Discussion thread for forum rules.  

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

Hi Shane.

I’d like to elaborate a bit more on this point:

"2. Ask for Help the Right Way

When posting a support question, please include:

Printer model & firmware

Filament type & brand

Slicer and version

Print settings (temperature, speed, layer height, etc.)

Photos or videos of the issue

What you’ve tried already

Export the file you are working on as a .3MF, zip it, and include it in the post."

What if there were a way to automate standard questions and standard information? I’m talking about templates or even forms. Is there a “Drag & Drop” feature to offer users a preselection that they can supplement themselves if needed?

In my forum, the input form with all recurring information can be quickly and easily moved to the actual free-text field. All other information is selected rather than typed, so users have to type less.

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

Yes, something that would lead to a template of things to include. Maybe everybody can't include everything, but it would go a long way towards fewer posts to get to an answer.

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

I can add this to the list of things to do when working on the forum itself, but it would be secondary as the main focus is to improve the overall performance of the forum, then I can work on this idea. It is a good idea

Posted by: @jan-d-slay

Hi Shane.

I’d like to elaborate a bit more on this point:

"2. Ask for Help the Right Way

When posting a support question, please include:

Printer model & firmware

Filament type & brand

Slicer and version

Print settings (temperature, speed, layer height, etc.)

Photos or videos of the issue

What you’ve tried already

Export the file you are working on as a .3MF, zip it, and include it in the post."

What if there were a way to automate standard questions and standard information? I’m talking about templates or even forms. Is there a “Drag & Drop” feature to offer users a preselection that they can supplement themselves if needed?

In my forum, the input form with all recurring information can be quickly and easily moved to the actual free-text field. All other information is selected rather than typed, so users have to type less.

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

I can add this to the list of things to do when working on the forum itself, but it would be secondary as the main focus is to improve the overall performance of the forum, then I can work on this idea. It is a good idea

No problem.

The priorities are clear, and improvements and changes take time—it’s a process. But the fact is, at some point you have to send a signal and keep a goal in mind. In any case, it would be a relief for all the members here who want to help if the person seeking help came right out with a wealth of information in their very first post.

You can’t just tell the doctor, “It hurts.” You have to be more specific, otherwise there’s no way to make a diagnosis.

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

And one more idea. It might be worth considering introducing a requirement for a uniform format for images and videos. Why I say this: many users upload images and videos here in all sorts of encodings (typically HEVC). Unfortunately, these codecs are usually paid for and the user who has the codec assumes that everyone else must have it too. However, the author (user of the codec) has the option to export the file in other formats. So I suggest allowing files only in general formats (txt, pdf, jpg, videos in mov, for example). And not respecting the others, just like it is today, when the forum only accepts zip and rejects the others. Take the list I wrote just as an example, with the proviso that I leave the selection of allowed formats to the administrators and moderators of the forum.

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

Just an apology: The txt and pdf formats do not belong in the list, of course. I originally had a different idea and forgot to delete them.

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

I'd like a clarification. I have a website. It's non-commercial, in spite of having a dot com extension. It has no advertising. It's free. You can't buy anything from me or anybody else. It collects no data, unless the host does, which is probably universal. The site is a collection of technical information on whatever things have interested me at a given time, including a few items on 3D printing. Because I write things in long painful detail, more than I could ever post, I often link to them. Is that self-promotion? Is it permitted? Frowned on? Rude?

Side note- I'm pretty sure one of my links, probably in the Facebook Prusa group, triggered their AI robots and got me totally expunged with no recourse. Eleven years of historic photos, tech info and posts, gone. In their case the AI is policeman, judge, jury and executioner, but they don't bother with the middle two. We don't have 3.07 billion users (that would be a lot of printers!) but burned once...

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

1. point 4 should be extended to add 'encouraging to illegal activities is prohibited', such as sharing license violating models, using/linking to illegal software/cracks , drugs, violence  etc. I guess there is not much going like that on the forum but better state it explicitly.
2. regarding limiting video codecs and image formats, I would say currently there are no issues with the codecs or image formats. You can ask people to reupload the content in different format, but there is no point in enforcing it. It's not that bad as it used to be in around 2013 😀
I would strongly recommend allowing uploading .3mf files, though

RE:

Posted by: @_kaszpir_

1. point 4 should be extended to add 'encouraging to illegal activities is prohibited', such as sharing license violating models, using/linking to illegal software/cracks , drugs, violence  etc. I guess there is not much going like that on the forum but better state it explicitly.
2. regarding limiting video codecs and image formats, I would say currently there are no issues with the codecs or image formats. You can ask people to reupload the content in different format, but there is no point in enforcing it. It's not that bad as it used to be in around 2013 😀
I would strongly recommend allowing uploading .3mf files, though

The license thing might be an issue in the case of anyone posting about a model they are printing from any movie/game/comic or otherwise not listed franchise or property in which they chose to express their fandom. Which is huge on the 3D printing space.

So that one bugs me just a tad.

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

Posted by: @conrad-2

I'd like a clarification. I have a website. It's non-commercial, in spite of having a dot com extension. It has no advertising. It's free. You can't buy anything from me or anybody else. It collects no data, unless the host does, which is probably universal. The site is a collection of technical information on whatever things have interested me at a given time, including a few items on 3D printing. Because I write things in long painful detail, more than I could ever post, I often link to them. Is that self-promotion? Is it permitted? Frowned on? Rude?

Side note- I'm pretty sure one of my links, probably in the Facebook Prusa group, triggered their AI robots and got me totally expunged with no recourse. Eleven years of historic photos, tech info and posts, gone. In their case the AI is policeman, judge, jury and executioner, but they don't bother with the middle two. We don't have 3.07 billion users (that would be a lot of printers!) but burned once...

That is fine... Heavy self promotion is say, I am a uber user, a tech god who has all the answers 🙂 Every post I make has links to my work (not talking about signatures) and is oblivious that my intent is to direct the community to my site with every post I make. 

In your case, I wouldn't consider that self promotion, just sharing what you wrote and don't want to re-write it again. Also people can always DM (please don't tag, the forum DM's are the best way to get my attention) and ask if there was a rule broken. 

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

Posted by: @shrap-2

 

Posted by: @_kaszpir_

1. point 4 should be extended to add 'encouraging to illegal activities is prohibited', such as sharing license violating models, using/linking to illegal software/cracks , drugs, violence  etc. I guess there is not much going like that on the forum but better state it explicitly.
2. regarding limiting video codecs and image formats, I would say currently there are no issues with the codecs or image formats. You can ask people to reupload the content in different format, but there is no point in enforcing it. It's not that bad as it used to be in around 2013 😀
I would strongly recommend allowing uploading .3mf files, though

The license thing might be an issue in the case of anyone posting about a model they are printing from any movie/game/comic or otherwise not listed franchise or property in which they chose to express their fandom. Which is huge on the 3D printing space.

So that one bugs me just a tad.

as a fellow pop culture / video game / anime / movies / comic books nerd.. I get this and technically I do understand and know that "fan art" is not a legal defense against IP. And on the flip side, if a company enforces their IP, there is blow back from their own community / fan base. 

In regards to how I was mentioning respecting the license, it was more along the lines of the license of the model. IP license is another can of worms I would like to avoid opening at this point in time as I would be here for weeks on that topic 🙂 

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

So suggestion about illegal activities added.  (thanks for the suggestion as I forget... common logic is not common anymore) 

For the thing about video and image format, for right now, I would like to put a pin on that one till the internal discussions about forum upgrades are done as that might or might not be possible to enforce (in a good way). So I would like to revisit that one 

RE: Discussion thread for forum rules.

I get it. As long as it's still okay to show a screenshot or something when I am asking for assistance on 3d modeling or print errors, I think that's good enough.

Posted by: @same-old-shane

 

Posted by: @shrap-2

 

Posted by: @_kaszpir_

1. point 4 should be extended to add 'encouraging to illegal activities is prohibited', such as sharing license violating models, using/linking to illegal software/cracks , drugs, violence  etc. I guess there is not much going like that on the forum but better state it explicitly.
2. regarding limiting video codecs and image formats, I would say currently there are no issues with the codecs or image formats. You can ask people to reupload the content in different format, but there is no point in enforcing it. It's not that bad as it used to be in around 2013 😀
I would strongly recommend allowing uploading .3mf files, though

The license thing might be an issue in the case of anyone posting about a model they are printing from any movie/game/comic or otherwise not listed franchise or property in which they chose to express their fandom. Which is huge on the 3D printing space.

So that one bugs me just a tad.

as a fellow pop culture / video game / anime / movies / comic books nerd.. I get this and technically I do understand and know that "fan art" is not a legal defense against IP. And on the flip side, if a company enforces their IP, there is blow back from their own community / fan base. 

In regards to how I was mentioning respecting the license, it was more along the lines of the license of the model. IP license is another can of worms I would like to avoid opening at this point in time as I would be here for weeks on that topic 🙂 

RE:

I would also add a point to remond people not to use quote too many times because on mobile it turns into a forever scroll of nested quotes, especially if they use short sentence as an answer 😉