Isn't that the truth? I wish I could remember when I joined DG, but of course I don't know. My guess is around 2004-2005, some time around then.

Karen

Do you feel that it's changed your life in a way?

Sure it has. I used to actually watch TV once in a while!

Karen

Yeah...I only watch the news now.

Me too, Sherry. News and the weather channel.

Karen

I don't even watch the news. Would slit my wrists in a week if I did. The weather channel --- what's that? I get my weather online.

I now get lots of exercise running from the living room during TV ads to my computer room to see what's happening on ATP.

I like the little emotions I love the full size flower pictures.

susan

random pics help me know that I really did hit "refresh" when looking for new stuff to read. The pic changes, so even if nothing else did, I know it refreshed.

Recent pics are *directly* responsible for my now belonging to TWO daylily societies (and the AHS, too). I'm blaming Calif_Sue and Casshigh for both of those points -- Sue for posting stunning daylily pics, and Doris for being so freakin' nice that I couldn't help but want to belong to her club.

I love that you don't have to have been part of the DG or Cubits group to fit in here. It's nice to watch y'all connect with old friends, but you welcome the new folks, too, and make us feel like we belong and fit in. Trust me, I've been to social websites (that's really what this is) where that doesn't happen. It's a testament to the quality of the people here.

ATP is one of the tabs that opens automatically everytime I load firefox, and it's refreshed almost as often as facebook is for me. I can't really give a bigger compliment than that.

Oh, and I love the tips.

Mary, of course we welcome new members. We love making new garden friends too. I know Dave didn't intend for ATP to be a little offshoot of DG. This is much, much better. It's just that a core group of us followed Dave when he left and we landed here with him. We're all glad to have many of our old friends along, but we look forward to ATP being bigger and better than those websites that came before it.

I've met lots of nice new people here already and, really, this site is still in it's infancy.

Karen

There are a lot of features here that I enjoy equally. I think with time it will only get better.

And I don't see this as a social website, not really. I see it as a group of like minded, knowledgeable people whose paths might have crossed at one time or another but whose passion is gardening. This same group of people sees this site as becoming the very best gardening site on the web and are putting their knowledge, their research and their efforts together to make it so. Working together to accomplish this massive goal is something we want to do. It's become our passion. I also think we are already seeing excellent results and as I said, it can only get better.

It's those high goals Dave and Trish helped us set for ATP from the beginning. I think that's our common goal, and if in passing we stop to chat occasionally, that's great too.

As to the original question, I don't have a favorite feature. I learn a lot from all the forums as well as tips and articles. And the database leaves me rather speechless it is so full of information.
ATP is well on its way to being the best.

I have to agree with Sharon. To me this is not a social site. It's a learning site, A group of people, headed by Dave and Trish, trying to get proper knowledge of gardening to other members, and ultimately out to the general gardening population. I must say, it's nice to see how helpful everyone is to the newer gardeners. It seems to me the newer gardeners feel much more at home here than on other sites. A lot of effort is being expended on this site to make it just the best.

And personally, I think it's already the best.

I really like the "Tip of the Day." Of course, I like everything on the site.

I definitely consider this a social site. It's just a very focused social site, centered around gardening. To me it is the social nature that makes it fun for me. As a matter of fact this site is probably more social than the well known social sites out there. Unlike all the other sites that I have been to, people here actually get to know each other and have conversations.

Sharon, you read my mind, but said it far better than I can.

I agree with Jay- I think this is a very social site, just with a more narrow focus- gardening.

I don't do Facebook or Twitter. No offense meant but I just think they're dumb. When people ask why I won't do Facebook, I tell them I have a much better social networking site where I can enjoy interaction with like-minded intelligent people.

Karen

Karen & Jay expanded nicely on why I think of this as a social site, not just an information site. Wikipedia is an information site. ATP is not just information, it's relationships -- that makes it a social site in my lexicon. I belong to many social sites that are not facebook/twitter/whatever. In each case, they have a narrow focus, but are social in nature as well as informative. If a site supports and values forming relationships as well as dispensing information, it's a social site.

I was not in any way demeaning ATP when I said it's a social site. "Social networking" existed long before facebook/myspace/twitter/whatever. One of the amazing things about the Internet is its ability to foster global friendships, and to connect folks with similar interests. I've been part of social networking sites for 15 years or more, and have made internet friends in several different countries. I've even met some of my internet friends in real life, over the years.

There will always be people to come to ATP just for the information - in fact, that's our major drawing card. BUT hopefully they'll see the family-like atmosphere, and stay for the relationships, doing their part to help improve what is already a durn good site.

Just my 2 cents, trying to explain my thought process a little further.

Mary - you explained it perfectly in my opinion! I too have made cyberfriends that have become real life friends!

I like the plant comments...I like knowing what another gardener thinks about a plant and advice they have concerning the plant.

I have not used the blog recently but like that it is there for me to journal what is happening in my yard, home, & life. I know I will start using it again with Spring approaching. And, great information from other bloggers there too!

Blogs. Yes. I forgot blogs. That's another favorite feature.

Sorry Mary, I didn't mean to be blunt in my earlier statement, nor did I mean to negate your words. To me ATP is primarily an excellent informative gardening website. The social aspect of it contributes to making it so. We all work well together to help make it excellent and informative. We've learned of each others strengths and we rely on each other for information. That's the social part as I see it.

We are all right in that we each take from a site exactly what we need from it. And as I've moved from site to site over the years, I've brought my friends right along with me. We tend to congregate where our like minded friends are and as I said earlier, while searching through forums for information, if we stop and chat awhile, that's good too.