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prairiemoon2

Anyone noticed - no Gardenweb entry?

I used to go to www dot gardenweb dot com - to enter here. I would be signed in and stay signed in. My notifications would be available to me. Now if I click on notifications, it reverts me to Houzz dot com - and I'm no longer signed in. I try to sign in there and I get a 'safari can't open' page.


So not only do they seem to be getting rid of the gardenweb association, but, they are still not keeping the site in working order.

Comments (16)

  • 5 years ago

    I was always on gardenweb and never signed out. When I had to get a new computer I tried signing into gardenweb and kept getting a page that said Houzz had redirected too many times. I tried changing the URL. Someone told me to go to (I think) Garden Answers...nothing worked so now I am on Houzz. Perhaps someone will have more insight but my "skills" are quite limited.

    So are you totally on Houzz now or just for your notifications? I always and still do get email notifications and never had to click for them.

  • 5 years ago

    I'm annoyed by the amount of spam appearing lately. Why aren't the spammers blocked? Of course it's amusing to see the myriad locations where they suggest placing decorative fountains. Perhaps they are allowed to post for the giggles.

  • 5 years ago

    I still type in "gardenweb dot com" and get here, already signed in. I use Chrome, if that makes a difference.

    There was one point last summer where I did have trouble signing in. When I typed in gardenweb dot com a Houzz page opened; don't recall exactly but it wasn't gardenweb - perhaps a home page? I had to sign in to access gardenweb and like PM2 couldn't seem to sign in - again, sorry, don't recall exactly but it was either getting error messages, or "timed out" messages or maybe even just nothing at all happened.

    I resolved it (sorry, don't remember how - geez I have a bad memory, don't I?) and ever since, once again, (knock on wood) I just type in gardenweb dot com into the address bar and here I am, already signed in.

    It's mind-boggling all the different issues people have here - I wonder if it has to do with all the different ways we sign on - phones, tablets, laptops, different browsers. Seems there's a different issue for each one!

    All I know is my computer skills are quite limited too, and every time I successfully open gardenweb it's a good thing lol!

    :)
    Dee

  • 5 years ago

    I have no problems accessing GW as posting thru GW, but if I want to upload pics to ideabooks, msg, etc I have to sign into Houzz.

  • 5 years ago

    I'm always on GardenWeb all the time. This is the URL I see: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6059620/anyone-noticed-no-gardenweb-entry#n=3. I have to physically leave the site and then sign in again on Houzz if I want to respond to a forum blocked on GW (Ask the Yard Doctor is one).

    I have no issues with getting shunted automatically from one platform to the other. All notifications, etc. all present as GardenWeb and clicking on one will not take me elsewhere :-) And I almost never (knock on wood!) experience any of the myriad of glitches others seem to encounter on a daily basis.

    I have no idea why that is except.......I never sign out, I only access via my laptop and use Opera (a Chromium derivative) as my browser. So I doubt the blame can be assigned solely to Houzz IT and a desire to purge any GW affiliation. If that were the case, lack of access to GW would be uniform rather than random as it is now. It seems to be a combination of factors that cause issues, including device used, browser, whether accessing via the app and having to sign in daily (skip if you can). Although I will agree that their interface between the two platforms leaves much to be desired 😣

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Well, I was signed in to Houzz when I read this post - signed out - typed gardenweb dot com in the search window, took me to Gardenweb - tried to sign in - I got a 'cannot open the page' message. Had to type in Houzz to sign in, so now the only time I can post to gardenweb or see my notifications I have to sign into Houzz. And I have a brand new laptop this year and I use Safari. Any website on the internet that has a problem with Safari accessing the site has an IT department that is not doing their job.

    And I used to only sign into Gardenweb and stay signed in and it was only when clicking on a notification brought me back to Houzz, that I noticed the issue. I didn't change the way I was doing things, the site changed.

    Although....there is one more thing I can check. My privacy settings. Nope, just checked them, changed everything that might block some way to sign in and signed out and tried to sign back in again and the same thing happened.

  • 5 years ago

    "I didn't change the way I was doing things, the site changed."

    As stated, the site has not changed for me. All notifications and PM's remain in the GW platform and do not change. I have a hard time accepting that the website will arbitrarily pick some members to mess with and leave others alone :-) I have no technical explanation for this phenomenon but just based on personal experience, it's got to be some combination of factors, not just the website.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Getting a new device or clearing my cache would always get me in the Houzz redirect mode. When it happened I discovered going to the Birdwatching Forum and clicking on two or three posts would clear it up. Not sure it still works as I haven’t needed it for a while but might be worth a shot.

    https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/bird

    tj

  • 5 years ago

    tj it worked!!! Just for good measure I looked at 5 posts then went to each of the sites I go to here and bookmarked them. Apart from being a gentleman and a scholar and the wittiest person ever you are now the gardenweb guru!!! Thank you!!!

  • 5 years ago

    For cryin out loud, now I’m blushing. Just make sure your browser doesn’t automatically clear your cache when you log off your device. You’d know if it does if posts you’ve read show unread when you log back in.

    tj

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    ts - Not quite sure what you mean by going to the bird forum and clicking on a few posts cleared it up? I tried that and tried to sign in to GW and got the same result. I also signed out and shut the browser and signed back in - again not able to in GW - but it signed me into Houzz and no notifications that I had already checked off came up.

    And GW - I wasn't in the least saying that Houzz is treating some members differently than others. Who could think it was intentional? [g] No, it does seem to be some technical glitch that I can't explain. I just don't see how using Chrome or using Safari should produce different experiences. they are mainstream browsers that I would imagine any website must have to make it possible to interface with.

  • 5 years ago

    pm I used the link provided by tj then clicked on (in my case 5) posts. I looked at the first post, read a tiny bit then closed it and opened the next and next....

    When I went to the Hosta Forum I was in gardenweb so I bookmarked that Forum, then did the same with the other Forums I visit. I did not have to sign in.

    I hope when I turn my computer off tonight that I will still have gardenweb. I intend to go to my bookmarks and enter through one of them.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Hi Perenall - I tried it again. Fascinating. Well, I was signed into Houzz. I used tj's link and went to the Bird forum. The first post I clicked on remained in Houzz and my notifications were there. The next 3 posts I clicked on it said I was still on Gardenweb, but of course, I wasn't signed in so I couldn't like or post. I went back to post 1 and then tried a few more posts, then I tried signing in from that point, since I was in GW but it didn't allow me to. I tried going to the Hosta forum from there and it turned back to Houzz. I already have forums bookmarked, but unless I go to Houzz and sign in, I can't see those bookmarked forums.

    I guess I'll just have to keep signed into Houzz.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I think you are right Jay. I have read articles about the fact Houzz has laid off people at different times. I agree, that with the lowered activity here, it does make you wonder how long it will take before GW is no longer available. Wow, that would be sad.

    Are there other Facebook garden groups that you belong to?

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    OH wow, Jay! lol This list is great! I would have to agree that as it is now, Gardenweb is a shadow of it's former self. What used to be great about Gardenweb, was you would find many very serious gardeners, who had a lot of knowledge and experience posting here along with newbies and everything in between. I really miss the old days.

    I am also interested in native plants. Maybe because it seems like a minor subject here, I got stalled along the way with incorporating more natives into my garden. I'm still interested, but I have tried native plants and they did not thrive in my garden. At least those I've tried. I still have some native perennials and some native shrubs, but I could do a lot better.

    I didn't start gardening until my early 30s and really, I wish I had also decided to make it my career.

    That is some story about the difference between your experiences with seed trading here and on FB. I can say though, that back in 2006, around that time, I was doing some seed trading on GW and I had great experiences with the majority of people I was in contact with. Some were VERY generous and sent me seeds in abundance. So, that is why I say that it used to be a great place to be, but a lot of the issues with the change from the old GW site to Houzz and some of the fighting that cropped up in different forums, drove a lot of people away. At least that is my theory.

    But, getting onto Facebook and finding forums where you fit and find like minds, sounds like something we all have the chance to do. If GW deteriorates further, I'd bet a lot of people will end up doing that. Thanks very much for sharing how you've worked through making a change from GW. I appreciate it.