No more new forums until April 23rd!

That "watched thread" is the only thing saving my sanity! :-)

I can't say I like the additional forums - not to say I do not respect other people's interestes, but I think the topics are now too specific. Shade plants should cover Coleus, Hosta & Begonia - further separation makes it confusing. It is great for posting photos, but for the purposes of discussion, it is too limited. A simple search will lead you to a thread if you are looking for a specific plant. We all have our favorite plants that we cannot get enough of & can talk about forever, but I fear these added forums just separate groups too much. The state forums in particular. Are we providing a place for people to group, & not discuss & share? Yes - they have many things in common with other state residents, but that isn't really core to gardening. I hate to think that the website is becoming so segmented - like everything should fit into little boxes for certain purposes. I don't know how to explain it - except I liked it MUCH better when it was simpler to navigate the site or to find the correct forum to look for information. It does not feel warm & welcoming - it feels "cubbied" (Ok - now I KNOW I cannot get it into words!) I find I don't even check out half of the forums anymore - it is too confusing & complicated to just wander & take in the sights. It is not comfortable now - DG felt like a nice old pair of slipppers before -now it kind of feels like a corporation. Anyone else feel this way? I apologize if I have offended anyone! Julie

Amen! I hear ya Julie! You put it into words that I understood!

Well, coleus is no longer a shade only plant. Also I put a thread under annuals last year, "So Much Color" and didn't get but a few replies. the real coleus lovers paid it no mind. Now it's had several replies as a "coleus" thread.
Change is always gonna happen, and at 58, I've decided to quit fighting it.
DM never wanted a microwave, but loved hers 10 year after everyone else.
Sidney

Hey Sugar, I'm 74 and get up every morning and kiss my computer! LOL Not that it always does what I want in spite of being "user friendly"! I am also the proud owner of a digital camera, and have even taken some pix with it!

I love the new Coleus Forum and check it out everyday because that is my main plant. But I also wander and lurk on a lot of other Forums too. I seem to learn something on all of them. Of course, I am retired and spend waaaaaay too much time on DG, but it has become my window on the world.
Pati

Well, I'm not exactly retired, but am practicing. I too spend a great deal of time here, a great escape, for breaks away from the idiot box, digging in the dirt and sewing.

I "watch" four or five forums because they are of much interest to me. The beauty of this setup is that you can ignore the rest of them and they won't bother you.
Three cheers for Dave's!

When I joined, Dave had just doubled the amount of forums and people were in a tizzy about that...he had gone from 3 to 6...talk about an uproar.

Hahaha, what a sin!

I NEVER remember to watch a thread. It's kind of nice when my own threads come back to me on their own. It is also sort of fun when I find something I posted on and someone writes to me. It's like a really nice surprise. LOL

I watch ALL the forums. I don't want to miss something you know! But, I do still miss lots of good information because I can't do the marathon everyday. :)

Ok - I voiced my one and only wish on the voting poll - "less forums".

The problems is: Which ones do you delete? You realize that just the ones you can't see the need for are the ones that are the favorites of someone else, and ones they might think are useless are favorites of yours. When you have a group that is getting larger as Dave's Garden is, there is going to have to be more choices so everone is at least partially satisfied, even if nobody is completely so. Not comfortable but if everyone had the same ideas and the same choices, think how boring this old world would be. Dotti

How can any number of forums, which no-one is forced to put on their Watch List, bother anyone in the least? If someone else enjoys them, why noy let THEM watch them?

I'm not 'bothered'. I am just afraid I will miss something. LOL

Badseed
If I see something exciting, I'll alert you if I don't see you there. How's that?
lol, Sidney

I knew I liked you. :)

What bothers me about so many, is when I want to "start" a thread (so it isn't watched yet) and I have to scan the page 4 or 5 times to find the forum I am looking for.

How could you not want new forums? I'm pushing for"Pet trading" forum and "Plant origami" forum

Help!

How about Pet Origami and Sky Writing?

I just meant that the categories should not be so specific that there is no NEED for the categories any more. So many subjects can be part of a broader category - it makes it much easier to work with, in my opinion. I have trouble sorting through so many. I love Coleus - I can't get enough of them! However, the informative content is not broad enough. Most Coleus like shade, semi-moist soil, root from cuttings - but what else? Do we then give forums for every topic so everyone who asks for one to call their own? It isn't about turf - it is about a system with an order to it. Without guidelines it will become chaos. The one exception is a place to post photos - I think this is one of the foremost reasons why so many more forums are popping up - w LOVE to show off out beautiful babies! Maybe we could devise the categories just for pictures. Why not denote a place so we can post our best shots & show everyone else what we are growing? Not photos intended for the PlantFiles, but just to show off & enjoy the plants others are growing, & interject our "Wows" & "Hurrahs." Who can get enough of the Brug pictures, & the Iris & Epis each Spring? Am I correct, or just off base completely? I am thoroughly enjoying everyones' opinions on this - where else do the members speak so openly with the administrators, knowing they are actually heard?
Julie

Julie, just in the last 10 years Coleus have gone from half a dozen shade standards/houseplants to several hundred, some trive in sun now and their are several color crazy, weird shape, etc. I personally wasn't sure I wanted a coleus forum or not, but voted yes to support a friend. I have great sucess with coleus, and started a thread about them in the annuals forum http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/465531/ .
I didn't get but 5 responses.
When we gathered up old threads for the new forum, it was moved and has had 58 hits.
I can find an excuse to post a picture of almost anything I'm proud of and try to open the door for others to do the same if they want to.
Sidney

I think Dave has good instincts about what to add, and what not to add when it comes to forums, and when to "shelve" one for a while. (Which we do periodically, when interest declines and doesn't appear to be coming back around for a particular forum.) We've also pulled old forums out of hiatus and put them back into circulation, when there's enough demand.

For specialty plants like Coleus, as long as there are enough "fiends" to keep a forum lively with "how-do-I", "where-can-I-find" and "look-at-this-new-variety" posts, that's plenty of reason to have a separate forum.

Terry....I'm still hoping that the Gourd Forum will come out of hiatus....just wait until the season starts...people from all over the world will be clamouring for GOURDS!!! LOL Jo

You gonna GROW some Jo?

I have mixed feelings.
Wondered where all the good Michigan people went. They are not showing up on the regular areas they used to. Then I ran across something this morning that said Michigan Gardening Forum in a post. Sure enough there they were. So now they will not be around the rest of the site like they were before.
It's fun when you get replies from the whole world. This is going to turn into a regional site, with limited posting from other areas.
On the Coleus Forum, they wanted it so bad, now on April 8 there was one post, I beleive.
Just my thoughts,
Bernie

Blooms....Of course I'll grow some...as soon as I find the directions on how to plant! LOL Jo

Well, the Texas forum is like a short quick visit home. We'll maintain the coleus forum I think, just a deep breath is all this is.
Sidney

I still don't understand the state forums. I went to the membership by states, and found that Michigan has less members than Washington. But we (WA) never asked for one (that I am aware of).

I still don't get why some people are upset about the addition of forums. If they don't want to participate in the Michigan forum, then they don't have to keep it on their home page list. The list of forums on your homepage can be edited to reflect what you are interested in. I'm not even aware of most of the new forums because I have "downsized" my homepage forums list to just 9 forums. The addition of new forums doesn't affect me in the least. But for someone who used to be from Michigan, is from Michigan, is about to move to Michigan or just thinks Michigan is cool....that forum is useful. And if Dave adds a "People for the Right to Nosepick in Public" Forum.....I have no idea why anyone would get their feathers in a ruffle. If they don't like the forum, they dont' have to participate in it....heck they don't even have to ever SEE the forum name since they can delete it from their homepage forum list.

Just MHO.

-Julie

If you see something the administration has turned green, just click it and see where it takes you you can always go back. It's not like opening a unknown e-mail.

The only qualms I have about new forums is the dilutive effect. If the "main" forums such as Garden Talk, General Discussion or the DG forum fizzle out, or when the topical forums (Vegetables, Roses, etc.) slow to a crawl, it would possibly signal that we've become too compartmentalized. As long as there are enough people posting to keep the energy level up in all the forums, then more forums aren't necessarily a bad thing.

To use a metaphor, it would be hard to squeeze 3,500+ subscribers into a house built for a couple hundred people. At some point you have to add on - new forums give everyone a bit of room to move around. And just like a new addition to a house, if the forums are built right, they will enhance the overall house, not detract from it.

The GREAT thing about having a "home" tab and "forums" tab is that you can hit "home" and see just the forums that you hold near and dear. When you want to know what's new in other DG forums, you can go to the forums tab and browse through anything that strikes your fancy. (You might even find a new forum to add to your favorites!)

If you post to a thread in a forum you don't frequent, you can watch just that thread, and never have to wonder if you're missing out on any posts to that thread.

LOL to Julie! Whatever Forum Dave chooses to add, I'll be there to read it!!! (Even that one) *grin*

I probably hold the "Lurker's" title for the most Forums visited on a regular basis. One that I never visited was the Orchid Forum. No interest what-so-ever......UNTIL my new DIL gave me the most spectacular purple orchid in the world, bless her heart!

What to do..panic time..is it too hot..too cold...too wet..too dry? Of course, go to DG and seek out the orchid growers in their forum. No problem, help was right there! Now I have no intention of getting into the orchid raising business, but I will drop by from time to time to see the pictures and read a little on the subject...who knows, I might even see one at HD that I can't live without and won't be afraid to buy it!

ALL FORUMS ROCK!!!!!
Pati

Karrie
If you've been following it, the Michigan forum has been very active.

I don't think the issue is how many members a state has but how active they are.

If a state has 10,000 members and 9,999 of them were lurkers, a forum for that state would be pointless. Whereas if a state had 100 members and 99 were very active a forum for that state would be worth while.

Paul

Only 11 more days to go and I think a "Gratiot Wisconsin Gardeners Forum" would be a riot.....................of one.

I'll stop back in 11 to see what Dave's up to.

My point is "how about 50 forums for 50 states", plus all the other forums that already exist.

Forums have historically been created when there is enough interest/requests to add one. I'd be very leary of creating 47(+/-) new forums without people asking for them.


And.....I think the main reason for this post was to provide a cooling-off period before any other new forums (individually or collectively) were suggested ;o)

Karrie
Why would you want a forum for a state that has few members that rarely post.
I agree that if a state has sufficietnt members that post on a regular basis then go for it.
But just to give every state a forum for the sake of it is not a good idea.

Paul

Paul,

Michigan isn't the only state that has alot of posters. In my state alone I have met many - but we stick to the forums we are interested in and so far none of us has felt a need to isolate ourselves. If everyone requested what some other states have, their own forum, it could be a big mess. That was my point. I'm not trying to cause a problem - I'm trying to help prevent a problem from happening in the future.