This Millenial wants more out of DG.

Darius used that photo on her blog. Her niece today posted
on it about the passing of her Aunt.
http://www.2footalligator.blogspot.com/

what happed to Darius?????

Thank you, June! I received a response from her just a few days ago...I had no idea that she was ill.

This thread is all about the relationships the original poster talked about. I have read negative comments about DG other places and I think this thread helps prove those wrong.

DG has some very strong features that keep people returning and that will continue for a long time, I think, as it stands alone for some of them. Besides, DG is now part of the Internet Brands family and the decisions will not be made here, I don't think.

I hope that Darius is looking down from wherever she is and thoroughly enjoying
this one of many gatherings of friends on DG to honor and remember her. There
are very few web sites where this could happen.

Me no LIKE "Like Buttons" or any of those cartoonish characters messing up my DG postings. Those things remind me of toddlers getting star stickers in nursery school for using the potty or of some poorly paid employee at a fast food restaurant being honored as the employee of the month with a red badge instead of a livable wage.

So I cast my vote for "no" and wish to reserve a space too with OAC gang. I am assuming our Dear Darius would so not want that clutter posted on DG either. I just went back and read some of my Dmail from her and know her death is great loss to DG, but also to anyone anywhere who wishes to make our earth a healthier and kinder place with a sustainable environment. Patti

I am seriously old and crochety and I don't think the original poster meant those detestable smiley faces we see on other sites. Something simple and tasteful could be implemented, often I don't comment because there is just too much going on but would love to just quickly, with one key, say good going.

To the original poster, a number of years ago DG was bought by a large corporation, Internet Brands, and like most large corporations, they are in business to make money. DG is a lovely community of many wonderful people but we have to remember while Terry and Melody and the many helpful administrators coordinate the site it is still one division, just a part of the larger corporation.

Well said.

Gosh, I didn't mean anything of the kind. I've never felt like there was a fence keeping me or anyone else in. I belong to four different gardening sites and I see many of my DG friends there also. Like others have said, I just like the format here and I don't mind paying for something I like.

Guess I read your 'they are in business to make money' in the wrong way. I belong to many other garden sites as well and see lots of folks from all the sites on them as well...but this is the only one that wants to charge me money for things other places provide free of charge. It's odd and I'm simply looking for justification from those that actually collect said money.

In short, I see nothing here that I'm asked to pay for that I can't get elsewhere for nothing (and yes, I've had a trial sub here before, so I know what it gets me). I just keep thinking I must be missing something. It can't possibly be about the ads being able to be turned off alone, especially since every web browser out there has plugins that will turn off all ads on EVERY site. (I see no ads on any site using the Adblock+ plugin on Firefox...a feature I paid nothing for).

They want my money, I want to know why. It is NOT an unreasonable request, IMHO.

Hi everyone, I've stepped back and allowed you all to talk for a while but thought I'd jump back in. Thanks so much for all of your thoughts on the subject.

I do understand the very wonderful community aspect of this site. I have been experiencing it for almost a year now and I LOVE my Mid-Atlantic friends. Generous, kind, patient, funny, all around wonderful people. They are worth their weight in compost (black gold, get it?). #seewhatididthere

AHH I have so much more to say but it got lost. please wait while I retype.... another delightful feature of DG!

This message was edited Mar 21, 2014 2:59 PM

Ahem, As I was saying...
I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for 'Feature Request' Forum. I don't think it's unreasonable to demand that there actually be some documented progress. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask what the future holds for DG and what my subscription is actually paying for.

I believe that with every dollar I spend, I am casting a vote for something. I don't buy from Walmart because I don't like their products, I don't like a lot of their corporate practices, and I just hate shopping in their stores. So I spend my money at Target which I hate a little less. I'm voting.
I want to vote for DG to continue to improve. I don't like the idea of casting my vote for the status quo.

So you guys don't like 'likes'. What kind of features do you want? Do you really want this site to stay exactly as it is, forever and ever Amen? What if I could type "@Dosetaker" and instantly Dosetaker would know that I was trying to get his or her attention, even if he or she wasn't following that thread. If I wanted to pull Dosetaker into a convo with others because I knew he/she had some valuable info to offer all I'd have to do was put a single character in front of the name and voila! Wouldn't it be nice to do that instead of having to write a Dmail to Dosetaker and include the link to the thread... wait for a response....

I also think if you gave hashtags a chance, you would LOVE them. The tags or bookmarks or whatever it is that admin are doing, is tedious, to say the least. what if you could instantly create a link to a forum search for the same thing, just by plopping a little old pound sign in front of the word?

Give these features a chance, and technology can be your friend. It's not about cluttering up the thread, it's about making it easier to do what you are already going to do.

And a mobile site, #pleaseandthankyou.

Have a great weekend, everyone!
~Karen



This message was edited Mar 21, 2014 3:12 PM

This message was edited Mar 21, 2014 3:13 PM

When this site was set up originally, you had to be a subscriber to respond to the posts.
Slowly more forums are open to the public.
I don't know if non subscribers can use the d-mail or not. That was always a personal thing from one to another.

This site has changed quite a bit recently so what you see as "status quo" is very different for some of us. You may get your wish entirely, typwc. Who knows?

To answer the original question, the subscriptions were introduced back before advertising was viable, and we needed a way to help fund the site. Like most fledgling sites, we started off on a "a wing and a prayer" and a very small admin team. The expenses were mainly for servers and bandwidth.

Once paid ads became a feasible way to help us offset our costs, the subscriptions remained in place to give members some forums where they could remain a close-knit family, regardless of where they actually reside. Real-life get-togethers became part of the DG tradition and a rich tradition it is. Another big plus for subscribers is to avoid the ads.

Today, we're still a very small admin team - Melody and I have been here since almost the very beginning, first as members, then as admins. We are supported by a larger team of IT and management from InternetBrands, but Mel and I are still the two that you're most likely to hear from if you have a question or concern.

We'll always have the tug and pull of whether to remain firmly in our roots, or spread out and embrace some of the newer things that come along with social media. I'm reasonably confident that you won't see a bunch of emoticons and icons on our member's pages anytime soon. But some things we may add, when we are confident they are wanted by our members.

Thank you for speaking up, Terry. I really appreciate the insight. How do you currently acquire the information to judge whether a feature is wanted by or useful to the users of the site? Can you start a feature request forum?
Thanks!

This forum has historically been used for that purpose. If you have a specific feature or suggestion, it's best to start it as its own thread and see if there is a groundswell of support for it.

As long as everyone understands that not every idea will be implemented (even if it's popular, sometimes it's not feasible), and on the other hand, that changes are somewhat inevitable, it's all good :-)

Im a sort of practical thinking person and I think if you find this site not to your liking, plus you can get what you want elsewhere for free, what would be the motivation for coming here to urge someone to make this site to your liking? Im not being a smart alec, Im really asking why?

Steadycam: I've made a lot of friends and I don't want to lose touch with them.

I think typwc just most simply and eloquently answered the original question about what value is provided by subscribing...

I agree.

I'm going to be very frank here.

I have been a subscriber since 2002. The changes from then have been quite amazing. And there will be more. And I trust that they will be carefully thought out.

On Dave's, I have made many friends, acquired a lot of knowledge, and shared a lot of knowledge - while keeping my privacy. I use dmail to share more with the many special friends I have made through Dave's. I have been to their houses. I have gone to conferences with them. I have shared personal experiences. I have traded plants with people in person. I love corresponding with people from China, from England, from Canada, Iceland, New Zealand. Their messages are in my dmail, which is lovely, because it is private.

Personally, I detest the "like" buttons and never press them. They require no thoughtfulness or input. It seems to me that those things, like Facebook, simply want to get your information to sell you things. Everyone does not want to be endlessly connected. I am still trying to control Linkedin because I am contacted, and endorsed, and encouraged to endorse people I have never met. Emoticons and the like are a way of expressing "emotions" with no effort. The superficiality of many other sites with their exchanges is something that Admin has avoided. The thought of people punching the "like" tab on my postings makes me cringe. This is probably because I am a very relationship oriented person - which is why I like Dave's so much.

I like technology. I have a lot of neat gadgets but I think the best thing about a smartphone is that I don't have to listen to people babbling into their cellphones. There seem to be a lot of expensive gimmicks out there, and frankly, Dave's is a refreshing break from them. I wouldn't never give up things like my fax/scanner/printer combo, and SKYPE is wonderful because it connects me with friends who have moved around the world, but I would really prefer to avoid what I PERSONALLY view as shortcuts and superficiality. There is already enough of that.

I agree with DonnaMack.........................

Now, re: the smartphones (and the old and crochety is rearing its ugly head here again.........LOL) I think it is more than extremely rude when people have their faces glued to their "devices" when you are with them. The device is more important than you are to them, obviously, since they are paying more attention to that than to you. And texting.............don't get me started..............I HATE texting..........it is a phone, people......TALK TO SOMEONE ON IT!!!! Pretty soon they will have one that will take care of your personal hygiene too. And I really, REALLY hate those Bluetooth contraptions. I once told my vet that if he came in MY barn with that glued to his ear, he was either gonna leave or take it out. It never came to that, thank goodness.

Now, I digress...............I realize some of the changes here are not popular, but I have been able to deal with them. But, PLEASE, no "like" buttons or anything like that.

DonnaMack, you don't even live too far from me.......maybe we should meet at the Elgin oasis some day and commiserate. LOL

Anna, I'd love to.

But it has nothing to do with age. It has to do with style. I like a personal, one on one style. I personally find it amusing that these various companies who simply want to mine your information try to get you to think that you have to have their very expensive products and use them. What a con! Or companies who lead you to believe that the very fact that you go into debt to buy their products gives you class. You can't buy class.

It's not generational. A 50 plus person with teenaged children started sending me multi paged texts. She is a client, but I told her to stop. Texting can be useful. I was picking up my sister from the airport two weeks ago and it was great that I could text, "Meet me at the end of gate G". I will text "leaving now", or "ten minutes away" for people who are expecting me. But I think that people who send you long texts without your permission are rude. Texting implies "stop what you are doing and communicate with me NOW" as opposed to sending it to your voice mail. For a person who is arriving at a busy airport and is expecting someone, it's appropriate, even necessary.

Unfortunately, technology that could be useful simply allows people to be prying and rude and inconsiderate. When I see someone walking right toward me with their head buried in an i-phone, I sing out "Heads up". They jump. They are walking down a street. Sometimes on the wrong side. Why are they surprised?

DonnaMack -- Very well stated and I thank you for that.

OK, everyone... don't bother moving or squishing yourselves to make space for me on the OAC bench. I bring my own folding canvas director's chair. I'd rather be comfortable sitting on a pumpkin than be crowded on a velvet cushion. Considering that someone brought the statin and a few sundry munchies, I'll gladly throw in one of my award-winning cheesecakes and a shrimp mousse with water crackers.

Munching away and perchance sipping on a glass of bubbly in pleasant company, we can remember how it was before your phone could surf (the net), take horrible pictures, shine your shoes, produce bad video, bother you at all hour of the day and night because a misguided friend feels a burning need to tell you he ate an apple (a Braeburn). Yes, younger generation members, there is actually something called shining your shoes. You can tell a lot about a man by his shoes and his watch; it doesn't need to be a Rolex. If you're a habitual late person, a Timex or a Rolex makes no difference; late is late. And there is no such thing as fashionably late.

I like DG because it is a safe place. My DG account was never hacked by miscreants in darkest Uzbekibekkikisthan representing themselves as me, allegedly mugged in London without my passport or a penny to my name and asking my friends to send money quick-quick so I could return home. I am by no means rich, but I can still walk into my embassy or consulate with my head held high and request assistance to return home.

On the subject of safe places: I don't get ads for manhood-increasing magic treatments on DG. I don't receive links on DG to YouTube clips featuring kittens sitting in teacups, with eyes as large as saucers to make me go AAAHHH, or the Daily Lammah's words of wisdom. Texting... I'd rather use smoke signals. I don't text and I don't read texts, either.

As for Likes... I don't care if someone likes me, or not. I believe I have 2 virtual acorns on the dreaded "other site". Where did those come from? Aduno. Why did I get them? Aduno. Who cares one flying fig? Not me. Life is short. I don't have time for such nonsense.

What does my subscription pay for? I couldn't care less. I gladly pay it, use DG every day of the year and I don't want a tax receipt for it.

A DG app? Oh Goody! One more thing to download into my cursed Android tablet, that won't work because my digital zypatograph is out of sync with my ISP's 64-bit encrypted bricklebrackle; no thanks.

Emoticons? Read one of my posts when I am not happy: no emoticons needed.

I like Dave's Garden the way it is. If they improve it, I'll give it a serious look and then decide if it's good, or if it rhymes with trap. Then, I can make a decision to use it, or not.

Pass me another slice of that cheesecake, please. HMMM... can I bake, or what? I brought another one. It's in the car, in the cooler next to another bottle of Veuve Cliquot.

Respectfully submitted.
Sylvain.

Sylvain................that is SO FB. "Here is what I had for breakfast.........lunch......din-din" ad nauseum. I don't give a rat's whatever what YOU had, unless it was some strange thing at a Masaii village. Jeez-loueeze..............FB could die a quick death as far as I'm concerned.

Anna and Sylvain — I would get rid of my FB account in a heartbeat but hate
the thought of offending all those strange people in my timeline. Who are those
people? How did they get there? They seem to talk to each another but not about
anything of interest to me. I check my FB about once every six months, then quickly
gather up my skirts and flee. The day will come when I boldly hit that "delete account"
button and be done with it, leaving behind only a "Dislike" button. LOL

Yeah, and I couldn't play Candy Crush if I left. LOL

And don't get me started on Twitter. That's about all it is, a bunch of twitter. I'm sure there are more "social media" than those two............as if THOSE aren't more than enough. *sigh*

I'm going to go practice my hammer dulcimer. I find it soothing. Well, soothing if I can get at bare minimum 50% of the CORRECT notes. :>)

I'm not a millennial, and would probably qualify for the almost old and crotchety bench, but the OP has some very valid questions and points. I for one, would love a "like" button and more updated photo sharing. I know that many on this site are either on dial up or have older computers and that would slow things down. It would be nice to have an option to view either full size or thumbnails, much like in the picture contests.

I've been a member here for many years and have been to several RUs. I value the friendships I've made and the knowledge gained from those who've been gardening longer than I. Almost all of the flowering plants in my flower beds have come from other DGers at RUs or through seed swaps. When I see them bloom, or come back after the winter, I always think of the person who generously gifted me with it.

You can't beat Plant Files or Bug Files, even though I don't particularly care to look at the critters on Bug Files. It's a wealth of information that's taken years to collect. I also find the Garden Watchdog great when deciding on mail order vendors.

Another thing us old and crotchety folks have to consider (painful as it is) is who will come along after us to keep DG going. If there is nothing the younger folks want they will go elsewhere. I believe any site needs to move along with the times. It is hard, I agree, because frankly I am moving slower and slower these days. LOL

That is a good point. There needs to be some new features. However, all the "bells and whistles" on some sites give me a headache. There are so many things on the homepage, so many things moving around, and so many colorful things to look at that there is no place to rest your eyes (or your brain). It's like a sensory overload. Everything screaming "Look at me, look at me" all at the same time. New features can be done with taste and moderation and still be effective.

Just an opinion.

Thanks for seeing what I'm trying to say... that the younger site visitors could be looking for a more dynamic experience on DG, especially if they have to pay $20 for it. I completely agree that change needs to occur carefully and tastefully.

To the stadium-full of "old and crotchedy" people following this thread, can you please offer some insight into what sorts of features you would accept and use? Let's not talk about the stuff you hate. Let's talk about the stuff you might possibly WANT.

For instance, I didn't get a lot of pushback about the ability to tag people in posts. Remember I said a while back: "What if I could type "@Dosetaker" and instantly Dosetaker would know that I was trying to get his or her attention, even if he or she wasn't following that thread. If I wanted to pull Dosetaker into a convo with others because I knew he/she had some valuable info to offer all I'd have to do was put a single character in front of the name and voila! Wouldn't it be nice to do that instead of having to write a Dmail to Dosetaker and include the link to the thread... wait for a response... etc."

What's with all this nonsense about age? I know lots of DGers who are in their 30's. I am a Master Gardener, and the range of people involved in gardening is very wide, from 25 to 80.

Frankly, have you noticed, that since the housing market crashed there has been a lot less interest in gardening. Also, people are working very long hours. And it's somewhat generational - people are more interested in gardening as they mature. It often has to do with buying a house. Which, given the tuition debt and lousy economy, not a lot of millennials will be doing. Nothing you put on this site is going to interest a person who cannot actually garden.

I know that gardening has slowed down because the bargains you can find are unbelievable. I am getting wonderful plants for 50% off.

I am a very avid gardener. I am also a distance runner and a recreational bodybuilder. I don't fit what some people here seem to think is our demographic or physical condition. That doesn't mean that I can't relate to a person of any age who is truly interested in learning about gardening.

I have also made hundreds of contributions to Dave's. I look at "the other site" which seems to fit the descriptions of what people say "young" people want. Did you notice? That site failed. Yes, I have "acorns" too. What really bugged me is the way they took my photos and shifted them over to All Things Plants without my permission.

We crossposted, Typwc. Oh yeah, I get it. Talk to me NOW!!! I want your attention NOW!!! Because I want to know something.

Maybe I'm busy. Maybe I'm not interested in the topic. Maybe I don't want to be interrupted because I'm busy.

You know how this is handled now? A person will send me a dmail. Admin will send an email to my personal google mail account letting me know that I have a dmail. Or when I sign in I will see it.

I then respond. And I have the choice of pretending I didn't see it if I don't want to respond.

What you are describing sounds pretty rude to me. It isn't up to an individual to decide that they are going to pull someone into a conversation just because they feel like it. Everyone does not want to be endlessly connected. And if I am connected, the choice of the person to whom I am connected should be mine.

I don't do much on FB. But now & then I get sucked in by a e-mail that wants me to look at a "notification" I think this is the thing you would like on here. When I go to this I find something that is of no interest to me. Then you can scroll for hours through pictures of people who want to be your friends.
Do we want this ? Of course not.
I agree with Donna. I get D-mails too. People who are actually using this site for expanding their gardening knowledge will ask me a question. I always answer. They chose me to ask, because in their use of the site, they know I am interested in the same things they are.

On new, young people gardening; watch the real estate shows on HGTV. Very seldom does anyone mention gardening as a reason to have a backyard. Only need a yard so their dog can run!

Ok. I get it. So there's no feature that you actually want, and there's probably very few features that you would tolerate if they showed up anyway.

I really don't see any point in continuing this discussion. We'll just go around and around.

Thank you for your thoughts and input everyone! I've learned a lot and I think my questions have been answered.