How are people liking this new part of our site? Should it become more than just a part?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David King on March 10, 2008 at 11:26pm

Thanks! I'll check that site out - I used to get all my software when I was with the University, now that I have to BUY it, I'm appalled that M/S gets SO MUCH money and then charges arms and legs to update. I bought XP but hated it so much, I went back to W2K, which is slow, but stable. (Well, more or less...) Changing to Ubuntu (or anything else) is pretty scary, but I'll have to break the habit sooner or later. I'll try that site.

This is the only site I know of that is like the MySpace for gardeners. I like it here... hope you find a way to keep coming back!

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Permalink Reply by Kate on February 14, 2008 at 2:16am

It is good, Roger, but I find it a bit tedious looking through the different lists of topics and people and so on and I have not come to the site for a week or so, as a consequence. I tried having email alert me to new posts and comments but that was too invasive for me. I love the idea of the communication but I prefer a blog-style site where there are topics written daily (in my blog's case) and anyone can comment on them there. But I know others think differently.The posts on the KGI.org site are great and I would like to see some more frequent updating of that - maybe these could be taken from the forum - maybe weekly best forum posts or something. This would keep the 2 modes a bit more linked together. As you know, I would also like to see regular input from outside the USA !
ps I don't have any trouble with upload times and I have not had any problem understanding how to participate at all levels despite me being a gardener and 49 years old ! People shouldn't lose sight of the fact that this is all free and done for the good of the world. I call it "curators of chaos" .

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Permalink Reply by John Walker on February 14, 2008 at 9:10am

Dear All,
I'm reading Edward Tufte's book "Beautiful Evidence' at the moment, talk about difficult...The main point of his book is that Powerpoint is a really bad way to present data. Yet those of us who work in areas where it is commonly used probably love it and use it a lot. The same could be said for the various web programs such as ning, myspace , blogs etc etc. We all use them to a certain extent but they 'may' be a terrible way of sharing and presenting data. However, they are often ALL we have available. Remember that easy, fast and widely available access to the internet is a very recent phenomenum. It is not surprising given our various backgrounds, ages, technical expertise, Mac/PC preference, high speed/dial up, old /new computers that we tend to be quite confused. Does it mean that we should abandon it? NO. But it does mean that there is needed some other way to communicate frustrations, offer choices, solve problems and help Roger. As I mentioned before maybe a how-to manual to answer commonly asked questions may be a start.
A less cluttered, or more searchable interface ( I know its already sparse, and thankfully no ads) and maybe an automatic (bimonthly) clearing of unanswered discussions, or un- accessed photos etc would help. Maybe a visual search and screening tool would help. Out local library http://www.lexpublib.org/ uses something called Thorobrowser, which gives your search a visual interactive view. Try it out.
But before we forget, lets give Roger a huge hand of applause for working so hard on this.
pax
John

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Permalink Reply by Sugar's Ma on February 14, 2008 at 3:18pm

Love it! Haven't had any problems with pages loading.

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Permalink Reply by COPE Farms Caretakers Of Planet Earth on February 14, 2008 at 6:07pm

Id like to see an edit button so I can edit my own post. I sometimes type faster than my brain and fingers can work together creating terrible spelling errors. I would like to be able to go back and correct my mistakes.
I would also like to be able to go back and delete or add to my post to make it better understood.
Sometimes i think of something else right after I hit the add your reply button and think if I could just go back and edit that post I could add on to the bottom of it. Now instead I have to create a whole new reply.

Also a report a post button would be nice. Right now I havent seen where I would have to use it but if someone verbally attacked someone else or someone used words that were not appropriate or so on, we could report the post to a moderator that way. So far its been very nice in here. even when people disagree they do so nicely. but as more people join there will be more strife between the users.

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Permalink Reply by Kitchen Gardeners International on February 15, 2008 at 6:52am

Hi,

You can edit your post within 15 minutes of posting it: just click on it to edit.

If you use the Firefox browser, you can add a spell-check plugin that will pick up your mistakes as you type them.

There is a "report an issue" link at the bottom of every page which can be used for reporting anything, i.e. technical issues, unsportsmanlike conduct, etc.

Roger

Roger

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Permalink Reply by Kitchen Gardeners International on February 15, 2008 at 6:44am

Thanks for all the feedback. It's helpful to see that my fast-loading experience is not what everyone is experiencing.

Those of you know me know that I'm not the complacent type. I'll be looking for ways of improving and adding to the site's community-building features, so stay as tuned and engaged as your technology and patience allow.

Please keep in mind that whatever solutions we put in place must be one that we 1) can afford and 2) are able to execute ourselves. Despite its inadequacies, the current technology meets these two criteria. Ning is giving us the "deluxe version" of the platform for free for a year ($1000 value) and I've figured out how to use it.

I've also secured another technology donation for us which is a community-building add-on for the software we use to build our main site. I hope to have that in place in the next few weeks. It could be those features will work better for some of you.

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Permalink Reply by Valerianella on February 15, 2008 at 8:54am

I don't have any problem with loading time or something like this and I really like this site, especially getting an email if somebody replied to a discussion I am interested in. It needs a little time to figure out how everything here works, is not very clear in the beginning, had to get used to it. But for me that's ok.
Oh I just noticed that we can send now a private message, thats one thing I would have suggested as an improvement, but it is already done. Maybe the way the discussions are displayed needs a little change, for now it is ok, but if more people start getting involved it may be not very easy to follow. On another discussion board I participate, it is like this: first you see all forums and than the sub-forums and than the actual discussions. I don't think unanswered questions should be deleted, maybe somebody who is new and hasn't seen the question yet knows the answer.

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Permalink Reply by ilex on February 15, 2008 at 5:57pm

I love it in here. Love the focus, love the dialogue. I'm not having any technical problems, and am finding the layout logical. I've met some great folks and it's really tamping down my Great White North February blues. Thanks so much for starting this.

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Permalink Reply by Penelope on February 15, 2008 at 6:02pm

I'm wondering if some of the technical problems could be some people's browers not being compatible or up to date. I know since getting my new computer with updated system, everything is easier to use, including the Kitchen Garden site.

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Permalink Reply by MarciBeth on February 16, 2008 at 7:02am

Roger, I enjoy this site so much. But this is the first time I've participated in a group on line so my comments regarding the techie part of the site would be very basic. The positive note is that I have managed to figure out how things work. More importantly, the gardeners participating are very generous, knowledgeable and excited about growing food. I have enjoyed learning and sharing with others from places that even if I visited their town, city or country the chances of actually meeting them and talking with them about their gardening experiences would be very unlikely. I don't have much in the way of answers for the technical issues but I do want to encourage you to continue the forum.
Thanks,
MarciBeth

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Permalink Reply by Kalyanii Kennedy on February 17, 2008 at 7:25pm

Hi Roger,
I love this site and I think that the layout is working really well. I have no problems loading the webpage. The only complaint I have is that a comment I posted toward an article wasn't posted-I tried out one of the recipes and loved it so much I wanted to recommend it to everyone! That's why I was so bummed it didn't get posted! I love the forums and go to this website 4-5 times a week to see what new postings people have. Thank you for all your work.
Kalyanii

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