An error in the First and last freeze/frost dates page

Hi, Dave's Garden,

This error occurs in the Dave's Garden First and Last Freeze/Frost dates page (which is a good feature, by the way). When you type in your Zip Code, you get data for your area. For me, this is the data that I get:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/index.php?q=66067&submit=Go

The error has nothing to do with the data itself -- that will vary with whatever Zip Code you enter. The error occurs in the explanation of the data, where it says:

So, for example, in the Spring 32° row, if you have "Apr 15" under the 50% column, that means that you have a 50% chance of seeing frost on or before April 15th

The word "before" should be "after".

The wording in the "Another example" for the Fall is correct as it stands.

ZM

Ah, that's one I thought we fixed quite a while back. I'll let them know.

This error persists.

Refer to "http://davesgarden.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/index.php?q=89408&submit=Go" where 89408 is just my zip code.

I posted an "error report" several days ago, and have not received an acknowledgement, nor has the error been corrected. This was before I discovered that you had reported the error months ago on September 4.

I am a little concerned that notification of such a serious error would not be immediately corrected. Growers need the data on Spring dates in order to plan seed start dates way before Spring.

How can we get DG's attention on this?

I responded to your note. It is on a list of fixes :-)

Terry --

Is your list FIFO? Shouldn't it be priority driven, based on criticality?

Right now, gardeners are developing their plan for Spring planting. The timing
for starting seeds is critically dependent on the possibility of a Late Frost. The
data on the DG site is not just wrong, it is useless. It cannot be used to estimate
the probability of a Spring frost so late that it wipes out the seedlings.

As Zen_Man has pointed out, the numbers are okay, but their interpretation is not
okay. C'mon guys, the fix requires a change of a few words on that web page. Should
take all of 5 minutes if your Website mechanics know what they are doing. But it's buried
somewhere in the "list of fixes"?

How about an alarm message to all members revealing that the data is wrong? Perhaps
they will choose to go directly to the USDA site, where the data is in fact correctly interpreted.

I would really be interested to know what fixes take precedence over this one.

thedavey, there are some things that need to come before this one. Some because they've been waiting longer, some that are deemed more important (what is important to you isn't necessarily a top priority for all :-), and some because they affect more areas of the site and/or performance, whether they are visible to the public or not.

This issue - while admittedly pesky and long overdue to be fixed (it's been there since the feature was added, and it's something we've simply overlooked for too long) - is relatively minor. However, the data is correct. The information above the tables is clear and accurate. Only in the event a user needs more clarification will they scroll down and read it.

Yes, I agree it should be a simple text swap to fix this. And yes, updated text has been submitted. And as soon as I have an ETA for the release it's included on, I will let everyone know.