Xericworld.com ?

[Woodlily74]

Looks like http://www.Xericworld.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; will be shutting down shortly. Unless someone wants to run the site? It has much worthwild information that should be archived.

[Viegener]

I wonder if there's any interest in merging to two sites, or at least taking over the archive. Many of us use both & it would be a pity for all that information to get lost.

Fingers crossed ;-)

[Agave_fan]

The reply to that suggestion (on their forum) does not seem promising at all Viegener.

[Azuleja]

I never joined xw because it clearly wasn't being moderated or maintained. The atmosphere here seems very collaborative, with many members working as a team to keep things organized. Maybe someone from over there will step up to pay the hosting fee for an archive over there.

[Spination]

I apologize in advance for my attitude, but I justly earned the right to my opinion from my time there before here. I'm not terribly surprised, or sorry. For me, that just falls into a category I will call Karma.
Yeah, it's too bad, just like it's too bad there are way too many jerks out there running around loose in the world.
If a person wants to run the place like a despot, or tyrant...and exercise arbitrary abuse of editorial power, that would be their right, but then it shouldn't be a big shocker if folks like me decide to boycott, and go elsewhere. Keep adding up the disaffected parties, and pretty soon there's not a lot of people left participating. Less participation, less content, less value, less reason to go to the site. As far as I'm concerned, that site is a perfect blueprint for how to initially build up a hot and popular site, and then run it into oblivion. I know for fact I'm not the only one who beat feet, and judging from the decline in activity there in the last few years, I'd say many others did the same. It's not a coincidental irony either that as that site declined, this one has blossomed. Karma works equally well in both directions, both good and bad.

[Agavemonger]

I sure hope one of you has time to step up to the plate here; Xericworld has critically important commentary and photo archives. It would certainly be a shame to lose this very important botanical reference material.

The Monger

[Stone Jaguar]

All of these specialty web fora tend to be, by nature, rather cliquish and dominated to a greater or lesser degree by a certain personality type. This can be a perilous combination but usually results in a fairly benign environment if the site's owner is a fan of laissez-faire as long as things stay more or less civil. I never posted on XW but I did check it out a lot when I first moved back to the 'States and think I may have even registered a user name. Participation never seemed as compelling a temptation as it did here because there seemed to be a few relictual pissing matches and a dwindling audience evident by the time I started looky-looking. As Spiney mentioned above, the quick drop off in participation that occurred a few years back probably was a direct result of flight from that somewhat desolate environment.

Although I loathe FB-Instagram for any number of reasons and am not a user, I am familiar with a number of the specialty plant discussions on it by peeking through the keyhole of others' accounts from time to time. From a plant person's perspective, its biggest defect is the ephemeral nature of info of value over there. I find the ads and vanity posts that lard the stream to be maddening and the page layout to be visually distracting. One hopes that there will be a gradual return to this type of forum from "Planet Whatever" as hard core plant fans tire of the fluff.

From comments he made yesterday, it appears that Mr Repashy seems to have lashed himself to the mast of his vessel. Godspeed. On the bright side, congratulations to the founder of Agaveville for having won a skirmish for the hearts and minds of this group of succulent growers

[Spination]

I agree with your comments regarding cliques. It's human nature. I don't have a problem with that, until it goes to the point where members of the clique are propped up to be the only voices of authoritative knowledge, and non members are minimized or worse.
They are right, you are wrong. They are smart, you are dumb. They know everything, you know nothing. When I first posted there, asking questions, I was OK, because I behaved as I "knew my place". A certain member of the in-crowd, a pompous egotistical individual seemingly followed my posts around like a puppy dog, being the first to respond. It was a little weird. All was OK when I just said thank you.
Yeah, I figure it out in time. That individual had an insatiable need to be the resident authority. That's OK, but you don't have to accomplish that by trying to tear other people down.
When I became more adventurous and sharing my own knowledge or ideas, this was apparently a threat to that certain individual, because then he went out of his way attacking and belittling what I would say. And again - I thought "That's so weird. First, he's Mr. Nice Guy, now he's going out of his way to put me down!". After letting a couple of insults slide... the last straw was when he took comments I made regarding buying plants from Thailand, and literally called me a "smuggler". I contested him and nailed him with irrefutable facts - proved he was wrong (with actual links from our own government websites), illuminating that he did not know what he was talking about...whereby to save face, he had to admit he was wrong (that must have really, really hurt!), and then like a little kid, threatened to go to another forum. Several people I didn't even know sent me PM's thanking me for "putting him in his place". That pretty much says it all! And no, I'm not making that up. Truth is stranger than fiction.
At some point later on, a post of mine was deleted (on a thread of my own making), although it violated none of the forum rules.
I asked why. This is an almost verbatim transcript of the conversation with the tyrant: (my memory is not quite photographic, but it's really, really good...and long)
Me: "Why was my post removed?"
A.R.: "Someone complained about it, and you were off-topic" (Duh, I wonder who complained? lol)
Me: "Why ? I didn't break any forum rules. And how am I off-topic on my own thread?"
A.R.: "I'm sick and tired of your ^%^x%^&! Why do I have to keep telling you?" (funny thing, I never even talked to him ever before that! I mean NEVER, as in not once before!)
Me: "Excuse me? What are you talking about?"
A.R.: "Oh, actually that message was meant for someone else." (Huh? No other explanation, that was it) Yes, he really said that. That exactly. True story.
Me: ""Effective immediately, please cancel my membership. I no longer wish to have anything to do with your site." Well, and one other negative comment added on to reflect the level of my displeasure (see below).
A month later, I was still receiving notices from threads I had been following while still a participant, so I sent A.R. one last message - asking what part of I don't want anything to do with the forum he didn't understand? Quite soon AFTERWARDS (same day), my moniker underneath subsequently carried the brand "BANNED".

From my point of view, I was a valuable contributor by the time I became a prolific poster. I just went over there now, typed in two quick searches. One thread I started has over 6,000 views, another just under 4,000. I made a lot of such threads. The treatment I received at the end was the thanks I got? I wasn't looking for thanks, I just didn't like being crapped on because ultimately and the bottom line - one of the insiders there and I apparently rubbed each other the wrong way.

In sharp contrast to that experience, I've never in any way had a similar perspective regarding this site. This is a forum that works the way it should. People don't put you down, and they don't act like they should be the ones talking, and you only to ask and listen. There is no "in crowd" here, and people don't get censored because an insider complains. This site has taken their previous standing in terms of popularity because people are treated like welcome members, not as second class citizens. Quality of treatment matters. This site's growing membership reflects what it is and what it stands for and how it is run. The other site's apparent demise speaks for what it is.

I could care less about that place's supposed "important botanical reference material". The cost of entry is too high. As in, leave your own humanity at the door.

___________________________________
I was actually about to delete this post instead of adding it to this thread. I thought about it, and asked myself if it really needed to be said. And THEN .....
I went to "that other place" and looked at the thread there to see what exactly it's all about, the impending "retirement".
Then, I decided to go ahead and post what I wrote instead after further editing.
Here is copy and pasted text from that other place showing me exactly what I thought is absolutely right on the money.

"Agaveville is a complete knock-off/clone of this website already..... made by a disgruntled ex-member, with seemingly nothing to do but spend their life on line, who got butt hurt for reasons, I can't, nor care to remember. They will probably be more than happy to hear of the retirement of Xeric World, and can probably be thanked in part, for the inevitable loss of this valuable resource.

Cheers, Allen"

LOL what a load of BS. He sounds like the "butt hurt" party, blaming this site for it's demise?!!! ("and can probably be thanked in part") The full blame and thanks goes to A.R. himself. Nothing like blaming others when one can simply go to the mirror and see the real responsible party! Treat people like crap, and they go away. Rocket science? And oh, they might just go somewhere else, and make it the kind of place where others too find themselves more drawn to... in preference to where a tyrant rules.

As a final last laugh comment, I told A.R. at the very end some 3 or so years ago that he could take his forum and put it where the sun don't shine. I know, that wasn't a nice thing to say. Now I'm reading his own words referencing "butt hurt". That is just too damn funny.

By the way, the site is going to be "lost forever", even though his business "is a monster", and the bottom line appears to be for want of the "a hundred dollars a year it costs to keep the site going". Like, he can't afford a hundred bucks a year, and appoint someone who isn't a complete jerk to moderate it?

[Spination]

By the way, A.R. has an issue with fact vs fiction. He says Agaveville was started by a disgruntled ex-member. That is absolute hog-wash. The site existed before. The described ex-member was asked to run it, and run it he did. He did and is doing a GREAT job, and merely by doing that great job, attracted increasing membership while the other place has floundered. The results speak for themselves. And that drivel posted by A.R. over there is the currency of cry-babies. Snivel and drivel, and fiction over fact.

[Azuleja]

"I was actually about to delete this post instead of adding it to this thread."

It's not too late, lol. Whatever history there was seems irrelevant now. This place stands on its own.

[Spination]

LOL, I hear ya. It's like I'm dancing on their grave. Not nice. Oh well, guess I'm only human. I admit it. I'm like the elephant that never forgets. That guy personally treated me like dog-doo. The part where he said he was tired of my "stuff", and why did he have to keep telling me over and over? I was floored. I was trying to get to the bottom of why my post on my own thread was deleted, and then he unloads on me. I didn't know him, never even talked with him before! When I called him on it, he says he meant to send that reply to someone else, about something else? Riiiiiiight. Psycho! Anyway, in that brief moment of time via brief conversation, everything about that site and that person which previously eluded me had instantly crystallized and made all too clear. I immediately demanded a cancellation of my membership. Or....a month after the fact - I was banned. A common theme apparently born there, two conflicting versions of reality! By branding me well after the fact as one who was "banned", he added one last unnecessary measure of retaliation and vindictiveness. Instead of just cancelling my membership as I wished, he decided with what I felt was mean-spirited unnecessary and deliberate action to let everyone there who ever knew me forevermore as a persona non grata who was kicked off the site, which is NOT what happened! I'm not necessarily returning the favor (vindictiveness, retaliation), but I'm not going to let that BS he wrote there yesterday to go unchallenged.

I would not have posted my commentary here, and actually decided against it even after I wrote most of it, ultimately deciding it was better to let sleeping dogs lie... until I went over there and read that load of garbage about why the site may soon be "retired", and especially his trashing of this site as some wanna-be knock off/clone. It's a flagrant abuse of delusion and fiction over truth and fact. It's a lie. Consider what I posted as a rebuttal. An entirely different view of how it was, and why what happened happened, and I ought to know...I know firsthand what happened to me. I also know what happened to some other people as well who had the same or similar experience. The site imploded due to the weight of it's own hubris. And, sorry...I have no sympathy.

You know what it comes down to for me? I can't stand liars and abusers of power. They get my goat. They tick me off. I've always been that way, ain't ever gonna change. So, here, I am setting the record straight as consideration for any who would take that guys commentary over there at face value. He's no Saint or martyr or victim of disgruntled ex-member(s). He literally drove away folks who contributed value, that earned thousands and thousands of views, and now blames them for the inevitable consequences down the road? Nope, not allowing that to stand unchallenged.

[Agave_fan]

I was actually about to delete this post instead of adding it to this thread.

Considering the admin of the other website had some rather negative things to say about this website, I appreciate the past history and opinions Spiny. Gives me a little more insight.

[Viegener]

Yup. I agree with all the above. Two things are important to me here: gracious experts and good manners. No flaming or trolling. I'm surrounded by thundering big egos in my career, and that's hard enough. My own personal/professional conflicts are boring to me, and other people's are insufferable.

Still thinking about what can be done about the XW archive.

Ok, a third thing too: not too many ignorant questions & rambling. Most of the Facebook plant forums have this, someone asking about their Aloe vera (ID?), or posting pictures of nice but otherwise unremarkable plants only for the sake of receiving compliments & attention. These aren't problems here or on XW, but they seem like possibilities for every discussion forum.

[Azuleja]

"By branding me well after the fact as one who was "banned", he added one last unnecessary measure of retaliation and vindictiveness."

I thought it just made you look like a rebel with a cause.

[Stan]

I left because..I couldnt post photos and Allan never explained the problem. Also,signing in was ALWAYS a bear. If your password was ever deleted from your browser..trying to get back in became impossible. Even changing passwords didn't work. At first Allan did it for me...then he stopped. I dont think it was personal,its just seemed like he had issues over something.

Just checked- X world is retired.

[Spination]

Azul - you're too kind. Thanks. Yup, that's me. James Bean.

[Spination]

Thanks for the update Stan.

What I said - "psycho"... ?

Diary of a Madman.
May 22
Hey folks, the domain name expires June 8 - so someone step up to save it? Only $100 a year. It was such a great place, and I have such fond memories. It was a great ride.
May 23
Retired

An interesting co-incidence.
Yesterday, he makes questionable statements regarding why the site may no longer continue. Today, I bash that commentary. Within hours, the site goes down, way ahead of schedule.

Now, no one can now read his petty, small-minded commentary. Oh well.

Wait - I took screen shots. Oh yes I did. Got 'em stashed in a file now until I decide if/when to delete them.

[Gee.S]

Very sorry to hear of the loss of such a valuable information repository. As has been suggested earlier in this thread, there is some small history, which I can help illuminate. Agaveville was started as a result of my association with the fine online resource agavaceae.com. The proprietors there (Julia Etter & Martin Kristen) once had a discussion forum, which was established so folks could easily communicate with them. The forum was setup with three separate language sections for English, German And Spanish. Alex (the German moderator) and I (the English moderator) thought it might be fun to setup a little forum that allowed regulars from the different agavaceae.com language sections to mingle and communicate with each other in addition to Martin and Julia, hence Agaveville was born. It was never intended to compete with any online resource, only add another voice to the few resources already available.

At the time, I was an active member at XericWorld, and had actually offered my assistance to the administrator in maintaining it, since he seemed overwhelmed. I have a long history of starting, moderating and administering online discussion forums, and am expert with the software on which it ran, vBulletin. For reasons only Allen Repashy could enumerate, he apparently became enraged by the existence of Agaveville, and without a word (I never heard from the man directly -- not once) chose to severely hamper my access to XericWorld, which I had continued to support. So Allen's characterization as a disgruntled ex-member is entirely disingenuous, I only stopped contributing to that forum after he drove me off. At the time of the forum's closure, I remained among its top posters despite a lengthy absence.

And for the record, at that time fledgling Agaveville consisted of Agave, Aloe and Cactus talk and gallery sections, a wanted/trade section, and that was it. We had a couple features that XericWorld lacked, and lacked a great many features offered by XericWorld. Why Allen declared passive-aggressive war on Agaveville and I will apparently remain a mystery, since Allen has never shown any predilection toward discussing his concerns. And I am not the only active and popular poster he drove off the site.

In the end, I am saddened by the loss to the xeric plant community, which is immeasurable. I had offered to save XericWorld, already in disrepair and deep decline, via proxy many months ago. I was not surprised by the sound of chirping crickets in response.

[Spination]

You Sir, are incredibly kind and gracious. I commend you for rising above, and taking the high road.

And that.... that is the difference between here and there. One hundred and eighty degrees of difference, opposite sides of the circle.

At the same time, I don't apologize for taking another trail lower down. I could have been worse, and REALLY said what was on my mind! Might be hard to believe, but I did exercise some self-restraint and self-editing.

[Gee.S]

Thank you. It's all good, we all have a story to tell now and again.

[mickthecactus]

I knew nothing of Xericworld until this thread.

I'm rather glad I didn't.

[Paul S]

I would add that, aside from a megalomaniac founder, XW suffered from too much open bickering. I sincerely hope this site doesn't go the same way as I hate to see people whose opinions and knowledge I greatly respect slugging it out for all to see. And I say that as someone who has unfortunately done that exact thing in the past on a UK forum or two - it doesn't do any good in the long term.

[Spination]

I agree, and that is something I don't see happening here. I've only been a participant here closing in on 3 years, and there's been open discussion, some different opinion, but always in a respectful manner and nothing I can recall that I would think of as a bickering atmosphere. It's just a whole different feel here, one of mutual interest, and speaking for myself, an attitude that there's always something to learn from everyone. At that other place, I can recall at least 3 characters I really did not like. Here? Zero. Everyone is cool. That's pretty amazing when I think about it...
Regarding past experience slugging it out, I had my own trial and error learning curve with that at that other place. I took my experience with that and the realization that it's a largely fruitless waste of energy, and applied that here. Maybe in part because I'm not so willing anymore to participate in that level of debate, and maybe more so because the atmosphere here is much more friendly, but I can't recall one "argument" I've had with any one here the entire time. In every way, just a much higher level quality of experience on this forum.

[Gee.S]

From my point of view, I was a valuable contributor by the time I became a prolific poster. I just went over there now, typed in two quick searches. One thread I started has over 6,000 views, another just under 4,000. I made a lot of such threads. The treatment I received at the end was the thanks I got? I wasn't looking for thanks, I just didn't like being crapped on because ultimately and the bottom line - one of the insiders there and I apparently rubbed each other the wrong way.

I agree wholeheartedly that you were one of the more valuable contributors to the XW forum. We were all enriched by your participation, as we continue to be now. I would only add that you should take the participation numbers (such as "over 6,000 views") at XW with a grain of salt -- or perhaps a boulder of salt. In addition to the modification added to impede my and others access to the forum (the vBulletin mod called "Miserable Users" -- Google it if you're interested), Allen had installed a modification that would inflate all these numbers, including number of users, number of views, number of guests, on and on, as puffery to make XW appear more visited and popular than it was. A little tough to do now, but compare those types of numbers with what you see here. The discrepancy is substantial and otherwise inexplicable. There is all manner of forum modification available to webmasters and administrators. All one need do is look through some listings, then download and install.

[Gee.S]

I would add that, aside from a megalomaniac founder, XW suffered from too much open bickering. I sincerely hope this site doesn't go the same way as I hate to see people whose opinions and knowledge I greatly respect slugging it out for all to see. And I say that as someone who has unfortunately done that exact thing in the past on a UK forum or two - it doesn't do any good in the long term.

Please be assured, I get the reference and share your concern.