New support forums. Please read.

[Sergey Tkachenko]

New forums
Starting from August 27, 2005, TRichView support forums are moved from newsgroups to phpBB.
The forums are run in test mode, but the most probably they will be permanent.

For registered users: how to get access to the private forums
If you are a registered TRichView user,
1) register on this forum;
2) ask for access to the private forums by sending me a private message using this forum (or e-mail to svt@trichview.com). If you did not specify the same e-mail address in your profile as in your order, include some additional information allowing to recognize you as a registered user.

Why forum, not newsgroup?
phpBB has the following advantages for users and for admins:

• full text search
• admin can manage a list of users who can read the private forums
• possibility to send announcements about new versions to registered users using the forum engine
• polls
• sticky themes
• the last replied thread is moved on top (less chances to miss a message)
• independence from third party services

What's about old newsgroups?
The status of old newsgroups archive is still unclear. In the best case, newsgroups will be restored in a read-only mode. The most important topics will be reposted in these forums.

[jonjon]

I understand this must be easier for you to maintain and independence from third party is great but there are many advantages for the newsgroup too:

• Faster than a web forum
• Easier and faster browsing of articles
• Personal archive if user (or server) is offline
• Grouped with other newsgroups: faster to get all updates in a central place

However, I'm glad to see a forum/newsgroup back and if this is better for you, then it'll be better for us, users.

Regards,
John.

[dkounal]

I prefer this forum. It is much easier to search for a problem before posting again for the same. You can mirror it with a web mirror program if you like it.
For sure, it takes more bandwidth for slow connections. Sergey make sure that compression on-the-fly is activated in php for web pages, so it much more fast. An other issue, is not to allow the user to modify the message same minutes later, or have strict rules for abusing it and a hack to keep old versions.

The old newsgroups have a lot of information, about how to do things and tips to do things. it must not get lost.

Keep on the good work, Sergey.

Dimitris

[LadyOfWood]

I think better is newsgroups.
1. Is more faster.
2. All inforamtion about delphi and third-party is one place, in online, offline.
I think the best way have newsgroups and forum

[ilgam]

forum is the better decision

[dkounal]

attachments' hack is needed in this forum

[shmp]

I guess any form of communication is OK by me, though each has its advantages. Instead of attachment, it has to be copy and paste, right?

[Sergey Tkachenko]

May be I'll install a mod for this forum allowing to attach files, or open a limited ftp access for registered users.

[esbglenn]

A RSS Feed would be nice and would give back some of the Newsgroup Advantages. Several other Forums I am on (which look very similar to this one) do offer an RSS Feed

[Guest]

[quote="Sergey Tkachenko"]New forums
Starting from August 27, 2005, TRichView support forums are moved from newsgroups to phpBB.
The forums are run in test mode, but the most probably they will be permanent.

I'm not a fan of forums, they much difficult to read then newsgroups, which you can read just as easy and at the same time as email.

But I think it would be very nice to place at least one last message in the old newsgroups, to notify the people, where to find this new forum (I found it by accident).

Stef Mientki

[martindholmes]

...about the new forums. I'd been checking the old newsgroups waiting for them to be back up, and only went by accident to the Website and saw the announcement of this forum.

I like newsgroups, but mostly I like having support in place, whatever form it takes. Hope you haven't suffered too much hassle from the crash of Torry's server. It seems amazing that one hard drive could cause so much disruption!

Cheers,
Martin

[Michel Lefebvre]

Well, Sergey, to be honnest I'm not a fan ...
Some arguments against have been pointed out already, I do subscribe to them, and add a couple of new ones :
- Text editor not so convenient
- No control of end user over text fonts, page size, ...
- (maybe) more chances to get personal infos grabbed by spammers
- ... and in the end, lots of habits to be changed

Sorry to be negative, cause besides your support work is continously as good as one could dream of.

Last point, a bit selfish .. : I had some issues still open in the old newsgroup, I hope that they will be taken into account. Thanks in advance.

[Splinter]

Hi Sergey,

Good to have you back.

These forums are fine.

Marc

[carlosleite]

hi,
don~t ask me why, but newsgroups has never been widely available in Brazil, so I can only access foruns like this or list-groups like yahoogroups.
Carlos

[DavidRM]

My vote is for these Web-based forums. Much simpler to use and search, IMO. If we can get the archives from the old server online, it'll be perfect.

-David