Please organize these forums

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• Some help please navigating these forums and a little discussion as well?

  There are a few questions I’d like to post, but first I need to determine how to use this newer style of user-to-user forum. Yeah, it’s been around a few years or so, but I’ve seen it take over the more traditional message board systems like v-bulletin and phpBB. Those boards were easy to navigate, as the forums, categories and topics were presented in a typical directory tree structure (even though the built-in search functions leaved a lot to be desired).
  Now the trend has shifted to formats such as this. While some retain some semblance of categories and topics (discussions), others seem to abandon this altogether in favor posts or discussions being related via tags or keywords. Google is the worst offender – forcing the user to select up to 4 pre-defined descriptors when creating a new post.
  Also confusing is how the terminology has changed. The forums are now calling topics, discussions. But they end up containing even less actual discussion on the topic and have de-volved into simple questions and answered. This is reinforced by the use of buttons to compel the original poster to designate responses as helpful or correct answers. This I would guess is in response to the myriad of answer seekers posting questions, receiving several helpful replies and never going back to say thanks, thus, the threads become all but useless for others who experience and seek out solutions to similar issues.
  The new format also usually starts out with “ask your question here” which is just another way to say, “hey, how about at least giving the search a try before asking a question that’s been covered before”.  Because many self-contained search features just don’t work, I can see why users just skip over it. But, what they may not know is that you can use Google to search a specific site. Forum, or blog which usually works pretty well. I’ve done this on a number of occasions, only to find the response as “this question has been answered here a hundred times – try searching”. If the responder is feeling generous that day, he or she may also present a link – a google search link that includes keywords.
  So, here I do see the initial ask your question box, then underneath that, a bunch of icons that represent particular products/topics. I start searches using more keywords, the reduce them If there are too many results. This gradual decline works well for Google, but here at Apple Support, I went from over 700 results to just two by eliminating all but the two mandatory keywords. I will do some more searches and post in the appropriate section, but my gut reaction is that it would be hard to believe that I’m the only person who has ever had this question.
  So, then – what’s the best and right way to use this new forum?
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  A BRIEF HISTORY OF ONLINE MESSAGE BOARDS
  I’m turning the double-nickel this year, so I’ve earned the right to gripe a bit. I don’t know everything, but for those of you youngsters, do yourself a favor a read up. If you truly are a techno-phile, you’ll find it at least somewhat interesting, at least enough to do a little research. Plus, this information isn’t all that old.
  The first online community I was exposed to was the BBS – Bulletin Board System. I had just bought my first PC, a Tandy, and the sales guy sold me a modem and gave me a number to call to connect to his BBS. I installed the modem, dialed the number and for the first time heard the annoyingly beautiful sounds of modems connecting. The, almost like “Do you want to play a game?”, text appeared on my monitor and I was hooked. The BBSes were local – to avoid long distance calls – and operated by those who could afford a second, dedicated computer and phone line. Usually, only one person could connect at a time – browse the discussion topics, leave a post to add to the discussion, check private messages (email) then log off.
  News Groups were the next form on online interaction I was introduced to. These required a special server running a dedicated protocol and a new reader, usually integrated in with an email client like Outlook Express. Each group was a specific topic – for example, Microsoft groups may have had a couple dozen or so groups covering topics like Windows 95 or networking, other commercially sponsored groups, or self-created groups. Like a BBS, you would log on, catch up on unread messages, respond to some and move on. It was in the News Groups where I learned how to program web pages to connect to a hosted database and many other things, thanks to the expertise and kindness of strangers. These groups soon became the territory of spammers, not to mention the real ugly recesses of the internet – international folks sharing “content” that the work obscene can’t even begin to describe. ISP’s soon dropped news groups from their services and they went away.
  By this time however, the world-wide-web was now in full swing. We no longer needed AOL or Prodigy to get on the Net, just an ISP and browser. Broadband was becoming available in select markets. Web-based bulletin boards sprang up all over, filling the void that the news groups left behind. They evolved, but kept to the simple structure and format for a good long while. As the cost of web hosting came down, and the availability of online databases went up, and open source application became better and more robust, anyone could incorporate a forum into their site with little time or expense.
  Social Media was on the rise. Sites came and went. From Friendster, to Myspace, then finally facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The net also settled in to a short list of other content sharing sites – YouTube, Flickr, Instagram. These took over the social discussion aspects of the online forum sites. That left the forums to take the only remaining role of software and product support – both as an extension of a company’s support solution or user-to-user help and support.
  On more than one occasion, I’ve tried to engage other users in topical and conceptual discussion in these groups, but it seems that they’ve already used their energy for that keeping up with their social media obligations. Facebook groups get lost in the multitude of pages. So end user support groups have settled into Q & A, mark the answer as correct them move on. Then another person comes along with the same question, enters it into the box, sees the first ten “pertinent” results that don’t answer the question, posts the question, and the cycle continues.
  If anyone has read this far, I commend you! Reading is fast becoming a lost art. I know it’s hard to read off a computer screen, easier on a tablet. And while I live my gizmos and gadgets, I have to still at least once in a while pick up a real book. I’m perfectly satisfied with my iTunes system with the only issue being the quality of any downloaded music. It’s better than it used to be, but CD’s have superior sound. Blu-ray Disc has superior sound and picture.
  I did purchase several books from the iTunes Book Store. But why? I could have bought them anywhere and read them in iBooks, but not the other way around. I had to sell my iOS devices. And now I can’t read my books. But that’s another story, for another day.

  Slip Jigs
  Contributors here so far are the cream of the crop...
  As an overall reaction to your treatise, I agree. I also judge that you - like me - may have some experience and skill at UX design (User eXperience - usability design, for the unwashed masses).
  First, let me commend your use of the WHITE SPACE that Apple graphic designers have so kindly provided. Looks very much like a paper page full of easy-to-read-SERIF-FONT text - it is clear you have experience with design concepts.
  As a tribute, I will post in your style - although our compose pane here is not quite WYSIWYG, I am hoping that line spacing will sort itself out, if not I will remove my attempt at bucking the system - but it may time for you to get some new optics
  you said:
  " ... v-bulletin and phpBB. Those boards were easy to navigate, as the forums, categories and topics were presented in a typical directory tree structure... "
  Agree that vBulletin, etc. WERE easy and familiar - but what is this structure but lipstick on that pig - see SITEMAP | ASC  (tt2's excellent UserTip). The digital directory tree is merely an adaption of the familiar Fileroom of old... a room for files(computer), file cabinets w/ file 'folders'(folders) and files(files). Apple in the form of Jobs/Wozniak (actually Xerox, but I won't quibble) was groundbreaking in the introduction of the GUI to the masses. [see your comment on being forced to learn a new way of working... has always been thus]
  Let me add that the lack of Apple's implementation of the stock features of "Sticky" threads - Announcements, Hot Topics, etc., is a miscalculation. The CATEGORIES above the Using ASC list of threads - "Announcements" and "Community Events" - baffle me as to their usefulness as I can see neither when I click 'em, only some "filtering" of what is in the "Feedback about Discussions" (?Feedback ?about? Disscussions?) Category.
  you further said:
  "... the trend has shifted to formats such as this. While some retain some semblance of categories and topics (discussions), others seem to abandon this altogether in favor posts or discussions being related via tags or keywords... "
  Kids these days... => iDevices (generic for handheld smarty-devices of any stripe) are responsible for the VISUAL graphic design conventions... no more teensy-weensy cursor - but BIG FAT FINGERS.
  A good suggestion to submit at Support_Feedback  might be to improve the 'Smartness' of the search capabilities by REQUIRING tags to be attached by the OP (offer suggestions if they wish) AND FURTHER, allowing other users of status to ADD tags (see your ¶ #2) - my estimation of the ACTIVE SEARCH is that it is looking for matching terms in the title of a thread, but I have no proof - anecdotal or by documentation at JiveSoftware.
  additionally you said:
  "... the use of buttons to compel the original poster to designate responses as helpful or correct answers. This I would guess is in response to the myriad of answer seekers posting questions, receiving several helpful replies and never going back to say thanks, thus, the threads become all but useless for others who experience and seek out solutions to similar issues. "
  I have no experience with other enterprise solutions, but the scuttlebutt on Jive is that it is the best in the business at Community Collaborative WorkFlow Software for Big Enterprise. We here unfortunately have been given use of a mere pittance of Jive's features. Apparently the MARKUP buttons have a really valuable purpose in the complete package of Jive workflow management. Here, merely a system for rewarding helpers. The green icon goes un-noticed by most and the OPost is likely irrelevant to most individual's issue. Regarding the latter portion, you can't change human nature. Some folks just aren't team players.
  you continued:
  "... The new format also usually starts out with “ask your question here” which is just another way to say, “hey, how about at least giving the search a try before asking a question that’s been covered before”. Because many self-contained search features just don’t work, I can see why users just skip over it. But, what they may not know is that you can use Google to search a specific site. ... "
  This particular issue of "Why do folks not go to the dadgum forum related to their device/software?" has plagued me since actively taking part here. My maladies prompted ME to go directly to the forum/sub-forum where they belonged. Clearly "My iPhone is a BRICK - how do I UN-BRICK IT?" does not belong in this forum - Using ASC - but thousands of similar questions land here - it MAY be because the DEFAULT forum for un-PRE-visited forum at SUBMIT.
  The WELCOME page has the preferred path - a "Search or ask a question" field and the teeny -> New to the Community? Start Here.  link (actually Tutorials )
  -- neither of which content does anything to coach the new user in "How Do I Use This Joint?"
  Something akin to "Pick the Device or Software in which you are interested below" might at least get the visitor to the right place to BROWSE their issue. Many folks are unable to craft a TITLE to their question that even resembles their problem, much less explain it in the bodytext.
  This is explained  in the javascript:; link "How to write a good question"  - e content of which I leave open AND hi-lited in a text file ready to copy/paste, for example:
  Quoted from  Apple's "How to write a good question"
     To help other members answer your question, give as many details as you can.
  Include your product name and specs such as processor speed, memory, and storage capacity. Please do not include your Serial Number, IMEI, MEID, or other personal information.
  Provide the version numbers of your operating system and relevant applications, for example "iOS 6.0.3" or "iPhoto 9.1.2".
  Describe the problem, and include any details about what seems to cause it.
  List any troubleshooting steps you've already tried, or temporary fixes you've discovered.
  Here is how obscure that information is
  It's almost as if the confusion is by design.
  HOORAY! - another fan of the Google workaround. I get pooh-poohed by some for even suggesting going off the reservation, but it works WONDERFULLY and is FAST AS LIGHTNING with even more useful post-result filtering.
  you concluded your evaluation with:
  " So, then – what’s the best and right way to use this new forum? "
  Learn the system just like you did when you first started using a computer instead of paper. It is what it is. I have a comfortable WorkFlow established using browser bookmarks and Add-ons + Google for all searches + email notifications to sort the wheat from the chaff. Not adopted of my choosing... but at least it's MINE!! Be advised that the SiteWare employs some "we will save you from yourself, helmet-law-like features" that may frustrate you from time to time - until you discover (or are told) how to circumvent them.
  Some definitions:
  Apple Support Communities = Bulletin Board Software Site
  Community = Forum
  Category = Sub-Forum
  Question = Thread
  Reply = Reply
  Your not so "Brief History..." is clearly a good evaluation and Executive Summary. Are you SURE you're not an interactive developer?
  best regards
  CCC

• Please fix these forums

  If I'm reading a post and then sign in, it doesn't take me back to the page I was viewing. Very basic usability... and kind of annoying!

  thesheep wrote:
  If I'm reading a post and then sign in, it doesn't take me back to the page I was viewing. Very basic usability... and kind of annoying!
  I've been having exactly the same problem.  If I log in from a thread I want to post a reply in, I end up back in the last thread I posted a comment in rather than the thread I logged in from.  Clearly a bug in the forum software.

• Dear Oracle: PLEASE improve the SEARCH on these forums!!!

  Subject: Dear Oracle: PLEASE improve the SEARCH on these forums!!!
  I have been getting frustrated using the search on these forums. I find the content very useful (especially as I cannot seem to find any other forums for Oracle Portal) but the search facility is very poor.
  Firstly, the Search will on search for an exact match in the body of the messages, not the subject at all! This is very annoying as people usually sum-up there question in the subject and often do not repeat the subject in the message.
  Secondly, the search looks for exact matches of your search string, so searching for more than one word become difficult. Bascially, it does only an exact match, not a word search, so forget about using keywords to search on as you would do in every other search engine and be very carful of the order of your words, you'll get a completly different set of results by swaping the order of your words... :(
  eg. Selecting "ALL FORUMS", try searching for "Customizing Change Password Page". no hits? ok try "Customizing Password" still no hits? ok try "Customizing the Password". still no hits? ok just try "customizing". You get 10 Pages of 20 (Oracle conviently puts them over 10 pages so you cannot view them all on a html page and do your own secondary search using CTRL-F). Well, this is too many, lets just try "Change Password". again 20 x 10+ pages. At least this time we've got some that also have the work customizing in the subject. If only we got here on the first search... Don't even think of adding the word "PDK" or "Example" to your search...
  I have already provided feedback to Oracle on this matter (and am still waiting for a reply). If you would also like the search improved, please also send Oracle some feedback and make this forum more useful. If enough people pester them they might think it's important enought to change. link below:
  http://otn.oracle.com/contact/htdocs/feedback.htm
  Cheers,
  Tim.
  P.S. In the meantime, does anyone know of any other good Portal forums?

  Couldn't agree more, if only the search was as good as on Metalink...

• Polite use of these forums

  To Apple Community Forum Moderators:
  I have owned Apples for almost twenty years and periodically have found myself in need of advice on an Apple hardware issue, network compatibility, or Apple Application issue. The Apple website “recommends” that we go to these Forums for information it seems like a good idea. It has the potential to expand technical help to those of us that have a problem with using a Mac or an Apple application. However, in every case that I have accessed the Forum I have either viewed attacks by some of what I'll call the “loyal users” against others that note problems with Apple, or have been the object of nasty responses myself:
  - Early on I engaged the Forum about the difficulty of getting Apples to work in a Windows Network Environment. When I got on I saw nasty comments about similar questions from other users chastising the user for being on a Windows network. Well there is little one can do about that. The institution's leadership decides on what kind of network will be used, not an individual user. To dismiss this problem is unrealistic at best and arrogant at worst.
  - After Microsoft moved to Office 2007 and left Mac users in the lurch I purchased iWork based upon what users in the Forum were lauding about about the Suite and what Apple said about it. I found it limited (from what I could gain from being a new user) and sought out answers to questions I had. The equation editor (the industry standard) at the time could not be used in iWork. So I pointed this out on the Forum. I got flamed by this guy that said that this was not appropriate place to point out limitations. I pointed out that Apple Developers would be nuts not to monitor these forums so it would be appropriate to point out functional limitations for future versions of iwork. All I got from the moderator was that I shouldn't have posted it. Others in this thread were flamed because they wanted more functionality from Numbers. They were told that anyone who is serious about analysis would use another database program (Excel maybe? - they didn't identify what program that might be.)
  - Just recently I sought out the Forum because I have had this laptop for two years and am having to replace my battery the second year in a row. I tried to get Apple Help on this after my first replacement and did (what I thought was) everything correct. Someone else was having a similar problem. I related my understanding of how to evaluate battery performance (cycle count), and pointed out that Apple has had a problem with defective batteries (most notably mine) and that users need to watch these metrics closely. Well apparently according to one reply post I mis-stated how to evaluate cycle count (though I think I am still correct on that – our IT people basically told me what to look for.) The reply was that I had not really read the manual on batteries. Well I did, though I could have misunderstood what the battery document was trying to say. Instead of accusing me of lying they could have elaborated on why my interpretation was mistaken.
  Now in all these cases and more there are social forum communication flaws that Apple needs to be aware of. This flaw is a social pathology that is characteristic of the medium. First attacking a frustrated user is not a constructive exercise. There is a difference between a negative comment about Apple or its applications and negative comments directed toward users. A negative comment at an Apple Inc. product should not be viewed as some kind attack on all users or a violation of a misguided religious doctrine. It should be viewed as a window into a potential improvement. Apple should be “man enough” to take those graciously. This gives Apple a window into problems in either its Help Manuals or its design. Contrary to trying to stifle comments like this Apple should encourage this. (In fact after I complained about the inability of iWork to use Mathtype - Decision Sciences - an upgrade of iWork works with Mathtype.) In a similar manner Politicians in our state regularly lambast the University I work with. I don't have a problem with their attack on the Institution. It goes with the territory. I do have a problem if they focus on a particular faculty member. Apple Inc. can handle criticisms.
  On the other hand the “loyal user's” attacks or nasty comments on users that are critical of Apple or frustrated users are another issue. We purchase the hardware or software and expect it to work based upon what we interpret from Apple advertising claims. It is not working the way it is advertised. We may not be accessing the computer correctly, accessing the Help Manuals correctly, using the Apps correctly, or there may be a problem with the product itself. That is why we go on these Forums. To get chastised or insulted by a “loyal user” does not solve our problem and it does not make us want to tell other people how great Macs are. (My experience with iWork pushed me to OpenOffice - which I am writing this letter in rather than Word or iWork.)
  More importantly though it makes us very hesitant about engaging in this social forum about a problem we have with an App or hardware. Ultimately this could mean that many technical/business users such as myself will migrate away from Apple because they can't get the solution they need and the mere size of Apples competitors (e.g. Microsoft) means that user support is much more available. We can forego the nastiness by changing products.
  Now this is not say that these issues I raise are unique to Apple Community Forums. I was just on an OpenOffice community forum and saw similar behavior so this really is a social pathology that is part of this form of communication. But moderators need to be aware of this pathology if the company wants users to rely on this medium for good advice. Apple hopefully views these forums as ways to see where they could improve products or add functionality to preserve or enhance market share as well as providing broad technical support. But moderators need to more forcefully impose politeness and gracious responses to users that may not sit well with the “loyal user” part of the community. Thanks.

  Roger Coupal wrote:
  However, in every case that I have accessed the Forum I have either viewed attacks by some of what I'll call the “loyal users” against others that note problems with Apple, or have been the object of nasty responses myself:
  "Every" time? I waste a lot of time here and I very rarely see anything that could be construed as "nasty". I read through all of your postings and I can't find any response that could be considered "nasty" or an "attack". In one case you posted some incorrect information and a couple of people called you on it. That's life and it happens to the best of us. No need to get upset about it.
  Early on I engaged the Forum about the difficulty of getting Apples to work in a Windows Network Environment. When I got on I saw nasty comments about similar questions from other users chastising the user for being on a Windows network. Well there is little one can do about that. The institution's leadership decides on what kind of network will be used, not an individual user. To dismiss this problem is unrealistic at best and arrogant at worst.
  Maybe you should increase your participation. You've only posted 17 times in 3 years. If you were at Level 2 (pretty easy to reach) you would have the ability to automatically alert the moderators about any postings that violate the Apple Terms of Use. Until then, it would be better to notify the moderators via this forum about specific posting that you think are improper. Otherwise, it is just hearsay. Perhaps those postings were from known trolls or people who are otherwise "looking for a fight". People often only start posting here when they have problems and, unfortunately, they sometimes wait until they are already very angry and upset. When they start threads with an argumentative tone, it usually doesn't end well.
  I can't really say much about Windows networking. All of MacOS X uses SAMBA, so if you can access it via xterm, you can access via the Finder. Maybe start a new thread with more details and keep trying. Windows networking is very complex and SAMBA is just an open-source reverse-engineering effort.
  - After Microsoft moved to Office 2007 and left Mac users in the lurch I purchased iWork based upon what users in the Forum were lauding about about the Suite and what Apple said about it. I found it limited (from what I could gain from being a new user) and sought out answers to questions I had. The equation editor (the industry standard) at the time could not be used in iWork. So I pointed this out on the Forum. I got flamed by this guy that said that this was not appropriate place to point out limitations.
  "Flamed"? Again, I read those messages. That was hardly being "flamed". Plus, it had nothing to do with you pointing out limitations.
  I pointed out that Apple Developers would be nuts not to monitor these forums so it would be appropriate to point out functional limitations for future versions of iwork.
  Sorry, but that is not correct. There is way too much disinformation here for developers at Apple to get meaningful information out of it. If people find bugs or limitations they are usually encouraged to contact Apple via the appropriate feedback channels to improve the products. That actually happened in your case.
  No one outside Apple really knows if Apple does or does not read these forums. The official word is that they don't and I accept that. This is a user-to-user tech support forum. It is not a place to complain, report bugs, or suggest enhancements. There are better places for that. This discussion forum is meant to help end-users, not Apple. Apple is a big, multinational corporation with lots of money. They have people whose job it is to track down complains, fix bugs, and enhance products.
  All I got from the moderator was that I shouldn't have posted it.
  There was no moderator posting in that thread. You can identify Apple employee by the Apple logo under their name.
  Others in this thread were flamed because they wanted more functionality from Numbers. They were told that anyone who is serious about analysis would use another database program (Excel maybe? - they didn't identify what program that might be.)
  You are the one who mentioned Excel. Someone correctly pointed out that if you are already a user of advanced Excel features you might not be happy with a 1.0 application like Numbers. Excel is 25 years old. No one expects Numbers to match it for functionality. But it might be easier for casual users than Excel. Again, there was no flaming going on.
  The reply was that I had not really read the manual on batteries. Well I did, though I could have misunderstood what the battery document was trying to say. Instead of accusing me of lying they could have elaborated on why my interpretation was mistaken.
  They didn't accuse you of lying and they did elaborate on why your interpretation was mistaken. You provided misinformation and suggested people take their batteries in to the Apple store for a problem that doesn't exist.
  Now in all these cases and more there are social forum communication flaws that Apple needs to be aware of. This flaw is a social pathology that is characteristic of the medium.
  I think Apple is well aware of that. That is why they have a good system of moderation that they have been working on for several years. This forum is much better than anything you will find anywhere else. I'm sorry, but you have no idea what a true "flame" really is
  First attacking a frustrated user is not a constructive exercise. There is a difference between a negative comment about Apple or its applications and negative comments directed toward users. A negative comment at an Apple Inc. product should not be viewed as some kind attack on all users or a violation of a misguided religious doctrine.
  Sometimes people just want to vent. It is pretty clear when someone starts a thread where they don't really want a solution but just want to complain. I always try to give them a solution, while at the same time tearing down all their logical fallacies. Sometimes they are just frustrated and are happy to get the problem resolved. Sometimes they take the bait and keep fighting. Either I've solved someone's problem or I have provided a solution to some jerk who then won't accept it just because it came from me. Either way I'm pleased.
  It should be viewed as a window into a potential improvement. Apple should be “man enough” to take those graciously. This gives Apple a window into problems in either its Help Manuals or its design.
  Again, you are assuming Apple reads these forums. They don't. These forums are for your benefit, not Apple's.
  To get chastised or insulted by a “loyal user” does not solve our problem and it does not make us want to tell other people how great Macs are.
  I gave up evangelizing a long time ago. At this point, everyone knows about Macs. If people are too boneheaded to use Macs, I'm content to let them suffer with Windows or Linux.
  (My experience with iWork pushed me to OpenOffice - which I am writing this letter in rather than Word or iWork.)
  Really? Safari has really nice text editing features with a built-in spell checker. Also, what's wrong with Word? You are obviously a power user, why not use Office? Microsoft got their start with Office, which started out as a Mac program and is still one of the best Mac programs you can buy.
  I was just on an OpenOffice community forum and saw similar behavior so this really is a social pathology that is part of this form of communication.
  So, in other words, you just invalidated your whole thesis?
  But moderators need to more forcefully impose politeness and gracious responses to users that may not sit well with the “loyal user” part of the community.
  Moderators really only get involved when there are violations of the terms of use. Being polite is part of that, but graciousness isn't. I think if you continue to post and start answering questions you will soon be able to easily report postings you think are "impolite". Hopefully, when you get to that level, you will be able to better identify a true "flame".

• I used to champion these forums. Now I don't give a gnat's...

  I was a contributor, a corrector, a clarifier.
  I'd write 1,500 words explaining every possible angle on the simplest of topics, sometimes revealing tricks to people who have far more experience with Photoshop than I do. I exercised painstaking detail in choosing the proper terminology and phrasing when answering questions, and I'd test everything to make sure what I posted was correct. I was an obsessive re-editor of my posts if I noticed the wording was wrong, or didn't flow well. I'd craft screen shot composites so clean you couldn't tell they weren't monitor images that could occur natively. I added arrows, and numbering, and translucent, colored-box paragraph backgrounds for descriptors, colors chosen for the best clarity I could muster. I'd bodge together difficult GIF animations and QT Movies if it would help a user understand a concept more completely.
  I was a defender, a protector, an evangelist.
  I took it personally when newbies and spammers would come in and muck the place up. I was sometimes brusque, other times gentle in trying to bring people into line with how to get the most out of their time here. I beat up on troublemakers ruthlessly, and without remorse.
  I brought the "How to Get Help Quickly" mantra to this forum after reading it elsewhere, because it was the best exposition I'd ever seen on the subject of efficient information exchange.
  I'd take the time to help troubleshoot forum problems.
  Now, I don't give a crap about what happens to this place. I'd been hoping for the best, as I had during past attempts at major forum changes.
  It's clear to me now that the planning, preparation, roll-out and fine tuning has been doomed from the start.
  Every single person involved in ramming this new system through is to blame.
  And I'm only one person. I'd guess there are hundreds of people who feel the same way I do.
  Too bad, Adobe. You totally and completely screwed up.
  I'll still visit once in awhile, because there are people here that I like.
  But as for all that content I was giving away for free—and happily, I might add—and all the cheerleading I did for this place?
  You can shove all that right up that gnat's arse and then go sit on your own thumbs and spin.
  It feels to me like you are intentionally doing almost everything in your power to discourage the type of participation I used to revel in. From slow bug fixes and promises unkept (EFF you very much, Jive–shysters) to the mere trickle of ongoing feedback and update info offhandedly tossed to us, Adobe have become slumlords, slapping paint on a building that fails to meet standard-of-living code. Sure, there are some decent new features, but they either don't work, work only part of the time, are cumbersome, and generally regarded as so slow as to inhibit any sort of lively momentum.
  I'd be ashamed and embarrassed to be the captain of this rotting ship. As a fully vested, ranking mate on this vessel, I hereby resign my commission.
  You don't deserve my help anymore.

  Phos, although I am answering your opening message, I'm not really addressing this message to you, but to everyone.
  Almost exactly a month ago, I accepted the first important job I have been offered in more that two years. I did although it had a 30 days deadline and I knew it was very difficult, if not impossible, to complete it in that time. Well, I did manage to finish it not long ago, and one of the first things I did was to come back to my once beloved forums, full of hope of being met with some important changes introduced in these 30 days.
  I am sorry to say that, so far, I have noticed only these two changes:
  1. The "Report spam..." link in the stickies now points to the correct thread, not to a locked one, something I had been asking for weeks before this 30 days interlude; and
  2. The problem for which I offered a suggestion in this post
  http://forums.adobe.com/message/1968406#1968406
  and which had received a very good solution as I reported two days later, is back here. Plus, the "Next" button doesn't work (I don't remember if it worked before the change that was reverted).
  As this forum is full of so many easy to fix complaints, seeing only these two changes in 30 days -one of which can hardly be called an improvement- was really very discouraging. However, what really got me down was reading the opening post of this thread.
  Those who haven't followed Phos' trajectory in these forums may think that he is making false pretences, or at least exagerating, about his contributions to these forums. I am one of those who can testify that he is doing neither.
  To make it short: over these so many years trying to give whatever modest help I'm capable of in the Acrobat and Reader forums, I lost count of the times I asked Phos, somewhat jokingly, to please leave the easy questions for me to answer. Each time I saw a just published easy one, I rushed to try to answer it, only to find he had done a much better job than my attempt, and had replied a several other more recent questions in the meantime. He showed an infinite patience to answer the same questions over and over again, which I admired because I don't have it and just refered the questioner to the appropriate FAQ instead -when I did manage to post before he did.
  And he did everything else he writes in his OP, never boasting about what he did and accomplished. That's why I am sorry he had to do it now, I imagine that in an attempt to put some weight to his words. Not for us, of course, but for those responsible for this unbelievably large fiasco they have so stubbornly refused to acknowledge. And we used to call a fiasco the previous one, which was nothing compared with this mess, and which was rectified!
  I am afraid that I am feeling my age, and so I'm finding that the enormous effort that too many very capable users have being putting in suggestions to improve these new forums, since the last "little fiasco" until now, to be such an gigantic waste, that I also don't feel like continuing. Had I not had this 30 days interlude with no noticeable changes, I would probably have continued by inertia for much longer, hopefully waiting for the improvements that never come, but this has opened my eyes. However, just logging in, or moving from one forum to another, is so excruciatingly slow that I find I simply do not have enough time to waste in just waiting for things to happen.
  I will miss the group spirit of the old forums, and the many persons I got to know and like and care for, although knowing that I would never meet them. But then, I am missing more of them everyday and, after all, such is life.
  Just a final thought. It is most probably true that JC has spent this week in the moutains. I would be happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, but I would say his presence has hardly been noticed, if at all, for quite a lot longer than a week. Another one of those many not at all encouraging signs.

• Can anyone tell me if anyone from Apple reads these forums

  *Can anyone tell me if anyone from Apple reads these forums and does anything about the issues experienced?* I still have a faulty proximity sensor, even after the latest download. I went to the Apple Store and they told me to stop using it with the leather pouch, but it doesn't make any difference. I even tested the test models in the store and they did the same thing.
  *Has anyone been able to fix the proximity sensor fault on their phone so that it doesn't come on whilst your talking?*
  Someone please help. I loved my iphone 3G, but the iphone 4 has caused me to become so disappointed with Apple. I'm even thinking of moving to the Samsung Galaxy, which has Google Android capability, moving background wallpapers, bluetooth capability, video capability that is compatible the a variety of media players (not just Quicktime), the ability to send business cards to non-apple phones and the ability to be used as a USB drive without needing wifi or itunes.

  These Forums are mostly users talking with users, now and then you may see the grey Apple icon of an employee/genius posting and the purple Apple of a Forum host but they aren't here to pass on feedback.
  The best way to make your point is to send feedback here:
  http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

• Adobe, please fix these bugs/features in Muse

  So, here are a couple of really annoying things/bugs that keep happening in Muse.
  (I've been working with the software for about three weeks, latest Muse CC update, on a MBP Retina, OS X 10.9.5, NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB + 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3)
  1. When I try to hit "Preview" and browse my website, the links to other pages than the initial one don't work, and you need to go back to the "Plan" and open each one of them individually, and then hit "Preview" in all of them, in order to be able to browse the entire website without getting blank pages.. Is there any way to come around this, and be able to set Muse to render ALL of the pages before previewing the website?
  2. When I try to adjust the sizes of thumbnails in a slideshow, and zoom in on guides, it's IMPOSSIBLE to make them align perfectly to ANYTHING! The thumbnails just keep moving and popping around, and they don't follow the mouse movements at all, they just make rough changes in sizes and are very hard to work with. It doesn't matter if I zoom in 800% for example, things don't move or adjust smoothly at all, like in Illustrator for example.
  3. Sometimes, it's impossible to copy a slideshow- it just freezes, even if I click down and select the thumbnail box. It seems like a bug, since the copy function comes back after I quit and restart the software, or just make a new slideshow from scratch and then delete it (seems to re-set something, I don't have a clue). The "copy" button under the "Edit" menu is simply shadowed out.. Why is that? It would be really nice to be able to alt-click-drag-and-drop these things, especially when you try to build a portfolio.. But, this is impossible for me, at the moment- the plus-sign in the green circle pops up, but it just moves the thumbnail section, it doesn't copy it..
  4. Is there ANY way to make all slideshow thumbnail sections moveable? Even if they have the option "Free Form Thumbnails" deselected? What if I need to move lots of galleries on the same page, that need to have different form options selected, for visual reasons? At the moment, I can't select all different thumbnail galleries on my page, and move them all at the same time, which is quite irritating..
  5. When I click a thumbnail in the middle or at the end of the gallery, there's a fast flash of previous images in the gallery, before the chosen image is shown fullscreen. Is there any way to get rid of this unwanted visual glitch? I just want them all to open like the very first image in the gallery, without any ghosting of previous images.. I have the horizontal swipe effect in these galleries, if that makes any difference..
  6. Is there any way to make custom adjustments to thumbnail sizes, inserting a fixed width and height? Or, save a slideshow as a template, to use the same properties in another gallery?
  7. Will it ever be possible to have different sizes of thumbnails in the same slideshow? What's the best way to make a gallery in a portfolio with artworks of different aspect ratios?
  8. Why is not my embedded Youtube videos included when I export the project like a html-file? There's only a broken link/code in the video area, at the moment.. Will this be a problem later, when I really need to upload it on my server?
  9. Is it not possible at all to import svg-files in a slideshow? Why is it possible in external widgets, but not in the built-in slideshow widget? I can place and import svg-files into the page, but not drag or import them to the slideshow itself..
  I really like Muse, but I find it very hard and irritating to work with lots of times, so please fix these issues, or tell me how to avoid them, thanks!

  A BIG THANK YOU for taking the time to share your thoughts regarding how to improve Muse. I've interspersed comments and clarifications below.
  1. When I try to hit "Preview" and browse my website, the links to other pages than the initial one don't work, and you need to go back to the "Plan" and open each one of them individually, and then hit "Preview" in all of them, in order to be able to browse the entire website without getting blank pages.. Is there any way to come around this, and be able to set Muse to render ALL of the pages before previewing the website?
  There are multiple ways to preview your work when using Muse.
  Preview Mode - When you click the Preview button at the top right to open Preview Mode Muse will generate the HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images and assets for the page in the front Design view (or the Home page, if you're not in Design view) in the Preview tab/window. If you navigate to a different page by following a hyperlink Muse will generate the code for that page and display it. This in-app preview uses the OS browser, so the display uses Safari on the Mac or IE on Windows. Since the code for each page is generated/updated when it's navigated to, navigation to a page for the first time is slow.
  Preview Page in Browser - If you select this option the code for the current page is generated and opened in your default browser. If you follow a link to another page, it will fail with a 404 file not found error, since this option only previews a single page. It's fast, but limited to one page.
  Preview Site in Browser - If you select this option the code for your entire site will be generated and your home page will be opened in your default browser. You can freely navigate between pages via hyperlinks, since the preview exported the code for all the pages of your site. This option is very convenience for previewing your full site, but is much slower for a multi-page site than Preview Page in Browser.
  Publish - If you select this option you can create a free temporary website on Adobe hosting. This is very handy when you want to view your site on multiple devices or have someone else review the site before you Publish or Upload the site to its production hosting location.
  2. When I try to adjust the sizes of thumbnails in a slideshow, and zoom in on guides, it's IMPOSSIBLE to make them align perfectly to ANYTHING! The thumbnails just keep moving and popping around, and they don't follow the mouse movements at all, they just make rough changes in sizes and are very hard to work with. It doesn't matter if I zoom in 800% for example, things don't move or adjust smoothly at all, like in Illustrator for example.
  The web is pixel based. There are (mostly) no fractional amounts. While you can zoom in, ultimately your output will be aligned (and limited to) whole pixel boundaries.
  When working with thumbnails, the ramifications of working in whole pixel based media are magnified. For example, if you're using tiled thumbnails and have an 8 wide layout the total width will have to be a multiple of 8. You can only increase all 8 by whole pixel increments.
  3. Sometimes, it's impossible to copy a slideshow- it just freezes, even if I click down and select the thumbnail box. It seems like a bug, since the copy function comes back after I quit and restart the software, or just make a new slideshow from scratch and then delete it (seems to re-set something, I don't have a clue). The "copy" button under the "Edit" menu is simply shadowed out.. Why is that? It would be really nice to be able to alt-click-drag-and-drop these things, especially when you try to build a portfolio.. But, this is impossible for me, at the moment- the plus-sign in the green circle pops up, but it just moves the thumbnail section, it doesn't copy it..
  If Muse is truly freezing, we'd need to understand more about the steps involved. What I expect you're encountering is the fact you can copy and paste an entire widget, but you cannot copy and paste the individual parts of a widget. If you select the widget cut and copy are enabled. If you click a second time to select one part of the widget, then cut and copy are disabled. Most the widgets don't support having two parts of the same type (i.e. two next buttons, two sets of thumbnails, etc.) so at least copy and paste can't currently be supported. Those are limitations we'd like to remove, but for now they are the current limitations when working with widgets.
  4. Is there ANY way to make all slideshow thumbnail sections moveable? Even if they have the option "Free Form Thumbnails" deselected? What if I need to move lots of galleries on the same page, that need to have different form options selected, for visual reasons? At the moment, I can't select all different thumbnail galleries on my page, and move them all at the same time, which is quite irritating..
  I believe you're asking to be able to simultaneously select the thumbnail sets for multiple slideshow widgets? You're correct, that's currently not supported. The selection model is limited to selecting items that are siblings in the Layers panel. You can select two slideshow widgets, but not the parts inside one widget at the same time as the parts inside another.
  5. When I click a thumbnail in the middle or at the end of the gallery, there's a fast flash of previous images in the gallery, before the chosen image is shown fullscreen. Is there any way to get rid of this unwanted visual glitch? I just want them all to open like the very first image in the gallery, without any ghosting of previous images.. I have the horizontal swipe effect in these galleries, if that makes any difference..
  Noted as a feature request. When the sliding transition was implemented the most common ask was for the current behavior, so that's what's provided. Fade provides a transition between two images without any feedback of the images that were passed over.
  6. Is there any way to make custom adjustments to thumbnail sizes, inserting a fixed width and height? Or, save a slideshow as a template, to use the same properties in another gallery?
  Given the next question is about setting each thumbnail to be a different size, I'm not sure I understand this question. You can select a thumbnail and enter height and width values in the Transform panel or Control Strip. However, all thumbnails share the same size, so all of them will be updated to the new size. Not sure that answers what you're asking?
  [edit: Zak] Regarding the second half of this question, a slideshow (or any other object or collection of objects) can be saved in the Library and used again in later projects.
  7. Will it ever be possible to have different sizes of thumbnails in the same slideshow? What's the best way to make a gallery in a portfolio with artworks of different aspect ratios?
  When "Scale to Fit" is used for the sizing of the thumbnails, they will appear with the aspect ratio of the original image sized to fit within the thumbnail container box.
  8. Why is not my embedded Youtube videos included when I export the project like a html-file? There's only a broken link/code in the video area, at the moment.. Will this be a problem later, when I really need to upload it on my server?
  Insufficient information here to be certain, but I suspect you've exported to a local folder and then opened the index.html (or other .html) file in your browser? When open a file directly in your browser "file://" protocol is used. Many/most services such as YouTube won't work on a .html page loaded using "file://" protocol. That's part of why Muse has a built-in mini-web server and the Preview, Preview Page in Browser and Preview Site in Browser features, which server up the .html files using "http://" protocol. Or you can Publish to a free temporary site on Adobe hosting.
  9. Is it not possible at all to import svg-files in a slideshow? Why is it possible in external widgets, but not in the built-in slideshow widget? I can place and import svg-files into the page, but not drag or import them to the slideshow itself..
  Correct. Support for SVG was recently added for Muse 2014.2. Support for including SVG graphics in slideshows was not part of the initial release.
  In the future, while it may seem excessive, it's much more effective to create a new thread for each different issue/concern/topic you wish to discuss. When a thread starts with a large number of different topics it often goes unanswered because no one forum member or Adobe staffer feels qualified to respond to all the questions. Or, if it does get responses, it ends up being impossible to follow the discussion because so many different topics are intermingled. Thanks.

• Please read "The Forum Rules of Engagement" before posting!  HOT NEWS!!

  Welcome to the SDN ABAP Development Forums!
  Please see the [Forum Rules of Engagement|https://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/HOME/RulesofEngagement] before posting to avoid potential problems (e.g. your posts are deleted).
  The [ABAP Development Forums|https://forums.sdn.sap.com/category.jspa?categoryID=42] have dedicated forums for the following ABAP related areas:
  => General questions about the ABAP language and language implementations. If in doubt, use this forum and do not cross-post.
  => Tables, views, structures, data elements, domains, search helps and types in the underlying relational database.
  => SAPscript and Smartforms form generation, editing and printing and the corresponding programs.
  => Classical Dynpro, Screen Painter and Controls Framework (ALV grid, Table Controls).
  => Enhancing ABAP code through techniques as CMOD, SMOD and the newer BADIs, Switch and Enhancement Frameworks.
  => Code quality, ABAP Unit, Testing, Debugging, efficient code techniques and database reads, SQL trace tools and Runtime Analysis.
  => Data Transfer Techniques, Batch Data Communication, Legacy System Migration Workbench, Application Link Enabling, IDOCs, BAPIs.
  => ABAP Object definition and implementation including encapsulation, interfaces and inheritance in ABAP Objects.
  Please...
  - Use the correct or most appropriate forum,
  - Do not cross-post or multiple-post, and
  - Search for information before asking basic questions, again.
  Using these categories will enhance performance in the forums and improve the chances that your questions are answered quickly and more accurately!
  Other relevant blogs and rule related infos are:
  - Michael Schwandt's blog about [Moving to strict rules to improve quality and control|https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/10047].
  - Michael Schwandt's blog about [Quality: Invitation To Clean Up Your Forum Threads|https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/11978].
  - Please follow-up on your threads and assign points correctly, as this also contributes to the [UN Food Program|https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/7898].
  Enjoy the forums and happy posting!!

  Start of related discussions about the above rules. Feel free to discuss the rules here...
  Dear Jan
  Sometime i found very difficuties and time taking process in putting questions in forum bcos i have to elaborate the whole pictorial process in words.
  Why Cant we make our this forum more Interactive in way of asking questions by allowing us to attach print preview of what we face in the system.
  If you kindly give a glance on this issue and try to implement it for us, forum members like us will be benefited and it will be beneficial for those who are all into in this forum.
  Thanks & Regards
  Saifur Rahaman

• I keep trying to get MS to fix these forums

  For the 4th time in a week MS has lost my email.  These forums are getting worse and worse to deal with and posting in the forum that is supposed to about these problems is met with a deafening nothingness from MS!
  Is there anyone monitoring this forum that can get to someone at MS that cares?
  Or does anyone at MS care?
  Lloyd Sheen

  Hi Lloyd,
  Thanks for letting us know your pain when using MSDN forums.
  I just reviewed few of your previous post about forum issues. Thanks very much for posting them which are definitely helpful for us to improve the platform.
  I do understand your feeling, and I think I will also feel bad if I encounter this kind of issues. However, I would like to let you know that the development team for forum platform is trying to make the site more useful and stable, since I've been engaged
  to collect user's feedback.
  Customer is always our first priority, so we do care about users on the platform and user experience when we working on this platform. I will send your feedback(including previous ones) to the PM who is driving this directly.
  To well manage the WPF forum, I will ask our moderators to move this thread to forum platform support queue. I will keep monitoring on this.
  Thanks again for your feedback and cooperation!
  <THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED>
  Thanks
  Alan Yao
  MSDN Community Support
  Please remember to "Mark as Answer" the responses that resolved your issue. It is a common way to recognize those who have helped you, and makes it easier for other visitors to find the resolution later.

• Kindly do not make these forums as only the game of points

  Hi all,
  Please stop mentioning commitments on the points as thread heading or as the part of threads.It sometimes mis guide the new persons in utilizing this forums.
  Even though every body interested to gain points, it does not mean that points is the only ultimate goal of these forums.
  And also think abt a while how threads on interview questions spiol the culture of the forums.
  With rgds,
  Anil Kumar Sharma .P

  This might be stretching the argument, but...
  In many cases, the answer 'original poster' wrote is not that original - it may be a code copy from his system which is his employer's IP (again weblogs containing slidesets used at customer site and then used in the blog on SDN comes to mind), a copy from SAP's documentation, a copy from OSS note and so on.
  If I really tell anyone "RSXXXX will get you the change log table name" as an answer, it might be a copy from another post, but really, do you think it was such an 'original' answer drafted by the original poster that an acknowledgement is necessary?
  An acknowledgement, where due, should be given I agree. But, many a times a URL opening something in another window (or same) for a two line answer is mere inconvenience for the questioner, compared to a cut-paste in the same thread. At least this is what is the decider for me. (If it is a small generic answer, just do a cut-paste, if it is a post where original thread needs to be acknowledged, mention the URL). In the end, your priority is to answer to help the questioner, why not make it easy by pasting it there in that thread? In the end, I would still think leaving it in poster's good-faith decision is the most practical option.
  In general, people gaming for points are not that successful (you and me have discussed at least one such poster on this board), and others on the board do figure out what they are up to. I know it stretches the moderator's work but this is the price SDN has to pay for success.
  As an example, if I ever quote Pizzaman's answer, I will mention the URL since he typically writes a well-formed descriptive answer and that effort needs to be appreciated, however if it is a two line code, I may paste it without bothering about mentioning the link.
  In the end, one needs to be somewhat detached with the points one gets, or not. We all evolve (initially the craving for points is more, and it subsides to a level later). At any point in time different SDNers are at different points on that evolution curve, thus causing such friction/debates.
  I take it philosophically, I know as a moderator you may not have that choice
  Apologies for too much free time (on my hand) causing such long posts (perils of on-the-bench life).

• The font on these forums looks terrible

  The font on these forums and many other parts of the Adobe.com site look terrible on my computer. This is on Windows XP, and I tried it on all the big browsers, and they all look like this:
  (Click the image to see it actual size..)

  Dave Merchant wrote:
  We know there are some combinations of browser and OS that break the anti-aliasing system - early versions of Chrome and remote desktop installations both have problems.
  This is a known problem? So that means you would rather use a web font that looks pretty much like any other commonly available font for most people, knowing that for others it is a pain to read. It doesn't seem worthwhile. You end up with a font that is marginally (if at all) "better" for most people, and much worse for the rest.
  Dave Merchant wrote:
  Please reply with details of your system configuration.
  You can blame my system configuration, and if other sites looked this bad on my browser I would agree. But the rest of the internet does not look like this, as far as I've seen, so I don't think of it as my problem. I suppose this makes me sound stubborn, but consider the user experience; I'm browsing the internet, everything looks fine, then I get to your site and it looks bad. And I'm supposed to think something is wrong with my computer?

• These forums suck.

            these forums suck. no one here to answer anything. No good discussions. I'm not
            using them again. Notice that 60% of the questions are unanswered
            

            "Joe Hartmen" <[email protected]> wrote:
            >
            >WL7.0 SP1.
            >
            >Hot deploy is unpredictable. Sometimes it work and sometimes it doesn't.
            > This
            >happened with WL6.X as well. You would have thought somebody spend some
            >time
            >to fix this problem before release yet another version.
            >
            >Slow to deploy large apps. This makes it painfully slow to develop on.
            >
            >Takes a long time to compile JSPs with taglib.
            >
            >Tech support. Try submitting a ticket on the tech support site and you
            >would
            >get the same reply. Read the doc. Hello? I read the doc and it wasn't
            >there
            >that why I submitted a ticket. Another favorite is: The next version
            >of WL will
            >fix the problem.
            Agree, another favorite is: please make a test case... If he is in front of me,
            I would like to slam om him, go make your own, lazy bone.
            >
            >I double if WL8.1 is any better. I think I'll just wait two more month
            >when WL10.2
            >will be released. Or if I wait three months for WL15.3. Can somebody
            >tell them
            >that the dot com era is over and we don't a new buggy version every two
            >weeks.
            >
            >
            >
            >
            >"David " <[email protected]> wrote:
            >>
            >>What Version of WL and service pack
            >>OS
            >>Mem.
            >>
            >>What your problem.
            >>
            >>What happening went WL cashes.
            >>
            >>Cheers
            >>David
            >>
            >>"Joe Hartman" <[email protected]> wrote:
            >>>
            >>>I agree. This is a lame forum. Actually, the product sucks. It's
            >>expensive,
            >>>slow, hog up all the god damn memory, and crashes all the time. I
            >thought
            >>>Micrsoft
            >>>stuff was crappy, but this take the cake. JEzzzz.....I think JRun
            >is
            >>>even better.
            >>>
            >>>
            >>>"Flip" <[remove][email protected]> wrote:
            >>>>Funny, that's what I said about the Sybase's Jaguar newgroups before
            >>>>I
            >>>>switched over to wls. I don't want to bad mouth them, but man, talk
            >>>>about
            >>>>lack of activity for days, even weeks. I guess the difference is,
            >>the
            >>>>newsgroups there, were monitored by people (Sybase people too) who
            >>used
            >>>>the
            >>>>product, which was very low in numbers. Here? It's actual tech support
            >>>>people who monitor these postings like they monitor their phones,
            >emails
            >>>>and
            >>>>faxes. At least, that's what I've heard.
            >>>>
            >>>>I guess I don't share your opinion of the newgroups here. Ya, sure,
            >>>>one or
            >>>>two of my postings haven't had any activity on them. But in general,
            >>>>the
            >>>>people here are helpful, educated about the product and overall very
            >>>>quick
            >>>>on the uptake for suggestions! And no, I'm not one of those support
            >>>>people.
            >>>>:> I'm just a newbie who's been helped out of jams a few times. :>>>>
            >>>>
            >>>>If you want to have a bad newsgroup experience, you could try being
            >>>a
            >>>>newbie
            >>>>on any of the core linux newsgroups! Now that's a frustrating experience
            >>>>IMHO. The guys/gals here are at least trying to help people out,
            >>>>independent of OS/experience/technology used.
            >>>>
            >>>>
            >>>>
            >>>>"Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
            >>>>news:[email protected]...
            >>>>>
            >>>>> these forums suck. no one here to answer anything. No good discussions.
            >>>>I'm not
            >>>>> using them again. Notice that 60% of the questions are unanswered
            >>>>
            >>>>
            >>>
            >>
            >
            

• I have followed all the steps to fix this problem, but I do not receive texts on my new Galaxy 4 from iPhone users.  I tried everything I was told and found in these forums.  Still no luck.

  I switched to Verizon in March 2014, from AT&T.  I traded in my old iPhone4 for a Galaxy 4.  Ever since, I am not getting text messages from anyone who has an iPhone unless they WORK for Verizon.  I have deleted my phone from my apple profile and I don't own any other apple products.  I switched to an Android because I was tired of Apple's proprietary ways.  It seems not matter what I do, and I have done EVERYTHING suggested here on these forums.  No luck. I am so frustrated.  I have a very large family and almost everyone else has an iPhone.  Even if they don't, I am not getting all their messages.  I like the new Galaxy, but believe I have made a huge mistake switching carriers and phones, even though I hate Apple products.

      Welcome to the Verizon family irishlass82! I know how important it is to stay in touch and we'll make sure that you don't regret your decision! Before trading in your device, did you turn off iMessage? In effort to correct this issue, text the word STOP to 48369.
  AshleyS_VZW
  Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

• Posting script code in these forums

  OK, it looks like there are some (new) formatting issues with these forums when people try to post their scripts. I have been using a formatter script that converts the text on the clipboard to HTML and then wraps it in a pre tag, but there still seems to be some issues with certain characters. The following script has worked for me so far (although I don't post that much) - what other scripts or methods work for you?
  <pre title="this text can be pasted into the Script Editor" style="font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 10px; padding: 5px; width: 720px; color: #000000; background-color: #E0E0E0; overflow: auto">-- script formatter
  property TempFile : "SF_TempFile" -- a temporary work file
  property TheWidth : "width: 720px; " -- a width attribute (deprecated in HTML 4.01)
  try
  set TheClipboard to (the clipboard) as string
  set MyOpenFile to open for access ("/tmp/" & TempFile & ".txt" as POSIX file) with write permission
  set eof of MyOpenFile to 0 -- empty the temp file
  write TheClipboard to MyOpenFile
  close access MyOpenFile
  -- convert to HTML - see man textutil
  do shell script "cd /tmp/; textutil -convert html -excludedelements '(html, head, title, body, p, span, font)' -encoding US-ASCII " & TempFile & ".txt"
  -- strip the first line (<?xml ?>) and add the <pre>...</pre> wrapper
  set TheText to rest of (paragraphs of (read ("/tmp/" & TempFile & ".html" as POSIX file))) as text
  set TheText to "<pre title=\"this text can be pasted into the Script Editor\" style=\"font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 10px; padding: 5px; " & TheWidth & "color: #000000; background-color: #E0E0E0; overflow: auto\">" & TheText & "</pre>"
  set the clipboard to TheText
  display dialog ((count TheText) as text) & " characters placed on the clipboard" with title "Script Formatted" buttons {"OK"} default button "OK" giving up after 4
  on error ErrorMessage number ErrorNumber
  display alert "Error " & (ErrorNumber as string) message ErrorMessage as warning buttons {"OK"} default button "OK"
  end try</pre>

  Hello red_menace,
  Indeed a pre-processing code like yours is always an option for us, but from my point of view, the correct solution is for the discussions' admins to disable this meddlesome formatting feature of the new fora software.
  This new feature affects not only new posts but also the existing messages in the fora, that means it has rendered quite a few useful messages totally useless. This is actually serious data loss caused by the thoughtless software. And for what?
  After all, these discussions' boards are not chat rooms where people might want some simple input methods for fancy text formattings, but technical support fora where people frequently post programming codes, computer outputs and so forth that have many reserved symbols and notation.
  I really wish they may fix this promptly.
  Best regards,
  Hiroto