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Not really. Never, actually. Quite the opposite, in fact.
However, I am wondering about other boards on which people post. I know there are all kinds of topics out there--everything from diets to financial investments, neither of which holds any interest for me.
But I am wondering about particularly interesting boards--rich in ideas (at least occasionally)--and how one would go about ferreting them out. I came across AWAD purely by chance, and a lucky chance that was.
Also, when I played violin for a while, maestronet.com was supreme--that is, till I nearly crippled my fingers with practicing too much at my age.
Let's see. There's StraightDope for political discussions and other controversial board talk. I suppose one could spend one's life on board if so inclined.
But back to my question: How would you go about finding boards of interest? Other than through friends and by chance. Is there a rigorous method by which one can google boards and get good results? If so, what is that rigorous method?
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Sorry, WW, I'm boring. Apart from this board and one other, all the other boards I frequent, and I am very frequent, are software-related.
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i have tried a few knitting boards, but they are flat.. half the folk can't do more than the simplest of knitting (scarves, the remaining folks are interested in swapping patterns or finding free ones... the simpler the better..
meanwhile, i have been documenting my pattern (for sale) one cape, has about 110 rows of work in it, 90 of the rows are different, (there are 2 groups of repeats, 10 rows at time, towards the end.) every once in a while there is a person who is interested in something beyond the most basic knitting, but they are often specialized.. one woman knits lace shawls, intricated, elaborate lace shawls, nothing else... so she is not interested in my lace cape, she only does shawls..
and if they have other interest, beyond knitting, it never leaks out into their posts.. (i feel out of place there, but never have,never do here!)
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I read Straight Dope and a couple of others but only really post here. I always end up offending someone or breaking some infathomable rule of etiquette. When I discovered this board it was right in the middle of some dreadful row but I was still made to feel welcome. I find other wordy boards pretty elitist to be honest (cos i is well tick and never went to skewel or nuffin). I found myself being either ignored, patronised or flamed by people whose parents spent thousands on their brains so they wouldn't have to use them.
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A long time ago I joined another chat room/posting board... it was a great deal of fun. Wonderful people (for the most part). Imaginative minds. Very creative environment. Unfortunately it was also what led to my eventual demise and so I'm hesitant to recommend it to anyone lest the afterlife does not agree with them.
A short time ago (last year) I attempted another chat room/posting board, but found that the psychological trauma from my first experience hadn't receeded quite enough yet, and so have seemingly subconsciously blocked the name from my awareness. (oops.)
"Greater indeed are pleasures that are shared."
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Well I'm glad you've decided to add your ethereal presence to this place, Mr Ghost. I guess you're beyond trauma now.
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Pooh-Bah
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Can we call you Andy's Ectoplasm for long?
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Pfranz Caypce, of course that was the word I was looking for. But in a senior moment, "ectoplasmic" didn't come to me so I had to settle for "ethereal" instead.
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Well, none of our computer whiz kids have added their input.
How does one go about finding the perfect board for one's interests?
There has got to be a way for everybody in the world to find a group of people with whom one shares a burning interest.
So:
How does one find one's niche?
[I've read about boards that are horror shows, to tell you the truth. But suppose, for sake of argument, one is interested in the finer points of psycholinguistics. Could one find a terrific board of similarly-minded individuals? And I would love to find a board of people who are obsessed about trees. How would I find such a group of people well-versed in observing trees if I had the time--and I don't. I'm very happy here on AWAD, even though one of the members--who shall remain namesless because I love her--gave me a hard time for writing so much here about tree words.]
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"people whose parents spent thousands on their brains so they wouldn't have to use them."
Dodyskin, I love that image. How true, and finishing school so they know which people to be rude to.
This is my only board, prior to the finding of which I couldn't understand the attraction/addiction. (Or how they worked)
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I would guess that well functioning boards; able to weather the vagaries of people's temperaments; are far and few between. and to find more than a couple of places like that where you feel comfortable, would be a blessing. I spend time on a couple of different forums, AWAD being one. the other is a 3D graphics forum, which I mostly check because I am a long-time member and moderator there, though my time invested in 3D has dwindled to nearly null. it is an amazing forum, though; very polite, and extremely helpful, and by most accounts, fairly unique in the 3D world. artistic boards can be very nasty. I also, like max, spend a bit of time, on computer boards, mac of course.  though, like the 3d, that comes and goes. there are others that I infrequent<e>, namely Wil Wheaton(of Star Trek fame) has an interesting set of folks, and some that I would have to check my bookmarks to find. I have set up my own forums, on my site, which is mostly family, and a couple of friends. my church has a forum which I started(I'm the webmaster), but it is a struggle to keep it afloat. a small church, with web challenged folks, makes for a tough row to hoe... I should probably re-read all of this, but oh well...
formerly known as etaoin...
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I agree with etaoin in that boards fluctuate. My experience with them has been that if you hit them at the right time, you are sincerely rewarded. The same board, 2 months later, may have a completely different feel about it. I hate the idea of "hit and miss", but I fear that trial and error, and being in the right place at the right time, are major components to finding a good board. Capfka/Anna: "Ectoplasmic Andy"... not a bad ring to it (for long, of course  ) "Greater indeed are pleasures that are shared."
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Ectoplasmic Andyperhaps " EA"... or maybe just "Ecto". or "Umberto"?...
formerly known as etaoin...
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*is more wispily translucent than umber* As long as nothing gets added to the end of "Ecto" to cause my opinion of the sophistication of the room to drop, sure (ie: ectoboy, ectodude, etc...) "Greater indeed are pleasures that are shared."
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"Ectoboy"? Oh, heavens! Not here, Aghost! You might find ectonemes and ectographs, but never an ectoboy in sight--much to the wandering-about-the-Web ectoboys' disappointment. We fly high as we can with all sorts of wondrous pretension before we fall (regularly) into our wordpits and onto our wordwebs.
You're in good (I suppose) company here.
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into our wordpits and onto our wordwebsand the occasional nitter-natter...
formerly known as etaoin...
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To be honest, the nitter-natter sounds (and has looked, from past posts) like a great deal of fun . Aside from my original question, it is the reason I decided to sign up. I will certainly not measure up to the brilliance in this room, so I'm sort of hoping that my basic nitter-natter skills will hold my place in the lineup. "Greater indeed are pleasures that are shared."
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Ecto?.. I think, Echo, for what is a ghost but an echo of a former self...
in any case..I will certainly not measure up to the brilliance in this room, so I'm sort of hoping that my basic nitter-natter skills will hold my place in the lineup.
the real magic of this place, is the brilliance is made up of many small candles, each a whispy flame, some guttering, some strong, no single mega wattage light, just candles, but together, we light the place up!
we each take turn playing sage and fool, straight man and wit, (sometimes switching hats mid-sentence!)
at times its a mad house! but we all do share a core love of words and language. and we almost never sharpen our tongues!--occationally word play, is like fencing, & it looks dangerous, but look closer, and you'll see the tips have been blunted.
Watch out for Mantle, or chopped liver, or Yart--other than those 3, we don't have too many secret words of jargon.
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the real magic of this place, is the brilliance is made up of many small candles, each a whispy flame, some guttering, some strong, no single mega wattage light, just candles, but together, we light the place up!
Helen, what a lovely image! And true. Thank you.
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no single mega wattage light
Well, except maybe for Bingley, our man in Jakarta.
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Not a mega wattage light? Well, dammit. Another delusion out the window. 
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Does that make us mega wattage lites?
(neither nit not natter but mere punny patter)
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Pooh-Bah
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Isn't that the name of the current Indonesian "president"?
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no single mega wattage light
Well, except maybe for Bingley, our man in Jakarta.
Isn't that the name of the current Indonesian "president"?
Your mantle, m'lady.
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And let's not forget tsuwm! And, golly, I wish Nicholas were still here.
CK, why the quotes around president, please? And yes, Megawati Sukarnoputri is her name. And, hey, shanks? It's thanks to you that I could tell that Sukarnoputri meant she was the daughter of Sukarno! <grin> That actually kicked in before memory (of having been told that fact).
How come putri means daughter of in both Indonesia and in whatever language of India that was?
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Putri means daughter, Jackie, not daughter of. The of is taken for granted when the word putri is added as a suffix to the father's name. The language is Sanskrit. And Indonesia has a strong Indian/ Hindu influence both in language and culture. Bali in Indonesia is predominantly Hindu and the stories from the Ramayana (one of the great Indian epics) are routinely part of Indonesian theatre performances. Bingley, I am sure will have more to add.
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There's a heavy influence from Sanskrit on the formal/educated/scientific level of Indonesian, similar to the influence of Greek and Latin on English.
Putri means daughter or princess.
Putra means son (prince is pangeran).
Maahey mentioned bhoomi(sp?) as an Indian word for land the other day. Bumi is the Indonesian name for planet Earth.
Bingley
Bingley
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Isn't that the name of the current Indonesian "president"?
Your mantle, m'lady.
Thank you, my liege [graceful curtsey]
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Well now, Wordwind, just how much do you want to find these boards? One way is to start with searching for various Universities, (U of NH) getting to the college you are interested (Agriculture)then the department (botany) and sending a message (there's usually a "Contact Us" button) to the department chair asking for boards in that field.
When I have had research to do, I've found the Profs were kind about steering me in the right direction -- although, be warned they may be slow in answering. For local colleges sometimes a phone call is faster! As an aside I've found Profs more amenable in mid afternon - (after a good lunch?)
Also, you can search for organizations that promote a specific subject National Potato Board, Nat'l Assn of Foresters, Ham Radio Operators of New England..... you get the idea.
It can be a bit tedious at times but there are also some great surprises!
And awaaay you go!
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Thanks, wow, for actually answering the question! Sometimes the diversions here take us completely away from the innocent first question. Anyhow, your suggestions were good ones--and practical.
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In reply to:
Sometimes the diversions here take us completely away from the innocent first question.
Ah, but the nitter-natterings here are worth the price of admission <EG>
A belated welcome to you, blithe spirit. Jeez, I get busy for a few days and all the fun stuff starts happening.
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In reply to:
Ah, but the nitter-natterings here are worth the price of admission <EG>
ditto
~Echo
*wonders if a "ditto" from an echo is a redundant redundancy*
"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."
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