Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

What Do You Want From the Merchant Forums?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    Re: What Do You Want From the Merchant Forums?

    Rick,

    Good point. With growth comes the inevitable gaps in the familiar. And I think there is also an effect on the "other" social channels taking up some of the chatter bandwidth.

    I like the forums as a platform much better than facebook, twitter, etc...and hence the reason to ask the 'community' about this. Interesting that so far only 1 store owner has responded...i was really interested in what they had to say. (Which is NOT to say I wasn't also interested in what developers/integrators have to say as well. To me, the health of forums (mailing lists) have always been the developer/integrators responsibility for the most part and I'm just wondering aloud whether the needs of store owners are being met well.
    Bruce Golub
    Phosphor Media - "Your Success is our Business"

    Improve Your Customer Service | Get MORE Customers | Edit CSS/Javascript/HTML Easily | Make Your Site Faster | Get Indexed by Google | Free Modules | Follow Us on Facebook
    phosphormedia.com

    Comment


      #17
      Re: What Do You Want From the Merchant Forums?

      Two cents here:

      Originally posted by Bruce - PhosphorMedia View Post
      Ren,
      Just my perspective: I don't think I ever looked at the forum as a place to acquire work. ...<g>)...
      Yes, far too many posts are "can you write the code for me for free" types of post, which, if i can do it off the top of my head, I don't really care...
      Wholeheartedly agree on what Bruce said above. Although, I have had a lot of people that saw me on the forum, and requested a quote, some becoming clients. And, ditto as well on the minor coding, since what it the big deal? Yes, I can see if it is writing a module and giving out the info, but simple coding advice won't hurt anyone. I do it for my own clients outside of the contract, so I don't mind doing it in the forum.

      Originally posted by wcw View Post

      The forum is still the go-to place for store solutions. There are many ways to skin a cat and where better would someone ask the question for how to do something? ...
      And here I agree 100% too with Bill. The forum is a great place to get answers/ideas/etc. Other mediums just don't give what a forum can. I've seen others move to Facebook and it is just never the same. And, as for twitter....well... in so many characters ...we would all be doomed.

      There are so many good answers on this forum, and so many good people that do answer. As for module developers, I've had them contact me or respond when I needed something in particular, and that was so very appreciated, and I gladly gave them my business or directed clients to them that needed a module. So, it is a one stop place for myself or my clients to find a module developer that can help with an existing module or with a new module too.

      The forums are great, they fulfill a genuine purpose, and do help many...including those that are not using Miva yet, but will in the future. And, how many application developers do you know that actually have the top guys, plus support, monitoring and answering on the forum. Too me that's impressive, since a lot tend to be customers asking customers for help only.

      Now, what I want to from the forum: Answers, that's all. That's what a forum is for.

      Jamie
      Jamie Donaldson
      JSDVS Web Design / Development
      Web Design | Web Development | E-commerce Design & Integration

      Comment


        #18
        Re: What Do You Want From the Merchant Forums?

        Joining thread.
        Larry
        Larry
        Luce Kanun Web Design
        www.facebook.com/wajake41
        www.plus.google.com/116415026668025242914/posts?hl=en


        Comment


          #19
          Re: What Do You Want From the Merchant Forums?

          One thing to remember regarding new post counts, as more and more information is gathered on the forum, it is archived and a lot of the new questions can be answered via the search features.

          The amount of new posts/topics and any lower or reduction in the count of said topics should not be used as a scale or reflection of the value of the forum and its ability to provide a service. Many users may be finding the answers they need and/or learning how to fix the problems they have by searching previous topics and reading/learning from the answers given to fix the issues they are having now.

          I have run into issues and had questions on features or setting up new configurations which were solved by using the search feature and finding other similar issues that were discussed in the past. Because of this I did not need to open up a new topic. Even though the volume or topic count may appear to be down, the value of this forum was not lost at all, in fact it becomes a more valuable resource with every new topic.

          As far as module developers and professionals with regards to Miva, there will always be a need for customization that is outside the general design of Miva, but in reality things that are so simple and almost required now days such as mini-baskets, sorting your shipping options, breadcrumbs, multiple images per product etc... should be included in the core features of Miva - and I feel for Miva to be competitive, they must be included. If your business is based off of Miva not providing these things for their customers then I can see how this would be viewed as bad or detrimental to your business practices, but seriously...

          For Miva to continue to be at the fore front of it's industry, it needs to evolve because their competition is doing that very thing and it is dog-eat-dog.

          Anyways, that's my two cents and as stated before, this opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it. :)
          Kent
          www.awindofchange.com

          ~~Once you take flight your eyes will forever be turned skyward~~

          Comment


            #20
            Re: What Do You Want From the Merchant Forums?

            as more and more information is gathered on the forum, it is archived and a lot of the new questions can be answered via the search features
            I have had to do this a few times each year because a number of the issues that I have had have been covered already; plus I have purchased a few third party modules because of what I have read on the forums.

            I have also noticed that the number of questions asked each day has decreased, but this maybe do to the fact that there have been no major changes to the software and most of the upgrade issues have been resolved.

            Paul

            Comment


              #21
              Re: What Do You Want From the Merchant Forums?

              Paul,

              Very true on both counts. Couple stable releases and no major crap storms from outside parties (like some payment gateway changing its posting url) there is sure to be less posts. And, yes...almost everything has already been answered. However, the downside of searching pack posts is that you often get multiple threads with the same basic information, though one might be presented better. What would be great is a way to rank a thread according to its "solution" value. For example, every time some one finds what they need from a search, they could click "Solved the problem" so the next person has more confidence in the answer (bonus points for being able to add Ease of Use rankings too.)
              Bruce Golub
              Phosphor Media - "Your Success is our Business"

              Improve Your Customer Service | Get MORE Customers | Edit CSS/Javascript/HTML Easily | Make Your Site Faster | Get Indexed by Google | Free Modules | Follow Us on Facebook
              phosphormedia.com

              Comment


                #22
                Re: What Do You Want From the Merchant Forums?

                Originally posted by Gamelord View Post
                Giving out snippets of code is one of the best ways to acquire an account for future business. If it is something simple like giving someone a snippet of code to change the way their header is displayed - awesome. Whether you realize it or not, helping that one person with a quick easy snippet goes a long ways, and when that person needs something much more intense or complicated, he/she will remember the person that freely gave that snippet - and will be much more likely to contact that person for their "extreme makeover" when needed.

                I am very familiar with coding and have been using Miva from version 3.14 (ewwww). LOL I have solicited many developers on this forum for work that was going to either be out of my comfort/knowledge zone or was going to be too time consuming for me to do. All of that work has come from other members on this forum that I have watched give "snippets" out to others. Two things that I get from this is their knowledge on doing things - and their style. I tend to pick those that have similar programming styles to my own in hopes that I can better understand what they have done and incorporate that into my own knowledge banks. :)

                I find this forum one of the most valuable resources I have. I don't comment on every post - but I watch, read and learn from nearly all of them. Sometimes it is just an easier or more simplified way of doing what I already do, other times it gives me knowledge and new ideas that I never thought of.

                Anyways - that's my opinion and it is worth exactly what you paid for it. :)
                Well said Kent... Through all the years I have been here i have developed a major base of friendship from those that are willing to help when they can... and from that, they have become in a term i say allot, my "peeps"... I have gone to many who i have looked up to all these years and can count on them, whether a direction to point to, or paid help. These forums for me have been an extra side arm to why we can call the Miva platform the best.

                Where else are you going to get support from an owner day and night... Jumping into any new platform is always scary, but when you have someone who has your back its makes it so much more comfortable. these forums have been that for me, i have been here a long time and i know im not the quickest to learn but the fact i have a place to go to, friends that stand by, an owner who writes directly to me at times is incredible. I have and always will value these forums and the bonds of friendships that have come from it. i always try to help when i can and point to the developers who have been key in all these years.

                My 1.5 cents
                Last edited by Datagg; 04-05-13, 07:32 PM.
                Dan

                Girlfriends Lingerie - "Keeping It Sexy!"
                Sexy Lingerie - Twitter - Facebook- Pinterest - YouTube

                Comment


                  #23
                  Re: What Do You Want From the Merchant Forums?

                  ...and when they came for the developers....<g>.

                  Just keep these thoughts in mind when you feel a bit put out by paying for development resources.
                  Bruce Golub
                  Phosphor Media - "Your Success is our Business"

                  Improve Your Customer Service | Get MORE Customers | Edit CSS/Javascript/HTML Easily | Make Your Site Faster | Get Indexed by Google | Free Modules | Follow Us on Facebook
                  phosphormedia.com

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X