How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
July, 30, 2003 1:43 PM |
mjohnson1 |
I know this subject has been addressed numerous times in the past, but I'm looking for any ideas that might help get the ball rolling. I've written to customer service and gotten the response that my letter will be forwarded to the appropriate people and I know others have done this as well. We have posted numerous threads lamenting the inability to search the forum and unfortunately, nothing ever changes. Perhaps a petition could be submitted to OWC? As a regular reader of this forum, I can say that the longer we do without a search feature, the more frustrating it gets. When this forum first opened, it was very easy to find information. Nowadays, the sheer volume of information is almost impossible to wade through. Clicking and reading each thread that one thinks may have the information they are looking for can take hours and I for one don't always have the luxury of spending that much time here. The lack of a search feature has led to double, triple and quadruple posts about the same problem, which add unnecessary bulk to the forum, making it even more difficult to find things. There are a number of viable BBS software alternatives out there that could be used. I feel that this forum is an invaluable storehouse of information that would be greatly enhanced by allowing us an easier way to search through the archives to find what we need. I'm starting this thread in an attempt to stimulate a discussion about what we can do to get OWC to respond to our needs. After all, we've all paid our money to get in here - it would be nice to be able to spend our time more constuctively. |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
September, 26, 2003 1:48 AM |
lyonsdj88 |
. |
Bump 4 pages back |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
September, 11, 2003 3:02 AM |
chibi_delenn |
. |
I would honestly be willing to pay $10 even semi-yearly (every six months) just to have the forum software here that the XLR8YourMac.com BBS forums use. Not only is it very fast loading, but it's fully searchable by group, keywoard, and even, *gasp*, USERNAME. I can't even begin to tell you how often that last feature has helped me find a post of mine that I wanted to reference, or follow up on. I'd even go through the hassle of *re-registering* here if it meant we could have that forum software here. The problem isn't funding, when people like me are willing to pay double what we're paying now (and we're not even paying yearly at that yet!). The problem lies in sheer LAZINESS on OWC's part, something that, unfortunately, I can attest to as being in other parts of their company as well (cough *DEFECTIVE ITEM TESTING DEPARTMENT* cough). I've said it before, but the customers (that's US, for those that care) are getting, for lack of better phrasing, raped up the ass with the Corporate, and oftentimes Systems Administrative machéte these days. There is absolutely no excuse for a company to let so many of its *willingly paying* customers continue to complain and cry out for something that would make both ours and *their* lives much easier. Unfortunately, humanity, it would seem, continues to ignore its own past actions and fails to learn anything from them, and we are doomed to repeat all the failures of our past over and over again. This will eventually blow up in OWC's face, just like with any company that ignores its customers' pleas. The only other viable alternative I can think of for this connondrum is to have Mike Breeden (XLR8YourMac.com) create an "XPostFacto" forum on his servers, and we could just pay HIM (or his team/whoever can update the forum/servers) the $10 every so often to get us searchability. The only thing to overcome would be the "mail server problems" that have kept his forums from recieving any new members since early 2002, but that could easily be fixed by an Exim update, if that's what their servers use. Oh well. If anybody else has any other good ideas, please do drop a line here and wherever else you think it might help. Now that I mention it, I think I might just donate $10 or so to XLR8YourMac.com next time I get my paycheck, just to thank Mike and their team for the easy to use forums and well made site. :) It never hurts to put a little sugar on that juicy tomato... - Chibi Delenn™ |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
September, 09, 2003 12:53 AM |
OSXGuru |
. |
It is a frustrating issue, and I do wish it had been resolved by now. I am hoping that the new bug-tracking system I am using (at the OpenDarwin Bugzilla) will help a little, in that it is searchable. But that really isn't a substitute for getting a search function implemented here. |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
September, 09, 2003 12:07 AM |
mjohnson1 |
. |
Hi Ryan, now that you are back to looking at the forum again, I'm hoping that you will take a look at this and other threads bemoaning the lack of a search function in this forum and possibly prod the webmaster for OWC to do something about this. It is appalling that a forum which requires a monetary registration is lacking the abilty to search through the thousands of topics to find relevant information. Every other BBS that is Mac-related that I am aware of has search capabilities, and most, if not all of them are provided free of charge. I am not complaining about the registration fee - in fact I hope most of that goes directly to you - I am complaining about the fact that so much of the valuable information that is contained in this forum is inaccessible by anyone that doesn't have hours to comb through page after page of topics to find one that might answer the questions that he/she has. Many of us have tried sending emails to OWC customer service and the OWC webmaster to request this but our pleas have fallen upon deaf ears. If there is anything that you can do to help us remedy this shortcoming and keep people from leaving in frustration, I urge you to take action on our behalf. Both XPostFacto and this forum are incredible resources for those of us that wish to keep our older machines running a modern OS, and I would love to see this forum gain the one thing it so deperately lacks - accessibility! Thanks |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
September, 02, 2003 7:46 AM |
twoolley |
. |
I'm there also. How many more will appear? |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
September, 02, 2003 7:32 AM |
jonck |
. |
Good find! I'm there, just signed up with the Yahoo! group. Come on everybody, let's switch massively to the Yahoo! group. It's not like we're losing anything by switching, since all the information on this board is pretty much non-retrievable anyway. Hoping that this entire board will switch to the Yahoo! group, Jonck van der Kogel |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
September, 01, 2003 9:16 PM |
frankdtito |
. |
Look what I found: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/XPostFacto/ No recent posts, but if we all went there, at least the posts would be searchable and such. peace F |
. |
RE: Krissel, I may be able to help |
September, 01, 2003 7:31 PM |
jonck |
. |
Hi Krissel, I read about your attempts to get Jag working on a 9600/350. I have exactly the same machine and I'm now running 10.2.6 succesfully. If you want I can give you some advice as to how to get Jag running on your computer. Just let me know by either sending me an email or starting a new thread. All the best, Jonck |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
August, 31, 2003 7:11 AM |
jseibyl |
. |
Where is Ryan??? |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
August, 30, 2003 8:04 PM |
twoolley |
. |
How nice it would be if we ever caught OWC's attention, but alas, it is not to be. There have been many threads, many emails to the forum hosts, but all in vain. As far as I can tell no one at OWC even reads or posts to this forum except for Ryan, and his last log was more than 40 days and 40 nights ago (July 18th). Since then our flood of questions and entreaties have fallen on deaf ears from above, it seems. I am sure these are the reasons you did not receive more response - those of us who have tried to get the ball rolling in the past have just given up. My Mac friends and I have spent much money in the past with OWC, but we stopped finally a few months ago. I will not spend another dime with them; their prices are not the best, and as we can see their support is abysmal. I continue to get plenty of email solicitations from OWC to buy their latest "bargains", and they always mention XPostFacto. What a scam it has turned out to be! It seems we are pretty much on our own, gang, and maybe we ought to consider moving our discussions over the great forums at MacGurus.com or some other site. Even if I get a new G5 I would still like to keep my trusty old PowerTower Pro up-to- date for a while, but I am beginning to think that Old World Mac support is not going to continue much longer from this venue. Sadly, Tom |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
August, 30, 2003 2:26 PM |
mjohnson1 |
. |
Another attempt to get users to look at and respond to this topic. Nothing since August 11 and it is already three pages deep in the forum - too far down for most people to look! |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
August, 11, 2003 1:01 PM |
mjohnson1 |
. |
Actually, I didn't start this thread to complain about the lack of help available on this board - merely to express frustration with the fact that much helpful information is virtually inaccessible because it almost impossible to find without the ability to SEARCH! Contacting OWC's customer support has so far proven to be a fruitless endeavor. I was hoping that more than one or two people would join this thread and express their own ideas or opinions on how we could attempt to have a hand in remedying this problem... I guess this problem has been discussed so many times in the past that most everyone here has given up on this ever happening. |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
August, 05, 2003 10:11 PM |
krissel |
. |
I joined this forum a year ago when I was aiming to install X on my original 9600/350 processor (which worked out very well, by the way). When I upgraded the processor to a G4 I ran into problems. I posted here for a while to get help but trying to dig through all the threads without search or ability to edit posts made it so time consuming I eventually gave up. This is the first visit back here in months and I'm only here by accidental click while scrolling though bookmarks. I scoped the first page and happened to see this. I'm presently still toddling along in OS 9.1 with X.1.5 on an unreachable partition and Jag CD unable to install. Maybe in a year or so I will be able to afford a G5 and all this will be a sad memory. |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
August, 04, 2003 11:34 AM |
jseibyl |
. |
I'm in, and will keep watching this thread. Jim |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
August, 02, 2003 11:40 AM |
mjohnson1 |
. |
I have no intention of abandoning ship. As I said in my original post, there is a LOT of great info in this forum. Unfortunately some of it is buried so deep that it would take literally hours to find. If I hadn't paid any money to join the forum, I would probably just accept things the way they are with the mindset that it takes time and money to change things and one shouldn't complain about a free forum. However, this forum is not free. While I hope that the majority of the money goes directly to Ryan, I would think that it is in OWC's interest to act responsibly and do something about the chief complaint from people who have "bought" this product. It isn't that difficult to change/upgrade BBS software. Try to name one other BBS that you subscribe to that doesn't have a search function... |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
August, 01, 2003 4:23 PM |
mjoecups358 |
. |
Lets wait and see what Ryan has to offer before we abandon this rickety boat. Marty |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
August, 01, 2003 10:58 AM |
jseibyl |
. |
You are absolutely correct, mjohnson1. I am new to this forum, and would like the searchability for my oddball questions. I needed some time to poke around before I could offer a fair opinion, I feel I can now. I have the hardware chops, mostly :-), and I enjoy trying to help others, but it would be great to have the ability to search for some more arcane stuff I am trying to do/hack. What can I do to help?? To the others.....doesn't this make sense to you?? We all have had some wierd thing happen at some point with our machines, or some hardware we had questions about. How often have you had to post a new thread, and wait a few days for an answer?? Wouldn't it be better to have some ideas from a search you could try right away?? It just makse sense to me. Jim |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
August, 01, 2003 12:24 AM |
mjohnson1 |
. |
Isn't anyone else tired of seeing the 15th thread on the Radeon 7000 card? There are some great things buried way back in the beginnings of this forum that most people never find because it takes far too long to get there. Easier just to post duplicate thread number 4, 5 ,6.... |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
July, 30, 2003 11:15 PM |
mjohnson1 |
. |
"Try emailing them and nicely reminding and asking for there help... " Been there, done that. Seems to have no effect whatsoever. "The other thing we could do, is post a link here to our own forum, and scoot over there." That would be great - do you know of anyone with a site that is willing to accomodate this board, or one like it (with a search function, of course) |
. |
RE: How do we get OWC to change BBS software? |
July, 30, 2003 3:45 PM |
mjoecups358 |
. |
Try emailing them and nicely reminding and asking for there help... The other thing we could do, is post a link here to our own forum, and scoot over there. Ryan, what is your feeling on this issue, would you check in on us from time to time? The XPF forum might then be relegated to newbies, who could find the link to our free forum, and to direct attempts to contact Ryan (presumably by us). Just a thought. Marty |