Not many Newbies?

Something has happened. Google is rating GC higher than Amazon, Ebay, Gumtree, etc. for selling gardening stuff.



This post makes GC appear to be a free classified ads forum.

 

I'm just assuming that most newbies / lurkers have the attention span of a flee. (Probably because I have when looking for an answer / lurking on forums)

A few years ago I would have agreed with this. But I thought that I would just add my personal feelings about this forum just to balance out all of the criticism that is being posted.

I am a member of many forums, ranging from DJing, gardening, woodworking, bushcraft, all the way to mental health problems. All of them have the same problem which is the lack of friendliness and banter and the few that do still lack that willing to help each other out on a deeper level that goes beyond the forum.

I and many other members have had their problems outside of the forum since joining and some choose to speak out about it. The response I certainly have had has been overwhelming by other members willing to help each other out, be it plants, items or just someone to talk to when you feel really rubbish. It means a lot to me personally that there is a site out there that goes beyond just helping each other out with planting, gardening etc and helping other members get on with so many other aspects of our lives.

As a result this is my favorite forum I have joined. I just felt I should share that.

(I do agree though that the forum is very slightly cluttered and that the site should make it more obvious where to join.)

 

There is some very good feedback in this thread, the webmaster and I are looking into how best implement it.

 

Yes, good point. They are a "Grow your own" forum, there is also an "Allotment" forum (you'll know the one I mean ). They have a decent number of questions, but now I look at it carefully: not a "huge" amount of posts. Subjectively I would say they have less than they used too - but they have Micky'd with their site in ways that I think were daft (opened a new site without considering the implications to links from the old, everything stopped working, I pointed it out to them and was told to "Be patient". I feel very strongly that, free or not, users have expectations and if you want a successful site, rather than a loss making hobby with just a few mates, then the thing needs to be run with that in mind). Anyway, here's their of-the-moment index page:


Doesn't show when thread was started, so not all are necessarily "new" but that is basically everything responded to (in that single forum, but its the main one) in the last 24 hours.

Both sites being "vegetables" specialist sites would be getting more churn at present I reckon

I think the need to register is a barrier. You have to do that for all forums of course ... I thought that removing that requirement would help. Mind you, folk here can login with Facebook credentials I think (none of the other sites have that and they ALL have rubbish YesterYear forum software - which I HATE ) so my thinking for a Quick Question was in part to remove the need to register.

Sadly I reckon that that is the one not making a profit, and the landlord will change soon and you'll lose the facility ... We have one in our village, I keep meaning to go more often to prop up their bar-take a bit, so we don't lose the barman. The owners have changed about once every 2 years since we got here about 7 years ago :(

The Other Forum is great for veg. But when someone asks a question like "How do I sow Delphinium seeds" they get ... zero answer. (I exaggerate of course, but its not far off that). Here they could get just as good answers on veg AND everything else.

This is, as the strapline used to say (still does?) the only gardening forum anyone would ever need

't'is why I am/want to be here, and not there

Sorry for opening a can of worms. I didn't think through the cause/effect, but I have found the thoughts & ideas that have come up are very interesting.

Here's another:

Post the questions from The Other Forum here, get great answers, new users will beat a path to THIS door. Heck! there must be a steal-your-competitors-questions BOT for that?

 

Google's Webmaster tools (I think that's what they are called) might help with that?

I'm cool with that - this is a great resource if 99% (pick a figure ) get the answer to their question without having to join.

But then I ask myself "why do the ones who do want to ask a question choose a different forum" - might well be for the reasons given above, but nonetheless only a few are asking them here.

Perhaps my posts are too long, and the Newbie was Well And Truely Turned Off when they arrived here via Google search due to my long and detailed answer including lots of information about Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer dui justo, tempus eget dapibus in, convallis in arcu. Maecenas cursus eros sapien, at luctus mi lobortis vitae. Praesent ultrices lacinia leo, scelerisque euismod sapien luctus bibendum. In placerat congue mi quis auctor. In aliquam porttitor mi. Aenean in dui quis purus posuere scelerisque sit amet cursus libero. Etiam sollicitudin aliquet dignissim. Phasellus mollis tristique felis, ut interdum nibh iaculis tincidunt. Phasellus ac nisi lorem.

 

I fall into the category of not wanting to speak about it. I go on another forum related to the issues I am facing because it's heavy and awful and the people there are going through the same thing.

What I didn't realise is that I use this site to enable me to cope the same way as I use gardening to cope. It's sort of an escape if that makes sense and if I started talking about things here, it would no longer be an escape from what's happening in my life. I also don't want to bring anyone else down.

I'm glad that you have gotten lots of support and it's good to know that it's helped you so much ....I hope you're feeling better.

 

Regarding the ten photos on the front page. I'm on mobile broadband and those pictures load very slowly. Are they the actual picture or a thumbnail? It may give an impression of slowness to new visitors if they aren't on some ludicrous speed like 8mbps!

I think a section for newbies would be great

 

Could 'How to use Xenforo' go under the 'Site Feedback' sub-area? Makes sense to me. Sticking my nose in, I know. Bunch 'tropical plants' with 'cacti & succulents'? Just thinking of streamlining is all.

 

very good feedback everyone

 

You heathen! ... mind you, ripe for conversion to The One True Way

 

You spotted the deliberate mistake then?

"consectetur adipiscing elit."