So, fire away, what is it that you guys want? - A better search engine. I'd like to be able to link words so that I can, for example, look for a topic on "MAT pose" and only get messages that specifically talk about MAT pose and not get every message where "MAT" or "pose" is mentioned. I've occasionally had to give up searching for a post that I knew was answered sometime in the past because I simply couldn't figure out how to find the answer after sorting through over a hundred messages. I hate asking the same question that's already been answered, but it's often hard to find stuff. Once, I knew that Anton had answered a question, that it was in reference to fixing an M1A1 tank download and I still couldn't find that post after searching through a couple months of his posts and for the tank. Do you want to post off topic in here and if so why? - Probably prefer posts to stay on topic. There's enough volume of posts every day that something needs to be done to rein in the volume. Maybe there needs to be another community forum to be more freewheeling where Poser friends can post about any subject. What is so terrible about following the tos when posting that leads some people to complain about it? - No problem here. What do you like about the forum/community page/Poser galleries/Poser Freestuff here? What don't you like? - I love the Freestuff pages. I would never have ever started buying anything if it weren't for finally accumulating a large enough library of material that I finally started using Poser more seriously. It would have been hard to dive into Poser without all the community support. The galleries are also an excellent source of inspiration and a means to display what I've done. What would you prefer we did differently? - Can't think of much. How could we make the Poser forum a place where you would feel happier to be? - I'm happy. I wouldn't be here otherwise. Would you like to see things like a featured freestuff provider of the month? - Doesn't matter, I go through What's New on an almost daily basis. Would you like to have a featured artist of the Month that you all vote for? Not site wide, just Poser based. - That might be nice. Or to have interviews with Poser challenge winners so you can get to know people a little better? - I don't know. I guess not every artist participates regularly in the forum, so it might be interesting.

I'd like 'Email me when someone replies' to be turned OFF by default. John

Having looked over a bunch of responses, I've got a few more thoughts that are kind of similar in nature: WIP and Off-Topic are things I'd rather see left out. Like everything, it's a matter of degree. If there's a couple a day, it doesn't bother me. If it starts drowning out the Poser information I'm here for, it does become a problem. Back in the old days before community newsgroups were choked to death by spammers, I found myself losing interest in some because they had become too chatty. That's a good thing and a bad thing. It's nice to have a community atmosphere where people from around the world are brought together over the joy of using a piece of software. Without an enforced focus, it's very possible that the tone of the forum can shift from being a useful place to learn about Poser to something where a person, who wants to ask a question about Poser, is almost out of place because everybody's talking about their kids and their vacations and other stuff. This forum currently serves a purpose and I'd rather not see that focus be diluted too greatly. Much as I understand the dilemma of creators wanting to gain feedback on projects in development, it's a tough area to have here. It seemed a year ago that every third or fourth post was a blatant advertisement disguised as a WIP. Maybe the solution is having a signature line that links to the products page in an otherwise on topic post. I can't see any easy way to say some WIPs are okay and others are more ads than useful posts. It's easier to say "no" to all of them.

A pomposity flag could be a useful addition too. John

...

The search functions downright suck, to be honest. It's the number one reason I don't even bother shopping here...in the MP NOR freestuff. I'm on dial-up and don't have the time or patience to sift through dozens of unrelated items that sometimes don't even have a thumbnail to help. It's a major turnoff and a sizeable incentive to shop elsewhere. Heck, it may even be part of the reason I lost interest in learning more about Poser. It's very overwhelming to newbies. And let's face it, without a continuous stream of newbies, it will get harder to make a profit. As for the off topic stuff, my opinion never mattered before, I doubt it will now. :)

What we need is... a GENERAL Forum!

That seems to be what most of the people are really saying, and what constitutes the main problem with the Poser Forum. Some of us want it to be JUST about Poser and others want it to be about EVERYTHING, so why can't we have BOTH?

In a general forum you could allow all sorts of OT's and Birthday greetings etc. without diluting the purpose of a real Poser Forum. Then the Poser forum could concentrate on real Poser issues without all sorts of distractions. Of course, most people would really WHINE about this, so the only way to really do it would be to shut the Poser forum down completely for at least 30 days while people grew accostomed to the General Forum. (Actually, just rename THIS forum the General forum and you're done - then in about 30 days create a new Poser forum). I think that alone would do more to stop the bickering and make TOS enforcement easier than anything else because it reduces the contradictions of purpose, and provides the proper venues for a real community. That AND a better search engine which at least did a boolean AND for multi-word searches would be a big help.

Okay, just so you know I got back online 5 minutes ago so it's going to take me a while to read through all this and answer everyone. Wasn't expecting so many replies ;-) Shanna :-)

Quickie list. Better searching Better Resourse section (For those frequently asked "Where is ...?" or "How do I ...?" WIP allowed like Rawnrr said

First off, thanks for taking the time to answer :-) I've gone through every single post and I think the suggestions all come into the following sections. I'm answering them one by one so please bear with me :-) 1. Changes to site software. There are some excellent suggestions, all of which I will put together and pass on to the Admin, but the Poser Team itself has no control over decisions on software changes. Sorry about that. The place to put ideas about these kinds of things is the community centre.

An OT forum As I was not involved in the old OT forum (except to read some of bonestructures devastatingly funny posts) I can't really say anything about that. However, I will get the Admin to read through this thread and if the topic continues to be discussed in a reasonable manner, they MAY reconsider having an OT forum. I can't make any promises, but I can do my best. It's up to you guys who want an OT forum to show that you can moderate yourself enough to have discussions without them turning into flame wars and hate fests. Frankly, this whole thread shows that you can. In the Poser Forum: It seems to me that the majority of people who have answered in this thread so far would like some OT to be allowed in the forum. I have no problem with that, but it is a question of balance. This is primarily intended to be a learning forum for Poser, so the OT posts should not overwhelm the Poser posts or the whole reason for the forum will get lost. I agree that sharing some bits of personal news is part of being in a community, but this is not a general forum. How about this for a suggestion? For the next month, as long as a post begins with the words OT, posts about personal news will be permitted in the forum. Other forums here permit a little of this and I don't see a problem unless it overwhelms the Poser posts. If you want to include the default Poser guy waving from the corner of your photo of your new pet, that's fine with me too ;-) I feel that these are community related and relevant to the Poser forum: news about Poser members which other members may want to hear. However: if the subject line doesn't begin with OT, on an OT post it will get deleted. That way, people who don't want to read OT posts can skip over them. The following topics will NOT be permitted and will be immediately removed: Politics, Religon, War, posts related to Nationalism/Racism No 'this country sucks' or 'that race is awful'. No argument/discussion/posts on those kinds of subjects. I know we have Poser members who are part of the military and who may feel this some of these subjects relate to personal news for them, but I would ask you to respect this request and not post about these subjects. This forum is for discussing Poser, not general debates. Please exercise some restraint so that members who don't want to read them will still be able to read the forums without wading through pages entitled OT. If there are too many OT posts on a particular day, then either add yours onto an existing one or wait until tomorrow. On July 15th, the OT status in the Poser forum will be reviewed. If it stuck within these guidelines then we'll vote in a thread to see if members want it to stay or go. If it has been a source of non stop contention and arguments, it will be banned from the forum completely. It's up to you now to make a success of OT postings in the Poser forum. How you handle it will decide if they get to stay. Fair enough?

nice idea changing the software.. but... not gonna happen.. you see, the software used here is Bondware... and since Bondware is owned and operated by Tim.. the guy that owns and operates Renderosity.. yup.. this place is a showcase of what bondware can't.. er, can do...

I know. But they could improve it, surely? They've made changes before. I don't mind the way the forums are set up. I kind of like it, actually. But it's really painful, not having a proper search function.

have a look in the contact forum, where changes to the search engine have been begged for.. (so far we've been told that it's coming and the system does work... if anyone believes that I have a bridge in brooklyn for sale...) who knows when the search will be fixed.. cos it seems it is not important to the ppl that code this software at all...

We have an option for nudity and violence when we post, could it be possible to add an OT button too? That way, members could decide whether or not they want to see OT posts or not in the same way that we can choose not to see nudity/violence.

Hmmm....the search engine definitely needs improvement.

OT stuff: I agree with every thing that mateo sancarlos said in post 35. If I want to talk/argue politics, I can do that anytime with the people in my very conservative town! :)

I have no problem with any images and do not get too hung up on nudity, religion or anything else for that matter, including someone going "berserk" and launching a tirade. There was a great one at DAZ not long ago and I thought everyone over there handled that very well.

I do understand the need for nudity flags and the like for those who are bothered by nekkid folks...or have kids and really believe their kid has never seen a nekkid person before :)

Finally, forum software that does not go "bonkers" and "dump" the comments you're trying to post :)

Message edited on: 06/15/2004 22:51

1. When someone starts a thread they must be able to delete the post, but once someone has replied then it must not be possible to remove the first post. I hate seeing a thread with thirty responses but the first post has been deleted, so you don't know what the discussion is about. 2) Allow OT posts but should be marked OT, or flagged with an option to ignore OT posts in your preferences. 3) Free stuff provider of the month is a great idea, but should not be based on downloads. Should be based on some other system. At the moment the most downloaded products are clothes and textures, but some other downloads are more innovative, and deserve recognition. Maybe two different categories, one for most downloaded, and one for most innovative or original. Some products such as python scripts and utilities may not get many downloads, but they do push the abilities of Poser beyond the norm. 4) Some better way of showcasing animations. t the moment the only way of showcasing an animation is by putting it in free stuff, which is frankly quite rediculous. Possibly a size limit on the animation, sent to the moderators, who then post one animation a month for download. Not the best system, but at the moment to the casual observer it would seem as though Poser is only for static renders. 5) The header on the Poser forum is way too big. Lay it out better and it will take half the space. 6) The 'Email me when someone replies' should be turned OFF by default. 7) Poser has three forums, the Poser Forum, the Poser Technical Forum and the Python Forum. Posts that were OT were moved to the OT forum, posts that were copyright were moved to the copyright forum, but I have never seen a Python post moved to the Python Forum, or a technical post moved to the Poser Technical FOrum. I find that odd, but maybe that's just me. Is there really a need for those forums?

No matter what we do, there are always going to be people who perceive that the tos is not evenly enforced. We do our best to do so, but we don't always get it right. Because we do not discuss members personal circumstances in public, even if they post something completely untrue about a situation, we are not free to discuss or refute it. We have rules which we must follow, just as you have. Angry people are likely to post complaints about how they feel they have been treated. Once they have calmed down, they are very unlikely to post that they are now happy so you will always see more complaints than compliments. YES, of course we do make mistakes sometimes. Particularly when someone is new to being a coordinator (or moderator), they are going to be over eager to do the right thing and perhaps enforce things more strictly than is necessary. Just like some members misunderstand things, we do to. However if you contact the mod/coord who you feel has dealt with you unfairly by im or email and you put your point across reasonably you will get a response. It may be that we will find we made a mistake, or it may be that you then understand why we did what we did. If you take it to the forums, you will undermine your point and probably put our backs up. We do apologise when we realise we have made a mistake and we do our best to put things right. We are also not walking encyclopedias containing every bit of knowledge about every member of the entire Poser community across every single site. You may be annoyed that Member x is apparently getting away with posting about a merchant product from another site while you follow the rules, but we may not know that member is a merchant, or that merchants best friend or whatever. If you let us know, it gives us a chance to do something about it. Sometimes we need your help to make things fair for everyone. Handing out warnings is a pain in the backside, we'd much rather not do it. If you have received a warning, it will have been accompanied by a request to re-read the tos here. If you haven't already done so, that is a good time to make sure you do understand what it says. If you don't understand something about the tos or something doesn't make sense to you, contact us and ask. We are happy to explain. So, the more members communicate with us, the more misunderstandings we can clear up and the more even handed things will be. In case you weren't aware of it, there was a discussion in the community centre some time ago and it was agreed that if someone incurs a warning but then has not done so again for a long time (I think it was a year, but I'll have to go find the thread to be sure) they can request that their warning be reviewed and removed. Ultimately, this is a privately owned site and we have Terms of Service which members agree to abide by when they join. If you do not wish to abide by the tos and keep posting things we will not permit you will keep falling foul of it and you will end up banned. The tos is not going to be changed to a free for all. It is each individual members responsibility to govern themselves and not break the rules of the site. We will do our best to help you understand it, but after that, it's up to you. If you want to stay a member, follow the rules. If you don't want to do that, there are other excellent Poser sites with like minded people and different rules who will welcome you. The vast majority of members never receive warnings of any kind, but lets face it who wants to read a post called "Hey, I didn't receive a warning today"? It's always going to be the bad news you hear about, it makes more interesting reading. It has taken me so long to get this far, that I will have to leave the rest of this until later. I have to go to work now. I'll be back to answer the rest of this when I get home. Shanna :-)

Free puppies for every member!

We are also not walking encyclopedias containing every bit of knowledge about every member of the entire Poser community across every single site. Well, you should fix that, too. ;-P bonni

I don't know if anyone else mention it (I haven't read all the posts scholastic) but something else that would be good It would be a place with the most common questions and links to the threads that answer those questions. A usefull database! A notice also at the top of the forum for everyone that before asking something would better make a search in the archive first... Oh!And maybee A Random member of the week/month with a quick interview so that all the others know it better! I also vote for the religion and OT tag and the free WIP posts here... pitklad

You know, it seems like a lot of the things people complain about could be fixed if the forum software had basic filtering software. I mean functions that Usenet readers have had for a decade. Like a killfile - the ability make certain posters or posts containing certain keywords disappear, at least for you. Those who didn't want to see OT or WIP or Controversial posts wouldn't have to see them. I think that would reduce the amount of work the mods had to do, too.

Ok, gonna weigh in myself, finally. First, sorry to Shoshanna and SndCastie -- got too busy to ever follow through. Better choices were made, though :) Insofar as the forum's basic elements: I didn't really see you ask about that. Read it twice more after seeing the huge number of software changes I saw being asked for, and I'm still trying to figure out how they got in there in the first place. So I'm not going to suggest anything regarding software because that's pretty obviously not the point. I am incredibly concerned about the "Poser community" as a whole. My reasons for it are personal and run fairly deep emotially, but there is a great amount of intellectual interest in it as well. I "came back" to 'rosity for the same reason I left it -- the spirit of the forums had turned ugly and dark and was filled with whiny, spiteful, antagonistic posts and responses. I left because it disgusted me (ok, yeah, there have Always been some, but for a while there it was incredibly bad). Although some elements can be laid on the moderating team that was in place, the bulk of it was due, pretty much entirely, to a group of folks who seemed to think that Renderosity "owed" them something akin to miniature fiefdoms and special privileges. I came back because it bugged me that every time I did peek in, things weren't any better, and then, one day, I figured that if no one else was going to do anything, then I might as well. So I started posting. I chided the bad folks and commended the good ones. It was brought to bear in my head fully when Geep nearly quit. Since that time, things have changed. Dramatically. Even the names across the top there have changed. The forum is suddenly a better place to be again. People are exchanging ideas without getting bitter, and yes, folks are sorta treading on eggshells and ya know what: they damn well oughta. Now, I do not make always popular suggestions. Nor do I recieve them. I live in a hot place, though, so heat doesn't bother me. 1 - Create a general forum. Mentioned twice before. I liked the names it was given earliest. Let that forum linked to VERY prominently -- I suggest one of three banners at the top of the page -- sorta like an extra backroom. 2 - The proposal I would give on OT topics is exactly what you stated, Sho. 3 - A second one of the banners should be to the existing backroom, which, as this thread already shows, is both outdated and pretty much forgotten or unknown. Shake out the cobwebs and dress that puppy up. (I'll even offer up the few scant tenths of a second I have each day to assist) 4 - The third of those banners should be to a sort of weekly feature. Between you, Carolly, SndCastie, nemirc, and now Ferguson, ya'll shouldn't have much trouble finding something cool to point out. lol Don't limit it, though -- do all of the above. Make it another backroom, where you (or perhaps members) can spotlight all of the suggestions above: Freebie makers, general members, the contests, new challenges, etc. Renderosity was, long go and when I first joined, not called Renderosity. The heart and soul of it was and is still Poser. Recognize that and use it. My last suggestion is a simple no brainer, but it's the one that gets ya'll the most flak: Keep it up. Enforce the TOS as consistently as you can (which you do now, though some don't always see the greater picture) and strive harder to remind more frequently about using the flags. (ok, gonna take a step into programming and say check freebies for nudity flags, please) and when folks say things like be less agressive, ignore them. I would tend to be more agressive than less, but I am a self confessed Prude who is married to a bigger one and has to deal with the scowl potential everytime I get online. ;) I'm also crazy :) Huggs to ya.

Definitely give creators of freestuff more spotlight and appreciation Have less stringent posting rules, but maybe have flag requirements (ie - Nudity, Violence, Theology, OT, cutesy, Rant, etc.). If there's a Poser forum and a Poser technical forum, it seems to me the former is more of a social venue - more like a 'Poser Community' forum where us Poser addicts bond - ha ha

Just wanted to express my appreciation to you for taking the bull by the horns. Keep up the great job. :O)

An improvement I'd like to see? This is still the slowest website I visit on a regular basis. THE slowest! Doing something to avoid the 20-30 second waited during the US daytime would make me happier. Because of the slow response, I look at the bare minimum and leave.

I don't know where these suggestions fit but I hope that these along with the others are compiled and sent along. Set flags such as nudity on and have the poster uncheck as appropriate. That way people who want/need to be protected are at the outset. Have collapsible threads. Number messages within a thread (on the thread page) so that when a thread is accessed it is easier to find a particular message with a thread. Provide rewards, such as advertisement latitude, to those people who post in freestuff Provide rewards (advertiesment or otherwise) to "gold" members. That is those who are consistently helpful to the community (e.g. geep, PhilC) Decrease size of top banner Allow readers to highlight (in preferences) certain people's names so that their posts are easier to find Prevent post deletion once there is a response to the original post

I wanted to respond to a couple of ideas above about the monthy challenge. Some thought we should make it more anonymous (anonymous names) and others thought less WIP's in forum would be good. While this is certainly worth discussing, I'll share my view which is just the opposite. I want to move the challenge more towards a community effort than a competitive one against all deal. As for the anonymous names, etc, we have two problems with that. The first is a technical deal in that when I delete and repost an image because an artist has wanted to change their entry, the number changes. So voting by number can lead to real problems. The second is that there have been concerns about what is done in secret. With voting and names out in the open, everyone gets to see what is going on. If a trend or pattern does emerge (and so far we've not had any) then it will be way easier to spot with the openness. As for WIP's, I personally am trying to encourage more. Perhaps we might want a WIP forum, but for now, the WIP's for the challenge should be in this forum. I suppose it would be good to start the thread with "WIP: Your topic phrase next" and let the folks who want to skip that do so. The reason for the WIP's IMHO, is so that we can grow as artists. Its amazing what others see that we miss when we're all engrossed in the image. A little change here or there can change a basic image into something really brilliant. That's what learning and progress is about, so we should take advantage of the comments of others. (And if you don't like the comments, relax, the thread will be buried in a day under the volume of posts here.) I patterned the Poser challenge much like the Bryce challenge. Its a challenge, not a contest, and I want to move away from the contest way of thinking. If a person posts an image to the challenge, that's great. If they post in the forum as a WIP, and make changes, and post a better image to the challenge, that's a better thing because it means they learned something. I want the challenge to be about learning moreso than placing high on the ladder. That's also why I do 3 challengers and honorables. Nevertheless, I have always said this is YOUR challenge, not mine. You pick the themes and your input is always considered. Heck, June relaxed the violence/nudity rules at the suggestion of a member because it simply made sense to do so for this one challenge. EricofSD RIM Senior Technical Editor

If you haven't taken part in one before, you may not know that EricofSD takes the time to run our Monthly challenges in the Poser forum. I haven't forgotten this thread, I'm just looking into a couple of things before getting on to some more answers. I'm still rereading posts, so if you have any more input I'd be glad to hear it. I will be looking at making the Header smaller if possible, but I won't have time to do that until next week at the earliest. Shanna. ps. I take your point dlarsen that there are a few things I could have phrased better. If I came across as condescending or argumentative I apologise as it wasn't my intention. So thank you to everyone who looked past the way I wrote what I did and answered what I was asking. I appreciate everyones input.

I wish I had something devastatingly funny to say about all this, but I don't. My life isn't terribly funny or fun lately and the removal of the OT forum took my home away from me. Remember that saying about nazi germany that was like, when they burned the books I didn't do anything, and then they came for me? Something like that? Well, keep going like this and they will be coming for you. Freedom of speech no longer exists.

Definitely we need a "trickle up" system so that active topics don't get buried under three pages of other stuff in a day or two. It's impossible to continue a discussion longer than a couple of days no matter how interesting or important the subject. That's just not right. It leads to people having to restart threads to keep them near the front. Yes, I know about the option not to show read posts, but it isn't the default and I don't think many people use it.

Please don't take that personally! You above all have been extremely fair with me and always responded quickly and propmtly to direct inquiries I made. It was more to make the point that "we all" need to be more tolerent of each other. I didn't want such an important thread as this to degenerate into a bitch session. You opened an important dialogue and reached out to us, giving us the opportunity to openly discuss with you. That was a big risk and a great step to break down the walls that seemed to be building here. The majority of the posts to this thread have been constructive and relatively on-topic and I commend you, the other mods, staff, and the forum users for taking time come together here. Ynsaen is correct in his assessment and I was incorrect in not recognizing that things are getting better in this forum "overall". It has been a much more pleasant and a better learning experience here since "some are walking on eggshells", and that is good as he Ynsaen stated. Once again, thank you so much for reaching out to us and thank you again for taking a position here that not many people would take, but everyone thinks they would do a better at. Dale

How do you get off this thread, please? It's facinating but...

Untick the email me when someone replies box and you shouldn't get any more ebots about it :-)

I might have taken too much time to write my reply but I posted it 5 minutes ago and it still doesn't show up. I took the precaution of copying it into a textfile just in case so I am reposting it here. If it appears twice, I guess I'll be able to delete it? __________________________________________________ First of all, I have to say that I am fairly new to this forum (this community) and when I first started to visit, there was a kind of "war" going on. BUT it has calmed down in the first week I was here. Second, I hesitated before replying to this topic because I am new and inexperienced both in 3d world and in the kind of setup here at Renderosity. Then I figured that since I intend being here for a long time, I might as well put my two and a half CDN cents in this topic. ;o) So here are my answers to your questions: 1) Do you want to post off topic in here and if so why? Definitely YES. 2) Why do you think that is a good idea? Because I am not a Poser figure. I have feelings and I like people. Those OT should be clearly indicated in the subject line though. Must start with OT. Then members who don't want to read OT messages could just skip them. Better yet, as many others have stated, there should be an option to not show OT messages in our preferences. 3) Would you prefer there to be an off topic type forum instead? NO. This group of members (who participate in this forum) is fast becoming an extended family to me. When I want to discuss a specific topic with members of my family or with friends, I don't have to go to a special room to do so: a room to discuss computer related topics, a room to talk about my children, a third room to talk about pets, etc. But in my house, when I talk about something and there is one member of the family who is not interested in that topic, he/she is free to do something else and is not forced to listen to what I have to say. So I don't see why it should be different here. That is, IF we want this to be a real "community". 4) What is so terrible about following the tos when posting that leads some people to complain about it? I honestly don't know. If I ever don't follow the TOS, it will be because I don't understand that specific part of it since it is in English. Better not try to translate with an online translator either!!! lolll 5) What do you like about the forum? The kindness and the helpfulness of members and their tolerance towards newbies who ask questions they must have answered hundreds of times. 6) What do you like about Community page? Sorry to say I don't know what this is. ;o( 7) What do you like about Poser galleries? I like to visit the galleries because it is relaxing and inspiring. 8) What do you like about Poser Freestuff here? That's what brought me here for the first time and I still visit the "What's new" every day. 9) What don't you like? (about the items 5-8) The forum: I don't like it when someone ask a question and some members reply to their message with OT messages or just to comment on the habits of the person who asked the question. In other words, if you don't have a constructive answer to a specific question, nobody forces you to reply! Community page: as I said, I don't know what it is so I can't comment on it. Poser Galleries: the fact that we can't upload more than one image a day. It would be better, as someone else suggested, to allow a maximum per month. Sometimes, we are inspired and can create many scenes in one day and then we can be doing nothing worthwhile for a month! ;o) Poser Freestuff: There are too many broken links. Most of the items don't say precisely what it is for and what you need to use them. The "no picture because of nudity"... why is that? I thought we could use the option not to see nudity on Renderosity so if I don't use that option, it's probably because I don't mind seeing it. 10) What would you prefer we did differently? I think by asking our suggestions like you just did is a very good way of doing things. 11) How could we make the Poser forum a place where you would feel happier to be? I am happy already here. If I wasn't, I wouldn't come back. Again, by asking our comments and suggestions, you are already making it a happier place to be. ;o) 12) Would you like to see things like a featured freestuff provider of the month? Yes but I think it should be a random choice among all the freestuff provider, ie., not based on the number of downloads or the quality of the items offered or the "most wanted". This should not become a competition. If we, the newbies, don't upload any freebies because the stuff offered by more experienced or more talented members is way better than what we have to offer, in a few years, there wouldn't be any freestuff here. 13) Would you like to have a featured artist of the Month that you all vote for? Not site wide, just Poser based. Yes and no. My answer is the same as for number 12. 14)Or to have interviews with Poser challenge winners so you can get to know people a little better? That would be nice. You could also present interviews with the Featured Artist of the Month and the Featured Freestuff Provider of the Month. ______________________________ I apologize for the length of my reply but I have to use many words to convey my meaning in English. France

P.S. What about these special topics (like this one). How does it work? Do we receive notification when there is a reply like for the regular topics? And why isn't it in the regular forum anyway? I know how the regular forum works by now and I am comfortable with that but these special notices confuse me. I'm probably not the only one either. Thanks. France

This is not really a special notice... at least there's nothing special about the way it works :o) It's a normal (very long) thread :o) So you WILL get an ebot from my reply.

I haven't had an e-bot notification since post #59 and would like to know why not?!? Not that I wanted them, I just forgot to uncheck 'Email me when someone replies', can't help wondering if this lack of notification doesn't imply that I'm being discriminated against in some way, and hence am missing an great chance to complain about something. I am English.

John Edited to include the OT flag.

Message edited on: 06/18/2004 19:40

John, I'm not sure about this, but I think that if you received a notification for post 59 and didn't come to read the new messages here since you received it, you won't receive more notifications. At least, that's the way it works in the rest of the forum. France

So there's a good reason for it? Doh! John

For new members, Renderosity is obviously an invaluable resource for learning Poser and its potential. However, for many of the longtime members, that is really no longer the reason this place stayed on our Favorites list. We would share our individual knowledge and experiences, often answering the same questions over and over again, for the benefit of new members because it encouraged their participation and reciprocal contribution, and helped to build the community as a whole.

The key factor in the above is the essential concept of Community.

With the departure of the OT Forum, my personal interest, and thus my participation, has simply waned. I still breeze through the Poser forum, but fairly quickly these days, largely seeing the sameolsameol, but now, when I reach the end, there is nowhere left (here) to go hang and just shoot the breeze with the folks whom I have come to regard as old friends.

What was formerly like an exciting novel with new chapters everyday, has become merely a textbook, and one that I have largely already read.

In her post above, TygerCub really nailed it for me:

TygerCub:
the ability to get to know the people behind the name tags was a welcome change to the one-dimensional quality of a regular Poser forum, the OT forum was the area on this site that brought me closer to the people who enjoyed the same hobby I enjoyed... and that's what made this place a community.

I havent been here in a few days and just now saw the announcement about an new OT, so off to go see what youve done.

Thanks for asking Shanna.

(and howdy there Bone, long time no see)

I agree with the above on increasing thumbnail size in the store to 25k. 15k KILLS a thumbnail with any amount of color. I'd like the OT forum back also. I think it would do well to have an "Argue" tag on posts there, so people who do not wish to argue can avoid the thread. Any thread with an argue tag should be "enter at your own risk" and people could then get as flamey as they like. Some people like to argue, some don't. I don't think it's right to judge argumentative types as "wrong" or "unprofessional". Some people even enjoy trading insults. There's nothing wrong with it as long as everyone is having a good time. An "Argue" tag would sort out the types and keep everyone happy. -WTB

Do you want to post off topic in here and if so why? Yes Why do you think that is a good idea? I enjoy learning about the other artists here and what's going on their lives. It's a great way to get to know each other. It could also help build a better community. Would you prefer there to be an off topic type forum instead? Not necessariyl a bad idea. At least that way you know what you are reading is not related to anything technical. It would be a much easier way to filter out posts that are off topic. What is so terrible about following the tos when posting that leads some people to complain about it? I don't have a problem with that. What do you like about the forum? Giving a nd receiving helpful information, tips and tricks. community page? The fact that there is a site like Renderosity on the internet is enough said, I think. Poser galleries? The ability to share artworks with others and receive feedback. Being able to view some of the best artwork worldwide that otherwise might not have been seen. Poser Freestuff here? I love the freebies here...Most of the stuff is of excellent quality. When I first started out, I used alot of freebies to help myself improve. I also think that freebies are a great way to show the community the quality of products for the people looking to sell at the Marketplace. I personally have purchased a vendor's product after downloading one of their freebies. What don't you like? What would you prefer we did differently? I like that there are great contests here. Someone else mentioned anonymous entries. I think that's a great idea. I feel that this would allow the art to be judged for itself. If the art is good quality it will speak for itself. It sucks seeing a great piece of artwork passed by because that person isn't as well known in the community. How could we make the Poser forum a place where you would feel happier to be? N/C Would you like to see things like a featured freestuff provider of the month? That would be wonderful for them. I think they deserve recognition for the things that they do. Would you like to have a featured artist of the Month that you all vote for? I like the idea of a Poser Artist of the month. I enjoy reading about how other Poser members got started. You could randomly pick from the community or have nominations. I think we are all capable of nominating different artists each month. Or to have interviews with Poser challenge winners so you can get to know people a little better? A swell idea as well.

Some OT should be allowed here. I understand the need to try to keep the forum mostly on topic, but when people start to self censor themselves, due to fear that a post will be deleted due to it not being on topic enough, that's a bad thing for community!

WIPs should be allowed here. Most definitely. Better products are better for the entire Poser community. There are so many Poser products available from so many different vendors, I find it silly that any particular site would be concerned about WIP posts for items sold elsewhere.

It probably is counterproductive from a business stand point to ban WIPs as well, even if the item ends up being sold elsewhere. How so? There are a lot of popular products sold here that are texture sets or add-ons for products sold elsewhere. Being involved in the WIP process here for an item will encourage developers here to make add-ons for those products and sell them here. This is not only good because of the revenue from those items, but it helps establish in the minds of customers that Renderosity is a good place to go for add-ons for all products, even those bought elsewhere.

Of course, as others have pointed out, banning WIPs also drives away vendors who may have otherwise sold items here. That alone should be reason enough for a quick reversal and it would probably be productive to make a very public announcement on that change of policy.

Encouraging WIPs = Good business sense.
Banning WIPS = Bad business sense.

May seem counter-intuitive in the "Us vs. Them" mentality, but encouraging an open WIP process here will actually draw more products and revenue here.