Why Join Our TheEasyGarden Community - Hey You Lurkers!

Nifty

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We're lucky to have an amazing community here at TheEasyGarden! Recently we made a huge change and updated our forum software. The new features and tools are proving to be worth the effort!

Well, I recently realized that even thought things look a bit different, the "feeling" of community is still the same. This got me thinking (which I try to do at lease 1-3 times a day ;) ) : "I wonder what our members love most about TEG? We have a great group of people here, and now even better features and tools... it would be cool to know what they like about being members!"

Then I realized we have hundreds of "lurkers" that visit every day but don't join us (I know... crazy to think, right?! )

Well, I decided it would be fun to start a thread where our existing and new members could:
  1. List the reasons why they like being members here
  2. Tell about some of the benefits of joining the community and going from lurker to member
  3. Post any other information that may help the lurkers (ya, you, the person reading this RIGHT NOW) that they should join our community!

Here are a few of the reasons I love TEG and think peeps should join us:
  • A very friendly and active community where you can discuss pretty much anything related to gardening!
  • We have a strong sense of community here! People often come seeking advice about their animals and end up making friends. We pride ourselves in maintaining a fully-moderated, friendly and welcoming community, where flaming, cursing and trolling are not acceptable.
  • You'll be able to interact with tons of great people who share similar interests.
  • They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and we love seeing pictures of everyone's animals! Becoming a member allows you to easily post and share your pictures with a community that will appreciate them.
  • As a member, you have can participate in contests and giveaways often with prizes. They are fun, and who doesn't like free stuff from winning a prize?
  • You'll be able to subscribe to threads and forum sections and get notifications of updates.
  • Fewer Ads: Advertising keeps this site free for the thousands of people who visit. We reward our signed-in members by showing them fewer ads!
  • Registering is FREE and EASY!
Sign up here: http://www.theeasygarden.com/login/
(make sure to check the box for "No, create an account now")

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Ok TEG members, please reiterate any of the points above and add your own!!

:thumbsup
 

Smart Red

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I love gardening. I enjoy talking about my gardens and seeing/hearing about the gardens of others.
I love learning. I have learned so much from the friendly gardeners on this site.
I love education. I love to teach what I know from experience or others with anyone and everyone.
I love sharing. I enjoy trading plants, seeds, crochet plans, recipes, garden hints, etc. with some of the good friends I've made here.
 

Kassaundra

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As a lurker (which I did before joining) you only get answers to questions that other people ask, but when you sign up you get your own questions answered.

As a lurker you really don't get 100% of the sense of community that we have. People are missed when they don't post, remember that horrible seemed like forever from when Hoodat had his surgery until he finally posted and we knew he was okay??????

And of course, even regular lurkers know, the pictures, how could I post pictures w/o signing up!!!! lol lol lol
 

so lucky

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1: TEG members feel more like life-long friends.
2: We support each other when something goes wrong, either in the garden or in our families.
3: This is the first place I go when I open my computer, even before my e-mail.
 

897tgigvib

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For those new folks just signing on, an important thing to remember is...

1. WRITE DOWN YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD ON 2 PIECES OF PAPER, AND PUT THEM WHERE YOU WON'T LOSE THEM.

I really think that's why so many folks come here and then disappear. They forgot their username and or password.
=====
The best thing you'll like about it here is that WE'RE LIKE A NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK JUST OUT OF A TOWN, HANGING AROUND AT THE BACK FENCE JOKING WITH EACH OTHER SOMETIMES, TALKING GARDENING, GRUMBLING ABOUT THE BAD BUGS AND HOW WE GET RID OF THEM, OR HOW TO PRUNE THAT PEAR TREE.

It can be lots of other things too. What's that star that's so bright this morning or did you see Mercury, ha! Or, did the grandkids decorate your tree.

Here, we don't do that "clique" thing.

Everyone here is REAL. Someone might be grumpy today because a critter got a chicken. It's kind of our facebook here.

Everyone here is very unique.

We really are close friends here, even if we've never met in person. Some of us anyway.

We help and support each other. When we made the change to this new format, some of us almost got left behind. OH NO! Not letting that happen. We made several topics designed to reach out and grab someone who was falling. (In fact, right now I'm between email sendings to some more folks who we don't want to lose.)

We're all ages. A high percentage of us happen to be in our late 50's, but everywhere from 16 to 80 something are represented here.

We're many walks of life.

Oh, and one of the great things is, THE BOSS, NIFTY. He gets rid of spammers and rif raf very effectively. time tested, time proven. Nifty knows all the new stuff spammers are going to try. *Poof* spammer-b-gone!

I could easily write more. short version is...

write down your username and password, and then come in daily.

This new format has a lot of features.
Start with what's in the green bar near the top, especially "Recent Posts", then the "alerts". That one works by just hovering the cursor over it. (slick new stuff!)
 

journey11

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One that hasn't been mentioned yet: when you ask a question on here, someone will be sure to try to get an answer for you. Members respond so politely with a friendly intention to be helpful. We realize there are all degrees of experience represented here, from gardening newbies to seasoned pros and several areas of special interest and expertise. No one here will ever talk down to you or make you feel like you've asked a stupid question. I've been on other garden forums before where this was NOT the norm.

This place is like Cheers for Gardeners. After a little while, everybody knows your name. :) It's good to be in the company of people who have so much in common with you. I don't have many people around me daily who otherwise understand my passion for growing things. TEG is like the neighbors you wish you had. ;)

Nifty is the best admin ever! How many other forums have you been on where the site owner is so friendly and actually interacts with the users? When there's a problem, he and the mods are so quick to come to the rescue. They work hard to keep everything running smoothly and provide such an enjoyable atmosphere here.

And I second everything everyone has said so far too!
 

pjn

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One that hasn't been mentioned yet: when you ask a question on here, someone will be sure to try to get an answer for you. Members respond so politely with a friendly intention to be helpful. We realize there are all degrees of experience represented here, from gardening newbies to seasoned pros and several areas of special interest and expertise. No one here will ever talk down to you or make you feel like you've asked a stupid question. I've been on other garden forums before where this was NOT the norm.

This place is like Cheers for Gardeners. After a little while, everybody knows your name. :) It's good to be in the company of people who have so much in common with you. I don't have many people around me daily who otherwise understand my passion for growing things. TEG is like the neighbors you wish you had. ;)

Nifty is the best admin ever! How many other forums have you been on where the site owner is so friendly and actually interacts with the users? When there's a problem, he and the mods are so quick to come to the rescue. They work hard to keep everything running smoothly and provide such an enjoyable atmosphere here.

And I second everything everyone has said so far too!
Such a warm group of people. Willing to share and encourage. Lots of great information.
 

thistlebloom

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Everybody is doing such a good job of explaining why we come here.
I'm here for the free stuff! nah, just kiddin'. :)

It's all about learning new techniques or new varieties we haven't tried, crying on each others shoulder, patting each other on the back, getting to know the differences of our varied regions, seeing where our friends garden through their pictures, and knowing that even cyber friendships can be true and real.
 

digitS'

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It just seems to me that everyone posting here has done just great explaining the efforts that some of us "regulars" make in trying to answer questions, keeping it friendly and welcoming comments and questions.

One benefit I have enjoyed here is that I make commitments to do the best I can at trying something new or just maintaining what I've got so that I can report back to the gardeners. Sometimes, that commitment is just to myself but I know where the information about my garden activities is going: it is coming right here to the forum.

Something else I do here is to try to be helpful. I often have to search for answers - reading articles in gardening magazines, blogs and on Cooperative Extension websites. I try to do the best that I can from my limited perspective here in my own gardens. All of this, makes me a better gardener but how about you? Are you just looking for an easy answer from The Easy Garden?

We sometimes need more than that, here on TEG :).

The other day, I posted a thread on the difference between cities within the same USDA hardiness zone. Everett, Washington and Mobile, Alabama are in the same zone. If gardeners were to move from one city to the other, they would find that the growing seasons are vastly different! For example, in Everett, July afternoon highs are 73°f, on average. In Mobile, July afternoon highs are 91°f. Wow!. In fact, Mobile's overnight lows in July are 73° -- the same as Everett's high temperatures during that month!

Can an Everett gardener be expected to give good advice to a Mobile gardener or the other way around? Why not, they are in the same USDA zone? It is going to be very difficult with that much difference between growing seasons!

Both of these are US cities and folks may be growing the same crops but the best advice may come from gardeners in similar climates. We need your help, helping those folks who need help! So, Help! Join with us and we will all help each other be better gardeners.

:frow Steve
 
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baymule

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You should absolutely join TEG!! What a great group of folks! We celebrate each other's success (and drool over pictures) and commiserate with our failures. We help identify bad bugs, disease and what to do for them. It is fun to talk to someone clear across the country and compare growing notes.

Drag up your computer, set a spell and let us get to know you.
 

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