Must be a GW thing. Just kidding :)

"Many of us have started out using the Houzz app and didn’t even know what GardenWeb was."

Too funny. I have used GW for years. I mean, a long long time. Not as an active particpant as much as a peruser of relavant-to-me topics. Honestly my questions were generally garden/landscape related, as that has always been my "thing". I discovered HOUZZ separately, when I was starting to think about updating my kitchen. I installed the app on my tablet, and thought it was awesome to be able to search all the seemingly endless images on the site. At some point after that, I went out to GW for something, and realized that the two had been merged. There is some great content on HOUZZ, but as far as formatting, look and feel and just the general friendliness of the community, GW runs circles around HOUZZ. And the HOUZZ app SUCKS for anything other than looking at pictures. I no longer use it.

nidnay, There is zero indication that it’s a GW topic (see pic from Houzz app). It actually showed up in my feed within the app.

#1 problem is the app. Uninstall it and just use the website.

I'm using a PC and the website and I can't tell either if a post originates in Houzz or GW. As far as I know, if you post in GW it posts to both GW and Houzz formats and vice versa.

Chess....I am mainly on my iPad and the photo quality is far superior when viewed in the app as opposed to using Safari on the iPad. They are much crisper and cleaner and it makes for a much more pleasurable experience for me. Every time I post a photo, or view someone’s else’s photo, I toggle back to the app for a cleaner view. That being said, I much prefer web based for formatting and control, and the layout of the page etc. (although the app is less cluttered, it’s limited in scope as well). So, I am constantly going between the two (the app and browser). There is zero editing of posts or formatting in the app (a huge negative), but there are things I can do in the app that I can’t do when using a browser (on iPad). Oh how I wish there was ONE place that did it all and did it well.

jellytoast you can't tell by reading a post in GW if it originated in Houzz, that's true. But I don't think posts are automatically posted in both if your post originates in GW. Perhaps if you post in Design Dilemma on the Houzz side it automatically comes to Home Decorating here on GW, not sure. Beyond that I believe a poster has to choose the other forums to multi-post in, also a Houzz-only thing. But It's confusing and obviously none of us have a clear picture of the how and why.

nidnay I absolutely don't want you or anyone else who began life on Houzz ;-) to think there's a general dislike for them as people or that we can't all 'just get along' ! At the risk of speaking for someone, I think patriceny is just venting and the reality is as we've been saying over and over, there is no way to know where the post originated so the type of post she referenced (vague, no pics or real info etc) could just as easily have originated on GW. I don't hang at Houzz for fear of getting stuck there but I have dipped a toe into one of the threads there about these issues and the posters were welcoming and warm.

You know.... it just dawned on me. What if we were all the subjects of some grand sociological experiment to show how/why there is so much resistance to changing demographics? Conspiracy is my middle name!

If I post on GW, it does show up everywhere (but I am posting with a Houzz account...see pic). And I dare say that if one of you with only GW account posts something, I would be able to find it if I did a search in the Houzz app and I would assume it would show up in my feed if it was tagged with one of my preferred categories.

nidnay...."I am mainly on my iPad and the photo quality is far superior when viewed in the app as opposed to using Safari on the iPad. They are much crisper and cleaner "

Understood - but it's just not worth the trouble to me. :-(

"If I post on GW, it does show up everywhere"

Me, too.

nidnay

"If I post on GW, it does show up everywhere (but I am posting with a Houzz account...see pic). "

Hmmm. Well, I am using a HOUZZ account, and this is my post from last week, in the Flooring section in GW/Home.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5118414/engineered-wood-reasonable-expected-costs-for-mid-grade?n=10

Doing a search, from the HOUZZ side, for "engineered wood" in "Advice", does not return my thread. Even going to the Houzz discussions section, and then "explore topics", and clicking on "Flooring" (which takes you here https://www.houzz.com/discussions/flooring-discussions-dsbr0-bd~t_28574)

does not show my thread.

It shows up in the Houzz app when I search....

It also shows up when I search in the Houzz discussions in Safari....

I did put the entire title in the search. I think they just have a lousy search engine.

I'm not using the app so it's hard to compare results. But yea definitely not using the entire title to search. If I am looking for a thread, I really should only need to put in a word or two for it to come up in search results.

Chess, I can only get to the Houzz side in flooring and your thread is there.

nidnay aren't we ALL posting with Houzz accounts? That was part of the initial culture shock for many of us. I happened to already have a Houzz account before Gardenweb was added and with the same screen name but many people could not use the name the same name. How would I know if anything I post here is also on Houzz - I never go there.

I'm reading your post on the Houzz side now, DLM. :-)

so jellytoast are you saying this entire thread is on the Houzz side? Which forum? Design Dilemma? And if so, is it because you were the original poster and you are unable to get to the basic Gardenweb forums? Tell you what....let's do a test. I'm going to start a post here - Home Decorating & Design Discussions - and lets see if it comes up on the other side.

jellytoast " I can only get to the Houzz side in flooring and your thread is there."

Yep I do see it now....guess I didn't look hard enough! :-)

What do you mean you can only get to the Houzz side? Are you unable to find the GW section?

DLM2000

"so jellytoast are you saying this entire thread is on the Houzz side? Which forum? Design Dilemma?"

The threads are intermingled. Apparently you can get to any of them, via either section of the forum.

This link is for THIS thread. It's a GW link.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5124725/help-me-get-out-of-the-houzz-forums-labyrinth?n=83

And here is the same thread....via a HOUZZ url.

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/help-me-get-out-of-the-houzz-forums-labyrinth-dsvw-vd~5124725?n=116[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/help-me-get-out-of-the-houzz-forums-labyrinth-dsvw-vd~5124725?n=116)

Both are located in the home decorating sections of each.

I see exactly the same threads in each of these locations.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/home-decorating-and-design-discussions-dsbr0-bd~t_28578

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor

Nidnay - I am sorry if I came off as sounding cross at anyone who identifies as a "Houzzzer." Actually I have no way of knowing who identifies with which site, except of course for the folks whose names I've known for years through GW.

GW, before it got swallowed up, always had occasional hit and run posters. It seems like it has gotten worse since we all merged, but that's just my opinion. I mentioned it because I think the GW "pros" (who were not officially designated as "pros" in the GW software, by the way) are burning out. Someone upthread mentioned the "pro" snarkiness and my opinion is that their snark is related to the never-ending onslaught of new people breezing through, often leaving these plaintive cries for help - but giving absolutely no useful information for anyone to know HOW to help.

GW, before it got swallowed up, was a thriving online community. And that's a pretty rare thing these days, where most internet "message boards" are dying a slow death all over the place. Each GW board (or, at least the active ones) had their own regular posters, its own personality, and its own sense of community.

Since GW got swallowed, I've watched that sense of community fray. Long term posters are frustrated, no one understands what the heck is going on, GW people keep getting sucked into a Houzz interface that most GW posters don't seem to enjoy - and Houzz doesn't seem to give a rat's Azz about any of it, or us.

I'm watching what was a fantastic online community get completely deconstructed - and it makes me very, very sad.

patriceny....I appreciate the apology.....I was feeling a little like the dumb stepchild :)

I totally hear you regarding hating to see these negative changes in your online community. I have left several forums (varying subject matter) because of similar reasons. The powers that be came in and reformatted, rearranged, and completely changed the look, feel, and flow of everything and lost MOST of the regular participants, and those forums never regained their original appeal and popularity. So, so frustrating and sad.....and it did NOT have to happen. It seems the people who make these decisions have no real clue what causes people to stick together online and no understanding of what the inevitable result will be when you mess with things. Or, maybe they don’t really care, and it’s just all about the numbers.... more visitors, but with much less substance and that community feel. Personally, I don’t think most web guys can begin to understand the effect certain changes will have unless they are actually part of the community they are meddling with. It’s hard to comprehend these things from the outside. It takes a lot of perceptual acuity to be able to step into the heads of people and understand the glue that’s been holding it all together. It makes a huge difference when you are online and participating regularly rather than viewing and manipulating things from the sidelines. I definitely feel and understand your frustration.

Awww, Nidnay, thank you!! I'm so sorry I made you feel that way. I spoke poorly then.

GW was just like any other online forum. It has dozens of subforums, but only a handful were really active. But each of the active forums had its own culture, its own "regulars", and dropping in there felt like going home for me. I loved reading what was up in everyones' lives. New people came in, regulars would occasionally leave - but there was always a thread of continuity.

I'm watching that sense of community slip away.

I have no idea why Houzz bought GW. Must be the added clicks help their bottom line somehow. I'm sure some bean counter at Houzz knows exactly how many GW clicks continue to add to their bottom line - and all I can tell them is that if the numbers are going down.....I know why. :(

Chess thank you so much for that - sort of! You've now confirmed that what we feared is really happening - they are totally mixing the 2 forums. And now it's really only a matter of time before one goes away. Gee I wonder which one? Not that it amounts to a hill of beans at this point since the Gardenweb we knew has been gone for a while. Still..... sad.

Since I’m not an old timer GW person, and don’t have much to lose, I would love to see ONE place for everything (don’t hate me people). I don’t like the fact that when I click on “Stories & Advice” it lists “GW Discussions” and “Houzz Discussions” separately. I want to see the entire list in one place so that I can easily participate in any and everything. I like to know that I’m not missing an important discussion...one that I could potentially enjoy and benefit from. For me, it’s both disjointed and confusingly intermingled all at the same time. I don’t trust that I’m seeing everything there is to see here.

And, as I mentioned before, I think their search engine is horrible. There are thousands of posts on various subjects, but when doing a search, many times I get limited results. I have searched for discussions I know are there and used specific phrases which I knew to be in the subject title, and it’s never found. That one really bugs me.

Um, maybe I'm crazy but my old link http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor leads back to the old format, not the Houzz format with the back header, etc.

Wonder what's going on?

Here's the Houzz forum link: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/home-decorating-and-design-discussions-dsbr0-bd~t_28578

I'm able to visit each one separately.

Lori A. Sawaya, you can get to both sections on the same site. That isn't new - it's been that way ever since I have been on HOUZZ (at least a year).

When you use your GW link, you still have a HOUZZ button there at the top.

It is new for me. I was logged in using the same link http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor for years. Until my computer had issues last fall and I was logged out.

When I logged back in, I couldn't get back to the old format. I was automatically sent here [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/home-decorating-and-design-discussions-dsbr0-bd~t_28578[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/home-decorating-and-design-discussions-dsbr0-bd~t_28578-and-design-discussions-dsbr0-bd~t_28578) instead.

Again, same link that's been in my browser for years - that has never changed. Clicked on it this afternoon and it now goes here http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor and no longer automatically forwards to houzz.com

Hi, I was never a GardenWeb member, but I used to read gardening topics there from time to time. FWIW, when I click on the two links Lori posted up above I go to the same place-- everything looks identical, including the URL. The GardenWeb link forwards me to the Houzz link. These threads about trying to get back to the GardenWeb have me curious-- Can someone enlighten me on what the current difference is in format for the GardenWeb? How will I know it if I find it? Is there still a way to become a new member there? It sounds like such a great community. I'm sorry for those of you missing it and trying to get back there.

OMG. This is crrrrazy. lol!

Here's what http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor looks like for me.

And if I go to this link [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/home-decorating-and-design-discussions-dsbr0-bd~t_28578[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/home-decorating-and-design-discussions-dsbr0-bd~t_28578-and-design-discussions-dsbr0-bd~t_28578) this is what it looks like.

Again, this just happened this afternoon with my garden web link that I've had saved in my browser for probably 10 years.

I had to go to Google to get to the Houzz forum page.

Up in this thread I mentioned something about a GW account and a Houzz account. Are there actually different accounts, or does everyone’s show “Your Houzz” in the upper right corner? And if it does, what was it prior to Houzz taking over?

Thanks for the pics Lori! Mine looks like the second one no matter which link I follow. I am on a Windows Laptop and using Firefox (if that is any help in sorting this out). I think I have seen that first layout before but I noticed it still says Houzz up at the top so I wasn't sure if that meant I was REALLY on the GardenWeb forums or if there were some other secret ones that don't say Houzz anywhere.

nidnay. Nope. Just one log in for me.

It was a different platform completely before Houzz took over.

The first screen shot is what it was immediately after the take over and it remained that way for a long time - for me.

Again, having to log out last fall I was taken via the same link to the second screen shot.

As of this afternoon, I can go to each one separately. If I log in one place, I'm logged in at the other too.

And, yes, Houzzer's aren't missing anything on the Garden Web. Looks like all GW topics are appearing on the Houzz forum (second screen shot) too.

I was just getting used to the Houzz format. lol! :) Now I can't decided where I wanna go.

So, before Houzz took over, it just had “log in” with no site name? Did it automatically switch over to “Your Houzz” so that all GW accounts became Houzz?

Lori A. Sawaya - not sure what is going on with your pc. When I log in with this link - http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/decor

I don't get redirected anywhere. This is what I see.

If I click on that little HOUZZ button in the top left, then navigate over to Stories and Advice, then click on HOUZZ discussions, then over on the left click on Explore Topics, then over to the right choose the Home Decorating topic, and I end up here:

Same forum. Same threads. Different format.

The only time I have ever gotten a redirect, is when I was using the HOUZZ app, on a tablet. That definitely does redirect you. I never use the app anymore.

It's all one site.

nidnay "So, before Houzz took over, it just had “log in” with no site name? Did it automatically switch over to “Your Houzz” so that all GW accounts became Houzz?"

We logged into the gardenweb.com site. It had "Garden Web" at the top. When HOUZZ took over, it just absorbed the accounts. Everyone was logging in with their same account, but the the site was redesigned.

What I see here, at this link below, is similar to what I remember seeing when I used to go onto Gardenweb, years ago.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums

Those were the forums that I always visited. I didn't even realize there was a "Home" section until after the two sites were merged.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums

^^That is the "Home" section of GW. DIfferent url than the "Garden" section.

Got it.

Just an update on my end ... everything is back to normal for me as of Wednesday morning and I am now able to get to all the forums in the GW format. When I click on a forum within the GW forum format, I am no longer redirected to a Houzz URL and the Houzz format. Chess, as I mentioned previously, I was still being redirected while using my PC and not using the app.

As far as I can tell and from what I noticed while I was stuck going back and forth between Houzz and GW ... posts made on the Houzz side are also visible on the GW side and vice versa. There are two different forum formats, but posts show up in both. When Houzz ate GW, it seemed like there was a proliferation of new pro- posters, but they weren't suddenly posting on GW ... they were still posting on Houzz, but their posts were showing up on GW, too.

Chess, regarding which "community" will be the one that disappears ... GW posters are now playing in the Houzz sandbox, not the other way around. When visiting the GW side of the forums, its only the format that is familiar. It's already obvious that the GW atmosphere has been lost.

niday, it say's "Your Houzz" in the upper right hand corner, even when in the GW format.

Can I just whine a little more? One big difference I've noticed is that posters who are 'from Houzz' use picture examples from Houzz and suggestions based on things that are IMO ridiculously $$$ and are often way beyond the scope of what the poster was asking about - and sometimes it's a vendor for said product or service making that suggestion which really chafes me. Not that that never happened with GW before the forums were mixed but there was and still is, I think, a different mindset and a broader perspective. When we search things out for each other we aren't using Houzz as the be all and end all because we 'grew up' searching the wide web, feel no loyalty to any particular source and enjoy the hunt. And part of our mission if I can call it that, has always been to help educate each other about WHY not just how - and we've been extremely lucky to have had incredible members over the years who share their vast knowledge. Houzz' photo stock does not cater to the average homeowner. Houzz is first and foremost a venue for professionals to sell their services and wares, not a discussion forum for Susie/Sam gardener to come and ask about hostas or Janie/Jonny homeowner to ask about the right lamp for the nightstand. We are an off shoot of that, nothing more. the money gets poured into keeping the advertisers happy not the forums. End of rant.

Not that that never happened with GW before the forums were mixed but there was and still is, I think, a different mindset and a broader perspective.

Definitely. There is actually a discussion on the Pro to Pro forum about how Garden Webber's were used to a no solicitation policy and the Houzz forums kinda exists for the purpose of pros and vendors to promote. I wouldn't go so far to say that Houzz encourages pro's to link out to their websites and products every time they post, but from what I gather they certainly are not going to reprimand anyone for doing so.

I understand a couple pro's ended up on GW posts shortly after the takeover by Houzz and got duly slapped about the head and shoulders for adding their own links. Many don't understand the GW culture or why anybody would have contributed and shared expertise for free when there was zero opportunity for some kind of ROI.

Exactly, Lori - a different culture that does not worship the professional but appreciate their contributions because they are done without an eye to ROI.

YES, DLM!!!!!

I think the problem started with Houzz saying they were intent on preserving the GW forums, and people took them at their word. Then they just combined GW into the Houzz forum and there was no preservation of the GW way at all.

"I understand a couple pro's ended up on GW posts shortly after the
takeover by Houzz and got duly slapped about the head and shoulder's for
adding their own links."

Also shortly after the takeover, I recall posts by pros warning people not to listen to non-pro's advice or comments. Funny, because GW was comprised of mostly non-pro posters making comments and giving advice!!

"Many don't understand the GW culture or why anybody would have
contributed and shared expertise for free when there way zero
opportunity for some kind of ROI."

And this is exactly why the two forum cultures do not mix well. GW posters were happy to share experiences without reward because that's what GW was all about!

jellytoast "Chess, regarding which "community" will be the one that disappears ... GW posters are now playing in the Houzz sandbox, not the other way around. When visiting the GW side of the forums, its only the format that is familiar. It's already obvious that the GW atmosphere has been lost."

I actually never said anything about which community would go away (if that happens - I have no idea). And yes I already indicated that HOUZZ is what took over GW. Surely everyone realizes that. I would have much preferred that they stay separate websites and GW had kept its personality and helpfulness without the snarky pro folks (and there are quite a few of them around).

And this is exactly why the two forum cultures do not mix well. GW posters were happy to share experiences without reward because that's what GW was all about!

Absolutely and still is. Just have to share our sandbox now. :)

Chess, I wasn't challenging anything you said. I was just commenting with my own opinion on which community would disappear (IMO, GW is already disappearing).

jellytoast, Ah...understood. And I agree. It's unfortunate. :-(

Well, well, well...... last I tried, my conversations thread was still in Houzz format but took a look over there and lo and behold, it's back to GW format. A little later to the party than jellytoast, but I think they gave us the GW format back -- at least for now. I hope it will remain, and I hope we can get back some of the helpfulness. But whether the folks offering ideas are pros (and there are some who are very helpful) or just folks with and interest or some prior experience sharing that experience and their ideas, the folks looking for free advice really ought to acknowledge the effort. Even if they disagree and think it was worth exactly what they paid for it. Someone gave their time and gave them another perspective.