History of Savor the Southwest Websites
A number of us have been talking and writing about using Southwest plants for food since long before the electronic age. Publications include scholarly journals, books, magazines, newspaper columns etc. At least one of us has presented scientific papers on the topic at international meetings.
2013 – 2018
In early September 2013, I discussed the possibility of starting this site with Carolyn Niethammer. The idea was to form a partnership to decrease our work load and increase our readership by having 4 folks and each of us post only one week a month.
I purchased the domain name for SavortheSW.com because SavortheSouthwest.com is a food truck in the Midwest. While non-techie me was trying to get the site set up, hosted, etc., Carolyn simply started on a free blogger site.
I have been taught to respect my elders, so I “went along to get along.” Through the years I continued to pay for the .com domain name and I also paid to have it hosted and maintained as a static page sending people to our free blogger site.
As time went by and we bloggers had get togethers, I kept urging the group to switch to the hosted site so we could sell our books and art. I also tried to train them to reduce image size to load faster, improve SEO, etc.
2018
In 2018, I started building the .com site more fully so we could sell our books and products.
In a meeting where we sat and discussed the topic, I convinced the others we could make it happen, that I could shift the site to the .com. I went home to make it so and was dismayed to discover that I could no longer log into the free site. The password had been changed. I am greatly saddened by this break in what I had believed to be a friendly and mutually beneficial working relationship. I continued building out the paid site, working with other partners.
2021
In October 2021, reeling from the death of our son, the site was hacked. The .com site was not only hacked but ransomed. Not having $ 5000 to pay, I was forced to abandon it and subsequently started the site all over again as a .net site.
In Summary
I do hope this note clarifies some questions people have about why there is now two sites with similar names.
I remain entirely willing to have the writers who are currently on the free site to publish on this .net site and to offer their art and books for sale as well. Whether they choose to so or not is entirely up to them.
Peace,
Dr. Jacqueline Soule, Editor