What about a Birthday Forum - How to deliver Birthday Wishes

I'd like to leave birthday greetings for birthdays....... Now I have to either start a thread in a forum and hope that person hits that forum that day ....... or send them a personal email ....... or find a forum that someone else has already started in a forum...... Is there an easier way to leave birthday greetings ? How do most of you leave birthday greetings..... ?

We have used the General Discussion Forum for years. Usually someone will start a thread for all to join in with.

Today is a big birthday Day, with many of our active members celebrating their special day.

Donna

I always send a private email. :)

I tried to get one some time back...no luck. Jo

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/481589/

This message was edited May 3, 2005 6:08 AM

Remember, there is a listing everyday of the birthdays for that day and you can click on each name and wish them well :) I've seen well wishes in the Parking Lot and General Discussion and other forums, but I usually don't post there; I send out a personal message and "sing" (I know, my voice is terrible, but isn't it the thought that counts :) ). I have thought it would be nice to know when one's wedding anniversary is as well. And as far as DG anniversaries, I always read them when Terry posts them :)

I have mixed feelings about a celebrations forum.

Pros:
- It just sounds like a fun forum, doesn't it?
- It would be nice to gather all the well-wishes into one area, rather than finding them scattered wherever they are posted


Cons:
- Another forum - eeek!
- Some people are more well-known than others. What if the lesser-known members don't get a thread, or - if a thread were automatically started - they don't receive any posts? It would be pretty depressing to visit this forum on your special day and realize no one bothered or remembered to recognize you, especially if others are getting an avalanche of well-wishes.

We recently put together the Memory Garden forum for DG members who have passed. It was a much-requested forum, but since it's up and running, very few people have bothered to post their thoughts to the threads that were so carefully created by the moderators.

When that happens, it leads me to conclude that our proverbial "eyes" are bigger than our "stomachs" when it comes to new forums. The idea sounds great, but when it becomes a reality, we discover we don't really need or want it as badly as we thought we did.

Terry - I guess I looked at the Memory Garden a little differently - just expected to see a few posts from those who knew someone well or had a special remembrance of them. I just like to go there to read about those who have gone on, perhaps learn more about their personal lives or maybe the kindnesses they did for others.

I personally have read through all of the threads in the Memory Garden, but not posted to a single one. I never knew any of those DG members, but enjoyed reading the moderator's posts and those left by other members.

I don't think that particular forum should be judged based upon the participation level as far as number of posts. And actually it seems anymore that there is constant scrutiny to "justify" the existence of forums. Can't we just garden and talk about it and share our interests without having to maintain some arbitrary level of participation? I think a lot of gardening topics go through seasonal cycles of interest and there are bound to be lulls in all forums at one time or another.

As for Birthday wishes I think it's fine the way it's working. No need for a special forum and wherever someone feels the desire to post good wishes should be fine too whether that's General Discussion, Parking Lot, a frequented forum of the birthday person or private email.

I'm crawling back under my rock now. :-D

I agaree with langbr & kooger

Judy

Thank you both langbr and Kooger. I said I didn't care if the # of views was posted, but perhaps the Memory Garden is one where it should be just to "justify" its use. Thank God we aren't having to do a lot of posts/threads on that forum, because that means we've lost another treasured member. I thank those that have taken the time to post there and I'm sure as time goes on there will be more posters on each of the already established threads. There are still many people that don't realize that we have a Memory Garden forum. And i've had some that don't really know what it's about. I am grateful for a place to go and read and remember, even if just a few posters.

I'm not for a birthday forum or anniversary forum, but did ask, way back when, about putting a box up that we could look at on a daily basis to know who's birthday it is. Dave answered my call and, voila, we have it. Thanks again Dave, I use it daily. I also believe there is a day by day list in the Extras that can be pulled up, so you can know who's bday is tomorrow or the next day or next week.

There are many times I've wished I'd known about a wedding anniversary so I could send a wish, but it's not a necessary thing. I think these forums are getting off course of what Dave really intended here. I say when something's not broke, don't fix it. :)

langbr, can I crawl under that rock with you?

Unless you just like the shady cool feeling of being under a rock, there's no reason to crawl under one, although I have a friendly lizard in one of my flower beds who would be happy to share his "home" with you ;o)

After I wrote about the Memory Garden I had some second thoughts about what I had written. Perhaps the perceived lack of attention to it is because the view count is disabled. And to clarify, I too am thankful we haven't needed more threads there, nor is it advisable for everyone to post to it. It was designed to be a place for people to learn a little more about those who are no longer with us, and to share a memory of these special people, when appropriate. It seemed that there was a lot of enthusiasm for it, and once it was created, nothing much happened. But maybe that's as it should be, and it was probably a bad choice for comparison.

But to answer langbr's question, why do we put emphasis on forum activity? Well, from my perspective, running a website is a bit like running a restaurant. Have you ever been scared away from trying a new place, because at 6pm the parking lot is empty, although every other restaurant has a 45-minute wait for a table? I know I have - I'll go back and endure the wait elsewhere or pick up some curbside before I'll take a chance on an empty restaurant.

We have ~100 forums right now, and ~1,500 or more posts a day. As those of you who get the newsletter know, those posts are not equally distributed - some forums are definitely more active than others, which is okay for the most part.

But we constantly balance two opposing (and very strong) opinions from our members here. There are those who are turned off by too many forums and those who want "just one more" forum.

If we create all the forums that are requested without considering how much activity they will possibly generate, we could easily find ourselves with twice the forums and fewer posts. As the number of forums grows, some of the "less is more" crowd will leave to find a smaller group and website to call home, leading to fewer posts spread over more forums. Those who asked for the forums get tired of never finding anything new posted, so they too lose interest.

That's when we would feel the effects of the empty parking lot syndrome, and it's why a big part of our job is to maintain a lively, vibrant website that is busy enough, without being too busy. And that means that yes, we do have to justify things with numbers sometimes, even though we hope our members can simply enjoy the forums without taking on those worries for themselves. (However, when you ask about a new forum, you're likely to hear questions about whether it will sustain itself. ;o)

I think the Memory Garden is good for reasons mentioned, but I would still like to see some kind of logo under that members name on all their posts. Like the UBER or DG ADMIN. For people that don't know our deceased friends, and run across their posts, it might be nice for them to know that we had and lost some of our best friends from Daves Garden.

Perhaps a flower under the name will be an indication that that person has passed on and there is a thread about them in the Memory Garden. Perhaps clicking on that flower will bring one to the Memory Garden forum. Is this something what you mean Brugie?

I agree with MistyMeadows and Brugie -- a flower would be a nice touch.

a flower would be nice ..... or a dove...... something to signify a DG'ers passing.......