Suggestion: Beginner forums

The first round of forums are created! You can see them in the top-left corner of the "Garden Talk" tab up top.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/

dave

Would it be appropriate for us to add a greeting and welcome to the "Welcome to the Beginner......." threads you have started in these forums Dave? Just sort of a "Hi! Looking forward to being able to help you out with your questions." kind of thing.

--Ginny

Definitely!

It looks like it will be done.

Really, I'm with Baa on this one. Things are already pretty fragmented in my opinion.

I had previously considered that there would be people against the idea (fragmentation is always a potential issue). I think in the end we'll find that the positives outweigh the negatives.

dave

Having a list of forums for newbies may work just as you have predicted. One aspect I hadn't seen in the posts was something like "tell me where to go", (said with a bit of tongue in cheek). For many of us there are times when it is a bit confusing to know just where to ask a question or find an answer. There seems to always be someone there to help out and direct us to the appropriate forum, but perhaps a 'newbie' or Bunny Slope forum would lessen the confusion.

For new subscribers or members, will these newby forums automatically be added to their profiles so they'll pop up when they log in? Just thinking it might be nice since many people don't actually know how to choose forums and it looks like we'll be welcoming them there too :) Once they get the hang of the sight, they can delete as necessary.

Just a thought,
Dea

It's a good idea, Dea! I'll give that some thought.

Great idea, Dea!

Now to really make things difficult. How about a "search" box like MS,,,,sorry for that reference, Dave, but I don't know squat about Linux, that allows you to query on a subject? i.e. How do I ...........?

Too much, huh?'

Peace.

Hap

I just checked out the questions in the beginner forums and I don't think they are "beginner" questions. I think they are good questions that should be in the regular forums.

Your concept is good, but it's too bad that good questions will be wasted in the beginner forums where others may not see them. I guess I was thinking the questions for beginners would be more along the lines of: how do I start from seed, planting in shade/part shade/sun, knowing your zone, soil amendmending and other basic questions. Those types of threads are everywhere and could be in one forum, along the lines of your FAQ section.

I ask questions in here all the time and I admit to worrying that my questions will sound "stupid" but I still ask them because I really want to know -- and everyone at Dave's has always been great. Maybe when the Dmail is sent out welcoming new members, it could include something that says "feel free to ask questions, we all start somewhere and you will find that everyone at DG is more than willing to help you out." I'm pretty sure that is all would take to help people dive in.

Megan

I think the intention was to encourage newbies who aren't comfortable posting in the regular forums. If all the newer people felt like you did, then we wouldn't need the beginner forums, but I think there are a lot of people out there who are afraid to post for a variety of reasons, and no matter how much you tell them they should feel free to post, they feel intimidated and won't. I agree that the questions so far have been ones that non-beginners could learn a lot from too and some people will probably miss them because of where they are, but if the beginner forums didn't exist some of these people probably would not have posted their question at all, at least this way whoever is following those forums learned a little something and whoever posted the question probably got that much closer to feeling comfortable posting something in a regular forum.

Dave, I absolutely have to agree with that last quote. I don't think everyone realizes how many people maybe just go away. If you lurk for a few days and everyone seems to know each other, or the technical terms are way over your head and you just want to know something really basic, you're just going to leave and never ask. But if that same person finds a newbie forum where everyone is new, the atmosphere is entirely different. Then you have a 'regular' who says 'we're discussing that over here, why don't you join us'....and gives a link to another thread. Or they get to know 1 or 2 regulars and all of a sudden they're not 'newbies' any more.

A separate forum is a good idea. But I have a small suggestion. Why not add one sentence or two at the top of those suitable forums indicating that beginners can feel at home to ask anything according to their level of exposure to the subject? I'm sure they are going to read when they first enter the forums. Also, the same can be added in the introductory letter of the DG homepage. Just a thought. When I came in, there were less than 20 forums. Now it has crossed 100.

At first I had imagined that the begginer forum would be ONE forum were you could ask about anything, without dividing it in so many categories. It would be a place were you could ask simple questions, learn how to post and ad photos, till you got a feel on how it works.
By dividing the way it has been suggested, to much info would be lost.
And when you think about it, we are all begginers, no one know everything.
If this has been planed for the past year, why ask what we think? It will be done no matter what, or?
Know I`m being a bit spicy at the moment, but I can`t really see the point otherwise.

I think what Dave was saying originally is that he has known he wanted to do something for beginners for the past year, but as he was getting ready to implement exactly what the thing for beginners was, he was looking for input from us on what form it should take. He's in a better position than anyone else here to know how many newbies there are out there who aren't posting and he obviously saw that there were a lot of people like that, as a result I don't know if the question of whether to do something for beginners or not was really up for debate, but he did absolutely listen to people's input on what the beginner forums should be (unfortunately that discussion happened last week before you found the thread, otherwise your idea would have been considered along with everyone else who suggested things)

That's exciting news! Looking forward to hearing more and seeing it :)

Dea

I lost my post, hope this isn't a dupe.

Ohhh, okay Dave, that makes sense, I had forgotten you mentioned launching a new site at the top of this post. It sounds really exciting and I can't wait to see it!!!!!!! Hurry, hurry, I'm curious!!! :)

I think that's really exciting--I wish it had existed when I was just starting out in gardening! (not that I'm an expert now...there's always lots to learn, but a site like that could have probably saved the lives of a number of plants that I killed when I was just starting out!)

Get your waders....... Flood's a-coming...LOL Dave you are just awesome at what you do for all of the gardeners of the world. Take a bow :)

I think the Beginner Forums are a great idea as well. As stated, some people will be shy about posting no matter what, but many would be enouraged to ask questions if given an opportunity in such a place. As good stewards of the website, we can all share our collective knowledge in a welcoming friendly manner to further encourage the new gardeners. Once they get their feet wet, they'll be off to the regular forums in no time...

How about a Soil Prep, Soil Management, or 'Soils for Newbies' forum in addition to the categories already mentioned? I am constantly amazed at how people plunk a plant, bulb, or seed in a pile of gravel and expect it to grow! (And am really depressed when stuff DOES grow there.) It could cover basic soil types, amendments, mulches, fertilizers, regional soil problems etc.

And finally, as ecrane pointed out, a "How to Use DG" forum or sticky thread on each Beginner forum would be helpful; but I submit that "How to Stay Out of DG" would be useful too! :)

BTW, each of the beginner forums now has an intro and link to our FAQs for threads (how to post, what the asterisks mean, the "No", "watched" threads, etc.)

Ok then, let me see if I got this right/my brain is computing as it should :o))
Is the plan to start a totally new DG for new begginers?
And if yes what is it going to be called?

It's more of a companion site to DG. It will be a separate web address (something other than davesgarden.com) but at the same time will be interfaced into DG. So in a sense it'll be the same website but looking and acting quite different. I think most will love it and a few will hate it. :)

dave

Ahhhh ok thanks got it now :o))))

I ain't insinuating that I have inside information or anything but I will say from his many surprises over the past years that I know some of Dave's thinking and inner workings!

I bet whatever he has going on is gonna freak us out in a positive way! Heck, every time he does something it just seems to snowball and creates growth. (Growth? Maybe that's the gardener in him, eh?)

Looking forward to participating (er, uh, make that "finding time")!

Shoe.

I'm looking forward to this too!

Tantalising, to get just this much info, and no more!

Please note everyone, that this is not close to April 1 and it should BE real. LOL. And a good complementary site too. Now I knew its importance and relevance.

'If You Build It They Will Come'


That said....I'm ready to help in this new adventure. I've been here since nearly 'the beginning'...I think I actually even signed up a day ahead of Horseshoe. I've seen this community evolve into the respected force it is among gardeners today.

Change has come at several points in this journey, and Dave has always been a mindful steward of this place and kept 'his people' first in all decisions. That's what has made this community grow and thrive while other similar sites have fragmented and been swallowed up by corporate powers who do not care about the individuals who make up the whole.

Dave has never lost sight of the importance of individuals, and how each one of us are a living human being instead of words that appear on a computer screen. We are his friends, and he treats us as such. He has created a safe...(as possible) place for people from all over the world to gather and compare lives.

This is what the Internet was SUPPOSED to be.

I'm thrilled to be a part of this, and will continue to help wherever my talents can be of use. It's been wonderful to have made the journey this far with you and your family. My life is much richer.

Can't wait to see what's next!!!

It has been an amazing journey thus far and I agree that our lives have been blessed by this site and the folks we've come to know as family.

My guess is that the best is yet to come - can't wait either !!

Dea

Well, it is almost "the end of the week" lol, can you give us any more info yet? Pretty please?

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 10:03 AM

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/687274/ :)

I am a newbie to gardening.... and have no problem posting my goofy questions in any forum... all the daves people NEVER made me feel stupid or uncomfortable asking any question... or posting my weed pictures to ask if they were plants or not.... I always gotten helpful advice even for the silliest of questions.

I don't think even if you made a different forum for newbies would make anyone feel uncomfortable... I would post in it... daves to me is just like anything else... any information I can get from it's users is something I can process and use my common sense with... to see if seems right or not.. and any trial and error someone else has had experience with is always useful info.

(hope all of what I am typing makes sense.... I am home with food poisoning btw)

thanks again for the wonderful place I want to call home..... Dave's Garden!

Congrats, Dave.

Onewish, get better soon!

I am sooooooooo excited for you and for me. I am so 'dingy' I just found the FAQ to learn how to use the site, although I have been wandering around posting in the wrong place, etc. (smiling) Except for honoring trades i have made, I am going to take enough time off to read these FAQ.................wish you the very best and i will be one of your first customers on a new site for those of us who can't seem to learn to navigate around this daves' incredibly helpful site.

The DG'ers are the best. A newbie site would be a good thing as long as the seasoned DG'ers participate. I'm a newbie and have learned a lot from DG'ers since I've been participating. This is the best garden information site I've ever found. Will there be an additional charge to access the new garden site? Continue the good work. Dorothy

I would be more than happy to help out.
When I started it was all trial & error, mostly error. Would have been great to have a place like this to go to.
Bernie