First, a little history.
Over 4 years ago, on October 11th, 2000, I planted the seed of the Plants Database project when I asked our 67 members what they thought about an idea:
Quoting:
I am wondering if there is a website out there that has complete information on the (for example) top 200 most popular plant varieties, with pictures, instructions for sowing the seeds, care for the plant, etc.
Later that day I clarified:
Quoting:
I'm actually considering building our own database of plants. It would take quite a bit of work, so I only want to do it if nobody else is doing it already.
And that evening, I actually referred to it as "a Plants Database".
Quoting:
As you said, these are specifically for germination info, and not really what I'm looking for in a Plants Database.
It wasn't a name, but it was descriptive of what I wanted to create. A couple weeks later, on October 26th, 2000, I suggested we upgrade our existing plant FAQ over to a fullblown "plants database".
Then on October 31st, 2000, I actually announced the completion of the feature that we were calling the "Plants Database". http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/502/Plants%20Database/#first
As time went on, we continued calling it by its generic name: "Plants Database". I don't think it ever crossed our mind to call it anything other than what it was.
"The Plants Database" came to be its actual name, although it wasn't really ever intended to be branded as such. We never sat down to find a name, nor did any of us think that it would become such a massive and well-known standalone project... we just called it by what it was and that became its de facto name. It was a little sideproject of a site that only a few weeks earlier had become known as "Dave's Garden".
Now here we are today, and as I look around the gardening community, I see that we have been using a name that rightfully belongs to someone else. The USDA has been using the name "PLANTS database" http://plants.usda.gov for many years longer than we have (since at least as early as 1995, according to my contact there). Because we want to be good neighbors to our friends in the gardening community, and in an effort to differentiate ourselves from everyone else, we have chosen to select a new name for the Plants Database.
Terry, Trish and I spent quite a long time brainstorming on ideas, and Terry suggested the actual name. Following a lengthy discussion (and a vote) with our Uber gardeners, the new name was selected.
Therefore, as of today, December 28th, 2004, I am pleased to announce that the feature formerly known as the "Plants Database" is now known as "PlantFiles". The new name is simple and easy to type (and is accessible via plantfiles.com) and is unique and unused on the web. It is truly our own name and has no clashes. Yay!!
I hope everyone likes the new name, or will come to like it. If you have any questions (or if you find any problems that might be caused by the name change, such as new bugs, etc), please post them here!
best,
dave
