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With the photoshop forum going cross platform others will surly follow.
In many cases the platform will not make any difference in the answer. However, problems with third party sofware and misc. hardware can make a difference.
So, is is possible to have a couple of generic boxes added to each reply window the has a check mark for Mac or Windows? May be less confusing.
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Curt,
I should expect the Photoshop forum to be the last one. I know there has been a great resistance when it has been suggested in the (distant) past.
At least the Illustrator forums were merged when the fair forums were replaced by what we see here. Often you can see which side the OP is from by the terms used in the OP, such as keys; and everyone has become used to the differences, many posters using dual terms if in doubt.
As to your imagining the possibility of customizing the forums, I am afraid you are imagining things.
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Curt Y wrote:
With the photoshop forum going cross platform others will surly follow.
Freudian slip ("surly"). I can imagine more arguments between Mac and PC people, myself.
Personally I don't think it's a good move at all to consolidate them. They're already pretty active - what's the gain? Are there not enough experts on each side of the fence already?
-Noel
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Noel I agree with you. I think it would be better for all the product forums to separated by Platform.
Every venue I've seen where platforms were mashed together there have always platform wars, usually Its PC folks dissing Mac, the people that use Mac's. making fun, threatening. Most Mac people they want to get along get there questions answered. Instead you get someone in your face, for nothing other than the fact you’re a Mac person.
I admit in the old days 30 years ago I was hot and heavy into platform wars. I went to one newsgroup by accident, That Felt if the people were physically close to me instead at the other end of an Internet connection, Iwould have been physically beaten with a 4x4 timber. I apologize for wondering into the wrong group and immediately unsubscribed.
Personally, I could care less what platform anyone uses. If they are satisfied with what they use so be it. Will I point out advantages to the Mac version to people that are dissatified. You bet. Will I point out missing features in Mac Version caused by biases of Adobe. You bet. But I am not going out of my way to Diss PC's. No.
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Do we have to have this conversation again?
Every venue I've seen where platforms were mashed together there have always platform wars, usually Its PC folks dissing Mac, the people that use Mac's. making fun, threatening. Most Mac people they want to get along get there questions answered. Instead you get someone in your face, for nothing other than the fact you’re a Mac person.
The InDesign forum works great being cross-platform, and we would lose a lot if they were split.
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Curt Y,
This has been discussed at some length, in the PrPro CS5/5.5 Forum, and the general feeling has been that the general problems and also the solutions, are rather X-platform. In general observations, that seems to be about 90% correct, at least so far.
While we DO see some Mac-specific questions, much IS X-platform.
Now, as there are hundreds of FCP "switchers" in that forum, I would anticipate that a "FCP to PrPro" forum might be worthwhile, but most users, even the PC-only users, are able to help them.
Now, many of those posts are along the lines of "Well, FCP does things THIS way. When will Adobe get with it, and create FCP 8 for us?" That sentiment is now starting to fade a bit.
Hunt
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Merging the Photoshop forum is not a new idea. They had actually been merged at one time and it was an unmitigated disaster; that's why there were split. Morons never learn from history.
Participation in the merged Illustrator and InDesign forums fell precipitously after they were merged and it has never recovered.
Never underestimate Adobe's boundless capacity to kill things like the Adobe Studio Exchange and the forums. These forums are but a thin shadow of their former selves in the WebCrossing days.
The various discussions on techniques and ideas have just about died. All there is now are gripes about bugs and shortcomings, plus the inevitable, almost embarrassing, rank-beginner questions that could have easily been resolved by looking them up in the Help files.
____________
Wo Tai Lao Le
我太老了
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Tai Lao wrote:
Merging the Photoshop forum is not a new idea. They had actually been merged at one time and it was an unmitigated disaster; that's why there were split. Morons never learn from history.
Participation in the merged Illustrator and InDesign forums fell precipitously after they were merged and it has never recovered.
Never underestimate Adobe's boundless capacity to kill things like the Adobe Studio Exchange and the forums. These forums are but a thin shadow of their former selves in the WebCrossing days.
The various discussions on techniques and ideas have just about died. All there is now are gripes about bugs and shortcomings, plus the inevitable, almost embarrassing, rank-beginner questions that could have easily been resolved by looking them up in the Help files.
____________
Wo Tai Lao Le
我太老了
While I fully agree that the Web-X forums were more fun than the rather bland variety we have today - mostly because all the "status"- nonsense didn't get in the way - it's always tempting to think that everything was better before. Most days in Web-X were actually quite dull.
In any case turnover seems to have increased dramatically. In Ps Win unanswered posts drop off the first page in a day or less, and that was unheard of back then. So something's obviously working right. The beginners need to go somewhere too.
As for merged forums, I really don't see any downside except the fear of flame wars. But we're way beyond that now, aren't we?
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D Fosse wrote:
…As for merged forums, I really don't see any downside except the fear of flame wars. But we're way beyond that now, aren't we?
Far from it. Just wait and see.
D Fosse wrote:
…While I fully agree that the Web-X forums were more fun than the rather bland variety we have today - mostly because all the "status"- nonsense didn't get in the way - it's always tempting to think that everything was better before. Most days in Web-X were actually quite dull…
Only on the Windoze side. The Photoshop Macintosh forum was a tremendous hub of activity. The discussions were at a level of artistic, technical and theoretical sophistication never seen again in this mediocre Jive environment.
D Fosse wrote:
…In Ps Win unanswered posts drop off the first page in a day or less, and that was unheard of back then…
That occurred several times per day in the Photoshop Macintosh forum, regularly.
But, as I said before, "never underestimate Adobe's boundless capacity to kill things like the Adobe Studio Exchange and the forums" and "morons never learn from history". We had gone through this before. You guys will see it again. It's only a matter of time.
____________
Wo Tai Lao Le
我太老了
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Just to drive the point home a bit more assertively: I'm not speculating or vainly predicting; I'm recounting facts the forums already witnessed. Once more, they had actually been merged at one time and it was an unmitigated disaster; that's why there were split.
____________
Wo Tai Lao Le
我太老了
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D Fosse wrote:
… In Ps Win unanswered posts drop off the first page in a day or less…
Whoa! I misread that, holy cow!
Then, as phrased, that never happened in the Photoshop Macintosh WebCrossing forums, ever! Posts did not go "unanswered" for more than three hours or less, ever! What I thought you had typed and what I was commenting on was that if you didn't log in daily, then the posts unread by you would scroll off to the second page.
What you type, "In Ps Win unanswered posts drop off the first page in a day or less," is a huge black eye for the Ps Win forum and a clear sign that knowledgeable contributors are not active enough!
____________
Wo Tai Lao Le
我太老了
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I was a bit unclear, sorry. It's simply a measure of total traffic. Unless a new reply bumps the post up to the top, it falls off in a day.
I didn't mean that questions went unanswered.
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This is what the Ps Win forum looked like to me a couple of minutes ago:
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Maybe after the forums are joined all those poor Windows users will get answered by the awesome Mac users...
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A more realistic and likely scenario is that the number of Mac users will continue to dwindle at an accelerated rate. The most valuable contributors on the Mac side have left, one way or another, for good. The Photoshop Macintosh forum is like a ghost town already in comparison to the old days.
____________
Wo Tai Lao Le
我太老了
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Tai Lao wrote:
This is what the Ps Win forum looked like to me a couple of minutes ago:
This is after the weekend. Things are always slow on weekends.
But in fact this could be a legitimate concern for Mac users. I visit the Mac forum regularly, always have (and post there when I have something to say), and the activity level there has always been a little lower, whatever the reason for that may be. So even though Mac/Win user base is roughly 50/50, a merged forum could have a slight Windows bias.
Then again, I think that would be outweighed by the platform-indifferent questions seeing a larger pool of potential answerers.
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D Fosse wrote:
…I visit the Mac forum regularly, always have (and post there when I have something to say), and the activity level there has always been a little lower, whatever the reason for that may be…
< ghost of flame war > Less totally clueless beginners on the Mac forums? < /ghost of flame war >
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LOL, I saw that coming...
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No Not really Flame wars are alive and well. It's more one sided Than in days past. Mac people for the most part do not care one way or another. Because with Intel Processors and Virtual Machines we can now run Linux, Unix, Window7 and Mac OS separately or at the same time. It’s a non-issue for us. Doesn't mean we Mac users are superior, Nor does it mean PC people are. Its just like being democrat or republican. People tend to think their way is better. Or being a Jew or Christian, Hindu or Muslim.
There will always be arguments.
But I still see it all the time.
The only way for it work correctly and not cause a rift. when you click Start a question you have to answer the following questions or you can not continue:
Type Computer, Processor, Operating System and version of system.
Then PC people won't have to bother with answering Mac Questions, or Linux, or Unix. Mac People won't have to answer PC, Linux, Or UNIX. and so on.
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Tai Lao wrote:
The various discussions on techniques and ideas have just about died. All there is now are gripes about bugs and shortcomings, plus the inevitable, almost embarrassing, rank-beginner questions that could have easily been resolved by looking them up in the Help files.
I didn't experience the forums as they used to be before the migration to Jive, and I don't know what great discussions on techniques used to take place, but people who want those discussions to come back just have to initiate them. If quality discussions are taking place, qualified people will find them and join in. It wouldn't hurt for the regular users to use social media to promote the forums, either.
It can be frustrating when beginners know too little to even ask their questions in an understandable way, but the help files are only useful if you know what you should be looking up. They are not structured for learning in my opinion.
The good news is that with the great new upgrade policy and customer-friendly international pricing, Adobe will be attracting millions and millions of new customers who will all come to the forums. There will be so many that Adobe will have to split the forum into separate forums for beginners, intermediates and experts. That will solve your current frustration with beginner postings and lack of expert discussions.
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I was around in the "old days" and the discussions, in at least the Photoshop forum, were on are a different deeper level.
There was a number of players that were very knowledgeable and would type up long dissertations on why things worked they way they did, or explain new techniques on how to do a procedure. Many of those people quit, or were booted out of the forum due to disagreements with how Jive works, or have just passed away.
Now it seems like it is "just answer the question". Rarely is there a discussion on how else to accomplish the task. It alternatives are offered, they do not spur much discussion.
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Curt Y wrote:
I was around in the "old days" and the discussions, in at least the Photoshop forum, were on are a different deeper level.
So was I. I think this is generally true, but not because all the people with deep knowledge left. Some did, but others took their place.
I think it has to do with the present high turnover more than anything else - and it is much higher than it used to be. New questions come in at such a fast rate that there is simply no time to go in-depth, unless you can spend all your time here.
That said, the points and the salami slices and all that didn't actually help. Although most people don't care about that nonsense, enough did to change the tone of the proceedings. There was suddenly a rush to get there first, and that change was very obvious to all who had been around for a while.
Anyway, off to do the Christmas thing...have a nice one everybody.
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Tai Lao wrote:
Merging the Photoshop forum is not a new idea. They had actually been merged at one time and it was an unmitigated disaster; that's why there were split. Morons never learn from history.
Participation in the merged Illustrator and InDesign forums fell precipitously after they were merged and it has never recovered.
Of all the Mac, people posting so far, overall, your attitudes and and mental framework seem most similar to mine -- more so than an average Pc User's as well. As far as world view/poltical view, we might find ourselves agreeing, or arguing for the sake of arguing, but not really disagreeing on principles.
Have you given thought to the possibility that reduced traffic and having things NOT recover, might be a desired goal?
Something to think about....
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Curt Y wrote:
…So, is is possible to have a couple of generic boxes added to each reply window the has a check mark for Mac or Windows?…
You can count on your average Joe to ignore such an option regularly.
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Make it mandatory before they can proceed to ask question take the option out of the equation.