What happened in the other neighborhood

[strantor]

Nice. A blatant IN-YOUR-FACE double standard (double-double standard actually, banned topic, banned adverts ) .

Serves two ends, his own obviously, and to reinforce the concept that he can do whatever he wants, unlike a common member.

 

[ClydeCrashKop]

Jan 1st, still active thread.
Making Gerber Files

The OP is Wendy. I laughed because the first reply says " Hi Bill,"

 

[DerStrom8]

I don't remember ever seeing that circuit discussed here.....

 

[gophert]

Jan 1st, still active thread.
Making Gerber Files

The OP is Wendy. I laughed because the first reply says " Hi Bill,"

It was a year ago, Jan 1, 2015. Wendy just revived it because she still hasn't found a solution.

 

[jpanhalt]

The design is a gif file. Everyone has told Wendy that converting a gif to gerbers plus drill file is not a simple program one can buy or download. Moreover, no one who has responded has knowledge of it ever having been done successfully. She has "threatened" to write the program herself. I don't deny her the challenge, but since she has a BOM, schematic, and gif of a successful PCB, it would seem to be so much easier just to do it on a well-known program. For whatever reason, Wendy has rejected that argument.

John

PS: I think there are several members over there who would do it one time for Wendy, but she has not asked.

 

[gophert]

For whatever reason, Wendy has rejected that argument.

 

[shortbus=]

I recall someone saying that he used to be here, but was banned for the same kind of behavior that was causing all the turmoil over on AAC.

That was me. Until my posts started to get deleted with no explanation. Then The PM warnings about being banned if I didn't back off. They did the same thing there with "billymayo" et all. Protect the trolls, is their motto.

 

[JoeJester]

I wouldn't get on the orange crew too much as this forum is also the property of a for profit.

I agree things really changed when the men in orange showed up.

Volunteer moderators are never the last word. The owners are.

Of course, where I spend my time is my choice. The percentages are always shifting....between the four forums I regularly visit. I suspect it is similar to everyone else's visitations.

 

[strantor]

I wouldn't get on the orange crew too much as this forum is also the property of a for profit.

I agree things really changed when the men in orange showed up.

Volunteer moderators are never the last word. The owners are.

Of course, where I spend my time is my choice. The percentages are always shifting....between the four forums I regularly visit. I suspect it is similar to everyone else's visitations.

I'm a capitalist so not against anyone making a profit, I'm just pointing out that purchasing a forum, not monitoring it, and expecting it to make you money, probably isn't going to work out well. At least one of your mods should be a paid employee, who reports you the goings on of your forum if you're not active on it yourself. Do we have that here? Is that who JimB is? (I notice the only person on the "staff" page, while there are several moderators.

 

[DerStrom8]

I wouldn't get on the orange crew too much as this forum is also the property of a for profit.

I agree things really changed when the men in orange showed up.

Volunteer moderators are never the last word. The owners are.

Of course, where I spend my time is my choice. The percentages are always shifting....between the four forums I regularly visit. I suspect it is similar to everyone else's visitations.

You are correct, both forums are property of a for-profit organization. However, the main difference I have noticed is that here the owners do not throw the commercialism in your face at every turn and around every corner. You don't see poorly-written articles plastered all over the place and the owners of ETO tend to stay behind the scenes. Dave ( dmiyares ) is one of the owners here but he doesn't throw the fact that this site is owned by a company in everyone's faces. They stay comfortably and non-intrusively in the background, except in technical situations where they are needed. Can't say that for jrap and AAC.

I'm a capitalist so not against anyone making a profit, I'm just pointing out that purchasing a forum, not monitoring it, and expecting it to make you money, probably isn't going to work out well. At least one of your mods should be a paid employee, who reports you the goings on of your forum if you're not active on it yourself. Do we have that here? Is that who JimB is? (I notice the only person on the "staff" page, while there are several moderators.

Nope, I expect the "Staff" label is something set in the admin panel. Dave (dmiyares) tends to be our liaison for the company (WTWH Media) here at ETO.

Somehow, even after this site was completely bought out by a big company, they still manage to keep it from being thrown in everyone's faces. Some of the issues at AAC could have been avoided if jrap could have done the same.

 

[JoeJester]

Matt,

Like any other business, their plans and the execution of those plans will determine their success or failure. If AAC's choice is detrimental, they will find out soon enough. I don't know how close they look at their financials, nor do I need to know.

As far as the forum growth, we can see that from the membership numbers and posting numbers.

 

[shortbus=]

Well AAC must be noticing. Wendy has made more general posts in the last day or so, than seen in quite a while.

 

[strantor]

Well AAC must be noticing. Wendy has made more general posts in the last day or so, than seen in quite a while.

I'm sure someone brought this thread to their attention. Not me, but someone.

 

[DerStrom8]

She (Wendy) is/was not the only problem though. There will need to be a LOT of changes to that site in order to bring it out of the gutter and restore it to its former glory.

 

[gophert]

She (Wendy) is/was not the only problem though. There will need to be a LOT of changes to that site in order to bring it out of the gutter and restore it to its former glory.

Even with policy changes or staffing changes, I don't think the site will get back to what it was. Maybe some members know each other too well and it was time for some of us to move on. When certain pairs of people are in the same conversation, if feels like deep, unresolved family issues as they nag at each other over semantics or opinions.

 

[JoeJester]

Policy changes will be superficial if the root causes are not addressed.

Two years ago, I read a similar statement like gophert's post 55, concerning ETO. I've been here only a decade, so I don't know what the former glory days were like. The same with my short lived life of just over a decade at AAC. I do recall that AAC didn't have any "rules" in the beginning, other than the standard loosely termed boilerplate user agreements. I did have some input to the homework rules, as a common user, mostly because of my user experience in other social media.

What I do know is the forums only survive when users "participate". Without participation, they fade away. I see that happening at two forums I use to visit quite heavily. Gee, makes one wonder if I'm the problem.

I wish we didn't have to have user agreements, rules, and rules for moderators, to keep the whole herd in the pen, but, without the rules, it would be a free for all. I'm sure most users here have been to what some would call a "wild west" forum. I doubt the "wild west" was a wild as some imagine.

This does not mean AAC or ETO or any other forums have discovered the nirvana of rules and members, it only means that from time to time, the existing rules need to be examined for currency. Every time this subject is broached, I add to my research folder concerning forum rules and forum metrics. That keeps my one brain cell active.

As engineers and technicians, we do know the rush to market is the way for quick cash. Sustainability requires more thought and fluidity. One size never fits all.

I also know that you can be part of the solution by being a pig headed individual and not let someone run you out of a forum because of their problem, moderator or not.

Ever wonder why ETO has a recourse clause in their current rules and the user base here know it exists?

I've seen moderators get out of hand. I've seen forum administrators get out of hand. I'm witnessing the results of such heavy handedness at two forums.

We all must do what we must when it comes to our most precious resource, time. That is one intimately familiar limited resource.

There have been few users that test the tensile strength of our patience. RK, Billy Mayo, and associates plus their reincarnations certainly are distracting. Their numbers wouldn't make a pimple on a gnat's ass in the scheme of things. I don't expect to see them taking food off your table.

 

[shortbus=]

But Wendy's post #138 in Gophers thread over there pretty much spells it out, at least for now. I've been here and over there and will stay that way, unless asked to leave.

Post #138 -
If you don't like how a site is run you can always leave, the ultimate democracy in action. Until the other site does something you don't like that is.

If a policy is not accidental but a deliberate decision, there isn't much you can do about it except take it or leave.

You can suggest what you think is a better proposal, but the staff do not have to buy into it.

 

[JoeJester]

That is he part that jrap should read. Arrogance comes to mind.

 

[jpanhalt]

If you don't like how a site is run you can always leave, ...

THAT is something you never say to a client. Never! It was a very early lesson for me. Fortunately, I was very young and survived that blotch on my record.
John

 

[JoeJester]

If you want to lose a client, that is the exact phrase to use.