In a few days, we will be implementing a significant change to the NTVG Facebook Group. This is being done to support of the primary goal of the group, which is to provide a place for local vegetable gardeners to have discussions about the things most important to them, sharing their successes, sharing their failures, getting inspiration from others, and enjoying social interaction about a beloved topic.
Some interesting things have happened over the course of time as a result of the group’s growth and in the culture of Facebook and social media in general. One of these things is a large number of what can be classified as beginner questions get posted to the group. These posts tend to be repetitive over time and many members who monitor the group regularly find them overwhelming. The group is not well suited to be a helpdesk nor a place to ask for the identification of plants, bugs, or diseases.
In support of the overall goal of NTVG, which is to promote local vegetable gardening, the team has created several new resources to better serve the community while simultaneously mitigating the unintended consequences experienced in the NTVG Facebook group. Here is a summary of the new resources:
Ask NTVG Facebook Group – A place to ask (or answer) local vegetable gardening questions. This is the best place to ask questions if you are a beginning level gardener.
NTVG helpdesk – A support ticket system staffed by experienced volunteers who can provide quality answers to local vegetable gardening questions.
NTVG FAQ and Knowledgebase – A library of common answers specifically for local vegetable gardening.
Starting on June 1, 2019, the rules of the NTVG Facebook group will be changed so that any request for identification or question that has been addressed in the resources listed above will be restricted. Examples of posts that will be considered off-limits are:
- What is this?
- What is wrong with my plant?
- What should I do?
- What is eating my plants?
- Why does this look bad?
- How do I kill this?
- Where do I buy xxxx ?
- When should I plant xxxx ?
As a reminder, any vegetable gardening question is acceptable to be posted in the Ask NTVG Facebook group, and everyone is welcome to submit a helpdesk ticket and have it answered by an experienced vegetable gardener.
When this change is rolled out, members will need to decide the best path for themselves personally. Members who choose to stay in the group will be expected to participate within the guidelines of the group. The rules of the group will continue to be posted in the first announcement post in the group and at rules.ntvg.org as usual. Our goal is not to limit membership in the group but to create an experience that is beneficial and enjoyable to all involved.
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