This morning, the original poster responded and Neil Oakman decided to respond to my comment as below. Now "A moderator turned off commenting for this post." So, I can't point out to him that when talking about a Huernia "this Aeonium is a member of the Crassulaceae (the Crassula family)" is hardly "accurate information". Nor that the information content was not what I was complaining about.
- Neil Oakman 2.jpg (248.49 KiB) Viewed 886 times
I understand that it may be irritating to Moderators to keep seeing people call things cacti that are not cacti. However, on the BCSS Facebook group, it is not acceptable for anyone, Moderator or not, to snap at someone in this rude, haughty and sexist manner. If they feel the need to comment, it might be best to have a pre-prepared statement saved on a Notepad - along the lines of "What a beautiful flower! Welcome to the group and it is wonderful to have another here who loves our special plants. However, I should point out that the word cactus is often misused - especially by people who sell plants - leading to much confusion. Your beautiful Huernia is an example of convergent evolution in one of the plant families that have, in dry parts of Africa and Asia, come to resemble cacti so much that even the experts can be fooled before they look closer. Technically, to a botanist, "cactus" refers only to members of the plant family Cactaceae. If you want to learn more, I would recommend visiting our website at ..."
I am no longer a member (until you get an electronic only option for journals and put Bradleya on JSTOR or some Open Access elsewhere) or I might have posted this shameful episode in the Society Discussion subforum. However, I think any action taken against Neil Oakman should be discussed publicly - not just among members. The Facebook group is open to members and non-members and should be showing non-members what a loveable and sociable lot the members are, how wonderful the benefits of membership would be. It seems it is too late for Neil Oakman to apologise to his victim, she left the group this morning.
By the way, can someone remove my Member status from this forum account and change it to Guest? I don't seem to have that option in the profile.
If there is anyone reading this who has snarled "Not a succulent!!!!!" or "Not a cactus!!!!!" at someone on the Facebook BCSS group and scrolled on indignantly to glare at others who have had the temerity to post their plant photos, please consider that it is social media, politeness and friendliness cost nothing and a little more typing may be good for the soul and the heart. There is no need to add even a peccadillo to the already large sum of evil in the world.
