James, I guess when you've been around GW for a long time like I have (since the late 90's), off topic is just a normal sequence. If you go to some of the really old posts that are still alive, you'll see a lot of them veered off, but then somebody new came on and asked a question and that got the thread back on track. I personally, don't mind a thread going off topic at all. I do feel it makes it more interesting. If you'll notice, the suggestions and comments forum is missing now. It's been missing for a long time, because all anybody did was to complain about one thing or another. I think we all need to understand that our words are just words. There's no voice, no fluctuation, no body language to go along with what we're saying. Anymore, if I feel somebody is saying something totally inappropriate, I ask for clarification. They either come back and don't explain it correctly and I know my first instinct was correct, or they come back and apologize for not wording it correctly in the first place. I'm guilty of that myself! I've been in a hurry and just written something quick and to the point, but not using the correct words. And not thinking of how somebody else might take my words. The old saying about sticks and stones....but words do hurt our feelings. All of our feelings. I do come back and apologize though for not wording it like I should have. I have seen so many people come and go, I forget that not everybody has been hanging around as long as I have! I don't browse over to the discussions side in any of the forums. I have fun talking and chatting within the threads in the forum, be it on topic or off topic. I don't plan on changing where I post. There's already way too many forums anymore here at GW, I honestly don't understand the problem when a thread goes off topic. I've heard people complain about posts in the forum that are off topic, but not when a thread goes off topic. Finally, lovefornature, please don't go anywhere. James has explained his thinking in what he said and somewhere in there, I'm sure is an apology for not being clear. There's always going to be somebody who doesn't like something about GW, be it some of the people, the posts or the way the conversation goes. I acknowledge what James is saying, but I don't agree. Not at all. The finch thread is your thread and it can go any way you want it to go. If you want it to go back on topic because somebody objects, then veer it back. If you don't care, then the person who objects can choose not to read it anymore and they can start a new post on whatever they choose. It's when people get too picky and complain, that a lot of people choose to go elsewhere. Then GW slows way down and becomes somewhat boring because of the lack of posts and conversations within the thread. I don't know about anybody else, but when I call a friend for a specific reason, we always end up talking about a lot of other things. Same way in the threads. If my question is answered, then really, what difference does it make that now the conversation has gone off from I initially called for? Or asked in a thread? Hmm...I said finally already up there, but I guess it wasn't really my final thought. This is though.....and again to James, I don't feel you stepped on any toes. There are no hard and fast rules here at GW except for arguing. That isn't tolerated. Off topic threads however, are entirely different and if you don't want to read them, then move on to the next post. I've done that when a subject grabs my attention, but it isn't what I thought it was...so I either hit the back button or the "Return to".....and go find another post to read. If this whole forum was taken up with things not relating to birds, then I understand, but it isn't.

I think the only way is to look through, and keep checking periodically. You could also, possibly, keep track on your own of the original poster's name or a key word of the topic and do a search at the bottom of the forum page. (sometimes the search function isn't quite on top of things, but it usually works for me) One thing that helps is that after the last time you checked the thread, at least on my browser, the title stays highlighted in a different color until it gets a new response. This forum moves so fast, it can be a hunt to find the threads you were interested in. That's why all of us 'regulars' become addicted to checking in. A lot of the other forums don't have so much activity so threads stay on the front page longer. The downside of that, obviously, is that you don't get as much feedback and it can take much longer to get answers.

Did we know that: Dryer Sheets (work) as Bug Repellant? I just came across this!. What is in dryer sheets repels insects - at least some. For gnats and, anecdotally, for mosquitoes. It probably won't help with fungus gnats in your house plants that you brought back indoors several weeks ago. The gnats are already in the potting soil. But, when we are outdoors in the garden and troubled by insects, we may want to use dryer sheets in our hats and tucked into our sleeves! By the way, here's the original study (link). With such a large numbers of gnats in such small containers, it shouldn't really be surprising that about 15% of them ended up with the repellent. We know from voting patterns that every population has a lunatic fringe ... Hey, 85% ain't bad for these threads; especially if they work for the biters! Steve

When you check "save" on a thread, where does it go? I thought I saved a couple threads recently but don't see them on my houzz page.