forums available only to subscribing members

Gail, not to worry. Patti

I just went through all of my watched forums and deleted those which were open to all members. In the future I'll only add those which are open to subscribers, and my posts to forums which are open to all members will be minimal. There are 288,695 members and only 7,142 subscribing members. The subscribing members make up a little over 2.4% of the total. I think that's a darned shame.

Marilyn

When I am online I always assume I am in an open place with strangers. DG has friendly strangers but they are mostly still unknown to me. Not sure that strangers who spend $20 are any more known to me than strangers who don't. I build trust and develop friendships and relationships with them based on attitudes, interests and the things they choose to share. Never thought about how they spent $20 until this thread came up. Everybody pays to go to the movies, concerts or college. Doesn't make any of them safe places. $20 does not make anyone honest, sane or safe. One of my favorite forums is open. I have no idea who the paid members are. I really believe that this is Dave's Garden and he decides in the best interest of the whole. As a subscriber it has no effect upon how I use the site other than that by subscribing all the options are available to me.

Hey Sue....Tell Farmergray....never mind....I hope to see you both at the Farmer's Market tomorrow....will you be there? I haven't seen you in a while. Jo

Yes ,I should be there most weeks from now on. DH is too busy to be running around the county. 50 baby turkeys in 2 weeks and he needs to start their pasture area as well as planting veggies etc.

OK....I'll try to pop by tomorrow. Jo

If you put anything anywhere around here, I think it's safe to assume it's not "Private" anymore.

I agree with Terry, but I'll go a step farther. If you don't feel comfortable having any stranger anywhere (even someone you consider an acquaintance but not a friend) showing up at your front door asking you about your pet iguana you posted a picture of, you shouldn't write about it.

"Private vs Public" was a real strong issue with me when there were a few hundred subscribers vs tens of thousands of non-paying members. I was one of those that found out stuff I put out here was visible by Jane & John Public-Doe, and I was furious. IMO I had paid for privacy, and had it revoked without warning. I later realized there is no "Privacy" on the internet. The only place you can probably trust privacy is if you're entering a credit card # on a secured site. Otherwise, assume "everyone" can see it.

My four cents worth...

So true, angelsong.....I just didn't realize when I started using the site that it was so public.....there were a lot of posts I wish I hadn't made......it is over ....it is done and it is up to me to not post things I wouldn't care if the whole world knew about....including my address...
gail

I was doing a Google search for a DG member's phone number in KY.....

Imagine my supprised when this came up...

"ROADRUNNER WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO SING"

I knew immediately that it was a post by Elena refering to the KY RU.....

(I still think they should let me sing!!) LOL

Jo

gessiegail, I didn't realize how public it was at first, either - but I should have, because I've using the Internet for years.

AngelSong, I agree. Most of us (I hope) like to think others are honest and above-board, but we are disabused of that notion every day. It bears repeating, because I for one sometimes forget. I'm also involved in family history research and that's a whole other problem!

However, I keep revisiting the question: what exactly am I paying for? Well, my regional forum is closed, that's a biggie. And 10 lookups a day in the plant files would be inconvenient at times. Other than that, not much. I don't use trade lists. I don't use the diary. Guess I'll have to draw up a list of pros and cons and decide next time my subscription runs out.

Jo, I hereby request that you sing at the CA RU!

Diaries are available to members also, not just subscribers. For me there are enough forums that I spend a lot of time on which are subscribers only that it makes it worthwhile, plus I use Plant Files a lot (that's what got me to subscribe in the first place was wanting more access to it). Don't forget also that subscribers can turn off ads and forum sponsorships but members can't. And I've recently become a fan of coops which are only open to subscribers.

Jo, you sing?

If you have forgotten what a non subscriber sees just log out and view the site as a visitor.

I have really thought about this issue. I pay 7.95 a month for news from Times 'Select' and don't use it as often as I do Dave's Gardens. I don't mean to sound callous but I know a lot of people short of money.....have a friend who cleans houses for a living and her husband, an American citizen, can't read or write. She always has money to bring lunch, etc. and give to the poorer. I am in favor of upping the subscriber rate. Come on, you know it is worth every penny and more that we pay. It is ridiculous to say that old members be grandfathered in!!!!
Anyone who gardens can pay 5.00 a month for this site......I vote for a higher subscription rate and not even have anything available to the public except a trial 2 month period of usage. You and I both know that they will be hooked!!!!!

Thanks, Kathleen....I am now trying to practice "La Cooka Racha to be in keeping with Drdon's theme....

Grammysgarden.....Let's just say that if I had to "sing for my supper" I wouldn't be so overweight!!

Jo

After thinking on this issue for several months, I've changed some forums. Here's the change I made today:

The following forums were previously open to everyone, but I closed them down so they are only available to paid subscribers:

Morning Glories
Caudiciforms
Poppies
Clematis
Cannas
Palms and Cycads
Heucheras and Friends
Gingers
Ferns, Fungi & Mosses
Violas and Violettas
Tropical Fruit
Aroids
Gladiolas

Winter Sowing
Cottage Gardening
Community Gardening
Terrarium Gardening
Gardening for Wildlife

Furthermore, because so many people in this thread expressed a desire for the regional forums to be closed to only subscribers, I have made that change. All regional forums are now subscriber only.

I expect we'll hear from a lot of non-subscribers who cannot access forums they previously were able to access. Our answer will be that if they enjoy DG that much, maybe they should subscribe. :-)

Dave

Thanks Dave and thanks Critter for the enlightment and bringing the subject to the forefront!!..I had no idea! ;0)

Dave,
I am SOOO thankful for this change.

I was reminded of that, over in the ORV Forum, after their recent RU.
Much concern was expressed there by some, about the pictures they were posting, because it wasn't a closed Forum.
I'm sure they'll feel better now.

I appreciate this change, so much.

Sasha

Thank you so much, Dave! These changes are much appreciated! You're such a great person!

I took a look at the Garden Talk area, and I think we're just about correct with the forums we have open and closed. For the most part members are able to get to the general forums and not the specialized forums, which IMHO is as it should be.

Marilyn

This message was edited Jun 5, 2007 3:13 PM

dave,

Yes! I certainly concur with your statement, but thanks for pointing that out, once again, as I think it's too often forgotten.

This is a wonderful site

Sasha

************** Dave, you just made my day with the remark of :
'Please do remember, though, that just because someone subscribes does not mean they are harmless'!!

After a long day I needed a good hearty laugh like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Dave!

:-)

Thanks Dave.

Thank you!

I like this change. I hope some of the 'lurkers' will subscribe instead.

Thank you soooo much, Dave! I appreciate you listening to our concerns. :) I am one who wanted to see the regional forums opened only to subscribers. Once again ... thanks so much. This is a wonderful garden! :-)

Dave, thank you!

T H A N K - Y O U - D A V E

Great....Jo

Thank you so much, Dave!

good call Dave.

Thank you! I know it isn't a sure fire fix for any kind of real security, but it will certainly help keep these forums a bit more private.

I'll be darned. I didn't realize how important it was to BE a member and keep everyone else out. I have to be honest, the only reason I subscribed to this site was because I liked it so much after bopping around for a week that I wanted to support it so others could bop around and learn from fellow gardeners. I do understand some of the concerns of privacy but I never realized how possesive of my knowledge I should be. And then, only sharing with others who have the ability to pay until I read through this thread. Sorry, my DH and I are full time students with 2 kids. Like I said, I thought this site was worth my donation so I gave up my one magazine subscription to help support it in hopes it could continue helping new gardeners and forging friendships between young and old with a common love for things that grow.
Naive I guess.
~ Christina
To share a garden is to spread happiness and joy

I think that's how most people here feel, limiting some forums to subscribers isn't about only wanting to share knowledge with people who pay for it. I know I share plenty of info in the beginner forums that are open to everyone, probably spend more time there than I do in some of the subscriber only ones. But I think it's nice to have some of the more specialized forums be subscribers only, after all what are we paying for if someone who doesn't pay gets to access most of the same stuff, you need to make it worth people's while to pay for a subscription and keeping a decent number of forums available only to subscribers is one way to do that.

ecrane3, I do understand your point. I started on the beginners forum and was kindly directed to the Southwest where I would recieve more help. After a few days of Q&A I decided to make a DONATION to keep the site up and running. I will continue to make a yearly donation, whatever the price is asked at the time but still feel that I am not PAYING for the service. To each their own, that is just my feeling from how I was warmly welcomed without anyone knowing if I was a member or not in my home forum. I guess I got lucky with such a wonderful bunch on the SW group. I'll have to stop in the beginner's forum once in awhile to share a bit and let them know it is worth the subscription if they can afford it.

My thinking on this subject, for what it's worth ;-) is that this sight is a business and has to be supported or NameMedia, the owners, wouldn't have any reason to continue to pay Dave, Terry and others to keep it running. If so many of the forums are open to non-paying members, then the paying members would figure, "why should I have to pay when everyone else can get it for free?" And, there is the Angle Fund for those who truly can not afford the $19.95 subscription.

I look at it as being 100 times better than a magazine subscription (which certainly isn't free) and it's cheaper than a lot of them too. Also, the other members of the forum(s) you frequented could tell whether or not you were a member by just clicking on your user name.

The majority of the people here are very friendly and helpful and I hope you find that to be true in all the forums that you can now participate in. I'll close by saying Welcome to DG and I hope you continue to love it here as much as I do :-)

Beautifully said, sadie_mae! :-)

Having regional forums open to the general public makes some subscribers feel as if they are leaving their doors unlocked.It is a group of gardeners who were used to having just familiar faces around. They grew to trust them with certain information such as addresses and pictures of their family and homes.
As a member, anyone could come in and browse around and poke into the forums that were closest in proximity to their homes and families.
As Dave pointed out, just because someone is a subscriber does not make them safe to share personal information with.
But as subscribers, they trickle in and introduce themselves more often than some curious person just browsing the internet.
No snobbiness intended, just safe surfing practices.