp. I'm surprised this isn't already a pay site. That day will come. Too bad the forum doesn't have a better archive system. I used to use that long before I registered, so I suppose I lurked for a number of years. It was always #2 or 3 in a google search. The archives don't go back very far at all. I should have copied some of the "Classic Posts" and stuck them on a website. I would pay for access to the "good old days". The "Clips" are limited to 50 and once the thread is gone you can only see the part that you clipped.

Shic posing as Clara

Indeed, Orrin, I *did* used to have a handle with Rowan something-or-other in there. That was before SPike booted me during that whole mess where he got all wierd and started kicking people left and right. Most of us defected to AOS, for a time, then OSF started up, and the main core of members were people who Spike deemed disloyal, or something. Of course, all the drama started over there, with certain curs and their b*tches, and it got to be a craptacular place to be. Of course, the OSF flame wars are NOTHING compared to the flame wars that happened on rec.gardens.orchids.... Holy harkin' heck, there was some vitriol, in those days!

Ten years ago, next year, I first joined GW, rec.gardens.orchids, and AOS forum. 1998. I was 14.

Oh the changes that I and the forums have undergone!

-Cj

CJM, you were our child prodigy, and a smart one at that. Glad you are back to the forums.

I do remember that really big rec.garden flame war. It almost makes the ones on OGD pale by comparison. Definitely turned me off to that forum.

No kidding about that one flame war... It was beyond Nasty. Mick Fournier...never will forget that name. He and Ray were the first two bickering (and they always were), but it just ended up consuming the whole forum. I left, after that.

And then AOS went wacko, and I got WAY too involved in that flame war. Overall, though, there weren't that many huge ones at AOS. It was also pretty strictly moderated, but much fairer.

Of course, the old GW flame war was short and spike cut the upstarts right out. I was suprised my membership informationw as still valid, actually. I left in a snit, the last time, over the subscription price....

As for GW eventually going paid, anyway, I doubt it. Ad revenue is much more lucrative than membership fees, for a site this big. Too many people would bugger off, if there was a price to post, because there are too many other forums that are free (and I'm not talking just orchids, but plant/home/garden forums in general). In all the hundreds of forums here, with all the hundreds of members, and all the hundreds of ads you see, it wouldn't make sense to sacrifice steady ad revenue over membership fees.

-Cj

Lisa, Jaguarundi was a blue and white manx. You've never seen a picture. See what I mean about the hazy thing?

I checked Arthur's start date, and unless he's changed his user name, he started after me. Huh.

-O-

I paid the membership fee for several yrs; I think I have 3 tee shirts.

6 yrs ago I thought I was a pro at growing orchids.. I found GW and realized the truth. Alberta, Gin, Val, Lis and others, BRUCE in FL, omg, what a help he's been, and has become a dear friend.. all of them answered 1000 questions, all with such kind words, they were the carriers of my orchid fever.

I always thought Shic was a guy;-)

He is a guy Judy. I am just joking around... Shic was something else, wasn't he?. Those were really fun(ny) posts.

I told Howard that back then I though H was "Satan incarnate". I followed the big brawl with Shic accusing H of intentionally misleading him and killing his plants. That was the clincher for me. Howard was indeed Satan :-)) But then again I was reading a lot of this from a Miami perspective not a Chicago perspective :-)

Clara

Spike was a character. I hung out at organic gar. and growing from seeds,lights, soil & compost. Grew orchids in dirt. Way back, I think maybe 95-96. Got thrown off with everyone else, can't remember which forum, but everyone was arguing on all of them. Lurked for years because I couldn't post. Very frustrating.

Spike Hernandez (I recall). I wonder what happened to him. I think he got 1 mil for GW. Everyone thought it was big money back then.

Anyone know where he went?

Jane

He's probably mounted and hanging out somewhere. :)

Yep, Orrin, it was definitely the Ocecat that someone on one of the other forums had. I realized that right after you said that and I began rotating the grey matter.

Of course...we could wait to see if we get another incarnation of fluteboy. ;) I'm not sure, but I think my join date got changed when iVillage took over and accidently blocked a bunch of us because their servers or something didn't recognize something about our nicks...that's how I ended up with michigoose instead of Michigoose which is how I started out life here. Hmmmm...one of the only way's I have shrunk while getting older...

Spike made us all register in 2001, years before the sale to iVillage. Before that, we used the nicknames we wanted. But once the registration process started, many of our names were already being used by other people in other GardenWeb forums. So it was first come, first serve for each name and many had to change their nicks because of duplication. At least that's how my old decrepit memory remembers it.

Anyone know what became of Dr. Nick? OrchidNick maybe... from Cali. He was hilarious. Bada was going to his place to take photos a couple years ago. I joined in 2003 after lurking a long time in the pond forum, oddly enough.
-MB

I think I've been lucky in that my screen name wasn't taken yet when registration became mandatory and I was able to keep it. Now on several sites I've tried to sign up on it's already taken by pretenders to my legacy! :)

pretenders to my legacy haha I like that. At first I thought you said "predators to my legacy" which sounds much cooler though. I think it's funny to hear where people used to lurk - I use to slip around in the vegetable forums before discovering this place and registering in 2005....I remember coming here after www.gardening.com shut down and one of those annoying filler sites advertising paw paw trees and worm poo popped up in it's place.

I am a 'lurker' of the century. I started in and around the time when everyone was thanking Mike/Persistence for the plants( I guess in 02). Does anyone keep in touch with Bada? Do any of you remember this guy from CA- he has a beautiful yard, lovely Wisteria's, and frequently travels to Japan.Was that Orchidnick?

bada was posting on the 'Tenor of the forum' thread.

I remember bada visiting orchidnick's.. wowza, what pics!
I miss them both~

mrbreeze, that was orchidnick. I do remember that bada went to his place to take photos of orchids. bada did post some photos.

bada was originally from new york but then he and his SO relocated to LA. After the LA move his posts became spotty and then he stopped altogether, after the news that he and the SO were splitting.

sambac, there could be another California guy with a beautiful yard who took vacations to Japan, but I am not so sure of that.

Laura also posted quite frequently I think she was in NC then, with her big yard, dogs, and horses. Now she posts maybe once a year and she is in FL with a DH...

Komi in DC also posted frequently.

Persistence from Washington sent plants to so many people. I wonder how he is now. He got kicked out by Spike quite a number of times.

I think MommaD is from WA also.

cjw, the other post hit 150, and bada has his emailed blocked. Hope he is doing well.
Now thinking about 'longtimers' where is Marci? Have not seen her pictures in the gallery for a while.

Last I heard, bada is well and busy (in a good way) but he's not growing as much.

The other person in Cal with photos and trips to Japan - Yoshi of notsogreenthumb?

sambac, you have an e-mail.

komi, did Yoshi every post over here? Anyhow, if you are speaking about Yoshi, he says he is no longer addicted to orchids and only occasionally visits at the 'other' forum that I know of.

Yoshi used to post on the gallery side here - I think he stopped around the time of the revised policy.

I was hoping this thread would prove that I'm a young 'un, but I guess not so much ...

I think I first started in the mid-90's can't say I know exactly when. I use to post often before Spike Hernandez started making requirements. I didn't blame him, a person has to eat. But about that time other things ran over me, and I have rarely posted since.
I do remember when CJM started posting- an excited teenager at the time. Note to CJM: MaryLou/Miami had some fond memories of you, when I asked her a while back if she knew what had happened to you. This was shortly before she passed away. I guess you had visited her? I am glad you are still using this forum.
I remember when Marci and Howard joined.
I had thought CJWatson may have participated in this forum before me, but he says up above a couple of year before 2001, and I know its been longer for me.
Everything becomes a blur after awhile.
Yes, my user name has always been the same.
Maybe, I will start posting again more often now that I have again.

A lot of people came here after the AOS Forum collapsed, and it was wonderful to see their voices again. I guess I started posting here around 1998 or so. Before that, I had been working in Central America for the previous ten years, and came back to find they had invented the Internet and e-mail in the interim! First thing I did was hook up with as many orchid-related websites as I could find.

Yeah, I stayed with Mary Lou a few times, when I came out for shows. I felt really bad when I heard about her passing. A mutual friend found me and let me know she had died. I wish I had gotten back into the hobby, before she went.

-Cj

My user name has always been the same, and I have been lurking/posting since October 5, 2001.

It has been so long ago that I had to go to my "member page" for this date.

cjw, thanks for the email- did not get it- may be it is the GW block- my email is nsmd@adelphia.net.
Yoshi, it is- he was the person with lovely Wisteria's in his front yard.

Who had the huge salt-water tank? Was it Nick? I remember someone was a doctor? Wasn't that the same person who started the horse manure growing?

Jane

So CJM, Did you pursue an education or career in horticulture?
I am just wondering. You don't have to answer if the question is too personal.

I was a bio major, for a while, then a history major, and then I took a year off and became a Psych major. I'm sticking with this one. I'll graduate in '09 and then off to grad school.

I plan to be a researcher and instructor in Human sexuality and psycho-sexual development.

-Cj

MommaD is in WA, as is Mike (who I think if I remember correctly started out as MikeWA before his other incarnations).

Also, don't forget DesertGardner from Sandyeggo...one of my fav. on this forum. He had some good dirt gardens as well and a heart as big as gold.

Lisa, in general I think people here are great. I believe they are usually generous with their their time, advice, and sometimes, even plants. I have seen the flame wars in other forums and it can be very nasty.

Yes, whatever happened to Marci and Poet for that matter? Or that person who lived in Denver and went back to school to become a chef?

Rho's gone again too.

Whatever happened to the chat? And all those people in Canada?

Nelson, I just get so sick of looking at a computer that I don't bother to post. I also never seem to have enough time.

CJ, that sounds great. I wish you continued success.
Mark

that person who lived in Denver and went back to school to become a chef

Molli and I send jokes back and forth. Last time we actually spoke, she had gotten a her dream job right out of school. I don't know if she pops by the forums anymore. I'll tell her she is being asked about.

Yoshi sent me a white Neo. Lou Sneary years ago.
If you haven't experienced this fragrance, go forth and purchase; you will NEVER be sorry.. plus they're easy to grow.. here's the one he sent, such a neat guy!
{{gwi:203086}}

Wow.

That is one great plant.

Just got back from a short cruise and am getting caught up with postings made in the interim. Agewise, I think I am the oldest member but timewise not so. I only joined in 2000. I see Marci at society meetings, and she does still occasionally post here. Seems like old home week when Orrin, CJ, Gin, CJW, Pamelaw, Judybird and other oldtimers post. I still check this forum every night before hitting the sheets, and say a fond goodnight to my forum family.

How nice to see a post from you once more, Alberta.

and back from a cruise, no less.. LOL
YOU are one tough cookie, A, big hug!

I've been an IT guy since 89 and found out about the Net from a friend at UConn in 90. My first ISP was Escape which turned into Mindspring. I was still using a non-graphical brower (Lynx) when I first came across this site. Things were happening very quickly in those days! Either Painterart joined a lot earlier than he thinks or I joined a lot later than I think but my sense of things is that I was here ~92. I was still visiting rec.gardens.orchids quite a bit but gradually began to realize that I had more to contribute to GardenWeb. I tried the odd compact flourescent in the mid 90's and I had tubes for a while in 99/2000 but I didn't get my first real set of lights till 2001, three 160W Wonderlites. I knew well before that that if I had lights the winter die off's would end or at least lessen. That proved to be very much the case and I have written hundreds of thousands of words to that effect in the six intervening years. Rock on, everyone.

H

Alberta, give my rgds to Marci if you see her. Miss her B.nodosa pics(heartburn heartburn)!!

I guess I'm still a youngster since I didn't come on board until 2003. I lurked for a long time before I dared to post a single word. You guys scared the CR^% out of me!! Everyone seemed to know each other intimately and had all these profound things to say about orchids. Finally I bit the bullet and said something. I'm sure it was stupid, but you didn't point fingers and drive me away. I'm still here.

Kevin

I checked my profile it does not say when I joined, 2000 maybe ? before the membership thing . Wonder what happened to Dick lived in the desert , always ended his information with (Your mileage may vary )
Flute boy was also Bowl boy .
Many Thanks to the old timers that helped me.. Gin

GIN! Howdee?!

-Cj

I certainly don't know when I first started posting but it certainly sounds like Howard started before me. One thing for sure is I haven't been posting continuously. Many years of not even visiting. Funny, how the day I decided to take a look at the gardenweb this post was near the top. I figured most or all people wouldn't even remember me. I am sure CJ's scratching his head how does this person know a little about me. I do remember Gin and some other names. New names are always good. Just consider me a new name.

Gin, good to see you are still around here! Luke is a wonderful memory, his life was cut way too short. One of the names I'm not seeing mention of is 'Steve'. He was always so patient with my questions. I'll have to check my page, date should be about 1999.

Fluteboy is still occasionaly posting here as Terpguy. He went through the "terrible twos" on several other forums but has finally matured.

Sambac-- I will relay your message to Marci. She brings in many beautiful plants for show and tell and is well known locally for her collection of spotted catts.