New forum ideas

daniel_chow

How about a forum for professionals and experts? Excluding me of course! Well for now at least. The expert forum would be open to all but would separate the newbie questions from the expert questions. 

What about an off topic forum? (No politics or religion) Might help to "gel" the online community. 

3dcad

I would prefer just adding customer category which would be visible only for current/retired paid customers.

The level of skills is so difficult question that I would choose the safe bet not calling myself any kind of professional / expert on cad..

daniel_chow

Hmm.. true, yes ... well just throwing some ideas out there. 

john_rousseau

Everyone goes through the n00b stage before becoming an expert. In my opinion, even experienced users in one area can still pick up tips in an area they are less familiar with. Everyone picking up Onshape goes through a learning curve even if they are expert in another tool. I'd prefer we didn't draw artificial boundaries.

Just my $0.02. Keep the ideas coming!

daniel_chow

Good point John, just an idea. 

I really get a lot out of browsing the forum topics and reading other people's issues and solutions. In fact, I encourage my students to do the same. Social media (incl these message forums) have become an essential tool in today's technology-based world. 

aniaqueen_queen

Here's how these two forum types could work:

1. Professional and Expert Forum:

• Purpose: This forum is designed for professionals and experts in a particular field to engage in in-depth discussions, share advanced knowledge, and seek solutions to complex problems. It's a platform for high-level exchange.

• Membership: Open to all users, but topics and discussions are categorized based on expertise levels. Users can self-select their expertise level when participating.

• Content: Discussions here should be more technical, advanced, and focused on specific topics. Newbie questions are redirected to appropriate sections for beginners.

2. Off-Topic Forum (No Politics or Religion):

• Purpose: An off-topic forum serves as a space for community members to connect on a personal level, share hobbies, interests, and general experiences. It can help build a sense of camaraderie among users.

• Guidelines: Clear guidelines should be established, prohibiting discussions on politics and religion to avoid potential conflicts and keep the focus on lighthearted, non-controversial topics.

• Content: Users can discuss hobbies, books, movies, travel, and other interests. It's a place for friendly, off-topic conversations.

The benefits of such forums include:

• Enhanced User Engagement: Users with various expertise levels can find content that suits their needs, encouraging active participation.

• Community Building: The off-topic forum fosters a sense of community and camaraderie among users, which can translate into stronger engagement across the entire platform.

• Expert Contribution: Experts can have meaningful discussions without being overwhelmed by beginner-level questions.

• Maintaining a Positive Atmosphere: By excluding sensitive topics like politics and religion, you reduce the risk of conflicts and maintain a more harmonious environment.

john_mcclary

I don't see much value in having a separate area for professionals.

I've been in this field for almost 20 years. I consider myself a professional, but I don't consider myself above anyone else.
I've worked with people that have been in the field for longer than me and everyone I've ever met has had some questions that I would consider 'noobish'
You put up a Professional area and they ask something like "How do I export to step" it may end up triggering some to be a bit more fisty. "Dang man, you should post this on the noob channel geeeze". Now that person is offended because they may have 10 years of CAD, but never had to export a step file before... I had a guy here that claimed to run SolidWorks for 5 years. We hired him, then found out he only used it as a viewer before. So we got bombarded with questions like, how do I set material, how do I change the color, How do I create a sketch...

In my experience, even professionals who have been using CAD for years, still have some basic questions themselves.
Perhaps they found a work around years ago and never learned new tricks to make it easier. By seeing a post from a noob, they may see an answer from someone else for that 'noob question' that teaches the pro a better way too. I've learned new tricks from noob questions on these forums myself.

I always found the Onshape forum to be a safe place for users of all levels to come together and freely ask questions.
There are no dumb questions. I haven't seen too many cases on this forum where the answer was RTFM. Usually, people will give a brief summary, maybe an example, then link to the help page on the topic.

I always felt, if someone asked, then they probably have struggled for a bit and don't really want to struggle digging through a manual at that point.

What you get when you separate it out is the pros end up forgetting about the noob zone, and they all get left behind, or it ends up being a blind leading the blind situation. Then all the noobs learn poor habits and think it's the right way.

adrian_vlzkz

The Ambassadors program is the sort of "advance" forum, we ambassadors have forum and it's pretty uneventful honestly. I rather be here interacting with anyone that is engaged with the tool, regardless of the level, we all learn from everyone.

wout_theelen541

I like this ideas. I could definetly scroll through the Off Topic Forum for at least an hour. 
I have a related IR that might help:
https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/22107/forum-discussion-category#latest