A big announcement from Dave, Part 2

You girls are baaaad you gonna get in trouble nyah nyah

Hmmmm, I assumed we were talking manure and fertilizer. :)

Be back with my post the cat just jumped on the puter and messed it all up!!!!!!

sue

This message was edited Jan 29, 2007 5:03 PM

Haha & gosh too.........
-
Thanks to DG for a great ride sofar.
Thanks to the finest group of people tha world over for sharlng their thoughts and wisdom.
Pictures too!
There is no way I can add to the eloquent fashion our members have expressed themselves.

I can say I shonuff appreciate tha way ya'll treated this old guy heycharlie.
When I've been hurt or sick DG has been a dern good medicine, ya heah!

Hey! Gardens.com is up and running! http://gardens.com/

I just checked it out to see if it was. Looks great!

Marilyn

Yep, announcement of gardens.com is here: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/688530/

best,
dave

It's GREAT! Nice to see Shoe leading the parade.
Pati

Dave, I know I arrived late to this discussion, but could you answer my questions above, please?

I have to admit I have not gotten fully entrenched in the DG community since the GW experience. Defense mechanisms at work perhaps. But I will give my $.02 cents anyhow.

I just went to the namemedia site and had 2 negative reactions:

1. my adblock filter in firefox filtered a huge part of the page. I whitelisted it to see what was there and lots of flash and blinks and yuck noise. My CPU icon in the system tray went crazy! I hope the "tiny" web improvements their web designers give to DG don't bring us the joys (sarcasm) of flash. The best thing about DG web interface is how static it is. (like GW used to be too)

2. The intro "mission" statement makes me cringe:

At NameMedia, we're giving online advertisers a direct route to high-value consumers
through more than one million online properties and a growing network of search
destinations attracting more than 25 million consumers every month.

... And we're just getting started.

I feel my wallet being opened!!!!!!!! It reminded me of Intellisense with those green underlined words...

On the positive side, I am happy for Dave and friends personally in their new endeavors.

James, I'm sure Dave will try to address your questions - we launched Gardens.com today, which means most of his time and attention has been consumed with making sure that process went smoothly. Also, I could be wrong, but I suspect some of your questions may not be answerable - there are some things we can't provide complete answers to because of confidentiality issues. (Now watch Dave come along and give a full answer to each one, making me look like a worrywort ...*smile*)

plantaholic, remember that up to this point, NameMedia has been primarily in the business of selling domains. Much of their site's information is geared toward the marketing of domain names, which is going to be mostly high-powered sales pitch. That's a very different side of their business than what they envision for communities such as DG and Gardens.com.

Thanks Terry, I'll wait until the dust settles for him.

I doubt if we need to worry about Namemedia trying to make a lot of money from advertizing on DG. All you have to do is look at the prices of the domain names they are selling. Example: Spigots.com is $3,500,000. And of course there is a button to click to "Buy Now" lol. Just trying to inject a little humor here!

Terry answered it beautifully.

dave

And FYI: subscribers will always have the ability to continue to disable ads.

And -NO FLASH!-

dave

I understand confidentiality constraints.
But as privacy goes, I'd still like to know what amount of administrative access to content and policies NameMedia has, administrative access like you and Terry's, not at all suggesting they would actually lucratively exploit it, but it's a privacy matter.

Roughly abbreviated; can NameMedia, as owners, read our D-mail?

Hey Dave!

You moved recently! It says Benchley, TX instead of that other 'B' name city in TX (sorry, I don't remember the name). Is Benchley close to where you and Trish use to live?

Marilyn

pardalinum, check out this page from Name Media:

http://www.buydomains.com/find-premium-domains/search-results.jsp?category_id=28

Look at the price for the first domain name listed!

editted becuse I canot speel.

This message was edited Jan 29, 2007 9:29 PM

This message was edited Jan 29, 2007 9:30 PM

This message was edited Jan 30, 2007 1:27 AM

More easily "monetized" I'd guess.

James, as far as I know, the NameMedia team doesn't have access to read anyone's messages. Keep in mind that dmail doesn't have any sort of system-wide search or browse on it, so we (as administrators) can't run any type of "key word" searches on all dmails (like we can with forums.)

Imagine if all dmails were printed off, and everyone's messages were stored in an individual box and placed in a warehouse - it would take up acres of space for all the shelves of boxes, stacked to the ceiling with row upon row of shelves of boxes. Someone would have to be nuts to even try to browse through them in that format - they would have to open each box and then rifle through the contents, most of which is probably pretty uninteresting to anyone except the writer and the recipient. It's pretty much the same for the electronic version, and the only time we read any dmails other than our own are in cases where:

a) abuse by another member has been reported, and one member asks us to read a specific dmail message because it is the proof of their allegation; or

b) spamming has been reported, in which case, we can open that member's dmail information and see their activity, and take the appropriate action (usually deactivate their account so they can't spam anyone else.)

Outside of that, we have little-to-no reason, interest or time to read any dmails. The NameMedia team has been focused on launching Gardens.com and working out the technical details of that process. I would guess they have even less interest or reason to casually browse through any of the hundreds (or thousands) of messages that flow through here each day, and I don't think they have access to do that even if they wanted to.

You're not suggesting we're boring are you?:)
(I'm sure I write absolutely riveting dmails.)

LOL, 2zeus. I'm sure mine could be published!

Lana

Sorry Terry, I didn't mean it like that. I have absolutely no doubts about your honour of privacy in D-mails.

I think what it boils down to- what brings unease to the mind of many, I being only one among them, is this:
We had no problem in handing over our personal data, investing our time and effort in PlantFiles, and all that, et cetera, to Dave and the team. You folks are wonderful and have earned our trust. NameMedia doesn't have that repport with us. I'm sorry. (But it is clear to us that you trust them.) So I want to know what is in their hands, as owners. We do not trust them not to turn Mr. Hyde on something we have all invested so much in.

Like those "Collected Letters Of _____" books, where one struggles partway through before giving up, thinking that if it was the collected letters of joe blow, it'd never, ever, have made it to market.

I think the upshot of it all is,
DG has been sold, lock stock and barrell along with all you agreed too upon joining.
Like Dave, if namemedia need to access dmail for any reason they can. Wether they want to or can be bothered, is another story.
You gave DG and who ever owns it, the right to your pics and comments but retain the copyright. You can post and print them anywhere and so can DG or in this case name media.

This in not, as said in other comments, about Dave and Trish and their integrity. we all love them and trust them. However, name media owns DG now and have the final say. Thats the reality.... I know thatDave will be out there doing his best to look out for his baby but he can only do so much so it is indeed a wait and see game.

Things in life change... thats what life is.... and how spoilt have we been!!????

But you know what makes DG so great?? YOU DO!!

So lets all try and hang in there and see what happens. Lets hope that all stays well not only for us but also for Dave and Trish who would hate to see all their work go down the drain.

It will be sad its true to lose members because of the price rise but business is business and namemedia have to make this viable! Now if Dave and Trish struggled to make ends meet, a big company will not waste the time to do that out of passion for the site and its members as Dave did.
It will look at it rationally and implement a change where by the site is sustainable by its self. In this case, a price rise to achieve that.

Lets not pack up and go home yet, DG is our home and worth standing for... dont you think?
Lets give it a go and see what happens....

Gosh its been a couple of years away from DG for me and I was going through 'Shoe' widthdrawl! Can you imagine life without Shoe? or road runner and badseed and all the rest??? "Shudder"

OK, my turn....
When I think about the cost of membership, I think about the Trade Tracker, feedback, my diary, journals, dmail, and all the EXTRAS that nobody has hardly mentioned that are available to me besides posting on the forums, PlantFiles, GardenWatchDog, and the "big" features. Those things are worth a lot to me and even though my membership doesn't expire until June, I'm re-upping before Feb15! Congratulations to Dave et al!

Roses to you!

(cl. 'Aloha' ['New Dawn' x 'Mercedes Gallart'], Boerner, 1949)

Gardenergail,

2 thumbs up to you!!!

You said it best!

I second that Marilyn and also love what our friend from Downunder had to say.

I had already paid through 2009, but will gladly contribute my $25 in the future, knowing that our friends Dave, Trish, Terry and others have a stable income. They no longer have to worry about running up to Dallas on their own nickel and replacing expensive servers, etc. They can devote their talents and dreams to improve the sites under their control. What they have done with the help of YOU, our members, has created something very valuable that will feed their families in the future. Those tools gardenergail spoke of are the reason we came to DG in the first place. I don't plan on moving out of our neighborhood!! The way I see it is we have added to our family. Welcome Jeff and others!
Sheila_FW

Lets stand back and think here. OK, so some are saying the rise is worth all those benefits. I am saying there are many features available without subscription, including many new forums. I have contributed quite a lot to PlantFiles(not so much lately as I have been more involved in forums), and don't usually use it for searching for plants, so I am more of a contributor than a user. When I search I google, and I already have a reasonable knowledge of many plants, which I expand on mostly through googling.

I don't use the Diary feature, nor Journal, dmails can be used whichever way. Feedback doesn't bother me either, as I have a chosen few with whom I usually trade and the odd other trade or gift I have given is due to a request or feeling I could help someone out.

GardenWatchDog I don't use either, other than finding out after the occasion I should have checked it once, but I succeeded in getting the goods. I have only left 2 feedbacks and generally know who I can deal with safely.

Quote "It will be sad its true to lose members because of the price rise but business is business and namemedia have to make this viable" from The_Wonder_DU (by the way I'm the other wonder upside down). As I have said above, I am more of a contributor than a user, even when it comes to forums. If I am lost to DG, will many miss me? Perhaps not, and I could still use some forums, which I repeat that as a paying subscriber we are paying for non-subscribers use of all the new forums, plus some other features. That's a lot of people we are helping out, I really don't feel that generous I am sorry. I am not flush with money, and I do not see myself paying the extra money for what, over 6,000 people paying for over 270,000 people to use what I have contributed and paid for? I repeat, I am not a charity for these people.

Remember, losing people, and likely not gaining more subscribers because of the increase, is probably not going to bring in any more money. Numbers crunch game, all businesses will know that if they sell higher they will sell less, but this is usually reserved for those who wish to portray an elite business. Are we elite? I don't think so, we are people from many walks, but basically here we are gardeners. My feelings are this will go downhill very quickly, many people will not state they are not paying the new price, some will hint at it as someone did above, they need to get off their computer and spend more time in their garden.

Don't forget, those who have reasonable knowledge here are helping those who do not, and OK we can all gain new knowledge but the balance is well weighted towards a few helping many, and it is those few who are less likely to 'need' all of these features on DG. Lose those few and what does DG have left?

I can answer that, Wallaby! Gardens.com for beginners!

Good one McGlory! Perhaps there will be a major hike to the new site, it's a bit like cutting your nose off to spite your face, but in this case it is not a deliberate act.

Goodness, Wallaby, you've listed so many things you don't use... I couldn't figure out what you do use.
Seems like when I Google a plant it usually brings me right to Dave's for my answer. Maybe down under has a different google. Do you work on the web? I remember when we had our photo contest this year you had many ...suggestions... as to how to organize it. Is this your forte?

I mean, obviously we all have occupations besides gardening. Maybe you have a site in AU that we don't know about, one you'd be glad to share with us?

Do you have round-ups that bring members together? Do your members travel halfway around the world to meet with other gardening members? Do you have another site that lets members have so much imput? Do they get together and find a way to get a camera placed in the hands of a member on the other side of the globe? Do they have Shoe? or Badseed? or folks from Chile, Belgium, Sweden, India, Pakistaan,[sp], Great Britain,.? all chatting on a Tuesday night? Do you have Gardenwife to solve your 'putor problems?

Well, I didn't think so. ~Blooms

PS - welcome back to the Wonder Down Under.
PPS - this better be my last post here. My choice is waaay obvious.

This message was edited Jan 30, 2007 9:33 AM

Hi Blooms, if you look at my location you will see that I don't actually live down under.

Were my suggestions for the photo competition not good ones? Dave seemed to think they were. Did you have any input re the Competition to try to make it run smoothly?

No I do not have a site that you do not know about, but for the reasons I gave above I would not feel the price rise is justified for myself, and feel this may be true for some others.


Yes a google does often bring up Daves in a search, and so many times I have found my own words or pictures very close to the top of the list for the type of searches I would do, which are most likely different to many people's searches. You get my point here, my searches are generally not for a beginners type plant and I mean that to be no slur on beginners, we all start as a beginner but as you asked the question I feel compelled to answer truthfully.

Round ups do not occur in the UK, and without checking I believe many Regional forums are now open to non subscribers.

Can you tell me of how many subscribers travel half way around the world to meet other members? So many questions.

As far as input is concerned, many forums are open to non subscribers, and I was amazed recently to find one member who was not a subscriber, whom I had thought was as they appear to participate quite regularly in the forums which mainly concern them. If these forums are available for free, and that is all one should really need, then why not.

I really don't think a one-off incident of placing a camera in another members hands has any real bearing on the issues I have raised. I could not have afforded my camera if I had been able to get a refund on the mortgage which was overpaid and until recently the law had not made Mortgage companies refund overpayments, the same goes for my computer. I did have an old computer which had been given to me and had a total memory of less than 800MB, nearly useless.

I have nothing or little to do with all of the people you mention, only one whom I have traded with and consider a friend. I solve my own computer problems, but this doesn't mean I consider others should not ask for help. I am again talking for myself, and the same is likely to be true for a few others.

Such a passionate reaction blooms!

If anyone has any questions about what kind of data we keep, click on "Privacy Policy" in the footer of DG.

Sometimes people don't resubscribe for whatever reason yet find themselves gifted a subscription. This would enable them to post even if they themselves "thought" they were not a member. I know because that recently happened to me. I kept waiting for the doors to slam but they didn't. Sometimes a dear DG friend knows you better than you know yourself and knows you *need* to be here. LOL That is okay though, because it allows one to pay it forward. :) As much as I need to spend less time on the computer, I had no idea extreme life changes were headed my way and that I would need my friends here. I really don't think anyone is getting a *free* ride.

Dave are you not going to answer my question about the truthiness of the Watchdog now?

Sall we have Stephen Colbert launch an investigation? LOL

No, I want Matlock, please.

The great thing about this country is no one will hold a gun to your head and make you resubscribe.

If you don't care to renew good bye and good luck.

Paul

While I am happy for Dave and his family I can't help feeling disappointed. I was a member a couple of years ago but didn't participate and let my membership drop. I just got back into the site literaly days before Dave made the big announcement. I liked this site because of the absense of advertising. How can you trust a "watchdog" that gets fed by others? You can't, plain and simple. Sooner or later the needs of the advertisers and the members will clash.It always happens that anything that does well is going to attract big buisiness intent on profits. I used to buy a lot of daylilies from Oaks, then they got in bed with this Paradise Garden deal and their prices have skyrocketed and their selection has dropped. I see plants they used to sell for $20 now going for $75! Seen it at Bluestone too, now they are carrying "Blooms of Bressingham" stuff at inflated prices, the same way it started at Oaks. Once these people get their foot in door, things change, and not for the better. Why would anyone want or need to pay for a membership to a site that takes advertising? If the site takes advertising then why doesn't the ads pay for the site? Congratulations Dave and family, it's your site and a big company buying you out obviously means you have done a great job, I am happy for you I think its great, but personally I take a wait see attitude. I have never seen big business get ahold of anything it didn't commercialize and destroy. I have only $15 invested, but I hate to see big business destroy good things.