Good points.

After this disaster, if I were in charge, I would push reset. I understand they don't want to admit a mistake, but the site just collapsed. With that serious malfunctioning, I would have thought common sense would prevail.

Rosefolly, can you (or anyone reading this) see a place to contact Houzz support directly? I'd like to do that. Right now. I agree that the disastrous results must be recognized before changes and fixes can happen., but can't find a direct t connection to Houzz support. Someone at Houzz needs to get on this ASAP and communicate regularly with Gardenweb members so we have updates and substantial assurances. The the severity of the situation has reached critical mass. I've seldom seen such poorly functioning software from such a large company! This version of the Gardenweb forums is so problematic that apparently members can even accidentally delete each other's posts. We need ongoing, straightforward, open communication with Houzz support NOW! Thank you for any phone number or email address, etc. that you can spot in the pile of "support" platforms. Carol

Here's how I get to Houzz web site Support:

1) Open Antiques Rose Forum

2) at the top, you will see a message which includes a FAQ button - click on it.

3) Way at the top, on the left, you will see a grey box with "Submit a Request" written in it. Click on it.

4) Click on "Professional Support" and fill in the form. It works, and I get a reply very fast, and they fixed what I was complaining about very fast also.

Of course, there should be a more direct way to get to them, and there may be, but this is what I use and it works.

Jackie

Thank you, Jackie! Trying to locate the FAQ button at the top..... Carol

I have no FAQ button at the top. Carol

Under the colored advertising under the Houzz ad, do you see wording like this? "

GardenWeb has been updated!

For information on the new look and features, please visit the FAQ" Go there.

Nope. I don't, Kim. I see this. Carol

"Hi portlandmysteryrose, what are you working on?

Get help for your projects, share your finds, and show off your Before & After.

Start a discussion..."

The very top say:

HOUZZ

231

[0(https://www.houzz.com/viewCart)

• [PHOTOS[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/home-design-ideas-phbr0-bp~)
• [SHOP BY DEPARTMENT[(https://www.houzz.com/products/products-pcat-br~)
• FIND PROFESSIONALS
• STORIES & ADVICE
• SALE

Sorry about jumble. I'm cutting and pasting.

Carol, it's not just you, I don't see it either. I used to see what Kim says, but I don't get that anymore... it seems to have been removed, at least to my eyes, and yours by the looks of things..

I just posted the following letter to Houzz on the Antique Roses Forum, the Rose Forum and Using Houzz, but it doesn't show up on the ARF. I'll have to check the other forums. My letter to Houzz shows up under "Your Houzz" and my portlandmysteryrose posts under "Your Houzz." This same scenario happened with my Allegra post. I tried to post it 4 times before success on the 5th. All the while, it appeared under my "Your Houzz" posting list. Sigh.

Carol

HOUZZ SUPPORT ATTENTION!! GardenWeb is BROKEN.

portlandmysteryrose(8)6 minutes ago

Dear Houzz Support:

I am trying to contact you directly. I need make sure that the disastrous results of your "upgrades" are clearly understood so that if Houzz would like to maintain its Gardenweb user following, it will act immediately to see that changes and fixes happen as close to yesterday as possible, but I can't find a direct connection to Houzz support. I have had a couple of exchanges with Emily, but I would like a consistent connection to Houzz support. Could you let us know EXACTLY where we can ALL REGISTER OUR COMPLAINTS about the serious faults in the new program? A common Gardenweb link to Houzz would be ideal.

I want to give you a heads up that if you do not wish to lose a large percentage of your client base, the programming team at Houzz needs to rectify this untenable situation ASAP, and support staff needs to communicate directly with GardenWeb users. We need an ongoing conversation with Houzz support so we that we have updates and substantial assurances. We have lost any faith in Houzz's integrity, and users on the Antique Roses Forum and other forums are bailing in droves. Given the labyrinthene maneuvers that must be accomplished to reach Houzz support (each maneuver seems to be dependent on age and type of technology), many GardenWeb members are just surrendering without notifying Houzz of issues. Others of us have tried to no avail indicate the extent and gravity of the software issues.

The severity of the broken software resembles malware and member dissatisfaction has reached critical mass. I've seldom encountered such a poorly functioning site run by such a large company. This version of Gardenweb is so problematic that apparently members can accidentally delete each other's posts. Private user information has been openly displayed. This is egregious! Most of us have continuing, ongoing, and debilitating issues with starting posts, attaching photos and commenting. I wish to communicate in no uncertain terms that we need ongoing, straightforward, open, communication with Houzz support NOW before more members actively depart or just fade away. For the record, the exiting members I refer to come from all disciplines and walks of life. We are scientific researchers, software engineers, college professors, teachers, artists, writers, photographers, rose breeders, presidents of garden associations, nursery and landscape company owners, interior designers, health care professionals, contractors, real estate agents, etc.

Thank you for your immediate assistance and prompt communication.

Carol

(portlandmysteryrose/Antique Roses Forum)

I tried to do a screen grab/screen shot to show you, but it won't let me post it. "Your post is 804272 characters too long, posts can be up to 21800 characters. Please make it a little shorter and try again. "

Add there is an ACTIVE defection to NGA under way which will only swell as Houzz becomes less and less attractive to use.

Thank you, Marlorena. So sorry I am in good company under these circumstances yet again.

For the record, Houzz, I am using brand new Apple technology. Carol

Thank you for the info, Kim. I'll try cutting my Houzz post in half.

I've pretty much given up. It's not worth the frustration when I can go to the other site, and post easily.

I CAN NO LONGER POST. I tried to send a one word test post. ONE WORD.

"Houzz, had reasons for what they did, even if it is only too look fresh
and up-to-date, and they are not going to change it back because it
annoys me to have to look around for what I want to find."

HOUZZ has solid reasons for implementing changes that unify all of its properties. Some of those changes removed certain functionalities (unintentionally AND intentionally) , some were just stylistic changes, and some unfortunately broke things. Some, it appears, were the result of ineptitude on the part of the designer(s) (lists not sorted alphabetically) and some were simply bad ideas (clicking on a thread opened a new tab every single time!).

Some of these changes are being fixed, when in fact something got broken. Some of the bad UE (user experience) changes have been rolled back because the web designers realized they degraded the UE. But the core changes designed to integrate GW with the overall function/look of HOUZZ are undoubtedly here to stay. You will eventually find, I expect, that some of these changes are permanent whether you approve of them or not. "Top Commenters" and "cross posting" tools and methods for posting are undoubtedly here to stay.

So the bottom line is: can I live with these changes, knowing that most of them are permanent? If the answer is NO, then get thee to an alternative forum. HOUZZ doesn't care if you leave. Seriously. At this point, anyone who is PO'd enough to continue posting about their unpleasant experience here is not someone who is going to suddenly "settle down" and become an asset to HOUZZ with its "Get Your Ideas Here and Buy What You Need To Implement Those Ideas!" agenda. Anyone who doesn't help funnel $$$ into HOUZZ is just dead weight and they don't care about you.

I don't mind the cross-posting but the "Top Commenters" feature seems silly and useless, and just clutters up the page. The whole page looks ugly to me, but it's okay once you get into a thread. Their stylistic changes, to me, suck.

Good point, Paul. They don’t care, but they should. They can look at my account and see I’ve never spent a dime ordering anything from Houzz directly, nor clicked on any of the advertising here. However, I’ve had family and friends ask me questions about roses and gardening, and I’ve sent many of them to Houzz to look up further information on the subject. Several times, I’ve been told later by this person, that they ended up actually ordering something from Houzz while looking up whatever it was I sent them here for. I know Houzz isn’t thinking about such things, but just because I don’t have money to spend here, doesn’t mean I don’t have family and friends that do. I certainly won’t be sending anyone HERE for anything anytime soon. I’d be embarrassed to. Lisa

"They can look at my account and see I’ve never spent a dime ordering
anything from Houzz directly, nor clicked on any of the advertising
here. However, I’ve had family and friends ask me questions about roses
and gardening, and I’ve sent many of them to Houzz to look up further
information on the subject."

Interesting point, Lisa, and one I had not considered as I am not someone to refer people to resources of this sort. I cannot remember the last time I sent someone to GW for information. So its ME that's the dead weight around here!

I really don't understand how creating this hostility helps their business model.

Au contraire Paul, You are one of the star attractions.

MaryC

Carol, I wrote to them . It is written by Emily H with her add but it took me all over the world.

I can back track and see how I did it but they send me an email this morning

I am looking at their email and I see this address: support@houzz.com

I am not sure if they are going to help me or not. But you sure can try.

Emily H is :-

help.houzz.com

Hers is one of drop down windows that is a link that opens to another and that's how I did it.

Good luck

Jin

Here is how to get to the customer service link, which I just did a few moments ago. Admittedly it is not intuitive. But I remember struggling to find the support link back in the iVillage days as well.

From your main page, click on the green text "Explore topics"

It is listed on the left hand side, just beneath "Your Topics" and the forums you have visited, or they think you might like.

This will take you to a new page. Immediately under the color banner at the top asking what you are working on is the text Jackie described. It says:

"GardenWeb has been updated!

For information on the new look and features, please visit the FAQ"

Click on the highlighted green link, and it will take you to the FAQ page. Immediately below the color banner on this new page, but above the FAQ questions and answers, is a link in all caps saying SUBMIT A REQUEST. Selecting PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT from its options will bring up a form that Jackie has tried, and which works. Apparently they do look at these.

Rosefolly

Paul IS a "star attraction" and an asset. It's up to HOUZZ to try to retain him.

I'll drop in and add responses from time to time, but posting a new message is too difficult, too "iffy" and too frustrating.

Maybe I should have tried Prof Support, but they (Emily) rec going in under apps , which might be the wastebasket.

I must agree fully with Mary, regarding Paul. One of those Houzz purchases, made by my family member, was made after she fell head over heals in love with “my”/Paul Barden’s ‘Mel’s Heritage’ rose. I told her everything I knew about M.H, and directed her to both HMF and Houzz. She was thrilled to find that the creative genius behind ‘Mel’s Heritage’ was actually a member here, AND had commented on one of MY old posts about MH, himself. She purchased BOTH Paul Barden’s ‘Mel’s Heritage’, and some items from Houzz.

Star attraction, for sure! Lisa

Edited to add: Agree with others, as well. I’m a slow poke, and more comments came in while I was typing mine:) It WOULD be a shame to lose him. Where else can you interact with the person that bred your rose? Lisa

RoseFolly - I followed your instructions but the 'Updated' notice no longer appears. It was there earlier, at least Friday. I did click on it at that time but found too much that I didn't have time to explore. Maybe because I visited it once they think I'm done?? This is true for both my iMac and Kindle Fire tablet.

MaryC

Paul, YOU are not the dead weight. In Houzz terms, your presence is the highly valued incentive. In my terms, your presence is one of the great joys of this community! If I were to say what is dead weight around here, I might be barred from the forum. :-) Carol

MaryC, mine worked a couple of minutes ago but it is gone now, just as you described.

However - and I feel stupid just discovering this now - if you scroll to the bottom of this page there is a link called Contact Us under the column titled COMPANY. That takes you to the same form. This can be found on the individual threads but not on the main page of the forum. Seems odd that it is not persistent, but perhaps that was a tradeoff for having the page numbers at the bottom.

Best wishes!

Rosefolly

Thanks Rosefolly - I'll try to tackle it tomorrow. I think you and Carol have done a good job of letting them know we're just not being grumpy because its 'new and different'. Things are really broken. Part of me wonders if they purposefully did it before the weekend thinking we just needed to get our whining out of the way and we'd become used to it. Didn't occur to them that maybe their work was less than stellar. I know there are always unexpected issues when upgrades go live, but this has been so 'not ready for prime time'.

MaryC

Rosefolly, the first strategy I tried was to look at the page bottom for contact info. To no avail. Do you mind if I ask what kind of computer/software you use? Both my iPhone and Mac laptop do not show the company name or "contact us" at the bottom of the page. On my phone, the page ends in an ad and copyright year for the site. My laptop just scrolls through posts for an eternity. The Houzz software interface seems to vary greatly with our devices and browsers, more than I've noticed on other websites. Carol

I agree, Ingrid, the "top posters" and "what are you working on?" are ugly clutter that is a turnoff.

Go to help.houzz.com you will come to a page and in a grey bar the words are so tiny. You will see this. Click on it and a drop shows I believe I did professional . I can't remember. But there it is.

Jin

Thanks, Jin! Carol

I bet professional support is better than app support I bet to register "issues". They really need one for "problems with houzz platform".

Portland, I am using a desktop Mac. And I do have the Contact Us link right below me on the page right now, so it did not go away like the announcement about hew changes. I only see it when I am scrolled to the bottom oaf a thread.

I consider the iPhone and the iPad to be close-to-useless when trying to navigate most sites on the web. I do have a laptop Mac which I have mostly for travel but it is new and I haven't used it much. I'll give it a try on my upcoming trip to Michigan and Wisconsin. But Jin's suggestion is even better: help.houzz.com. Now we just need to remember it!

Thank you for the device info, Rosefolly! I agree with Jin's suggestion, too. If I can just remember help.houzz.com, that works best....although the response isn't immediate by any stretch of the imagination. I have not received more than an automated reply, and I sent the message at the same time as I submitted my "GardenWeb is Broken" thread. I imagine tech support is very busy right now. Carol

My Mac desktop still gets the blank screen, even if I directly type in help.houzz.com. It is 10 years old so maybe I need a new computer if I want to access all of Houzz :-(

MaryC

The technology age may be a factor, Mary. I can't access places on Houzz from our older desktop. I certainly can't upload photos from it. Our computer is about the same age as yours. It was a cutting edge Mac at the time. Ha, ha. My husband ran Logic software and recorded music with it. Now it sits around and roars like a T rex, but my husband can still do music production, send emails, etc. There is a Houzz phone number you can call, too. I posted in on "[How to Contact Houzz Support Directly[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/how-to-contact-houzz-support-directly-dsvw-vd~5356515?n=8)." Our desktop runs on Snow Leopard. I think that one is too ancient for Houzz. Carol

Mary, try this. Just in from Emily in Houzz Support. Carol

Emily H(9)

Hi all, this link gets you to exactly where you need to be to submit a ticket. https://help.houzz.com/s/profile-support?language=en_US

If it is not working on iPad, definitely try on a desktop or laptop.

If you are on a much older browser or set up, it's possible that it isn't loading properly for you. I hope you will have another way to access! So sorry for the frustration in submitting a ticket.