Way easier to use, way more people, other reasons to go there (my feed is about 90% plants or horticulture-related) such as keeping in touch with friends and family that don't live nearby. You can set your privacy any way you want and be connected only to the people that you want. As an example of who goes there, the Plant Idents group has 5000 members and many are at the top of their field - directors of botanical gardens, academics, etc.. I am not enamored with FB per se, but I've found what it provides to be wonderful. Like most things it is what you make it, and this forum is different. One of the things that I do like about FB is that the vast majority of people use their own names and their photos and rudeness on the plant pages is virtually unheard of. Nobody there has accused me of posting while drunk, for example. Facebook is very photo-oriented. It is not a good forum for long posts.

i dont do facebook ... ken

Facebook is good for datamining and a lack of privacy.

It is simple.

Only one website interface for people to get used to.

Only one password to remember for those who actually log out anymore.

Its trendy. Consider all the good music hiding on Youtube we just don't KNOW how to search for.

Facebook really doesn't suck. Just:

I can't resist telling people when they post something I disagree with.

It is neat to "fight the power" of the single (really few) site web we are turning into.

I type well for a man so I make unecessary online friends which leads to complications.

Facebook sucks for privacy.

Nobody there has accused me of posting while drunk, for example.

You've had this happen here? Some participants are aggressive about trying to squelch those they do not agree with.

Yes I have! Also accused of cheating on my taxes. Facebook only sucks for privacy if you don't set your settings the way you want them. All of these platforms are what you make of them. Facebook is hardly trendy. Very few young people use it anymore - they have all migrated to Instagram, Snapchat, etc. The vast majority of FB users are middle aged - grandmas wanting to see photos of their grandkids, businesses using it for promotion,etc. Nobody has to feel compelled to use it but there is way more transparency than there is in this kind of forum. And all of the groups have admins who monitor posts and correct misleading info or ban people who are not following the guidelines of the group. Generally speaking it is extremely friendly and collegial. Bad behavior in the plant groups is not tolerated, so seldom occurs.

Also accused of cheating on my taxes

Well it just gets better!

Ha!

I can't keep up with all the platforms - I don't even know what most of them are. Business operators are told to establish and maintain a presence on multiple different ones. I wonder that anyone has time for it all. And so much to say, so often.

I had Plant Ident recommended to me but I couldn't find it. And yes now even FB is considered passe by part of the user base.

Plant Idents, Planet Conifer

I found this place when doing web searches. Kept coming back.

Not a face book guy either....

Another no face book here as well.

here , you don't have to sign in to brose

ron

I don't do FarceCrook for the reasons mentioned above. Also, Suckerburg's censoring is well known.

tj

. I was referring specifically to conifer/tree information. I get how the other connections can be meaningful in many ways. Maybe I'm hesitant about going down the 'slippery slope'; get on the confiers page, take a peek at my professional group, glance at my college connections, anyone from my highschool out there? There goes 2 hours. Interesting about the number and quality of information referenced.

Marie it is not an either/or. You can do both. Yes, it can be a time sink, but so are many other things. I generally don't get too wound up in either platform. Planet Conifer and Weeping Trees and Conifers are great pages along with the ACS pages - there are five; a national one and one for each region. Great photos.

Sigh...I don't know why I'm logged in as formandfoliage again...this is Sara...

Never plan on being on facebook, either. Point is to mine as much information about you as possible and sell it to the highest bidder.

"Sigh...I don't know why I'm logged in as formandfoliage again"

it could actually be because it is picking up a cookie/token from facebook. Do you log into either Sara Malone or formandfoliage3 from facebook? I would disconnect both accounts from anything else and just use a "houzz" account to log in.

You are all so negative about a platform that apparently none of you have used. No matter, there is no requirement to use it. I don't watch TV. Sometimes it's easier just to eliminate something than try to ration it or use it appropriately.

And actually, I wouldn't be comfortable talking about some of the plants I have without being able to be anonymous. Plant theft does happen, and vandalism certainly could as well. A few years ago some rare species Rhododendrons were stolen from a greenhouse at Rarefind. Obviously, people only steal something of that nature when they know where to find it.

David - I log in directly to Houzz...through the same account credentials that I always used for GardenWeb (Sara Malone). At one point, I had two accounts but eliminated the f&f one a long time ago. Where the '3' came from I will never know!

But David, you can limit who sees your posts to people that you approve.

"You are all so negative about a platform that apparently none of you have used."

Fortunately, this is not a necessary criteria for being negative about something. ;-) I'm negative on beheadings, having never experienced one myself...

"But David, you can limit who sees your posts to people that you approve." Right, but that's not really the issue. Anyhow...it's just a difference of opinion. I'm not going to think differently of anyone here because they are on facebook. It is is what it is. If you like it...enjoy it.

I'm baaaaackkkk!

"David - I log in directly to Houzz...through the same account
credentials that I always used for GardenWeb (Sara Malone). At one
point, I had two accounts but eliminated the f&f one a long time
ago. Where the '3' came from I will never know!"

Ok, it sounds like a goof that happened during the NBC to Houzz transition maybe? I guess you already emailed their tech support about it. But they may not be willing to pay for people who can resolve it.

David see above - I logged out, clicked 'forgot my password', had them send me a link to reset, reset and here I am. Weird...I met the producer of the Gardenweb page a few years ago and they spent zero money on it. I suspect that Houzz picked it up for a song, and while they may spend more money than NBC did (the uber-owner of iVillage, which owned Garden Web), it still ain't much.

Facebook is sort of a really great version of what gardenweb wanted the "gallery" section to be. Fast, easy to upload hi-res, and no issues with storage. The real loss is that for some reason, you can't post for advice or any real discussion or dialog about various topics on FB...just doesn't get traction. Attention spans on FB is for immediate gratification of stunning conifer photos.

If the FB pages could support a true forum, it would be incredibly. I still come here to read old posts...just a wealth of information... unfortunately, so many have left

What is facebook?

Facebook and Houzz are like two different shovels for different uses. There are even more (online and garden) tools too.

Good point, Ontario. Sc77 - Facebook is pretty much exactly what iVillage wanted to do when they began back in the late 90's. GardenWeb was a tiny part of iVillage. It sounded like an insane concept and was probably just a bit ahead of its time and poorly marketed.

If you're saying Garden Web was an iVillage concept it actually existed for years before iVillage took it over.

No matter which way it went - my point is that iVillage was essentially the same concept as FB, as iVillage had hundreds of forums and sections on a vast array of topics. This forum would exist well in a Google group. The regulars might want to explore that. Total control, no 'big brother'. You can set it up however you want.

That's why Plant ID is so good - there are members who are the tops in their fields and can ID unbelievably fast and accurately. And the discussion on what they use as key characteristics is always interesting. I don't understand Pinterest but all of my artist friends use it extensively.

the discussion on what they use as key characteristics is always interesting

Yes that would add a whole additional level of worth, which might actually be considered fundamental to a meaningful exchange.

I like FB for keeping up with widely scattered friends and family. And lots of pretty pictures of roses. But for information, I come to GW.