Why has GC got so complicated?

Is it just me? Sorry if this moan is in the wrong place - I was trying to find a "New Thread" button in the section about the website itself, but gave up. I think the site has become overloaded with irrelevant material and I am finding it quite irritating. I think it's trying to be too much, too clever and you've kind of lost the plot. I haven't visited the site for a while - now there is a pretty blue embossed background and even more stuff on the page. There are too many adverts - you now have to scroll past ads twice to get to the replies. The one which annoys me most is "Tips of a fat belly", which should read "Tips FOR a fat belly". The Tip of a fat belly, I suppose, is the V-shape where your thighs meet!
That apart, there's a lot of space taken up now with people's personal logos or symbols, which are getting bigger and bigger, as well as little (or not so little) epigrams after their message - all of which makes it distracting when trying to find & focus on the text of a question or answer. I also still think all the stuff about Reps and points and £GC (!!) is unnecessary and also distracts from the main point of the site - gardening advice (surely?). I see that MF says that if we don't like something then it can be removed. How many of us have to not like something before that will happen? Nothing personal. admin folks - I know you want to make the site attractive, interesting, appealing to the young etc. etc..... I just think there is too much going on. Maybe it's time I took myself off to a more boring but to-the-point site. Guess I'm getting old! But I'd be interested to know if anyone agrees with me!!

 

"The one which annoys me most is "Tips of a fat belly", which should read "Tips FOR a fat belly". The Tip of a fat belly, I suppose, is the V-shape where your thighs meet"

I know-very aggravating. Like that spam-mail you can get telling you your new "estatement" is ready-the clue is in the bad spelling or grammar as to how dodgy it is.

 

"Well, each to their own" and you can't be much older than me...

I'm pretty new here, but I'm not backward in coming forward.(I'll say, say some!)
Some contributors don't realise what work is involved in running a message board site.
The adverts have to be there if you don't want to have to pay to contribute to, or read the board.

Personally I don't have a problem. I'm only interested in the content. That's usually in a small type face. I find no problem in avoiding anything I don't want to read, this may including some contributions, by simply "scrolling down."

To be honest I rarely read the signatures nor actually sometimes bother to look who said what, it's the content that interests me. I am pleased that some one is actually bothered enough to run this board.

As a one time, unpaid member of the management of a 1000 plus members sports club, serving on the council, management & executive committee, house committee and as bar treasurer (all at the same time), I'll tell you this, if someone is going to do something for nothing, "they're gonna do it their way!" And I'm happy with that.


Be honest, are you just having a "bad day?"

 

One advantage of using Firefox with Adblock. You can stop all the adverts. But in many ways I agree that the page is now getting more and more cluttered.

 

I don't even notice the adverts any more...................I lie as I have clicked on one or two....but they are now the norm as our daily papers magazines and TV.

I find the opening page quite invigorating on these dull dark days,it makes a change............I know some people just don't like change.

I find it dead easy to navigate,It took me six months to navigate another site................So if I find it easy........It must be easy lol.

I have played the games,learned lots,I totaly dissagree with some points of view,but reserve their right to say it and you can walk away at any time "It's not compulsary" :flag:


:mrrychrb:

 

The forum is free and I'm grateful for it - and to the people who give their time to run it.
I just ignore the adverts and any bits I don't like. I don't find it a hardship.

 

I agree with you Lindy, but I also agree with Doghouse Riley. A number of members have taken exception to the adverts, but like Doghouse I understand the need to bring in a bit of revenue. After all we are getting an excellent forum for nothing (and it does cost money and time to run). So just as I have learnt to tolerate the adverts on TV - I am willing to tolerate these.

As far as the rep power and £GC - I have no idea what these mean and would be happy to see them dropped. And sometimes I think people go overthe top with their signture pictures. But then I probably irk people at times - so I am willing to be tolerant of others if they will tolerate me. :D

Overall I am very happy with the forum - I have learnt an enormous amount and made some good friends.

 

Exactly Peter!

"Most of the problems in the world can be solved by just "scrolling down."

 

It's interesting to read peoples points of view.
I personally don't find GC complicated, I only use the bits I want to and I like the different colours etc. Life is so serious it's good to see some colour and cheery pics.
I personally know how tiime consuming running a forum can be and you will never please everybody :skp:
I do agree the reps points and the £GC could be dropped. I notice some members have "hidden" their rep points. I don't really get what they are all about. Are they awarded for the input to help other gardeners?
I do agree first and foremost this is a gardening forum and if some of the fun stuff had to go it wouldn't put me off at all. I did belong to a huge garden forum but it was too big, this is a nice size.

 

Thanks Doghouse.

My first reaction was 'what arcade' - then I found it.

I can't get over the number of games available. It seems like a lot of overhead for little gardening benefit. - but.... if people like it.....

 

As for "screen" games, the last one I bought was for the kids where you played "ping pong" on the TV with a square "ball" and paddles.
Someone once bought me a Tiger Woods computer game, it never came out of its box. Maybe with the current "revelations" (it's up to eight now, according to my paper) there's more in it than I imagined.
I'm of the opinion. particularly the way young people are addicted to them and now they can indulge in all sorts of "sports" and still be a couch potato, it's "half a life lost."
But, each to his own. But I'm sure there must be several on here like me who'd never bother to even look at the arcade.

 

The old saying still stands the test of time:

"You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time".

Personally I find GC fine. There are two aspects to any forum, the technical/design side and the members. On the technical/design aspect I see no problem. My eyes skip over the adds and signatures now, and the menus are easy to navigate. The more important aspect is the member community. We have a good bunch of folks here from a very wide cross section of society. There are no zealots that say things like "of course you should have done that first, its obvious" like you get on some forums, and we all seem to be quite literate, so we don't have to make sense of things like "Thr is a grn ting in is gardan init i dont no wot it are".

All in all, I think we have a good forum here

 

I used to do my drinking in a sports club, I played squash for a club in the North-west counties leagues, for more years than I can remember. They had two space invaders machines, but "apparently, you had to put money in them to play them" this offended my sensibilities so I never bothered.

Now as for grammar and punctuation, I do my best, but would never comment on someone else's unless there was an inoffensive joke in there.
For example, someone mentioned I think on here, "Santa Clause" and I asked; "Is this another 'elf 'n safety directive?" but it either went over their head or they had the sense to ignore it.

It seems it isn't that important for the younger generations, I'm of an age where, if in your homework you had spelling mistakes, the masters (err.. for the few who may be unaware, that's an old style grammar school teacher) made you write it out again until you got it right.
It taught you to use a dictionary, not "restricted your creativity" as modern teachers who can't be assed would say (and who probably can't spell themselves).

I contribute to a few boards and it saddens me that some people "can't separate post from poster" by which I mean, if they've an opposing view, they can't make it without slagging off the person with whom they disagree. I always think this weakens their case. I'm never abusive to anyone. but if someone "starts something" I am inclined to respond, but not with abuse. Then there are those who will quote your post and "have a go" but still want "the last word" if you respond.
I've not met with anything which I could complain about in my time on here.

But it surprises me that on here, there are some who are unaware that; "a preposition is not something you should end a sentence with."

 

Oh no there aren't.:hehe: