At the moment, our forums are oriented around two common themes: the product line (SX, BASIC Stamp and Propeller) and key customer interests (completed projects, Stamps in Class) rather than specific products. You'll find most all of the Hydra discussion in the Propeller forum. I know, it seems like a lame answer but we give our forum structure a lot of thought before we make additions. Building a forum around a single product [noparse][[/noparse]within a larger line] isn't too likely at this moment.
I can certainly understand your thought process, and don't disagree at this time. I would suggest that Hydra traffic in the Prop forum be monitored, and an evaluation be made over time. If the volume of Hydra specific traffic becomes too large, it would distract from those participating in the prop forum for other "more traditional" applications.
Would spinning off a "Hydra" group be that different from the "Robitics" forum? (Or the Javilin from the Stamp?)
Again, I'm not advocating an "immediate" split, just an evaluation if the volume of Hydra specific topics becomes a disproportionate part of the Prop forum.
First, a "Hydra"-named discussion forum really relates to the broader discussion forum topic of "Video Games Developed on Parallax Hardware" or something along those lines. Next, to date video gaming on Parallax hardware is a much smaller market than robotics (robotics is presently 1000x bigger). But you could also argue "hey, you want to grow the market for video game development, right?" which is facilitated by bringing Hydra to the surface of every marketing effort. There's some truth to this approach, but we tend to scale the marketing efforts with return. It's less risky and it gives our customers a more accurate representation of what's driving Parallax business and what we want to sell most vs. putting lots of money and effort into a bet that a new product is going to take off in a huge way. Of course it's "free" to make a new forum, but reversing the creation of a new forum is another story.
It could be to the benefit of Propeller commercial users to move Hydra discussion elsewhere, but it could also help Propeller. It's really hard to say what's best for us and our customers (usually the same!) but it's safe to say that Hydra is new, a small market, and we'll be assessing how to handle the support quite regularly. It's taking off quite quickly and we'll be adjusting how we handle it regularly. We take the whole support aspect seriously.
Keep the discussion going because I'm interested in what you have to say.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 11/25/2006 4:57:49 AM GMT
Actually I have posted several messages lately about Hydra on Propeller forum and felt like I was hijacking the forum·to fit·my purposes!:-( I have been checking the·forum in Xgamestation.com, and, despite there is a specific Hydra forum there,·I admit that·the Propeller·forum in Parallax site is much·more popular.
Comments
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
I can certainly understand your thought process, and don't disagree at this time. I would suggest that Hydra traffic in the Prop forum be monitored, and an evaluation be made over time. If the volume of Hydra specific traffic becomes too large, it would distract from those participating in the prop forum for other "more traditional" applications.
Would spinning off a "Hydra" group be that different from the "Robitics" forum? (Or the Javilin from the Stamp?)
Again, I'm not advocating an "immediate" split, just an evaluation if the volume of Hydra specific topics becomes a disproportionate part of the Prop forum.
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John R.
8 + 8 = 10
First, a "Hydra"-named discussion forum really relates to the broader discussion forum topic of "Video Games Developed on Parallax Hardware" or something along those lines. Next, to date video gaming on Parallax hardware is a much smaller market than robotics (robotics is presently 1000x bigger). But you could also argue "hey, you want to grow the market for video game development, right?" which is facilitated by bringing Hydra to the surface of every marketing effort. There's some truth to this approach, but we tend to scale the marketing efforts with return. It's less risky and it gives our customers a more accurate representation of what's driving Parallax business and what we want to sell most vs. putting lots of money and effort into a bet that a new product is going to take off in a huge way. Of course it's "free" to make a new forum, but reversing the creation of a new forum is another story.
It could be to the benefit of Propeller commercial users to move Hydra discussion elsewhere, but it could also help Propeller. It's really hard to say what's best for us and our customers (usually the same!) but it's safe to say that Hydra is new, a small market, and we'll be assessing how to handle the support quite regularly. It's taking off quite quickly and we'll be adjusting how we handle it regularly. We take the whole support aspect seriously.
Keep the discussion going because I'm interested in what you have to say.
Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (Ken Gracey (Parallax)) : 11/25/2006 4:57:49 AM GMT
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