RSS Feeds of messages from the PMDG support forum http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:09:34 -0500 30 http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=264955
It is fairly common for us "old timers" here in the forum to decry the end of civilization based upon the declining civility-of-discourse in online forums.

I'm not going to follow the common theme, but I do want to take a few moments to offer some critical thoughts and offer a few general guidelines for behavior of all participants in this forum.

Firstly, we have a relatively hands-off approach to this forum when compared to most private company forums. We do not generally make much effort to control the conversation or limit the views of anyone who might come here with a problem to resolve. Our feeling is that this forum is here for the use and enjoyment of all PMDG customers, even if you might not be happy with us on any particular given day.

Of late however, we have noticed a dramatic spike in the number of posts we must remove from the forum. I've done some very crude statistical evaluation of these numbers and I was relieved to discover that our deletion rate has not gone up as much as I'd feared. The quantity of posts being removed has increased, but so has forum activity, so the overall rate is largely static.

Except for one disturbing trend: Antagonism.

At a glance, it seems that the level of general frustration here in the PMDG forum is at an all-time peak. I see it in the replies from the moderators, I see it in the replies from our beta team members, I see it in posts from general forum users, and yes- even in my own posts.

I've spent some time noodling this one through over the past couple of weeks, and I have come to the conclusion that what we all need is a small injection of civility and some basic expectations for how everyone should behave while here.

Contrary to the opinions voiced by a few- we delete very few posts that are negative toward PMDG, a PMDG product or PMDG in general. We generally answer those, or simply allow them to float since most of the negative comments tend to come in a moment of frustration, and the tone of the threads normally changes to positive once a fellow forum user jumps in with some help or ideas.

We do delete a significant number of threads for personal attacks, whether they be against one of us, or against another forum member. Looking over these threads, often devolve quickly, and are usually the result of someone asking a "repetitive" or "n00b" question. This needs to stop.

Looks, lets be honest- all of us on the PMDG team, and our beta testers, and many of you who are "regulars" here get sick of answering the same question over and over, especially if it is a favorite question of known rabble-rousers... But unfortunately, the growing tendency to slap down the asker is not helping anyone of us. I think we may begin posting a "commonly repetitive questions" thread to pin here, and all of us can simply refer folks to that thread if they have a repetitive question. The challenge will be to keep it updated, but over time I suspect it might help.

The next biggest category for post removals comes from folks who just don't seem to care how offensive their posts are when they come in here. Obviously, we do not have moderators on call 24/7/365, so sometimes it takes some time before a member of the PMDG team gets involved in a thread that involves poor behavior.

Rather than asking any of you to get involved in "user moderator interventions" I'd like to ask that you simply use the ALERT functions in the forum if you find a thread to be taking a turn for the poorer. This will flash an alert to all of our forum mods, and one of us can intervene as required.

So- for the very few here who like to be antagonists: Nobody here is truly interested. Please move along.

For those who are here to discuss how to operate our products, seek support, or just generally participate in helping others learn how to enjoy the latest and greatest in simulation technology: Don't beat down the n00bs. Lets treat everyone with some respect and if the same is not returned, get a moderator involved and allow us to wield the death-ray when needed.

I don't expect we'll ever have a forum completely free of angst- but if we all take a moment to remember that we are here because we share a common love for airplanes and aviation, we'll all have a more enjoyable stay!

Thanks, everyone- This forum is a great resource for everyone- and we'd hate to miss out on a good idea because even one user is afraid to post for fear of being attacked...

]]> Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:07:51 -0400 http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=264955 http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=256047
Click the line below your desired banner graphic. Go to your browser's address bar, and copy the address. Go to the user menu (link at top of

forum), then to 'Edit your profile' and paste the line into the input box next to 'Signature'. Remove the (Delete_This) entry.


PROUD PMDG SUPPORTER:
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PMDG BAe JS4100 (J41)
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PMDG 747-400F CARGO / Polar Freighter
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PMDG 747-400F CARGO / Load Master
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PMDG 747-400F CARGO / Cargo Hauler
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PMDG 747-400 / It's heavy!
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http://www(Delete_This).precisionmanuals.c...orum/747400.jpg]]> Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:33:00 -0400 http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=256047 http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=245586
We require this for several reasons - first and foremost we feel that it fosters a more respectful and cordial atmosphere when people speak to each other knowing who is behind each post instead of a psuedonym. I wouldn't walk up to someone in person and introduce myself as "Tabs"... Secondly, this is unfortunate but we do have a sizable number of pirates asking (sometimes even demanding outright) support for products they stole from us. Seeing names attached to support requests allows us to verify that the request is legitimate. If you disagree with this, you can use email support, but we will not be spending our time and energy providing support to annonymous individuals who very likely may have pirated the product...

The easiest way to comply with this rule is to place your name into the forum signature field in your user control panel for your account. You can make it look very nice even with graphics, system specs etc as seen in my own.

This is not up for discussion and any posts arguing with the policy will also be deleted without debate.

Thank you for your understanding on this issue. If everyone reads this before posting and adheres, there won't be any reason for deleted posts.]]> Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:44:32 -0400 http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=245586 http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=240151
1) ALL USERS MUST SIGN THEIR FULL NAME TO POSTS. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in your post being deleted without comment or followup by the forum moderators.

2) BEHAVIOR MUST BE CIVIL, POLITE and LEGAL: This forum is for the use and enjoyment of PMDG Customers and Prospective Customers. Any behavior that infringes upon the use or enjoyment of any other member will be considered to be unacceptable behavior. This includes, but is not limited to profane language, abusive language, threats, discussion of piracy or the promotion of theft. Enforcement action taken by the moderators will be considered final in all cases.

3) USE OF THIS FORUM IS NOT A RIGHT: Use of this forum is voluntary and constitutes your agreement to abide by all forum guidelines and moderator requests. Your failure to adhere to these guidelines could result in the removal of your posts, an invitation to cease using the forum, or outright banning.

4) MODERATORS HAVE FINAL SAY ON ENFORCEMENT OF POLICIES: The moderators are here to keep the conversation within boundaries as established by PMDG, this policy post, and AVSim's user policies. To the extent that they take action their decisions are final. Discussion of moderator actions are not welcome in the forum.

5) COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IS NOT ALLOWED: Posting of copyrighted material such as flight manuals owned by Boeing or various airlines is not allowed in this forum. If you have questions related to copyrighted material, please contact a forum moderator for clarification.

6) PMDG DEVELOPERS ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO ANSWER PRIVATE MESSAGES: Private messaging is not the appropriate venue to obtain assistance in the forum.

7) POSTS MUST BE FACTUAL: Messages containing incorrect or misleading information may be removed at the moderator's discretion.

8) This forum is designed primarily as a vehicle for the PMDG development team to interact with our customers, and for customers to interact with one another in a manner that is positive, supportive and assists in the general advancement of understanding the simulation and helping to make this and future simulations better. Any other use of this forum is not permitted, including but not limited to discussion of PMDG pricing policies, refund policies, business practices, forum moderating policies, and any other topic deemed unacceptable by any forum administrator, AVSim moderator or staff member.

9) The PMDG Team reads the vast majority of posts in this forum, particularly as they relate to problems users experience with our software While we often do not respond to all posts, you can help us to improve our products by being detailed and honest about problems you might see.

Thank you for your compliance and understanding.]]> Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:52:23 -0500 http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=240151