The change happened several months ago. My understanding is that either GardenWeb was absorbed by Houzz or it was going to disappear completely. So I'm glad it's still here. Immediately after the switch there were quite a bit of complaints about stuff and the Houzz staff has done rather well in addressing the majority of them (the blandness is about the only one I and others have left).

Haven't seen any "rude houzzer's" in any of the forums I frequent (vegetable, allium, tomato, pepper, organic, harvest, etc.) and I've been reading the forums daily, or almost daily, both before and after the switch. People still come here to chat, ask questions, get answers, and share experiences. Nothing has really changed in that way.

If people don't want to try and adapt to change then they are going to leave. That's just the way it is and I don't mean that in any sort of rude way. It is a shame that people have left because of the switch and because of that some of the forums, particularly this one, has slowed a bit. But I'm sure
in time more people will join and the forums will pick up again and people will make new friends.

Houzz takes a bit of getting used to and there are new features but the old GW links still work. We still have our clippings which are now under the "bookmarks" tab on our profiles and we still have our trade lists. If you bookmark your favorite forum(s) or the main forum directory to your computer/phone/whatever then navigation is simple and you won't have to go through all the Houzz stuff to get to where you want.

Not really sure how Houzz is too commercial. The old GW had all sorts of ads such as in-text links popping up and banners on both on the top and sides of the page. Whereas Houzz is ad free that I can see.

Rodney

P.S. Oh, and I joined GW in late 2010 but was a lurker for years before joining.

There's been cycles of people joining and leaving GW for years. Most of the people I first traded with (10+ years ago) have left, no longer keep their lists current, or no longer receive and/or respond to messages. Many people find that as their gardens grow, their wants change--speaking for myself, I have so many different plants and most of what I am looking for is rare and obscure, and not likely to be found on many, if any trade lists. While I sometimes post for trades, it is rare to find anything I am looking for.

In addition, there seems to be an awful lot of asking for things for postage, more than there was before GW moved to Houzz. I see plants and seeds posted for trades, and often the first responses are from those asking for them for postage. While this is off-putting, it's not the end of the world-I can and (usually) do ignore them.

I did make some good trades earlier this summer. So I will take a chance every now and then and post, but my expectations are not high. If I get something, great, if not, that's just how it goes.

yes its a big change, but it feels like maybe finally things are settling down.

for the bland, and somewhat difficult to read issues...some of us GW users have created a few extensions, which improve the site's format and colors, etc.

basically they are programs which, once installed into firefox or chrome, change the appearance of the site. there are some other firefox and chrome extensions, and a few other workarounds, posted on a couple of threads too. if you want to check them out, the ones that have been created are available here ---> have-different-backgrounds-and-improved-viewing-of-this-site

or go straight there : userstyles - gardenweb

"In addition, there seems to be an awful lot of asking for things for
postage, more than there was before GW moved to Houzz. I see plants and
seeds posted for trades, and often the first responses are from those
asking for them for postage. While this is off-putting, it's not the
end of the world-I can and (usually) do ignore them."

I think that's because the sticky is no longer a sticky. You know, this thread titled sticky: please read before posting! **required** (which doesn't seem current anymore).

There was also the Special Instructions For The Exchange. This is one of the only links I could find for this.

Leila- Thanks for the background links.

Rodney