Does anyone know how many units Renderosity shifts in a month.  And of that rather large customer base how many members actually look in the forums or participate in the community in some way.

I'm only curious, cos the numbers don't add up in my head, or it is a very small proportion of the community that actively takes part, other than buying stuff and posting images that is.

John.

Quote - Does anyone know how many units Renderosity shifts in a month.  And of that rather large customer base how many members actually look in the forums or participate in the community in some way.

I'm only curious, cos the numbers don't add up in my head, or it is a very small proportion of the community that actively takes part, other than buying stuff and posting images that is.

John.

You've hit the nail on the head, John.  A lot more people purchase regularly and post to the galleries than participate in the forums.  Not everyone's into forums, though.  ;)

well i come to the forums to learn and see whats going on the forums are a good thing

Quote - > Quote - Does anyone know how many units Renderosity shifts in a month.  And of that rather large customer base how many members actually look in the forums or participate in the community in some way.

I'm only curious, cos the numbers don't add up in my head, or it is a very small proportion of the community that actively takes part, other than buying stuff and posting images that is.

John.

You've hit the nail on the head, John.  A lot more people purchase regularly and post to the galleries than participate in the forums.  Not everyone's into forums, though.  ;)

It's a shame I think, but that's life I suppose. 

The amount of images that get uploaded is huge and I just wonder how many of those do any more than that.  Sales is important of course it keeps the whole thing going, it just feels like less of a community when the vast majority don't join in in other things.

It would just seem a hollow experience to me not to join in in other ways.

John

Quote - well i come to the forums to learn and see whats going on the forums are a good thing

I agree totally, the Forums are a great thing :)

John

yes and more should be active it would help and more folks would benefit from it

Quote - yes and more should be active it would help and more folks would benefit from it

I agree that people would get more out of their rendo experience by using the forums, but I guess you cant force people.

The only thing I can think of is making some of the Forum posts more visible to the community as a whole.  Things like the good Dr Geeps excellent work, once people can see the forums are full of useful stuff maybe more would join in.

Maybe a front page article every once in a while, or recognising forum contributors with a Forum Dude/Dudette of the month, as you get for Vendors, Artists and Freestuff(I think)

John

yea thats a great idea  what think you Jen

I've noticed this lack of overlap as a vendor.  With a few exceptions, the
people who purchase my items are names I've never seen in the forums.

The Poser forum is important.  It helps me keep in touch, especially when I've been away for a while. It's a good way to catch up on issues and new developments.

One aspect of the Forum I find most useful is the Search function ... allowing me to research topics, products, issues or problems  and advice. 

Consider however that  people are increasingly creating their own channels for collaboration and building their own micro sub-communities, perhaps using other services.  

The Poser Forum is not a sophisticated interactive collaboration platform, but that's OK because it serves a higher purpose. 

Perhaps there would be interest in developing a collaboration or professional networking service for the Poser community.  These, however, tend to involve small numbers of collaborators, and the broader community is not as likely to benefit from the specific exchanges or innovative collaborations that emerge.

My experience is that people tend to find and nurture their own communities as artists or collaborators. The Poser Forum is not our only option, although it is arguably the best and most inclusive that we have. Poser users know that this is the place to come for news, issues, topics and keeping in touch with the views and comments of the community. And that's a good thing.

One idea: Poser Forum Highlights Blog:

Few people have time to read through all the subjects and responses to pick up on the most interesting topics or issues (even though for some users, that is the most appealing aspect of the Forum).

Is there value in asking the moderators or someone, to pick-up and highlight some of the  more interesting posts perhaps through a weekly blog ?? I might sign up for something like that, because I would tend to trust the moderator who would have a broader insight and perspective of what might be interesting to the broader community ... ie: trends, issues, problems, etc.

Cheers.

Unfortunately, there isn't a Beginners 101 for all the software applications to draw individuals to the forum.  Occasionally, artists with bona fide problems seek the forum for expert opinions and solutions but many are not aware that such help exists.  Yet, there are newbies out there that need to know the absolute undocumented basics to get them started on the right foot towards technically acceptable art.  I agree with Fugazi1968, the forum should get a higher profile to draw more participating users.  If they get the answers they're seeking, they will be back for more.

From a personal perspective, I find it comes down to a matter of time...  I'm a moderator for a non-art (music) forum and, given the amount of time I can budget for forum participation, that chews up the majority. (No one should underestimate the amount of time and effort required of moderators -- particularly when dealing with forums that generate "passionate" discussion... lol).

As well, most of the time I've been able to budget for art-related work lately has been consumed in the development of items I would like to offer in a/the marketplace in the near future.  This has seriously constrained my contributions both within the forums and the gallery (something I'd like to remedy but my priority is getting the projects to completion).  That said, I do try to skim through the forums on a fairly regular basis but it's more as a "drive-by" visit and the occasional impulse buy in the marketplace. :o)

I will make more of a conscious effort to post (and probably should update/clean up a very out-dated gallery) in the future.  I am certain there are folks here with far more knowledge and experience than I, but I would like to give back a bit, having learned an awful lot from my time in here.

Quote - The Poser forum is important.  It helps me keep in touch, especially when I've been away for a while. It's a good way to catch up on issues and new developments.

One aspect of the Forum I find most useful is the Search function ... allowing me to research topics, products, issues or problems  and advice. 

Consider however that  people are increasingly creating their own channels for collaboration and building their own micro sub-communities, perhaps using other services.  

The Poser Forum is not a sophisticated interactive collaboration platform, but that's OK because it serves a higher purpose. 

Perhaps there would be interest in developing a collaboration or professional networking service for the Poser community.  These, however, tend to involve small numbers of collaborators, and the broader community is not as likely to benefit from the specific exchanges or innovative collaborations that emerge.

My experience is that people tend to find and nurture their own communities as artists or collaborators. The Poser Forum is not our only option, although it is arguably the best and most inclusive that we have. Poser users know that this is the place to come for news, issues, topics and keeping in touch with the views and comments of the community. And that's a good thing.

One idea: Poser Forum Highlights Blog:

Few people have time to read through all the subjects and responses to pick up on the most interesting topics or issues (even though for some users, that is the most appealing aspect of the Forum).

Is there value in asking the moderators or someone, to pick-up and highlight some of the  more interesting posts perhaps through a weekly blog ?? I might sign up for something like that, because I would tend to trust the moderator who would have a broader insight and perspective of what might be interesting to the broader community ... ie: trends, issues, problems, etc.

Cheers.

Nice one, I'm liking the Blog Highlights idea, thats a real top one.  I'd sign up for sure.

John.

Quote - Unfortunately, there isn't a Beginners 101 for all the software applications to draw individuals to the forum.  Occasionally, artists with bona fide problems seek the forum for expert opinions and solutions but many are not aware that such help exists.  Yet, there are newbies out there that need to know the absolute undocumented basics to get them started on the right foot towards technically acceptable art.  I agree with Fugazi1968, the forum should get a higher profile to draw more participating users.  If they get the answers they're seeking, they will be back for more.

I've been thinking about doing some basics tutorials for Poser, I'm just not sure I remember whats basic anymore :)

John

Quote - From a personal perspective, I find it comes down to a matter of time...  I'm a moderator for a non-art (music) forum and, given the amount of time I can budget for forum participation, that chews up the majority. (No one should underestimate the amount of time and effort required of moderators -- particularly when dealing with forums that generate "passionate" discussion... lol).

As well, most of the time I've been able to budget for art-related work lately has been consumed in the development of items I would like to offer in a/the marketplace in the near future.  This has seriously constrained my contributions both within the forums and the gallery (something I'd like to remedy but my priority is getting the projects to completion).  That said, I do try to skim through the forums on a fairly regular basis but it's more as a "drive-by" visit and the occasional impulse buy in the marketplace. :o)

I will make more of a conscious effort to post (and probably should update/clean up a very out-dated gallery) in the future.  I am certain there are folks here with far more knowledge and experience than I, but I would like to give back a bit, having learned an awful lot from my time in here.

I'm not sure that its a question of posting every day or even every week, more that people participate in some way, as you surely do.

There are lots of possibilities if more people used the forums for varied reasons.  More support for new users, more information for vendors/potential vendors, new ideas and innovations going out to a wider community.  The possibilities are quite large.

John

Quote - I'm not sure that its a question of posting every day or even every week, more that people participate in some way, as you surely do.

There are lots of possibilities if more people used the forums for varied reasons.  More support for new users, more information for vendors/potential vendors, new ideas and innovations going out to a wider community.  The possibilities are quite large.

John

Agreed.  I've learned much from lurking though and, while still considering myself a bit of a noob, there's likely a contribution I could make in helping others who are a little further back on the learning curve. Unfortunately I always seem to see a question/thread AFTER someone else has provided a solution... and, often, a better solution than I would have presented... More frequent visits might result in more timely contributions, be they of any value.

• Jim

Any and all participation is good, and everyone knows something useful I am sure.  My thought is that if only a small proportion of people visit to have a look at whats on offer then, well it's not getting out as far as it should.

You can get all sorts of stuff from here, notices about freebies and sales, technical help with just about all aspects of everything, tutorials posted and a shole host of other stuff.

I'd say that the number of people who read threads numbers in the 10's, thats out of how every many active members are using renderosity at any one time.  Those post readers can't be the whole, or even a goodly fraction of the whole, if that were the case then renderosity would not be a viable business, unless those people all spend loads of money on products very regularly.  Which I don't think is true.

I think it is such a shame that all this information is not getting out there to as many people as possible.  I started learning stuff some years ago and have got alot of the way to where I am because of the helpful people here, and I am sure I am not the only one.  I just think that the Poser community at large would benefit from greater use of the forums as a whole.

Artistic advice, technical help, getting more out of stuff can only be good.  Anything that improves the profile of Poser to the world as a whole can't be bad.  That shows people using Poser as the technical piece of software it is, rather than the get art quick software that some outside the community believe it to be.

I'll stop rambling now, I just think that people could get so much more out of Poser and other packages with a lil extra help and effort.  The forum is intended for that I guess, I'd just liek to see it used more.

John

I'm loathe to suggest yet another forum for beginners For every "newbie" who works up the courage to ask a question there are probably 10 more who don't. I'm not sure something explicitly labeled "Beginner" would help but you can tell from the apologetic tone that a lot of people are simply afraid to ask questions here. A setting unemcumbered by the OT posts and the advanced node twiddling that we take for granted might seem a bit less intimidating and relevant to their needs - or maybe not.

Other than that, some people just aren't into the online discussion thing or only come here when they have a question. Other people may prefer a different type of organization or tone than the joyously eclectic insanity that prevails here. It would be interesting to know the degree of overlap i.e. how many people participare at Daz or 3DC for example but here not so much.

The forums use to be a rockin- but ppl stop comeing when it became nothing more then a glorified 'technical manual'.
There use to be- right here in this forum- daily freebees, hot topics, personal announcements, poser related adverts ect......

In other words- it was an online home- for thousands!!

If I didn't post to the forums, I'd know less than the little I do now....LOL ;0),

Most everyone is ready to help if they know the answer to my questions. At least in my experience.

Laurie

i would venture to say tha tif it weren't for these forums, Poser would nott be here anymore. The developers awere regulars on here years ago when Poser was part of Metacreations. Most of the user ideas for Poser came from here. It all went away. I think Anthony Hernandez was about the last person that stayed around.

There is a beginners Poser email list at Yahoo Poser101
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Poser101/post?act=reply&messageNum=25061

In my humble opinion (not that it matters) is that it would be good to have a "beginners" forum, one that one would talk about the very basics of Poser use, since i only use Poser as a dressing software, it would be nice... just a thought...

(yes... i know that it can be done here, in these forums, but i rarely see beginner discussions)

ps: oh and i like to read forums, i am more of a lurker than a poster, you can see that for my post count, most of the time i do not post because i don't know what they are talking about...

peace.

These forums are a lot stronger than others that have gone under. Not everyone is into Poser look at some of the other forums. There are a lot more pressures on folks now, maybe they just can't get in here, or maybe they're like me and don't feel the need to post on all the topics. I don't think you need a beginner's or a blog. Then even more people will leave. Just start a seed of more informative and fun threads and I think you will see more folks join up again. Frankly half the threads I see here are boring. Not telling folks what to write, if I don't think it will be of interest I just don't open it, or I don't bother posting. Just saying that just because there is a forum here doesn't mean you need to write something just for the sake of writing it. There are a lot of OT threads...and yes...I too am guilty of that. Seems like folks are just waiting for the new Poser to come out, and not coming up with all the cool stuff they used to. In those days there were lots of new ideas flying around because that was the only way you could get stuff to work in Poser, by trying radical things. Sorry for the rant, need to grab more coffee and get back to work.

Quote - These forums are a lot stronger than others that have gone under. Not everyone is into Poser look at some of the other forums. There are a lot more pressures on folks now, maybe they just can't get in here, or maybe they're like me and don't feel the need to post on all the topics. I don't think you need a beginner's or a blog. Then even more people will leave. Just start a seed of more informative and fun threads and I think you will see more folks join up again. Frankly half the threads I see here are boring. Not telling folks what to write, if I don't think it will be of interest I just don't open it, or I don't bother posting. Just saying that just because there is a forum here doesn't mean you need to write something just for the sake of writing it. There are a lot of OT threads...and yes...I too am guilty of that. Seems like folks are just waiting for the new Poser to come out, and not coming up with all the cool stuff they used to. In those days there were lots of new ideas flying around because that was the only way you could get stuff to work in Poser, by trying radical things. Sorry for the rant, need to grab more coffee and get back to work.

I even read topics that I don't even have a question for at the moment. I've learned so many things just by reading other topics that I didn't think I could use, and yet, there in the thread is a gem of information that I didn't know and could put to use :o).

Laurie

this forum is a great learning tool for those that visit it i have to agree with LaurieA on that

More fun posts sounds like a cunning plan.  How about some mini challenges or something?  Nothing formal, just a bit of fun.

John

sounds like a plan to me

Quote - sounds like a plan to me

How could we do that do you think?

do a render  or a quizz about poser or Rosity  stuff like that

I was posting my photography to Galleries long before I became a visitor to the forums.

And it wasn't until coming these forums that I became an avid user of Poser and Wings.

I used to think of Poser as just a load of false advertising.

Quote - I was posting my photography to Galleries long before I became a visitor to the forums.

And it wasn't until coming these forums that I became an avid user of Poser and Wings.

I used to think of Poser as just a load of false advertising.

:) unfortunately most products don't show you how to get the best out of em, for that you need to learn stuff :)

My favourite thing.

John