*Ability to edit your posts.

*Ability to add multiple images to the same post.

*Straightforward formatting buttons (italics, bold, etc.) instead of relying on html code.

*Adding the ability to give a post a thumbs up/like and report spam for deletion.

*A set of sticky threads that cover a particular topic well so that people don't ask the same question more than once.

*A comprehensive plant/tree/shrub identification library. I know something like this exists on here, but one that has better quality and more numerous images and information in a wiki-style format that can be edited by users would be best. Let us do the dirty work. Give users the opportunity to add information about their experience with the plant as well as tips on its care. Give us the ability to flag incorrect/misleading information to be removed.

Reorganize forums -- there are far too many. Condense and organize; many forums are hardly ever used. They need to be incorporated into more general forums that are more heavily traveled. Allow users to tag their posts for display in multiple forums if the post applies to multiple topics.

Thanks!
Scott

I'd like to quickly get to the images posted by any particular user in hopes at looking at photos of their garden. If you could click the user's name and then have options to see images posted and an archive of their posts. I don't see people using profiles much so this would be a way to learn more about a fellow user through their images and posts.

One simple request:
Currently a topic in a forum looks like this:
GardenWeb needs your feedback!
Posted by: gwAnnouncements none on Wed, Oct 17, 12 at 15:51
2 follow-ups, last one posted on Wed, Oct 17, 12 at 17:54

Would be nice to know who the last follow up was by. Most other forums I post to have this functionality. Posts can have lots of responses, I don't always remember what # I am. So it would look like:
GardenWeb needs your feedback!
Posted by: gwAnnouncements none on Wed, Oct 17, 12 at 15:51
3 follow-ups, last one posted on Wed, Oct 17, 12 at 18:14 by the_plant_geek

Scott got my top requests with his first three:

Ability to edit your posts.

Ability to add multiple images to the same post.

Straightforward formatting buttons (italics, bold, etc.) instead of relying on html code

It would also be nice to be able to "watch" or "follow" a thread; I wouldn't want email notification of posts to a thread, but it would be nice to open GW and there have notification of posts added to a thread I was watching. With so many forums, this helps to keep track of what you were following on which forum.

Thank you for your efforts!
Dee

Love love love the idea of a more robust plant database! It would be a tremendous resource here and I would love to share more pics. Offer copyright protection for those who prefer, however.

Make the location/zone information a mandatory field? And one that's very easy for a newbie to fill in. Maybe a region and zone, if people prefer to be private about their exact location.

Being able to edit posts is good. Note at bottom of post the time/date last edited.

I hope GW doesn't go overboard with enhancing the forums so that threads become cluttered with avatars, signatures, dancing emoticons, etc. They are distracting and I find it more difficult to focus on the dialogue. On top of that, they're repeated over and over with every post. Annoying!

In light of the above suggestion, perhaps GW could beef up the Member page so that a member can easily post links to their website, blogs, maybe some photos of themselves, gardens, pets, etc. if they would like to give more information about themselves.

^Better yet, have the user's climate zone automatically pop up when you type in your Zip Code using the new USDA hardiness zone data -- the zones many people use are outdated now.

As first mentioned by Scott above:

*Ability to edit your posts (at least for a certain time period...say 30 minutes)

*Ability to add multiple images to the same post i.e using Choose File.

*Straightforward formatting buttons (italics, bold, etc.) instead of relying on html code. Yes

Most importantly for me:

* the ability to subscribe to any thread (ie email notification indicating another post has been added) even if one has not posted to it

mistascott - not all posters are in the US. We don't all have zip codes. Don't make it no zip code, no post, which sometimes happens when attempting to fill in forms online.

Yes flora, a country designation would be good - encourage a more global focus if possible.

It would definitely be a good idea to reorganize the main forum page. The long long lists of forums are not user-friendly and are likely confusing to newcomers. Grouping them under more specific categories (and yes, eliminating/combining some of the low-traffic forums) would enhance ability to use the site.

Also recommended - quicker response to spam threads and postings. Nothing says unattended/unmoderated site more than a spam post that is allowed to stay up for days on end (to be fair, GW response time has gotten somewhat better recently).

I second terrene's statement about avoiding the avatars, dancing emoticons, etc. I really like the plain text of GW

I would prefer an edit feature and do away with the preview feature.

Some websites include how many people 'view' your post or are following a thread.

A 'quote' button when replying to post.

I personally think that having a separate forum for every single type of plant is not good. I understand why there would be a Roses forum, but a separate forum for hydrangeas, clematis, and geraniums?! Seems to me that it fragments the community and makes the conversations a lot less interesting. Perhaps time to streamline??

It would also be good to have a straightforward way to report abuse.

It is easy to see the many suggestions that appear multiple times in this thread. When can you tell us which will be adopted by GW and the timeline for their implementation?

Tamara I stay here as GW still attracts large numbers of serious, knowledgeable gardeners but surely you recognize that these forums are quite out of date. The features requested above are the norm and have been for quite some time in most other forums.

I agree with 'pblge' that there are too many forums for individual plants. Many that receive very few visits. Consolidation is something I would be happy to see too.

Is it gauche to ask what are some of the other forums on the web (at no charge)?

It would be nice to be easily able to add multiple live links into the text, rather than just one at the bottom of the post.

I like the plain, uncluttered look of the posts here (that probably labels me as old-fashioned...) and hope that any extraneous stuff gets kept well away from a nice clean reading pane so you can ignore the clutter if it happens.

Spell-check would be good; 'edit' is good too, but a spell-check would fix a lot of the need to edit!

My #1 request is for @ member to have a member archive pg. with all one's posts , organized by thread titles and chronologically (beginning with the most recently updated thread.)Like that found on www.chowhound.com

I also completely agree with this suggestion:
GardenWeb needs your feedback!
Posted by: gwAnnouncements none on Wed, Oct 17, 12 at 15:51
3 follow-ups, last one posted on Wed, Oct 17, 12 at 18:14 by the_plant_geek >

Better search functionality! An "Advanced Search" would be such a welcome help. (Ability to search only main forum - not conversations, order results by date and/or filter search by date, search for posts by particular member, etc.)

The Clematis forum is very busy, has questions specific to Clematis that are not to vines, in general. The Hydrangea forum is also very busy. The Geranium one should be split between Pelargoniums and Geraniums because there is too much confusion between hardy perennial Geranium species and the annuals types.

Ability to edit posts would be my favorite upgrade.

I HATE dancing emoticons, flashing signatures/gifts avatars etc. I hope we NEVER get them here. They give me migraines and I have had to quit several forums because of them.

I really agree with mistascott's suggestions in the first response. It seems that overall there needs to be more streamlined organization; make the site more user friendly and efficient. There is such a tremendous wealth of invaluable information and ideas here, but it takes too much time to read through it all! Most users don't have enough time to read all the forums and posts that interest them; it would be very helpful to know which items are currently very active. Just as news sites list 'most read stories', provide us with these leads. Even the 'thumbs up' option suggested above would help, if totals were listed by thread titles on the forums' main page.

As many have said, the simplicity and uncluttered look of the post pages is a welcome relief from most sites. Often one thread leads us to a similar topic or question; how do we easily move there? When we find a member whose posts provide amazing info, how do we locate his/her other writings and photos? Can simple color-coded links be used?

Lastly, the Garden Galleries section needs reorganization please! There's not even a categories list on the main page! I am a strong visual learner and I look for picture examples constantly. They are here on this site, but often buried in posts. Can there be a photo index?

Thank you for considering our ideas and imput.

I just thought of something else that might be very useful. A central page as you enter GardenWeb that shows where there is activity in which forums at any given time.

Hi everyone!

You asked and we listened. Today we are very excited to be debuting our newest feature -- post editing! To use this feature, go back to the post you wish to correct and you'll find the link under the 'My Clippings' links on the right side of the page.

I want to give a special shout out to all the testers who tried to break the editing tool. ;) Your feedback was insightful and invaluable. Thank you!

You may have also noticed that we adjusted the login cookie awhile back so that you should not have to login repeatedly.

Stay tuned -- we have more cool things in the works!

As always, please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

Best regards,
Tamara