New Forum Feedback - Part II

Hi all, chiming in about future plans for Hoop.la.  Though we do occasionally tell customers about upcoming feature add-ons/changes, I'm afraid we don't publicize our Roadmap (like most software companies).  There are a multitude of good reasons for this, of course.

And, while we listen to customer requests for feature add-ons, changes, etc., we can't possibly implement them all.  Again, many reasons for that as well.  Imagine 1,000 customers all asking for different things, each thinking that their request is a great one.  That's in fact what we deal with on a daily basis here.  For the repeat questions that also seem like a good idea to us, well, those often make it onto future releases! 

You'll find that Hoop.la, like all software, is going to change here and there and will get updates from time to time.  We're not making changes for the sake of change, rest assured.  We've found that it's impossible to please everyone all the time, so we try to strike a balance between our vision and the needs of our varied customers.  I've never seen software of any kind in my life that didn't have a group of folks who don't like or understand some aspect of it; I've worked for the giants as well as start-ups, and it's the same everywhere.

Hope that helps; a little understanding and patience can go a long way.  Cheers,

I'm sorry but what sort of end users do you think you're dealing with? This is the most patronising load of BS I've read in a long time. We're not asking to see your wonderful innovative plans for the future although I'd have thought “Improve this board so it doesn't have the functionality of something from fifteen years ago” should be step number one. We're not asking for a load of pie in the sky stuff, only that previously existing functionality should still be there. That is, functionality that was already there and taken for granted in the old forum and just about every other forum on the web.

Have any of you people ever actually visited another message board? It looks to me as though you're doing this from scratch. What a waste of effort. And it's perfectly reasonable to ask for a list of current issues and what you plan to do about them. It's part of the PLANNING process. Maybe you should consider sending some of your staff on training in this area.

Although search is an enormous step forward it's still lacking. From my very brief tests I'd say that “Order by date” should have ascending/descending alongside and is trivial to implement.

“SELECT bladibla FROM bladibla ORDER BY date ASC/DESC”.

That's it done. Where do I send my invoice for SQL training? The slightest forethought would have had this done by default. This is the norm.

As is quote, still not terribly readable but non existent in the iPhone app. That's another entire issue. And “Ignore user”? Not exactly a show stopper but it used to be there.

And please let us switch avatars off. They're totally useless and take up a ridiculous amount of space. Search by user takes 10 times the space it should because of avatars. And switching off a useless unasked for new feature is not a "request for a feature add-on".

So please stop patronising us and provide a proper board with standard functionality.

It is a learning curve. I have done some searches and I have not got the hang of it yet as some work fine and some do not seem to yield what I know is in the archive, but no doubt I'll get better at the mining process with experience. Perhaps it would be good to remember that the old search engine used to be pretty flaky years ago as well.

As for the "look" of the layout, well I am not worried. I have got used to putting my reading glasses on and getting much closer than before to my 19-inch flat monitor!

I am trying to actually return to enjoying the forum as a forum [viz my "Single Driver Speakers?" and "Flat Response" threads] and it seems that a serious and philosophical discussion without rudeness or trolling is indeed still possible.

I suspect that SBW's post not far above and the replies to it really suggest a cultural difference across the Atlantic Pond, and really credit is due where it is due. Some improvements have come, and before expected in my view. No doubt other improvements will come, some earlier and some later than hoped for, but for myself, I hope to continue to enjoy our unique community here, and also hope that some like ROTF/Guy Fawlkes will also return as well.

I suspect that the number of hits by readers may not have decreased, but it does seem to me that the number of posts has taken a dip, and unfortunately the number of really thoughtful posts has definitely dropped off. But the Forum is what we, as members, make of it. If we all give up and go away, then the forum will be permanently damaged. But if we want to preserve it, then it is surely up to us to keep up the normal and high quality of posting. It is up to us as members to try to help the Forum retain its unique qualities, and no doubt the details of the software will improve over time to a point where this period of uncomfortable transition fade from the memory.

I cannot deny that my immediate reaction was one of disappointment, but if as members we play our part, I would bet that Naim and hoop.la would play theirs in creating a great platform for the Forum to exist on.

Best wishes from George