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Jacob Bugge
Community Expert
Community Expert
March 12, 2009
Question

The say of the natives

  • March 12, 2009
  • 71 replies
  • 5847 views
Quite a few times it has been claimed in these threads that the posters are few, do not represent the average, and so on.

Seemingly this leads the claimers to the conclusion that the strong support of the present forum appearance and the consequent strong objections to the complete change anticipated, and at least partially confirmed, does not represent a general opinion among forum members.

However, I am convinced that the objections to the anticipated change are widespread among the product forum members, especially among frequent posters, and especially among those contributing answers.

As far as I can see in the product forums that I contribue to or follow, at least 3/4 of the questions are answered by forum regulars such as myself that never, or very rarely, ask questions themselves. This means that we may be few in number, but not in terms of contributing to the forums.

Actually, only few regulars in the product forums post in the general forums at all, except perhaps on very rare occasions, but all the reactions I saw after the nightmare of the aborted forum merge were clear: Everyone resented not only the serious issues, but also the very format, which was not that far from what we are anticipating here, based upon the feedback so far.

All other product forum members post (questions) much less frequently, but stil, all the reactions I saw after aborted forum merge were the same.

Consequently, as far as I can see, what is posted here in these threads is the say of the natives.
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    71 replies

    PJonesCET
    Participating Frequently
    March 15, 2009
    > Anne said: From most of the examples that I have seen posted, it would be merciful to be spared that experience!

    Why do you look like ZaZa Gabor, or Raquel Welch?? :-)

    I may not be the handsomest fellow in the world, but I'm not by far the ugliest in The world.
    PJonesCET
    Participating Frequently
    March 15, 2009
    They don't have to be used, or you don't even have to use your own picture could be a picture of you favorite Pet, or 57 Chevy Belair Black with red interior. or maybe your Harley Hog. Or it could Even be a picture of the computer you are using. Avatars can be anything.
    Claudio González
    Legend
    March 15, 2009
    In one forum I frequent in spite of the avatars, very few participants, if any, use them for their photos.
    Claudio González
    Legend
    March 15, 2009
    (sorry, double posting)
    March 15, 2009
    >What part of an AVATAR denote any self importance?

    The fact that the person posting their portrait thinks that anyone else has any interest in seeing their face is the clearest possible indication of "Self Importance"!

    >The only thing an AVATAR does [is to] put a human face to the comment made.

    From most of the examples that I have seen posted, it would be merciful to be spared that experience!
    John T Smith
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    March 15, 2009
    I read a forum that has avatars... either actual pictures or just wimsy

    http://www.realitytvtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18096

    I don't see any problem with that format... of course, I have no idea if that software would be robust enough for 600k members

    Top of that section, to see how subjects show, is

    http://www.realitytvtalk.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=9

    I don't care if the new forum has avatars or not, as long as it is fast loading and the search function works
    PJonesCET
    Participating Frequently
    March 15, 2009
    What part of an AVATAR denote any self importance?

    The only thing an AVATAR does puts a human face to the comment made.

    Make the forum more personalized and intimate. No cold and Sterile like a Robat or a Dr's Office.

    and if done right like p on phpBB newsgroups take up very little extra space.

    Chance are a one line comment would based on system used take up as much room by itself or whether a properly sized avatar included.
    March 15, 2009
    NO AVATARS! All these forums need are self important people filling up valuable space with irrelevant visual testimonials to their importance. I can only imagine the length of this cat fight if each self centered participant included an avatar. Rant over. And no, I don't offer many solutions, but I do read and appreciate constructive user solutions to questions asked in these forums. Oh, maybe that's what they mean by User-to-User forums. Recriminations begin.
    Andrew Yoole
    Inspiring
    March 14, 2009
    Well, I think I qualify as a native. I've been a posting member here for 7 years, and a Forum Host for 4 or so. I'm an "answerer", not an "asker". I'm also an award-winning motion graphics designer who has used Adobe software since Photoshop 2.

    I post on numerous other Forums, of all shapes and sizes, and I have no problem with any of them particularly. I post because I enjoy contributing and communicating with my peers, and with those who are still learning. I must say that the formatting and attachment limitations of our current system are very noticeable.

    I'm really looking forward to the Forum update. There is certainly feedback from users at the After Effects forum in the negative at times - the text-only look of the current forums, and inability to easily attach photo's or embed code properly, and the tendency of WebX to improperly display code fragments by posters discussing Java-based Scripts and Expressions, are serious problems for users there.

    I, for one, like avatars. I think they give Forums a bit of personality, and help you to easily identify and remember less-frequent contributors. Any bandwidth they might chew up is really not a concern to me, and I doubt it would be to the majority of users whose business is creating and manipulating digital media. I think people working in this biz with dial-up are probably few-and-far between these days.

    The new search capabilities sound fantastic, and I'm eager to try them out.

    My primary concerns are purely speed/reliability, for obvious reasons, and the ability to know which posts I've already viewed. So long as those parameters are met, I'm one "native" who welcomes the changes.
    March 13, 2009
    Just to amplify Jacob's remark, I'm sure he used the term "natives" to mean regular contributors, not casually visiting ranters or pirates.

    Having said that I don't think we can contribute any more meaningful input to this discussion it's getting repetitive and acrimonious and will achieve nothing.