Journal RID = ?

Subscribed to DG 15 minutes ago. Trying to get a feel for the website. Is there someplace within DG that defines these acronyms --- for the next time I am stumped?

First always go to the "Home" tab on the menu at the top and click it. From there you can go a multitude of places, and check your DG e-mail.
Go to the Forums tab, and scan to the bottom where you will find forums in alphabetical order.
To send a personal e-mail, click on members name and you go to their home page.
I am no rocket scientist, but figured it out.
Sidney
Welcome
Now besides welcome, I'll try to find the acronyms

This message was edited Feb 23, 2005 9:51 PM

Acronyms are available at http://www.sharpened.net/glossary/acronyms.php .
Here's athread with some others in it http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/469134/.
Hope these help.

Yardenman, welcome!

Most site questions are perfectly suited to the DG forum, which is where you placed this one originally. However, as you can see I moved this thread to one of our new forums, which is expressly for DG journal questions ;o)

RID stands for Resource ID - it's not a typical acronym (like "DH" or "LOL" - which stand for "dear husband" and "laughing out loud" respectively ;o)

The RIDs allow you to create a coded "shorthand" for your plants, which you can include on their plant tags or whatever system you use to keep track of them whether they're seedlings or transplanted into your garden.

Terry ------ Thanks for the welcome and your help but I am not sure that I understand what you are trying to explain to me in your last paragraph. Let me try a "for example": I have a greenhouse, so I can create two RIDs, one labelled greenhouse and one labelled yard, and then keep journal entries under these two RID catagories for all the plants in my yard and for all the plants in my greenhouse ?????? Put another way, the Yard RID would be a file "drawer", and I can create files for individual yard plants within that drawer?

If this is not the case, then I am confused --- my normal state of mind, ha. Please explain the RID function again using different wording.

Thanks again for your help.

PS: Is there a site within DG where the DG website-specific acronyms and feature functions ( such as the RIDs) are explained

Let me answer your questions this way:

The RID is associated with each species or culitvar (i.e., each entry in your journal.) Let's say you are growing two types of tomaotes - 'Abe Lincoln' and 'Mortgage Lifter'. The 'Abe Lincoln' tomatoes are assigned their own RID, while the 'Mortgage Lifters' get a different RID. You can use the RID # on your plant tags for your cell packs of those plants, and in that way you can easily find them in your journal by that number. (To be perfectly honest, I don't use the RIDs, although there are some journalers who rely on them exclusively. If my explanation still isn't making sense, that's probably why - and I'll see if I can nudge someone who can give you a more first-hand view of how they can be used.)


There isn't a place specifically for DG acronyms, but all of our features that have their own tab across the top also have their own FAQ to try to address the most common questions. When you click on any tab, the colored bar beneath the tabs changes color and you'll find an FAQ link (among others) within that bar.

For example, the DG "home" tab has its own FAQ here: http://davesgarden.com/faq/home/ while the journals have these FAQs: http://davesgarden.com/faq/journal/

Terry --- I understand. Thanks for your extra effort and help.

Terry/Dave;

The RIDs are part of what confuses me. It seems like I should be using them if I'm doing the journaling "right" but now that I read the above I see it's not necessary.?

I would NEVER remember a number given to a plant, I barely remember the common names, LOL. I'm like the art lover who just knows what she likes, I guess.

I've started doodling around more with the journal again today now that its been brought back to my attention. In a perfect world, I could follow the progress of a certain flower bed or a certain plant by date or by plant name... sort by "front bed" or "herb garden" or "back mess" or whatever...
Still not sure why it's so difficult for me to comprehend but maybe because I am VERY right brained, it seems daunting.

I still love the blog idea, and noticed, Terry, that your journal includes that function but haven't figured out yet how to not only create that but have it be the first thing I encounter when entering the journal...

I also have not figured out how to delete an unused category, which I SHOULD be able to ignore the unused categories but instead I find myself fretting over having none of a certain thing growing, does that make any sense at all?

I'd love also to be able to create a "bird watching" category so I can make note of what birds come to the feeder and birdbaths and when, as my grandmother did with her little notebook and bird book beside the window where she had her coffee in the morning. Since my computer is beside that all-important window and where I spend morning moments, being able to note things here would be the perfect way to "upgrade" Grandma's system. I tend to lose notebooks and begin many at a time (adult ADD) and then I don't know what I'm doing.

I know you can't make things user friendly for ADD and dyslexic and extremely right brained folks, since the normal world's brains work differently than ours, but I'm sure I'm not alone in being this way and you DID ask for input, LOL!

If it's too much let me know and I'll cease and desist.

Meanwhile I will continue doodling and see what comes to mind. Who knows, I may learn to use it just fine.

Thanks,
Janie

Just to expand a bit further on RID numbers. I use them only because the Journal feature assigns them automatically. I have found them VERY useful though when I put the RID # on a plant marker. It's easier to keep different plants straight in my Journal and my head.

By way of example.....If I have a clump of Salvia in my yard and divide it and transplant the division to another spot in my yard, I can enter a new item in my Journal for the transplanted division. This new entry gets a unique RID. If I add this RID to the plant marker then as I note bloom times or other progress with this plant I can jot the RID in my little pocket notebook when I'm out in the yard and the comments I'd like to note. When I get back to my computer that evening I can then enter the RID number from either my Home tab or the Journal tab and be taken directly to THAT particular Salvia entry. For me it allows me to navigate quickly to a given Journal item. I personally look at the RID as being the "Item #" in my Journal.