Could we end the forum insanity - PLEASE!

[David_Haddad]

Would everyone else please back me up here so we can get this fixed, I know I am not alone in this, and I know it decreases participation here.

I joked about it when the 5.0 forum first opened but was also trying to give a hint. The number of forums here is confusing and the way they are set up is even more confusing and I had to use restraint to use the word “confusing”. Some forums take you to sub-forums. But those same sub forums are also on the main page beneath the main forums. It is more like a maze than a forum and actually stops me from wanting to participate. I just had another employee tell me they don't want to use the forum because of it.

How about these main forums with no sub-forums:
- Files & Videos
[put all user guides, sample projects, videos and so forth here]

- Bugs
[we don't need 13 different forums devoted to bugs, one is more than enough].

- Feature Requests
[personally, I think it is really good idea to emphasize to have all feature requests in one forum, and all product questions in the product specific forums, and you need to emphasize it as part of the forum title or people will miss it. Doing it this way will make it much easier to see who needs assistance versus who is requesting features and also allows you at D-Tools to see all feature requests in one place, while people who want to post questions know where to post them. If you need to track feature requests by program, you should be doing that internally.]

- AutoCAD Questions
- Visio Questions
- MMPD Questions
- Text Questions
- Business Manager Questions
- Report Questions
- Navigator Questions
- Everything Else
[“anything that doesn’t fit into one of the above categories”]

- Feedback

Even the above is arguably too many forums but since there are soooo many now it would be a very good start. Thanks for listening.

I just counted the # of forums. 36! For crying out loud! And that's only for 5.0!

[dharmonyav]

I totally agree with your assessment of the current structure of the forums.

[Kevin Mikelonis]

Best of Luck...

From what I see here this is a 'not for profit forum.'

Notice - no pop-ups, no ads, no sponsors.

This forum is essentially managed by the users, D-Tools is nice enough to set the framework for use by those who come here.

This forum is the wild west for getting help on D-Tools setup and use, D-tools staff are kind enough to monitor this forum and provide feedback just like we do as a D-Tools CP (the only one that participates here) and other power users.

This is not support, this is a forum and therefore is going to be 'loose'

There are other venues for getting excellent help with D-Tools that are based on best practice methods and usage, but of course, they are not free, everybody needs groceries.

These venues are available in the form of Personal Trainings form D-tools CP's, DTU, and also complete online training programs like MIT that provide LIVE daily instruction.

So there, I said it, I'll probably get in trouble, but I am in trouble most all of the time - but that's OK because all I try to do here is help the users.

Welcome to the Wild West - put on your Hats Cowboys! RAWHIDE!

[David_Haddad]

Kevin,

As a guy who works at helping people implement good business processes, I'm surprised at your post. Good processes and good user interfaces don't just apply to one aspect of business, they apply to everything from creating a proposal to keeping the warehouse organized so that everyone knows where everything is to ...these forums. What in the world any of this has to do with being a "not for profit forum" or people being able to hire personal trainers is beyond me. This is all about D-Tools getting better and better. Making these forums better and more useful for users is just plain old fashioned business sense, just like making their software better and more useful. It's going to result in more customers and more profit!

Frankly it doesn't take a genius or expert in usability to realize that there is something pretty goofy about having 36 forums dedicated to a single product.

[Kevin Mikelonis]

See,

I'm in trouble already.

[Reed Phillips]

We are going to see what we can done to restructure the forums in a more intuitive way. Our goal is for the forum to be a very useful tool, the first place users look to ask a question or solve a problem. If it is not working, then we need to make some changes. Feel free to post any additional thoughts about forum organization. Hopefully you will see some positive changes in the next few weeks.

[avzone]

I have to agree here. The forum needs tremendous improvements. I don't see the problem as one of staff resources. To me, the problem is the structure that was set up from the beginning. "Crap in, crap out." Any changes should result in a forum that meet K.I.S.S. guidelines.

[Reed Phillips]

So what structure would you suggest?

[dharmonyav]

So what structure would you suggest?

David suggested this from his initial post:

How about these main forums with no sub-forums:
- Files & Videos
[put all user guides, sample projects, videos and so forth here]

- Bugs
[we don't need 13 different forums devoted to bugs, one is more than enough].

- Feature Requests
[personally, I think it is really good idea to emphasize to have all feature requests in one forum, and all product questions in the product specific forums, and you need to emphasize it as part of the forum title or people will miss it. Doing it this way will make it much easier to see who needs assistance versus who is requesting features and also allows you at D-Tools to see all feature requests in one place, while people who want to post questions know where to post them. If you need to track feature requests by program, you should be doing that internally.]

- AutoCAD Questions
- Visio Questions
- MMPD Questions
- Text Questions
- Business Manager Questions
- Report Questions
- Navigator Questions
- Everything Else
[“anything that doesn’t fit into one of the above categories”]

[flcusat]

I agreed with this. I posted a question this morning and I can't even find it to see if somebody answer it. I just need to do a search with my name on it.