This is jacked up

I deleted this post because it was rude.

I've been writing software for 45 years.  Bugs are part of software. 

I'm guessing the resources just aren't there for a huge testing department that signs off on these releases. 

It's a free forum on a model building site.  Not software that's running 747s or radiation machines.  Cut them some slack and relax.

Not complaining Mark, just informing. Elizabeth has gotten use to my standard email of not receiving email notifications. I know it will be corrected eventually. After years of this, I'm not in a hurry and I understand the priority of a modeling forum in my life.

Mark Lookabaugh

I've been writing software for 45 years.  Bugs are part of software. 

I'm guessing the resources just aren't there for a huge testing department that signs off on these releases. 

It's a free forum on a model building site.  Not software that's running 747s or radiation machines.  Cut them some slack and relax.

 

Couldn't agree more.

I'm sorry, I guess that frustration got the best of me. My post was rude and thoughtless. I usually don't complain when this site has forum problems. However, yesterday I spent some time updating my post. Today, everything that I added yesterday disappeared. But not always. Some notification links show the updates, and other notification links do not. Very strange.

You are correct, this is a free web site and it is way different than what I did in IT. I was head of an 10 person IT Department in a 450 person architectural/engineering firm. If the computer system was down, then 450 people couldn't work, which resulted in a lot of lost revenue for the firm. And yes, you are correct again, we should give the computer techs of this web site some slack. I deleted my original post because it was rude.

No worries.  I do it all the time myself.

Bakster

I don’t know what FSMs constraints are, obviously they have some. But honestly, my disenchantment has reached giving up hope that this forum will ever get fixed. It is what it is, and I adapt. I reserve myself to working within the framework provided. Or at least, up until it becomes completely unusable. 

The constraints that the forum is working under are quite obvious - it costs money to keep a board like this running properly, and for whatever the reason Kalmbach does not have, or does not want to spend it at this time here. I suspect that is largely due to it being a very minor, low traffic site dedicated to a niche hobby. Forums like this are disappearing all over the internet - I've seen it in other hobbies like gaming, where companies are closing their forums, because the expense isn't justified for the amount of traffic. Which is frequently a very few people who comment a lot. 

In the end, one needs to remember it is a FREE forum. It either meets your needs, or doesn't. Most of the readers the magazine has left likely don't come here at all, or are not heavy users. I suspect many of the forum users aren't current subscribers or readers, even. So don't labor under the illusion you're 'supporting' it. The trend is moving away from every little website having a forum, and one needs to account for how much you're going to base your hobby around that, before you get too invested in a service that can go away forever with little notice.

It's also ironic the praise the Kitmaker network got...when for many users, it was down most of the last two days, has been throughly hacked exposing users before, etc. That's the internet. User beware. Paid sites have failed and disappeared without notice; free ones owe you less than that. 

This same argument comes every time I inform FSM of a problem and quite frankly it has gotten very old. All I do is inform, not complain.

How about we hear from the FSM staff instead of speculating on the usefulness or unusefulness of the forum and money involved in the changing over to the cloud and other fixes they are working on. Let them tell us how inmportant, or not, the forum is to them, then we will know for sure.

Right now we are having discussions and comming up with conclusions over something that only they are privy to.

This drives me closer to the point.

The cause and effect for FSMs forum problems can be debated until blue in the face. And frankly, I don't care what that cause is. That is their business and as a customer, that is not my problem. 

The bottom line from my perspective is this. Either a company is committed to customer service, or it's not. Do they stand behind their product or don't they?

Lack of funding for the forum does not excuse a company for poor communication. Nor does because it's free make it any more acceptable. Not in my book. There is no excuse for that, and that-- is what I take issue with most in how this forum is run.

I wish I could operate this way with my customers. Eh--I don't know why you didn't get your order... but I am working on it. But I am working it. But I am working on it. But I am working on it. But I am working on it. Only, a better analogy would be a few I am working on its, and then hear nothing more.

But yeah. As a customer, I can take it or leave it. That is my choice. And that is why I am settling for low expectations because I still find some value in the forum, even with its problems. But, I don't have to like it.

And in all this, I am not saying this stuff just to gripe, to make myself feel better. I learned a long time ago to not take customer feedback as personal. It should be used as a tool to make their service better. How can a company improve if they don't hear the gripes. Where I work, we document customer feedback, and we even poll our customers to see how we are doing. That is commitment to service, that is a culture that breaths it. 

I guess I hold FSM to a higher standard because they attach their name to the forum. It is part of their product offering. If this was just some joe blow forum, I wouldn't say squat. 

modelcrazy

This same argument comes every time I inform FSM of a problem and quite frankly it has gotten very old. All I do is inform, not complain.

How about we hear from the FSM staff instead of speculating on the usefulness or unusefulness of the forum and money involved in the changing over to the cloud and other fixes they are working on. Let them tell us how inmportant, or not, the forum is to them, then we will know for sure.

Right now we are having discussions and comming up with conclusions over something that only they are privy to.

 

Well i hope this forum doesn't go away.  I enjoy reading responses from the regulars especially and others.  If it does go away you won't see me on the Facebooks. Just not interested. I'm sure it's great but I refuse out of principle.  My modeling community will be limited to the scale model podcast. I'd miss it.

T e d

Okay, here's the deal. This forum is NOT the only Kalmbach form that has problems. I no longer get email notifications from the Scale Auto Magazine forum and the Model Railroader forum. This mess started after the "outage" that happened earlier this year. I guess that we just need to live with malfunctioning forums.

uhhhh, sorry for this. i posted the above reply, but then nothing appeared.  so i typed some jibberish and went back to the main screen and poof, there was my reply.  Hummm, didnt replies appear right after you hit "enter" and you saw them so that you knew they posted?  YIKES.

Bakster

 

 

modelcrazy

This same argument comes every time I inform FSM of a problem and quite frankly it has gotten very old. All I do is inform, not complain.

How about we hear from the FSM staff instead of speculating on the usefulness or unusefulness of the forum and money involved in the changing over to the cloud and other fixes they are working on. Let them tell us how inmportant, or not, the forum is to them, then we will know for sure.

Right now we are having discussions and comming up with conclusions over something that only they are privy to.

 

 

 

 

Amen brotha.

 

 

 Speaking of money involved...

Is the floating add I'm seeing at the bottom of my screen new?  I don't remember seeing that before.  It's not on every thread, maybe just the new ones.  Or have they always been there?  

I use my phone to view.  

T e d

Ted4321

Speaking of money involved... Is the floating add I'm seeing at the bottom of my screen new?  I don't remember seeing that before.  It's not on every thread, maybe just the new ones.  Or have they always been there?   I use my phone to view.   T e d

No, it's new as of yesterday and annoing as H$LL. I might leave the form just because of that!!! 

I am viewing this on my laptop and I don't see any floating ads.

I am too so you're lucky. Enjoy it while you can. The new one on the left and the floating one on the bottom 

Ted4321

Is the floating add I'm seeing at the bottom of my screen new?  I don't remember seeing that before.  It's not on every thread, maybe just the new ones.  Or have they always been there?  

I use my phone to view.  

T e d

I noticed those the other day. In the url address (I use chrome) there is a little circle with an "i" inside and the words, "Not Secure". It's in the upper left hand corner of my laptop. I'm not sure of how to deal with it on a phone.

Anyway, if you right click on it, it will give you an option to view the cookies. I basically blocked everything in the cookies except ones that pertained to FSM. It removed the little floating ads.

Awsome Rob, it worked, thanks!

Rob Gronovius

 

 

Ted4321

Is the floating add I'm seeing at the bottom of my screen new?  I don't remember seeing that before.  It's not on every thread, maybe just the new ones.  Or have they always been there?  

I use my phone to view.  

T e d

 

 

 

I noticed those the other day. In the url address (I use chrome) there is a little circle with an "i" inside and the words, "Not Secure". It's in the upper left hand corner of my laptop. I'm not sure of how to deal with it on a phone.

Anyway, if you right click on it, it will give you an option to view the cookies. I basically blocked everything in the cookies except ones that pertained to FSM. It removed the little floating ads.

 

Yeah but it's back again

modelcrazy

Yeah but it's back again

 

Good tip, Rob. That banner was annoying me. Just applied your method. I will see if I need to wash it again with maybe a stain remover. 

Bakster

Good tip, Rob. That banner was annoying me. Just applied your method. I will see if I need to wash it again with maybe a stain remover. 

I noticed that if I visit a subforum or topic I haven't visited before, it treats that as a new webpage and I have to repeat the steps. It just takes a few seconds to do it. I mean, less than 30 seconds, but I do find it annoying.