You receive the Error [1.5.-15] sporatically when opening your product

[Scott.Menard]

Recently Autodesk Product Support was asked why a users computers were sometimes able to retrieve a license, but other times they received the Error [1.5.-15].

This is a common question that we would like to get a solution out to a larger audience of users. This situation can occur when you access the license manager through a VPN, dial-up or a slow DSL/ISDN link, or your network is under strain due to bandwidth. The solution to this issue, lengthening the time the program takes to establish a connection to the license manager, is located here in our knowledge base:

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS1057817

Scott Menard, Autodesk Product Support

[TravisNave]

*sigh*

[Scott.Menard]

Travis,

Can you explain to me the frustration with this post. I am attempting to distribute as much information as possible and need some feedback if you see a way I can improve. Any help would be appreciated so my posts can be more useful to the community.

Thank you,
Scott

[TravisNave]

The frustration comes from the fact that you are not providing a solution to another user's question. You are placing a post with the assumption that a hypothetical user with this problem is going to come to this forum, find your post, and have their question answered. There are a few fallacies that you fail to recognize with the user group: This question gets asked over and over. If the hypothetical user with this problem was going to search to find the answer, there would never be the need to repost the same information here over and over. Doing a simple search myself on this issue will yield dozens of results (most of which have been thoroughly answered by myself or the other respectable members here.) In fact, if this hypothetical user was going to do the search, it's reasonable to assume that they would have searched it on the Autodesk Support website or Google. See my results below:
http://discussion.autodesk.com/forums/search.jspa?threadID=&q=15&objID=c142&dateRange=all&numResults...
This post will be off the first page of questions within a day or two and will probably never be seen again. The other problem with this is that you only provide one possible scenario for this issue. Again, because the issue is for a hypothetical user who isn't asking the question, you fail to take into consideration where the -15 error can go beyond just a FLEXLM_TIMEOUT issue. The purpose of the Discussion Group is to discuss the problem and come to a solution for the person having the problem. The purpose of your Knowledge Base in the Autodesk Support link that you gave is to provide general information in a manner to which the user would have searched the answer for themselves. Should that answer not be sufficient, they can ask here. The point of having a Discussion Group becomes moot if all we do is clinically point fellow members to the Knowledge Base without actually addressing what other issues may be causing the problem.
Rather that repost KB items here with the good-intentions of helping hypothetical situations, perhaps you should instead answer the open items in the forum that do not yet have responses. There are people that need help and the Discussion Group offers the interaction that facilitates that. I volunteer lots of time on this forum and I have grown to respect many of the members here over the years. But you have to understand that we fellow members can provide a level of peer-to-peer service that goes beyond a corporate image because we are not restricted to any sort of quality guideline. We are users helping users, each sharing our own gripes and experiences and ultimately doing what we can to help each other.
I respect that Autodesk wants to be more involved, but to do so effectively, you need to be involved with those who need assistance now. Answers to a user's problem here are not searched, they are provided by others like them. And yes, sometimes they are provided over and over. But that's why we're here.