#This Forum
12 messages in this thread
Doesn't anyone else find the lack of system administration a problem on
this forum? Like advertisements, repeated every ten messages?
I have yet to see a forum on compuserve as poorly run as this one. Which
is really too bad, since CD-ROM technology is my specialization, and I
really find this forum generally (with exceptions) not fulfilling its
promise to provide a place to discuss CD-ROM technology. NOT TO SELL
DISCS! I believe the rule for compuserve is NONCOMMERCIAL messages.
I would expect to see product information and questions from users, but not
the product vendors. If I wanted that, I would have signed up for Prodigy.
I am just curious if anyone else is "sticking" around this forum, but sees
a great need for improved administration. My next step is to call
Compuserve staff to discuss this.
There are 5 Replies.
No, I don't find it a problem. I more or less appove of the lack of
structure. However, I can understand you concern about COMMERCIAL
messages.
If you would like to volunteer you time and effort to make the Forum a more
useful place the more power to you. I would support you. But if you
intend to call CI$ to just complain I would not be one of your supporters.
Actually I welcome the commercial messages, they do also inform. However
ONE message would be sufficent, there is no need to keep repeating them as
has been happening recently.
CDROM is still something of a cottage industry and I see no problem with
independent publishers posting messages about their products.
Having an administrator for this forum would be a good idea though. For one
thing it would mean that we could have a real library here, with CDROM
relevant uploads.
-=Martin=-
– via Whap!
Neil,
I don't mind the advertisements provided they only appear once in the
forum. The USEN forum is much worse, where you see the same message in
EVERY section and sometimes even repeated two or three times in the SAME
section as well.
At least here, I'm finding out what is available on CD ROMs and at
reasonable prices too. I haven't been very successful here in Europe in
finding magazines covering CD ROM. I used to be on the mailing list for a
couple of American magazines, but I think the companies folded as I haven't
received any issues for quite a while and no replies to numerous fax
messages.
Maybe what we need here is a 'classified' section and a limit on how
frequently the same posting may appear. The scroll rate on here is fairly
reasonable, so maybe we should say no reposting until the original message
has actually scrolled off.
To be fair, though, most of the advertisements do seem to have only
appeared in the General Information section.
Adrian
There is 1 Reply.
What an excellent suggestion. A classified/new release section is a great
idea. Then at least people aren't forced to pay online time to download
ads/junkmail.
For a comparison, try the Multimedia forum. It is a well run forum which
is informative and helpful to expert and beginners alike.
And there are no ads! (Though vendors do respond to questions/comments,
which is AOK in my book.)
Neil,
What's the GO word for the Multimedia forum? TAPCIS has just arrived so
that could be a good place for me to try out the software.
I don't mind seeing an ad ONCE as long as it's in a distinct section so *I*
can choose whether to read it or not.
I have the impression, that not a lot of people know about this forum, and
thus the scroll rate is relatively slower than a lot of other forums. Maybe
that's why it doesn't get policed as well<g>
Adrian
There is 1 Reply.
GO MULTIM, of course! (Only 6 chars count in Compuserve, useful to remember
with TAPCIS.)
The reason this section does not get policed is strictly sysop negligence.
The sysops are there, collecting royaltees, but not doing very much work
(except perhaps for advertising their own products.)
I have sent a number of messages to SYSOP, and complained a number of times
in broadcast mode, but never once have I rxd a reply.
Try Nick Arnett's multimedia forum and compare. Why should you pay to
receive ads? Perhaps this forum should be free if they want ads in it.
Maybe it should be in the electronic mall, which is free of connect time.
I agree, this forum is not very well managed. Your name rings a bell, do
you have a forum of your own? As for ads, yes they are a pain, but making
a fuss over them for cost reasons is a bit ridiculous. You'd be much
better off complaining about the cost of reading messages that belong in
Easyplex. 🙂
There is 1 Reply.
Yes, you're right about the messages that belong in Easyplex–there are
quite a few: "Thank you's" exchanged, especially related to sending the B.
of Elect. Pub catalog. And I really don't mind a product announcement.
But when it gets to repetitious ads, thats ridiculous. Also, I believe it
is agains the Compuserve rules to quote prices or advertise. Price quotes
are handled, in other forums I have seen, over Easyplex.
I would go farther than saying this forum is mismanaged. I don't believe
its managed at all. As a challange, send a message to SYSOP and see if you
get a response. Then try the same message on any other forum.
By the way, my name being familiar is probably a reference to my namesake,
Neil Shapiro of the Mac Users Group. I am Neil R. Shapiro; I work in the
area of CD-ROM database standards (e.g., the ATA's SFQL language).
Neil
Neil,
In the IBM forums, you are encouraged to send 'thank you' messages private
and to delete any private messages after reading them.
I believe it is against the CI$ rules to quote prices. I'm not quite sure
of the logic of this unless it's to encourage more message traffic.
Hopefully, all the 'but how much does it cost?' messages would go via CI$
mail, but this is not always the case.
Adrian
Hang in there, there may be an answer to both sides of the issue right
around the corner. I'm checking into it. Sorry, I can't say more but
don't give up on this forum!
Jon
You are right, Niel. The repeating ads are a major irritation. But I *DO*
like the ads. I've talked to some of the vendors on-and-offline, and that's
why *MY* company bought a cutter a few weeks ago!
Some of the strings on this forum are particularly interesting and
informative, such as the recently-completed "Encyclopedias?" 50-message
string. On the PR-SIG, the forum administrators would have opened a capture
buffer, caught the string, edited it, and placed it in a DL so people who
missed it could download it. Ron Solberg, the PR-SIG Sysyop and his
assistants has string-capture down to a fine art.
That level of administration goes beyond a hobby and becomes a calling.
However, administrators get a "free flag" so they are not billed while
online in their assigned forum. My wife had a "free flag" for over two
years on the Religion forum.
Do YOU feel the call, brother? Well, say a-MEN! <Grin>
..<Bob>