Camera Raw forum FAQ

Report · Apr 27, 2013

I'm a long-time user of the Camera Raw forum, which is a good quality read, frequented by plenty knowledgeable people. However, I have one problem with it:

There is one question which keeps cropping up more than any other.

This is why they created the humble FAQ, but I can't seem to find it. This is what I see:

Apparently, when you log out, the forum looks a bit more helpful, but this all changes to the above layout when I log in.

When I visit the Photoshop forum, there is an 'announcement' box across the top. This would be an excellent place to put the number 1 question from infrequent visitors.

Trouble is, I don't know if there's a moderator responsible for the CR forum, or how to go about making the FAQ (yes, there is one, albeit a bit complex) more visible. Any pointers?

Report · Apr 27, 2013

The FAQ can be located at this link:

<http://forums.adobe.com/thread/311515?tstart=0>

These forums are currently undergoing a major overhaul so they are likely to be unstable until the work is finished. I suspect it will take another two weeks before everything starts working normally.

Good luck.

Report · Apr 27, 2013

I must not be making myself clear. I can find the FAQ; it's the new users who can't find it. There's no obvious link in the forum after you log in.

Report · Apr 27, 2013

OK I get it. I have sent a PM to Ian Lyons who is the author of the FAQ to arrange for whatever is necessary. I agree with you that it should be prominently displayed for people to refer to it.

Thanks for the heads up here.

Report · Apr 28, 2013

There's no problem with the forum layout.

At some point you have set the 'discussions' view as your default, which is not what people normally see.

The default view for all normal users is 'overview' - when they visit http://forums.adobe.com/community/cameraraw they see the FAQ link right in the center of the screen, bold as brass.

To get back to the overview page, use http://forums.adobe.com/community/cameraraw?view=overview

Report · Apr 28, 2013

That does sound familiar, Dave. However, I tried to find a setting which controlled the default layout and I couldn't find one. Has it gone, or am I looking in the wrong place?

Actually, this is quite depressing, if the FAQ is in plain sight for new users, as it's not helping the number of "why does ACR not support my camera" questions we get every week.

Report · Apr 28, 2013

Yammer,

I agree with you, the pubic is getting pages that are confusing and downright misleading. This was a topic of discussion Jan. 2013 and as usual Adobe chose not to listen to any of the advice of the regulars. http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1137788?start=0&tstart=0

In post #22 the user's summary for forum changes was

1. Change "Start a Discussion" to "Post a New Question" and make more prominant.

2. Change "Ask a Question" to "Search this Forum"

3. Add "How to Ask Question" a. Short description of problem in title b. Operating System c. Product and version (ok, I added this part).

4. Change "Trending Question" to "Current Discussisons in XXXX Forum". Change to look like Discussion format.

5. I would like to see a direct link to Discussion page.

None of the recommendations were implemented.

Report · Apr 28, 2013

You are dealing with Jive. Did you expect them to pay attention?

Report · Apr 28, 2013

Phillip Jones wrote:
You are dealing with Jive. Did you expect them to pay attention?

Jive takes instructions from Adobe employees who are managers here with the help of MVPs. Now if there is anything wrong then it is the employees managing these forums and MVPs who are incompetent. Jive does everything they are told to do by their paymasters. They should not be blamed.

Think like this: when you have anything to be done at home, you call a builder and instruct him what is to be done and agree a price. The builder does exactly as you told him to do and you pay for his labor. Work done and both parties are happy.

With these forums, it doesn't seem to work like that because of incompetence of adobe employees. I guess the term MVP is a red herring here because the honorary title is given to them to make them work harder to keep Adobe customers happy.

Report · Apr 28, 2013

And why then do we often get such answers as "the Jive software does not have this function" and "This is the way the Jive software works"? Is Adobe or Jive dictating what can and cannot be done here?

Report · Apr 30, 2013

The layout of the site (the theme which controls the style of each page and the titles of the various pods) is controlled entirely by Adobe's web team.
There are limits on what that theme can do, dictated by Jive's software (just as with any other hosted system such as Blogger, you can style the pages but can't change the functionality).
As operators of a hosted platform with a shared core, Jive does not do 'everything they are told to do'. It allows certain things to be customised, that's all. Your builder analogy is flawed as Jive is not simply providing labor, it's selling access to a hosted product. If you rent a car for the weekend you can ask for a child seat but can't demand it be repainted.
Hosts have no involvement with themes, topic names or user accounts, we manage the content.
MVPs are not necessarily Hosts, the MVP program is indeed an 'honorary title' in the sense there's no entrance fee or exam, but there are expert sub-groups within it (which as a normal user you cannot see) whose positions are set by very strict criteria.

Report · May 01, 2013

I remember a time when the Adobe forums were tabbed, and you could choose which tab was the default for each forum. I chose "Discussions" for the Camera Raw forum, because the "Overview" didn't show the latest topics in reverse chronology. It seems that this setting has been retained for my account, even though the tabs have gone, and the setting can no longer be found (AFAIK). And no, it's not a cookie.