What are the differences between DG and GardenWeb?

Last I heard, that option was still available.

Well, we've always offered a two-month trial subscription for $5.

And we've always offered the ability to buy a subscription for someone else.

But until today we didn't give the option of buying a TRIAL subscription for someone else - it's a good idea (thanks!) and Dave's added it as an option to the subscription page.

Please remember, the recipient MUST be a registered member here (you *can* register a username for them if you know their email address - but they will get a confirmation note from our system.)

And you must be sure you have their username when you pay for the subscription. If you guess - and guess wrong - someone else will benefit from your unintended generosity.

Think of it like ordering a magazine subscription as a gift for someone - without their name and mailing address it's unlikely to arrive at its intended destination.

In my opinion, the difference between Dave's & GardenWeb is not only one of courtesy & respect, but just plain old friendliness. Over at GardenWeb, "clique" is the name of the game. If you don't belong to one, you are meant to feel like a second-rate citizen right off the bat. That got old REAL fast, & I don't visit there anymore.

I sprung a gift for Poochella a full year subscription - what the heck for $10 more it's worth it! She's a dahlia master, so she'll bring lots to Dave's.

Ooooooo, a dahlia master! Glad to see that! Has she been over there yet? I'll have to go look.

I just found this thread. Basically, my interpretation is the members here seem to try their best to treat each other the way they wish to be treated themselves.

Next comment. I am a parent. Garden Web is NOT family friendly. Don't fool yourself. There are individuals over there who are out of control and I read some very suggestive sexual content as well as all out personal attacks going on from time to time. Why is there any need to have that kind of garbage in a gardening forum? Seems to me there surely must be enough sex.com, letsallgetnasty&bash&humiliateeachother.com and just about any .com out there one could imagine so why all of that on their gardening site? I will never allow my kids to join there even if it is free. I have a young internet friend who was over there who was experiencing what I deemed to be unhealthy interactions so I signed up over there at Garden Web a few months ago to see what was going on. I lurked and read, read and lurked, and lurked and read some more. I got the jest of what goes on over there. I contacted the administration here by us and Baa and Dave helped me buy a gift subscription for this teenager.
Comment #3. I tried to contact the Garden Web Administration to voice my concern over some of the inappropriate posts and never received a response. I figured I'd call and give them my comments and there is no means by which to contact anyone over there by phone. I don't know who this Spike is or if the person really exists and isn't just some fictitious screen name or something because I felt I had valid concerns and there was no one to voice them to. How do you run a business with no contact information or is that only for people who subscribe?

Another comment. I don't think there is a way to correct your spelling over there. I couldn't figure out how to add on to a post when I forgot to add something that was sort of important that I forgot. Actually, I don't think you can edit anything over there. Maybe you can if you are a paid member? Maybe that is one of the benefits they have is that you can make corrections to your posts if you pay a fee?

Last comment. I don't know how anyone can put up with those banners and those non stop ads and links anyway. Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. My eyeballs were inundated by all the trash popping up on top and in sidebars that it was difficult to focus on trying to read anything anyway. Incredibly distracting. Why do people put up with that sensory bombardment?

I think I'll stay put here at DG. Besides which, I've made a few friends now.

This message was edited Oct 16, 2008 9:51 AM

I have posted in GW since late 2000. I never had a problem there and found several posters to be knowledgeable. I found GW to be fast and easy to navigate. I like it a lot so I might like DG too.

Are links to other web sites possible here? I found them to be of a lot of help where more than antedotal information is desired.

I do like the "Christian" atmosphere that is upheld.

Indy, it is perfectly fine to refer to other websites (such as the fairly frank comparison of two gardening sites here), and link to other sites for the benefit of others.

The only thing we ask is that our members not use our forums or dmail system to promote themselves, their own websites and/or businesses ;o)

I need to add, that I feel safe and protected here. Dave and Terry do not allow rude people here. I want to thank Terry, she has been there for all of you as well, Dave you don't do it all alone, Terry has been terrific. Where do I send my membership dues. I need an addresss, or I'll just send it on to you, Thank you Terry, and Dave for being there for all of us.


We are all here for the same reason, Crasulady2

ok... I didn't read everything, and I don't know about GW... but, I have two questions:

1) What's "being sent to Disney"... ??? :) Isn't that supposed to be a happy place??? :)

2) Dave's is a "christian" site?!? Is this a real "rule"? If I'm not christian are ya'll gonna kick me out?! I'm pretty sure we have international members who are not christian, and they're accepted with open arms... I could go on... but I digress :) I'm not necessarily un-christian, just trying to figure this out. I'll just leave my religious beliefs a mystery ;)...

I'm seriously just looking for info... I didn't even realize till a couple years ago that Goodwill, Inc.'s mission statement is very religiously based. So, when things like this come up, I'm not surprised at my own oblivion! haha :)

Sarah

Hi, sarahjo--

(1) Being 'sent to Disney' is what happened over at GW when a poster did or said something that the administrator didn't like--- he linked you with the Disneyland (the actual amusement park) website....it was a weird response, and it happened to me for nothing at all...I suppose since i Village took over they don't do it anymore, but I am not sure of that.

(2) It seems that somewhere in the mission statement for Dave's Garden it represents that DG is an organization that operates with Christian values and so a number of posters who are Christian feel at home on this site and on certain forums (for instance the Prayer forum) posters feel comfortable in expressing their religious beliefs, (particularly evangelical Christians, but other religious and philosophical outlooks, Christian and not, are present, too. )

More to the point, though, the administrators take special care, I believe, to treat members with respect, dignity, and sensitivity to human concerns, and that makes a difference in the site's daily operations.

It's a very nice atmosphere to be a part of, whether or not one ascribes to the particular religious outlook, and I hope you like it here.

I hope I got this right--so Terry, please correct me if not.

Happy gardening. t.

I think "Christian" is just another way of saying "Friendly, accepting, respecting, etc."
Some Christians are Christ-like and some aren't.Maybe "Christian" is more a way of describing a certain way of acting rather than a religion of choice.
Being sent to Disneyland is a highjack to a website because you are not following a rule set about and known only by the webmaster.
This is more a democratic website than the other. I think Terry explained in a post already about what is meant by "Christian"

t you little devil!
I didn't know you'd been bounced at GW! LOL

Like Sarah I had a few reservations about joining here.
A Christian Gardening site?
Then I read closer...

After nearly 3 years here I'd say it's a 'Golden Rule' site.
Respect your neighbor as you would be Respected.

Want to see the difference between DG and GW.
Read the Hurricane Forums........

Ric

Yes, LOL, I was bounced from GW and didn't even realize what I'd done wrong until I stumbled upon some posts over here! Strange place, GW, unless they've changed things over there since the ownership changed.

I seldom go there now--only to read the Ohio Valley Forum news, and lately that has been slim. I wish those O.V. posters would come over here to DG so we had enough chatty posters for our own Ohio Valley Forum...That is one difference between GW and DG.,,.

Yes, the 'golden rule' is a good general description of how people try to act here.

The Hurricane forums are so impressive. I find the communication and dedication on those threads so unbelievable and so caring. DG is definitely a place of friendship and support for those in need. Which, of course is another principle of Christianity, and DG members are given an opportunity to demonstrate it on DG...

Have a good gardening day...isn't the weather beautiful?! t.

Thanks for the replies, guys... that's what I figured was meant by that statement. I wasn't trying to ruffle anybody's feathers. But I always seem to get a little nervouse when it comes to that particular label simply because I completely agree with Windy that some christians are not very Christ-like... and I don't want to be misconstrued as one of those types. :)

I'm satisfied :) Thanks for the clarification everyone :)

Sarah

P.S. You're right, I didn't take the time to read ALL the numerous replies to this thread... I was very tired when I posted last night :)

Sarah

I just found this thread - since Dave announced changes - I started snooping around to see what was new. I am a member of both sites - but have made DG my home. I spent time on the wintersowing forum there, but never encountered the 'family' connection like I do here.

My Love of Dave's Garden List
1. Acts of random charity
2. Knowledge of members
3. Plant files
4. Website software
5. General comraderie of everyone on site

That's just to name a few!!! Thanks for running such a Good Ship!!!

Well, since iVillage took over GardenWeb, I can't help but feel it's going to be like a migration of lemmings from there over to here - lol!!!!!

Breezymeadow,
I think you're right! Due to the changes in the policies at GW, I won't be accessing the forums there any longer. It's too bad, too, because I did enjoy conversing with some of the members there, that are not here.
Mike

What policy changes are you referring to?

I was quite happy to see that the policy of being rude and unforgiving was discontinued. I was allowed to rejoin, and glad about that, but I still spend my time over here.

From what I understand, there's a big change in various "privacy" policies due to ensue the end of this month. I believe copyright/ownership rights of anything posted there, including photos, as well as information sharing are 2 of the hot points.

I will have to go over there and look and see what is going on. LOL
I really like how easy it is to post pictures onto Davesgarden as opposed to Gardenweb. I used to have to use hyperlinks unless I wanted a picture too small to really see the detail. I know there must have been some way to do it, but it was not as easy as here.

When I heard there were some changes afoot, I took a look-see at their language (mainly to see if there was anything in there that was a good way to word something for our users. It looks like a lot of legalese - caused a flashback to my days of benefits administration, and dealing with the IRS and DOL regs - eeeek!)

What would give me the biggest pause as a member is what I found on their main forums page. Scrolling down past the list of forums is a list of posting "instructions" - one of them is pretty clear (if troubling):

Hmmm...does that include pictures since they aren't really posted on their site? You can't actually post them on GW so you have to go thru something like Photobucket. It's been so long since I've done it I've forgotten really, but probably don't want them using any of my pics.

Terri brings up an excellent point about the new policy. It will be interesting to see what happens when someone, say posts a quote which is already copywritten etc. Can GW automatically claim ownership to something say, TS Elliot wrote?


The biggest difference for me personally, is that on GW I have a place that I can confir with people who share my specific garden interests. Very specific forums. These particular forums to not exist on DG. I'm not as much into the general gardening talk and discussions of plants I can't grow in my climate, or climates that are not similar to mine.

I also found that although I did join up to mainly try and trade seeds, that most people here were more SASE oriented than trade oriented.

Personally, I do not find things friendlier at DG than I do at GW as I have made some very good and personal friends at GW due to the fact over there, there are local forums in which we can participate - which has facilitated meeting many gardeners.

Although I don't participate all that much in forum discussions here, I do use many features - I just looked at all the garden photo winners, I love the Garden Watchdog and use it regularly etc. So I appreciate each for it's own merit.

These, please understand are not in any way meant to be critiques of the way things are done at DG, just my own observations.

I've only been on DG for a few months, but it already feels like home - and I love the way when I log in here, it says "Welcome Home" to me.

I love that for a teeny tiny miniscule fee, I see NO ADS, NO POPUPS, just gardening friends and fiends.

The people here seem to be so warm-hearted, and the administration is, as others have said before me on this thread "firm but fair."

I like the way a suggestion feels like it is seriously considered before being accepted or rejected, and if the latter, an explanation is given.

I just think DG is 100% wonderful

Edited to say I'm getting braver about asking what might seem to some to be a silly newbie question, but never EVER am I made to feel silly for asking it!


This message was edited Jan 13, 2006 7:59 PM

Here is a link to a thread that talks about some of the changes that are taking place at GardenWeb. This is posted in the Trees forum at GardenWeb:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/trees/msg012100006157.html?7

Mike
Greenthumb on GardenWeb

I just subscribed to DG, although I had joined the "free" part before. I was on GardenWeb for years. I didn't pay too much attention to Spike and would never engage in Spike-bashing. GW was more about the specific forums I hung around on and the people who also were on them. I learned a lot and some forums I really liked. The people posting on them were, for the most part, really nice people. On the whole (with some exceptions), I think it was a very good site until it was sold to iVillage. Before I even knew it was sold, the changes began. Lately they have been really brutal in their attempts to destroy GW. I know a little about iVillage and I can understand just a little about their motives. This is only the beginning of the downhill slide over there, I think. Some people over there have been very upset and angry and I was one of them. It probably won't do them a bit of good. I finally realized that I needed to get away from iVillage/GW for my sanity. At this point I can't say a lot about Dave's Garden, just that I like it a lot so far and my peace of mind is beginning to come back. I'm looking forward to getting on more forums and looking around.
Linda

Well, welcome Linda! I met wonderful people on GW and learned SO much! You'll learn to love Dave's tho. It's a little different setup but you'll soon get used to it. I LOVE the ability to "watch" threads! There are so many other functions that are available that I don't even have time to use, like the journals. It should be comfortable and FUN and all about the plants! :) (well, and the friends)

Well, I am only a member of this site, but though I see it is a very friendly site, my shyness keeps me from getting involved. However, it is one of the nicest and most comfortable sites I have ever visited. And it's easy, which is important from my less than modern computerized brain/background (turning off and on a computer is my limit, though I did miraculously learn to download photos- someday I will even learn how to 'hyperlink'). I have visited GW many times, and from my point of view, the only advantage it has is it's somewhat more 'popular' internet name. I think that way it generates more visits. But it is more difficult to get involved there, and there are WAY less photos of plants (particularly tropical plants, which is my area of interest). So even from a information-greedy, scientific point of view, this is the better site. And recently I revisited GW and was attacked by a barrage of advertisements, some which even kept me from being able to easily access some sites (kept popping up in the way)... not a pleasant experience. I certainly hope this site will forever resist the temptation to allow advertisers on its site. Thanks Dave!

I guess this proves the old saying "you get what you pay for"
Some people over there are bringig up the fact that this site makes you pay to be a subscriber to the forums. When you look at the stuff the "free" membership gets you over there including the zillions of pop-ups, is free really worth the cost? LOL

I for one would pay a lot more than is presently charged, to remain free of those maddening ads!

YAHOO!!! (wild dancing)

Thrilled to see those words in print. I can't stand those types of ads. I would prefer to pay double the annual fee to avoid that distracting mess showing up on my monitor. I must admit I like it when I search for plants and am notified if a particular plant is available for sale so I'd really like to see that form of "advertising" stay if at all possible.

Finding out "who has what" is one of the main reasons I use PF. That and I like to check out the comments from others.

Believe it or not, I've never been to Garden Web. I came here first and stayed. I have no desire to go there, especially after hearing the negative comments.

I have never heard a negative comment about Dave's. I can't imagine what there could be to complain about. I wonder if they have anything negative to say about this site?

impossible!:)

This message was edited Jan 20, 2006 6:00 PM