Carol:

"Yes, it pretty much cleared up shortly after the initial messages here at the forum."

Sadly no .. that is far from true.  It is actually getting worse.

I gave up checking into the site at all for a couple of days because any attempt to visit was met with an increasingly frustrating "Service Unavailable" error.  I logged in earlier today with no trouble. But ... following an ebot message here about updates I was faced with a wall of frustration once again. 

It required more than 25 attempts over a 20 minute period before I was able to view this page.  . . .  I am writing this so that you are aware of the continued issue even though I seriously doubt I will be able to post this once it is written .. and with a few more error messages I will likely abandon the effort.

I am one of those site visitors who comes online mostly as a relief from daily demands.  It is positive distraction and relaxation I seek and time for such amusements is limited for me.  I imagine this is the same for many visitors. 

A great deal of the initial attraction to Renderosity has been stripped away in recent months, without discussion or consent. Whatever the reasons for these choices it does seem as if user experience has been little considered as changes have been implemented. 

I imagine there will be a howl back that UE is exactly the reason for all of the site modifications.  That may actually be true from the developers' perspective; it is not, however, the wider view of the community, evidenced by the strong opinions many have been voicing.  A growing perception is that this is no longer the Ren' we fell in love with and to this I sadly must agree.  Hey!.. things evolve, right?  & Sure .. the only one who truly enjoys Change is a wet baby.  The general mutiny is nowhere near Netflix proportions, that is so, but there is wide discontent throughout the community.  Something as un-planned and unexpected as database indigestion can lead to a tipping point of rejection for a portion of the community.  

I do not intend these words as a critique.  I am taking the time to post so that you may be aware of one other member's experience and perceptions.  I do this at all because I think the site is still worth it and because I believe you are listening.

It is obvious that server errors are unintentional.  Twenty minute denials of access are, however, a serious issue. The deeply negative association generated by these and other experiences has already lead me to spend more time away from Ren' and spend less time attempting to get back in.

I know this is a drag to read.  It is, however, better expressed than not. 

Still .. with warm regard,

Terry

 

If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.