A big announcement from Dave

Dave, I have enjoyed a great few years here as a subscriber and I look forward to many more. Kinda sad to see ownership change but I have no doubt that you made this decision with the thoughtful integrity you, Trish and Terry have possessed all along the way. Best Wishes!

Thanks Dave. Are you concerned at all that someone else now has 'veto power'? Best of luck on this - we are all hoping your vision is their vision.

Victor

I trust you, Dave, to do as you say you will. You always have! We here at DG have had a lovely time and will continue to do so, I am SURE. If advertizing happens...make it subtle and GARDEN related, please.

If I can help in any way...give a shout.

Aloha nui loa and GREAT LUCK on your exciting new future!!!

Carol

This is the first site I'd ever paid to become part of (now there is only one other) and it's worth every cent and I'm sure whatever the subscription rate is, it will be fair and reasonable and still worth every penny.

It's great to "hear" the excitement in Dave's posts and it's great that he can have a life (livelyhood) and still be such a huge influence here. Very happy for all of you and us. I'm hanging in to see what happens. Well, really, no place else like this to go to :LOL:

Congratulations and welcome to the Bostonians! We're really a friendly bunch=D

Donna

Congratulations to all three of you! I wish you the all the best in this new venture. It sounds like a win-win situation for you and us. I will be at gardens.com also, because I'm not really a gardener . I just grow flowers. I consider myself a newbie and hopefully , my lack of knowledge about plants bontanical names will not be such a hinderance for me there. It takes me so long to look up in the plant files , the things members offer for trade, that it gets very difficult to know what they want and what I am getting. From my prospective as a bontanically challenged individual, I hope all articles and info on the new site can have a common name included whenever a botanical name is given. It will certainly attract newbies if it is not so overwhelming . Again , the best to you all. Lou

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 6:53 PM

First, congrats to Dave, Terry, and Trish (of course Trish needs congrats too).

Second, I'm in a bit of shock here, especially about the part of the announcement about garden.com for the newbie vs DG's for the hard-core gardener. Makes newbies like me who joined DG feel a little, I dunno, out of place. Guess I echo sempervirens' concerns.

Dave, Terry and Trish--kudos to you!! I wish you much success. I hope you made a heap on this conversion. You deserve it. I tried explaining to my other half what was happening. He is clueless to gardening or this site, but responds to finance. So I said, how many people could start a gardening website and within 6 years have major companies screaming that they are "watchdog" approved. All of a sudden he was impressed. I also added that maybe he should investigate if NameMedia is public. Might be the time to invest :>) As for the added sub fee. If I added up all the dollars I would have spent on books (that don't update once printed) and mail order that I would have done on substadard companies.....25 bucks is cheap. Of course I am up for renewal now and renew I will........fast.... LOL

Dear Dave,

I am so very happy for you, Trish, Terry et al. I am one of the DGs that missed your gardening input.

It is normal for us human beings (that's what we are, aren't we? LOL) to fear the unknown. However, being you our leader I trust everything will, if not remain the same, become even better.

Divorce? I don't worry. If you and NameMedia should ever divorce, we are YOUR children (yeah, I don't forget I'm much older than you!)and will follow you to any new webpage you might create.

Congratulations and hugs,

Ursula

Dave, are you saying we gave you those few gray hairs??????

I echo the unease of many, but I have hope and will stay at DG as I have since Jan 8, 2001.... it really doesn't seem so long ago that Dave started this. It's changed alot since then, ocationally changes didn't go over well... Dave listened to feedback and made alterations, he made the changes work. He's put a lot of work into this... congrats Dave.

bbinj, I think it's safe to say that newer gardeners who feel brave enough to dip their toe in at DG (or those brave souls who jump in feet-first) have always been and always will be welcomed - there's no reason to feel out of place at all.

The idea behind gardens.com is to give those gardeners who aren't ready, willing or able to plunge headlong into DG a little less-intensive gardening site where they can feel safe (safer) getting their toes wet. And their hands dirty, and their knees green ;o)

Congratulations Dave, Terry and Trish! I think I like Jeff - he certainly has good taste.

I like Dave's to and have benefitted much from gardening info here. But the subscript increase all at once (Dave mentioned no increase over 6 years) can be pause for consideration for some DGers....just one more reason for some people's family members to say its to much money and you're on there to much anyway! LOL. I love Martha Stewart but I don't subscribe to her expensive magazine.

I hope to remain a member!

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 6:46 PM

Dave, Trish, and Terry - May this new venture be successful for each of you, for NameMedia, and for all of us (your friends and clients). I imagine it is a huge weight off your shoulders to pass the financial and promotional headaches along to a large company that has the staff to handle all of that!

I hope NameMedia holds true to their word about the terms of the sale of DG. I left other gardening forums because of an overwhelming bombardment of advertisements and spyware. (I understand that those ads were what paid for the forum's existence, since there was no annual fee to join them.) After much frustration, I decided to "bite the bullet" and pay to become a DG member. I have been very, very pleased with money I felt was well spent.

Since I am a "paying" customer, I expect a higher standard. That higher standard translates into NO annoying advertisements, NO invasive polls, and having some peace of mind that there is NO spyware sneaking onto my computer via DG to track my every keystroke. I hope that NameMedia reads this thread and understands my expectations of their new role here at DG. I would be very disappointed if their intentions are otherwise. They have acquired an awesome community of folks here on DG and if the integrity is upheld, this community will continue to grow and flourish!

I commend Dave, Trish, and Terry on the excellent job they have done on DG from it's start to now! I hope they are given the freedom to continue to work their expertise and magic to make DG even better than ever! We know that is their intention!

Thank you Dave for creating this community which has changed our lives and our gardens! May you continue to bless us with your vision and creativity!

Congratulations, Dave, Trish and Terry!
May only the best always transpire from this union.

Well Said beckygardener !!

As a writer, I could get very loquacious with a post here. But I won't because y'all have about said it all.

I'm excited to be a part of this new venture, and to the bright future I know it holds.

TC

I am overwhelmed by the outpouring that Dave's Announcement has had on all of you today. NameMedia is very proud to have Dave, Trish and Terry on board...and we also know the breadth, depth and power of the DavesGarden community are all of you. We look forward to the future with much excitement. -Jeff

Congratulations to NameMedia for purchasing Daves Garden. They got a great deal and some really good new employees from DG. Congrats to you, Dave, and your crew, for making such a great web site and for keeping it professional all the way. I'm most happy that you are going to continue in your known role here at DG.

Wow, I just read the announcement and then through every post on this thread. Your hard work on DG, a labor of love, has paid off. Like others, I have misgivings about DG being corporately owned, but as long as you, Trish and Terry are the managing parties, I'm good with it. I'm sure that the sales proceeds, plus having some of the administrative day-to-day business management burden lifted from your shoulders, is a huge relief. Not to mention you have time to be active here again and branch out into new things! Congratulations and *very* best wishes from Howie and myself.

Really...I'm wondering if there's an IPO, too. That'd be kinda cool. :)

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 9:22 PM

Hey Jeff, welcome to DG.

Congratulations! If you're happy, I'm happy. And happy for you! Until I have a reason to complain, I don't think I should. This is your site, not mine. If, later, I'm unhappy, I'll simply not subscribe. Simple as that. But, until then, I'm assuming you are good for your word and this site will continue to be my favorite and cause me to be late to work, late to bed at night, ignore my housework.......educate me about gardening, pets, cooking, photography, travel.......and connect me with some really great fellow gardeners.

I sincerely hope you are successful in your new venture and enjoy where it takes you.

Debra

Congratulations Dave!!

I really appreciate what you, Terry, and others have created and wish you all the best in your new endeavor/career.

I have to say when I first learned the news I was shocked but not really surprised. I figured it would happen at some point. Dave has a family to support and their needs have to play an important part in his decisions.

I think we are all creatures of habit and most don’t care much for change, but changes are inevitable and most times are for the better. I’ve seen allot of changes happen on DG over the years, some at first I really didn’t think I would like, but always gave them a chance. I’ve never been disappointed in anything Dave has done to improve DG.

My first reaction was the same as most of you I’m sure. They will come in and take over with flashy ads etc and it will not be the home we have come to love. Those and most of my other concerns Dave has assured us that will not happen. So hopefully the home we love will get even better now that Dave will have more time to devote to the site doing his magic.

All that being said, I have never had any reason to doubt Dave and if he says things will not change except for the better then I’m all for it. DG is his baby, and I know he would never do anything to ruin it. Now he has the best of both worlds, he can continue to improve his creation without all the financial and legal worries. I’m sure he, Trish and Terry thought long and hard over the decision. Congrats Dave, Trish and Terry. NameMedia made a very smart move they couldn’t get greater folks to work with and they are getting the best garden website on the net. As long as Dave is still in charge I’m very proud to still belong and look forward to the improvements and being part of them. I’m looking forward to the next 6 (or more) years at my home away from home. Ursula said above the same thing I was thinking. Where Dave goes if there is a divorce (which I don’t see happening) we will follow.

As for the subscription increase, I think it’s long over due. Take into consideration also, that there are many free forums now on DG that you can enjoy.

Welcome to DG Jeff. I hope you know how lucky you are to have this great site and that you will come to love it as all of us do.

Congrats to all of us. I know it will just get better!

Welcome Jeff!!

Beckygardener, well said!!!

Mystic, well said also!! lol

This message was edited Jan 24, 2007 7:43 PM

Howdy, Jeff...Welcome to THE GArden!!

Have you heard about our Round ups???....No...not the kind you kill weeds with....but the kind where we make lasting friendships with other DG'ers....If you travel much....check this out as you go...if you are any where near a ROUND UP...I encourage you to drop in and meet some of the great folks from here on Dave's Garden....

This is just now starting to fill up...there will be LOTS of Round Ups added as the year progresses...

Ya'll come, now hear

Jo
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/557555/

I have heard about Round ups...and have read so many of all of your posts...and i have my DavesGarden T-Shirt on. Thanks to all for your warm welcome. - Jeff

Hope you make it to a RU this year. They are so much fun! Especially when you are surrounded by good food!! LOL

Jeff we need a picture of you in the t-shirt so we can put a face to the name. We won't ask your to have a picture like some of Dave's. :)

Congratulations, Congratulations, Congratulations!! (Oh, I feel like Gomer Pyle now). I'm sure your decision was made with great deliberation and soul searching. It sounds like you have made a wonderful choice, and your "kids" at the Garden will no doubt be the beneficiaries of even more good stuff. God Bless!!

Jeff,

Welcome! I was wondering if you are a gardener?

Melissa

I agree that Dave deserves to have made his family financial situation secure through this venture and I'm very happy and hopeful that he has done just that. I hope Terry was able to do that for her family too! When you work hard you deserve to reap the benefits of that hard work. A subscription increase to $25.00 is a paltry price to pay for access to this great site and most of all, access to all the great folks at Dave's Garden! I'm more than willing to give it a chance and go along for the ride! :) Congratulations again!

Diann

You rock Dave! :) Congratulations on all that you've done with DG and that you have been able to continue to grow in your expertise. I'm happy that your efforts have paid off...and that you aren't having to leave Texas! (brrrrrr in MA!)

I don't like change but gardening has taught me how to be patient, to be able to wait and see what's happening. I'm here and staying and will just go with the flow. Even if everything were to totally change we'd all be able to say that we gained so much already.

Paige

I'm fairly new here, but I have to say that I'm very happy that Dave, Trish and Terry are able to continue doing something they love so much. The preceding posts are nothing more than a wonderful affirmation of the good, hard work they have put into DG.

I wish the best for them personally, and in their work relationship with NameMedia. It's my hope that this blessing will be felt by all the members and users of Dave's Garden. Congratulations!

Keep up your good work in the future!

All the best to you Dave, Trish and Terry! I've enjoyed this site so very much over the past year +. It's my homepage and is a part of my EVERYDAY life. :) I'm looking forward to any enhancements that will come. I'm counting on your word that DG will not succumb to the throes of adverstising like another site did last year. It's not uncommon for me to have 100 pop-up ads blocked within 30 minutes of being on that other site. Awful!

Again, all the best and thank you for making DG the BEST gardening website all around.

Shanika

Congrats!!! Love that 11th Commandment!!!

Really like the ease of uploading photos without having to link to a photo website as well as all the other forums...bug files, plant files too etc. Keep up the great work. The past couple of years as a member have been most enjoyable for me.

~ Cat (south tip of Texas aka America's Butterfly Capital - as per Southern Living Magazine - October 2006 issue)

I add my congratulations to the aforegathered throngs of supporters. This place is one of integrity and community, thoughtfulness, and consistent quality, that are so often sadly lacking today.

So I say 'cheers' to the big news, but whoever said they might need their hand held about 100 posts ago, I hold out my ever-dubious hand to hold as well! People don't like change much, but I have every confidence that with Dave and crew still largely in charge, that we will be in good capable hands.

I wonder about the red wig though. That scares me! And what are the thoughts of Terry and Trish? I see nothing from them in all these posts, unless I missed them. I'd like the women's input on the whole scenario.

Way to go Dave, Trish, and Terry! You have many faithful fans behind your new adventure! Flowers for you and acknowledgement of your thousands of hours of hard work and decision- making that made DG what it is today.

i will reserve judgement as this is a shock after being gone due to a car wreck.

i sorta feel out the loop at the moment.


i hope this is a good move. we will wait and see i guess.

Dave,
I see the News you released this morning has generated a positive response.
Once again Congrats!!!
A Big Hello....Jeff
And
A Friendly Welcome to the Best Gardening Community around...

The Sky's The Limit

Kin