Nonsubscriber Able to Send Email?

I had an email today from someone I had never heard of. Checked member status and he/she joined yesterday but is not a subscriber. So, non-subscribers can send and receive DG email?

Yep...non-subscribers have always been able to use the email system here. The only things non-subscribers can't do is post to the forums (with a few exceptions, such as the voting booth), conduct unlimited searches within PlantFiles and take advantage of some advanced search and browse abilities within PlantFiles.

The DG mail system makes it safe to reply back to anyone who contacts you, if you want to correspond with them. Your personal email address is never displayed to them, nor theirs to you.

That same thing happened to me. I wondered why someone was asking me for plant advice instead of just posting to that forum where I would surely answer. When I checked, that person had just joined that day.

Please don't be upset by this question, but I just have to ask: Is there any way to opt out completely of the personal message system? I don't trade plants anymore, and if someone needs to talk to me, I'm here posting every day. The people I care about have my email address. I would really like it if my PM system went away. Is that possible?

Clare, there isn't a way to do that. As you may recall, you were among those that suggested we go to the format we have now, which protects your personal email address from being displayed to anyone you correspond with.

But we need to keep an email address in your profile - otherwise, we have no way of contacting you if the need arises (and you couldn't contact us for help if you needed assistance - we have to have something to verify you are "you" as opposed to someone else trying to login with the same username. Yours isn't terribly common, but you can imagine the confusion over common names.)

When you're participating on an online site, there's a reasonable expectation that you can contact others, and be contacted when the need arises. Since you're not here in person, the only way to do that is by email.

Terry, yes, I am very glad that people don't have a way to access my home email so this system is better. I was just hoping that there is a way to opt out of the personal message system all together. It is fine if Dave's keeps my email address. I would just like the personal messages to stop if that is possible. Dave would only have to remove the link that says "Send Clare_CA email" on my home page.

There is a woman who has been continuously emailing me through Dave's, at first asking for cuttings of my plants, but now it has evolved into something much bigger. I've tried ignoring the emails, but that doesn't seem to stop her from emailing me. I've just asked her to not email me again, or I will lodge a harassment complaint against her. You can feel free to read my email if you want to see the problem.

Being able to ignore emails doesn't seem that difficult to me. If you don't recognize the sender, then just click on it to mark it as read and then you won't see it again.

That's what I will have to do, I guess. Okay, thanks.

I was going to post this in a new post, but this thread is covering most of my questions, I have one more though. I know a non subscribing member can view all the posts, does that mean they can click on say plant trading and then click on the post and then read every post that's been posted? and then they can email the person privately right? I was under the assumption that you had to subscribe in order to be in the coops, didnt even realize abou t the rest here. When I joined up, I subscribed immediately so I could view all the posts and post.

Just wondering is all

non subscribers can only read the first post in the thread as far as i understand it.

they can only email the person in the first post.


if you posted to something i wrote anda non subscriber sees the post then they only see the first post which i wrote not yours.


i for one and glad of this system. it makes it alot safer and better for all.

I think the FAQs cover the specifics on the Forums/threads that a member can access:
http://davesgarden.com/faq/forums/#139

Thanks, for clearing this up for me, it's been quite a while since I read the FAQ's too. thanks for the link

In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that recently we made a change to allow non-subscribers to read (but not participate in) most forums. There are a few(this one, among others) that have always been completely off-limits to non-subscribers - they cannot see any part of the forum or any thread within the forum in those situations.

Thanks terry, I ws just wondering,

kathy

Terry, do you happen to know why this change occurred? Before there was incentive to subscribe so that you could read the threads and benefit from the advice. Now the only incentive to subscribe is if one wants to post to the threads and do lots of searches? Our discussions were made much more public by this change. I'm not sure that I am happy about it.

I've received a few emails also from people I didn't recognize. I guess I don't know how to tell if they are subscribers or not. I'll have to check that out again. I wondered if "outsiders" were able to write me since these people haven't been posting.

I think I just ignored the first one, and guess I'll do the same with this last one. I don't mind sending seeds to other members, but don't really want to be providing things to just anyone on the internet.

I haven't been here long enough to really know what is best, but I would think that limiting the forum viewing or the ability to contact members, one or the other, would be more of an incentive for people to actually join. jmo

I just got the nicest email from a member but not subscriber. Said she enjoyed the forums & photos here at DG. She was disappointed that she couldn't enlarge the photos and was thinking of subscribing so that she could.

Konkreteblond, if they are a subscriber, there will be a brown circle on their home page which says "Dave's Garden Subscriber." If there is no brown circle, then they are only members and not subscribers. Check the date which says "Member as of..." When I get an p.m. from someone that I don't know who is asking for advice or handouts, the first thing I do is check when they became a member and if they are a subscriber. The last two p.m.'s that I got like that were from nonsubscribing members who joined that day.

Oh ok, thanks Clare...I see it now. I haven't taken much time to really look thru member's info, so I hadn't even noticed that. I was right, both of those people who wrote me were not members. ...oops, I mean subscribers...those terms are confusing me...

This message was edited Jul 2, 2005 10:54 PM

Hi Terry,

That is a very good point, Shannon. I may have to do some editing/deleting myself.

Dave has now reversed the change, and it is back to before.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/525849/

Is it Daisymae2, whom you are getting emails from?

I've gotten some from her and she seems like a nice person, which is about the same as can be said for many of the subscribers that I haven't had much interaction with.

Judy

I just figure that anything posted on any forum on the internet is public. Even if a forum is private to non-subscribers, any subscriber can still copy and paste something written, send it out in e-mail or re-post it elsewhere, and it's public.

I've gotten a couple of computer problem related e-mails from non-subscribers. I replied to them with a little information and encouraged them to subscribe to DG.

Thanks, Shannon. I saw that, and I am very glad it was changed back.

I've decided to ignore all emails from nonsubcribers and ignore the ones from subscribers who ask me for handouts or trades. I have a disclaimer on my home page which says that I don't trade plants or seeds and please don't email me asking to trade, but people seem to ignore that because I get lots of requests anyway. I'm not the only one either. There are lots of other regular subscribers here who get constantly hit up for plants. It gets tiresome:-( It seems that people would much rather pester other people than spend a few dollars and buy the plant themselves.

I don't get too many requests, but when I do, they are offering something off my posted 'wanted' list for something I have on my posted 'for trade only' list. I figure that if I didn't want people emailing me, then I shouldn't have a trade list posted.

I don't have a trade list tho. The person who emailed me just read some of the forum posts and knew I had some. I know that seems petty, and I'm not sure why I even feel different about their being a member than a subscriber. Maybe just because I don't "know" the person and won't be having any online conversations with them since they can't participate.

I understand how you feel konkreteblond, I too have been asked by a non subscriber for me to send her plants, and she read my posts about plants for trade, cause I don't have a trade list here either, and I did politely tell her that I'd really rather just trade with subscribers, because it's safer on both of us that way. and that I hoped she understood.
And normally I don't usually trade with non subscribers either for that reason. I'm really glad that dave mad e the change back as well.

Maybe it would help if our "blurb" was above the link for e-mail, threads started by, etc.

Gardenwife, that would be a good idea because I think my "Note" is too low on my Home Page, and people don't bother to read it. It explains why I don't trade anymore. I don't have a trade list either, but people either see my pictures in posts or in the PlantFiles and then ask me for a "piece." If my "Note" was a little higher, that might help.

It doesnt offend me if subscribers ask if I am interested in trading.

Sharing plants and info is why I am here. Otherwise, I might as well just wall in my garden for only me to see.- yes I have this any you dont !

I only trade here with subscribers. I am not offended but I do get tired of folks wanting something for postage. To me...its okay for the giver to offer it for postage but it seems tacky for the "wanter" to say...I 'll pay postage if you will give me your plant :)

I am a new subscriber as of April. When I first started exploring this site, I had no idea how it worked. There aren't any rules to read when you first start up, so I'm learning by trial and error. If you were to click the tab on top, "trading", you can view others' trade lists, then search by specific item, then you see who has it for trade and/or sase. Then you click on "go", and from there choose to send the member an e-mail. It's all right there, couldn't be any easier. For someone who doesn't know, it seems that is what all those links to follow are for. I did this when I first joined, emailed someone who had listed a vine for sase and received a reply email that was not very nice. I had no ill-intent, but I'd never do that now, knowing that's a big no-no. So for those of you who have been here a while, take it easy on us new folks. We're still learning the ropes. (-:

Rachael, I'm fairly new and didn't know that people put things on their home page either. I am usually just replying to my threads and looking thru the forums quickly. I've only looked at someone's info a few times. I think that's a very easy mistake to make. I am sure that the non-subscriber that sent me the email asking for seeds wasn't meaning to be rude. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was being rude and selfish because they were asking me for some seeds. I sure do understand Clare's comment about taking time and her own money for postage. I know that people can become "takers" quite easily tho.

Oh, for sure! Unfortunately, theres always going to be moochers and system-milkers. )-:

Dave has made the issue a moot point, and I absolutely don't want to stir the pot, but here's the reasoning behind what we tried a read-only approach. We frequently receive notes from people who are skeptical they might be buying a "pig in a poke" if they subscribe without ever getting a feel for the tone and tenor of the threads and forums. (Are the forums helpful and friendly or superficial and snippy? Are the posts dominated by a few know-it-alls, or is it a true community of gardeners sharing information? Impossible to tell without reading a few posts to judge for yourself if this is the kind of environment you'd enjoy.)

The forums that are off-limits to visitors and non-subscribed members remained off-limits (unless you're subscribed, you don't even know they exist) and changing that was never a consideration. We've given people assurance that those forums are more private (as private as an online community can be), and we would not wish to erode anyone's confidence in that arrangement.

I understand the concerns that were raised, but on the other hand...many subscribers have asked aloud "what can DG do to attract more subscribers?" and this was one way to help would-be subscribers overcome a hurdle in their path. I doubt I'll post further on the subject, so please let's not begin a barrage of questions or debate on the subject. I just figured a few of you were wanting to know what prompted this change - and now you know ;o)

Well, that makes perfect sense too. Dave is in a hard place, trying to make everyone happy and make it successful. I think that $5 trial subscription is a good idea for skeptics. It's hard for me to spend $15 on something that I could spend on plants, but I did and it's been well worth it to me. :)

What about creating a forum that non subscribers can read all the posts in, or pointing us to any that are all accessible, and then everyone making a concerted effort to use that particular forum whenever possible? I personally would try to make sure I read and contributed to it whenever I could....

I agree that $5 is not too much money to spend for those who want to get a sense of the forums before they subscribe. I suspect that Dave would have lost more subscribers than he would have gained had he not changed it back.

There are four forums that non-subscribers can fully participate in: voting booth, DG Journals, PF Photos and PlantFiles forum. We ride herd on these forums so they don't become a free substitute for Garden Talk or Gen. Discussion forums. Arguably non-subscribers can get a certain feel for our community by participating in those forums, but the topics are intentionally limited. If we didn't restrict them, there would be no reason for having subscriptions at all. (And it would be as confusing as that other site's "voluntary contribution" - which is mandatory if you wish to participate in certain forums ;o)

Again, I'm not here to open up a debate on the issue, but let's not be too hasty in ruling out the option of read-only forums in the future as a means of helping more people discover the value and fun of subscribing. Would we lose subscribing members? I certainly hope not - it's a time-tested model used by many other websites.

I always thought letting people see the first post in the threads made sense. Some computer forums I've visit in the past allow non-members to read the first two or three posts; that makes even greater sense to me since that would allow the non-subscriber to see an initial post along with a couple of replies to set the tone.

I think that, if nonsubscribers are allowed to see the first two or three posts, then, in some cases, they get to see the question and the answer. When they just see the first post, the get to see the question but not the answer. The incentive to join should be to get to read the answers. Getting access to the PlantFiles forum and PF Photos forum must be fairly new because I don't think I could access them when I joined. I think I've been asked growing questions on those forums after posting pictures, and now I'm wondering if those were nonsubscribers asking.