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Where are all these quality topics that are being buried by long ramblings?
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Posted by Foolness
Sep 9, 2012 at 03:06 AM
Alexander, to convince you that “the forum didn’t have interesting threads before Proust was mentioned” would be to raise Proust above other posts which is just as bad as those who raise other posts as being superior to the Proust post.
Who defines what posts are worthy? Obviously the answer lies in posters who put worth in other people’s posts. It is disingenuous to not know the answer to this when a quoted example of such a post is in the very first post of this topic.
Who should take the time? Is English of such poor quality in forums nowadays that the tone of a request is different from the tone of a command? English isn’t my native language but why would someone take the time to command someone and then thank them before their commands have been delivered?
But worse I think is the elitist attitude of it is all there. I hadn’t realized this forum had an elitist attitude.
The forum topics I have read where those of posters who would help other posters looking for software recommendations. Sometimes even sharing and contrasting theories with them.
This was especially helpful and unique in this forum as many veterans would share not so well known software names to those who didn’t dig up old threads. Apparently today it is all “out there”. There are no hidden threads. There are no mysterious methods despite new blog posts on outlining being brought up such as the recent tags as context article. Not only this, Franz, but for a person recommending using search might I suggest learning how to use search yourself. If you had use the search in page functionality available to your browser you would have easily spotted the words spirituality not come out of this username alone and you would have easily understood why it was no rambling.
I really don’t mean to be snarky but my patience wears thin. This used to be a much better and much neutral forum. A forum where one isn’t merely expected to “search”. A forum where posters rarely look down on other posters. While all good things do end, I am not a fan of the speed such recent forum posts have been declining. 2nd user account reply and already there’s this communication failure of “And you complain about others “rambling”?” and “Are you trying to convince me that the forum didn’t have interesting threads before Proust was mentioned?”
On posters who by the early paragraphs of their post understood that I was seeking something and not arguing for anyone no less.
Posted by Cassius
Sep 9, 2012 at 04:46 AM
Foolness wrote:
>I really don’t mean to be snarky but my patience wears thin.
>This used to be a much better and much neutral forum. A forum where one isn’t merely
>expected to “search”. A forum where posters rarely look down on other posters. While
>all good things do end, I am not a fan of the speed such recent forum posts have been
>declining.
===================
I, Cassius, completely agree with the above.
Posted by Cassius
Sep 9, 2012 at 04:58 AM
I recall the existence of a pithy quote that is rather appropriate to this discussion. Regrettably, I cannot find the exact quote so I shall have to paraphrase it and, in doing so, violate its substance:
An truly erudite individual has no need for obfuscatory exposition. Simple exposition will clearly demonstrate his/her erudition and clarity of thought.
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Sep 9, 2012 at 11:08 AM
This forum has done just fine over the years. I’ve learned so many things from the smart, generous people who share their knowledge and enthusiasm for this branch of software. We even have an amazing tolerance for talk about Proust, although we do prefer it if the point were made a little more pithily.
I just hope those people who do not find this forum meets their standards will realize that the web is a big place and that they can probably find a forum that does satisfy their needs.
Steve Z
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Sep 9, 2012 at 04:25 PM
Foolness wrote:
>But worse I think is the elitist attitude of it is all there. I
>hadn’t realized this forum had an elitist attitude.
Neither did I. In fact, I believe it doesn’t. Elitism goes hand in hand with unintelligibility. Therefore, I believe that Cassius’ call for brevity and clarity is just the opposite of elitism: it supports making all contributions accessible by this forum’s broader audience.
>The forum topics I have read
>where those of posters who would help other posters looking for software
>recommendations. Sometimes even sharing and contrasting theories with them.
As far as I can tell, this remains this forum’s core theme. It certainly is the main idea behind my following it and contributing to it. And, after 8 years in it, I still hear new recommendations, including of software that I have known for ages but not realised its full potential, e.g. like Natara Bonsai.
>This was especially helpful and unique in this forum as many veterans would share
>not so well known software names to those who didn’t dig up old threads.
I believe that if you go just a few sets of articles back (i.e. via the “>” link), which is less than a month ago, you will find several threads referencing software than has been discussed many times in the past here. There has never been a ‘final word’ on any piece of software as far as I know, not even on ADM which is long dead and buried deep in the ground by its maker himself.
What I more and more believe would be useful (I mentioned this already, I know), is a functionality to suggest related threads from the near and long past. Not so much to avoid repetition, but mostly to bring up complementary opinions and experiences of the same software. For example, I recall that Stephen Diamond had written quite a bit on Maxthink. Since this software was mentioned recently, bringing up the older posts would benefit those interested in it.
This can be done manually, and I have tried at times to do such cross-referencing, but though my memory is strong, my recall is limited. By chance, I have later found even posts of my own which I didn’t recall during relevant discussions.