SOLVED: Attn all ID forum participants: can we better our odds?

Yesterday I moved several hundred stray ID threads from around the DG world to this forum.

Currently, this forum holds over 19,300 threads - wow!

If you click on the "see open/unsolved" threads, you'll see we have about 9,000 8,200 open/unsolved IDs, some of them dating back to 2001: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/plantid/unsolved/8160

A lot of those have probably been solved but forgotten.

Let's all do our part to get our solved "rate" above 50/50 in a few easy steps.

1) Go to your Member page (click on "My Info")

2) In the 2nd green box, you'll see a link to all the threads you [your username] has started.

3) Click on it and then use the pulldown list at the top to narrow it down to just the Plant and Tree ID forum.

4) Scroll down through and check out your posts - if they don't say "CLOSED" in front of the title, they're still open. If any of them have been solved, mark them closed.

If you have an old thread that is still a mystery, feel free to do a one-time "bubble" (i.e., add a new post to raise it to the top), and maybe someone with fresh eyes will be able to help you!

It would be great to see the open IDs slimmed down to just a few pages of recent submissions and the true "stumpers"!

And now I'm off to do my part - I see I have a *few* of my own that can be marked solved ;o)

Nice work!

How about making this thread a 'sticky' for a few days so everyone sees it?

Done - let's hope this is a very temporary "sticky"!

It would probably help if people would stick to one or two ID requests at a time.Easier to keep track of & call SOLVED when done.

I cleaned mine up. Thanks for the reminder!!

Thanks, Marie!

Mine are all closed.

I'll take a look at some of the history, too.

I see a lot that are marked SOLVED that still show up in the open/unsolved section. Do those folks need to take some additional action to move those threads out of that column?

OK, maybe I lied or my eyes crossed - don't see the SOLVED when I open under open/unsolved now.

I hope this applies to that Opuntia thing!

We haven't really solved that one yet...

Thanks for the heads up on this. I just went to my member page and found two still open so I marked them closed. I figured I probably had quite a few that I had forgotten about. Glad it was only two but that still leaves us with 8,998 unsolved/open or solved and forgotten to close. Hope everyone takes a few minutes to check their member page and either close out or bump up any that are old.

I got all of mine taken care of except one that I left open. I'm still hoping it will be identified someday. :)

My solved ones are closed :)

Terry: Any updates on whether many folks have seen this and closed their old, outdated ID threads?

I linked to this thread for my friends on the African Violet Forum in case anyone over there had any ID threads still open.

Wow, I just went back through mine as instructed and found lots from before the 'solved/unsolved' was available...a good memory jogger! Some plants that are no longer, lol. Thanks for the reminder Terry!

plantladylin, it looks like we've closed out about 300-plus ID threads since I started this thread, which is great! But there are still about 8800 to go (as of this writing), so we still have quite a ways to go ;o)

It'll take a while, but hopefully everyone who has some open IDs will pop back in and take action on their outstanding items.

I closed a few more for you. They were all from before we had the SOLVED option added and they dated quite a way back!

Thanks, Zany! Yes, you're right - we did add the "closed" option after-the-fact and a lot of these are from prior to that ;o)

Some of these were also scattered in other forums, which don't have the "closed" option, so I moved them here to consolidate them in one place ;o)

I'm guessing a lot of the older ones might be from people who are no longer DG subscribers - if there is a clear consensus on identity in the replies, would it be possible for an admin, or others, to close it, if the original poster can't?

Resin

Resin, yes it is possible. In fact, I'm going through some of the oldest ones that were solved, but the person is no longer active here, and marking them "solved".

If we all work together, I think we can get this list cleaned up nicely, and make it easier to find "tough nuts" (for those who are determined to solve them ;o)

I marked most of mine, but a couple are still in doubt. I'm glad you posted this reminder, as I didn't even think about going back to old threads.

Since the Plant Identification Forum is open to the public I think a lot of folks who are not paid subscribers out there in cyber land have probably gotten an ID and never come back.

I must admit that I never notice the sticky's at the top of the threads. Maybe if there were a decent sized space between where the sticky's are and the beginning of the threads, they would be a bit more noticeable. Or if the word Sticky were in larger font and in a very bold color? Something to get our attention. I'm getting old and need all the help I can get, LOL. ^_^

I am blind in one eye and can't see out of the other...I can't figure out how to mark all mine as closed...when I go to the threads and open them I don't see anything that says solved or close??????????????????

Virg: I think the feature of closing a thread is just on the Plant Identification forum. If you've started a thread there asking for an ID of a plant, at the top of your screen you should see a box where you can click on solved or close if your plant has been sufficiently identified.

just closed out 5 or 6 strays! lol

Thanks! If everyone does that with their own threads, we'll have it cleaned up in no time!

How do we do a one time 'bubble' to raise up our unsolved mysteries?

Just add a new comment or question to your thread - something like "bumping for another chance at ID" or "does anyone know what this is?"

Hi, I have been growing vines for many years and have lost lots of labels. I usually can figure them out eventually. This one has me stumped. I grows about 8 feet tall in a sunny location and has been blossoming all summer. I first thought it might be a cup and saucer vines but the leaves are very different. Can anyone help.

georgiavinescom, you would have better luck getting an ID if you start your own thread about this plant. This thread is trying to get members to close out their threads of plants that have already been identified. It's not watched by many people, so those that might be able to help identify your plant won't see it.

To start your own thread, go here and scroll down to the bottom where it says 'Start a New Topic' http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/plantid/all/

Reporting in that all of mine are closed :)

Kim

Thanks, Kim!

Closed one of mine too. Sorry 'bout that. :)

Doh.

Fixed.

So what are the stats now?

How are we doing?

I'm afraid we've lost a little ground (new IDs have poured in, not many older IDs have been cleared off.

Hopefully we can figure out something to let members know when they have an older ID thread that hasn't been resolved.

The nerve of those people with their new ID's!

*shakes fist*

chuckle...

Terry, why don't you just put a time limit on the open thread. If not solved in say a year, then put it in the achives or otherwise note as closed if not solved. Only the most dedicated go through the old threads.