WP deserves a better forum

[JCV]

Sorry for being so rude, but frustration leads me to be straightforward: wordpress needs some better forum. There is a lot of interest expressed about wordpress, but you can’t find out with the tool used there.

You can’t contact moderators, or I haven’t be able to find how. If you want private conversation, discuss about closing a post, or whatever else, forget it.

You can’t see user’s posts; which is very convenient, when you find a user helpful. It could also have been helpful on many other subjects, but you’ll never know.

Last but not least, you can’t follow a thread. You can’t be told when a new message has been sent, and when you look for an answer, that’s very frustrating. I know you can “favorite” a thread, but is it really optimal?

The best proof the forum isn’t adapted to wordpress users needs, is the bad answer rate; how many posts doesn’t get any answer, even though a lot of people visit the forum? Too difficult to find what you’re looking for, if someone wrote an answer, and so on. Current forum doesn’t incite people to come back again, but a forum has to do it!

Am I alone to feel that?

[Len]

Hi psykonevro,

To view user’s posts simply click “Member” under their individual names. This will bring you to their profile page where you can see 2 columns –> Replies and Threads Started.

Actually there is a plugin available for bbPress which notifies users of replies to their threads. I’ve mentioned before that perhaps it could be used here.

With respect to the answer rate I agree, many threads go unanswered here but that is not the fault of the volunteers – and we are all volunteers doing this is our spare time. Of the thousands of WordPress users out there there are only a dozen or so that help out here on a regular basis. You do the math. ??

[Samuel B]

You can’t contact moderators, or I haven’t be able to find how. If you want private conversation, discuss about closing a post, or whatever else, forget it.

And you should be able to do this why? To harrass us so we have even less time to help out? We are all volunteers.

Last but not least, you can’t follow a thread. You can’t be told when a new message has been sent, and when you look for an answer, that’s very frustrating. I know you can “favorite” a thread, but is it really optimal

RSS is your friend here.

The best proof the forum isn’t adapted to wordpress users needs, is the bad answer rate; how many posts doesn’t get any answer, even though a lot of people visit the forum?

Whose fault is this? How many wordpress users help out here regularly? Do you? Your friends? We all volunteer what time we can afford for free.
Is it optimal? Likely not. I suppose wordpress could go to pay support…

[JCV]

To view user’s posts simply click “Member” under their individual names. This will bring you to their profile page where you can see 2 columns –> Replies and Threads Started.

I knew I was missing something here, thanks for the tip ??

About contacting moderators: And you should be able to do this why? To harrass us so we have even less time to help out? We are all volunteers.

Well, that not about harassing, and let me notice that is a very very strange answer.
It is about exchange. I recently had have a topic closed, but the moderator was wrong (in details, two posts, but wrong one has been closed). How could I ask the moderator to rectify his mistake? The good topic was closed, and the wrong was… well, not read.
Don’t see the point with being volunteers…

Whose fault is this? How many wordpress users help out here regularly? Do you? Your friends? We all volunteer what time we can afford for free.
Is it optimal? Likely not. I suppose wordpress could go to pay support…

In my case, I would be more regular IF the forum was a tool to be so. Currently, it doesn’t incite people to come back. It is very strange for a so much popular internet tool that so few people “make a clutch” at the forum; look at how many make plugins, themes, write about wordpress on their blog. Compare this to how many help, there is quite a gap.

In my opinion, the way the forum works COULD be an answer to this situation; I do not attack the volunteers, I don’t understand why you take it so personally.

[darran]

I am with psykonevro on this.

I find myself helping others more than posting a support question on the forums.

The biggest problem I have is actually following up on the threads I have answered to. I usually go to my profile and check on the threads which have the latest replies, what if I reply to a huge load, I have to determine myself which threads have been answered, they are not chronically organized. It makes it very difficult.

With that being said, BBPress is a project just like WordPress, these could be looked upon on a positive side and improvements can be made. I am sure these will be valuable feedback the guys at Automattic would love to see coming from us.

[Samuel Wood (Otto)]

You can’t contact moderators, or I haven’t be able to find how. If you want private conversation, discuss about closing a post, or whatever else, forget it.

Clicking on anybody’s name will go to their own personal website (or whatever they defined in their profile), which may offer a way to contact them. Mine does. But that’s up to the individual, of course.

You can’t see user’s posts; which is very convenient, when you find a user helpful. It could also have been helpful on many other subjects, but you’ll never know.

Click on the word “Member” or “Moderator” beside the users name to see their profile, including a list of threads they posted in.

Last but not least, you can’t follow a thread. You can’t be told when a new message has been sent, and when you look for an answer, that’s very frustrating. I know you can “favorite” a thread, but is it really optimal?

If you know about favorites, then you already know how to follow threads. I fail to see the problem here.

[JCV]

Clicking on anybody’s name will go to their own personal website (or whatever they defined in their profile), which may offer a way to contact them. Mine does. But that’s up to the individual, of course.

That’s exactly what I’m speaking about; how easy, how userfriendly…

If you know about favorites, then you already know how to follow threads. I fail to see the problem here.

Well, you have to connect to wordpress forum… I follow several forums, and if I had to connect to them to see if I have an answer to my threads, it would be a nightmare.

[Samuel Wood (Otto)]

That’s exactly what I’m speaking about; how easy, how userfriendly…

If somebody can’t be bothered to go to my website and click on my email link, then I honestly don’t want to hear from them. If there was a way to contact me directly through these forums, I’d probably disable it.

That said, I get lots of emails from people who found me through these forums and emailed me to ask for help. Multiple per day, actually. I don’t see that it’s all that difficult.

Well, you have to connect to wordpress forum… I follow several forums, and if I had to connect to them to see if I have an answer to my threads, it would be a nightmare.

Must be a personal preference thing. I get enough email as it is, if every forum I read (dozens) started emailing me all the bloody time, I’d never get anything done.

Learn to use a feed reader. I use it on several forums to keep up with various threads, and these all funnel into my Google Reader account. That way, I get both consolidation and can do it on my own schedule. bbPress, like WordPress, offers feeds for just about everything.

[tony-finnegan]

I must have done something right when setting up my pages because I get an e mail every time anyone adds a comment. Only thing was it was mainly spam senders that were commenting but when I discovered that I could activate Akismet I managed to get all of them blocked. But in the meantime they had managed to get me black listed by Google and other search engines so I get no messages at all now.

[moshu]

@tony Finnegan,
I can’t see what your post has to do with the whole thread. Maybe you should read the topic before posting to it.

[Samuel B]

This topic is pointless anyway. Closed.