Bens post

[leehack]

Perhaps staff were creating the perfect Thomson holiday type scene?

[party_pete]

Let's hope lorry loads of sand don't start arriving or i'll need more than xxxxxxx to help

[pinbrook]

Historically, the Actinic community was a really friendly and helpful place. In the last couple of years, that's been less so.

i agree we went through a phase for 6 months or so when things were quite hot, but TBH i feel its been quite calm recently - or maybe i just participate less and don't see the contentious posts

In fact, there have been a steady stream of people telling me that they find it too aggressive, and they don't participate for that reason.

Maybe these people should just use support? I am not aware that people who are polite get treated discourteously.

What we would like to declare now is a new era in friendly community participation. It's always been the case that the forum states that no rudeness is allowed - we will now be enforcing this rigorously. The idea isn't to suppress opinions, critcisms of Actinic, or disagreements. It's just to ensure that this is done in a courteous way.

This smacks abit of big brother here. I agree with Jan here, and I do as she says she does - don't reply if you can't be polite. Hopefully the silence will speak for itself.

The best way for each of us to achieve this is to try to avoid strong emotional overtones in the words that we use.

as above - don't reply - leave it to actinic personnel to mop up. Maybe then Actinic/Ben will realise how insensitive they have been.

I think actinic need to tread very carefully here, i am sure for as many people who complain they find the forum scarey there are countless others who have benefitted from it. Too much moderation will also drive people away. I have always been one of the people who have consistently complained about threads being trashed with banter, but I also accept some of it in beneficial to the overall atmosphere. Make the community dry and many people will leave.

[NormanRouxel]

I'm taking some time off.

I'm not going to post when I might be censored or deleted. Bye for now.

[Rich Brady]

S**t there's one key member gone...

I have an idea, can't Actinic issue a disclaimer when you register for the community "I agree that I will not be hurt or offended by anything said within this community"

That way everyones a winner

[Steve G Griggs]

Please keep the banter-it helps keep my sanity!
I have personally not had a bad experience on the forum or found anything I would class as really offensive, maybe the occasional OTT response.
I have always found the forum helpful.
But I can understand folks getting upset with those who just leech all the advice they can get from the forum and never contribute, or those that don't RTFM (OOPS! can I use that now.....)
Plus if I ask a stupid question, or I obviously haven't looked for an answer myself then I expect a sarcastic comment or three.....or more.

[TraceyHand]

Ok, here goes.
Been brewing this one over but I can't contain it any more!
That and there's a chance that someone will overstep a 'mark' and the thread will be locked/pulled and I want to get in there before then!

Firstly, I want to say that I think Ben's post was incredibly bad timing.
The atmosphere on the forum (and surrounding it) has been tense since Tracey's announcement yesterday and I think posting such a post as Ben did this morning was poor planning.
How Actinic came to 'let' Tracey go is beyond me. There is NO ONE who has offered such dedicated and intense support to the forum since Chris left and it left the forum regulars feeling like there is no one to pick up the pieces...except for US, of course!

I know this isn't about Tracey leaving but it IS relevent to the reactions today.
I also know that other support staff will (allegedly) step in and fill Tracey's shoes but, as has been mentioned already, this is a COMMUNITY and whoever takes over will be, essentially, a 'new face' to the forum because Tracey has had pretty much no one (general all-round support-wise) at her side for some considerable time!

So, first we find out that the forum's lifeline to Actinic support itself is leaving...then Ben wades in and tells us all to buckle up and watch what we say.

I'm sorry but that can only provoke a 'WTF?' reaction.
The combination of being left feeling like 'second line support' (or first line much of the time!) and then being told to behave, makes longstanding members and contributors feel like we're being taken for granted, BIGtime.

I think the reaction of these members speaks for itself.

t'other Ben (P) has been maintaining (in Twitter) that Ben D's post was a call for 'respect' but that is FAR from how it came across.
It came over as "fall in line or else" and that is NOT how a 'community' works.

Actinic (whoever that may be) needs to decide if it is really a 'community' they want because I don't think it is.
In a community, you take the good with the bad.
Hell, it's not even BEEN bad here lately!! There has been one incident recently that perhaps got out of hand but it was resolved and we all moved on.
If that's not what Actinic wants then maybe they need to look at renaming this place.
Alienate your longstanding members and contributors, if that's what you want to do.
Bring replacement 'support' in here then and let the forum become a place of support and NOT a community.

But, if that happens then I, for one, won't be around to see it.

I love this place. I love the people in it (most of them!) and, for the most part, I love Actinic.
I consider myself friends with several of the 'staff' and this makes this post all the more difficult for me however it has saddened me greatly to see 'my community' fall apart over the past 48 hours.




Ok, I'm done

[grantglendinnin]

How Actinic came to 'let' Tracey go is beyond me. There is NO ONE who has offered such dedicated and intense support to the forum since Chris left and it left the forum regulars feeling like there is no one to pick up the pieces...except for US, of course!

Following on from that - who's going to be maintaining and supporting the forum from now on?

There are hundreds of small companies using old versions of Actinic because they simply cannot afford to upgrade to the latest version, or spend the £XXX on Actinic Cover. This is their only point of interaction, 9 out of 10 new threads coming from end-user are usually solved with interaction from the community folks. The issues which the community members are unable to solve through lack of info/knowledge of the indepth Actinic-workings, were always quickly and efficiently solved by Tracey. Several times I've been waiting around for days and not had any response from Actinic so have posted here in the hope somebody else has been in a similar situation - low and behold, Tracey got things moving.

I don't know what role Tracey played in the Actinic infrastructure, but one thing is for sure - she'll certainly be missed.

If Actinic want to continue offering an online support 'community', they'd better do something quick.

[Darren B]

Tracey that was very well put - unfortunately it looks like Norman is planning on joining a few others on a long vacation. some may notice i commented recently on my disappointent with actinic only the other day, off forum i add and this is another kick in the teeth, regardless if it was ment that way or not.

Like you i come here for the people and to offer support, but one thing i wont have is people taking the piss out of me. Actinic testing day payments was one of those and being treated like a 5 year old is another.

Just maybe some of us have out grown this place and it is time to move on, as said previously things change, people change who knows what tomorrow will bring

[pinbrook]

How Actinic came to 'let' Tracey go is beyond me.

they probably didn't have much choice but it is worrying that in the past 12 months the following have gone

Tracey
ChrisD
Nadeem
Bruce

All good community contributors/moderators. All sadly missed.

[Steve G Griggs]

No there probably was not much choice for them but to let the staff go (Actinic), but it does make you wonder what's going on though, and why so many in that time.

[leehack]

The big names leaving are certainly of concern to me, they certainly point to far more than the forum being wrong (from a users point of view). Maybe the forum events of late are Mandelsonesque spin to detract from the real issues.

[EdHarrison]

Ok for whats it worth Im new and have asked my fair share of dumb questions but Im not a developer just someone trying to run a new business and found my way here through Actinic.

I have been at the sharp end of Mal and Lee to an extent and once explained to understood their point after initially arguing back, on a regulars advice I deleted the thread to prevent and endless game of post tennis!

There is some - how do I say or dare I say err some animosity towards new people and naturally so as its human nature but newbies such as me have often waded in asking numerous questions without searching for answers first as is clearly put on here for all to see.

The likes of some of top guys like for example Norman, Mal and Lee are an invaluable resource for this forum and should not be alienated for having an opinion or indeed wanting the freedom to have one without being moderated.

This should be a friendly forum and mostly self regulating and I have accepted criticism as should all of us new or old, that said I hope common sense prevails and those who really can help choose to stay and contribute.

Ed

[Steve G Griggs]

The voice of reason. I agree totally.
I do wonder (and worry) that so many are leaving fairly suddenly.

[grantglendinnin]

Indeed - it is a very worrying thought that so many of the Actinic team have left, particularly those held in high regard by Actinic's customers (IMO). I'm sure they all have their own reasons but, again, IMO, it says a lot that some of them have converted to 'the other side'.

I doubt any of the current forum members joined this forum without asking a dumb question. Not a single member. I'm sure if you look back at all of the forum regulars, both past and present, you'll find them posting silly questions that definitely resulted in 'rtfm' replies.

Even now when I'm looking for a particular post I can have difficulties finding it - I know it's there, but I'll be damned if I can find it. Both new members and established members are singing from the same hymn sheet.