Alana, I couldn't agree with you more about the tone the forum has taken with some newbie threads. As Sue said, trying to help out the newbies the best we can is something we can do to help. I really think that part of the problem is the link to the "rules" doesn't work and hasn't worked for so long now. When I think back, more than 8 years now, when I joined and wanted to be part of the seed exchange forum, the first thing I did was look at the forum change for info on what to do. The links worked then and the info was available. What I wouldn't have first done was to look at the threads for a thread to tell me what to do, how to post, what the rules are and I'm not sure, when I think about it, if I would have actually believed the thread that we have running and keep bumping up all the time that is written with all the rules. Reason being that it is written by "just another member" and not the "real" thing posted as part of the info from the site owners. I know Sue, and I agree with having the thread there. I've even reposted it when it hit 150 posts, and it's important to have it there because it is all we have for the rules and stuff. I just wonder if the thread itself is something that some members might ignore because it is just written by another member and not the "site owners". Another problem with the thread is that it gets lost on the page very easily and quickly with other posts being added and ends up lost on back pages. If there was a way to post the thread title in red or another color so that it would stand out all the time, that would help to have it noticed and maybe read. As for the actual posts that have been showing up on newbie threads, many of them have been mean spirited and cruel, something that really shocked me to see. It is something in all the years I have been on this forum, have never seen before. When I've spotted them, I've tried my best to diffuse the posts and calm things down. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I hate to see threads deleted, but ti does show that "the powers to be" are watching the site and the forums and making judgement calls that have been good when a thread is deleted. And yes, if I where a newbie and got attacked like that, I'd be history too. GW is still having some big time problems. For a while I was able to get my zone info to stay, but in the past few days it's gone. I can't get a blurb to stay either, my birthdate is wrong and no matter what I do I can't log out of GW even if my computer is shut down for more than 12 hours. It's a pain to always be logged in as my hubby is a member as well and hasn't been able to log in with his user name because mine is always there. I have been sending info about the problem through the contact us link and the response has been they are working to fix the bugs and, in my case, they can't figure out why I am permanently logged in and gave me a link to use so hubby can log in and then I can change it for me. So I've held off on posting a huge trade list too. The only suggestions I have is this. Keep an eye on the forum and when we see newbies posting, check the thread to be sure that there are no "wrong type of posts" on the thread. If there are than we need to diffuse them if we can, welcome the newbie and direct them to the info thread on the rules of the forum, remind those inappropriate posters that there are some glitches with the forum right now and that is why certain info is missing from member pages. Most of all Alana and Sue, it looks like the 3 of us need to be a kind of welcome wagon to the newbies for now, until things settle down and return to the normal that they have been in the past. Kindness can go a long way, welcoming a newbie can go a long way, helping out with info can go a long way. Fran

Annie, You can report a technical problem at this link Report a technical problem If a lot of people report it as a technical problem, maybe it will get moved to the front burner... Nobody responded to me so I fixed my problem myself. - This is risky, so I'm not recommending it. I'm just letting you all know because you might wonder why my list is up-to-date now. Anyway, I went to 'Edit your Exchange List', copied my info and then made a backup of both my 'haves' and 'wants' in Word. I then blanked out my entire exchange list and was able to successfully save my now 'empty' exchange list. After that, I pulled it up, copied my 'haves' and 'wants' from my Word backup, edited to my heart's content and then successfully saved my now up-to-date list. Again, I am not recommending you try this because you run the risk of losing your whole list.

Hi folks, Just wanted to stop by and assure you that we are working on these issues. Last week, we launched a new registration tool and there are still some bugs that are being ironed out. I know that it's frustrating and upsetting when things don't work as they should -- I really do feel your pain. Unfortunately, some of these bugs are difficult to recreate because they vary from member to member. What would be enormously helpful would be for you to contact us directly and detail what your issues are. Including information such as a step-by-step overview of your login process, where you are seeing issues, the error messages you are getting and anything else that might have differed from any previous login experiences. Many of you have probably already done this, but please make sure you check your browser settings and make sure that you have cookies enabled. If you would send this information to our contact link below, that would be extremely helpful. If you have specific questions or need something else, you are welcome to email us at the link below or contact me directly at any time -- my email is listed on my profile page. Thank you for your continued patience and support. Best regards, Tamara Amey GardenWeb Community Manager Here is a link that might be useful: Email Us

I know! Whats up with that? I was going ask for Calocedrus decurrens seeds. Lot of bad spirits all around here where I live. :O