Message from IB and responses

Does that mean the forums are going to change????

i agree!!!!

Does that mean that it will change into a format like Classmate went to, that is hard to navigate and slow running? Or a bulletin board type system? Will our threads be be put in the land of lost things?

I agree that this is by far and above, the best formatted site I have ever been on. It would be a crying shame to see that changed.

Dave, they change it because they are a bunch of, what ever you want to call them, who seem to know better, just like every one is in politics, wall street and heads of money making outfits.

And I know where they keep their heads. It would be nice if they saw the sunshine once in a while.

Apologizing for the sarcasim in advance.

THE THINGS I LIKE ABOUT DAVES SITE:

IS THE LOOK, THE FEEL AND NAVIGATION, THE PLANT FILES, GADS, I CANT THING OF ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT.

AND

HOW EASY IT IS FOR US OLD COMPUTER
ILLITERATE BEINGS IS TO PRETTY
MUCH NAVIGATE.

I THINK WE BEST START PUMPING UP THE POSITIVES OF THE SITE SO THE NEW MANAGEMENT KNOWS OUR THOUGHTS.

I agree that we still get the info and the friends and the trades etc. however I stopped posting on gardenersindex.com because I saw when I Google my name, my most recent posts were what popped up under my name. I always felt that daves honored our privacy and intimate relationships through the membership here. Though someone could still post all your comments, It seemed that there were enough controls that dave placed regarding certain topics, that the members would not, accidentally go in a direction that could bite them later, while seeking employment, for example. You did not have to think about what you said, past the restrictions so much.

I love dg and hope dave will continue to be a member, he is like the Monarch of the site now, King Dave.

We love you dave and I plan to continue until I see my posts when I google my name, then I am done.

I still love my DG for now. :)

If they're going over to a new BBS system, I'm definitely going to have to take a wait and see. This site is navigable, fast-loading, and logical in the way it's organized. I've seen other forums that are a nightmare to get around in. I hope they don't slam membership with a huge change all at once, at least.

BBS system is what, I have not read this entire thing, it is long, can you tell me gw?

Sorry, but this is probably jumping the gun a bit.

Yes we do own vBulletin, which is the most popular software for forums out there. But no, we have not made ANY decisions on whether or not we would implement it here.

There are many good things about vB - like a robust search capability and other features that this forum doesn't currently have. However, we are well aware that it would be a significant change for everyone here and so we would want to really get to know the community here before making any major changes like this.

We're only a couple of weeks into owning DG and although I would love it if we moved at the speed of light with ideas, decisions and implementation, we don't. We try very hard to be thoughtful about the decisions we make and make sure that they are aimed at what is best for the long term with any site we own.

DG is a large, complex and highly successful site and we would be silly if we just stepped in here thinking we knew it all and making dramatic changes to your experience.

Finally, we will strive to do our very best to never surprise you with any major changes. It is always best to communicate in advance and seek feedback before making any significant changes and we'll aim to do that.

So will I see my posts on Google searching my name here too?

Michael, I'm curious to see the vBulletin format, could you suggest a web site that uses it? So I , we can go check it out?

IB sure has a stable of websites, hum.

So far I see my bio on FB and gardenersindex postings, which irritates the heck out of me, it feels like something else to add to the lack of privacy that we all have now in the world.

Michael - any answer to my questions? Have you actually created a new position of community admin and offered it to Dave? And any thoughts on the 'cross-honoring' idea? Thanks.

hellnzn11, you can change your privacy settings in FB. Dmail me for instructions on how to do it.

Michael, you noted that vBulletin is the most popular software for forums out there, but I am sure you failed to ask DGers what their most favorite software for forums is. DG is the best. However, I don't want to be closed minded. Like Molamola said, will you please suggest a website that uses vBulletin so we can check it out?

Harper

I found some "screenshot samples" of vBulletin here:

http://www.vbulletin.com/index.php?do=screenshots

They don't look too bad...

More to squint at, but nearly the same as my Guppy fish forum.

Not as clean as Dave's is now. More "Clutter" Boy, that word is getting worn out lately!

I think the Cruisemates.com site uses the vBulletin format -- I would say it's not bad, would not make me leave this site, but...

Michael, if this truly is not already a foregone conclusion, then I would like to add my vote to keeping the format of DG at least relatively unchanged. As I've said before, this is the best site I've found for ease of use and just being enjoyable to use. Thank you for at least noticing what we are saying!

Sandy

Oh, ugh! That's such a mess to wade through! And animations.

Just my humble opinion...

Michael,

I'm sure a million people (figure of speech) have already said this, but please don't put smiley faces and emoticons on every page. I truly enjoy the clean forum pages here at Dave’s. Not having to look at 100's of flashing pictures and glittery butterflies on every page.
Please do not change that!

Steven

The orange/blue colors on the cruiser's page is "exciting" but unattractive. We'd have to have greens with specks of bright colors...

DAVES GARDEN

is the

MOST PROFESSIONAL LOOKING SITE THERE IS. SAY NONE THE LESS FOR BEING THE LARGEST.

ITS NEAT AND TIDY.

I HAVE SEEN SOME REALLY BIG SITES GO THROUGH THIS TYPE OF THING.... THEN ONLY TO SEE THE SITE GO DOWN THE TOILET.

DONT DO THAT "FLUSHING SOUND" WITH THIS SITE.

YOUR MEMBERS ARE WHAT MAKE IT.




IF IT AINT BROKE.....
PLEASE DONT FIX IT!

Noticed I did not get an answer so I assume the answer to be yes, my privacy may be gone public quickly? hMM?

grrrlgeek said:

"Besides, I have more pressing things in my life on which to expend my energy.

Like seed and perennial catalogs. Spring plant coops. Winter sowing. Snow removal."

Amen to that - except the snow removal

No matter where you post or contribute on the Internet, you should protect yourself. Never put your whole birthdate and place of birth, this can be used for identity theft.

And people who post photos of their children are risking abduction, also, so I have read.

Just a comment you make here being on Google.com, or another search engine, shouldn't be so terribly invasive if you don't reveal too much about yourself. I've been contacted by long lost friends because they searched my name and found me amongst the other people with my same name by the posts I've made several places, not DG.

Hey, I love smileys!!!!!!

I can't speak as to how other forums and websites handle their member's privacy. Here's how we handle yours: http://davesgarden.com/aboutus/privacy/

In fairness to the sites you mentioned, we have had similar concerns raised when members "Google"' themselves while logged into DG, and find their posts visible. (If you log out, you find that most of that information quickly disappears from view.)

As mentioned above, it's not prudent to post a lot of personal and personally identifiable information about yourself anywhere on the 'net. Posting your month and date of birth is probably okay in most situations, but including your year of birth just gives some unscrupulous people a lot of information to go on. Posting your city and state is usually okay - but if you live in a very small town, you may wish to make your location more general ("SW Arizona" or "central Idaho.") We routinely discourage members from using their full name for their username, because of privacy concerns. Occasionally a member comes to us and asks for a change because they didn't heed that advice; we will make a change for them.

Using your children's names in posts..not a great idea. Providing your address also not advisable. Tweeting when you and your family are away on vacation - a really bad idea (one family found that out when they came home and discovered their house had been broken into. They made it easy on the thieves by cheerfully announcing on Twitter they were on the road and wouldn't be home for days.

Excellent advice, Terry!
Hellnzn11, does your real name come up in a Google search, or the DG username?

I follow my neighborhood thief's tweets.

LOL, even better advice, victorgardener!

hahahahahhaha, you are too funny Victor!

Don't need any help here to know who isn't home. Lots of people here go south for the winter, "Snow Birds". All you need to do is drive around. The un-shoveled driveways tell you who is away for the winter.

Sorry if I'm dense here, but I was under the impression that subscribers only forums and postings in those forums would not be open to Google. Has this just changed or has it always been this way?

Guess I am - they are not.

This message was edited Feb 4, 2010 8:12 PM

I have been known, when my health is good, to go to neighbor's houses who I know are out of town and shovel real quick around their driveway and walkways so it's not clear that they aren't home. Pulling into their driveway with my car and back out again to leave tire tracks doesn't hurt either.

I just googled my name and found all of my Facebook entries & None of my DG ones. That is because of the way Dave set this site up. IM will likely be (eventually) changing it to the vBulletin since they own that and it is what they are using it on all of their other sites.

You can try googling your own name, in "quotation marks". Fun if you've never done it. I am also a cop, a social worker, and a photographer. Amazing!

Oh, I don't mean just your first name.

I just don't get it! Why would a company buy a web site that is as successful and popular as this one and then change what makes it successful and popular. All of our posts above are proof that we love what we have. What is to gain in changing anything at all?

Micheal has already answered some of those questions. Thank you Micheal for being understanding and patient with us. Change can be scary sometimes. Thank you for keeping us updated.


This message was edited Feb 4, 2010 6:53 PM