Posters in Trouble

[burris]

Perhaps Tim can answer this.

I can't help but notice that virtually the same handful of posters in trouble use the forum for reporting. I see this in the DSLReports as well.

Is this because most users have no idea that a forum exists, as most of my non-technical friends, which are most of them, have no idea?

In the forums, it seems that the same few people keep reporting over and over about the same or different problems.

In this forum, Tim and his staff seem to be right on top of it, but in other forums, support comes mostly from other posters.

How do some of you see this?

[Montano]

Mostly I see the same people, who are having multiple issues. But as I've learned over the years, different VoIP providers work excellent for some and are problematic for others. For me, Voipo has been the best provider up to this point.

Not sure if new Voipo users get a welcome email that tells them to look for help in these forums or not, but it would be a good idea to point them in this direction.

[kevm]

I think that posting in a forum has benefits, especially when you take into consideration that, as you said, Tim and the team have a great presence in this one.
This gives the opportunity to get both feedback from other users/customers, as well as (in this case) from the supplier of the service.
In many cases, forums are used because the supplier does not have a support system thats worth a damn, and people are forced to use forums to get help from the user community.
I also think your statement is true, that many do not even know of forums as a means to get an answer.
I am glad to have this forum because I think it helps me in several ways and allows me to help others when I can. It is great to have the interraction with Tim and team as a bonus.

[christcorp]

I definitely agree that posting in forums CAN be beneficial to other users who can find similar/identical problems to what they have/had. The problem however is that most/all new posters to a forum; and even some that have lurked for a while; don't use the search at all. If they don't see a post on the first page of that forum mentioning the same problem as theirs, then they make a new post with the same problem. This makes the experiences of those before you useless; (Because you aren't using the experiences of others); and it make continuity really bad, because you wind up with multiple posts discussing the same/similar problem. And because there are usually numerous methods for fixing an issue, you can't always find the answer even if you DO SEARCH. Which continues the circle by having a poster create yet another thread about the same problem.

What I'd like to see, not only here but at BBR and other forums, are stickies or subsections for "TROUBLESHOOTING". It could be as simple as threads that say; "No Dial Tone"; "Can Only Call Out"; "Can Only Call In"; "static online"; "Long Time To Connect"; etc... Each of these would include the posts that deal with that subject. Then, if you need to ask a question, search, make a suggestion, start a new post, etc... you do it in that thread. Over time, the thread could get long, but it's still a lot easier to search through 1 thread of 150 pages than it is to search through an entire forum at 50+ similar threads. later... mike.....

[KenH]

I understand the value of posting in the BBR forum; lots of knowledgeable people out there to assist (and quickly), but I feel that any VOIPo issues should first be presented here. Tim's presence on both forums is commendable; however, I don't think one should expect a response from VOIPo personnel unless the request/query is made in this forum.

[bretski]

I think it's a combination of ignorance that the forum is here, combined with a reluctance on the part of many folks to post (for their own reasons).

I'm a technology geek/nerd/whatever. Forums like this present a great place to get feedback from other users. So, I try to use it as such. From what I've seen, it often helps the Voipo staff ferret-out lingering problems...the GS unregistration issue comes to mind immediately...

If I'm a PITA, please let me know. :)

[abward]

Related to this....what I don't understand is why there are lots of posts in DSLR for VOIPo issues (for this or that problem), but there seems to be none for Future Nine. Is there 100x the number of subscribers for VOIPo, or do the Future Nine users never post, or is Future Nine that much better? I am confused!