I messed up and forgot i posted about a6500k light before ad started a new thread oops my bad. The question is why in the hell would you merge a post about autos with that? Two completely different subjects. Don’t worry lemonadejoe this is my last post since you asked not to start any new topics just wondering why you would merge completely unrelated topics together.
Looks like because it was part of the thread that got merged… Not put in separately, as far as I could find anyway…
Alot of the reason why we merge things is to keep info as close together as possible… but if it was within the last thread, as the question about autos came from you in there, then it all got thrown into the thread based on the bulk of the info
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No the question about autos was a completely different thread. Makes zero sence to merge two different topics that are unrelated.
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Ok, i see that now that I’m running through your posts…
I think alot of the reason was maybe thinking that this was gonna turn into your grow thread, so put your info together still…
Either way, nothing to get crazy about, just ask, always someone on to help figure out the solutions…
Have you considered making a grow thread? Or do you have one up that I’m missing? Then we could keep your pictures and updates and some questions to the community in it… was a good idea for the 6500k bulb question as I’ve never thought of going higher than 5000k …good topic
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I did have titled first grow in 15 years but the question was unrelated to that thread hence new topic. Merging everything into one makes search function less effective for someone looking for a previous thread about a topic instead of posting a new topic. I get not wanting the board cluttered but merging all posts by a person to one thread confuses that thread because you get more than one topic in that single thread. I liked this forum until the pm I got asking not to start new topics. I’ll take the advice. Every forum ice ever been on you have a question you search that topic first that doesn’t get you anything then post the question with a clear title so others cab search for it if they have that same question, not having multiple topics in a single thread that gets so jumbled up it’s useless even if somewhere buried in the varied replies there was the holy grail of growing. Hell now you can’t find my post about autos because it was merged with something completely unrelated.
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And that’s alot of the difference of here and there… There are a million other forums and we aren’t them.
“Use the search engine” is not a phrase you’re gonna see around here because we like to help people…
That being said, there are a lot of posts here that cover the same topic… The merge of your auto question should have been to your grow thread and not the 6500k thread, that is true.
You were asked not to post singular questions repetitively over several new threads. That was cluttering. I’m trying to help resolve this but I need you to give me a little give here…as I’m not the one who moved stuff… just trying to fix your problem
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No issues. Hell i would have deleted the first light thread because i miss titled it but that isn’t an option I’ve seen. My grow thread got all screwed up when bugs hit me would delete it but… That’s why I like this place id’s because of the willingness to help people, just always thought it best to try and find answers instead of asking the same question. Hell to be honest i forgot about the first thread until it was merged i mean look what the forum is about lol short term memory retention is a bit challenging sometimes lol. Can you delete my first grow thread? And just so I don’t run a foul again, would 2 grow threads one for auto and one for photos be acceptable? Or should that just all go in one?
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Meh… I’d go all in one just based on content
I think i have 3 grow, 2 inactive just for the pics and info now, threads but when I grow a few cycles or change something up heavily, I just rename it…
Reason I said that about asking those questions within your thread is, with all the awesome members we have from all over the world, someone will always see your post and try to help to the best of their ability… And you posting in a threads bump it to the top and get more views and help and likes😉 from others as well…
Sorry for the fudge up merges but we’ll get you going now!
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My bad. I’ve merged your posts about LED together. But correcting it is the easiest thing… just let me know.
One topic per garden is preferred…
This way you can ask multiple questions regarding that particular garden (and at the same time cover multiple issues from pH to lighting) and allow your readers to follow up your grow (with photos).
It is much better than creating multiple topics, because most of the time people need to know some background about your grow to answer properly…
Situation where I see creating new topic justified is for subject that has broader issue and is highly theoretical (without the need to dive into someone’s grow diary). In that case, title should reflect the topic covered very closely and all participants should stick to that particular topic. Many topics of this type reside long-term on our board because they cannot be answered easily yes or no.
These recommendations together with using tags allow much better organization of topics and more effective usage of full text search.
And another point:
Sometimes people think they get faster response and more views if they just start new topic. But it is exactly the opposite. If they update their existing topic, everyone that has already participated is pinged through notification system. Readers see the history, see what worked for you or not and can find better solution for you.
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I think it would be a good idea if the mods discussed things like this with the OP, and all those posting in the effected threads, BEFORE doing a merge/change or what ever.
I personally find it very upsetting when someone messes with my threads/posts without my permission and with no warning. One thread I was participating in got edited this way and it made all my comments on the thread sound like nonsense as everything I was commenting on got deleted or moved. Totally screwed up the threads “train of thought”.
What the mods are doing might be a good idea, but Im not likely to be in a mood to listen if Im not consulted first. Im going to go off like a firecracker long before I get a chance to think rationally about what happened. Thats just going to cause up-set that could easily be avoided.
Its just not polite at all in my opinion.
Im also not a fan of censorship - which I think this is. I understand that there is a need to enforce community rules, etc, but dictating how you run your own threads is beyond what I consider reasonable.
People as a general class are messy, disorganized, illogical, irrational, thoughtless, and careless to one degree or another. Trying to force them into a mold of YOUR design is a hopeless, and more importantly, a thankless task. Nothing comes of it but resentment.
Sorry for the rant. This is one of the very few peeves I have with this board.
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Everytime I merge some topics I immediately approach owner with PM so that he knows my motivation. And it is the case also with @Daytripr69. Instead of sorting this through PM he has the urge to discuss this publicly…
There were two topics with LED in their subject… The connection - same garden - was evident. They were not parallel in time - one was old and not updated, another one was fresh. So I merged them that old one was followed by fresh one. Accidentally I’ve also moved his posts about auto strain, but I’ve corrected it already.
This is usually case when splitting topic. What you are describing is exactly why we need to catch any off topic soon before it derails the thread. When I come to topic that is derailed too late, I need to elaborate it and often there is no good solution, because some posts logically react to both “threads”. If you see off topic please mark it soon using flag button, that can help mods and leaders to avoid any future mess.
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The examples discussed here are for things such as a new user that posts multiple threads that cannot be categorized as general interest but instead relate specifically to their situation. Which, in some cases, is better served as a single topic.
There are other reasons,too. Such as someone going off the rails or wildly out of context meandering from the OPs topic. It becomes equally difficult to follow a thread that deviates too far from the OP. This is usually true for the general interest topics but not so much for personal threads.
Or, the more common scenario where someone starts a fight, is being provocative, or is disrupting the flow of the thread.
An example is where someone, without knowing better, posts a grow log in the introduce yourself thread. It gets moved out of the thread to try to keep it on topic. Not to offend someone.
In any case, most things can be reverted as well. Mistakes happen. So, if something irks you, please reach out to a mod via PM.
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I fully understand that mods need to moderate some things - as mentioned above. People behave badly and sometimes you need to fix it. Im fine with that - even if its me.
BUT
Trying to force people to stay “ON topic” is a hopeless task. I will say this again - its also a thankless task. No one likes being told to stay on topic. People are just not built that way. They do not talk that way or think that way or behave that way. Computers do, but not people.
I would be willing to bet that less than 1/10th of one percent of the threads on this board are completely ON topic - or even remotely close.
People just dont work that way. They start to say one thing and get sidetracked by the cute kitten in the back ground or the mention of their favorite car or food or sex, or what they did last night, or or or or they are just stoned and wander randomly through the verbal jungle.
OR - the subject being discussed just happens to be a highly complex issue that is not simple and cannot be summed up in a single topic - something like growing weed for example 
A user might start a thread and ask what height his lights need to be to fix a problem, but we cant answer that question all by itself - we need to ask many other questions on many other subjects other than just “how tall are the lights”. This will lead to a thread that may have very little to do with the original title or thread subject.
How the heck are you going to keep a thread like that “ON topic” when you have no idea where it needs to go?
Plus, one persons idea of what is ‘off topic’ can be very different from the OP’s. Many times, its hard to tell. I might start a thread discussing PH, but it drifts off to aeration, or bacteria or nutes or fans, or sterile rez, and that leads to discussing electronic timers, then pumps, then DO levels get thrown in and maybe we go off on the difference between NFT and EBB/FLOW aeration levels or surficants, or auto-siphons. or is a '57 chevy really the coolest car ever, or or or or…
NONE of those things are off topic - well, maybe the chevy is, but its burried in with all the other stuff that IS on topic and no way to edit it out without messing up the flow of the thread. All of those things can occur naturally as the subject gets discussed. Thats just the way normal conversations happen.
That thread that got split was like that. Part way through we got off into discussing cordless drills - which was a valid thing to talk about, in that thread, at that time. Drills, and how well they work, and how to use them best, and where to get a good deal were all valid things to discuss as it was directly helping the OP solve a problem.
We were just getting back to the main point of the thread when it got split - because someone decided that drills were OFF topic. But spliting the thread just made it meaningless and totally confusing. The OP’s original problem got lost in the split.
When people respond in a thread, they often respond to more than one post by more than one person. Many times, the individual responses - within that single post - will be on completely different subjects…That post is now linked to many other posts and several other subjects - none of which might be the original subject, but all of which might be critical to understanding that subject.
In other words, I think you guys are tilting at windmills trying to force people to stay ON TOPIC.
When you are discussing complex issues, that involve many different technologies, devices, subjects, ideas, theories, etc, there is no such thing as ON topic.
Im all for using your mod powers to stop fights, or tame unruly users, or any of the things that were mentioned above, but trying to keep people on topic is never going to work.
Granted, sometimes people go off on really wild tangents and things need to be “fixed”. I personally think it would be better/less confusing to just delete the offending posts rather than try splitting/merging threads.
I get where this urge to moderate and keep people ON TOPIC comes from. Ive been hanging out on forums since the oldoldold days when I was proud to have a the very fastest modem money could buy that could do 400 baud. That modem sent O N E L E T T E R A T A T I M E - sloooooly… 
Many many times I have had the over powering desire to choke some nitwit and smash his modem for wasting my time with pointless OFF TOPIC posts! I know full well how badly people want to keep things organized and ON topic and easy to search. I am the same way.
BUT…
I just dont think thats ever going to happen because - people are people. Trying to force it - as much as I might like to at times - is as likely to cause more trouble and confusion than it fixes.
Hmmmmm I hope this doesnt come across as an attack on any of the mods or @LemonadeJoe, or the board itself. The vast majority of the time, you folks do a first rate job. This board is one of the most civil and polite boards Ive ever been on - by far, so well done to all of you on that.
This whole “ON/OFF Topic” thing just happens to be one of my pet internet peeves, and I hope I didnt get too carried away.
Ok, Im done with my rant. You can all ignore me and go back to doing your mod stuff however you were doing it before
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Title says it all (or at least should)… then there is original post which should define “what the topic is about”.
When topic gets broader in time and it makes sense, I usually just reflect it by changing the title to more broader one.
I agree that splitting late can create more troubles than it solves… I always weight pros and cons before taking action.
But as I said before, when you split the topic on time (after say two or three posts when it is clear that this won’t be just short diversion) this problem won’t happen.
You are right… That is why we struggle and moderator’s job is hard 
… But it is not reason to let it go. Can you imagine how would forum look without any structure into forum categories and topics? It would probably look like chat channel or facebook. Neither of those can serve as knowledge archive. People waste a lot of time there searching for valid info. But forums - when used right - can be great knowledge bases. You can learn from past threads and the only thing that bothers you is how fast you can get the information - and that is usually about filtering heap of off-topic posts.
In ideal case, before starting new topic member should look with fulltext search if there is not similar topic, then read it first and decide if reply to existing topic or start new one. There should not be duplicate topics…
This is also why we differentiate between garden topics and theoretical topics… Garden topics can drift in time to whatever OP wants to… Theoretical topics should stay focused and open in time to add more knowledge if future brings new discoveries.
There are also areas in which this policy is not applied so strictly - for instance in Smoker's Lounge
Trying to catch offtopic early by friendly suggestion from moderator to stay on topic or splitting it early solves all the problem that you have described.
Instead of resigning, please participate and help us make the forum better - every member can flag any post as off topic and help to keep it organized…
Following rules should be a standard when using any forum:
- Don’t start a topic in the wrong category.
- Don’t cross-post the same thing in multiple topics.
- Don’t post no-content replies.
- Don’t divert a topic by changing it midstream.
If we keep habit of this small hygiene we can prevent a lot of issues that can be very painful… For those who want to just chit chat, they better check our Discord Channel…
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I have thought about this a couple of times when there are sub topics in a thread the original post or shortly after could be made into a wiki or just edited to link the start of new topics and relevant information.
For example the most recent cup competition is over 1000 posts long and the first post could have a link to post 1xxx where the entrants final pictures will be to save a newcomer from going cross eyed or losing interest 100 posts in.
Maybe a site modification could be that the member that started a topic can edit the original post indefinitely? Or even a button on posts to make it a link at the bottom of first post of topic.
Is it possible to wiki-unwiki, to edit then close of public editing again?
Just some thoughts.
Tagging @LemonadeJoe just because I can’t remember which reply button I clicked.
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Sure, first post can be kind of index to highlight some parts of the topic.
Easiest ways is to ask OP, Leader or Moderator to make it wiki. I wouldn’t be afraid to leave it as a wiki because all changes can be reverted if there were some damages.
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There was no pm to sort thru. You sent a one line pm saying don’t start new topics which came off quite dickheadish. Then put threads together that had no reason to be together. If i could delete the jumbled mess I would because now the post makes no sence at all. Like others have said it’s bull to go editing people’s shit without saying anything. Don’t take this as an attack just expressing my feelings on the matter. When you send a pm like that and then like the response of gotcha won’t post another Damn thing here it made the whole pm come off like you were trying to be an ass and not trying to help. Now had you sent more than one line telling me not to start ANY new topics and reminded me of the other led post i would have asked you to delete the first one. Anyone is going to get an attitude when you come at them the way you did in pm. Honestly it shocked me as this is the friendliest board i have found and hope to get my problems straightened out so I can do a seed run or make a bunch of cuts to send out to help others here because of all the help I’ve been given thus far. I will say this is the only board of any subject that people randomly merge and split posts without asking the op the intent of multiple posts. From what I gather you would rather each member only create one topic ever no matter the subject. Might as well because even completely unrelated stuff gets merged because it was posted by the same person
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Stop attacking. You are repeating yourself. It is already solved or not?
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read the edit sir i realized it sounded bad so i added to it
Ok… You have expressed yourself…
Is there anything I can help with?
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