Shopsmith Forums

The new setup is not intuitive, had no instructions nor WARNING of coming attractions or impending disastrous events and appears to be user unfriendly. Was this done by Executive Order?

I spent 30 years professionally in corporations showing sales/marketing and management on how to improve their relationship with customers and employees and this ignores everything I learned and taught. In USMC terms this is the biggest clusterflock (Clint Eastwood's PC term for something - he mispronounced flock) I have seen on a site.

No warning, to tutorial, no explanation of what was being done nor why. Nothing! Now you got it because someone decided it was an improvement so figure it out - or go away. Now that is really one way to connect to people.

Hey, it seems to be working for some people in DC so if it works for them why not here?

Geez, it's not that bad! You've used an Internet forum before, right? The basic principles haven't changed, it's just a little rearranging. Like upgrading Windows.

As an addendum to my post let me add this which addresses how anything technical should be presented. This was posited by Don Johnson, Miami Vice prior to 1990 and really expresses something that programmers, IT, marketing and sales personnel and anyone introducing any new concept or format to end-users (sometimes buyers)would do well to notice:

Any Technical Presentation should be like lingerie - It should be as concise as possible and yet adequately cover all the important parts. It should be appealing to the end user, provide ready access to desired components whenever required. It should provide sufficient stimulation and interest for further exploration and result in satisfaction through use of the product.

On first use how did this site do:

Not concise but did adequately cover all parts but confusingly.
Appealing - NOT
Ready access - No, had to look, look, click, click, back and click again.
Stimulation? There was that. Negative stimulation. Get me out of here. Like a coed expecting to be raped.
Further exploration? Well, this has been such a good resource that I persevered although I think many would not. I recommended this to someone yesterday and he replied with a WTF (Why The Frustration).
Use - One try is not to determine if it is easier to use. So far it isn't.

Having diligently dealt with this for almost an hour I will say that it may work and may be an improvement. However, only the diligent, such as the guy in Huntington Beach, the eginner in Kentucky, the one with two tandem horses and a few other off-beat brilliant contributors would persevere. But they do have an investment. Wheres I do not (well, I lied).

My initial view is that the focus is not on the end user but on the supplier. Perhaps Shopsmith is not getting sufficient revenue from supporting this so the focus has changed. That may well be but no one has any data, other than Shopsmith to support that. If that is the case, my recommendation is that it becomes a user supported site, such as Linconsonline.com which is quite successful, owes no woman (the Admin is female) anything and accepts some advertising (discounted deals to members) for their support.

I doubt I will get much support for this since we all want something free. We get that from other members who offer help, suggestions, tips, etc. Lots of etc. Someone has to pay for the server. If Shopsmith isn't getting sufficient payback from their investment then the Admin should advise us that on ??-??-2015 they are history and we will be on our own, so suck it up and get a new admin and server. That would be good to have advance notice. Will it happen or will Shopsmith just drop us? The first shot has been fired across the bow.

If it is for the users, paid for by Shopsmith and appreciated, then whenever we can we should support Shopsmith. If it is a sales and marketing tool for Shopsmith, foremost then perhaps we should consider other options.

So, as I posted previously with a quote from Charles Wesley, please bear with me and lead me where I should go.

Sincerely, Crusader Rabbit

There are absolutely no plans to discontinue the forum. In fact, the move from shopsmith.net to shopsmith.com reflects a tighter integration with the companies online efforts.

Yes, the software changeover could have been handled better.

Changes will continue to be made to address issues that you and other forum members are finding. If you want to avoid these problems, choose the User Control Panel link, then select Board Preferences, then change My Board Style to prosilver. That option will give the forum a more traditional appearance.

db5, there is a simple solution and it has already been made available. just logout.

Personally, I like this new look.
I just need to get use to it.
The basic functions are there for me to communicate with the members of the forum, so the rest is only "cosmetic".
I will adapt.

I am trying the pro silver look. So far I like it better. Thanks for the suggestion.

When I first tried the prosilver style I found the font size a bit small for my aging eyes and overdue for repacement glasses.
Eventually I found the Change Font Size button (looks like a white capital A) in the top right corner of the menu bar.
Clicking on it will cycle you through the three available text sizes.

Here's the REAL reason for the "update."

phpBB

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhpBB

VBulletin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VBulletin

See the difference? We used to be VBulletin, and now we're phpBB.

steve

rpd wrote:When I first tried the prosilver style I found the font size a bit small for my aging eyes and overdue for repacement glasses.
Eventually I found the Change Font Size button (looks like a white capital A) in the top right corner of the menu bar.
Clicking on it will cycle you through the three available text sizes.

Thank you!