Topic

Self-appointed herb garden "monitors"

I hate to make a negative post here, but I feel it's warranted.

Lately, I have noticed an increase in "self-appointed herb garden monitors".  In other words, people who feel it is their duty to point out when you are "abusing" other people's herb gardens.

I harvest other people's gardens.  Yes, I do.  And I *always* hoe, water, and replant.  However, someone recently chastised me for not watering after planting  (the plots were wet at the time, but I guess they went dry shortly thereafter and this person noticed)  so this person then proceeded to IM me no less than 3 times, chastising me for not watering (even though I explained to him that the plots didn't need watering when I was there) he wouldn't stop IM'ing me, so I blocked him.  I didn't really want to do that, but I felt like I was being badgered for no reason.

I felt annoyed.  We really don't need herb monitors. Really, truly.

Rant over.

Posted 63 days ago by Ravenfeather Noir Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • Everyone should self-monitor themselves..after all isn't that what crown-ups do? Unfortunately so many herb plots are left either dirty or dry out  for lack of proper gardening.

    I am happy to see that you hoe, water & replant, but even though  the plots look wet, they could be just a few seconds away from drying out, so any seeds you have planted will not grow to maturity if the plot goes dry. It is easy to see how much Nourishment/Watering is needed if you click on the plot. For a seed to grow to maturity, the plot must be fully nourished.

    I always make sure to hoe, replant & even if the plots ''look wet '' I water no matter what, that way I am certain the seeds will grow to maturity  and not dry out. It only takes a few extra seconds.

    Happy gardening:)
    Posted 63 days ago by Jeasilver Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's still not something you need to chase someone down and chastize them for.
    Posted 63 days ago by Aliera Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Well, it's always nice to see people who care about hoeing and replanting gardens on a route that got only hoed (unless they burn themselves out with it / do it to the point of frustration for themselves, which does happen) (not sure if they fit the "monitor" definition as from what I gather most wouldn't spend their time chasing people down).  But like all things, balance and thinking of others is key.
    Posted 63 days ago by diaveborn ♥ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Ravenfeather Noir: you did the right thing, absolutely. The Community Guidelines state that there is no "right way" to play the game and the person had no right to enforce their own notions of the proper thing to do upon you.

    I agree with you totally on garden monitors. This is only my own point of view, but I refuse to be bothered by someone not weeding or re-planting the gardens on my (or any) street. To me, it's just a silly minor inconvenience that is not worth getting my panties in a twist over. To others, it's like the sky has fallen if there is a single unplanted or unhoed plot. Glitch is a virtual world, nothing exists in reality and it's just not that important nor healthy to get so agitated over something that doesn't exist in actual fact.

    I say this to the self-appointed garden monitors: Physician, heal thyself. You are only in control of yourself - let the rest go.

    Okay, I'm done.
    Posted 63 days ago by Flowerry Pott Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Jeasilver, I would love to know your technique for forcing the game to let you water when it says 'All good Nothing to do' when you click on the plot. I do everything the game will allow me to do, but as far as I know, there is no way to water until the game decides the plot needs water. Am I missing a useful gardening secret? (And just to make sure my intent is clear, this is in no way meant to be snarky - my intent is to make sure I am not missing out on something really useful. It's such a pain to have to come back to my backyard plots later for watering because the game decided it wasn't watering time yet!)
    Posted 63 days ago by Frogger The Mad Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Plots that have been recently watered won't let you water. The plots described above were not those plots. Those plots still looked wet, but were moments away from drying out, so the blue line would have been small to non-existent, instead of being all the way across. Clicking on the plot would most certainly have given the option to water, and the OP should (IMHO) have taken that option.

    Just to be clear, I'm somewhere between Flowerry Pott's and and the OP's persecutor's POV. It irks me when people don't hoe and water, and I don't think it's that complicated to figure out if the plots need water, but I certainly wouldn't track someone down over it. 

    Won't even block 'em unless they don't hoe on my street, repeatedly, and I actually see 'em (not) doing it (repeatedly). (And that's just because I HATE HATE HATE Hoeing) 

    --Me
    Posted 63 days ago by SchWM Subscriber! | Permalink
  • SchWM - thanks for the clarification! 
    Posted 63 days ago by Frogger The Mad Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If only we had potions and skills that would let you hoe or water all at once..
    Posted 63 days ago by ☣ elf ☣ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Please move your gardens to your back yards if you aren't happy with the way other people use them!
    Posted 63 days ago by glum pudding Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I just quit using anyone else's garden. Know why? Because people get so pissed off about it. I'm worried I'll get blamed for walking around a street that wasn't taken care of. It needs weeded? Weed it. It needs watered? Water it. I always replanted, but that doesn't mean anything. I prefer to sew what I reap. Some people don't.

    Get over it.

    /rant
    Posted 63 days ago by awesome sauce01 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • We have back yards for a reason, people. 
    Posted 63 days ago by Epilady Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Are these garden monitors patrolling other people's streets or their own?
    Posted 63 days ago by Wrong Way Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This is a scenario that causes a lot less stress (from the above situation)

    "Oh, the plots weren't watered. I'll water them. Now they are watered"

    I'm a big believer in the "Tidy up" when I find a garden that's all unhappy. Hoe it, water it, plant it yay! But chasing people down is ridiculous. For one, it might be someone like Ravenfeather here who tries to do the right thing and doesn't deserve to be hassled. And if it's a "I don't care" person, then bitching them out will do nada to change their mind.

    And I agree that if placing your plots in the front yard is causing you angst and misery, then don't have them in the front yard. 
    Posted 63 days ago by Lyn Frog, Esq Subscriber! | Permalink
  • herb garden monitors. really. wow.
    Posted 63 days ago by Stella Stuff Subscriber! | Permalink
  • That's what I want to be when I grow up: A "Herb Garden Monitor" - (sigh).

    Or what about a "Herb Garden Monitor Lizard"? Then I can be a bureaucrat, too.
    Posted 63 days ago by Patricia Subscriber! | Permalink
  • people love nothing more than they love to appoint themselves monitor of things and put on their shiny armbands and hats.
    Posted 63 days ago by flask Subscriber! | Permalink
  • To repeat what Flowerry Pott said: you did the right thing.  Blocking people because they won't stop messaging you about something you don't want to talk about is exactly why the block function is there.
    Posted 63 days ago by Persephone Pear Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think people insist on putting gardens in the front yard so that they have an excuse to be upset at other players. Maybe we need an option to tell when we're about to go into a yard with gardens so we can avoid the drama. ;)
    Posted 63 days ago by Janitch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have gardens in my front yard, and when people harvest and don't hoe, water, or replant. I don't care, because when I do it myself, I'll get the iMG, plus...I don't have much else to do in game these days.
    Posted 63 days ago by Lily Linguistic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • From the sign by my street garden plots: "This is yours to use.  I have no preferences or demands for what grows here.  If you have the wherewithal and energy to replant, go for it.  If not, no worries.  Don't let anyone tell you how to act on their streets!  It's a public space designed by players and not ours to control.  Thanks!"
    Posted 63 days ago by Sloppy Ketchup Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You, SK, get a gold star....that's great!
    Posted 63 days ago by awesome sauce01 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • *eats the star*

    ommm nom nom nom
    Posted 62 days ago by ☣ elf ☣ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • SchWM: you could add me as a buddy and tell me to come hoe your gardens for you whenever someone doesn't. I love fixing up gardens!

    Those negligent glitchen are a blessing to me! Walking the herb and crop routes and tidying up is my biggest source of iMG. It's one of my favorite activities in the game, and I don't even harvest unless I need more seeds. Now if only my meatspace yard were as easy and relaxing to work on!
    Posted 62 days ago by Faranae Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I guess thats why no one uses the garden I put in my front yard?  People like your harrasser make people so nervous about using the gardens!  I have the garden there so visitors can use it, my personal gardens are in my back yard.
    One thing that occured to me, the person who wouldn't leave you alone is probably obsessive/compulsive.  Thats a hard thing to live with, they just cant let go of an issue thats bothering them.  And it really puts other people off...not a way to make friends, lol. Blocking is probably the best thing to do in that case, because he/she just isnt able to control the behavior.
    Posted 62 days ago by Phoebe Springback Subscriber! | Permalink
  • A small pile of Glitchens just went and fixed up all of the Community Herb Gardens after someone went through and took everything from them, leaving behind the mess.

    They cleaned the plots, replanted from their own stock, and watered everything, with no complaint.  About 5-7 folks, at least.

    There's a difference between being a "monitor" of problem spaces and being a jerk. Your experience Ravenfeather, was with a jerk. 
    Posted 62 days ago by Moose J Finklestein Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Sorry for not responding sooner, I was away.
    @ Ravenfeather Noir : I think you took the right actions by blocking the person. No one should keep sending IMs over & over.

    @ Frogger the mad:  As SchWM  said it in his post, some plots that still look wet might need watering. If it does need to be watered,  you will be asked to nourish/water.

    If the plots look wet, the actions are as follows: harvest, hoe, seed, water. Some may not be doing the last action of watering if the plot looks wet to start with.

    When the plots are dry the actions are as follows: harvest, hoe,  water, seed. Here, you have no choice but to water if you want to replant the plot.
    Posted 62 days ago by Jeasilver Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Don't forget to take into account that new or infrequent players have no way of knowing what is expected or not when it comes to things like tending gardens.  Not everyone reads forums or chats with other players.

    When I first started playing I got lost in the overwhelming amount of quests and confusing mechanics and played for only a very short time just before they took it back into beta.  Every time I tried to play I ran into people who said things like "L2P!" or simply directed me to the forums (which had little info at the time and so much of it was in Glitch jargon and acronyms that it might as well have been written in Klingon).  I was put off at how hard it was to learn how to play.  Not just a steep learning curve, but unhelpful community as well.  At the time, I think a lot of that animosity was directed at the flood of new players overwhelming the clique of beta testers.  I understood and empathized, but still... it was enough to make me quit.

    I am trying to get back into it now but again I am totally lost as to what to do, where and how.  So many changes.  Something like "The Etiquette of Tending Herb Gardens" is not on the list of things to know for a newbie/returning player.  The fact there are "Herb Garden Monitor" type people running around nagging people is unfortunate.  
    Posted 62 days ago by Mystyrys Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Mystyrys: Thank you for your post. It's really helpful to those of us who have been playing more regularly during the changes to be reminded of what Glitch looks like to people who are still learning the ropes. I appreciate what you said.
    Posted 62 days ago by Flowerry Pott Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I also have a sign by my front yard herb garden that says, (paraphrased) "This garden is for YOU. Do what you want, don't do what you don't want to do."

    If front gardens cause you that much stress, then don't have one. I cannot understand why someone would willingly allow something into their life that upsets them that much.
    Posted 62 days ago by Aliera Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'm on the herb garden route. My sign says something like "all may plant all may harvest. I don't care if you replant." I mostly used the routes myself for the uberculturalist badge, so untended plots were a gold mine for me. Everyone has different goals, my plots are just public space to be planted/ harvested any way
    Posted 61 days ago by Horakely Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Mystyerys: Thanks for speaking up about this!  I think it's easy for people to forget they may be speaking or writing in an insider way that others might not understand.  I hope you're having a better experience here this go around!
    Posted 61 days ago by Persephone Pear Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I won't even go to a street with a herb or garden plot on it.  
    Posted 61 days ago by jellybean4r2 Subscriber! | Permalink
  • i am on the herb garden route and i really couldn't care less what people do on my street..

    wanna harvest all the herbs and not clean up or replant? knock yourself out!! whatever makes you happy in the game you are playing.  wanna refresh all the icons and not tithe? go for it! wanna throw up on my peat bog? hey, whatever floats your boat.

    i don't like people telling me how to play, so i would never tell others how to play either. 
    Posted 61 days ago by Beans, Obviously Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I can live with people trying to politely INFORM other people why it might be a smart idea to hoe a herb field after harvesting. Informing means: You tell them. Once. You don't blame them or harrass them or follow them around.

    Anything beyond that is, in my opinion, and as Lyn Frog pointed out quite nicely already, wasted time and/or simply unfriendly.

    There's a saying in my country: "Sound defines music."
    Posted 61 days ago by Louis Louisson Subscriber! | Permalink