Except for the unneeded emotion, I tend to agree with WASasquatch's critique. People say things like "just try it" way too much (it always sounds likeFU, to me). Its a totally useless response. And I have also wanted to punch people in the mouth when I read it.
If it were not for people personally taking time to help me I would have gotten NO WHERE, using this forum. Trying TG at random is a complete waste of time, unless thats what you like to do. There is no reason at all to spend weeks and months learning answers to questions that are already known (hence the invention of books) Telling someone the answer, and then them doing it, is the same as learning on ones own, but way way faster and more productive.
But having said that, the fact that people take their own personal time to help me (including planetside staff!), says a lot about this community. A lot! I have never gotten the personal attention from other software forums that I get here, and see others get here everyday. Every single day.
But if you have been through the threads here you would know that not one single thing you said is new. It has been complained about by everyone, especially the "senior" users, at length and many many times. So people are more just tired to re-type everything, every time someone new comes in and asks the same questions for the millionth time. And a link is more helpful than no response at all.
So yes crit of the search function is valid. Everyone here knows that. But the search is not the only problem. People too often make subject headings that make no sense, further reducing the effectiveness of a search. And everyone here knows that as well, but keep doing it.
This forum, if other forums work the same or not, is almost entirely relationship based. Meaning you don't kiss asses. But you try to understand them and just except them. You will get the same back from everyone!
we are all 100% volunteers. Planetside is only 2 people right now, with a 3rd who works part time. They have to spend their time on the software. So yeah its up to us to make the forum better. But that is not our "responsibility", it is our hobby.
We are all just as passionate as you.
Anyway, I hope you take the time to get to know everyone here. I think you would regret your initial anger when you do. Everyone here is better people than you will know from just a few threads! And we all fight with each other from time to time anyway... That anyone can be an ass sometimes does not mean that they are not still awesome people (for my sake, I hope so)
Lastly, I want to say that I have felt every single emotion you expressed in your posts. But when I started we did not have all the tuts that we have now. Maybe you will save yourself a lot of the same suffering that most of us went through if you go to the geekatplay site and do all of the TG tuts there? I WISH, that those had been available when I started. I would be so much further along now.
I think that you will be a good addition here. You already are sharing good work and good files!! The rest of this is old news.
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About the tag. If you like it keep it, and dont let anyone bully you. But truthfully, though it is allowed, do you see anyone else use it? It is IMO pretty visually distracting when reading a thread. But the only real problem, is that it appears in every single post in every single thread that you post in from now until the end of time, over and over and over. It is irritating.
IMO