[pianotech] Really, really irritated with the New forum system

[David Love]

I feel your pain.  Doesn't offend me.  It's happened to me before and so now
I don't write responses on the website at all if I can help it.   I use the
email system and if a picture or attachment needs to be posted, I've given
up doing that through the website.  It's too much trouble, too many steps
and often it doesn't make it for some unknown reason.   As Jon Page and
others recently pointed out, the new site has been a discussion killer.
It's hard to argue.  

 

David Love

www.davidlovepianos.com

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Encore Pianos
Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 4:34 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Really, really irritated with the New forum system

 

I was trying to reply to Alan McCoy's query about soundboard hotboxes and
had written a fair amount of text within the thumbnail sized box given to us
to use in the new system to write our replies (surrounded by LOTS of empty
unused white space).  I wanted to look something up, so I minimized the page
to look somewhere else.  (I did not delete it) So I come back, or tried to,
and it was gone.  Disappeared, along with about half an hour of writing.
Arrgghhh!!!!

 

It's not the first time it has happened either.  In the past I have also
sent completed replies to the new site, using the protocol given.  Not only
does it sometimes never show up, but, unlike Outlook, it does not allow me
to save a copy on my computer.  Which I would have re-sent if it had not
disappeared altogether.  If I try to reply to a message on the new forum by
hitting Reply within Outlook,  the message will be sent, Outlook keeps a
copy, but it never gets to the new forum. 

 

So I am sending this message by the old method in the hopes that it will get
to the forum for others to read.  Of course, they will soon enough eliminate
this, which actually works reliably, simply, and consistently.  

 

They dumped this poor cousin into our laps a few months ago.  I can't see
that anything further has been done to make it any less buggy or easier to
use.  We're going to be stuck with it anyway, so why bother?  I have to
question how much value those who were responsible for setting up this
system place on the forum, or they would have payed a lot more attention to
how it was actually being used by us.  And especially worked to fix the
problems as needed, of which there is little indication that such has been
done. No one is willing to say how much this thing cost - did we get this
program out of the $5 bin at Walmart?

 

There are some interesting statistics regarding the pattern of usage:  I
went into the Archives (yes, they do still exist, somewhere..) and did a
count on usage for each month, 

 

January 2011 - 1872

February 2011 - 1480

March 2011 - 1139

April 2011 - 345

May 2011 - 235

 

As you can see, once the new system was implemented, visits fell off a
cliff, from March to April a 70% drop in usage, and a further drop still in
May.  May is a mere 12.5% of the numbers in January.  I think March's
figures are artificially high because so many people were bitching or asking
how to use it (You certainly couldn't find out how on the web site).  Is it
fair to say that a lot of people said to themselves, if it is going to be
this much of a pain, I don't want to bother?  

 

I think that the Forum had become one of the very best resources for a great
many Guild members.  A year ago, it was lively and vital.  Not so much now.
Have they killed the goose that laid the golden egg?   Do they even care?  

 

Yes, this is an irritable and grumpy reply.  Probably it will offend some.
I haven't heard anyone who had something to do with implementing this system
talk about the problems and performance of the new system for a very long
time.  So if anyone of you are listening, please feel free to call me
(insert your derogatory term of choice), but at least acknowledge the
problems that exist and tell us what is being done about them. 

 

I will not be going to the National, but it is my earnest hope that the
problems with the new system will be discussed in depth, and meaningful
solutions sought.  What we have now is mediocre, and underserves the Guild
and participants of Pianotech.  Do we really have to live with this thing?

 

Will Truitt  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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