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I want to thank everyone for their feedback so far. I haven't been able to keep up with all the comments on the list and I've had a wide variety of input here at PTCLive. I have read a couple of misinterpretations of what we are planning so let me lay out here in writing exactly where we are with our Public Forum Strategy.
PTC/USER is in the initial stages of planning a unification of our Public Forums on to PTC Community at PTC.com.
Our initial plan is to:
- Migrate ALL the history and current discussions on ptcuser.org from our public discussions except ETC, Network, and USER Group. Those will remain active for the time being on ptcuser.org.
- Create PTC Community forums where there is no existing match to PTC/USER discussions.
What we are NOT doing:
- Removing any of the history from ptcuser.org.
- Migrating any of the Regional User Groups, Technical Committees, or related files.
- Enhancing or changing the way PTC Community works today.
One way or another, we are NOT going to end up with two forum sites.
What we aren't sure of yet:
- How to work the opt-in/out to PTC Community for our members.If or how we can merge accounts if members already have accounts on both sites.
Next Steps:
- Using this base information to establish a good understanding of our plan, I will continue to monitor these forums and other sources for issues, advantages, and feedback from you on your discussion forums.
- Construct a survey to put meaningful data behind the issues you see with this plan.
- Use the survey data to explore mitigations for high risk issues.
At that point we'll be in a position to make a migration plan and provide a timeline for action. We'll layout the +'s and -'s the move brings to our community and inform this community of our plan and timeline.
Keep the feedback coming. Know what's going on and also explore PTC Community functionality so we can discuss this from a standpoint of knowledge.
Understand this is not motivated out of "pressure" from PTC. It is purely a PTC/USER decision to respond to increasing input from members about having multiple forums in the same space and splitting the knowledge base and eroding both forums in the process. As PTC acquires new capability, there is increasing confusion among the groups as to where they should go for user information. I need to put real data behind the competing needs of our entire community.
In closing, I'd like to apologize for any confusion I caused by my announcement Monday morning at PTCLive. It was an oversight on my part not to have a prepared written post like this one so everyone can get the same information at the same time.
Thank you,
Solar Turbines Incorporated
It's OK Dan. This was the intent PTC had all along in creating the PTC Community website; the eventual closure of PTCuser.
It hasn't anything to do with confusion among users, they can pretty much determine on their own which site offers the best support. It isn't because PTCuser participants have looked longingly at the gold stars you can earn at PTC Community for posting a lot. It certainly isn't about eroding forums, because PTCuser is not a forum - it's an e-mail exploder.
I like that you come out with "What we are NOT doing: Enhancing or changing the way PTC Community works today."