Yeah Irma - I'm thinking of saying Good-Bye to all my friends. I sure do miss GW! But, then, I was totally addicted to it. Don't know of any other place to go. Do you?

It definitely has a different feel. GW felt like hobbyists helping hobbyists and while I know the same people are still here, somehow the design of Houzz feels too sterile and professional. It's like someone digging up a 7 year old post to plug their business and the fact that this site is tied to a business doesn't help. I don't know if there is a substitute for GW, but I think I am going to start looking. Before I even knew that GW was getting sold, a Master Gardener here in Lake County told me that Dave's Garden had a good community, but I haven't looked into it, maybe now is the time.

Dear garden friends

I hope nobody leaves this forum where we have so much fun and information....little by little we will all get used to the new "normal". Hang in there, everything in life changes, we were just not prepared for this. Hope to see you all in the future, it could be worse if the forum was completely shut down and gone. Think always positive....

Silvia

It will take a little while to get used to the new format, but I think they're trying to please the users with new 'fixes' to make it more friendly. It is kind of sterile looking, though.

Here is my latest purchase--I don't know where I'll find a space to plant it!

I'll give it a chance. It's not a natural fit, but maybe the forum will adapt.

It's on the first page because someone searched it out and used it to plug a business. I sure hope that was just a uncommon occurrence that happened during our first few days here. If more people end up plugging their businesses here, I will definitely be leaving.

That said, I am not out the door. I am willing to give this a shot, but I am also testing other waters. My first negative experience was finding out that I had been signed up for all the email notifications by default and then later finding out that I already had emails cluttering my inbox, but I was able to uncheck those boxes and that issue has been fixed. The second negative experience was the Forum Necromancy (term used for digging up old posts) for a business plug. I'm not saying that didn't happen on GW, but it was rare. Then when you add in the cold, sterile format, it just hasn't been a great past few days on the Florida Gardening forums.

I get what Silvia is saying about how change happens and it does. Some times change happens and if you ride it out, things are for the better. Other times, change happens to encourage you to expand your horizons and seek out new things. I know this from experience, because it was life changes that lead me to this passion of gardening and the Florida Gardening forum. If I had simply ridden out changes that have come my way, I wouldn't be here now.

Rest assured, however, that if I end up leaving for a warmer community, I will let everyone here know.

I do not care for the new formatting, it is cold and sterile, looks like a template bought off the the shelf, in fact I feel like I am on an anonymous blog website. Might have to check out that other site. Shame, really I've been here since the very beginning.

I am not that pc savvy, I guess I spend too much time in the garden, so all these changes don't sit well with me. I couldn't figure out how to post something at first. I had to click on like and now every thing comes up the way it should. I still haven't found the conversations sections, so I think it's combined with this forum. I don't do facebook or follow blogs, so all this is new to me.

So, there are fewer posts about gardening and more about the horrible new website. Okay, that's understandable, we're all creatures of habit. But try to remember, we were a community before and we can still be one after the change. I don't like this new format, but I'm not going to leave and go somewhere else, because there is no where else to go.

My suggestions are to adjust your settings, turn off all the notifications, don't link to any outside source, and let's get back to gardening.

I'm in agreement w/ Silvia. Change can be hard, but it is inevitable in almost everything.

FYI, the Home Decorating forum got a Conversations forum because (I believe) they requested 1 from the webmaster....

Yes, change is unavoidable. The old software was the oldest, most outdated I have ever seen running on the net. Even given that, I think this new format is a giant step down for all of us. The feel, as has been said, is far too sterile for people like us. The setup was so difficult, I almost gave up and went elsewhere. That is unnecessary. I do feel that the old owners simply sold us out. This is far from unmanageable, but I simply don't like it. There are many other forums out there for people like us. I could list them, but I would most likely get elimated. Many forums have been eliminated as redundant, but that is to be expected.

FWIW, in another conversation thread on the Homes forums, it was mentioned that it was either this or nothing @ all - IOW, no more G'web forums.

So I'm thankful it's still around...

Well thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one confused lost and frustrated for the "new" look and change in the Forum. Hope wish it work for all of us .

I miss the Florida forum feel. The passiflora drawing at the top had been elected by our vote, for instance. Each forum had a different picture at the top. Perhaps a useful identifier for our forum would be a map of FL with zones shown.

Yes, it definitely feels sterile here. I got so frustrated trying to find the seed exchange and trying to just make a simple post on the vegetable gardening site. I am now zzackey. I was zackey before. Dave's Garden is a dead forum. About 1 or 2 recent posts in each catagory. I've tried All Plants and others and they are dead too.

Zackey, did you find the seed exchange? Go to garden forums at top of the page, then to Exchanges & Trades and you'll find it there. :o)

Yeah, the new format is a little hard on the eyes...kind of like the last iphone update lol. But hey, it got us all to check in! So hi y'all! Hope everyone is staying warm!

Helen

For those posting about eyestrain and read-out dramas... if you're using chrome, this link offers a fantastic solution:

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/2854079/installing-stylish-to-change-houzz-background#14392444

Tried to download Stylish to my iPad. Not happening. :(

Hi there! I'm new to GardenWeb, but a longtime Houzz user and I just wanted to welcome everyone. I can understand how annoying this transition has been for all of you, but I just wanted to let you know how excited I am to be introduced to GardenWeb! It seems like such a tight-knit community and a just an overwhelming wealth of information. Houzz has been an amazing resource for my husband and I as we have updated our home. Now we are switching our focus to our outdoor environment and I'm so pleased to be able find help here. The beautiful thing is that GardenWeb is being exposed to a whole new audience and to me that's what it's all about - spreading the love! Hopefully businesses will understand that forums are all about helping people and building relationships if and when they do choose to chime in on a thread. I have to say some of the best advice I've found on Houzz has been from the Pros and they haven't been simply linking back to their websites. I think that everyone has a right to participate as long as it's in the spirit of spreading education. Good luck with the transition everyone! :)

I was annoyed, now I'm outright angry. No matter what I do, I am not signed out, even though it says I am. I did not click on the 'keep me signed in' button. I feel like I've been hijacked.

Thanks for the flower (Pink Ixora Malay??) and comments Marin. Hopefully the transition will settle itself...

Hi JanMac, If you click in the upper right corner on Your Houzz, you can then click Sign Out from the drop down menu that appears. Hope that helps!

Suzy Q, yes, I also belong to Dave's Garden Web. It is excellent! Much more homey and with a community much like what is now Houzz. I agree, and despite some of the encouragement above, in my gut this is just too sterile looking to inspire me. Visuals mean a lot to many of us! It's not just a surface thing, it goes to the core.

Woops, sorry, that's Dave's Garden ... you can google it, at the moment I don't have the site up, but I conflated the two names! It's by subscription but economical, and there's an option to receive their newsletter once a week. Hope you like it. I will likely quit Houzz since we were not consulted, just "transfered." I have not compared Dave's Garden and what used to be the GardenWeb for I haven't had a real garden in so long but now that I'm about to again, I'm glad there is at least one alternative. There may be more. Thanks for listening, y'all.

Oh my gosh, this is really hard to take in. Confusing, not as user friendly and you can't see at a glance what posts you will be interested in. I wanted to ask where I can get a particular plant, now I have to figure out how to do this. Certainly not like the old days.

GardenWeb was a wonderful place.

FlowerLady

While I have already agreed about the sterile feel of the site, I guess I am missing the "not user-friendly" part. Perhaps it is the computer geek part of me, but I haven't seen a confusing side of the forums yet.

I have been looking at other forums and, as others have mentioned, while there are some, none are nearly as active as what GW was. That said, how active a forum is depends on its members, so even if we decided to start up a new forum from scratch (I'm not suggesting this, just giving an example), if 90% of us ended up going to that forum, then it would be quite active. If 50% of us went to a "barely active forum", it would become an "active forum."

I looked at DG and while it doesn't seem as active as GW was, it is active. There are a few members in the Florida Gardens forum that keep it alive. That said, I'm not sure how I feel about the whole bi-monthly fee thing. On one hand, I have never had to pay for access to a forum before because there have always been 'just as good' free options. On the other hand, even at the free forums, I have on occasion made donations so the owners of the forum could keep their lease on the domain name or for server space or for bandwidth to accommodate more members. Every 'free' forum is paid for in some fashion or another. And ultimately, $20 for a year's access is equivalent of $1.67 a month, not all that much really. Still, I'm not sure I would want to do that. Paying for access to a forum only to find out that you don't care for the moderators or community means you're out that money, though again, $20 isn't going to break me. Having said that, I just renewed my subscription to Florida Gardening Magazine at $39 for two years. So while two years of access to a forum is about the same as two years of a magazine, is a gardening forum on par with a magazine? I guess it could be seen as such. Instead of emailing a question and waiting two months to see if it is printed/answered, we can get our answers within 24 hours. And while we might not get articles filled with tips and pictures, we do have tips and pictures scattered throughout various posts.

Now, having said all THAT, two things that keep me from 'jumping ship' are, 1) the community of people from old GW that are still here and 2) the archives of information that I already have bookmarked here. Though, now that I think about it, it is painfully obvious that nothing says I can't reside on multiple forums. I think I just had a 'duh' moment...

I think it is mostly that this place is so different from the old system. I had a hard time registering and I am not new to this type of thing. The photo posting system works well.

I just read that there's going to be a fee of $20 per year. That right there will drive a LOT of people away.

Did you read there is going to be a $20 fee per year for Houzz? I can tell you that that is 100% false. Houzz (and by extension GardenWeb) are and will always be free to access.

I found both sites last September when I began planning a remodel that is just about to start.

Houzz was eye candy and inspiration but intimidating in all the perfection.

GW was real life, been in the trenches people detailing their projects. I spent hours learning about stuff I never thought I needed to know. Now as I am about to begin my own projects, I feel assured in my decisions.

I don't have the pleasure of all the friendships that have been forged over years. I wish I did and maybe one day I will.

But both sites helped me so much with decisions I needed to make. For me its not a question about sterile feeling because I am just happy to find friendly, knowledgeable people who happen to like many of the same things I do and were willing to share.

Most of what I read that people don't like comes down to how the website is designed. They (houzz) had a stand alone, successful site. Just imagine the work that has gone on behind the scenes to make a pretty smooth transition, all things considered. I feel they are genuinely trying to marry the two sites but that takes time and patience plus a tremendous amount of I want to poke out my eyeballs work.

If all of this has been too much, too overwhelming, too sad, take a break but there are are so many who read and learn from your posts. Someone in the world needs you and your knowledge or friendly postings. I know I did and I am so happy you once took the time to share. I really do appreciate the whole community.

Well, I admit it - I was wrong. After the first day of incorrect traversing the new site, I finally got the hang of it. It's not so bad. Michael and Meyerk9, you're right - the community is what makes it. I am still addicted to the camaraderie and the expertise and generosity of all my friends here.

I'm thankful for all the ones who are still here and miss the ones who have been gone awhile.

See ya around!

Susie

I had a fit at first. Once you adjust to it, the site works pretty good. It certainly is different.

Thank you Emily for the info, that is a relief to me. I look forward to getting used to new format and chatting with new and old friends here.

FlowerLady

I'm still here!! And while I still don't love it, I am learning to adjust to the site. It's hard to teach old dogs new tricks, but not impossible. :o)

While I don't mind the new look, I DO mind that I'm getting emails from houzz telling me about a latest post on this forum. Please desist...I can check myself to see posts I want to read.

Hester, glad to see you're still here! Look at the words that appear very faintly in green below. It says, "Click to switch off notifications about new comments". I think it works!

The "Click to switch off notifications about new comments" only works for the current thread, I think. Could be wrong. A better, more permanent way is to mouse-over the Your Houzz in the top right and click 'Edit Profile'. In the menu on the left side of the screen, click 'Advanced Settings'. Then scroll down and switch all the settings under "Send me and Email when:" to 'Never'. You can also uncheck the subscriptions that were defaulted to 'On' as well as change what is visible to people who browse your profile.