| Author |
Topic |
|
Sachin.Nand
2937 Posts |
 Posted - 2010-02-09 : 13:02:23
|
| I was just wondering how do you all compare SQLTeam.com to other forums of SQL Server.Would like to know suggestions,drawbacks,level of knowledge in other forums as compared to SQLTeam.Any good or bad experiences.As for me I think SQLTeam.com is the best & there can never be any comparision with any other SQL forum.PBUH |
|
|
visakh16
Very Important crosS Applying yaK Herder
52326 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-09 : 13:10:45
|
I've participated in couple of other forums as well and I too think SQLTeam is the pick of the lot. Here the amount of participation is high and also tech level of people providing solutions is also high. Adding to that I like the site interface also a lot and I'm really comfortable with it. So my vote goes definitely for SQLTeam (Proof you can see from the amount of my participation here as well  ) |
 |
|
|
Sachin.Nand
2937 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-09 : 13:23:05
|
I to agree with u Visakh.Here there is so much to learn.As for the interface hats off to the Sqlteam.com team to keep it so simple & yet so elegant for so many years.For me the interfaces on other forums are a real pain for eyes.quote:
Originally posted by visakh16
(Proof you can see from the amount of my participation here as well )
Well as far as your postings are concerned I am sure you have saved a hell lot of people from loosing their jobs.Surely their blessings have booked a place for u in heaven.PBUH |
|
|
|
visakh16
Very Important crosS Applying yaK Herder
52326 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-09 : 13:28:46
|
quote:
Originally posted by Idera
I to agree with u Visakh.Here there is so much to learn.As for the interface hats off to the Sqlteam.com team to keep it so simple & yet so elegant for so many years.For me the interfaces on other forums are a real pain for eyes.yeah it really isquote:
Originally posted by visakh16
(Proof you can see from the amount of my participation here as well )
Well as far as your postings are concerned I am sure you have saved a hell lot of people from loosing their jobs.Surely their blessings have booked a place for u in heaven.my real inspiration comes from co-posters like you people. Really glad to be part of this techie communityPBUH
|
|
|
|
Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-09 : 13:32:53
|
When I want a question answered I start with Google. That may find useful answers in other forums, but this one is usually in the list too When that fails and I have the need to ask a question I ask it here (I don't often get answers though ... but I expect my questions are the sort that are not easily answered)I have posted on some other SQL forums, and several non-SQL ones. The intrusion of the advertising is a particular annoyance for me if a) it is a moving graphics or b) the CSS causes it to display initially in one place and then be moved to its correct location. (I am dyslexic).So I like it here, and I like the regular folk here too.But the age of the forum software here is an annoyance for me.I would like:Something better than this little field to type a reply into, also some WYSIWYG buttons - I seem to always start typing here and then want something obscure like the Embarrassed Smiley and have to press PREVIEW to get to a richer editor. Newer forum software has a vertical "expand" button that makes this quick reply window bigger, and buttons for the more common stuff before having to round-trip to the server with "GO Advanced" or whatever. In fact many provide those with AJAX which is nice and quick, and they post using AJAX too.(Their Advanced Editing Page also shows the Thread - so I can cut & paste from it etc (there is even a QUOTE button on each post to paste in a proper QUOTE block for that post). but not in Snitz, hence I make do with this small reply window so I can still read the thread.)Other forum software's Richer editors make it easy to post a "friendly URL" (highlight the text in the post, click the button, it asks you for the URL and then contructs the [URL] around the highlighted text), allow uploading of images (instead of having to upload them off-site and then link to them), and have some slinky syntax-colour-coding for [CODE] blocks.They will also tell me, when I press SAVE, if a new post has been added whilst I have been typing - that allows me to revise my reply before pressing SAVE, rather than just winding up with multiple copies of the same answer - and multiple SNIPED replies.Some means to indicate that I think an answer is good ("Vote", "Reputation" or "Thanks")The ability for high-post-count people to edit posts. I would like to fix presentation, simple spelling mistakes, and lousy titles when I have time. That would mean that Google would be more likely to use the post, and thus the contribution I make here would be more likely to help more people (which is why I am here in the first place)Titles that say "Please help me" I skip ... if the title changed to something that I knew something about I would read it.vBulletin has a mouse-over on the Thread Index pages (including "New Posts" etc) that shows the first few lines of the post - handy in skipped posts that I know nothing about, or reading one when the Title is uninformative.I would like the forum to remember what I have read, and what I have not. If I miss a post in the ACTIVE page here then I will never be reminded about it again  vBulletin (VB) has a "New Posts" page. Shows all posts that I have not yet read. Those in the current session (genuinely new) are separated from earlier ones by a line - so if I don't manage to read all that I want to in this session they are still in the list).CLicking on a thread I have visited before takes be to the #ANCHOR of the first new post - so it scrolls to the first new post. That saves a lot of time (for me anyway) not having to scroll up and down working out what I have read, and what not.VB also has a "Today's Posts" so I can find posts in chronological order (e.g. those that I HAVE read that have dropped off my "New Posts" list)I would like to be able to ignore Forums that I am not interested in (i.e. in the Active list ignore anything in SQL Reporting Services). On other forum software (particularly VBulletin) I do this with a GreaseMonkey script, I could probably do that here too, but I aint got the time to do that for the one and only Snitz forum that I hang out at I would like to see REL=NOFOLLOW on links to reduce the number of people who use this site for junk spam (there are tools for finding forums that do NOT use that meta tag, and I reckon that causes a large number of spammers to come here ). Other tools to reduce spam and junk too would almost certainly come with newer forum software - e.g. a "Report this" button allowing a short message to be entered - As a high-post-count person I have the ability to "nuke" a whole thread as spam, but I cannot do that to a single SPAM reply post; I have to cut & paste the URL, navigate to the SPAM Reporting thread, and write a message. The MODs have to then work out how far through that thread they have already dealt with, and go from there (whereas "Report This" facilitates a whole raft of MOD tools to sort out the posts)I think Stack Overflow (as used on http://ASK.SQLTeam.COM ) has some nice features - you type the subject for your question and it offers you a list of existing threads that may be the answer - that should stop some FAQ ever being asked ; another Date Formatting quesiton anyone?!. It cross-references the Questions, and Answers provided, to other similar questions in the system (so someone finding one thread by Google can easily link to other answers that may be more appropriate). It also supports TAGS which helps group questions together, and allows Regulars to "filter in / filter out" things they are interested in or not interested in.VB also does cross reference with "Other posts you may be interested in" at the bottom - it matches posts quite well  The Stack-Overflow Badges are either Good, Bad or Neutral depending on your viewpoint! I think human nature is such that many people will appreciate being rewarded for helping in the forum (and, indeed, strive to get that reward ). The replacement system here is for the Premature Congratulatory to start a "Congratulations" thread everytime someone crosses a 1,000 post line.I think some indication of "reputation" also helps a newbie add credence to a reply.(I don't have any personal need for "reward", but I do think Reputation helps in other ways)Any move to a new system would need to keep the existing URLs and all the good Google Ranking that it currently has, whilst migrating all the data to the new system. No mean feat ...Edit: Allow users to choose time-zone so that Local time is shown on messagesAfter POST redisplay the page scrolled to the post - so I can proof it if I want to (redirecting to top-of-thread isn't very useful)Edit: Added a few features within the earlier content. |
|
|
|
russell
Pyro-ma-ni-yak
5072 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-09 : 15:21:51
|
I can't answer that because I'm a mod on one of the *other* ones   Seriously, this is the best UI of them all. There are only 3 that I look at, and 2 that I post in. One of them used to be as poular as this one and had expertise that rivals this, but participation has really dropped off. The other is so clunky to use that I usually don't use it.I hate the AJAX update stuff in forums. It hangs far too often. I almost always click "go advanced" to avoid it.I wish this forum had an LOL smiley and that sniped/petting yak thing should be easy to find too. I have no idea where it lives. |
|
|
|
Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-09 : 15:26:19
|
"and that sniped/petting yak thing should be easy to find too"You have to type it AFAIK[sniped] = |
|
|
|
russell
Pyro-ma-ni-yak
5072 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-09 : 15:29:14
|
| ahhhhaaaaa thank you.I should also mention that even though I've been posting here for a few years, I only started posting a lot very recently -- and many of the regular long time members have made me feel very welcome here. I appreciate that. |
|
|
|
Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-09 : 15:33:57
|
| "many of the regular long time members have made me feel very welcome here"Really? Who? Just so that I can mark their card, OK? ... |
|
|
|
russell
Pyro-ma-ni-yak
5072 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-09 : 15:45:29
|
| Good marks or bad? lol |
|
|
|
robvolk
Most Valuable Yak
15732 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-09 : 23:17:14
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kristen
"and that sniped/petting yak thing should be easy to find too"You have to type it AFAIK[sniped] =
There's also:[beer] =  [toast] =  [chug] =  [yak] =  And thank you Kristen for showing a way to post the tags without turning them into emoticons! |
|
|
|
Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-10 : 01:50:17
|
| I feel like I've been reverse engineered |
|
|
|
elwoos
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
2052 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-23 : 08:22:23
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kristen
I feel like I've been reverse engineered
You must be long overdue for an upgrade to the Kristen bot  With regard to SQLTeam, for me personally it simply the best for prompt and helpful support. It's a pity that you don't cover some of the other areas I have to deal with. steve-----------Deja Moo - The feeling you've heard the same bull before. |
|
|
|
JimL
SQL Slinging Yak Ranger
1537 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-23 : 16:29:16
|
| Hey the Kristen bot is one of the finest, bestest , eeeeeeerrrrrrr .... blip vvvvvvvvveeeeeesssiooooonns yet.[reboot required]JimUsers <> Logic |
|
|
|
David Singleton
Starting Member
35 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-24 : 05:02:40
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kristen
...So I like it here, and I like the regular folk here too.But the age of the forum software here is an annoyance for me.I would like:...
I am member of a number of forums (not SQL based but product based). I am co-admin of a forum that we ran on Snitz (the main nomination point for my MVp status). It was by far the number one forum in its product group. But we were running on Access backend, and once we reached about 50,000 threads, it couldn't keep up. So something had to be done. To cut to the chase, the site owner decided to move to Community Server, instead of (as I would have done) just upgrade the back end to SQL.Community server is one of the most feature rich platforms out there, it has everything you ask for and more. At first glance it really looks like the be all end all.Well within six months of the so called "upgrade" monthly postings about halved. the site dropped to number 2, and is seriously wallowing. We get continual complaints about how hard it is to find stuff. The screens are two cluttered. Posting is slow. Hosting is very expensive, because it needs serious hardware.And of course the biggest request we get is "Is it possible to move back to Snitz".I use a number of forums, and I must say that Snitz and PHPbb are the only ones I see that users really like using. The fact that this site is so success full is a credit to its members and the environment created, NOT the technology.Having said that I agree with all your points above, and it would be nice to have them. Its just that an upgrade can be very dangerous.David SingletonMicrosoft MVP Dynamics NAV |
|
|
|
spirit1
Cybernetic Yak Master
11752 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-24 : 05:41:29
|
| yep. this is exactly what happened to sql server performance forums. since they redesigned the thing i stopped even going there. never underestimate peoples' unwillingness to change.___________________________________________________________________________Causing trouble since 1980Blog: http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/mladenpSpeed up SSMS development: www.ssmstoolspack.com <- version 1.7 out! |
|
|
|
David Singleton
Starting Member
35 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-24 : 05:59:21
|
| Actually what killed Community Server was facebook. For some bizarre reason, they felt they should do everything that face book does. It has become social networking software, putting more emphasis on the platform than on the membership.The thing about social networking platforms is that they aim to mix everything up and make it hard to find stuff. This encourages people to spend time searching and click links that take them all over the place, and in the process clicking on adverts. Ironically this makes the site less personal.I have so far just been reading through threads on this site, not actively posting, and I must say the quality of the community here is very high. I especially like that newbies are made welcome even asking the most basic questions, yet clearly the majority of the contributions are very high level.David SingletonMicrosoft MVP Dynamics NAV |
|
|
|
Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-24 : 11:57:11
|
| I use several forums with newer software that works as well as this - not cluttered etc., not trying to be a social networking site!I have to say, IMHO, they are a joy to use compared to this. I find the hoops I have to jump through a pain, and time consuming. Here's one: Report spam? Cut and paste the URL, find the Site Forum and then the Spam thread, paste the URL into a new message, note that all the other spam posts I have made for the last few days have not yet been actioned ... all that is then indexed by Google ... it could be a much tighter, cleaner, resource.Obviously I am still here, and have posted several posts over time , but I do think it could be a whole lot better.I'm happy to help with any such migration (or anything else that Graz etc wants me to) |
|
|
|
David Singleton
Starting Member
35 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-24 : 12:16:55
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kristen
I use several forums with newer software that works as well as this - not cluttered etc., not trying to be a social networking site!...
Sorry  I was referring to Community Server, which I think the site that spirit1 was referring to runs on.The majority of forum software run on php/mysql, there is not as great a selection in the ASP(x) / SQL world.I was only pointing out that our move from Snitz to CS was a big mistake. But I am too new here to make any comments about whether SQL TEAM should move to a different platform or not. BUT if you do move, I would NOT recommend CS. David SingletonMicrosoft MVP Dynamics NAV |
|
|
|
Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-24 : 12:37:15
|
| Good comments David, thanks.I've been here a while, and speak my mind on this point. Graz (the Boss) knows my views.As a desirable feature occurs to me I add it to my earlier post, then I have my wishlist all in one place and can leave Graz alone in the other forums ... You are right about lack of forum software using SQL Server. Mind you ... we built a site for an Oracle User Group that runs on SQL Server (they coughed a bit at that part!!) ... so maybe hosting on MySQL would not be totally terrible if the forum software could feed the pigs and teach them to fly?!!I see you have your location in your profile, I wonder why it doesn't show under your name on your posts? |
|
|
|
David Singleton
Starting Member
35 Posts |
Posted - 2010-02-24 : 12:49:22
|
quote:
Originally posted by Kristen
I see you have your location in your profile, I wonder why it doesn't show under your name on your posts?
I think I need 50 posts first. David SingletonMicrosoft MVP Dynamics NAV |
|
|
|
Next Page
|
SQLTeam vs other SQL Forums