A big announcement from Dave, Part 2

I'm very new to DG so adopting the 'immigrant attitude' I probably should say nothing about a change in ownership. But although I don't have much background in gardening or gardening websites, I do have a few observations.

1) Congratulations Dave on the buyout/merger. I think it makes sense and will eventually benefit us all.

2) The fee for using a site like this (even with an increase) is very low for the value returned. It was set too low at the beginning so people challenge an increase.

3) There's too much information. It takes forever to go through a lot of posts asking the same thing or that devolve into unrelated conversations. So Gardens.Com makes total sense to deal with that.

4) There are two primary reasons for visiting DG, camraderie and information. Both are equally important.

5) For both of the preceding reasons, the experts at DG are one of the primary assets. They are the ONLY asset for information and they also help with camraderie if they answer your posts.

6) Another primary asset and possibly more important is the ability to facilitate the discussion between the experts and the question askers. DG does this very well if a bit cumberously.

My question is... How will the new DG insure that people like Farmerdill, Countrygardens, Mistymeadows, Horseshoe, Indy, Carolyn continue to answer questions? These people are where the value is and that's why I subscribe.

Jeff

DG's not really changing, at least the parts that we see every day so I don't understand why you would think that the experts that post here now wouldn't continue to do so? I can't think of any reason why they would stop posting now just because DG belongs to someone else.

As far as wanting to see Jeff in his DG t-shirt and riding a tricycle, just consider it friendly hazing. ;)

Seriously, though, it would be great to see the NameMedia folks' photos and brief bios so we can get to know them, though.

I hate change! That said, I can't think of a nicer bunch of folk to be able to be employed while following their passion. None of the worry, and great benefit -- to them and to all of us. Congrats!

Judith

Dave, perhaps the subscriber increase would be easier on those who are on a fixed income, or having financial problems for whatever reason if you offered 6 month subscriptions at $12.50. Just a thought. I myself would have a financial problem right now coming up with $25 so, I just renewed last night at the $15! LOL

Lana

Congratulations to Namemedia on their acquisition of the DG phenomenons. In one smooth move they have managed to gain Dave with his programing skills and proven site building abilities, Trish who is his wife and guiding force, and Terry who has long proven her ability to edit and stay on top of such a diverse community as this once little on line journal has become.

So Jeff, treat them right and enjoy a wonderful feeling of smugness in knowing you have acquired nothing short of the best of the best.

Dave, when you first started charging a subscription fee I said I hoped this site would grow and make it possible for you to use it to support you and send your children to college. It looks like that is a reality now for certain. It has been a privilege to be a small piece of this community and to watch it and you succeed.

Congrats Dave to you and your family..
This explains alot and I admire your honesty with us..
I am a member of many forums and write many articles/topics in those other forums along with dave's..
As a admin myself i respect others who come out in the open and tell their members what's going on..
I am glad to hear that you Trish,and Terry will spend more time with us.
;=)

On the board issues..
I know the board's current format is simple and clean which is why it runs smooth with so many members..
I like to know if future upgrades will include the use of [image] tags so we can hotlink some more of our pictures
from our personal web pages or other online photos sites?
This possible upgrade will allow sigs for paying members plus paying members can post several or more pics in a single post then rather 1 at a time..
I like to see this because when i take a picture of one of my plumeria's for other members i like to use 1024 x 768 for flower shots and 800 x 600 for other things related to the post i wrote.
Uploading to dave's is fine most of the time but, currently some of my pics get compress and resize due to
forums scripts/format.

When i write on other forums i sometimes write long and detailed reports on plumeria's and other tropicals i grown for many many years..
The only problem i have with dave's is that in order for me to repost those articles here i have to re-write them so dave's format can accept it..
When i am writing a post to help others i like to keep it with a clean format using pictures embeded into the post to help other members see what i am talking about..
A picture is worth a thousand words!

Maybe you can even get Jeff to buy or create a online photo album portal and have it coded into the backend of daves..
This way we can use the [image] feature without overloading the server or servers that daves resides on.
With a online photo depot Namemedia will have another avenue to push ads,track urls or make money off members who wish to have a more robust online photo album (more bandwidth to upload and share photos).
Members here can have their own personal gallery and if they require more space they can pay for a upgrade.
;=)

How about a spell checker built into the forum for members like me who have to rewrite their post so many times to get it to fit into dave's or for us members who post after hard day at work and tend to make some mistakes because we are tired.
..nick picking i know
Would it be too much to ask for colored font options hehe..

Keep up the great work Dave,Trish,Terry and others!
See i told you i write long posts..
;=~

Lopaka
http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/plumerias/all/

This message was edited Jan 26, 2007 5:46 AM

Tazzy Thank you for the photo of your smiling kitty !It sure made me smile this morning ! Congatulations photo of the day !
Thanks for sharing :))
Allison

Lopaka,

NameMedia agrees with you exactly, and recently acquired Pixamo.com. It's an excellent photo sharing site that has neat (and IMO unique) tagging features and privacy settings. You can create groups and when you upload photos, you can mark each photo as "Private", "Public", "Only for friends", etc.

Also, Pixamo stores the original image that you uploaded (meaning you can upload those huge photos from your digital camera and they will keep the full size image).

It's possible that eventually we will use their photo technology here at DG. I've been really impressed with it - signup for an account there and check it out!

dave

I think Zanymuse said it best!!! Jo

(quoting Trish)

Just checked out Pixamo.com and dowloaded the first picture. Surprised at how easy to use. Thanks Dave! Oh and added DG in "friends"!
Sharon

Sharon, I saw that. :) The Davesgarden username is setup by me as an experiment. Try adding "davew" in Friends since that's my personal account. :)

dave

hmmm better start saving money now as i cant afford to renew at the 15 dollar rate. i tell you there is nothing more stressful then a car accident.


okay let me ask this is garden. com gonna be a separate site from this one?? see i clicked on a hyperlink and it led me right to my own home page. did i miss something.??

Marie, it's not turned on yet.

oh okay.

oh and i have a few months to save. read my renewel date wrong. wow to many changes going on.

Dave - Very cool! You've got a lovely family. My garden wants to be just like yours when it grows up!

Don't forget - it's Gardens.com, not Garden.com (it's plural)

dave

I too must add my CONGRATULATIONS to you all, I cannot think of any other place where you can make so many friends, learn about new plants, starting seeds,share your ups, and downs,and have members freely listen, and share, all for such a fraction of cost every year. Befor I found DG I was not very interested in gardening, now DG is my first stop every day.
Thank you Dave and crew I sure appreciate it.

I'm taking a wait and see attitude .
The last thing that anyone could call me is naive about business and this is a business transaction that merges with a multi million dollar company whose main thrust is connecting with online advertisers through the marketing of their domain name.

This could potentially be a win win situation for any of us business owners who have our companies linked to our DG web pages.
But if this information is going to stay private then perhaps we are missing out ?
If we have our business information linked to our home page will this information be harvested , and if so what is the means of dispensery and to whom ?

In the mean time congratulations on the sale of your company to another.

And welcome to telecommunicating to Boston.
It is the preeminent Blue State in America , which I am proud to say I am a product of.

Enjoy your visits there, it is a state that has a lot to offer, especially the seafood.
Next power lunch, try Legal Seafood. yum.

and if you have never walked the Harvard University campus or the Arnold Arboretum , take a trek. It is beautiful .



This message was edited Jan 26, 2007 10:47 AM

Been at the hospital w/Mom for the past two days, but here I am now! Terry, Dave, Trish, Jeff, congratulations on your new merger. I am looking forward to many happy, fruitful days here at DG.

Do you know what this announcment has done? It has pulled everyone out of their 'regular' threads, together, to wish you Much, Much success! I'm looking forward to gardens.com.

Personally, I'm crushed that Dave (with or without the entourage) visited Boston without giving me and my DH a chance to take him out to Legal Seafoods. I see many of the folks I consider regulars consider themselves newbies! You mean they haven't always been here? Well, BEST OF LUCK to all, including us.

xxxxx, Carrie

I hope this wasnt ask and i missed it
One question-will co-op's stay? You know they are a big part of the site and MY garden! :)

Jeff welcome to OUR site and Good luck in your adventures!

Yes, co-ops stay!

Congratulations and I trust you. I just paid for another year.

Sharon,

How did you add Dave's Garden for friends on pixamo?

I joined pixamo too.

Marilyn

Congratulations, Dave. I have full faith that this venture will unfold perfectly for you and for the DG members. I'm quite new here but enjoy the comaraderie on various threads as well as the truly helpful advice I've received. I just renewed my subscription and am delighted to be part of this.

Dave,

Will Name Media give pixamo free (at all times 'down the road') to paying members of Dave's Garden? I noticed that there may be a charge at some time.

Edited to add........ Will we ever be able to add more than 9 pics on the pixamo?

Marilyn


This message was edited Jan 26, 2007 7:26 PM

wow so many posts!

Well i guess I am a wait and see kinda gal too.
Obviously a good business opportunity for both dave and family and the new owners. As kevin said, you dont buy somethig that isnt going to make you money.

Subscriptions? hmmm well in aussie terms it works out, depending on the echange rate, about 30% higher again. So for me, i will have to pay about $32.50? I applied a year or so ago to the garden angels as i really wanted to be back and couldnt afford it and was declined which is totally fine but my question is, or statement rather, how do we increase the fund so that it can now cover the increase and help the same amount of people?
I am happy to donate something when we are back on our feet but will it definatly go into the right fund?

In terms of change, i hate change too! just back a week or so and BANG my home away from home is sold! lol but change is inevitable. New owners = new vision as well. And the bottom line is if Dave and trish are on the pay roll, they can be taken off the pay roll just as easy however, as dave said, DG is the community of people. Without the people, you dont have the means by which to make the profit or achieve what you wanted in the first place. so it would be a silly move of the company to mess too much with DG at the risk of losing the subscribers and such and them being left with having bought a 'whole lot of nothing!'

I look at it this way, this has been a great website, I hope it continues too with little change but if it doesnt, I have gained so much already!

You had a great idea. Created it and ran it with integrity. That is a grand achievement. .

Congrats.

This message was edited Jan 26, 2007 5:59 PM

This message was edited Jan 26, 2007 6:55 PM

Amazing how developing and nuturing a passion opens the doors of opportunity.

You guys deserve the break. Most people on this website are really the best of the best, and a joy to interact. Certainly a proud moment in a series of proud moments.

congradualtions.

Rj

Marilynbeth - check your d-mail!
Sharon

Congratulations to you Dave, Terry, and Trish! I'm sure that this must be a dream come true for you and I am truely glad for you all. You are living the dream of many and I would probably have made the same decision in your places.

I guess I'm a 'wait and see' kind of gal, too, though, when it comes to corporations keeping their promises. I know that there are ethical corporations out there, and that most people mean what they say when they make an agreement. Like Dave said, no one generally goes into a partnership planning to split up later. That being said, I can't help but remember when Dan Hinkley sold Heronswood for some of the same reasons that you have been experiencing. I get depressed just thinking about what happened with that. My fervent hope is that DG will remain the same kind of place that it has been since its beginning, although I must admit I'm having trouble understanding just how this will be true. It feels a little bit like someone just bought my town.

One thing I'm glad to see is that you still are able to keep the 'peace' on this forum by deleting rude posts. In spite of how I myself sometimes chafe under the 'rules' of polite discourse (yes, I've broken the rules a couple of times - Bad Girl!!!) , I admit that it has been really nice to be able to come onto this forum and know that I'm not going to have to put up with anyone using foul language or blasting other people to smithereens with their words. And even though I have strong opinions on both religion and politics, I'm glad that those topics are pretty much off limits at DG. It forces me to focus on why I'm here in the first place and not get distracted by other things. I've made friends I likely would not have made otherwise, and I firmly believe that reaching out to other countries through this website is a way to make the world a more peaceful place, regardless of your religion or politics. So I'm hopeful that these things will not change at DG now that it is owned by a corporation.

Guess I better go renew my subscription at the current rate!

I'm so confident that this is a good move that i signed up for two more years today. Had PayPal been accepted, I would have signed up for more...

Is PayPal going to be reinstituted?

well, I always fear change but if you have to worry about how to meet your families needs, that always has to come first. I support more money for you and your wife and those who have created this great place for us all. We aren`t stressing about eating to be here, you shouldn`t either you deserve more money and more fun, less stress, come play with us dave. Are you moving now? Dawn

Dave, Trish and Terry first off THANKS!
Secondly CONGRATULATIONS!
The Thanks are for the Wonderful time I've had here for the last 4+ years.
Dave's strict unwavering sense of Ethic and Fair play are the Heart here.
That gives me complete confidence that every worry posted here has been agonizingly hashed out before this 'Change' was finalized.
Trish poured her heart into the Katrina and Rita effort here.
Not from a backseat but right there at the front.
She is certainly the Soul.
If you two say it is an alright move...it's alright.
Terry is right there as, to me, the perfect administrator.
Firm, Fair, Cheerful and willing to listen on any dealings I've had w/ her. (mostly in Plantfiles)

As to the Rate increase..... perfectly fine w/ me.
It's what $.83 a month... less than a pack of gum.....

If you're not a Member, look at the Gardens of anyone who is.......
You'll see what 15 Dollars has bought.......
What the pics won't show is the Family you buy for that small amount......

I for one am eagerly looking forward to your next ventures Dave.
I'm SO glad you are finally realizing your Dream.

Jeff Welcome to Dave's!
I for one think it is Silly to ask you to ride a tricycle in a photo.
That just NOT right!
Unless of course you are also carrying a Pink Plastic Flamingo at the time.
That would make it perfectly acceptable.....................

Ric

LOL Ric!! Pink flamingo!! I love it!!!!!

Ric - can you lend Jeff the Pink Plastic Flamingo (just in case he has trouble locating his)?

Has it really been four years since I dragged you over here Ric?? Geesh YOU are getting old. LOL