Thread bumping and general expressions of impatience/lack of respect

[Draco1962]

I generally try to keep my rants to a minimum and address issues as they occur while trying to maintain a sense of decorum. One of my pet peeves is thread "bumping" when someone doesn't get an immediate response to an issue they are having. Likewise, I have seen some snarky/disrepectful responses to app authors and content contributors when they get an answer they don't agree with or a suggestion they disagree with.

While there isn't a forum rule or guideline against it, I am going to be a little more heavy-handed in dealing with some of these issues going forward.

The admins, moderators, and authors for GameEx, PinballX, and the various plugins, applications, and content do so out of love of the hobby and a desire to share with others of like mind. This isn't our full-time job and nobody is owed anything. It may take several days to a week before we are able to respond. In general, the responsiveness within these forums is better than most any that I have experienced, be it in the timliness of the responses and fixes, or other users that have experienced similar issues jumping in to help.

If you don't agree with a suggestion, keep a civil tongue. If you are asked for additional information (log or configuration files, error codes, etc.), provide it. If you posted a request for assistance and you have not received a response in a 3-4 days then be patient! While you are waiting, hone up on your search skills for the issue and do some of your own leg work. If you find a resolution to your issue, kindly update your thread in return. Show some integrity and gratitude for the efforts of those that are seeking to make these products and community great! It's not too much to ask nor expect.

</rant mode OFF>

[jaharr01]

I agree every one should respectful. But in some forums, 3-4 days without response, your post may be back 2 to 3 pages and it gets lost out in cyberspace. Looking at the other side of the coin. If you know the answer how to fix something someone needs help with,you have time , and you purposely ignore it, don't u think that is a little disrespectful too. I do agree with you about writing bump though.In my case if I ask for help in a post and I REALLY need help, and no one responds in 3-4 days, I politely ask again. Generally I do my research and I can find the answer.

Respectfully Jay

[Draco1962]

If there is a lot of activity it will happen that a post or two may get lost in the shuffle, I will give you that, but it is a rare occurence here. I have not seen where someone's post was intentionally ignored with the rare exception of someone that was trolling the forum and not really wanting assistance, just pushing whatever agenda they had on their mind at the time. You have been around here long enough to see that we are a pretty helpful and attentive lot.

[u-man]

"......just pushing whatever agenda they had on their mind at the time. "

, what a brief description.... maked my day

[jaharr01]

If there is a lot of activity it will happen that a post or two may get lost in the shuffle, I will give you that, but it is a rare occurence here. I have not seen where someone's post was intentionally ignored with the rare exception of someone that was trolling the forum and not really wanting assistance, just pushing whatever agenda they had on their mind at the time. You have been around here long enough to see that we are a pretty helpful and attentive lot.

I agree Draco,I wasn't talking about here. but I will give an example, I have put several posts on certain pinball sites, maybe 2 out of 5 get answered. I didn't bump I just quit posting there. A lot depends on the culture of the forum and it's moderators.

[Draco1962]

That is one of the things that attracted me to the GameEx forums and GameEx itself when I was first searching for a frontend. I was a lurker for a short while here and a few other places before I committed, It is unfortunate that the situations occur as you describe as I have it happen. As users, we have a responsibility to not carry that frustration to every place we visit. Of course, that is not the purpose of this thread.

[jaharr01]

That is one of the things that attracted me to the GameEx forums and GameEx itself when I was first searching for a frontend. I was a lurker for a short while here and a few other places before I committed, It is unfortunate that the situations occur as you describe as I have it happen. As users, we have a responsibility to not carry that frustration to every place we visit. Of course, that is not the purpose of this thread.

Yes Draco this is a well run forum. I also had good experiences from arcadecontrols.com and vpuniverse, both are also well run forums.

[tthurman]

No doubt there is a wide range of people here, as there are with life in general. Without question the user base here experienced a bit of a boom with PBX, and then the EVO teaser obviously added to it. Seemingly there are more and more questions, and requests for help lately, but the core group that has the best ability to answer and assist hasn't increased in number, at least not to any great extent.

Time and persistence are the greatest teachers with this hobby, and so it's not easy to have a huge support base readily available, especially given the multitude of emulators out there everyone wants to run. On the occasion I see a question I think I can provide any insight to, I do my best to do so. Then again a good bit of them I'm best not touching, and so I don't. I think many here have the same philosophy, and unfortunately at times this gives the appearance of being ignored, even when nothing could be further from the truth.

I believe Draco does an outstanding job fielding the topics as they come in, asking for pertinent information, offering assistance, and moving on to the next one, of which they are many. To a very large extent, many of the best and most experienced users are quick to jump in, but this year has brought with it some very difficult times for some of the most standout members here, and so some things aren't being addressed quite as quickly due to it. It's real easy to get frustrated when you hit a road block, but often times I find these as the best tool for learning, and many times I keep hammering away and figure it out before I've even got a reply.

All that said, if you find yourself in that situation, I know how maddening it can be waiting, but it could be that you end up teaching yourself something that you in turn can share with the next guy that hits that same problem. There are some amazingly talented people here, who will do just about anything to help you if they can, and there is always room for more!

[Krakerman]

I can understand where Jaharr01 is coming from as I experience the same issues on other forums as well but that goes to show you how much better this community is and like Draco mention from time to time things can get missed as this is just a hobby for most if not all of us so we don't check the forums on a daily basis as we all have a life outside GameEx and PinballX. I was thinking maybe once Evo is released we may need to expand our forum with a small section for Hyperspin theme creations for GameEx. What do you guys think? I know Hyperspin has it's own forums as well as HyperLaunch but even on those sites they have a section geared toward other frontends at least on the HyperLaunch site they do. Just something to think about especially since Evo will allow us not only Hyperspin community but GameEx community to use those themes in our frontend.

What do you guys think?

Funny I was just talking about this same kind of issue with my wife the other day how funny it is when you are having troubles with whatever program your using (I generalize it and not just single out one community) and you see that over 100+ views but not one reply. That would be a very rare case in this community as we pretty much will answer or help as much as we can provided you give enough info about your issue such as logs ect ect. I won't go making post about how noone is helping or this place sucks type of comments which I've seen in other places before but it's best just to keep it to myself and search other means to resolve my issue such as YouTube or Google as there is a wealth of info that other people put out there that may have the answer to your ?. Another feature on forums that you may want to look at is the search feature because alot of the same ?'s have been answered before but are burried deep within the forums and the search feature will possibly help locate a similar problem or answer.

Since Evo is on the horizon hopefully .... I've been setting up Hyperspin and working on designing themes so that I will be able to apply them to my next EVO theme project. If we had a place here then the rest of this community may know about our themes than having to go over to the Hyperspin forums to find or ask ?'s about themes for EVO.

[Adultery]

HyperLaunch isn't tied to HS or any other FE generally so I can understand why that is. As for having any ties with any sort of HS sub-forum, I think it's a not so good idea. The use of HS themes in Evo is really more of a bonus feature than a staple.

/end my 2c

[Krakerman]

Just a thought or at least something to think about. I know I will be creating and designing themes for both and have already started but whatever you guys think then I will back you up and support it. I will just make everyone aware of my themes using the usual methods.

[Shermo]

I agree I deal with this everyday on another forum and it does get rage inducing it escalates as others bump to get there's on top.

[Draco1962]

Many times I will view an issue and may not respond right away. It may be that I want to allow those in the community with more experience a chance to review or respond. It may be that I am at work and it requires more detailed troubleshooting than I am able to perform. And, more often than not, it is because the user hasn't read the header above the thread before they posted it:

When reporting a possible bug or error, please submit a copy of the following files so we may quickly assist you:

For GameEx - gameex.ini and log.txt (Click here for additional information on how to find these files and others that may be required).

For PinballX - pinballx.ini and log.txt (Click here for additional information on how to find these files and others that may be required).

How about doing yourself a solid and provide these with your post of a bug or other issue with the program? It takes about 90 seconds once you find the files to attach them to your thread. Let us know if you did any troubleshooting prior to your post and what you did. Tell us what version of GameEx or PinballX you are using and the emulator name/version you are using. So many times I see an irritated reply or "I did that already." Really?! How are we to know what you did?

Tom, Headkaze, and Greatflash are busy trying to crank out Evo, in addition to bug fixes for the existing version of GameEx and PinballX and in addition to their real jobs and families and other "real life" demands. I am amazed at what they have any time for us, but often they do.

Adultery is a madman when it comes to his plugins and apps. Having just finished school, he is now working in the IT sector putting his education to use and earning a living at it, supporting a family and all that comes with it. I am surprised that he is even here at times, but he is.

nullPointer, Tempest, KRC and myself have similar "real life" expectations and demands that take us away from here from time to time or at the very least, will keep our visits to the forums or ability to respond at a minimum. As anyone can see that has been here, we somehow manage to respond and help.

As Shermo pointed out, bumping is simply unfair to users with posts that may be older than your own just to get visibility. Around here, you will be visible to me. This is not exactly where anyone should want to be if they are desiring of support.

[Draco1962]

Just a thought or at least something to think about. I know I will be creating and designing themes for both and have already started but whatever you guys think then I will back you up and support it. I will just make everyone aware of my themes using the usual methods.

I think that we will have a place for Themes & Graphics support that are specific for Evo's capabilities. I also think we can discuss this line of thought further in the Evolution thread as it kinda hijacks the purpose of this discussion. Thanks!

[stigzler]

Good points, well put. Especially this one:

If you find a resolution to your issue, kindly update your thread in return. Show some integrity and gratitude for the efforts of those that are seeking to make these products and community great! It's not too much to ask nor expect

It is a frustrating hobby this, especially when yer trying to learn the ropes. I've been in the forum trawling hell (hell, I'm in it now trying to learn batch scripting!) and threads that just die, or OP's fail to share what they've learned/solved is one of the biggest sins for me. Pay it forward and all that, rather than consume, enjoy and exit (a.k.a the proverbial Panda joke - "eats shoots and leaves"

Cheers to all you guys who are true contributors + community minded.

[RIP-Felix]

+1, it's so frustrating when your on a hard to find hunt for info, find a forum post with the same problem, your like yes, yes...WHAT! THAT'S IT!!! NO RESOLUTION. No further posts for like a year, and nobody cares about it anymore. Seriously if you figure it out please share the resolution with us. You started the topic, you can resolve it too. Or at least tell us you were not able to.

I can tell you this is the only forum I've been a part of for longer than a month or two. This is due in no small part by the respect and decorum of the menbers. I consider many of you friends and nothing sours the milk like disparaging and bitter rants that call out other members. I'm not naming names, but I'm glad that the moderators are proactive on resolving these disputes before they distroy the respectful and safe environment. I'm glad that I can ask a stupid question and no one makes me feel stupid with disrespect and profanity. This is why I feel the community is so helpful. People feel comfortable asking here, and rightly so. I don't know how many times I've asked questions that have already been asked before and every time I get a link to the other thread without the "try searching first next time" remark that plagues other forums. Keep it up guys, and thank you for putting up with me!

[Vic Rattlehead]

I recently joined but I got to say that this forum has really impressed me. Thumbs up to the forum users for their civility and all fingers and toes up to the admins, moderators and other members that give a lot of their free time to help other GameEx users.

[tthurman]

Welcome to the GameEx forums RustInPeace

[stigzler]

I recently joined but I got to say that this forum has really impressed me. Thumbs up to the forum users for their civility and all fingers and toes up to the admins, moderators and other members that give a lot of their free time to help other GameEx users.

*bump.

[Draco1962]

*bump.

No peanuts for you. 1 year.

[stigzler]

Dammit. I gone and did it again....

[RIP-Felix]

interestingly, given the importance of this subject, I don't mind it getting bumped. That way it stays where people can see it. However isn't that the purpose of pinned threads? Admins might conside pinning this one as respect is the cornerstone of this forum.

[Draco1962]

Some threads are meant to have a life of their own then slowly fade. This is one of them. At the time, there were a few that seemed to want it all, want it yesterday, and all the other things I noted. It seems to have gotten the point acrossed and also show that there are others of like mind that appreciate all that we do here as a community and to those that made their thoughts known, I say thanks!

[MNMax21]

+1 for the admins and their willingness to help. I have received nothing but good will and support on here to my questions.

When I first downloaded GameEx, I was totally lost. I was posting GameEx questions in the social forum and social stuff in the GameEx area. I still may suffer from this disease a little! Ha.

I don't want to speak for the masses, as I'm not sure all feel this way. But, for me, having an arcade cabinet was always a bucket list item. The concept of getting MAME to work on my cabinet was awesome, then GameEx's ability to bring all the other emulators into a beautiful front end was the icing on the cake. I had a bunch of questions back in the day, that I now know are pretty basic. Everyone on here was always polite and willing to assist. I got more help here than on BYOAC. I even got pinball help here that was way better than on the pinball forum.

I think some people just have a tendency to get overly frustrated when they cannot get something to work. They then start up the questions and get more frustrated when they don't receive immediate answers. I hope people read this and understand the need for patience. Guys on this forum genuinely want to help. I have even begun to try and attempt to answer questions on here, as I know a little more than I used to and I'd like to pay it forward. I'm nowhere near an expert and I'm thankful those who are, are always willing to help.

Back when I chose GameEx over HyperSpin, I researched it quite a bit. HyperSpin had some good graphics, but I kept seeing that it was not user friendly. I chose GameEx because it was user friendly and I have never regretted it.

I think one thing I can pass along is, the GameEx setup wizard is amazing and it has answered many of my questions without the need for posting.

[uberpubert69]

^+100

I learned how to set up GameEx by myself for the most part. I've always been able to search the forum for problems I have that have already been addressed, but there have been a few that required new threads and I usually get a speedy, well thought response. Something I never get on any forums I've been associated with.

I really love the moderators and admins and everyone else here. Even if they give me a suggestion I don't like, it always sparks my thought processes and my problems end up fixed one way or another and I'm always grateful for any help. I too now throw my 2 cents every now and then if I think it'll be helpful. I've even gotten PMs from people for help.

I personally have never experienced any trolling here or downright disrespect toward another member, but I guess that makes me lucky lol.