Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
gwannouncements

GardenWeb needs your feedback!

gwannouncements
11 years ago

Hi everyone,

As you may have noticed, we've been sprucing up the site a bit. Among other things, we've added new ways to upload photos and email notifications of post replies. We are still cleaning out cobwebs and weeding some areas of the site, but we are also working on some bigger projects like a better search engine (yay!) and a mobile app. We'd also like to get some feedback from you. What enhancements or additions would you like to see? What do you love? What do you hate? Think big and small!

We can't promise the moon, but please know that we will read and consider every one of your ideas and suggestions. We appreciate your loyalty and dedication to our site and we know how important your community is to you. Help us make it even better!

Please use this post to offer your feedback. But, as always, you are welcome to contact me directly by clicking on my profile page.

Best regards,

Tamara Amey

GardenWeb Community Manager

Comments (28)

  • minnie_tx
    11 years ago

    The uploading of photos is great as for other I'd like to see you leave it alone if it works please dont fix it IMHO

  • geezerfolks_SharonG_FL
    11 years ago

    I hate that GardenWeb hasn't given a person on the Quilting Forum control of our FAQ even though it was promised years ago. Please take care of what you have before expanding. Hate the Facebook idea.

    SharonG/FL

  • ritaweeda
    11 years ago

    Tamara, thank you for giving us this opportunity to make comments. I visit this site often and enjoy sharing my interests with others. I mainly concentrate on Quilting, Florida Gardening, Cooking and Pets, though I do visit other sites on occasion. I am looking forward to any new innovations and enhancements that will make the use easier, faster, and more interesting. I don't like the pop-ups, ads, etc. but I am not having many problems now that I use the Firefox browser. There are other interests that would be nice to have forums for, for instance, I would love one that caters to the fine arts since I dabble in that, too. I'm sure there will be other suggestions forthcoming. I do not, however, like the fact that this site will be connected to Facebook or Pinterest. I know it's a major part of so many lives, but it's not for me. I also am sure that my opinion is in the minority on this. If you insist on continuing with it, is there any way that we could somehow 'opt-out' on our profiles and that way our posts or photos won't be included?? I don't post anything (or at least attempt to be vigilant) that I would later regret, however, I am dead set against any of my photos gravitating to any other site. And yes, I do realize that anyone can access anything I post if they are surfing the web, but this is different to me. I don't choose to facebook. If I wanted to I would register there. That's my major biggest hangup right now about GW, was made aware of it just recently. I might not ever post photos of my projects again since learning about it. If a lot of other people feel the same, the sharing experience on this site is going to suffer.

  • minnie_tx
    11 years ago

    Rita you said it better than I did especially regarding Facebook I think it has become an invasive thing in our lives

  • littlehelen_gw
    11 years ago

    Tamara, Thanks for asking for our input. I am relatively new to GW and focus primarily on the quilting forum, but I second Rita's sentiments regarding FB. I'm not a FB fan, and don't need or want a link to FB. While I'm not enthused with the pop ups and do have a blocker on, I understand that sponsors pay the bills...so be it.
    V.

  • jennifer_in_va
    11 years ago

    I agree with Rita about the Facebook & Pinterest issue. I consider the close friends I've met here an extended family. I would share more detailed information/photos with them, that I would never put on FB. I do realize that these photos are accessible by anyone on the planet, but I think most people would be unlikely to 'happen upon' them here than they would on FB. I do not like the idea that anything here is automatically linked to FB or anywhere else. I also think that if GW is accessible through those sites, then membership & participation through GW will dwindle.

    As for another suggestion,I've seen that you've added a feature (check box) if you wish to be notified of others' postings on a thread that you're following. I, however, would rather have it noted in some way on the main listing of threads... maybe with a symbol, or a highlighting or something. This way I could easily look through the thread titles and see quickly which ones I've posted comments on without having to get so many emails. I'd rather see all the comments in one place on the thread, rather than haphazardly through my emails.

    Maybe before making drastic changes, a poll or survey of sorts would be possible for key changes (ie. Facebook link, etc.)...you may find you have a different audience that doesn't really want that much technology!

  • finchelover
    11 years ago

    No way do I want anything to do with facebook
    Like easier way to Post,also like to print off pictures or cute jokes just make it easier for us newbies

  • grammyp
    11 years ago

    Thanks so much for the opportunity to give feedback. I would love to be able to edit my posts. Sometimes I just think of things I would love to add. It would also be nice to be able to quote another post when replying.

    beverly

  • murphy_zone7
    11 years ago

    Rita said it very well....ditto from me.
    Also, I posted a response on the cooking forum and forgot about the Facebook Pinterest thing too. I do not want to be part of Facebook thru Gardenweb.

    Also, I may be very wrong about this but if a survey was done of the people who post here, you would find that we are affectionately known as "seniors". We embrace technology but don't make it the center of our universe. I would suspect that the majority of us do not text, facebook, or spend hours and hours surfing the web at all hours of the day and night from mobile phones. We also do not feel the need for our every thought to be posted online somewhere. Well, it applies to this senior anyway. :)
    Thank you for the opportunity to express our thoughts to you.
    Murphy

  • dan_the_mailman
    11 years ago

    Tamara, thank you for asking for our input. I like the new way to add photos because it gives us an option other than having to use sites like photobucket. In regards to the facebook option, please, please, please DO NOT go that route. I am on facebook, but I like the fact that I can't access the GW from there. I come to the GW to relax, sort of a refuge from all the social media. I enjoy facebook, but I don't like going there 24/7. So please, listen to our community and let us stay in our relaxing refuge which you have so graciously provided, and keep the wolf of social media on the other side of the door.

    Dan

  • chickie1
    11 years ago

    Ditto on what everyone has said. No to FB or Pinterest.
    Darlene

  • nannykins
    11 years ago

    Triple ditto to FB and Pinterest
    Theresa

  • rosajoe_gw
    11 years ago

    I also am not a fan of FB or other social medias. An edit function would be a great tool!

    Thank you for asking for our opinions.
    Rosa

  • calverttx
    11 years ago

    I do not care for Facebook. A word to the wise. I got on fb to look at a picture my son posted. Can you guess my shock when fb sent an invitation to everyone in my contact list to join me. This included business associates. Never again...... Ladies be careful. My vote for fb is NO.

  • K8Orlando
    11 years ago

    Thanks, Tamara. I too appreciate the opportunity to voice an opinion.

    I realize this is already a done deal and I suspect GW is looking for support, but I think you will find more opposition to fb than support. Facebook provides a different service and if that's what we all wanted to do, then we would have a group there instead of here. If everything on-line is the same, then why would we need this forum? But we DO like it here. It is a much different experience and one we value.

    I'm not crazy about the photo posting option GW added but that's just because I want to be able to alter or delete the photo. I can do that if I posted it through Photobucket, but can't do it if I used the direct link in the post. That's a personal preference, but there may be times I want to delete a photo and don't want to give that up.

    I hope you will listen to your loyal GW fans and cease adding our photos to fb and Pinterest.

    Kate

  • quiltnhen
    11 years ago

    While I do use Facebook I'd prefer to leave GW out of that. I like the small community feel of each of the individual forums and really think the others who say "if it aint broke don't fix it" should be listened to. Picture posting is definitely easier than I remember from time on the kitchen forum years ago.

  • quiltingfox
    11 years ago

    My hard-drive died recently and I lost all my GW bookmarks. It took me a while through multiple searches before I finally found the member page link at the bottom of one of the GW pages. I think it would be really helpful if the member page (for editing profile, editing member's page, editing your exchange list, and for searching for members and exchange lists) had a link under Tools and Directories at the top of the GW screen. I think better accessibility to this page would make the site a little more user-friendly. Love this GW site! Keep up the great work!

    Thanks for your consideration and best to you,
    quiltingfox

  • jennifer_in_va
    11 years ago

    I agree with Rita about the Facebook & Pinterest issue. I consider the close friends I've met here an extended family. I would share more detailed information/photos with them, that I would never put on FB. I do realize that these photos are accessible by anyone on the planet, but I think most people would be unlikely to 'happen upon' them here than they would on FB. I do not like the idea that anything here is automatically linked to FB or anywhere else. I also think that if GW is accessible through those sites, then membership & participation through GW will dwindle.

    As for another suggestion,I've seen that you've added a feature (check box) if you wish to be notified of others' postings on a thread that you're following. I, however, would rather have it noted in some way on the main listing of threads... maybe with a symbol, or a highlighting or something. This way I could easily look through the thread titles and see quickly which ones I've posted comments on without having to get so many emails. I'd rather see all the comments in one place on the thread, rather than haphazardly through my emails.

    Maybe before making drastic changes, a poll or survey of sorts would be possible for key changes (ie. Facebook link, etc.)...you may find you have a different audience that doesn't really want that much technology!

  • magothyrivergirl
    11 years ago

    Tamara, Thank you for asking for feedback from us, as well as the other forums.

    GW/iVillage is a Business, and the decisions iVillage makes are in the best interests of iVillage and it's profitability. I understand and respect that fact.
    I am NOT a fan of Facebook or Pinterest. Yes, we have given iVillage 'ownership rights' to use our posts, messages, and pictures. I would like an OPT-OUT feature linked to our membership to GW that would allow us to OPT-OUT of the Facebook and Pinterest feature. I have been reading responses on the other Forums-some people don't seem to care - others-- Do not want our Privacy (veiled as it is) so blatantly compromised. An OPT-OUT feature would probably make everyone happy.

    I would also like an Administrator assigned to this Forum to keep the FAQ up to date. When asked, we had volunteers willing to take on this responsibility.

    I want to Thank you for the time and trouble you spent setting up the Exchanges Category on this Forum, even though there is a refusal to use it. I appreciate that you responded to this request.



  • aquadragonfly
    11 years ago

    I posted on the Robin Round forum that I would REALLY love the option to edit or delete a posting or response that I have left, that includes a pic I may have posted too, I might not want it to be around always. We should have this option of edit or deleting an again this is my personal opinion BUT I think adding this option will make Gardenweb better, and though I do have an account on FB (we can edit and delete postings there too) I prefer not to be linked to it through GW, I too come here to get away from all the junk on FB.
    Again my personal opinion but I do not see the point of Pinterest, what is it good for? You can do the same things there you can on other sites it is a jumble of junk to me.
    In other words, (I am not a 'senior' either) BUT I want GW left to it's cozy little self.
    Gardenweb is what it is because of the 'Community'/family bonds have been formed here that more likely then not last a lifetime. You CAN NOT get that on FB. GW is more then just a place to hang out and drink coffee, it is as said, A community of friends.
    FB or pinterest is NOT needed here.

    I do spend MORE TIME HERE then on FB, I post more here too.... ....so what does that tell you?

    Thanks for asking for input, I truly do hope it is taken to heart.

    :) Aqua

  • lola99
    11 years ago

    Tamara,

    Thank you for reaching out to us. I agree with the comments above regarding Facebook and Pinterest...keep it separate from Gardenweb.

    Lola

  • vacuumfreak
    11 years ago

    I like the simple, straight forward method of posting.... but I can only echo what others have said. I don't want facebook to be connected with Gardenweb. I HATE the pop ups because I frequently surf Gardenweb on my phone and the pop up takes up the whole screen and it takes forever to load and and click the X to get rid of it... insanely annoying. I know sponsors pay the bills, but I think the banner and in text adds are sufficient. I personally boycott any product that comes up on a pop-up. Maybe a mobile version of the site would be nice. Editing would be nice, as would a built in spell checker (though I know many browsers already have that feature built in) and a way to do bold, italics, and underlined text...

    Thanks for reading our suggestions...

  • calliope
    11 years ago

    I don't mind the advertisements and even read them when they interest me, but some of the ones you put up muck up the system to the point the pages don't load properly. It sends me packing for a few days until you change ads. There is a reason GW has been a success for so long and that's because the basic format works and is user friendly. I've seen a lot of really good programs, sites and merchandise change to 'keep up with the latest trends' and ruin their integrity by changing the very things making it successful in the first place. No, I don't like the idea of GW linking with FB or Pinterest. I use FB, but only because I must to keep in contact with a few friends. Certainly not to explore other internet sites. I don't like their format, nor their policies. blech. ;-)

  • gwannouncements
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hi everyone!

    You asked and we listened. Today we are very excited to be debuting our newest feature -- post editing! To use this feature, go back to the post you wish to correct and you'll find the link under the 'My Clippings' links on the right side of the page.

    I want to give a special shout out to all the testers who tried to break the editing tool. ;) Your feedback was insightful and invaluable. Thank you!

    You may have also noticed that we adjusted the login cookie awhile back so that you should not have to login repeatedly.

    Stay tuned -- we have more cool things in the works!

    As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

    Best regards,
    Tamara

  • lindaoh_gw
    11 years ago

    Thank you Tamara!

  • Kristene Smith
    11 years ago

    Thanks for asking for feedback. I love the easy way of posting photos, but can we have the ability to put 2 or more photos in the one post? Last time I wanted to put on photos only 1 per post could occur.

    I, too, have no interest in FB or Pinterest so would not welcome being attached to those sites

    tinyteena

  • ritaweeda
    11 years ago

    First I want to thank GW for doing these improvements and we all appreciate them. Secondly, I have not posted a photo for sharing since the announcement of the link to FB and Pinterest. I have also noticed that the posting of photos has diminished since then. Could you please explain exactly how this works for all of us who aren't wanting our photos to navigate to these websites? I am not registered to FB and have no plans to. I don't even know how it works. I just want to know how the posts even get linked there. Is it the same situation that we have at GW where we can create a link to a webpage?

  • K8Orlando
    11 years ago

    Thanks Tamara! I love the 'edit post' feature!

Sponsored
EA Home Design
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars69 Reviews
Loudoun County's Trusted Kitchen & Bath Designers | Best of Houzz