I found a broken link in an NGA Article. Do you want to know about those?

The various "plant care guide" NGA articles were helpful and address a lack of basic "how-to-grow-101" information in the plant database, despite the "parent plant pages".

The article:
http://garden.org/learn/articl...
"A Solution for Heavy Containers"


The broken link is called "Better Than Rocks."
http://betterthanrocks.com/ind...

This could replace it
http://betterthanrocks.com/pro...

But this one has a smidgeon of actual information, unlike the site above.
https://better-than-rocks.mysh...

I have to say, that first one was the LEAST informative website I've ever clicked on! (Not an NGA website, just a one-product vendor).

P.S. I wonder if glass wool, fiberglas insulation or even pads of felt or batting would also work?'

(The product is a non-woven pad of recycled plastic that takes up space in the bottom of big, heavy planters that are deeper than you need a root zone to be. I think people have also used beer cans and empty soda bottles for that purpose. Even Styrofoam packing peanuts.)

@jon will fix this. In fact, that's exactly what he's been working on - going through the articles and fixing any broken links. There are about 1,200 articles with links and he's going through them one by one.

Cool! Thanks, Dave and Jon. If I find another, how about if I Tree-Mail you directly, Jon?

Say (cough cough) if you ever run out of things to do (cough cough) here's a request:

Could you track each member's visits to the NGA Archive? It would be handy if there was an automatic "bookmarK" that assumed you were going the archive page by page, and each time you return to the archive, come back to the point where you left off reading.

A fancier version would be to show a checkbox, or different color title on each article that the member had opened and presumably read.

But it has less value for someone who just searches the Archive for articles on specific topics.

I see that those NGA articles don't have a "Comments and discussion:" section.
Is that "by design", or "haven't gotten around to adding that yet"?

I sometimes had the feeling that some articles might be more than a few years old, not that that's necessarily a bad thing. But perhaps some "conventional wisdom" articles would spark a little debate if there was a section for responding to each article. (On the other hand, multiple opinions expressed as chatty threads would dilute the simple, one-way how-to advice in some articles.)

#2:

Article:
Taking the Ouch Out of Moving Large Pots
http://garden.org/learn/articl...

bad link:
http://paletrading.com/what-is...

suggest:
https://paletrading.com/potlif...

#3:
Article:
Fencing Out Slugs
http://garden.org/learn/articl...
(A 9-Volt battery-powered aluminum mesh low fence)


Bad link:
For more information on SlugsAway, go to: Contech Company.
https://www.contech-inc.com/pr...

Suggest:
https://www.contech-inc.com/

However, they don't seem to sell that any more.

How about a link to some YouTube videos that would enrage the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Slugs?

1 minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Feel free to email these directly to @jon - he will be very appreciative!

As for the comments/discussion for articles, that is indeed something that is planned for sooner rather than later. It will be done in the next month or two.

RickCorey said:Could you track each member's visits to the NGA Archive? It would be handy if there was an automatic "bookmarK" that assumed you were going the archive page by page, and each time you return to the archive, come back to the point where you left off reading.

I really like that idea. I'll need to give it some thought, but I warn you that I likely won't do anything soon.

Yes, I am currently going through the articles, but I am only doing the most view articles as there are thousands of them. This means that I won't be looking through all the articles looking for broken links, so if you find any feel free to Tree-Mail them to me and I will take care of them.

Not only smart, but handsome as well!

Hi Jon! Will do. I read them very randomly, so I may well hit unpopular articles before you get to them. Fortunately, the spelling of your name is easy to remember!

BTW, what mostly do you hybridize? I usually follow "Zen Man"'s zinnia-hybridizing threads. His results are like Science Fiction flowers, and I'm in awe.

Corey

Does anyone else feel a little "shock and awe" about Jon being an admin?.... seems like just yesterday you were a little kid, Jon!

No, I just feel OLD!

@RickRocey, I only hybridize daylilies for the time being. I really enjoy growing and hybridizing them. http://garden.org/lists/view/j...

@Weedwhacker That's right, I first joined NGA 6 years ago, I have grown up a lot since then.

Thanks, Jon.

I haven't forgotten, I just haven't found any other broken links.

If you already fixed them all, you must have done a great job!

I had @dave write me a script that shows every article that had a link, and most of the links are old and broken links. I only went through about 100 or so before I moved on to something new, but I do plan on going back and finishing them as almost 1/3 of the articles have links, and most of the links are broken.

Maybe I just haven't been following many links lately, but I haven't hit any more broken ones. I guess I've mostly read NGA articles citing other NGA articles lately.