I got error 403 from gw

I can't believe it, I error 403: access denied on gw today!

http://www.gardenweb.com/errors/403.html
From what I can gather, everyone from my domain got lockout. I made a few trades 2 weeks ago and haven't post since, yesterday I got sent to disney whenever I tried to post.

NO spike bashing please.

when everyone from a domain gets a ban it means Spike is really p*ssed off about something.
before i got banned, for life this time, all people using the same provider as me, btinternet, got banned because a hacker tried to access GW. the hacker was on a BT line. Spike retaliated by banning us all.

another reason is that someone banned from GW has gone back in there using an alias. I know someone that did this - not me - and now all those registered on GW using the same provider are banned.

I know some one who needs a better life!

mark - I know who you're talking about. I had a problem with him here, and almost had to ban btinternet, lineone.co.uk, and other UK ISPs. Fortunately, the fellow disappeared after I fired off some nasty E-mails to him.

Dave

I'm gonna miss the bonsai forum over there.

Dave

How about a bonsai forum, if we have enough requests for it that is. I'm sure Bert would love it too.

Sure, post a new thread in the general forum. Make the subject something like "Anyone interested in a Bonsai forum?" and let's see who comes out of the woodwork.

Dave

P.S. I tried to post to GardenWeb today, for the first time in 3 months. I got Disney'ed (A first for me)!! :)

I wonder if we (DG's memebers) all are tagged to disney.

[ Removed by member request. - Admin ]

I didn't try to post on gardenweb, but the other day I was doing a little reading on there. Someone was asking for poison ivy and kudzu seeds to plant to stop people from picking their flowers. I wonder if that was the hacker ....

It's quite possible. A trader was asking to get the seeds for a "friend". She's aware now of the danger of ruining a fragile ecosystem and won't be sending him anything.

Pooje

Is spike allowed here? Im always hesitant to speak on this subject for that reason....

I have made so many great friends there... I would be disappointed to be sent to disney. I simply adore the gardenjunk forum. No ill intentions meants toward Dave or Trish... I love Daves Garden too!! I value all of my garden buddies!! And love how you guys are so involved. Its like family here.... you guys are all so great!!!

Dave,

You probably got permanently sent to Disney for no other reason than who you are.

I mean, the nerve. Setting up a web site that competes with the mighty Spike. And a better one, to boot.

O.K., what's the inside joke about Disney, lol?

I have been purposely silent on this issue, but after months of reading these posts I am frustrated.

This situation is so sad. I am completely dismayed that Dave can't post at all on GW. I see this as vindictive and desperate - after all - the negative discussions that take place about GW are the direct result of GW policy and of how people have been treated by the webmaster at GW. If they are losing members because of their policies, perhaps they should consider changing them.

Frankly, It irritates me to see members scared to post here because of what someone on an entirely separate web site might think or do to them. I believe the problems at GW are their problems and we shouldn't have to be chastised or punished for our associations or for stating our feelings and opinions.

On a brighter note, I am pleased to open my home page each morning and see the DG population grow, and to open the page at noon and see the DG population grow, and to open the page in the evening and see the DG population grow.

You people really are wonderful and I will take a trip to Disney with any of you at any time :)

Well said, RiseAnn.

I managed to miss all the controversy at GW - just kind of stumbled onto both GW and DG, and I've found wonderful gardeners on both sites. I've encouraged every gardener I come into contact with to check out and join DG, not because I want to pull members away from GW, but because I think Dave has created a unique site for gardeners, where we can track all our gardening activities online AND connect with fellow gardeners via the forums.

GW is good for what it was designed to be: a lot of highly specialized gardening forums. That was probably pretty innovative when it started. Dave saw the need for more features, and he built this site.

In my opinion, DG has a lot more to offer and as more gardeners find out about DG, I think there will be increased activity here, and it will probably come at the expense of GW. That's the way the world works - you build a better mousetrap, and most people will prefer it over the "old" model, and some will still like things "the old way." There's certainly room in the world for two major websites dedicated to gardening.........

If a guy in Wal-Mart were holding up a sign promoting Kmart he would most defiantly be asked to leave. If he to continue promoting the competitor I'm sure we all know that he would be escorted off the premises. Websites are very much like any other business. This man "Spike" is obviously using his site to not only to create a nice gardening atmosphere but make himself a living. What is wrong with him protecting his interests? Had he not created a place for gardeners to chat, bond and trade seeds for free? If people had not meant to maliciously spam his site with a competitors web address, why hadn't they emailed their friends about this new site? Instead they list the link on GW for all to see. To me this appears to be backstabbing behavior.

Yes, the World Wide Web is large and there is plenty of space for DG & GW to co-exist but promoting DG on an another gardening site is tactless. If this site is going to last show a little integrity, you are not attracting me to this site with all the hostile discussion about GW. Are you sure this site shouldn't have been named Anti-GW.com?

Stan, I noticed you posted this message on the two threads that pertain to GW, and I hope you haven't formed a negative opinion of Dave's Garden. But no, this site shouldn't have been named "Anti-GW" because the vast majority of the discussion you'll find here have nothing to do with GW. The reason these two threads even exist is because people felt unfairly punished for innocent blunders at GW and had nowhere else to vent publicly except here.

As far as "advertising the competition" well, you'll find members here who post GW as one of their favorite websites, and at GW, I've posted Dave's Garden as one of mine. I find it silly and frustrating that if someone is having trouble locating a plant or seed at GW, I can't openly suggest that they try posting their request here, or another seed/plant exchange site. (Conversely, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't get into trouble if I suggested on a DG forum that someone might try posting a hard-to-find item at GW, too.)

Currently the only dollars at stake here (unlike K-Mart and WalMart) are advertising dollars, which are based on "hits" for GW. And if I'm typical, I think it's safe to say that most gardeners in the middle of winter will spend many hours browsing multiple web sites in search of knoweldge and plants. That's what I meant by it being a big enough world for two websites to exist.

I'll echo Stan. GW bashing is an ugliness that can't seem to get off of DG. It's a major turn off.

There's a lot of people who came to take a look at DG from over on the GW, but they went right back after reading the bash posts.

Dave didn't get himself banned, his "loyal" members did it to him themselves.

P

[ Removed by member request. - Admin ]

Hi Woodspirit
The joke about GW isnt an inside joke. Many, many people have come to Daves from That Home Site (AKA GW) because the person in charge (webmaster is too strong a word for the little man) has decided that any time he dosent like something someone has said then he "sends them to Disney" which means that if you try to post anything then you get a Disney advertisment. He has certain words or phrases or websites that can be detected and if you type them you will be sent to Disney.
"The Great and Powerful OZ" is just exactly what he was in the classic movie. Just a ledgend in his own mind.
Robert???????

Enough on that......great to be back!!
Janice

Cant we all just get along?!!??!?

I addressed this issue privately in an email (and thank you to that wonderful person for listening) but I now regret wasting my time on such rubbish...

Lets get back to gardening!!

:)

Curiosity Karma, et al, that's why we're here, it's why you came and looked before you joined, and it's why we come to look before we join...Joining by "filling out a form" gives you the ability to post. Joining by "giving your heart" is something else.

I do not see an "unjoin" form. They don't have them on the GW either. ( I don't think any forum with membership has ever had an "unjoin" button, at least I've not seen one yet. On a legal and moral level it disturbs me as I believe our rights as cyber citizens are violated by this. I would like to actually see this made a law.)

Many of us from the GW are curious about the DG and have signed on anonymously to "try it out". Seeing posts maligning the GW is a real honest turn-off, not everyone has your personal point of view. Some of us are still "in love " with the GW.

I can understand your angst at the GW, but maybe you should consider hurling your spears and arrows from another location. These posts are detrimental to DG, they give off a negative impression. People use these garden posts to read and relax with at home, the negativity can cause them to surf on by to find another place they choose to bookmark or link to from their page. These are lost opportunities for Dave's Garden.

If you really are sincere when you say you like this place then you should show more respect to the ownership and act like a guest in their house. Dave and Trish are working hard making a user friendly, user safe website......stop hurting their business, stop hurting their hearts.

Poojer

Advice To folks upset by the GW bashers (I too have been banned from GW and have less than equanimous feelings towards "spike") Don't opt to red these threads. Stay with the gardening threads only. Otherwise we run into censorship something that some DG folk feel they have run into at GW.

[ Removed by member request. - Admin ]

ohiorganic,

Can I assume you're not really asking us to read objectional threads, but rather that you're asking us not to post any objections if we have them?

[ Removed by member request. - Admin ]

I agree with StanGardenman and Poojer to a point. Stangardenman I don't think Dave should be "holding up a sign" on GW advertising DG. Dave is NOT doing that. To use your example Why can't the owner of Walmart walk into K-mart and look around and maybe buy something? I don't believe that Spike is ban for DG. BTW Spike (Robert) lives in an apartment and doesn't even garden.
Poojer you are 100% wrong about GW members getting them selves ban. I have seen someone get ban for doing "X" and seen somewhat else do "X" and not have a problem. I posted a complaint about some kiddie porn that a GW person sent out. A friend of Spikes said some no so nice things about me for complaining about receiving kiddie porn. She was not ban. I know of at least 4 people that did what she did and they were ban. I was ban for replying to a request spike made asking everyone for ideas on how to save GW. He did not like my comments and ideas and ban me and at least 3 others. So you can see he is not level handed in his deals with folks. I think that is what makes people upset.
Back in the Nov to mid-jan time frame as DG was really growing I believe that Spike was banning DG members for no real reason except that they were DG members.
I understand both sides on this. I posted complaints about spike in the past. And I now hate to hear the words spike ans disney. When I read or post anything about GW and spike I feel like I have just wasted that much time.
BTW Nobody here at DG has any bad feeling toward GW members the only complaint is with spike.
Thank you Dave and Trish for being most awesome gardening friends.

One last comment from the peanut gallery.
After I sent the above post I realized something.
I spent 2 years at GW and during and after all that time spike was someone that a number of GW members feared. In that 2 years I had sent him three e-mails. He responded to none of them. In a way I feared him and felt like he was some great tough mythical person. I his name was spike after all. Now I realize that he truely is a tough mythical beast. He is that Troll that lives under the bridge in I believe it's called The 3 billie goats gruff. The troll harasses the the goats for no real reason.

After 2 months at DG I like many other think of Dave and Trish as gardening friends. Dave has answered every single e-mail or post I have sent him. And I don't fear him.
I guess I would rather deal with friends instead of a troll.

i still cruise GW, but what kills me is the professional rip off artists who are allowed to stay, all they have to do is post (no kidding, i am sure you have seen it!) "i just got out of the mental hospital, let me know if i owe you" or "i am having computer problems, or moving" or some stuff, and they are there forever. i don't know how people who lie and cheat can live with themselves, and why spike will gladly let them stay and throw people out for the silliest things. you know, spike would have thrown out several people posting here for just posting what they posted, including the GW loyalists.....
arlene

Stan & Poojer,

If you really want to know why people are displeased with GW you would totally understand if you read the emails I recieved from Spike. As I signed up I had trouble getting to my new page after I customized it and was instead sent directly to this page that asked for monetary donations. Well, I was not able to continue without selecting and closing the deal on either the $15 or the $30 one. I could have closed the window, but it would not have gotten me passed the signup part. I emailed him telling him I made a mistake and also could he please help me with viewing my page. I got two nasty emails back from Spike. The first of which called me absurd. By the way, he never did fix my page for me.

I agree with those who are afraid to post things about GW here for the possibility of being banned. I'm sure I will get banned over this, but then again I'm sure advertisers would be very interested in documentation of ways that the webmaster conducts himself with his guests. I sure hope there is never a need for them to see it. It's not pretty.

Oh, and by the way... the lady who posted the request for poisen ivy seeds was NOT a hacker. She happens to be a wonderful person who felt she was doing something for a friend who made a request. I know there is not a single one of us that have not done something or spoke of something that later we realize was not a good idea. Unfortunately she is STILL being harrassed over this. She is not mad, she is hurt. She took the hint with the first few posts and even publically appologized but it does not seem to be lifting the negative mail. I have invited her to DG and told her how wonderful it is here. I sincerely hope she does not encounter the same in this forum. I believe that the majority of the GWers are wonderful people, but if someone has appologized already then I don't see why the issue cannot be dropped.

Angel,

The problem is that most people do not read the entire thread. Most of those people problably just wanted to put in their 2 cents not realizing that she got the hint and decided not to trade for the poison ivy.

Tim