Open and Closed Forums

[hazelnut]

Re "closed" and "open". What about making Permaculture an open forum? I don't know what the advantages are of having a closed forum.

gloria

[doccat5]

What's the difference between the 2 anyway? I'm confused.

[Staff]

Doccat5, your question can be addressed right now.

Currently, there are a few boards that are invisible to guests. Guests cannot see that these areas of the forum exist, they cannot see any content such as threads or posts within them, and they cannot search them. Permaculture is one of them.

Once a guest registers and logs on, these few areas of the board become visible and they are then accessible to them to start threads, to post in, and to search in.

hazelnut, your question is not so easy to address and will require some discussion. It's not set in stone that Permaculture is to remain closed to guests however the admins will need some time to weigh in.

[doccat5]

In words of Spock "fascinating"........and I can see where this needs some discussion. Gloria, you are such a rabble rouser......grin All these "hot button" ideas......what are we gonna do with you???

[Staff]

The Permaculture Board is no longer invisible
If there are issues, they will be dealt with when they occur and allowing that board to remain open will be revisited then.

The "Introduce Yourself Please" Board will remain invisible and accessible to only those who are regsitered and logged on. The Member List that appears on the quick link bar above will remain visible but will only be accessible to those who are registered and logged on. The Members Only Forum will remain visible but only accessible to those who are registered and logged on.

Currently that leaves the following forums visible but "Private" in that they won't be able to be accessed unless a guest registers and logs on:

News and Current Events
Sustainable Alternatives
The Dead Lawn Society
Invasive Fauna
Invasive Flora

[hazelnut]

Staff: Are you saying the forum will not really be closed once there are some posts?

It will be just like the open forums?

I am hoping Permaculture will be a really hot forum but it wont be if its access is limited.

[Staff]

Staff: Are you saying the forum will not really be closed once there are some posts?

The Permaculture Board was invisible to guests and it was private in that it was only accessible to registered members who were logged on. The only group being denied access was guests. Permaculture is now visible to guests and the threads and posts contained therein are now accessible to guests to read. It is now open.

Hopefully our Permaculture board will become a really "hot" forum but hopefully not too "hot". Permaculture enjoys a cult like following throughout the United States and Canada and we can thank the nursery industry for not only condoning, but sanctioning, the use of so many exotic species to include species well documented as having been invasive or potentially invasive into our over-hauled permaculture beliefs manufactured to cater to special interest. Mainstream permaculture on our continent long ago broke away from the teachings of Masanobu Fukuoka but there are a growing number of North Americans who are discovering and putting into practice the environmentally sound practices of the masters. The Australians are blowing us out of the water in the arena of permaculture. Their nursery industry was never allowed to become nearly as powerful as ours and they have other checks and balances in place that actually protect their natural resources. Think white lists. We don't have white lists.

[hazelnut]

Yes I agree some people have used the Permaculture banner to promote their own narrow interests. But Permaculture simply means gardening/landscaping that follows nature. It is ecology applied to gardening. That should not cause a fight.

[Staff]

There are those who are attempting to redefine nature for the sake of promoting those narrow interests you mentioned.

Just as cats and cane toads are not a part of nature on the continent of North America, neither are some of the highly invasive species of plants such as non-native bamboo being promoted by the permaculture industry. These types of species wreak havoc in our environment and certainly do nothing to sustain it although there are those who would have us believe differently who stand to profit by the wide spread acceptance of misinformation.

It happens. Hopefully, this forum will be an opportunity to educate based on best science.

[hazelnut]

Australian permaculturists (who invented permaculture) have made statements that they are most interested interested in creating landscapes that mimic natural ones. It is a theory about the structure of landscape design. The plants in the design have to behave in a natural way. Permaculture therefore is not there specifically a native plant program, but Holmgren and others have specifically said that invasive plants do not belong in a permaculture design. After all, that would be just plain stupid. The design is supposed to be 'permanent'. If you plant a landscape in Alabama, and plop down Asian wisteria, Chinaberry trees, privet, and other grossly invasive plants you will not have a design - you will have a mess. Just ask me!