I used to champion these forums. Now I don't give a gnat's...

I totally agree with these comments and I also feel that the same applies some of their software too. Adobe used to be the best now I am thinking of spending my Premiere Elements upgrade money on something completely different.

I am certainly not a heavyweight in any of the forums I read... I read far more than I post

I used to read EVERY message in the forums I visited... to learn new things and to once in awhile post when I knew the answer to a question

Now, the forums are so slow, that I scan message titles and only read a "few" out of the list... which means that I am probably missing learning new things from the discussion, but that just can't be helped... I simply don't have time to wait on the slow forums

I'm not going away... but I do spend less time @Adobe

I am still hoping, as I said here: http://forums.adobe.com/thread/451399.

This thread, as does at least one other thread today, creates more sorrow, with more contributors and friends leaving, to follow many more.

But it also holds a flicker of hope: that the forums will be revisited from time to time.

I do not wish to give up, at least not until John says it is over.

Here's my vote of agreement with what has been said in this thread.

Having noticed the absence of interventions in this forum by Phos± myself, out of genuine concern for his well being in these difficult times, I had posted in another venue asking if anyone had heard from him.  I was relieved to learn he was fine, and I am not one bit surprised that he's had enough of this sorry excuse of a forum.

Even I, having been forced by circumstances totally beyond my control to spend more time at home than I really would like to, find myself making only a minute percentage of my former contributions, none of which was as valuable as Phosphor's.  It's just too much of a hassle to deal with this mess.

A new addition to the forum host staff has not been one bit helpful either.

Because of all of this, I've become resigned to the gradual, painful death of the forums as we knew them.

Phos, although I am answering your opening message, I'm not really addressing this message to you, but to everyone.

Almost exactly a month ago, I accepted the first important job I have been offered in more that two years. I did although it had a 30 days deadline and I knew it was very difficult, if not impossible, to complete it in that time. Well, I did manage to finish it not long ago, and one of the first things I did was to come back to my once beloved forums, full of hope of being met with some important changes introduced in these 30 days.

I am sorry to say that, so far, I have noticed only these two changes:

1. The "Report spam..." link in the stickies now points to the correct thread, not to a locked one, something I had been asking for weeks before this 30 days interlude; and

2. The problem for which I offered a suggestion in this post

http://forums.adobe.com/message/1968406#1968406

and which had received a very good solution as I reported two days later, is back here. Plus, the "Next" button doesn't work (I don't remember if it worked before the change that was reverted).

As this forum is full of so many easy to fix complaints, seeing only these two changes in 30 days -one of which can hardly be called an improvement- was really very discouraging. However, what really got me down was reading the opening post of this thread.

Those who haven't followed Phos' trajectory in these forums may think that he is making false pretences, or at least exagerating, about his contributions to these forums. I am one of those who can testify that he is doing neither.

To make it short: over these so many years trying to give whatever modest help I'm capable of in the Acrobat and Reader forums, I lost count of the times I asked Phos, somewhat jokingly, to please leave the easy questions for me to answer. Each time I saw a just published easy one, I rushed to try to answer it, only to find he had done a much better job than my attempt, and had replied a several other more recent questions in the meantime. He showed an infinite patience to answer the same questions over and over again, which I admired because I don't have it and just refered the questioner to the appropriate FAQ instead -when I did manage to post before he did.

And he did everything else he writes in his OP, never boasting about what he did and accomplished. That's why I am sorry he had to do it now, I imagine that in an attempt to put some weight to his words. Not for us, of course, but for those responsible for this unbelievably large fiasco they have so stubbornly refused to acknowledge. And we used to call a fiasco the previous one, which was nothing compared with this mess, and which was rectified!

I am afraid that I am feeling my age, and so I'm finding that the enormous effort that too many very capable users have being putting in suggestions to improve these new forums, since the last "little fiasco" until now, to be such an gigantic waste, that I also don't feel like continuing. Had I not had this 30 days interlude with no noticeable changes, I would probably have continued by inertia for much longer, hopefully waiting for the improvements that never come, but this has opened my eyes. However, just logging in, or moving from one forum to another, is so excruciatingly slow that I find I simply do not have enough time to waste in just waiting for things to happen.

I will miss the group spirit of the old forums, and the many persons I got to know and like and care for, although knowing that I would never meet them. But then, I am missing more of them everyday and, after all, such is life.

Just a final thought. It is most probably true that JC has spent this week in the moutains. I would be happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, but I would say his presence has hardly been noticed, if at all, for quite a lot longer than a week. Another one of those many not at all encouraging signs.

…………… And I'm only one person. I'd guess there are hundreds of people who feel the same way I do.

Yes — and I am one of them.

I now look in every couple of weeks to see if anything has been done to clean up this mess; see that it hasn't; and just quietly slip away again — without even bothering to sign in.

I have probably been contributing extensively to these Forums for about the same length of time as Buko and Phos but those days are over because I absolutely refuse to help or answer questions while this dismal format and dreadful software continues in use.

Eventually, it will be only Chris Cox who is left to field questions and I wonder how much longer he will be willing to waste his time here either.

It was fun while it lasted ….

Ann

Well I'm finding that I really don't want to help as much its too much trouble.

Phos...

I've been seeing your posts since.... when? The year dot? Always helpful... always bang on... and on the rare occasion you made a mistake you never tried to justify or argue but accepted and moved on... truly a person worth his/her weight in the forums...

But so many have moved on and out... can't really speak for all but the DW forums are sorely lacking in all the truly knowledgeable ones... David P is about the only real heavyweight still there... Murray has not posted since mid-June. Massimo, Al and the host of others have gone...

And the sad part is that Adobe either doesn't realise what they're losing / lost or don't give a rat's anal vent...

Sad... really sad...

JJ

wish i could grant points to a topic originator. <sigh>

wait, on second thought i wish i'd never heard of points.

bye Phos,

Since Macromedia's aquisition of Adobe its been down hill ever since.