Adobe Addict?

Well, my problem is the exact opposite. I don't have time to participate as much in the forums as I would like to. Having to leave follow-ups hanging is the most obvious problem, but there's a more subtle one:

I've always felt that I've learned as much as taught. Even the simplest questions may require that you step back and rethink what you thought you knew, and putting together a reply always requires getting the concepts straight in your head first.

In short, the more you participate, the more interesting it gets. You know what they say about 1% inspiration and 99% sweat.

Anyway, I use this software to make a living, so I don't have a choice. My area of expertise is whatever the job dictates it should be, and I make sure to educate myself wherever needed. For that, the forums isn't a bad place to be.

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Kat+Gilbert  wrote For several weeks now I have questioned if it is time to step aside and regroup/recenter one's self so that can be more productive and intuitive on the forums- i.e. ACP and prerelease.

I'm not sure "step aside" and "regroup/recenter" should be tied together.

Let me say that you are not alone in these concerns. Janet & I had a series of emails, this year, privately voicing concern about ACP and PR. We're not hearing from anyone who is unhappy with the programs. There's just some introspective exploration about whether some people feel they are useful to the programs. (All of which came as a surprise to us).

What's the problem?

Some well-known names in PR/ACP have areas they excel in. Adobe PR has not always done much of anything (and for some cycles, absolutely nothing) in those areas. So, these people sometimes don't have anything to do in PR. Then, if they search the forums daily, they find absolutely no questions or discussion which pertain to their expertise. That makes sense. If Adobe has no new features, in their specialty, why would there be questions or discussion?

Janet & I prefer ongoing stimulus from prerelease. Back in the CS3 PR cycle we'd wake up to cool new ideas every morning, in our email boxes. CS4 just kept it rolling. The world economy got a bit rocky the month CS4 was released. CS5 and CS5.5 took some time to evolve. We remember some dazzling CS6 roadmaps from all teams.

The way cycles work, now, that excitement isn't always to be found, so we have to keep things in balance. The way some teams are doing the roadmap Connect sessions are helpful to keep us tuned into where things are going.

Bottom line we just kind of go with wherever Adobe takes things.

As far as ACP is concerned Janet & I remain energized. Admittedly, we've had some rough spots a few weeks ago. and needed to step back and do that regrouping you speak of, Kat. Fortunately, Tricia contacted us, offline, with some cool ideas to ponder. She re-sparked our interest. We are still processing how we can find fresh inspiration, but it's starting to come together.

What to do, Kat? (And, anyone else pondering these questions).

We'd suggest you take some time to breathe, step back, rethink. Reach out to your colleagues. Get feedback. There's no lack of cool stuff to do with the CC apps. You're coming up on 5 years in ACP and I think 9 or 10 in PR? Isn't it time to find some fresh inspiration?

A major issue for me Kat, is that the forums tend to fulfill my addiction to all things Adobe, and that stifles my output of original content.  Chuck manages to keep a steady output to Behance, and people like Nancy, but in her case, she is working and has to.   I am also strongly invested in my local Menz Shed where I am the secretary, and able to make stuff.  When I took early retirement from Ford Research aged 54 and moved to New Zealand, I couldn't believe my luck, but I missed access to a workshop.  I now have all the engineering machines, plus a fully equipped wood shop.  Of course, most of my output is computer related, so it comes back to Adobe products. 

If I ever get my phantom new computer, I am going to _try_ and discipline myself into producing more original content.  Spend more time on Lynda.com and explore other apps like Fuse that we were talking about earlier today.   PR is a mixed bag.  I am not always sure what is 'out there' or restricted to PR versions.  You have to be careful with screen shots, and I was finding it a problem regards third party plug-ins till the penny dropped regards the Common folder hierarchy where we can install plugins and not have to reinstall with each new PR Photoshop version.