So another long time expert has been banned for posting this?
2 Likes
Iâm curious which rule that violated?
You do not have to join to be able to read the forum posts, and the âCommunityâ is not just restricted to this forumâŚever heard of FaceBook?
The âItâs my ball and Iâm going home.â rule.
Quote from @JeremyHanks :
It seems like some VERY key members of this community have been alienated which now leaves everyone else, especially the newcomers, in a bit of a quandary as to how to learn/hone their skills in the CNC world.
Things like this are what make people like me turn away from an endeavor. Iâm here mostly for the ânewcomersâ as the old timers pretty much know it anyway (or so they would say). I do enjoy getting a difficult trouble shooting task from time to time.
I canât fix this and surely Inventables moderators (maybe directed to do so by management, or their own initiatives) have done a less than stellar job at trying to manage this forum. It is rumored that they have hired someone to try the repair. Itâs too far gone for that to work, so maybe the new guys can start over with new people and restore the forum to a useful resource.
This is not to diminish the support supplied by 2 or 3 of the current members who are very knowledgeable and most willing to help.
But too many of the mentors of the past 2 to 3 years are alienated by recent events or by Inventables cutting off the individualsâ privileges on the forum.
Hope I can type all this in before this thread is closed and/or Iâm banished also.
At any rate I was fully on board with Inventables, but the golden shine is tarnished quite a bit with the handling of the forum.
Those that have read this far deserve a gold star.
15 Likes
There are alternative forums:
- the original Shapeoko forums are still around: Shapeoko CNC Router, Rigid, Accurate, Reliable, and Affordable
- there are a couple of different Facebook groups
- CNCzone
- Sawmillcreek has a CNC area (but the discussion there tends to be towards larger, heavier duty commercial machines)
- there are a couple of subreddits, notably Reddit - Dive into anything
In a more general way, this came up on meta.stackexchange.com: Where can I ask about CNC machines? - Meta Stack Exchange
itâs really a shame that the Digital Fabrication beta got derailed by a name change and then didnât do as well as needed:
1 Like
Well put Larry. As someone whoâs been here quite some time, and longer than most, the way this has all played out is quite unfortunate and may have been a near fatal move for this community. Any time I have encouraged someone to look at or buy the xcarve, the support and collaboration from this forum here has been one of the main selling points as I talk to them about benefits.
Itâs sad that forum moderators and or inventables management hasnât done anything to rectify the situation, or at bare minimum help mitigate the spread of dissent and frustration.
2 Likes
That post was reviewed by one of the moderators and found to be in violation of the community guidelines. Specifically.
Be respectful: You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. Please channel disagreement and frustration into creating positive results and refrain from personal attacks. Respect differences of opinion.
3 Likes
Who exactly did the âmoderatorâ deem this to be disrespectful towards?
1 Like
Inventables
2 Likes
Maybe if Inventables showed some respect for the users that helped build this forum and not drive them away, then those members might show some respect in return.
Well what goes around, comes aroundâŚThat is life
2 Likes
I have been around a long time and in my opinion Invetables has never shown anything BUT respect for the members in the forum. Your user profile shows that you have been a member for about 2 days, maybe after you participate for a while and learn who the active members are you will feel differently.
In the meantime, maybe slow down on the stone throwing and help us all raise the level of the discussion.
6 Likes
I am sure that your opinion means very little to those long time members that have been banned/suspended/driven away.
I have been a lurker on this forum for quite a long time, you do not ned to be logged in to read posts, only to comment, so I am well aware of who WERE the active members used to be and who the âpretendâ experts are now.
You keep using the term âpretend expertsâ. I have no idea what you mean by that. It has been my experience on the forum that everyone has abilities and skills unique to their background. And each person is able to provide valuable assistance when a question is asked within their knowledge base.
5 Likes
Letâs get back to helping each other advance their skill and enjoyment of the hobby. As a community forum, we need to move forward and make it the best it can be for everyone.
6 Likes
This not an attack on anyoneâŚThis is my opinion and view on the current issues here.
You just said. Respect differences of opinion. so please respect mine, there will be nothing inflammatory here.
This right here is the issue Zach, Inventables as of late only allows positive and happy posts. Opinions and responses are reflective of that persons personality, we are not all happy shiny people who smile all the time. we are all different from different walks of life
I understand that Inventables owns this forum and may do with it as it chooses. but in the idea of keeping everything calm and placid, the forum has turned into this now, chaos and revolt. The three main topics on this forum now are noobs needing help, (receiving not correct advice sometimes because the vets are gone) people selling their xcarves, and spamming the forum to boost youtube views. In the idea to make this place less aggressive itâs made it whitewash.
There is very little in the way of cool projects anymore on here, or inventive ideas to try on the xcarve.
Forums are communities and not everyone is going to get along, if Inventables would stop trying to control every aspect of this forum and let it become organic again, it would get back on track. But right now this forum has a sickness. I miss the forum from a year ago.
I found a couple facebook groups that run quiet smooth and there are very few rules to them. one of them has a rule that no one is allowed to get offended by how someone talks to you. My generation was raised on the whole âsticks and stonesâ thing. I know my comments hold no weight, but these new guidelines seem to be based on the mods interpretation of the rules, and they seem to rule like the forum gestapo.
I made no attacks on anyone and these were simply my opinions on why things are happening on the forums the way they do now. I assume I will be banned for this post, even though I was not inflammatory towards anyone
and just to addâŚI feel like even though I put out 2600.00 to buy my xcarve, that the company chooses to disregard me and anyone who isnât shiny and happy all the time in their postings, Well we are customers of yours too, just because we donât play the same way as other people here doesnât mean we deserve to be banned. Inventables customer service is amazing in all fronts except this one.
6 Likes
me too
11 Likes
So letâs make it that way again. The base of knowledgeable people are here in the forum. Letâs grow together. No need to miss the old forum.
7 Likes
Larry, you and a good number of people have helped many and I appreciate it. Thanks
3 Likes
I am sad that there is not a laughing emojis to put here.
Itâs a funny thingâŚ
Learning to use my XCarve, took considerably more effort than Iâd thought was going to be necessary. Tiny things that I missed or got slightly incorrect, sometimes had major implications. Turns out, the fact Iâm pretty skilled at my âday jobâ, Iâm literate and have worked in industry all my life, didnât automatically make a whizz at XCarving.
I think Inventables and their moderators might be learning a somewhat similar lesson. Things done with the best of intentions, might have caused significantly different outcomes from those that were expected, and in trying to keep these forums happy and hassle-free, they may have cut-off their critical blood supply.
Certainly folks shouldnât be abused or belittled, but like many many workplaces and business focus groups are now finding, an environment without any tension or heat whatsoever, risks becoming a stagnant backwater.
Look at new business, startups and market innovators; Almost without exception their stories will be replete with terms such as challenge, risk, chance, breaking-the-rules and so on. Inventables were a perfect example of this.
I cannot criticise Inventables for trying to do the right thing in their moderation efforts, but I suspect theyâve fallen into the trap that has caught so many others. In trying to be inclusive and to avoid the chance of offending anyone, theyâve mistaken passion and healthy (and sometimes robust) debate, for something that should be suppressed.
However, when the passionate, innovative, emotional and energetic people are gradually pushed away (or leave because they feel like theyâre no longer wanted, needed or respected), what youâre left with is something anodyne and little more than a shadow of what it was.
Essentially, this is the recurring story of the internet.
Innovative business starts.
Passionate user forum full of ideas
Forum goes mainstream, passion killed off.
Business either dies off or becomes MicrosoftâŚ
8 Likes