Request for a forum reorganization

T

tgrogan

Pro
Hello Parallels,

I would propose that the Wish List and How To discussion topics be put under both the Mac and Windows/Linux headings, and that the General Discussion topic be enforced to contain only subjects that apply to both releases, and are actually discussion topics.

This would allow Parallels to better catalog feature requests/bugs/etc by product and make a determination of the cost vs. revenue balance. It would also allow the non-Mac participants of your forums to be able to follow the direction of your product that is applicable to them. The quantity of Mac only posts is swamping your forums due to the lack of discipline exhibited by the Mac community, and is disrespectful of 95% of the computing community. Giving them clear delineation of the proper methods to post in lists that are applicable to them will allow the rest of us to carry on a dialog that meaningful to us.
 
I second this suggestion - The majority of Windows users see Mac users as cultish nubes with computers made by Fisher Price, while the majority of Apple folks see Windows as the great evil empire supported by mindless sheep on bland white boxes - and never shall the either side see eye to eye.

You can already see it bleeding into a number of threads, which frankly could really hurt the bottom line on bringing the OSX people into the fold. It's regrettable that cultish elitism has drawn a 'line in the sand', but there it is. Better to keep the two camps separate than have to deal with the full fledged flame wars that flood every other 'tech site out there... Besides, it worked for the Ubuntu Forums.
 
maybe mac users can post caricatures depicting bill gates' demise in the wish list forums to speed things up ?
 
brettw said:
maybe mac users can post caricatures depicting bill gates' demise in the wish list forums to speed things up ?
Click to expand...
Well, the ones that come here probably shouldn't get TOO overzealous on that, since at least they are admitting their shortcomings and WANT to run XP. (the majority at least, a few likely use it for linux too)

It often seems a case of jealousy, the little green monster driving them nutters... Windows - it's where the applications and 3rd party hardware support is. OS X, it's, umh... different.
 
deathshadow said:
Well, the ones that come here probably shouldn't get TOO overzealous on that, since at least they are admitting their shortcomings and WANT to run XP. (the majority at least, a few likely use it for linux too)
Click to expand...

They don't WANT to run XP more likely they HAVE to run XP. Its kind of like taking a crap - its not pretty but you have to do it .... personally my own excrement is Solaris .... at least I can peer deep into the bowl and see some redeemable bits of kernel though ....
 
<< They don't WANT to run XP more likely they HAVE to run XP. Its kind of like taking a crap - its not pretty but you have to do it .... >>

In that mode of thinking you should be thankful that Parallels does what it does on a mac even during the betas. Because when you have to go inside of that 'poorly designed, badly iconed, improperly fonted' window - you're going to see a whole lot of crap.

Everything is relative - not absolute.
 
In regards to the comments about the Mac community and lack of dicipline:

Yes, the Parallels forums have been swamped by Mac users due to our excitement over the product. However, I'm sure that if there was as much "vocal" excitement surrounding the Parallels implementation on other platforms, we'd have a similar situation with the duplicate postings and disorganization. Blaming "the Mac community" on something that is natural to online communities isn't going to get us anywhere - let's all make productive comments to Parallels about the product to help them succeed and not get into the platform wars. Let me tell you - they are doing a heck of a job listening to the community, and that's a refreshing change compared to other companies in the IT industry.
 
rascaldawg,

Boyish excitement has nothing to do with mac-only feature requests being posted in a general topic for HowTo - lack of attention to the forum's description does. The same goes for General Discussion - if it doesn't effect all platforms, it should be posted under the platform. I was suggesting that there should be a place for mac general discussion, since there seemed to be confusion about there being a mac-only forum, and it should be made more clear by having a specific forum. It is not 'natural' for vendor technical forums to be shotgunned with posts. It benefits the entire Parallels community if discipline is used as is done in most of the technical forums I visit.

And for "I'm sure that if there was as much "vocal" excitement surrounding the Parallels implementation on other platforms", I think you are seeing that Parallels technology is much more common knowledge on non-mac platforms and it was a stable product before the forums were created. This was accomplished with a lot of email support by Parallels. So I wouldn't project any significance that is useful onto the amount of posting done by mac users.

The ratio of mac posts that are mac specific vs product specific are very high - hence my request.
 
I'm not disagreeing with your request at all. I definately think there needs to be more seperation on the forums.

However, my point was that you're getting a lot of excitement from people who are somewhat new to this type of product. I'm sure if these forums had existed for the Windows & Linux platforms when they were fresh out of the oven, you'd have a similar situation. I'ts important to note that this is not a fault of the "Mac community" - it's a problem with human nature.

As to the number of posts Windows/Linux vs. Mac, I understand that it's a more mature product on Win/Lin, and thus doesn't require as much interaction for support, etc. Plus those products aren't experiencing the "beta excitement effect" or "shiny new toy effect". Hence why you're seeing such an influx compared to the posts for Win/Lin. I'm sure as soon as the newness wears off and the product develops into GA, these forums will calm down quite a bit.
 
Hi All!

We are considering both forums re-format and better moderation to better isolate paltform dependent topics and general topics. Thanks for emphisizing this problem again.
 
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