Oh man. Don’t even mention that UK game. 
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This brings up a good point. When @scottfsmith started this forum, he did it to keep the costs minimal and used the “free” forum software program “Discourse”. It’s not necessarily free to keep the forum going because there are hosting/storage fees but this platform is about as cheap as it gets (with no advertising) considering the traffic it does.
As such, the free Discourse comes with some minor disadvantages. One of them is that we are sort of bound to the software. I’m not a computer guy, but I guess Scott could alter it, since it’s open source, but that would probably take a lot of effort and time to tailor it to very specific needs of our members. And I wonder if it would be a lot more work to accept future updates to the program? Really as a professor, I doubt Scott has the time to do that, considering all his time (and to a lesser degree his “staff”) is volunteer.
So, for the time being, I think we have to live with the minor bugs and nuances of the Discourse program. Imo, I don’t think it’s too hard to do so, and vastly better than dealing with a for profit fruit forum which barrages one with ads which are almost the equivalent of spam.
Scott can correct me if I’m wrong on any of the details, but that’s how I understand it.
Btw, I hope this doesn’t sound self-serving, but like other staff I have been on several forums over the years and imo, this one is the best and most authoritative when it comes to backyard culture. We really have some class ONE backyard fruitier members. I almost never see a question too difficult for the broad knowledge base of our members to give an excellent answer.
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I feel the Discourse team knows a lot better than I do for what makes for a good online community … its their job after all. So to be honest I like all the warnings it gives, they strive to make a certain standard in the way the dialog happens. I think they could in fact be disabled so it would not be hard to get rid of them, but I don’t want to do that.
Note I often ignore the warnings, many times they are barking up the wrong tree or I just don’t feel like fixing what they are complaining about. But at least they are trying 
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The only thing I find a bit annoying is the pop-ups steering me to bring others into the conversation when I’m having a dialogue with another person. I’ve always had a problem with authority, but I bet this is irritating to a few others here. I’ve never been annoyed when a topic includes a lot of back and forth between two members.
Scrolling is not the most difficult thing in the world.
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My thoughts exactly.
And it is a bit confusing when someone is commenting on, or replying to, a particular post - to not put ‘your’ comments right after that post. If they are all in one new comment - but in reply to many different thoughts - it just gets confusing. Maybe it’s just me . . . but I find that I’m more interested in reading the threads in context - than all of what a particular person said.
I was only asking the question - not trying to criticize. I just figured there must be a logical answer . . . and just wanted to know. 
I know nothing about how one goes about setting up a forum like this - and didn’t mean to cause any unrest! (Oh, there’s that “Pomegranate Trouble Maker” again!) LOL
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Just shows you how little I know about sports - and/or - college teams! LOL I went to University of Florida, but don’t like calling myself a Gator . . . because frankly, I only went to about one quarter of one football game. Blind date. BAD one. I immediately developed a ‘headache’ and went back to my dorm!
I think it’s funnier as NERD territory! 
It’s hard to control yourself, isn’t it? I was planning on 8. Ten tops. I’m up to 17.
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(Oh, there’s that “Pomegranate Trouble Maker” again!) LOL
Make that: ‘That nerdy pomegranate trouble maker’!!!
Would just like to say , I have met a lot of people that showed interest in fruit , but our new member " bopcrane " is "so "excited about it.
We visited for a day, and it was " so " many questions l thought I better introduce him to the forum here , because I just don’t think I can answer everything.
And he is very close to where I live, and really like having a new friend close by that has his interest, a good new addition to our forum here.
Hope you can answer all his questions , he’s got a lot. !
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That’s an understatement! Can confirm - I have a lot of questions about everything plant related. I really like the community on here, genuinely helpful and knowledgeable from what I’ve seen
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I’ve been using and abusing the internet for the last 23 years when I had a Pentium 133mhz PC and ran Windows '95. I’ve been a member of dozens and dozens of forums and message boards over the years and the growingfruit.org site is the only one I’ve been a member of that uses the discourse forums. For the life of me I don’t know why it is not more popular. I think it’s wonderfully designed and the most user friendly forum software I’ve ever used. I used to really like the UBB software format but after spending the last 3 years on this site I’ll take discourse any day. There has been a few little snags that have occasionally popped up but they were remedied quickly.
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It is also the most transparent forum I’ve seen and that is key to long term participation.
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I like ‘rubbing shovels’ with other gardeners - and getting advice from real people who have their hands in the dirt with the same plants that I do. Any of us could do research and read, to find all the answers to questions we ask. But, it’s much more gratifying to have the support and help of others who are on the journey, too. There is nothing like hearing the ideas of other forum members - and advice that comes from direct experience . . .
Plus - there is a very helpful and open attitude on this forum. (I don’t sense any of that ‘competitive’ spirit that sometimes can get a bit nasty.) Everyone is kind - and encouraging. It’s a wonderful and safe place to admit you know next-to-nothing !!!
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Hello, I’m Chris from Dayton, Ohio. 
I’ve been lurking on this forum for a year lol! I was starting to creep myself out so I though I’d introduce myself.
Thank you to @scottfsmith for this gift of a forum. And to the staff and members who share with us all.
I started growing fruit last year (2017). Blueberries, grapes, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, pawpaws, pears, peaches, plums, cherries, and hybrids. Also letting mulberries, blackberries, black raspberries, black walnuts, naturalized autumn olive, pears and apples grow wild.
We have six acres (purchased 2 years ago). Half of it is wooded. A small orchard with about fifty closely spaced trees (8’x14’). Another fifty or so fruit trees are planted strategically or ornamentally throughout the entire property. I have rootstocks and seedlings started to expand.
I’m getting carried away. 
I am a fruit noob. If you look at my bio you’ll see my variety list. I purchased them based on what I thought would be tasty. Usda hardiness zone was my only horticultural consideration…costly mistake. Probably.
A year later I have an understating of my site: Humid. Late frost. High chill. Heavy clay.
So my plan is to start incorporating fruits that are better adapted for my conditions like, persimmons, American plum hybrids, disease resistant varieties, etc. I’m grateful for the info I’ve found on this forum.
Lengthy intro, but like I said, I’ve been lurking for a year!
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A big warm welcome Chris!
Tony
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Chris,
Welcome to the club and enjoy the rode.
Mike
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Hello ChrisB! I also got carried away with an only slightly smaller orchard diagonally across the state from you in Youngstown. Most of my varieites are listed in my bio. If your soil is wet like mine, planting in raised mounds helps, especially with peaches and cherries. FWIW the two biggest winners for me so far are Veteran peach and Carmine Jewel tart cherries. Concord type grapes are also doing well and many other varieties have given me nice handfuls of fruit after 4 years or so.
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Welcome Chris from Dayton, from someone in NE Kentucky. We’re about 150mi up the Ohio River from y’all. My wife has kinfolk in your area.
Wow, you certainly got off to a big start with all those trees. Sounds like us, we started with a bunch of apple and a few pear and peach trees a couple years ago, now we have a few more trees and various berry plants. We’re adding 3 pluots and more berry plants this year. You can see what we’re growing and are adding to our farm by just clicking on my dog icon.
Please keep us updated on your fruit growing. I am especially interested in how your pluots and peaches do, as they can be hit and miss in our area with the late freezes.
Good luck and welcome,
Bob
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Thanks for the info ztom. I drive to or through Youngstown semi regularly. (I drive a truck to pay for my fruit addiction.) I don’t think my soil has dried out since I moved here a couple years ago. Springtime is extra soupy. Summer’s have been relatively mild and wet lately too. I didn’t water my newly planted trees once during the summer last year. Btw I’m a Dayton native.
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Thanks for the welcome subdood! I haven’t been through your neck of the woods as much. Huntington once and Charleston a handful of times. I like your fruit selections. It looks like you have given it some thought. I’ll definitely keep you posted on my orchard.
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Welcome aboard the growing fruit train. From S.E Ohio.
Bob
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