great to watch when your gone from home.
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Just some stats to think about and realize why some of us think things have changed.
Free Seeds thread Volume 1 started March of 2017 and took until December 2020 to log 3000 posts (roughly 67 posts per month)
December 2020 to Feb 2021 it had 1000 posts (about 333 posts per month)
Volume 2 from Feb until May to get 5000 posts (now 1,667 posts per month)
Volume 3 5000 posts in less than a month
Volume 4 5000 posts in 2 weeks
Now into volume 5.
I have no problem with seed giveaways and used to be able to stay up to date with that thread and it is an essential element to the site.
If you can go from 67 posts per month to 5000 in 2 weeks I donāt feel there is value of information there. It seems to be all about how many posts can we make and how many times can I call dibs in the next 15 minutes.
I just donāt think that is what a free seeds thread is about.
It used to be easy to see if someone new needed seeds to get going or some shit happened and they needed a fresh start or were just looking for something in particular.
It doesnāt seem that hard to putt down the menu to find the chat area if all you want to do is type out words or shoot the shit. The down side is there are still going to be people in need of seeds for one reason or another and most of us wonāt be able to help or even know help is needed.
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Excatly 
I vote instead of fighting it, we give in 100%.
What I propose is that anytime we see these peopleās show up looking for handouts, we give it to them.
BUT what we give is plan old hemp seeds for freeā¦
Then maybe once they grow them out, smoke em up & get blasted off the best named strain around.
They wonāt be coming back anytime soon, cause 20 mins into be ārippedā they realize they waisted 5 months of growing to end up without any buzz. Lmao. Iād pay to see that reaction 
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donāt worry citizens of overgrow, at least youāll always have zephyr!
If I ever stop posting here, itās because Iām dead. otherwise, Iām here to stay.
I am also concerned about the recent turnover of long time members. I agree with @LemonadeJoe, the rate of new membership is pretty steady. But what about the rate of member retention?
many people are checking out or going dark after less than a year. I know this is a hobby for some people, but where are all the old medical growers going?
I think the average length of time that a member stays active is decreasing, and the number of members who have been on since 2018 to 2016 has sharply decreased recently. we should try to make the site a little more hospitable to the long term members and long term medical patients.
I know a lot of us need cannabis to stay healthy, so weāre not just going to stop growing. Especially not when many of us are perfectly legal. Iām not sure where these members have gone.
I sometimes have the morbid thought that covid may have hit the medical cannabis community harder than we realize. A lot of MMJ patients have compromised immune systems, and by definition, all of us have preexisting conditions.
Hopefully we will hear from some of these growers soon.
@riverlady and @SmknCanuck spring to mind. I was glad to see that @nefrella checked back in recently, and I was glad to see it when @G-paS came back to the site last year after taking a break.
Iām getting ready to send some seeds to @herb4ever for their medical needs but itās been a while since they have checked in on the site. Hope you are doing well herb.
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Was the very 1st OGāER I ever spoke with & continued untill his disappearance.
Still makes me wonder.
He made me feel welcome, showed me around & introduced me to friends & offered awesome advise, he showed me what being an OGāER ment!
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Iām fairly new and did not get to meet those people but that is such a sad thought about Covid. 
I truly hope they are ok and just taking time away.
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I keep hoping he will show up or someone will get word.
I donāt want bad to come to anyone, even the ones in the free seeds thread.
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I have tuned off for a few hours and even the night before because I was out of likes as well. Sometimes you just really lie what the person says and other times itās a way to acknowledge what someone said when you have nothing further to add to it. Itās always funny to me when I see someone post back just to say theyāre out of likes when more likes would save bandwidth.
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your post to acknowledge your comment. Case In point lol
If the giveaways carry on I would like to see rather than dibs maybe 5 mins to post the best reason you have for wanting it .
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yes. Iām concerned about this as well. people are taking in so many seeds and then trading them away. Itās like a game of telephone, information gets lost each time a pack of seeds changes hands. Who knows whatās actually being circulated in some cases.
I appreciated it when people on overgrow were concerned about authenticity, and were careful about what genetics they were buying and growing. now many growers just want something in their hand quick.
authenticity truly is important for MMJ patients who need reliable effective medicine.
for a medical cannabis patient, a mislabeled pack of seeds or a breeder who is dishonest/incorrect about the true genetics could mean the difference between harvesting potentially life saving meds, and wasting 3 months of precious time.
People should consider whether all these giveaways and auctions would still be happening at such a fast pace if everyone here took the time to think about it and did their due diligence to find out if something is actually authentic before taking seeds into their grow.
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Authenticity is difficult to determine when weāre sending seeds back and forth in coin flips with washers in them isnāt it?
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We are all getting a little heated and understandably so. Itās a place we care about.
There are lots of reasons overgrow is so awesome but the big one for me is that itās a place where I can tell the truth.
I spent most of my life hiding that I was a grower. āThis shit is the bomb where did you get it?ā āUhh, I know a guy.ā
So Iām invested in the quality of the safe space. Maybe itās less relevant post legalization but thatās how it feels to me.
Maybe itās a victim of its own success. Maybe itās inevitable.
Iāve even dibbed on things that looked interesting.
Maybe we are just crotchety old farts resistant to change. I know I am.
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I went on the net a while ago looking for some info about growing and read a post from OG and stayed because I only got contradictions and infighting on other sites.
I stayed because I āvirtuallyā met some friendly and knowledgeable people that made me feel welcome.
I am in a country with archaic laws which makes me feel vulnerable and reluctant to post a grow diary, but love this community, and like all communities there are genuine people and opportunists.
I prefer to buy my beans that will grow how and what I want.
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Muting threads and people is another way to have the OG youāre looking for, thatās another option ā¦ 
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No one forces anyone to read the free seeds thread, agreed.
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Iām new here - and fairly new to growing (though not at all new to the business).
I signed up in Feb - Doug suggested Iād like it here - Thanks @DougDawson !
I know this is just my opinion, but I feel as though Iām somewhat obligated to at least a few community seed runs ā Iāve been freely given a number of strains now ā it only behooves me to attempt the same for others. (holding off on collecting more strains until I figure out how many I can handle / store - I should have more than I need soon anyway.).
This community has given freely to me - how could I not give back as freely?
When I received my Herijuana seeds (and the others that have followed), I thought it was with the understanding that I was going to do a strain preservation run and offer them up to the community (as testers - Iām a complete noob at this!)
More info on that in about a monthā¦
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Thatās EXACTLY how I feel about it, keep paying it forward as people have done for me, I will do for others, and hopefully the cycle will continue through those people.
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Hot thread Chron!
Im sorry you were feeling this way.
I havenāt read whole thread, so not sure on where you stand now.
But this stuff can happen especially when you are a generous kind person. People will always try to take advantage of things, and well keep providing.
I know your OP is you coming to terms of this current environment you described.
That sounds shitty to be used and abused repeatedly. Thatās the definition of MANIPULATION!
And i cut them out of my life !
There should be rules before free seeds / give always
- minimum 50 Post
- discussion in 10 threads
- Minimum 10 post before journal
And a mandate to run a journal or feed back and photos.
Yes,
Free usually means free, no obligations.
I was kindly offered some. Auto cbd strains in my first 6 month or so of active member ship, which I turned down ā¦
Amazing you all are. Thatās just shows the spirit of the community. 5.
I am a very new grower. But having my hand held throughout first grow really helped a lot , and gave me lots of confidence.
I turned down my free seeds offer. As i have some I bought.
However as I grow more I will hopefully have the itch to participate in these giveaways.
Thank you for your genorosities + mind full - spiritual and physical .
Do what you feel works best.
Iād be happy to run journal on gifted seeds after I finish my second successfully and Have everything dialed in,
Iāve been In one othee online community, and I had to leave a few times , howevee it was due to power tripping moderators who would bully members they did not like for specific reason, delete posts without giving reasons. I
So much more .
Either way, maybe a quick validation process / screening before honouring the winner with theyāre prize.
CIao
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Iāve heard trust level & time mentioned a few times - and that makes sense to me.
tbh - I was shocked when I was included on a seed run in my second week (IIRC).
I would think a few months - maybe a current grow journal, etcā¦
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