Why separate Mac/Windows COP7 forums?
Are the differences in functionality enough to merit two separate forums? I don't think so.
If we had only one forum it would be so much easier to follow and join discussions about functionality. As it is we often have to post in both forums.
Of course, on occasion we would have to specify on which OS we're running COP7. A minor inconvenience in my opinion. Other forums here seems to do OK without being OS-specific.
What do you think?
Cheers,
Mogens
Case in point: A link to this post is posted in the COP7 for Windows forum.
If we had only one forum it would be so much easier to follow and join discussions about functionality. As it is we often have to post in both forums.
Of course, on occasion we would have to specify on which OS we're running COP7. A minor inconvenience in my opinion. Other forums here seems to do OK without being OS-specific.
What do you think?
Cheers,
Mogens
Case in point: A link to this post is posted in the COP7 for Windows forum.
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I have I'm ashamed to say very little experience in using CaptureOne on Windows but I would think that bugs/issues present in C1 windows are unlikely to be in C1 Mac 0 -
Issues user have with the program can be OS related. Think about file operations in the programs and different versions of an OS itself they need help for. In addition, there are small but sometimes distinct differences in functionality or how things work. Also users tend to forget to say they are on Mac or Windows. And as rapdigital brings forward, most user have only single platform experience. A single forum will make it much harder to help users which is the main idea of the forum in the first place.
Talking for myself, when assisting on these forums I have both Mac and Windows with their respective CO7 software running to be able to understand an issue and help effectively.
As a result, for current versions of CO it makes sense to have distinct forum, IMHO. Once the version becomes superseded with a new one and most forum activity has moved to the related forums, merging two software forums to one makes more sense.
That is actually the way Phase One does handle it now and it feels right for me. Forums like for CO3, 4, 5, and 6 started as separate Mac and Windows forums as well. Same is true for Media Pro forums.
Discussions about functionality and features, new camera support would make a single forum more preferable. I understand that but does not outweighs the disadvantage of clarity of distinct forums.
Other forums are about hardware or legacy software, hence a single forum is preferred.
my 2 cts.0 -
I'm with Paul on this.
I much prefer seeing separate forums but have no problems following both especially where subjects are of common interest.
The underlying technology has to be a strong influence. For applications that run Linux as well as WIn/Mac this becomes even more evident. IMO.
Some of the issues that MAC users seem to have every time there is an IOS version update or a new Apple specific device interface are probable of very little interest to Win users unless they are thinking about moving to Mac. And then there are specific differences in the way C1 works on the different platforms. Maybe not so many differences these days but enough that in a User to User environment if should not be an expectation that the posters are even aware of the differences let alone expert in them.
The potential for confusion is best avoided in my opinion.
Grant Perkins0 -
Thanks guys
I believe I mentioned differences re. OS and functionalty myself, but the point is, that there is by far much more common ground than there are differences. Why then should the differences be the deciding factor? Remember the very long thread about a spot healing tool?
Another way to look at the issue: GIve us OS-specific radio buttons to tick if appropiate when we post, and the option to filter when viewing. I believe we can have both icecream and steak.
I fully respect if some are of a different mind.
Cheers,
Mogens0 -
Also consider:
Which is easier:
a) Ignoring obviously irrelevant post in a single forum?
b) Consolidating posts on the same subject in two forums, not knowing if posters in either forum have seen posts in the other?
Cheers,
Mogens0 -
My impression - based on a quick and unscientific look through a few pages' worth of previous posts - is that more posts are not OS-specific than are, so it makes little sense to me to have OS specific boards. 0 -
I would support the Boards being merged. 0 -
I would like them both merged. Just incorporate a labeling system that let's users know if an issue or question is OS specific. 0 -
[quote="ben43456" wrote:
I would like them both merged. Just incorporate a labeling system that let's users know if an issue or question is OS specific.
Do you think people (I.e. Users, this being primarily a User to User forum by intent) would;
a) Know whether something is OS specific - it's not always obvious
b) use any coding button or tag accurately
c) care enough about the such detail to make a choice
My experiences elsewhere and for other application types suggests not to all three - but things might be changing out there in the world.
Maybe it would easier to offer a date and time ordered combined view for as many of the prime forum threads as people wish to view in a single list. I wonder if the forum software allows anything like that? If it did might be an answer for everyone's needs.
Grant0 -
[quote="SFA" wrote:
Do you think people (I.e. Users, this being primarily a User to User forum by intent) would;
a) Know whether something is OS specific - it's not always obvious
That question serves as a strong argument against separate boards.
People post a question into an OS-specific board simply because they have that OS, even when in the issue isn't at all OS-specific.
This can mean that good, useful general advice can be missed by people who don't (say) go into the Mac board because they're Windows users...0 -
Grant
In my case it's no to all three!
Tim0 -
[quote="Keith Reeder" wrote:
[quote="SFA" wrote:
Do you think people (I.e. Users, this being primarily a User to User forum by intent) would;
a) Know whether something is OS specific - it's not always obvious
That question serves as a strong argument against separate boards.
People post a question into an OS-specific board simply because they have that OS, even when in the issue isn't at all OS-specific.
This can mean that good, useful general advice can be missed by people who don't (say) go into the Mac board because they're Windows users...
Sounds a bit like the Nikon/Canon competitiveness. 😉
I don't disagree but then by identifying whether they are using one system or the other (accurately) without trying means they don't have to remember to write it in the text and people who might wish to respond don't have to double check whether they are responding to an incomplete problem report. In the worst case people might be swamped with well meaning responses that are just not relevant to their situation.
I happen to choose to watch both forums. Having done so over the course of V7's development I have decided that I am delighted I did not seriously consider buying a Mac when I required an upgrade to be able to run 64bit OS successfully. (There are other reasons why it would not have been a wise thing for me to do but that's another matter.)
If I wish to check in but I'm not too bothered about anything other than the latest threads for Windows I can do so easily.
When I am ready to review the rest I can look in the Mac forum.
For a business software forum I frequent the identification of which version of the software is in use (many users have need that are entirely satisfied, so far as they know, by rather old versions) can be quite important to the usefulness of the advice one can give. It's a Windows only application so apart from Windows 8 or people running a network version the underlying technicalities are not so widely divergent - but sometimes it matters.
We have (long time regulars) spent years trying to prompt people about the usefulness of knowing which version was underpinning the questions. Regulars, mostly, learned and responded. Others less so. You can waste a bit of your time and slow the availability of advice to the users by not knowing which version you are dealing with at first reading.
Volumes are low enough for that BB that further splitting of categories is not a current discussion but the identification if version and even release is becoming more necessary as time passes.
The other thing that occurs to me is that keeping things evidently separate is likely quite a useful secondary gauge of what the user population is using for hardware. No need for users to set a flag w/r to hardware choice - of course in some cases people have both.
I think there is a case for having things like "Wish Lists" in a common place - but that only applies if the forum sponsor (Phase in this case) wishes to officially nominate the forum as the place to make suggestions. Currently that is not the case. I can understand why. When there is no major effort involved to typing a Brain Dump the net result would likely be posts that describe the features of every other photo editor application available and half the graphics editors too.
Maybe someone needs to do some analysis about how many posts in each forum are entirely concerned with common functionality uninfluenced by the OS and related hardware in use. I assume it would need someone familiar with both in order to make the categorization fairly accurate.
Perhaps analysis of reported cases might be more informative and useful - but then that bypasses the User to User aspect of what is on offer here.
Since the majority of posters seem to occupy the Mac forum we could have a convention that all posts are made there UNLESS a windows user has something that appears to be a Windows specific issue, in which case they could use the Windows forum for the question. Sort of a bit like what is already happening with this thread. 😉
Grant0 -
Where are the largest number of differences in functionality to be found:
- Between the Mac and Windows version?
- Between the Pro version and the Express version?
Obviously it is between Pro/Express versions.
Why then don't we see cries for splitting up into separate Pro and Express forums?
The answer must be that there is no need.
The existing division is one of many possible, and appears to me rather arbitrary.
I see lengthy threads about computer hardware in these forums, and while I on general principle don't have issues with that at all, for the purposes of this discussion it should be noted that they really do not belong.
Cheers,
Mogens
Cheers,
Mogens0 -
[quote="mli20" wrote:
Why then don't we see cries for splitting up into separate Pro and Express forums?
The answer must be that there is no need.
Actually, I'd very much like to see that differentiation. I've lost count of the number of times when an issue has been raised about this thing happening or that thing not happening, which has only boiled down to being a Pro issue or an Express issue, after much digging.
They are very pieces of software in functional terms, and the differences between the two could well warrant dfferent boards.0 -
[quote="Keith Reeder" wrote:
[quote="mli20" wrote:
Why then don't we see cries for splitting up into separate Pro and Express forums?
The answer must be that there is no need.
Actually, I'd very much like to see that differentiation. I've lost count of the number of times when an issue has been raised about this thing happening or that thing not happening, which has only boiled down to being a Pro issue or an Express issue, after much digging.
They are very pieces of software in functional terms, and the differences between the two could well warrant dfferent boards.
+1. I agree.
Well there are serious differences between Pro and Express.
Some of which I dont like.
Biggest one is that Capture Express should not force use of Catalogs. It should allow user to choose like in Pro to use either Catalogs or Sessions. Or if Phase One deem that only one should be allowed then it should allow Sessions as this is the legacy mode.
Catalogs are still too clunky slow and ineffective for my use.0 -
a year or 2 ago adobe changed their PS discussion forum from seperate Mac/Windows to a unified one and its very annoying to wade through as there are alot of platform specific issues that come up. Plus alot of new user nonsense.
I and maybe many others use this forum to help diagnose issues (will 71.6 work with Mac 10.9.1, etc.)so it's much more helpful its its separated by OS. There is a alot of griping on this forum about certain features (that are not OS specific) being included or not - I feel those are best sent in a support case than here.0 -
Looking through both boards the impression I get is that there are far more threads that are NOT OS specific than are,but that was not scientific. 0 -
professionally - 96-99% of fashion, catalog, advertising, ecomm, still-life photo shoots are with Macs. without a doubt.
we need quick answers to issues with C1P, but as we know - there is no phone tech support unless you purchase from a place like digital transitions, capture integration, etc. So having this OS segregated forum helps those of us who need answers about OS/C1P/camera compatibly as opposed to wading through a general forum. Especially in windows where the much greater choice of GPU and the user's usually out of date driver do not apply to the Mac user. There have been separate forums since v3 so please keep it that way.0 -
What I suggested a year or so ago was a feature request site where users could vote on what new features they would like. it was quickly shot down, but not sure why.
I've participated in other software forums where you would get a certain amount of votes - say 10 - and you would use them to vote on other people's ideas. of course you could explain and add to the original idea. the topics with the most votes would theoretically show the developers what users were asking for. they weren't obligated to add these features but they could reply and mark them as planned, testing or deferred. much better than the current Phase One support case which is user-blind - we don't know what other users are suggesting so we can't debate or support those ideas properly.
here's an example of Path Finder's (the best file browser out there for power users) feature request site:
http://feedback.cocoatech.com/forums/27 ... nder-ideas0 -
Hi
This is a legacy thing where there was much difference which there is isn't now days.
By keeping it seperate a Windows or a Mac user shouldn't have to go through threads that does not pertain to him or her.
There is still issues that may exist on one O/S but not the other.
We think it makes things easier so we will keep having seperate Windows and Mac forums for now.
Maybe it will change in the future.
This thread will now be closed since everything that should be said has been said.0
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