The Restaurant at The End of the Shroomery

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BeefExtreme
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Registered: 11/02/11
Posts: 13,667
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Last seen: 4 minutes, 22 seconds

The Restaurant at The End of the Shroomery

47
#29093545 - 01/18/25 04:06 PM (1 year, 7 months ago)

FOREWORD

Well I'm back and I am better than ever. If you hadn't noticed, yes I took a little bit of a hiatus. I'm not always "BeefSupremeJr" sometimes I'm just a human, and I get depressed and get life happening and everything that comes with being a human. It happens. I had a fairly major reconstructive surgery a couple months ago. Friends know what for, but it put me way out of commission. Its been a struggle for so many reasons and I guess I got to a very dark place slowly enough I hardly noticed it happening. Dark enough that it frightened me and I realized I needed to pull up from the nose dive that I was in. You know, its funny. Being a cultivator is just such a part of my identity that I do it subconsciously. Its a second nature just like brushing my teeth. The people need their medicine so I have to do what I have to do. I'll let my personal hygiene slip before I let my cultivation slip. So quite recently I decided "maybe I should taste my own medicine". I almost never even take my own medicine anymore and that's ironic. I know its there--softly it speaks, "hey um. Don't you think.." --- and I keep putting it off like a pile of laundry to fold or dishes to put away. "I'll get to it when I get to it".

Okay. That's wild. My own mental health takes a back seat as I tell myself I'm too busy to get to it, but time isn't the issue, is it? Have I been here before? Yes this is familiar. I'm not lazy I'm afraid. "the doctors wife dies of the common cold" again. Here I am, depressed. Burnt out on work. Considerably diminished. The obvious solution silently nagging from the drawer. I finally answer "Fine! fuck it, cant break whats broken, yeah? this what you want?" and i swallow a fistful of my own medicine. That was that. I've remembered all in an hour why I do what I do. Why I am what I am. And just like that, I'm back, and It seems silly now to have ever let myself get to this point.

Acknowledgements: My people. They've stuck with me even when I am so small I can't find myself. Like a set of car keys when I'm supposed to go to some party I didn't want to go to in the first place and I think "well thats it then, I can't find my keys. A perfect excuse". These dudes always seem to be there jingling the keys to my car. "here ya go dude. You dropped these". Indeed I have but the car yet has gas: Chickenfingas. 3AM. Mojave. HBO. Hazy Horse. Stubb. Milk (the boy). Reverend Myc. Ladysknight. Fiddy (cent) Hob (the smelly). Meta and of course, B Trav, once again, dear blasphemer, into the frey we go. Nichrome the Good. And to Saint Fahtster. You make me want to be better in so many ways.

And to everyone else. Thank you. Bless you all for making this place what it is. Thank you for your continued support in not only me but the the HHG.
_______________________________

THE RESTAURANT AT THE END OF THE SHROOMERY

_______________________________

PROLOGUE

If you've read the HHG version one and two by this point, you'll have a good idea of who I am and what my agenda has ever been: I'm Beef. I help people grow magic mushrooms. I wrote the HHG1 to help the noobs and it is formatted as an open letter to the noobs. The second volume was more philosophical I guess, addressing those members who do get into cultivation and find themselves feeling alone on an island or as though they are doing something wrong. I formatted the HHG2 to target the members who are maybe getting comfortable with being a cultivator.

So, volume 3--having come back from a hiatus and a rather extensive thought process of who I am and what I am doing--I intend to re-commit myself to my mission statement as it has always been: I'm here to help. I'm here to help people cultivate medicine and spread that medicine and knowledge and far as is within my power. Simple enough. That said, this volume is directed more at the veteran members. The TC's. The mods. The heavy-duty four and five digit post-count members. My hope is that even the admins and the Boss will read it and indulge me. (Or ban me as the case may yet be)

But wait, theres still something for everyone. Part of this is directed to the newer growers too. If there was one word to describe the first HHG, that word would be CONVENTION. My entire goal with HHG1 was to get people acquainted with the communal convention of this place, and I am very proud to say that I think I was successful in doing that. I'm seeing more and more members linking the HHG1 to their signatures all the time. (and thank you all so much for that). Now, friendos: Now that we've learned the rules, lets bend the rules. Lets break the rules. After all. My mission is to get medicine into the hands of as many people as I possibly can. Bending and even breaking the rules can get us places that adherence and obedience can't always do.

Please note that I won't be posting many links due to character limits. This isn't a guide, this is a restaurant. Sit where you like.

______________________________

CHAPTER 1: WHERE GOD WENT WRONG

“If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now.”

Let me be perfectly honestly. I'm not completely satisfied with the culture of this place, The Shroomery. I might never be satisfied with anything for that matter. Don't take it personally. Its just that theres some massive egos at work around here and I'll be the first one to admit that I am one of them. While I don't think an ego is always inherently a negative thing, it also seems obvious that it also causes some serious issues. I will say that I think the culture has vastly improved since I came around. We're much more rhyzomorphic. Much less contamination. but I think we can do better. I don't like seeing people discouraged. Turned away. Ridiculed. Bullied. Abused. If you know me, by now you know that is the antithesis of what I work my ass of to accomplish. I don't want people wandering back to the wastelands of reddit to grow mold and frustration, I want friends. I want allies. I want an army powered on the medicine that has brought me out of the darkness time and time again.

When I first came lurking around here back in say 2007, it was basically considered taboo to ask questions and you'd find yourself blushing and hitting the "X" button for even considering it. Im glad that its easier to ask questions now, due in large part to Nichrome's QQ thread.. Which, by the way I think is the single most valuable resource for new cultivators on earth. No Really. This is where I get help if I really need it. Part of me can't blame the old heads, after all, its written in the rules as described by Roger Rabbit himself. The original Steward of the Shroomery, still selling his $72 dvd set on Amazon, linked in his signature. I wont fault roger. He is how I learned this hobby. I literally bought his dvd before I bought my first mason Jar and we all owe him a debt of gratitude. However, lets be honest. The search function doesn't exactly always retrieve reliable results, and his tone in those rules doesn't seem appropriate to me anymore. Sure, it retrieves results but you'll need to read the entire thread of comments to see where it ended up. Even threads that appear to have once been a viable tek will suddenly just fizzle out. Yeah. People stopped responding to it because they became distracted by more interesting information. You won't understand that because you weren't there at the time.

The search function isn't a modern, ai powered engine designed to retrieve relevant results. Its like an old librarian. "Heres the books you asked for". It really can't tell you whats relevant and what isn't. Yeah, there's a disclaimer on old threads, but sometimes there's disclaimers on old TEKs that we still use, too! Its up to you to decide whats relevant and what isn't.

Don't get me wrong. You know that I love the shroomery and I have ever been a staunch supporter and I have dedicated a massive portion of my life to this place. But I think it would be disingenuous to say that its perfect. It would be dishonest to say that we can't improve and it would go directly against my own agenda and integrity. We can do better. We can help (almost) ever. We can hurt (nearly) never. We've got a long way to go. You can literally find reddit articles talking about us as being gatekeepers. "clannish" I have heard us described. Brothers and Sisters, lets be fucking honest. We are. I'll be the first one to admit that I've done it too. Particularly when I'm tired or depressed. For sure, the work gets exhausting. (But I'm working to make it easier)

Its gone on long enough that we're known all around the internet as just being kindof dicks. I mentioned people "prickly" in the HHG1 but that was putting it gently. Often enough I think we're just pricks. Its been going on so long now, B Traven started writing a full-blown book about our community--which I highly recommend, by the way--with all the usual suspects are there, pricks and all. (Although I do keep wondering which of these characters B is poking fun at me with.

We aren't perfect. We're a long way from it. We can do better. As a rule, we've been taught that this is the premier place to learn this craft, and while that remains 100% true, I'm bending this rule and I'm here to say that there are flaws in our system and we can do better.

Lets get into it.
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CHAPTER 2: NOOBS

Even the word "noobs" has a derogatory inflection. Rhymes with boobs. Not that boobs aren't great, but the way we treat new growers sometimes sucks. We can do better. If someone is interested in our craft, and in psychedelic medicine, why should we greet them with anything but open arms? Don't get me wrong, I've myself encountered the rare case where they come in ready to fight and insist. Those ones can't be helped anywhere but out the door with a swift kick in the ass. I direct this chapter at the noobs:

I see you guys. Most people come in here wanting help. Its from a place of compassion I see you. You most likely wouldn't even be here seeking without having first suffered enough to begin looking. Maybe you didn't read the hitchhikers guide. Maybe you just googled "how to grow magic mushrooms" like any normal human might. What you found before us were sponsors, and then maybe after that, reddit. You bought a kit. You bought some spore syringes. Let me be perfectly fucking honest here: You did exactly what I did circa 2009. You did what any human might do.

So your kit isn't going so well. After the initial anxiety of registering an account, you've decided to post pictures of your grow hoping to get help, and what you get instead is "dump it". So you got a couple wet grains in your spawn jars? "dump it". Your aio (all in one) bag looks a bit matted and nappy? "dump it". You followed the instructions on the kit you ordered and now the website where the ad was posted is telling you "dump it. Start over. Do it right".

Im proud to say that at this point someone has at least pointed you towards the HHG1 or my new Kit-rescue tek. (Linked in my signature) and hopefully you've not been discouraged from trying any further. Hopefully you're actually looking into better ways and have met some nice people who seem willing to help you beyond the common gatekeeping quip "dump it, idiot". I feel that is getting more and more rare all the time, but my agenda with HHG3 is to drive it to extinction.

My first move to keep you interested in this craft is to come out publicly as a trusted cultivator and say: Don't dump it. Lets see if we can get you some boomers to munch on while you learn to do things better. So to the "noobs": this place would be really boring without you. You are welcome here. You are appreciated. You are doing something important and you have not wasted your time no matter what anyone says. To the noobs who have been abused and bullied. I'm sorry and I'm working on that. Despite what Roger Rabbit so condescendingly said in the official forums rules (WE AREN'T YOUR PERSONAL RESEARCH ASSISTANTS) We are here to help you. Without you, I wouldn't be here. I have many other hobbies.

______________________________

CHAPTER 3: DONT DUMP IT

No seriously, Don't. And quit telling people to dump it. Yeah I know, even the HHG1 made it seem like there was really only a few ways to do things and any deviation would result in wasted time and empty jars. Not true. A vast portion of projects can be salvaged. "thats bacterial". "thats fucked". I've seen it so many times. Truth is, most members don't own microscopes and even if they did a slightly bacterial grow can still produce great mushrooms. Do you think mushrooms evolved in sterile conditions? Do you think they have never encountered bacteria in their history as a species?

Here is great example of a nice dude who tried his hand and purchased a kit from one of our sponsors. You'll notice early in the comment thread someone informs him that these AIO kits are typically garbage (which is true). I was able to catch this just in time before this guy dumped a month of work in the trash. My heart aches a little when I imagine how many of these I've missed and these potential hobbyists were sent away feeling disillusioned and defeated. I imagine the cake ending up in some landfill somewhere below a loose mountain of trash, scuffed up from the journey, and there in the darkness, produces a beautiful flush of mushrooms only to be compacted below 50 metric tons of trash because some grower said "dump it".

If you follow that thread I just posted you'll see that two things happened: The first being that this member salvaged his grow and will likely produce a goodly amount of mushrooms using totally unconventional techniques with some help. The second, is that this member learned a tremendous amount of information and was brought into our community where I have no doubt that they will flourish and produce mountains of medicine that will reach many minds. Win win.

Every day I see someone telling someone to dump valuable materials and hours of work for one reason or another. Don't get me wrong, here, Stipe has contributed a massive part of his life to this craft and to helping people and he has earned my respect many times over, but I think some of our members take these guidelines as absolute rules--Do or die! Id frankly send about half the jars pictured in this thread and I can all but assure you, you'd probably get a flush and the cap'n is well aware of this and probably wouldn't hesitate to send some of it too if he didn't have something better to go in its place. He's merely trying to get you to identify what clean spawn is supposed to look like. Strive for it.

All things within reason, okay? I think trying things is the best way to learn, contrary to popular belief. Its pretty well understood that slimy, bubbling or otherwise colorful jars are probably best discarded, I'm here to tell you that a few uncolonized grains or a spot that won't colonize won't actually stop you from getting a good flush, in fact, some of my best grows have come from jars with a few grains that wouldn't colonize. Could it be better? Yes! Theres always room for improvement! Is it bacterial? Maybe? Probably? Who the fuck cares? Get you some boomers! Improve your skill. Do better next time.

Heres a tub I just finished. One from the pair of jars I put into it wouldn't not have passed the checklist:

Should I have dumped it? I'll let you decide. Dont get me wrong. some of those jars on the checklist are pretty fucked up but for sure, I'd still give em a shake and see if they recover at least! A couple are beyond saving for sure, don't let it cross your mind that I'll just run anything. If it smells shroomy, its shroomy.

look, the moral of the story here is that mushrooms didn't evolve in sterile environments. Mycology is insanely complex and fungi know how to deal with almost any environment or form symbiotic relationships and adapt. It WANTS to survive. It WANTS to complete its life cycle. If you can only help it, it might. One of my favorite things Stipe says from time to time is "everything WORKS". (it is inferred that while everything will work, there are always better ways).

So before you dump your project because some first year grower said so, heres some insanely wise words from B Traven, an extremely experienced grower with an academic background backing it up:

1 Anything you have already, let it ride. (I would add to this and say that you can find a way to let it ride)
2. EVERYTHING is up to chance, we only try to improve our chances. (getting help vastly improves these chances)
3. Becuase EVERYTHING is up to chance, any one thing that works out doesn't mean much until you've replicated those results hundreds (or thousands) of times.
4. Common sense and situational awareness can't be transmitted electronically. You are the captain of your own ship. (And my ship is the Heart of Gold.)

One last questionable bit of "wisdom" from yours truly that applies well to cultivation but maybe not your own personal well being or mental health:

YOU CANT BREAK WHATS BROKEN

As is my custom, I have written Beef Supreme on: Rescuing Your Fucked-UP All-In-One Kit (Or whatever less-than-ideal situation you have) which is essentially an unconventional guide to salvaging all-in-one (AIO) grow kits purchased from vendors and other botched projects.

______________________________

CHAPTER 4: THE UN-CONVENTION

“The Ultimate Answer to Life, The Universe and Everything is...42!”

Its crazy right? Beef out here talking about doing unconventional things. The dude that wrote the guide on adhering to convention. Has he lost the plot? Thats where I stopped writing a couple weeks ago and I spent the last two weeks wondering "Well, have I?". I think not, friendos. In fact, I think I have a new vision for the way things could be and its a better plot than ever. Its a plot of inclusiveness and creativity with a strong foundation of convention and fundamentals.

In HHG1 you'll remember I linked up to Cultivation Confessional Booth and Id like this thread to serve as the birth-place of unconventional yet totally viable things that we seem to do in secrecy for fear of ridicule or persecution! As an example I've already stated: Sending questionable jars at high ratio to fruiting because experienced growers know damn well it will still work out.

I recently discovered one night, a tub I had neglected in my closet for several weeks. Totally forgot about and left the holes taped. Well, when I pulled it down I could see a big patch of green. I said "fuck" and put it into quarantine in my living room because I could see it was pinning. I thought about dumping it---as is our convention--- Well I decided to try to salvage it. I cut away a portion of the substrate with a knife and set it back down. in the living room to be forgotten about. I remembered it being there several days later and of coarse, the trich was crawling out of the depths, white, not yet green. I had a pretty good wine buzz (I was trying to ween off opioids) and with a jar of green wine in one had and a butane torch in the other, I went to it, turning the mold black. "you like that? Huh? This whatchu get motherfucker" I was saying. Didn't hold out much hope for it, I rather did it out of anger.

Well, a few days later, lo and behold, the tub flushed but the trich was absent. I took some decent fruit and decided I'd let it flush again. When I looked again days later I noticed that the trich was finally starting to make a rally again, but I had a good handful of fruit ready so I rescued the hostages and dumped it. So yeah, what I did was absolutely not conventional and I was well aware of that when I did it but It worked! I didnt' even plan on it working but I got a full dry ounce out of that tub. Am I saying I found the silver bullet for Trich? No. There isn't one. Trich was forged in hell but it did buy me enough time to rescue a few hostages which was better than zero. Yeah, not my proudest moment but as I've said. I'm human. I get depressed. I fuck up.

Heres another one, (notwithstanding the Punisher Tek, which was already way outside the real of normalcy but has since caught on and is quickly becoming a convention.) I think it was Lew who said it in the Cultivation Confessional, but the "Floating Lotus" tek. This is simply where you just put an inch or two of water in your tub on the second flush and just let it float until its second flush. I recently did this with one of five identical tubs and was pleasantly surprised to find this tub kicking out some monsters while the other tubs were spitting out frail skinny seconds.

Pretty cool, Lew.

Heres something way unconventional. I recently developed the Steam-Punk Auto-Presto Pressure Cooker using a mercoid differential switch. Much criticism I received. A little support, but a lot of naysaying. Of course I don't ever blame the naysayers for saying nay. It seemed rather crazy and without knowing my actual background, one might not believe I am capable of that sort of ingenuity. But it worked! Not only did it work, but it works great and I don't have to babysit my cycles anymore. Set and forget and it came out looking super cool too.

I am sure I will think of lots of other unconventional things to add to this section and perhaps you all will feel emboldened to come forward with some of it (outside of the Confessional Booth, which, incidentally has turned out to be an incubator for some really great and unconventional ideas and techniques such as the lotus.) But look, the moral of the story is that this craft is humbling, and the cutting edge is a moving target. Necessity is the mother of invention. A "Trusted Cultivator", for sure is an experienced grower but that doesn't mean we aren't human and it sure doesn't mean anyone isn't capable of innovation and revolutionizing our techniques. We're all susceptible to the same shortcomings and stubbornness as anyone else. We (The TC's) Are not a a monolith. Thats all I will say on that for now.

Trust but verify. Question authority. (even me). Challenge the status quo. Be creative. Innovate. This craft belongs to all of us. Feel free to express your ideas but be prepared to be met with skepticism. Just don't become so attached to your ideas that criticism of your ideas is perceived criticism of you. Look how much things have changed over time. When I first came around here it was a dim dungeon of paranoia and hostility. Roger Rabbit reigned supreme and when he stepped down, handed the whip and chain down to Bod. Don't get me wrong, I will always respect these men as my first mentors but I will never endorse treating people the way they did. RR was just a human too. Some of what he said was taken as gospel and here we are 20 years later realizing: Glass petri dishes are great and totally viable for cultivation and also environmentally conscious, the shotgun ~~fruiting~~ desiccating chamber sucked, perlite sucks, vermiculite sucks, gypsum sucks, coffee grounds suck, etc the list goes on. Paul Stamets. Don't even get me started. "His books are paperweights" is probably my favorite thing Bod ever said.

Then theres Fahtster. If you don't know Fahts I feel bad for you. Not only is he one of the most knowledgeable and experienced growers, but hes a genuinely nice person and he does almost nothing by the book. He marches to his own drum and he gets mind-blowing results. He has also developed some of the best and most stable strains I've ever worked with. Most of what I now grow is a Fahts strain, in fact. Only recently did this man actually start using agar. Id like to think that fahts embodies the true essence of the Shroomery and of mushroom cultivation in general. I don't have the space in this post to begin to talk about the innovations hes made in the craft, but you can start digging around yourself here. He did all this and never abused anybody in the process.

Things change. Information evolves and I wholeheartedly encourage all members to take a bit of ownership of this craft: Push the envelope, friendos.

______________________________

CHAPTER 5: THEY WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED

I've always found it odd that we can't mention specific vendor names despite the ever-present flashing marquee thats always trying to grab at our attention and wallets. I clicked one just now at the bottom of my screen to seen what they were selling. This one seems to be selling inoculated blocks of gourmet substrate. Okay I admit thats kindof cool and I have always dreamed of being able to make a living doing this thing that I love rather than work the god awful 9-5 that seems to be my lot in life. But can we be real for a minute?

I find it odd and mildly frustrating that our sponsors endorse our community well enough to pay for advertising space, yet, many of them sell kits that we--collectively--refuse to endorse. Its an awkward relationship. Everyday theres a new grow-kit victim that comes here seeking salvation. I understand theres federal legalities regarding a vendors ability to offer support for a kit that was "misused" its just frustrating trying to help their customers sometimes. I have no doubt that experienced growers could probably make an AIO work well and I do understand that intuition is difficult to include in a brief instruction booklet.

Its an awkward relationship we don't talk about much. Us and our vendors. Like having an uncle at at holiday dinner that you don't really get along with. I think some of these vendors are running a pretty cool operation and I'd love to be involved in something like that someday, but some of them are merely hard-nosed businessmen which--as someone dedicated to spreading the medicine as far as I possibly can-- my interests are at odds with these kit vendors and if you're one of my readers, I hope you can understand and appreciate the frustration I feel about the relationship. Its always frustrating to tell people "hey I understand you're frustrated with your kit. You followed the instructions and its not going well, but you cant mention vendor names".

Its all pretty uncomfortable and sometimes it feels like were just unpaid interns for these companies getting some kind of "credit" for helping their customers salvage something from the hundreds of dollars they've spent on the promise. I guess I feel like theres a way that they could still run a business selling supplies that were congruent with our conventional methods. Simply providing the supplies I talked about in "the rich-mans guide to growing mushrooms" would seem lucrative enough, and frankly I think they'd get return customers. Hell, if the grain and lids were decent, I might be inclined to buy some every now and then when im in a pinch for time or physically unable to prep my own.

Thats all I need to say on that for now I think. Its all been said but I'll go ahead and go on record as having said it loudly. Our relationship with our sponsors is awkward and its hard not to feel resentful of (some of) them sometimes. Of course I understand that money doesn't grow on trees and we do yet live in a capitalistic society. Of course, I do not blame the boss for doing his best for doing whatever is needed to keep the place afloat. Absolutely, there is no shame in trying to make a little money in the world, particularly if the way you're doing it is helping rather than hurting, and the boss never hurt a fly.

______________________________

CHAPTER 6: SNIPERS AT THE GATES OF HEAVEN

As I was saying, we've come a long way way from the dark ages of this place. Back when I started here, as long as you didn't "flame" someone, you could say whatever you want to people. How "flaming" is defined remains as a case-by-case basis. The culture has shifted and many of my friends and I aren't tolerant of abuse. I seem to remember a well known ex-admin talking about how the culture of this place had somehow deteriorated over time. Something along the lines of how we're all just a bunch of bros with no "spiritual" attachment to the sacrament we are promoting. I'm not even going to get into that because I think its such hogwash and really just the opinion of one person anyway. But I will say that I think his assessment of our culture deteriorating was backwards. We have come a long way from where we were.

I think of all the people that have been turned away by rudeness or otherwise condescending attitudes towards new members with simple questions. Lets be real, the information wasn't collated enough to efficiently answer the masses of questions because someone hadn't put in the work to organize it for the masses. It was a mess and it was nobody's fault, but being cruel to people seeking a means to mitigate their own suffering is intellectually lazy. I will admit that I've done it myself. I've been here long enough that I have been recycled as a person several times over. Massive life changing events have taken place during my residency. My attitude has changed. My philosophy evolves. For sure I can understand getting frustrated with certain people. I can think of at least one time where I and Hob about fully lost our tempers on one of them. In retrospect, we should have hit the ignore button from the beginning but we let it get to the point that this person was making threats of violence against us. Stipe and MB finally euthanized the situation. It happens. Theres a rotten apple from time to time.

But 99% of the people I see come here seeking help are just people and I've never been able to understand coming at someone that you don't even know slanted like that. How do you know that person might not change your life? Thats just a pathetic way to act, in general. You're statistically more likely to have a better time in life if you come correct to everyone you meet. I try to get to know some of them personally and I find that most of them are similarly troubled human beings looking for a little reprieve. Maybe they have a fucked up grow-kit. Maybe they're frustrated. Maybe they've already been told a hundred different bits of contrary advice and they don't know who to trust anymore. The internet is a fucking crazy place. You really can't blame them but I'd like to challenge all standing members, newer growers, (less than 2 years experience) and veterans to try to look at every new member though the lens of compassion. Remember what it felt like on your first grow. I felt like the cops were going to kick down my door any minute. Just do me the favor and try. Try to be patient. Try to get people where they need to be. If you feel like you're about to get upset or feel the need to condescend someone, consider taking a break instead.

Dudes. Veterans. TC's. Real talk. Theres little and less that is more discouraging than just telling someone to dump their work they were proud and hopeful of. Unless its covered in green, smells like rotten apples, or covered in fruit flies, lets just quit with this shit please. Without even saying "Hi" at the least or "Thank you for being here", we say "Throw that in the trash and start over". Cut the shit, guys. Just show some compassion and appreciation. Without new members, what are we? A fucking circle jerk? I'm sure I can find better ways to spend my time. I'll say one last thing to leave this paragraph on a positive note. I don't think you guys realize the power you have over the not only the culture of the shroomery. People look up to you. People admire the knowledge and work and innovation you've all put in over literal decades. Own it. I know sometimes its hard to accept compliments, but you are all giants. Act accordingly.

I guess I was a little bummed that (almost) none of the TC's seemed interested in my Noob Of The Week thread. Of course I know someone only has so much bandwidth and I know we're all busy as hell. Its certainly not mandatory to participate in my little tea ceremonies but I don't think it would kill some of you to shine a single ray of sunshine once in a while and show some appreciation for the new people who are clearly trying their asses off and who often times look up to us. A simple thank you goes a long way. A simple "hey I see you man. Lets get you sorted out" really doesn't take that much effort and I seriously won't even entertain the excuse of "I was having a bad day" or "I have a lot going on" for being abusive to someone you don't know. I have a lot going on in my life too. We all do. But when you're here representing our community, please govern yourselves.

For those of you who are already helping rather than hurting, stomp on the hurting when you see it. Its never the wrong thing to do. When you see a cockroach running across the kitchen, you kill it. Send them this write-up. Tell them we don't operate this way around here. Tell me, and I'll tell them myself. That is all. Be cool. Come correct. This "WE AREN'T YOUR PERSONAL RESEACH ASSISTANTS" vibe sucks, and its always sucked. Yeah, we kinda are research assistants and theres literally always the option of just not assisting someone or just taking a break and logging out.

CHAPTER 7: SOME MORE OF GODS GREATEST MISTAKES

"And who is this God Person Anyway?"

If you're really wondering, his name is Ythan. But okay let me start by saying, I love The Shroomery. I maintain a supporter account status at all times and I wear Shroomery Pajamas around my apartment on weekends. (which, are mad comfy and have high quality embroidery I might add) I love The Shroomery well enough to criticize it in a constructive way so don't get this twisted, but I have some harsh criticisms for this website. Not nearly as harsh as say, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, Youtube, but nonetheless I have some things I'd like to say. This is a matter of my personal opinion and I am likewise, open to criticism myself.

We are disorganized and I think we have issues streamlining the flow of information to new growers because we don't always agree on how that information should be organized. I know its not exactly a democracy and theres not a staff of full-time developers, so I'll try to be as nice about my suggestions as I can. I did a little experiment. I wanted to see what it would be like to experience the org as a noob. I went straight to the homepage, as one would. Right there "Magic Mushrooms Desmystified". Okay sounds great! After all my mucking around in hyperspace, Ive found the right place! Fuck yeah, demystify me.

As somone just trying to learn to grow cubes, I'm gonna click "Mushroom Cultivation" lets see here what now? Well the very first link is a flashy ad from a sponsor trying to sell me sterilized substrates and grow kits. Okay maybe I'll check that out seems like a good place to start, right? Hmm. Maybe not. I have no idea where to start. This is just an e-commerce page selling stuff I don't begin to understand.

Hmm. The first link under the cultivation link is "other psilocyben species". No, I don't think I'm ready for that yet. Lets see here. The next three links don't really apply to me either. Wait here we go! The "Simplified Cultivation Methods, Easy As Fuck link list, Trusted Culvator links and methods and other cultivation info" Five star rating! Updated July 2017, well thats a bit dated but ok.

And now I am daunted by a massive list of BODS old teks. "Hieroglyphs". Even as a veteran member, I don't know where to start. The flowchart is rather scary if I'm a new grower, and directly under it it says read the rules so you don't look funny, but theres no link to the rules! Guess I better find the rules. I'll just type "rules" in the upper right search bar" okay thats the admin rules and now that I've read them I suppose I'm ready to ask some questions.

Guys, these are not the rules bod was talking about and you know it. He was referring to RR's "rules" which is basically "don't ask questions or you'll be decapitated--WE ARE NOT YOUR PERSONAL RESEARCH ASSISTANTS". See where I'm getting at? This is a labyrinth if you don't know any better. The fact that anyone actually finds their way to the cult forums and to the HHG1 or any new or organized information is nothing short of a miracle. As I mentioned before, Bod was my first and most instrumental mentor here, but lets be honest. He wasn't exactly the most welcoming person to begin with and his lists of links and TEKS are daunting if you don't know what you're looking at. Half of them involve him or RR abusing someone the other half are frankly pretty dated.

This experience is more like "Magic Mushrooms Demystified".

Okay I'm not going to be one of those guys that just pulls everything apart at the seams with no real contribution in terms of how to put it back together. My suggestion would be to either revamp the cult link, or get rid of it entirely and just let people into the forums front door.

1. Maybe wait just one more page before we hit them with ads.
2. Simplified Cultivation links FIRST before anything else.
3. Update the "simplified" Cult links/getting started page. A lots changed since 2017 and BODS links are from 2013. More than a decade old and written by a member who isn't active in the cult community anymore. I've written a handful of write-ups myself over the years and I continually have to go back to update them to keep them relevant.
4. Personally, I like Rev's table of contents at top of the cult forum. It flows a lot more efficiently and is a lot more organized and just feels less cold and harsh than Bod's list. Its also a lot less "BOD-centric" which I think is great. Even without the centrism, he remains very relevant. I think theres still three or four of his teks linked in the HHG. I still prep my agar almost the way he taught me.
5. Frankly I could do without the other links on the main cult link. I think people would have an easier time finding what they need after simply becoming acquainted with with the community forums.
6. Generally speakinig, I think the quicker you can direct people to the community forums and hopefully to Revs Table of contents the better. Thats where the cutting edge is.

I think Roger Rabbits Rule list leaves a lot to be desired, and thats putting it politely. It comes across condescending and cold. I've stated my opinions on the all powerful search function and I think It would come across a lot more welcoming to simply say something like "you might try to find the answer to your question using the search function before posting a question but heres a Link to Nicrhome's quick question thread if you're unable to find what you're looking for"

I think the other rules themselves are fine, its the wording. "WE AREN'T YOUR PERSONAL RESEARCH ASSISTANTS" really sets a tone that I don't represents the active members here anymore. I've sang Bod and RR's praise in countless threads but it seems wierd that they're still the face of the community all these years later. Something my grandfather said to me before he died and its always stuck with me was "its not about what you've done, its about what you're doing".

I'll personally volunteer to re-write the rules page or whatever else needs a facelift. I'm not going to say all that and then not offer to help if its needed.

Its either that or like I say, just delete it and let people in the door. The rules are still in Rev's Table of Contents. Thats my opinion. Take it for what its worth.

EPILOGUE

Well I know this one wasn't nearly as organized as the HHG1 and was only slightly more coherent than the HHG2, but I really hope that I gave as many people as possible, as much to think about as possible. Its really about improving the quality of our community and subsequently, improving the quality of our craft.
Heres to hoping that we can have civil and thoughtful discussions in the comments that follow. I'm not known for being a particularly stubborn person but I feel like I've thought about this one enough to publish this. I know my writing seems to be on a curve of increasingly controversial content, but do understand that I do so out of a genuine love and care I have for this place.

Thanks for everything, everyone. To the noobs, thank you for the trust and for being with us. Thank you for everything. To the ex-noobs, thank you for the support and thank you for the kindness and thank you for helping and not hurting. To the vets. Thank you and bless you. You do so much good. Thank you for the friendship and thank you for the high vibes. To the TC's thank you for making this place what it is and always will be. Thank you for the patience and for the leadership. Bless you guys. To the cap'n. Thank you for your tireless efforts and strength. Thank you for you for your care and your consistency over the years. To fahts: god bless you Saint Fahtster. To Roger Rabbit, to Bod, to MB, Cron, Pasty, Trout, Veggie, Paw, and the whole cast of Green and Red, to Geo, to the Don Ythan, Thank you all so much for all you have done for us. Thank you for keeping just one corner of the internet for the lovers not haters. the leavers not takers. the helpers not hurters.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

:heart:

Beef

Edited by fahtster (02/26/25 08:11 AM)

Extras:

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