Bens post

[Rich Brady]

I think it's time to draw a line under this thread. Eveyone's got different opinions on the topic and it's beginging to spill over into other threads, which will not be good for any new members searching the forum.

We could talk and talk about what we think is acceptable and unacceptable and Actinic are never going to keep everyone happy, so you have to go with the majority.

For what it's worth I liken joining forums to moving to a new area or starting a new job. You'll see and hear things that you don't like or necessarily agree with, but you wait until your a bit more established before pulling someone up on their comments. That way you get to know the other members more, what kind of community you're involved with.

I stand by my earlier comments force new memebers to read a minimum number of threads before they can post anything. This way they'll have a good understanding of how things work and what people are like. Hell they may even find the answer to there problems.

[plantshop]

Did you report any of these posts?

Ive never felt I needed to report anyone on the forum TBH. I was just pointing out that Ben had made a statement and not followed it through which is IMO only going to affect Actinic. Ive never registered as Ive never seen the need to until today.

WHO IS BEN???????? we all knew Chris and Tracy as they helped every day and IMO had the respect to lay down the law here but to me Ben is a faceless poster. There is nothing about him on the Actinic website nor is he a frequent poster so I dont see how his comments can help and as said above his post in itself could be considered very rude as it was clearly aimed at one member who has now left the community.

Parklife is totally correct, in responding to the minority it has affected me the silent majority who now are left thinking where do we go now

[grantglendinnin]

if you come on here shouting the odds, then you should be prepared to take the flak in return.
If you don't like it, then the door is that way >>>>>>>>>>>>

Or a wise man once said (after being battered by a gang of chavs) - If they're old enough to give it, they're old enough to take it

[cbarling]

Thanks for all of the comments.

I have to say that the tone of this thread is what we are looking for. It's certainly not a thread where everybody has a sickly smile and agrees with one another on everything. Disagreement is fine. In fact, we all get a better understanding of issues when multiple opinions are expressed, in my own opinion.

On the moderation issue, sorry if a reported thread was ignored. However, we do believe in light touch moderation so it isn't the case that every reported post will be moderated. I'm obviously not passing comment on the specific example which I have no knowledge of. There are many other communities more strongly moderated, and in fact some ecommerce ones suppress all dissent and criticism. Without wanting to be too sanctimonious, that's not the way we do things at Actinic.

On the issue of Ben's participation, actually the posting he made was really a Ben and Chris (me) production. So please aim at least 50% of your arrows at me

It may be that we need to tighten up the guidelines in terms of better thread titles, searching the forum and KB first, and expectations about help. Certainly it is very irritating when a new person arrives on the forum and demands help in an unreasonable way. We'll take a look at this.

Chris

[parklifeclothes]

A lot of the 'problems' of late have come about as a result of new users almost demanding reviews and then if they don't say 'wow' fantastic kicking off. Maybe this area could be looked into

[grantglendinnin]

It may be that we need to tighten up the guidelines in terms of better thread titles, searching the forum and KB first, and expectations about help.

It may also be worthwhile looking at the vBulletin Administrator settings, where you can specify how new threads are created. Using the 'Prompt' option is (IMO) most ideal - sure it'll annoy the regulars having to check a box every time they create a new thread - but at least it shows you're at least half serious about cracking down on this.

[plantshop]

I think it's time to draw a line under this thread

I dont think so (on MY soapbox now) the people who complained ie the minority have had thier say and we have seen the result, now its time for the majority to stand up and have thier say.

How can Actinic drive longstanding members away based on a few comments from people who are not paying for support and expecting free help here. I have seen the so called designers demanding help and thought many times how can that be right as they are getting paid to do a job and asking for free help here. Some even admit that they do not pay for Actinic support, so they dont even put something back into Actinic. very very odd

I would have thought that the support that longstanding members had given over the years would count for something.

[plantshop]

Certainly it is very irritating when a new person arrives on the forum and demands help in an unreasonable way

So are you now admitting that Bens post (and yours) may not have been appropriate and that other forum software based options would have been better used rather than making the post. Things that have been asked for by many of the longstanding members on here for years.

[consciouspnm]

How can Actinic drive longstanding members away based on a few comments from people who are not paying for support and expecting free help here. I have seen the so called designers demanding help and thought many times how can that be right as they are getting paid to do a job and asking for free help here. Some even admit that they do not pay for Actinic support, so they dont even put something back into Actinic. very very odd

Why not have an icon in the profile for those people who do pay for support then? At least you can then tell who is serious about using Actinic.

[Mike Hughes]

Certainly it is very irritating when a new person arrives on the forum and demands help in an unreasonable way

So are you now admitting that Bens post (and yours) may not have been appropriate and that other forum software based options would have been better used rather than making the post. Things that have been asked for by many of the longstanding members on here for years.

I think it's more that Chris was acknowledging the issue and seeing if there's some common ground we can agree on before moving things forward.

Why not have an icon in the profile for those people who do pay for support then? At least you can then tell who is serious about using Actinic.

I suspect we'd just end up telling them something along the lines of "you're paying for support, why not go and use it."

Mike

[Darren B]

I think it's more that Chris was acknowledging the issue and seeing if there's some common ground we can agree on before moving things forward.



I suspect we'd just end up telling them something along the lines of "you're paying for support, why not go and use it."

Mike

instead of RTFM it would be YPFSNFO

[Mike Hughes]

YPFSNFO

It just trips off the tongue doesn't it.

Took me a good while before I stopped laughing.

Mike

[Paul Cooper]

Why not have an icon in the profile for those people who do pay for support then? At least you can then tell who is serious about using Actinic.

I just cancelled my support contract because as a service it failed to deliver effective support. My Actinic based website provides an income that feeds my family so am I not serious about Actinic? I made the decision at short notice as that is all Actinic provided and decided that my fallback position will be to employ the services of one of the professionals on this site should that become necessary.

When posting on this forum, I am aware of the potential to get my head chewed off so I do my best to search for answers first and be grateful for the free assistance offered by the experienced users. Sometimes it could be better for the experienced user to say nothing rather than some derogatory remark but rather that then lose their input altogether as the gain far outweighs the pain.

I appreciate the valued contribution made by those with far more knowledge than I'll ever have and long may it continue.

[gabrielcrowe]

The lack of icon and information here:

<===

Is quite easy to fix, can we have something like that? Like icons for support bods, CEOs, developers, and new people?

I think we can easiy know who needs more help like this.

On xbox live, you choose a zone to play in: Pro, Recreation, Underground and Family. This determines your approach to them, when first contact is made, for me, anyhow.

[pnagames]

When posting on this forum, I am aware of the potential to get my head chewed off so I do my best to search for answers first and be grateful for the free assistance offered by the experienced users. Sometimes it could be better for the experienced user to say nothing rather than some derogatory remark but rather that then lose their input altogether as the gain far outweighs the pain.

I appreciate the valued contribution made by those with far more knowledge than I'll ever have and long may it continue.

with your attitude Paul you will get more help than other people in this forum by the experienced members.

at the end of the day this is a forum. there are several regular contributors with different views / opinions on pretty much everything

i would agree with the suggestion made previously to allow new members to post after they meet certain pre-requisites.