Updates to Autodesk Discussion Groups

[wrighte]

On June 4, Autodesk is upgrading the technology behind our discussion groups. The result is a significant improvement to posting & replying, navigation, search and other features. While we launch this upgrade, the discussion groups will be unavailable from 3pm (PDT) Thursday, June 3 and Friday June 4.

As part of the upgrade, Autodesk has taken the decision to discontinue the time-honored use of the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP). This was a difficult and bittersweet decision, given the company’s past investments to maintain NNTP, but one necessary to continue providing the state-of-art web experience Autodesk customers have come to expect. For active NNTP users, we know this will change your workflow when using the forums. To help transition to the web-based forums, the new updates include a simpler, more intuitive interface to post and reply, bookmarking and e-mail notification features to track favorite posts, and more powerful search tools. While not a substitute for the NNTP experience, the streamlined capabilities of our RSS feeds also provide an enhanced and alternative offline forum reading experience.

Autodesk is excited about this change, and is confident that all the valued users of our discussion groups will quickly appreciate and benefit from the improvements to this web experience.


Eric Wright
Product Manager – Support & Learning
Web & eBusiness
Autodesk, Inc.

[Anonymous]

I've been accessing these discussion groups using an NNTP newsreader
since 1993 thereabouts, and have recently signed into the web-based
side. What a disaster that was! And is and will be, as far as I can
tell. This seems to be the same kind of "support" that is touted with
the "upgrades" and new features to AutoSketch over the years.

I don't usually gripe on a professional newsgroup but the loss of the
NNTP newsreader capability is a real hardship for me. To be specific:

1. Speed. Anyone who has ever used a simple mailer/newsreader
understands how fast it is, certainly compared to browser access. The
Autodesk newsreader feed will immediately bring up all the forums
chosen. By immediately, I mean immediately. All threaded.

2. Signing in. The Autodesk site always requires a password (after two
or three clicks and waiting around for access), no way for a browser to
remember this locally. Then one has to set up controls on a control
panel. Good Lord!

3. Filtering. It is most useful to do this, to watch for subjects,
people, or both. NNTP newsreaders will immediately display only the
search item. Try that one on the web side.

Oh well, on and on. Sounds like I'm a benthic curmudgeon, progress is
like 200 square yards of mud. Maybe. And maybe this isn't really
progress, just a cost saving venture for Autodesk so they don't have to
keep a separate server available. Easier for the admins? maybe.

Personally, I won't be checking in here often if at all, sorry to say.
Just too much trouble.

I wonder what other folks are thinking about this. Maybe you can change
my mind.

_h

wrighte wrote:
> On June 4, Autodesk is upgrading the technology behind our discussion groups. The result is a significant improvement to posting & replying, navigation, search and other features. While we launch this upgrade, the discussion groups will be unavailable from 3pm (PDT) Thursday, June 3 and Friday June 4.
>
> As part of the upgrade, Autodesk has taken the decision to discontinue the time-honored use of the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP). This was a difficult and bittersweet decision, given the company’s past investments to maintain NNTP, but one necessary to continue providing the state-of-art web experience Autodesk customers have come to expect. For active NNTP users, we know this will change your workflow when using the forums. To help transition to the web-based forums, the new updates include a simpler, more intuitive interface to post and reply, bookmarking and e-mail notification features to track favorite posts, and more powerful search tools. While not a substitute for the NNTP experience, the streamlined capabilities of our RSS feeds also provide an enhanced and alternative offline forum reading experience.
>
> Autodesk is excited about this change, and is confident that all the valued users of our discussion groups will quickly appreciate and benefit from the improvements to this web experience.
>
>
> Eric Wright
> Product Manager – Support & Learning
> Web & eBusiness
> Autodesk, Inc.

[Anonymous]

You hit it 100% Harvey.

Rod


"Harvey" wrote in message
news:6398588@discussion.autodesk.com...
I've been accessing these discussion groups using an NNTP newsreader
since 1993 thereabouts, and have recently signed into the web-based
side. What a disaster that was! And is and will be, as far as I can
tell. This seems to be the same kind of "support" that is touted with
the "upgrades" and new features to AutoSketch over the years.

I don't usually gripe on a professional newsgroup but the loss of the
NNTP newsreader capability is a real hardship for me. To be specific:

1. Speed. Anyone who has ever used a simple mailer/newsreader
understands how fast it is, certainly compared to browser access. The
Autodesk newsreader feed will immediately bring up all the forums
chosen. By immediately, I mean immediately. All threaded.

2. Signing in. The Autodesk site always requires a password (after two
or three clicks and waiting around for access), no way for a browser to
remember this locally. Then one has to set up controls on a control
panel. Good Lord!

3. Filtering. It is most useful to do this, to watch for subjects,
people, or both. NNTP newsreaders will immediately display only the
search item. Try that one on the web side.

Oh well, on and on. Sounds like I'm a benthic curmudgeon, progress is
like 200 square yards of mud. Maybe. And maybe this isn't really
progress, just a cost saving venture for Autodesk so they don't have to
keep a separate server available. Easier for the admins? maybe.

Personally, I won't be checking in here often if at all, sorry to say.
Just too much trouble.

I wonder what other folks are thinking about this. Maybe you can change
my mind.

_h

wrighte wrote:
> On June 4, Autodesk is upgrading the technology behind our discussion
> groups. The result is a significant improvement to posting & replying,
> navigation, search and other features. While we launch this upgrade, the
> discussion groups will be unavailable from 3pm (PDT) Thursday, June 3 and
> Friday June 4.
>
> As part of the upgrade, Autodesk has taken the decision to discontinue the
> time-honored use of the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP). This was a
> difficult and bittersweet decision, given the company's past investments
> to maintain NNTP, but one necessary to continue providing the state-of-art
> web experience Autodesk customers have come to expect. For active NNTP
> users, we know this will change your workflow when using the forums. To
> help transition to the web-based forums, the new updates include a
> simpler, more intuitive interface to post and reply, bookmarking and
> e-mail notification features to track favorite posts, and more powerful
> search tools. While not a substitute for the NNTP experience, the
> streamlined capabilities of our RSS feeds also provide an enhanced and
> alternative offline forum reading experience.
>
> Autodesk is excited about this change, and is confident that all the
> valued users of our discussion groups will quickly appreciate and benefit
> from the improvements to this web experience.
>
>
> Eric Wright
> Product Manager - Support & Learning
> Web & eBusiness
> Autodesk, Inc.

[Anonymous]

Rod Hulbert wrote:
> You hit it 100% Harvey.

[...]
> Sounds like I'm a benthic curmudgeon, [...]

People tell me that all the time, Rod.



_h

[Anonymous]

Op 29-5-2010 19:47, Harvey schreef:
> Rod Hulbert wrote:
>> You hit it 100% Harvey.
>
> [...]
>> Sounds like I'm a benthic curmudgeon, [...]
>
> People tell me that all the time, Rod.
>
>
>
> _h

Hello Harvey,

Well, English isn't my native language and without googling or
babelfishing, i can only guess what a "benthic curmudgeon" is ?? ....

But, maybe i am one too, cause i really agree with what you wrote.
Without posting a lot myself, i learned some fine tips & tricks from a
few posters like yourself. But these days, thanks to the 'dedicated'
support that Autodesk gives to Autosketch these newsgroups (I include
QuickCAD) are only 'semi-useful' at best, and i probably won't bother
with checking in to the 'new & improved' webforums. If that's progress,
they can keep it.

Richard.

[Fred9002]

Ever notice that 90% of the time "new and improved" is the word used to describe Downgraded?

[Fred9002]

Looks good so far.