Plant Swap Solution

[Benign Vanilla]

A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be a
great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design ready. I
plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss vaporware
on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you, as a
friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.

I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad either as a
want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have all of
our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to search using
keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address (considering
alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the poster.

Any thoughts?

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

[Heather]

Hi BV:

First thought that comes to mind is the border restrictions between the US
and Canada. When listing/asking for plants a field that asks for location
would be a good idea. In the description people could put a link to their
own sites if they have pictures. (Used to be a programmer)

Heather
SW Ontario

"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message
...
> A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be a
> great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design ready. I
> plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
> iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss vaporware
> on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you, as a
> friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.
>
> I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad either as
a
> want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have all
of
> our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to search
using
> keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address (considering
> alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the
poster.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> --
> BV.
> www.iheartmypond.com
>
>
>

[Heather]

Hi BV:

First thought that comes to mind is the border restrictions between the US
and Canada. When listing/asking for plants a field that asks for location
would be a good idea. In the description people could put a link to their
own sites if they have pictures. (Used to be a programmer)

Heather
SW Ontario

"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message
...
> A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be a
> great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design ready. I
> plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
> iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss vaporware
> on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you, as a
> friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.
>
> I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad either as
a
> want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have all
of
> our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to search
using
> keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address (considering
> alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the
poster.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> --
> BV.
> www.iheartmypond.com
>
>
>

[Benign Vanilla]

"Heather" > wrote in message
. ..
> Hi BV:
>
> First thought that comes to mind is the border restrictions between the US
> and Canada. When listing/asking for plants a field that asks for location
> would be a good idea. In the description people could put a link to their
> own sites if they have pictures. (Used to be a programmer)
<snip>

Pictures, URL's, etc. will be possible. Good tip on locations, Thanks.

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

[Benign Vanilla]

"Heather" > wrote in message
. ..
> Hi BV:
>
> First thought that comes to mind is the border restrictions between the US
> and Canada. When listing/asking for plants a field that asks for location
> would be a good idea. In the description people could put a link to their
> own sites if they have pictures. (Used to be a programmer)
<snip>

Pictures, URL's, etc. will be possible. Good tip on locations, Thanks.

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

[joe]

On 5/5/04 12:16 PM, "Benign Vanilla" > wrote:

> A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be a
> great thing to have.

That was me!


>
> I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad either as a
> want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have all of
> our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to search using
> keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address (considering
> alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the poster.

Would you have ads automatically go away after a given period say 5 days, or
would the poster be responsible for that. I guess the issue is you don't
want some advertising something they no longer have.

I was wondering about the implications of sending plants like water hyacinth
to places where it's illegal. Would the site make that connection or would
the purchaser/seller just be responsible for knowing that.

As to the spam, could a purchaser enter his info in a text screen and your
database would generate an actual email to the seller rather than a link.

Joe



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[joe]

On 5/5/04 12:16 PM, "Benign Vanilla" > wrote:

> A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be a
> great thing to have.

That was me!


>
> I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad either as a
> want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have all of
> our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to search using
> keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address (considering
> alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the poster.

Would you have ads automatically go away after a given period say 5 days, or
would the poster be responsible for that. I guess the issue is you don't
want some advertising something they no longer have.

I was wondering about the implications of sending plants like water hyacinth
to places where it's illegal. Would the site make that connection or would
the purchaser/seller just be responsible for knowing that.

As to the spam, could a purchaser enter his info in a text screen and your
database would generate an actual email to the seller rather than a link.

Joe



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http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

[jammer]

On Wed, 5 May 2004 15:16:34 -0400, "Benign Vanilla"
> wrote:

>A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would
be a
>great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design
ready. I
>plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
>iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss
vaporware
>on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you, as
a
>friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.
>
>I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad
either as a
>want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have
all of
>our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to
search using
>keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address
(considering
>alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the
poster.
>
>Any thoughts?

Sounds good to me, BV. I sure could use some plants and have so much
primrose it might take over the grass, trees, table, and chairs. So
count me in.

[jammer]

On Wed, 5 May 2004 15:16:34 -0400, "Benign Vanilla"
> wrote:

>A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would
be a
>great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design
ready. I
>plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
>iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss
vaporware
>on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you, as
a
>friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.
>
>I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad
either as a
>want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have
all of
>our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to
search using
>keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address
(considering
>alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the
poster.
>
>Any thoughts?

Sounds good to me, BV. I sure could use some plants and have so much
primrose it might take over the grass, trees, table, and chairs. So
count me in.

[Ann in Houston]

Didn't see the op. Go look here.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exponds/?20387
It surprises me that no one here ever mentions garden web. I really like
it.

Ann

"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message
...
> A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be a
> great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design ready. I
> plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
> iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss vaporware
> on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you, as a
> friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.
>
> I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad either as
a
> want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have all
of
> our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to search
using
> keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address (considering
> alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the
poster.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> --
> BV.
> www.iheartmypond.com
>
>
>

[Ann in Houston]

Didn't see the op. Go look here.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exponds/?20387
It surprises me that no one here ever mentions garden web. I really like
it.

Ann

"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message
...
> A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be a
> great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design ready. I
> plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
> iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss vaporware
> on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you, as a
> friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.
>
> I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad either as
a
> want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have all
of
> our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to search
using
> keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address (considering
> alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the
poster.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> --
> BV.
> www.iheartmypond.com
>
>
>

[joe]

I've been there a few times. The problem with the plant swap the way they do
it, is there are still listing there from last year. So you have to scroll
through and see if they are still available. It is a pretty good web site
though.

Joe


On 5/5/04 4:36 PM, "Ann in Houston" > wrote:

> Didn't see the op. Go look here.
> http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exponds/?20387
> It surprises me that no one here ever mentions garden web. I really like
> it.



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-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

[joe]

I've been there a few times. The problem with the plant swap the way they do
it, is there are still listing there from last year. So you have to scroll
through and see if they are still available. It is a pretty good web site
though.

Joe


On 5/5/04 4:36 PM, "Ann in Houston" > wrote:

> Didn't see the op. Go look here.
> http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exponds/?20387
> It surprises me that no one here ever mentions garden web. I really like
> it.



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http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

[jammer]

I did suggest gardenweb.






On Wed, 05 May 2004 23:36:06 GMT, "Ann in Houston"
> wrote:

>Didn't see the op. Go look here.
>http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exponds/?20387
>It surprises me that no one here ever mentions garden web. I really
like
>it.
>
>Ann
>
>"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message
...
>> A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system
would be a
>> great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design
ready. I
>> plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
>> iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss
vaporware
>> on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you,
as a
>> friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.
>>
>> I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad
either as
>a
>> want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we
have all
>of
>> our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to
search
>using
>> keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address
(considering
>> alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the
>poster.
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>>
>> --
>> BV.
>> www.iheartmypond.com
>>
>>
>>
>

[jammer]

I did suggest gardenweb.






On Wed, 05 May 2004 23:36:06 GMT, "Ann in Houston"
> wrote:

>Didn't see the op. Go look here.
>http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exponds/?20387
>It surprises me that no one here ever mentions garden web. I really
like
>it.
>
>Ann
>
>"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message
...
>> A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system
would be a
>> great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design
ready. I
>> plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
>> iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss
vaporware
>> on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you,
as a
>> friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.
>>
>> I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad
either as
>a
>> want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we
have all
>of
>> our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to
search
>using
>> keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address
(considering
>> alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the
>poster.
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>>
>> --
>> BV.
>> www.iheartmypond.com
>>
>>
>>
>

[Sue Walsh]

joe > wrote in message >...

> Would you have ads automatically go away after a given period say 5 days, or
> would the poster be responsible for that. I guess the issue is you don't
> want some advertising something they no longer have.

Could you possibly clear ALL ads say at the end of each month or on
the 1st & 15th of each month? Then we would be starting new once or
twice a month. It would also mean a person looking for something
would not have too much to look through. Just a thought.

Would this be for all types of 'other' plants or just 'water garden'
plants? A compromise could be if 1/2 of each swap had to be a 'water
garden' plant. For example: If I need a water lily but have no other
'water garden' plant to trade I could then offer an 'other' such as a
passionvine. But if I was looking for passionvine, I would have to
offer a 'water garden' plant in trade. In that way 1/2 of the trade
was pond related. Just a thought, we are a pond group. One the flip
side, of my brain, is the thought that we also need 'other' plants to
put around the outside of our ponds, so do we really want to limit it
to 'water garden' plants? Oh well, this is how my life goes, just
can't make up my mind!!

How about a section for depth to place under water from the person who
grew the plant? That could make a differece to some of us in what we
would take as a trade. Example: I have no shelves in my pond and
therefore don't want a lot of plants that I need to haul in more
cement blocks to add to my pond. So that info is something I would
want to know.

As for location, we could just sign that way such as here....

Sue W
Brooksville, FL

PS. I would love to see this go on for the entire pond site, because
for a lot of the posts it would be helpful to know where the writer is
located, the information makes more sense then.

[Sue Walsh]

joe > wrote in message >...

> Would you have ads automatically go away after a given period say 5 days, or
> would the poster be responsible for that. I guess the issue is you don't
> want some advertising something they no longer have.

Could you possibly clear ALL ads say at the end of each month or on
the 1st & 15th of each month? Then we would be starting new once or
twice a month. It would also mean a person looking for something
would not have too much to look through. Just a thought.

Would this be for all types of 'other' plants or just 'water garden'
plants? A compromise could be if 1/2 of each swap had to be a 'water
garden' plant. For example: If I need a water lily but have no other
'water garden' plant to trade I could then offer an 'other' such as a
passionvine. But if I was looking for passionvine, I would have to
offer a 'water garden' plant in trade. In that way 1/2 of the trade
was pond related. Just a thought, we are a pond group. One the flip
side, of my brain, is the thought that we also need 'other' plants to
put around the outside of our ponds, so do we really want to limit it
to 'water garden' plants? Oh well, this is how my life goes, just
can't make up my mind!!

How about a section for depth to place under water from the person who
grew the plant? That could make a differece to some of us in what we
would take as a trade. Example: I have no shelves in my pond and
therefore don't want a lot of plants that I need to haul in more
cement blocks to add to my pond. So that info is something I would
want to know.

As for location, we could just sign that way such as here....

Sue W
Brooksville, FL

PS. I would love to see this go on for the entire pond site, because
for a lot of the posts it would be helpful to know where the writer is
located, the information makes more sense then.

[Benign Vanilla]

"joe" > wrote in message
...
> On 5/5/04 12:16 PM, "Benign Vanilla" >
wrote:
>
> > A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be
a
> > great thing to have.
>
> That was me!

I thought is was but was not sure. I really like the idea, and want to get
it implemented soon.

<snip>

> Would you have ads automatically go away after a given period say 5 days,
or
> would the poster be responsible for that. I guess the issue is you don't
> want some advertising something they no longer have.

Each poster of either "a want" or "a have" ad will be able to choose an
expiration date. I'll probably default the date to 30 days. Once a swap has
taken place, and the products is gone, it would be up to the poster to close
the ad, if it is before the expiration date.

> I was wondering about the implications of sending plants like water
hyacinth
> to places where it's illegal. Would the site make that connection or would
> the purchaser/seller just be responsible for knowing that.

The swap service will be nothing more then a coffee shop providing space for
porgs to trade. It will be up to the swappers to determine the costs, and
legality of what they are transporting. We plan to have notices on this, and
make it part of the sign up process. We'll also have links to some of the
government lists to assist.

> As to the spam, could a purchaser enter his info in a text screen and your
> database would generate an actual email to the seller rather than a link.

<snip>

This is what I was thinking of as well. We won't publish emails, but we'll
store them. Then a responder can click a link on the ad, and we'll send an
email to the poster, including the responders email. Then the transaction
can take place off-line. We'll only send the initial email.

BV.

[Benign Vanilla]

"joe" > wrote in message
...
> On 5/5/04 12:16 PM, "Benign Vanilla" >
wrote:
>
> > A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be
a
> > great thing to have.
>
> That was me!

I thought is was but was not sure. I really like the idea, and want to get
it implemented soon.

<snip>

> Would you have ads automatically go away after a given period say 5 days,
or
> would the poster be responsible for that. I guess the issue is you don't
> want some advertising something they no longer have.

Each poster of either "a want" or "a have" ad will be able to choose an
expiration date. I'll probably default the date to 30 days. Once a swap has
taken place, and the products is gone, it would be up to the poster to close
the ad, if it is before the expiration date.

> I was wondering about the implications of sending plants like water
hyacinth
> to places where it's illegal. Would the site make that connection or would
> the purchaser/seller just be responsible for knowing that.

The swap service will be nothing more then a coffee shop providing space for
porgs to trade. It will be up to the swappers to determine the costs, and
legality of what they are transporting. We plan to have notices on this, and
make it part of the sign up process. We'll also have links to some of the
government lists to assist.

> As to the spam, could a purchaser enter his info in a text screen and your
> database would generate an actual email to the seller rather than a link.

<snip>

This is what I was thinking of as well. We won't publish emails, but we'll
store them. Then a responder can click a link on the ad, and we'll send an
email to the poster, including the responders email. Then the transaction
can take place off-line. We'll only send the initial email.

BV.

[Benign Vanilla]

"Sue Walsh" > wrote in message
om...
> joe > wrote in message
>...
>
> > Would you have ads automatically go away after a given period say 5
days, or
> > would the poster be responsible for that. I guess the issue is you don't
> > want some advertising something they no longer have.
>
> Could you possibly clear ALL ads say at the end of each month or on
> the 1st & 15th of each month? Then we would be starting new once or
> twice a month. It would also mean a person looking for something
> would not have too much to look through. Just a thought.

Each ad will have an auto-expire date which will default to 30 days. The
poster can extend this, if (s)he chooses.

> Would this be for all types of 'other' plants or just 'water garden'
> plants? A compromise could be if 1/2 of each swap had to be a 'water
> garden' plant. For example: If I need a water lily but have no other
> 'water garden' plant to trade I could then offer an 'other' such as a
> passionvine. But if I was looking for passionvine, I would have to
> offer a 'water garden' plant in trade. In that way 1/2 of the trade
> was pond related. Just a thought, we are a pond group. One the flip
> side, of my brain, is the thought that we also need 'other' plants to
> put around the outside of our ponds, so do we really want to limit it
> to 'water garden' plants? Oh well, this is how my life goes, just
> can't make up my mind!!

I intend to make this for ANY type of item or service, not just pond plants.
So if you want to post pumps, filters, etc. I plant to categorize the posts
as "wants" and "haves", and then categorize like we do on
www.iheartmypond.com. So you could peruse by category, or just use the
search engine.
<snip>

BV.

[Benign Vanilla]

"Sue Walsh" > wrote in message
om...
> joe > wrote in message
>...
>
> > Would you have ads automatically go away after a given period say 5
days, or
> > would the poster be responsible for that. I guess the issue is you don't
> > want some advertising something they no longer have.
>
> Could you possibly clear ALL ads say at the end of each month or on
> the 1st & 15th of each month? Then we would be starting new once or
> twice a month. It would also mean a person looking for something
> would not have too much to look through. Just a thought.

Each ad will have an auto-expire date which will default to 30 days. The
poster can extend this, if (s)he chooses.

> Would this be for all types of 'other' plants or just 'water garden'
> plants? A compromise could be if 1/2 of each swap had to be a 'water
> garden' plant. For example: If I need a water lily but have no other
> 'water garden' plant to trade I could then offer an 'other' such as a
> passionvine. But if I was looking for passionvine, I would have to
> offer a 'water garden' plant in trade. In that way 1/2 of the trade
> was pond related. Just a thought, we are a pond group. One the flip
> side, of my brain, is the thought that we also need 'other' plants to
> put around the outside of our ponds, so do we really want to limit it
> to 'water garden' plants? Oh well, this is how my life goes, just
> can't make up my mind!!

I intend to make this for ANY type of item or service, not just pond plants.
So if you want to post pumps, filters, etc. I plant to categorize the posts
as "wants" and "haves", and then categorize like we do on
www.iheartmypond.com. So you could peruse by category, or just use the
search engine.
<snip>

BV.

[Heather]

Ann -
Neat site if you live in the US. For us Canadians tho' it's a no-go. The
following message is posted there...

Please Note: Only registered members from the U.S. are able to post messages
here (this may be indicated by the title of the forum. All exchanges not
indicated otherwise are restricted to those living in the U.S.)

I am looking forward to BV having this swap area up so we porgs north of the
border can get swapping. Thanks again BV for your hard work.



"Ann in Houston" > wrote in message
. com...
> Didn't see the op. Go look here.
> http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exponds/?20387
> It surprises me that no one here ever mentions garden web. I really like
> it.
>
> Ann
>
> "Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message
> ...
> > A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be
a
> > great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design ready. I
> > plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
> > iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss
vaporware
> > on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you, as a
> > friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.
> >
> > I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad either
as
> a
> > want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have
all
> of
> > our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to search
> using
> > keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address
(considering
> > alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the
> poster.
> >
> > Any thoughts?
> >
> > --
> > BV.
> > www.iheartmypond.com
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[Heather]

Ann -
Neat site if you live in the US. For us Canadians tho' it's a no-go. The
following message is posted there...

Please Note: Only registered members from the U.S. are able to post messages
here (this may be indicated by the title of the forum. All exchanges not
indicated otherwise are restricted to those living in the U.S.)

I am looking forward to BV having this swap area up so we porgs north of the
border can get swapping. Thanks again BV for your hard work.



"Ann in Houston" > wrote in message
. com...
> Didn't see the op. Go look here.
> http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/exponds/?20387
> It surprises me that no one here ever mentions garden web. I really like
> it.
>
> Ann
>
> "Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message
> ...
> > A few weeks back somebody suggest an on-line plant swap system would be
a
> > great thing to have. I mulled the idea over and I have a design ready. I
> > plan to start coding it soon, and it will be added a free tool to
> > iheartmypond.com. I realize it is probably a bad idea to discuss
vaporware
> > on a newsgroup, but I wanted to get an idea for what features you, as a
> > friendly porg, would be interested in seeing.
> >
> > I am basically envisioning, you login and are able to post an ad either
as
> a
> > want or as a have. The ads will then be listed by category as we have
all
> of
> > our content now (but on a seperate page). You'd also be able to search
> using
> > keywords. Your ad would include a link to your email address
(considering
> > alternatives to this to help prevent spam) so you could contact the
> poster.
> >
> > Any thoughts?
> >
> > --
> > BV.
> > www.iheartmypond.com
> >
> >
> >
>
>

[Benign Vanilla]

"Heather" > wrote in message
...
> Ann -
> Neat site if you live in the US. For us Canadians tho' it's a no-go. The
> following message is posted there...
>
> Please Note: Only registered members from the U.S. are able to post
messages
> here (this may be indicated by the title of the forum. All exchanges not
> indicated otherwise are restricted to those living in the U.S.)
>
> I am looking forward to BV having this swap area up so we porgs north of
the
> border can get swapping. Thanks again BV for your hard work.
<snip>

I hope to have it up soon.

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

[Benign Vanilla]

"Heather" > wrote in message
...
> Ann -
> Neat site if you live in the US. For us Canadians tho' it's a no-go. The
> following message is posted there...
>
> Please Note: Only registered members from the U.S. are able to post
messages
> here (this may be indicated by the title of the forum. All exchanges not
> indicated otherwise are restricted to those living in the U.S.)
>
> I am looking forward to BV having this swap area up so we porgs north of
the
> border can get swapping. Thanks again BV for your hard work.
<snip>

I hope to have it up soon.

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

[Sue Walsh]

"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message >...
> "Sue Walsh" > wrote in message
> om...
> > joe > wrote in message
> >...
> >
> > > Would you have ads automatically go away after a given period say 5
> days, or
> > > would the poster be responsible for that. I guess the issue is you don't
> > > want some advertising something they no longer have.
> >
> > Could you possibly clear ALL ads say at the end of each month or on
> > the 1st & 15th of each month? Then we would be starting new once or
> > twice a month. It would also mean a person looking for something
> > would not have too much to look through. Just a thought.
>
> Each ad will have an auto-expire date which will default to 30 days. The
> poster can extend this, if (s)he chooses.

The whole idea sounds great to me, I'm always looking for new plants
and having other stuff would just add to the appeal.

Sue W
>
> > Would this be for all types of 'other' plants or just 'water garden'
> > plants? A compromise could be if 1/2 of each swap had to be a 'water
> > garden' plant. For example: If I need a water lily but have no other
> > 'water garden' plant to trade I could then offer an 'other' such as a
> > passionvine. But if I was looking for passionvine, I would have to
> > offer a 'water garden' plant in trade. In that way 1/2 of the trade
> > was pond related. Just a thought, we are a pond group. One the flip
> > side, of my brain, is the thought that we also need 'other' plants to
> > put around the outside of our ponds, so do we really want to limit it
> > to 'water garden' plants? Oh well, this is how my life goes, just
> > can't make up my mind!!
>
> I intend to make this for ANY type of item or service, not just pond plants.
> So if you want to post pumps, filters, etc. I plant to categorize the posts
> as "wants" and "haves", and then categorize like we do on
> www.iheartmypond.com. So you could peruse by category, or just use the
> search engine.
> <snip>
>
> BV.

[Sue Walsh]

"Benign Vanilla" > wrote in message >...
> "Sue Walsh" > wrote in message
> om...
> > joe > wrote in message
> >...
> >
> > > Would you have ads automatically go away after a given period say 5
> days, or
> > > would the poster be responsible for that. I guess the issue is you don't
> > > want some advertising something they no longer have.
> >
> > Could you possibly clear ALL ads say at the end of each month or on
> > the 1st & 15th of each month? Then we would be starting new once or
> > twice a month. It would also mean a person looking for something
> > would not have too much to look through. Just a thought.
>
> Each ad will have an auto-expire date which will default to 30 days. The
> poster can extend this, if (s)he chooses.

The whole idea sounds great to me, I'm always looking for new plants
and having other stuff would just add to the appeal.

Sue W
>
> > Would this be for all types of 'other' plants or just 'water garden'
> > plants? A compromise could be if 1/2 of each swap had to be a 'water
> > garden' plant. For example: If I need a water lily but have no other
> > 'water garden' plant to trade I could then offer an 'other' such as a
> > passionvine. But if I was looking for passionvine, I would have to
> > offer a 'water garden' plant in trade. In that way 1/2 of the trade
> > was pond related. Just a thought, we are a pond group. One the flip
> > side, of my brain, is the thought that we also need 'other' plants to
> > put around the outside of our ponds, so do we really want to limit it
> > to 'water garden' plants? Oh well, this is how my life goes, just
> > can't make up my mind!!
>
> I intend to make this for ANY type of item or service, not just pond plants.
> So if you want to post pumps, filters, etc. I plant to categorize the posts
> as "wants" and "haves", and then categorize like we do on
> www.iheartmypond.com. So you could peruse by category, or just use the
> search engine.
> <snip>
>
> BV.

[nswong]

Hi Benign Vanilla,

>Good tip on locations,

I will suggest the location break to two fields, one is latitude and
the other is longitude, this data should get while the member
registration stage.

It's easier to define a range on this than the location's name.

I'm a software developer.

Regards,
Wong

[nswong]

Hi Benign Vanilla,

>Good tip on locations,

I will suggest the location break to two fields, one is latitude and
the other is longitude, this data should get while the member
registration stage.

It's easier to define a range on this than the location's name.

I'm a software developer.

Regards,
Wong

[nswong]

Hi Benign Vanilla,

> Each ad will have an auto-expire date which will default to 30 days.
The
> poster can extend this, if (s)he chooses.

I will suggest a webpage to let members key in what they have(keep it
in a XML file), and another webpage that provide dropdown list(content
from previous XML file) for that member to chose what they will offer,
and a field to key in the amount available.

What members have should be keep permanent(static data), the amout
they offer will have a retention period(dynamic data).

This will help if someone look for a hard to find item, they can ask a
favor personally to the owner(when owner does not provide the offer or
offer are expired due to retention period).

Regards,
Wong

[nswong]

Hi Benign Vanilla,

> Each ad will have an auto-expire date which will default to 30 days.
The
> poster can extend this, if (s)he chooses.

I will suggest a webpage to let members key in what they have(keep it
in a XML file), and another webpage that provide dropdown list(content
from previous XML file) for that member to chose what they will offer,
and a field to key in the amount available.

What members have should be keep permanent(static data), the amout
they offer will have a retention period(dynamic data).

This will help if someone look for a hard to find item, they can ask a
favor personally to the owner(when owner does not provide the offer or
offer are expired due to retention period).

Regards,
Wong

[Heather]

Hi BV -

Lat and Long is okay but not a good indication of Zone. Perhaps a field for
Zone and a field for Country. If I'm swapping for a hardy lily I know what
zone I'm in and whether or not it will grow here. What I need to know is
whether or not the trader can legally ship to me.
JMHO
Heather

"nswong" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Benign Vanilla,
>
> >Good tip on locations,
>
> I will suggest the location break to two fields, one is latitude and
> the other is longitude, this data should get while the member
> registration stage.
>
> It's easier to define a range on this than the location's name.
>
> I'm a software developer.
>
> Regards,
> Wong
>
>
>

[Heather]

Hi BV -

Lat and Long is okay but not a good indication of Zone. Perhaps a field for
Zone and a field for Country. If I'm swapping for a hardy lily I know what
zone I'm in and whether or not it will grow here. What I need to know is
whether or not the trader can legally ship to me.
JMHO
Heather

"nswong" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Benign Vanilla,
>
> >Good tip on locations,
>
> I will suggest the location break to two fields, one is latitude and
> the other is longitude, this data should get while the member
> registration stage.
>
> It's easier to define a range on this than the location's name.
>
> I'm a software developer.
>
> Regards,
> Wong
>
>
>

[nswong]

Hi Heather,

> Lat and Long is okay but not a good indication of Zone. Perhaps a
field for
> Zone and a field for Country.

From the latitude and longitude, we can pinpoint the Zone and Country
either from atlas or by program.

Zone and Country just like the calculated cell in Lotus/Excel, they
can derive from latitude and longitude, so the program can write in a
way that also show the Zone and Country by mapping the latitude and
longitude.

In software design, a field content that can get from the result of
other field, should not get input from user. Human input are tend to
be error.

Regards,
Wong

[nswong]

Hi Heather,

> Lat and Long is okay but not a good indication of Zone. Perhaps a
field for
> Zone and a field for Country.

From the latitude and longitude, we can pinpoint the Zone and Country
either from atlas or by program.

Zone and Country just like the calculated cell in Lotus/Excel, they
can derive from latitude and longitude, so the program can write in a
way that also show the Zone and Country by mapping the latitude and
longitude.

In software design, a field content that can get from the result of
other field, should not get input from user. Human input are tend to
be error.

Regards,
Wong

[Heather]

As a retired analyst I understand what should and should not be input to
data tables.

However to debate the issue, I would expect that more gardeners know their
plant growing zone far better than they know their lat and long. In
addition some people live in micro climates and even tho' they live in Zone
6 may be able to grow Zone 7 plants if they have a very sheltered area or
maybe only Zone 5 plants if their gardening area is very exposed to the
elements.

> In software design, a field content that can get from the result of
> other field, should not get input from user. Human input are tend to
> be error.

I would foresee many more human input errors in lat and long entries than in
Zone entries. In addition Lat and Long requires two fields whereas Zone
only requires one field of one character. The field does not need to be
numeric as no math calculations would be used thereby saving space. And
taking up CPU time to compute a result that can be stored in a character
field in my opinion does not make good programming sense, not to mention the
time and effort to write the program to calculate where a person lives.

At any rate since BV is doing the work it is up to him to decide the merits
and methods he chooses.

Cheers,

Heather


'
"nswong" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Heather,
>
> > Lat and Long is okay but not a good indication of Zone. Perhaps a
> field for
> > Zone and a field for Country.
>
> From the latitude and longitude, we can pinpoint the Zone and Country
> either from atlas or by program.
>
> Zone and Country just like the calculated cell in Lotus/Excel, they
> can derive from latitude and longitude, so the program can write in a
> way that also show the Zone and Country by mapping the latitude and
> longitude.
>
> In software design, a field content that can get from the result of
> other field, should not get input from user. Human input are tend to
> be error.
>
> Regards,
> Wong
>
>

[Heather]

As a retired analyst I understand what should and should not be input to
data tables.

However to debate the issue, I would expect that more gardeners know their
plant growing zone far better than they know their lat and long. In
addition some people live in micro climates and even tho' they live in Zone
6 may be able to grow Zone 7 plants if they have a very sheltered area or
maybe only Zone 5 plants if their gardening area is very exposed to the
elements.

> In software design, a field content that can get from the result of
> other field, should not get input from user. Human input are tend to
> be error.

I would foresee many more human input errors in lat and long entries than in
Zone entries. In addition Lat and Long requires two fields whereas Zone
only requires one field of one character. The field does not need to be
numeric as no math calculations would be used thereby saving space. And
taking up CPU time to compute a result that can be stored in a character
field in my opinion does not make good programming sense, not to mention the
time and effort to write the program to calculate where a person lives.

At any rate since BV is doing the work it is up to him to decide the merits
and methods he chooses.

Cheers,

Heather


'
"nswong" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Heather,
>
> > Lat and Long is okay but not a good indication of Zone. Perhaps a
> field for
> > Zone and a field for Country.
>
> From the latitude and longitude, we can pinpoint the Zone and Country
> either from atlas or by program.
>
> Zone and Country just like the calculated cell in Lotus/Excel, they
> can derive from latitude and longitude, so the program can write in a
> way that also show the Zone and Country by mapping the latitude and
> longitude.
>
> In software design, a field content that can get from the result of
> other field, should not get input from user. Human input are tend to
> be error.
>
> Regards,
> Wong
>
>

[nswong]

Hi Heather,

> As a retired analyst I understand what should and should not be
input to
> data tables.

Sorry if the way I express do offend you. :-)

> However to debate the issue, I would expect that more gardeners know
their
> plant growing zone far better than they know their lat and long.

I'm not sure the zone system are use by how many country, but in the
place I live, none of the people I know do know about zone. This as
well apply to the lat & long. <g> So I do think that if I'm the one
doing it, I may provide and input screen to let people chose where
they come from by country, town..., but save it as lat & long. The
lat & long will be useful on a lot of thing, e.g. for GPS, a online
atlas showing where are you and the route to your destination...

> In
> addition some people live in micro climates and even tho' they live
in Zone
> 6 may be able to grow Zone 7 plants if they have a very sheltered
area or
> maybe only Zone 5 plants if their gardening area is very exposed to
the
> elements.

I don't know about Zone, anywhere can find the good definition of it?

> I would foresee many more human input errors in lat and long entries
than in
> Zone entries.

I do know about this, in my implementation, I'm thinking of get input
as location name from dropdown list.

>In addition Lat and Long requires two fields whereas Zone
> only requires one field of one character.

In my design, the lat & long are use to identify location, and from
the location lookup other info from some tables. One of it are local
climate.

>The field does not need to be
> numeric as no math calculations would be used thereby saving space.

In my design, lat & long are a pair of keys, but it can store as
numeric to save space. Think about it, to represent 58 in character,
we need at least two bytes, in numeric, it can store in one byte. But
storage are not the point of it, the most important to consider are
which way are more simple and less job.

> And
> taking up CPU time to compute a result that can be stored in a
character
> field in my opinion does not make good programming sense,

This can make it a one time job, lookup in the table and save it to a
field at the time of user registration.

>not to mention the
> time and effort to write the program to calculate where a person
lives.

I think in another ways round, as long as this is the most cost
effective way to provide output, the input(resource) are justifiable.

This is one to many situation. A software are develop by a few
persons, but use by thousand people, to save a minute of user are more
important than an hour of developer.

> At any rate since BV is doing the work it is up to him to decide the
merits
> and methods he chooses.

Agree, BV is the decision maker in this case. But I do think he will
like to know all the possible options he can chose from. I myself
believe the only choice are the worst choice, if I do not have more
than one choice, I will not even consider to do it.

Glad to see and talk to another software developer here. :-) You
know, a lot of software developer are quite lonely. ;-)

BTW: Agriculture are my hobby, but thinking of switch to it to earn my
living.

Cheers,
Wong

[Heather]

Hi Wong:

You must not live in North America. We have a zone system here to guide
gardeners as to what plants will grow in their area. When purchasing plants
at the nursery, there is usually a tag that states information about the
plant.

Example:
Myriophyllum Aquaticum - Parrot's Feather
Sun to part shade
Zones 6 to 11
6 inches tall
Moist soil to floating

Here are some links you can check out for more information on Zones.
Gardners in North America, England and Australia use a zone system. I don't
know about other countries. Very useful.

http://www.gardenersnet.com/atoz/hardy.htm Scroll down and click on Plant
Hardiness Zone Map
http://www.icangarden.com/zone.cfm

Hope this helps your understanding.

Heather



"nswong" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Heather,
>
> > As a retired analyst I understand what should and should not be
> input to
> > data tables.
>
> Sorry if the way I express do offend you. :-)
>
> > However to debate the issue, I would expect that more gardeners know
> their
> > plant growing zone far better than they know their lat and long.
>
> I'm not sure the zone system are use by how many country, but in the
> place I live, none of the people I know do know about zone. This as
> well apply to the lat & long. <g> So I do think that if I'm the one
> doing it, I may provide and input screen to let people chose where
> they come from by country, town..., but save it as lat & long. The
> lat & long will be useful on a lot of thing, e.g. for GPS, a online
> atlas showing where are you and the route to your destination...
>
> > In
> > addition some people live in micro climates and even tho' they live
> in Zone
> > 6 may be able to grow Zone 7 plants if they have a very sheltered
> area or
> > maybe only Zone 5 plants if their gardening area is very exposed to
> the
> > elements.
>
> I don't know about Zone, anywhere can find the good definition of it?
>
> > I would foresee many more human input errors in lat and long entries
> than in
> > Zone entries.
>
> I do know about this, in my implementation, I'm thinking of get input
> as location name from dropdown list.
>
> >In addition Lat and Long requires two fields whereas Zone
> > only requires one field of one character.
>
> In my design, the lat & long are use to identify location, and from
> the location lookup other info from some tables. One of it are local
> climate.
>
> >The field does not need to be
> > numeric as no math calculations would be used thereby saving space.
>
> In my design, lat & long are a pair of keys, but it can store as
> numeric to save space. Think about it, to represent 58 in character,
> we need at least two bytes, in numeric, it can store in one byte. But
> storage are not the point of it, the most important to consider are
> which way are more simple and less job.
>
> > And
> > taking up CPU time to compute a result that can be stored in a
> character
> > field in my opinion does not make good programming sense,
>
> This can make it a one time job, lookup in the table and save it to a
> field at the time of user registration.
>
> >not to mention the
> > time and effort to write the program to calculate where a person
> lives.
>
> I think in another ways round, as long as this is the most cost
> effective way to provide output, the input(resource) are justifiable.
>
> This is one to many situation. A software are develop by a few
> persons, but use by thousand people, to save a minute of user are more
> important than an hour of developer.
>
> > At any rate since BV is doing the work it is up to him to decide the
> merits
> > and methods he chooses.
>
> Agree, BV is the decision maker in this case. But I do think he will
> like to know all the possible options he can chose from. I myself
> believe the only choice are the worst choice, if I do not have more
> than one choice, I will not even consider to do it.
>
> Glad to see and talk to another software developer here. :-) You
> know, a lot of software developer are quite lonely. ;-)
>
> BTW: Agriculture are my hobby, but thinking of switch to it to earn my
> living.
>
> Cheers,
> Wong
>
>
>
>
>

[nswong]

Hi Heather,

> You must not live in North America.

I'm from Malaysia.

>When purchasing plants
> at the nursery, there is usually a tag that states information about
the
> plant.

Here we just get the plant, no tag, sometime not even know what plant
is't. <g>

> Here are some links you can check out for more information on Zones.
> Gardners in North America, England and Australia use a zone system.
I don't
> know about other countries. Very useful.
>
> http://www.gardenersnet.com/atoz/hardy.htm Scroll down and click
on Plant
> Hardiness Zone Map
> http://www.icangarden.com/zone.cfm
>
> Hope this helps your understanding.

Thanks for your links.

Thanks,
Wong

[Benign Vanilla]

"Heather" > wrote in message
m...
> As a retired analyst I understand what should and should not be input to
> data tables.
>
> However to debate the issue, I would expect that more gardeners know their
> plant growing zone far better than they know their lat and long. In
> addition some people live in micro climates and even tho' they live in
Zone
> 6 may be able to grow Zone 7 plants if they have a very sheltered area or
> maybe only Zone 5 plants if their gardening area is very exposed to the
> elements.
<snip>

I tend to agree.

If we were dealing with a more sensitive topic, Lat/Long may a good idea,
but we're talking about porgs. I think that level of accuracy is unwarranted
and would do more to scare users away.

BV.

[Benign Vanilla]

"nswong" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Heather,
>
> > You must not live in North America.
>
> I'm from Malaysia.
<snip>

This leads to the obvious question...How extensive do you guys/gals think I
should make this system? I had just envisioned supporting North America. I
figured/assumed (naughty analyst, naughty analyst) that nobody was sending
plants overseas...Hmm. How narrow minded and American is that of me? LOL.

I had pictured allowing users to pick a location, and a zone. If I build
this to meet the needs of the world, I'd have to expand that to be sure.

BV.

[Benign Vanilla]

"Heather" > wrote in message
m...
> As a retired analyst I understand what should and should not be input to
> data tables.
>
> However to debate the issue, I would expect that more gardeners know their
> plant growing zone far better than they know their lat and long. In
> addition some people live in micro climates and even tho' they live in
Zone
> 6 may be able to grow Zone 7 plants if they have a very sheltered area or
> maybe only Zone 5 plants if their gardening area is very exposed to the
> elements.
<snip>

For giggles, I pulled up a hardiness map for MD, my home state.

http://images.meredith.com/bhg/pdf/gardening/hardiness/maryland.pdf

It appears we have everything from 2a to 11. It seems asking for Location
and Zone will be important.

BV.