I know this might be controversial to some here, but as a person who spends time here helping the Alpha 5 community (Just like Stan Matthews, Tom Cone, Cal Locklin and a host of others), I wonder if you tend to consider yourself a forum user or forum abuser?
A forum user is someone new to the Alpha environment, or someone who has tried to solve an issue himself, or has searched the help files or the forum messages and gotten stuck. Then they ask for some pointers as to how to approach their problem and continue on with their problem. Hopefully, when they reach the end, they report the solution so all can benefit.
A forum abuser is someone who asks questions without even doing a cursory search or trying to find a solution. They expect to have their problem solved completely for them, including the code. They never post back the results of their findings.
And a Forum abuser never contributes back. When they know an answer, or a portion of an answer, or know the thread where the answer resides, they stand by the sidelines, rather than throwing out their info as appropriate.
I don't think the forum users criticize honest contributions to a thread, and sometimes a comment from someone who doesn't understand the problem can lead to the solution, so one shouldn't be afraid to contribute when they are not sure (or preface it with the fact of your uncertainty).
And while I realize that many people are on a very slim budget (e.g. writing a database for a non-profit organization) or are doing it "for fun", many are not and they do have extensive funds for development!
Many of Alpha 5 users/developers came to Alpha because they want to (or have to, due to cost) do it themselves. And much of what they want, can be accomplished themselves or with just a few pointers. But there are some things that only a well-versed programmer will be able to accomplish, and at some point even the expert A5 developer can use some pointers from another expert.
Have you ever considered that an alternative to asking questions over days or weeks on the message forum (and with the possibility of not getting what you want/need) is to hire one of the many Alpha 5 independent consultants for an hour or two to set you in the right directions or to actually sub-contract out that portion of the problem?
While I have many other Alpha 5 developers that have used my services to create some code or solve a problem, I'd be hard pressed to name a single forum user that, because of the forum, contracted for my services for a more complete answer. I'll bet other regular, experienced forum contributors probably have a similar experience.
And how many of you have supported the 3rd party Alpha 5 tool developers (e.g example Partec's A5Doc and AIMS App Analyzer, Group Formatter, Script Formatter, CSDA Code Utility), a way to support their contributions to the forum and to encourage future Alpha 5 tools and addins? I guarantee that each of the above tools will save you more time than their costs.
So consider being a Forum User and not a Forum Abuser. That's what makes for a better forum for us all!
A forum user is someone new to the Alpha environment, or someone who has tried to solve an issue himself, or has searched the help files or the forum messages and gotten stuck. Then they ask for some pointers as to how to approach their problem and continue on with their problem. Hopefully, when they reach the end, they report the solution so all can benefit.
A forum abuser is someone who asks questions without even doing a cursory search or trying to find a solution. They expect to have their problem solved completely for them, including the code. They never post back the results of their findings.
And a Forum abuser never contributes back. When they know an answer, or a portion of an answer, or know the thread where the answer resides, they stand by the sidelines, rather than throwing out their info as appropriate.
I don't think the forum users criticize honest contributions to a thread, and sometimes a comment from someone who doesn't understand the problem can lead to the solution, so one shouldn't be afraid to contribute when they are not sure (or preface it with the fact of your uncertainty).
And while I realize that many people are on a very slim budget (e.g. writing a database for a non-profit organization) or are doing it "for fun", many are not and they do have extensive funds for development!
Many of Alpha 5 users/developers came to Alpha because they want to (or have to, due to cost) do it themselves. And much of what they want, can be accomplished themselves or with just a few pointers. But there are some things that only a well-versed programmer will be able to accomplish, and at some point even the expert A5 developer can use some pointers from another expert.
Have you ever considered that an alternative to asking questions over days or weeks on the message forum (and with the possibility of not getting what you want/need) is to hire one of the many Alpha 5 independent consultants for an hour or two to set you in the right directions or to actually sub-contract out that portion of the problem?
While I have many other Alpha 5 developers that have used my services to create some code or solve a problem, I'd be hard pressed to name a single forum user that, because of the forum, contracted for my services for a more complete answer. I'll bet other regular, experienced forum contributors probably have a similar experience.
And how many of you have supported the 3rd party Alpha 5 tool developers (e.g example Partec's A5Doc and AIMS App Analyzer, Group Formatter, Script Formatter, CSDA Code Utility), a way to support their contributions to the forum and to encourage future Alpha 5 tools and addins? I guarantee that each of the above tools will save you more time than their costs.
So consider being a Forum User and not a Forum Abuser. That's what makes for a better forum for us all!
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