There's a new garden forum that is actually being created in Springfield, MO. It represents all gardeners in Southwest Missouri and the Ozarks.

It has a lot of potential, and will have up to date happenings. If you're a gardener in the area (or even if you're not, maybe you know someone who is you'd like to pass the info on to).

They'll be posting when they can use help in the new botanical center gardens. That'll be fun to get in on. But better yet, there is a Winter Sowing Board. It'd be great to get the word out around here since a lot of gardeners in the Ozarks haven't heard of the technique. So if you can post photos, and talk about what you're starting and what has worked for you, we can have an area community of Winter Sowers!

To log in, just click the 'register' tab and follow the instructions. See you there!

My apologies, I didn't see a copyright symbol at the bottom of that page. So we'd literally have to write you? This is for non-commercial use and directs people straight here... just trying to spread the word!

I thank you for pulling the pictures and the article which btw, was shared with my website--which means I would have had to get permission from the author before I could share it with you, it's a hassle but that's the way it is ;-O

If you had written I would have gladly and immediately given you How to Winter Sow, and a special SASE address specifically for your Botanical Garden Members. If you would still like that then start over and send an email--tell me about the forums and their purpose, who are the Friends and how they help this Botanical Garden; this is just basic simple stuff.

T

You need to read up about copyrights before posting other's writing or photos. Creative works are copyright to the artist or author at the time of creation. They don't need to attach the copyright symbol to their works for that to be the case.

Best practice, if it is not your own original work, ask permission. Don't make the mistake of thinking you are being respectful or flattering by quoting work or showing photos that are not your own. Don't think that just crediting the site where you took the info or photo from is OK. It's not. It's not respectful. And it's not flattering.

And while a lot of people who do things like that mean no harm, it's still a really rude thing to do.

Did you see the recent thread (link below) about the seed snatcher? That was someone who probably meant no harm but read that thread to get an idea of how people feel when others take what does not belong to them.

Sorry if this sounds kind of harsh, but an awful lot of people don't seem to realize that when someone works hard to write something or take a great photo, it really stinks when they find their work showing up in other places on the internet without their permission.

Lynda

Violet, I just noticed that I'm grumbling at everyone this morning!

So please take to heart the content of my last post, but just ignore the grumbly sounding attitude part of it. I think I might have got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!

This just is a bit of a hot point for me. My husband has a big information website that he's spent years putting together. And every week or so someone steals one of his photos, and even steals some of his writing. They then post them in blogs or use them in e-bay auctions.

A lot of them don't mean any harm at all, but they still took stuff that didn't belong to them - it belonged to hubby.

So once again, sorry for the knee jerk reaction. Maybe I need to go grab a cup of tea and a seed catalog and chill out! Hope I didn't make you feel bad - that was not the intent.

Lynda

Theft of intellectual property has been at times a very big problem for me. The day Spike told me he would make this forum I filed for registered copyrights on all my work because I knew the impact of what I had written--those registrations are framed and they hang on the wall behind me.

I am always thankful to the USDA--and it's their primary wordsmith who wrote WinterSown's copyright and disclaimer. WinterSown.Org is a USDA/NAL/AgNIC website--they trained me to build that website, and that training is ongoing and continuing--I just did a metadata webinar last week. All AgNIC partners freely provide information to the public at their websites, but that doesn't mean it can be lifted and posted onto another site without permission.

"Asking" is powerful tool, people are flattered when they're asked to share information--it means you like the information. I can't even count how many times I have asked for help and been given it generously simply because I asked.

I don't think I have anything else to say on this.

T

I'm just the messenger! Not in charge of anything!

Someone asked me if they thought including the winter sowing topic would be a good thing to include. And since Trudi and I have long been involved with GardenWeb and are both contributors to GardenWeb FAQ boards, I've watched the creation of the Winter Sowing movement.

I'm sure there was no intention of "rubbing anyone the wrong way". In my short experience of getting to know them, they are a very enthusiastic group of people, with a limited budget, just as most non-profit groups these days. They've had $4,000 worth of plants literally stolen from their gardens over the last ten years. Just this past summer, they started a reward fund and the public has been very helpful, even to the point of calling the police on some of the volunteers! Now everyone knows to wear name tags!

Anyway, they were quick to respond when I messaged them last night. So don't thank me, thank them. When I looked at that particular page, there was no "©". Usually on such documents, at the top or bottom, it will say something like "This article may be reprinted with permission so long as the following credit appears: xxx xxx xxx."

or

"© 2004 Trudi D. All rights reserved.

This article may be reprinted with written permission from Trudi Davidoff only. All copyright information MUST accompany the article wherever reprinted."

Anyway, I didn't think my response of "yes, absolutely it should be a category" would lead to such a mess. I've always thought the winter sowing group was phenomenal, and I'm quickly learning that this group is too.

I was just trying to spread your word... my humble apologies.

MALARKEY! I don't have to put ANY copyright message on any page. But, if you need to find it again, the link I provided earlier in this thread in on the HOME PAGE, right at the top where it says "Copyright Statement".

And I'm not sure what the poor security at this botanical garden has to do with this post, except are you saying that because they were stolen from they're balancing it out by taking from others, this is justification?!?!?!?

Did you really want to broadcast something so embarassing as their security and theft problems?

I emailed them the link as soon as I saw your response above. Fortunately, they responded in a timely manner. When I woke up, to look, it was replaced, which is what you asked for.

I guess I was trying to say that they're trying to find their way and they don't necessarily have a big operating budget. Many of the plants were donated over the last decade and I'm sure other parks experience the same problem.

As a member of the public, I don't feel the sharing of the fact that plants have been stolen is embarrassing. It's been discussed several times in the local news paper and they never said anything for years until this year.

I'll accept responsibility for directing them to the page in question and my intention of wanting only to support the winter sowing technique. This is getting more involved than I had ever anticipated. I apologize for my involvement.

If you had written I would have gladly and immediately given you How to Winter Sow, and a special SASE address specifically for your Botanical Garden Members. If you would still like that then start over and send an email--tell me about the forums and their purpose, who are the Friends and how they help this Botanical Garden; this is just basic simple stuff.

T