Let’s not go the way of WordPress

[usafdcc]

First off, this post is not to say that WordPress is good or bad or compared to Pixelpost is better or worse. The purpose is for me to express my concern that the path that Pixelpost forums are going may be the wrong one. When I started out in the blogging community, I was drawn to WordPress for its ease of use, and also because I thought that it was a good platform for my photog. The forums were exceptional in the there were plenty of people that were willing to go out of there way to enlighten those that knew less then them. And when I started out I needed all the help I could. I mean, really. I am sure that 90% of those that want to start a blog start out knowing entirely nothing. Now, as time past and I began to learn more, I felt it was my obligation to help those that knew less than me, and so I did. After a while thing started to change in the forums, and it all started when Movabltype went subscription. Numerous people fled from MT and flocked to WordPress. So, as you would expect, the number of people that knew nothing about WordPress increased 10 fold. What happened next was totally predictable. All those exceptional people that know so much about WordPress and were so willing to help had completely changed. They were no longer people that shared, taught, and mentored. They turned into people that became rude; condescending and thought that if you were not at there level then you might as well go some were else. Time has passed and now I am using Pixelpost. It is like a dream. As of today, I have been using Pixelpost for 101 days. 101 days may not seem like a long time, but in relation to Pixelpost I have been using it only 48 days less since release 1.0. So here I am again, in the same situation and when I was using WordPress. Now, this is the part that really concerns me. I see these forums turning into the horror that was WordPress Forums. So you may agree or you may not, but what matters is that these forums need to be a place that people can go for help and not a place where people are treated like they are stupid. If you are here to help then treat people as you would wish them to treat you. Here are some facts of life :
1. People that know nothing about Pixelpost will probably know nothing about Forum Edicts so don’t expect them to do a search, or know that it would be a good idea to include a web site or script reference in there post.
2. People that know nothing about Pixelpost are going to ask a lot of questions, so don’t expect them to ask the right question the first time. You may have to ask 3 or 4 times before you understand what their problem is.
3. People that know nothing about Pixelpost will think that you have all of the answers. Most do not know that the people that are helping them are users just like them. Accept the fact that they may not understand the idea of free, unfunded user support.
4. If you cannot be nice about it, then maybe you should not be helping.
I am sure that some of you are asking why I am making such a big deal about this. Well to be honest, I like Pixelpost. It is everything that I wanted. I would hate to see it turn into something bad. The software is great, but it is nothing if it does not have a superior support structure. To make a long story short, if you come to the forums to help, then help. It should not be a place for certain individuals to flash there own percieved superiority or to make those, that will in the future make Pixelpost much better feel like they must bow down for the honor of using Pixel Post. I am sure that some of you will explain to me about how difficult it can be to help the “clueless”. I am sure that I will be told that I don’t understand what it is like to answer the same questions all of the time. I am sure that some people will lecture me about how unfair I am in saying what I have. Well you know what, that’s fine. If it gets you to think for one second before you respond to a post, then I have achieved my goal. Okay, i'll get off of my soap box.

[Connie]

I know everything what you say, I understand it and I have similar feelings

You are not unfair and you know what you say

but I would try not to use the word "rude" but maybe "stressed"

you say "if you came to help, help."

I have another point of view:

If volunteers here help, it is nothing what you have a right to demand, it is voluntarily
everybody has a limited portion of time
if you try to help in the way that people can continue what they are willing to do then it is good

but this is a mutual thing: on the one hand those who know more can help those wo have questions
but:
is it demanded too much expect some awareness of the people that they try to understand what they are doing?

is it demanded too much to ask to read first in the forums and then put the questions?

is it demanded too much that people who know nothing try at least to read before they act?

you critize those who answer questions here more or less, me maybe more
you don't criticise those who demand, who ask etc.

but: did you notice that the amount of those who arrive, stay for two questions and then start to demand that everything must change, must fulfill their own expectations, without patience, increases in the last time?

how can you expect that those who are involved in assisting etc. have unlimiited time, unlimited nerves, can read in cristall balls?

I am sure you adressed me with a lot of your arguments.
But somehow you and maybe others as well do not understand some humour or desperate humour or even a little cynical humor which I have sometimes

We have difficult times as a lot is to be done, but everybody is human and so please accept that (I speak for myself) people with all their faults answer questions of people with faults

and patience and good will and energy and devotion are not endless

but: everybody of us can try to make the quality better.

So, I have a suggestion for you: I know you know PP very well and you know the support forum here and you know that nothing is perfect here.
A forum like this has always a lack of supporters, experts etc.

In the moment we need a FAQ heavily, especially for those who know nothing or not enough
why not start to compile a list of FAQ? That would be a great help
instead of always repeating the same questions we could point to that FAQ

would you like to do that? I would be verry grateful for that

regards, Connie

[usafdcc]

Connie, thank you for your reply. My comments were not directed toward anyone, but I knew that you would be the first to respond. My purpose in writing this was not to accuse any one person, because if I did it would not make any difference because people are going to believe what they believe. I don’t think that you can deny that we have something good here. And that it would be terrible for it to spoiled by someone or a groups of people. Even though I agree with the points you made I do believe that you misunderstood some of my points, so I will say that was a translation error. A FAQ is an excellent idea and I would be more than happy to contribute. I will leave that to you and the other developers to decide on how you would like to administer that. I know that I stepped on a lot of toes, I know that what I said will affect a number of people, but I am hoping that in the long run what I did will keep everyone including users and experts from pissing each other off. I may not know how to code, but I know that I can help in other places. Let me know what you need me to do. Also, I would be more that happy to explain myself to anyone that asks. I would rather have it that way than have people assume. Connie, you and the other developers are doing an excellent job. I’m here to cover your back.

[Connie]

Steve,

thanks for your reply. And for your good will to contribute.

I agree 100% with you that PP is a good thing and that we can create a good athmosphere here, a better one than it might seem to be in the momemt

with good will from both sides we can increase the quality of support and understand here, for sure

I myself will try to "tame my temperament" when answering too fast and harsh, I promise :)

I will come back to you when I am certain how to administer (or make possible) the FAQ

have a nice day, for us here in Hamburg it was a wonderful day with snow and sun and wonderful photos to take

[usafdcc]

Connie, thanks. I wish that I had my camera when I was in Deutschland. Maybe I will make my way back there. My mother is from Hamburg, so I am sure that I will.

[raminia]

Thank you Steve. I'll consider your concerns.

[blinking8s]

I think valid points have been made. But nderstadning the process behind the community development will assist in how to "clean-up" per say.

1) I know communities inside out, mostly design based, I moderate on 3, post on about 20 and administer two at my University. Most have a thousand + members so traffic is pretty insane to keep up with, luckly my time spent on them goes hand and hand with my job...

2) Pixelpost as a "community" for development and support is a little "premature" you might say. A few months back pixelpunk alone was able to answer everything thrown out at him at a slow pace and be effective. But recently, its boomed...use of the photoblog and forum have surged to another level, without proper moderation by a team that was prepared. It was a user to user help basis that wasnt properly prepared because most likely, the ammount of support required was too much for an un-organized community to handle.

3) We're cleaning things up. Connie has been appointed as an administrator and is learning the forums administration, and a moderator team has been given access to sort out the development of pixelpost.

4) Users have blasted away at the PP scripts, requiring super special attention to the next stages of development, because most people will probably want to upgrade, so we have to do everything possible to make this a smooth process for the future versions.

The next few weeks will be the most tedious of all. Hopefully we will soon be able to sort out the most common bugs, patch up an updated version and post it for download.