Is the atmosphere ruined?(closed)

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  • Matt_CastleMatt_Castle Posts: 2,567
    edited November 12

    I've not seen any exact figures, I've only heard broad strokes, but I have credibly been told that many of the active users on the forum are only modest spenders by Daz's statistics - or barely at all in some cases. We in the forums are statistically a minority, and literally vocal (in that we're the ones ranting and raving, at least if you're not too literal about it).

    This is not to say that I think that Daz should disregard the forums - you don't want the louder people spreading the bad word about you - but if your argument is vocal minority, that's us.

    Post edited by Matt_Castle on
  • backgroundbackground Posts: 411

    I'm sure DAZ are guided by which items sell well, and which don't. Of course that can't measure demand for items that don't exist.

  • richardandtracy said:

    Must admit I have long thought that the only way to test the accuracy of any transformation script is to do a full circle and compare the end with the beginning. This applies equally with language translators, pose transfer scripts and character transfers too. It's one of the reasons why virtually all my pose transfer scripts have bi-directional versions. Except my G8-G9 one where I lost interest in G9 and couldn't be bothered with the G9-G8 one because there was almost no chance I'd have a G9 pose I'd feel worth putting on my favourite G8F character. Regards, Richard.

    i remember that... apparently that was the most viewd TV moment of 1986.

  • xyer0xyer0 Posts: 5,934

    There are more than a few big spenders on the forum, of which I was one ($800+ monthly) until John 9. So, I don't know where the figures on that come from.

  • xyer0 said:

    There are more than a few big spenders on the forum, of which I was one ($800+ monthly) until John 9. So, I don't know where the figures on that come from.

    Yes, but there are also people who make a point of how little they buy.

    One of the semi-frequent issues has been PAs making a product to meet forum members desires, only to find that the result does not sell. Regardless of how much people do or don't spend that certainly indicates that the forum posters are not truly representative of the broader pattern of interests.

  • xyer0xyer0 Posts: 5,934

    Richard Haseltine said:

    xyer0 said:

    There are more than a few big spenders on the forum, of which I was one ($800+ monthly) until John 9. So, I don't know where the figures on that come from.

    Yes, but there are also people who make a point of how little they buy.

    One of the semi-frequent issues has been PAs making a product to meet forum members desires, only to find that the result does not sell. Regardless of how much people do or don't spend that certainly indicates that the forum posters are not truly representative of the broader pattern of interests.

    I stand corrected. Well, we can be ignored with impunity then. 

  • vonHobovonHobo Posts: 1,682
    edited November 12

    I have found DAZ to be a welcoming place for new users, including myself, although I came to DAZ about 6 years ago. Time flies!

    I have occasionally been on the receiving end of a short reply on here, but that's very rare. If you want to see rudeness, just go on any Reddit topic. Or better yet, ask a question on Quora.com (a place to gain and share knowlege) and you routinely get the trolls that suggest you are stupid or something for even asking a question. I stopped using Quora completely for that reason. 

    I do feel at home here on DAZ.

    Post edited by vonHobo on
  • WonderlandWonderland Posts: 6,880
    edited November 12

    Richard Haseltine said:

    xyer0 said:

    There are more than a few big spenders on the forum, of which I was one ($800+ monthly) until John 9. So, I don't know where the figures on that come from.

    Yes, but there are also people who make a point of how little they buy.

    One of the semi-frequent issues has been PAs making a product to meet forum members desires, only to find that the result does not sell. Regardless of how much people do or don't spend that certainly indicates that the forum posters are not truly representative of the broader pattern of interests.

    I wasn't talking about individual PA or product requests but things like the season pass, premier, NFTS, ads, software upgrades...  If Daz was to send out mass emails to every customer and also on a banner onsite to fill out a questionnaire or even quick short surveys (and maybe offer some store credit for filling it out) then they could get hundreds of responses. They could make the responses NOT anonymous but linked to your account so they could see what the biggest spenders think. I know one forum member who claims to own most of the store was very against Premier. (I buy everything on mega sale but own quite a bit of the store myself.) This way they could see what the bigger spenders think versus the lower spenders and make plans accordingly. Although if they have a very large amount of people spending an average of $40 a month vs a small group of people spending $800 a month, they might want to average it out. I still think it would be worth their time to ask what their customers think. I think it would go a long way in making customers feel heard and important and would stop a lot of negativity. And I still think a thread run by a marketing person would be great. Of course no insults directted to the staff member themself, other customers or PAs would be allowed but criticism of Daz practices or website, software, marketing, etc... would be allowed. The marketing person could even openly ask questions to forumites about what they think about certain marketing concepts they're considering. In a sense Daz sometimes feels like a family with so many long time customers here and it would make customers feel like they mattered rather than just victims of an unknown corporate entity. 

    Post edited by Wonderland on
  • xyer0 said:

    Richard Haseltine said:

    xyer0 said:

    There are more than a few big spenders on the forum, of which I was one ($800+ monthly) until John 9. So, I don't know where the figures on that come from.

    Yes, but there are also people who make a point of how little they buy.

    One of the semi-frequent issues has been PAs making a product to meet forum members desires, only to find that the result does not sell. Regardless of how much people do or don't spend that certainly indicates that the forum posters are not truly representative of the broader pattern of interests.

    I stand corrected. Well, we can be ignored with impunity then. 

    Not what I was suggesting. I was suggesting that pinches of salt need to be taken, and other sources of information (for Daz, most notably, what people actually do) given due weight.

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,512

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    I read it as the atmosphere is ruined, possibly closed

    a closed atmosphere isn't a bad thing as holes in the ozone layer let in solar radiation as well as warming the Earth, those rays can cause cancer, mutations etc 

    the plankton in the oceans could become self aware and start sharing electrolytes manifesting into a liquid brain, or just die and stop oxygenating  the CO2 we and other creatures keep breathing out

    and I am just taking out of my bu...

    HAHAH Oh, Wendy you are a delight!

     

  • NylonGirlNylonGirl Posts: 1,812

    Matt_Castle said:

    I've not seen any exact figures, I've only heard broad strokes, but I have credibly been told that many of the active users on the forum are only modest spenders by Daz's statistics - or barely at all in some cases. We in the forums are statistically a minority, and literally vocal (in that we're the ones ranting and raving, at least if you're not too literal about it).

    This is not to say that I think that Daz should disregard the forums - you don't want the louder people spreading the bad word about you - but if your argument is vocal minority, that's us.

    Even if we are a small group, if we are the only ones offering feedback then we might be the best feedback they have. And some of us used to spend a fair amount of money here, and stopped, and told them why. That might be better than people who stop and say nothing.

  • Matt_CastleMatt_Castle Posts: 2,567

    xyer0 said:

    I stand corrected. Well, we can be ignored with impunity then. 

    I don't mean to suggest that either...

    ... but while indeed there may be some very big spenders on the forum, what I've heard from credible sources is that the forum is not that significant a proportion of Daz's sales.

    NylonGirl said:

    Even if we are a small group, if we are the only ones offering feedback then we might be the best feedback they have. And some of us used to spend a fair amount of money here, and stopped, and told them why. That might be better than people who stop and say nothing.

    Given the number of people on this forum who've left forever about fifteen times, I'm not sure how credible the "feedback" that's posted here is compared to hard sales figures.

  • Matt_Castle said:

    I've not seen any exact figures, I've only heard broad strokes, but I have credibly been told that many of the active users on the forum are only modest spenders by Daz's statistics - or barely at all in some cases.

    Wow, that's alarming!... who the heck is feeding you this information? what else are they feeding you and why?

    Can i trust (like you claim) that you havn't seen the exact figures?... Who is Matt_Castle to hold this power over us?

    (Don't worry, i am kidding... i have credibly been told that there is nothing to worry about )cheeky

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,131

    SolitarySandpiper said:

    Matt_Castle said:

    I've not seen any exact figures, I've only heard broad strokes, but I have credibly been told that many of the active users on the forum are only modest spenders by Daz's statistics - or barely at all in some cases.

    Wow, that's alarming!... who the heck is feeding you this information? what else are they feeding you and why?

    Can i trust (like you claim) that you havn't seen the exact figures?... Who is Matt_Castle to hold this power over us?

    (Don't worry, i am kidding... i have credibly been told that there is nothing to worry about )cheeky

    I'm a modest spender, I only have about 9000 products purchased and many were freebies. In fact I have twice as many forum posts as products in my DIM. 

  • xyer0xyer0 Posts: 5,934

    Richard Haseltine said:

    xyer0 said:

    I stand corrected. Well, we can be ignored with impunity then. 

    Not what I was suggesting. I was suggesting that pinches of salt need to be taken, and other sources of information (for Daz, most notably, what people actually do) given due weight.

    Matt_Castle said:

    xyer0 said:

    I stand corrected. Well, we can be ignored with impunity then. 

    I don't mean to suggest that either...

    No worries, gentlemen, I wasn't inferring a suggestion. That was merely a sarcastic rejoinder signaling my desertion of the debate, made clearer had I not deleted "Oh, right," from my post's end. Daz has evidently already concluded that this forum can be ignored, as we're told repeatedly they don't read it. But the forum forecasters and posting prognosticators keep stacking wins (Season Pass, NFT, AI abandonment) while the bean-counting bandwagoneers heedlessly continue their travails.

  • ServantServant Posts: 759

    I can only speak for myself, but I "slowed down" posting on the forum when the NFT "wave" was all the focus. And then when generative AI was adopted as part of the business model, I lost most interest in participating in the forums (especially when voicing out negative perceptions about them are removed from the board). It just didn't feel like a welcome forum as it did even compared to 5 years ago.

    Don't get me wrong. I still support DAZ's products that aren't NFT/AI. But I agree that the atmosphere in our little community is VERY different now.

  • NylonGirlNylonGirl Posts: 1,812

    When people say your opinion means nothing because there are millions of people spending millions of dollars and you are part of the one percent who isn't happy, it kind of interferes with the atmosphere a bit. Like, if I don't matter then why would they take the time to tell me to stop saying anything? Why don't they just stop talking and go spend another million dollars?

  • NylonGirl said:

    When people say your opinion means nothing because there are millions of people spending millions of dollars and you are part of the one percent who isn't happy, it kind of interferes with the atmosphere a bit. Like, if I don't matter then why would they take the time to tell me to stop saying anything? Why don't they just stop talking and go spend another million dollars?

    That is not what is being said. The point people were advancing is that the forums are not representative, and that there are a siginificant number of people not active (or at least, not posting) in the forums who do spend a lot - not necesarily more, as individuals, than some of those who do post but enough to be a significant influence on what products are most vialble.

  • Richard Haseltine said:

    NylonGirl said:

    When people say your opinion means nothing because there are millions of people spending millions of dollars and you are part of the one percent who isn't happy, it kind of interferes with the atmosphere a bit. Like, if I don't matter then why would they take the time to tell me to stop saying anything? Why don't they just stop talking and go spend another million dollars?

    That is not what is being said. The point people were advancing is that the forums are not representative, and that there are a siginificant number of people not active (or at least, not posting) in the forums who do spend a lot - not necesarily more, as individuals, than some of those who do post but enough to be a significant influence on what products are most vialble.

    Yeah, be quite Nylongirl whilst Richard mansplains what is actually being said.

    Just kidding guys, i just couldn't resist it!

    But can we get back on topic?... Mod bashing (something i think we can all get behind). cheeky

  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 14,054
    edited November 14

    Matt_Castle said:

    I've not seen any exact figures, I've only heard broad strokes, but I have credibly been told that many of the active users on the forum are only modest spenders by Daz's statistics - or barely at all in some cases. We in the forums are statistically a minority, and literally vocal (in that we're the ones ranting and raving, at least if you're not too literal about it).

    This is not to say that I think that Daz should disregard the forums - you don't want the louder people spreading the bad word about you - but if your argument is vocal minority, that's us.

    They are full aware of what is being said in the forums because we report to them on a daily basis, many times a day. Sometimes changes are easily made but others are not so easily done without considerable time and work that would require drastic changes. Even with the forum users being the active minority of the customer base, they are very important in terms of business, daily functionality, public sentiment, and how to improve and get a better understanding where things may be going wrong. I lot happens behind the scenes. It may not be noticeable but it is there and quite regularly, sometimes in large scale and others in minor adjustments that have big effects. Every decision has it's pluses and minuses. 

    Post edited by frank0314 on
  • PixelPiePixelPie Posts: 326
    edited November 15

    Wonderland said:

    I'm not sure if DAZ owners/staff ever actually check these forums (they say they don't) but I really think they should. I think they should know the uncensored opinions of their customers. If a forum member insults another forum member, of course that should be removed but when customers are expressing their sincere opinions about a store they have invested thousands of dollars in over the years, I really think the powers that be should listen. So far the things customers complained about the most have disappeared like the season pass, priority of NFTs and more. Personally I think there should be more surveys and market research done on existing customers before introducing a new feature like Premier or season pass. I think a problem here is that customers get the feeling that Daz doesn't care about its customers and that's what leads to a lot of negativity. If they had a marketing staff member join the forums maybe in a specific thread where customers could air their grievances that would make customers feel more heard and less angry. 

    yes  This ^ 

    I just want to relay some stories here to illustrate what I think could be some important points of what "can" happen....like cautionary tales.. ("the outer limits" background musicsurprise)...anyways..
    This may not be the greatest examples, as it is not the same type of company, (they do sell things and employ lots of people to make those sales happen), however, here is a real life example of what I think happens when large corporations do not address root issues and attempt damage control instead.  I have watched a particular global corporation (a good friend of mine has worked for many years) do this on a company ratings website for job seekers:  Corporation XYZ responds to current and previous employee ratings and comments and their first "Go-To" PR strategy is "damage control". Maybe they don't like some of the stories, opinions and phrases being used to describe them such as "train wreck" etc. so they double down on their stances--but there, (at this company ratings site) XYZ Corp has no control to really "remove" or moderate posts --only respond to each refuting their opinions and experiences or even trying to deny they worked there (how they could possibly even know that as most are left anonymously for security reasons). Thus denying the reality of those current and former employees' experiences who are posting their work experience there.   And since I know a lot about this company, (have even been on vacation with them) I can attest and confirm to there being some serious problems and drama going on, most of the posts are fairly accurate (I wouldn't want to work there and keep telling my friend to find a better company).  XYZ company continues to have high employment turn over regardless of how much damage control is employed, because folks do not want to deal with a toxic work environment and said company leadership doesn't appear to address root causes / systemic issues and face the reality or truth of what is happening...and allow real communication to happen (IMO & my friend's)

    Another example: A different type of forum than here (not really sales focused but some items promoted)...I watched this forum dry up eventually due to heavy handed moderation and banning and watching a majority there pile on a minority opinion / those they disagree with or disliked.  Those of us watching, (and lending a supportive ear outside the forum to those targeted--hours on the phone discussing thread conversations) don't care to see the drama and communication became confusing (eggshell-like) and it felt sad to see folks piled on for what appeared to be just sharing their opinions. I found out about the extent of the banning, believe it or not, on Amazon, back when they allowed commenting on products. and on other similar sites from folks. Pretty soon, it turned into a ghost town, last I logged in.

    Moral of the story:
    A couple of my thoughts: I have found in general folks here to be outstanding as far as helping each other. 
    In general, I think a company I want to do business with should at least follow their own TOS Terms of Service.  If you expect folks, your customers and constituents to follow them, the company itself should not be exempt from them.  Not "rules for thee and not for me".   I do want to be a "positive Polly" rather than a "negative Ned or Nelly", however, I shouldn't have to feel like I have to be all rainbows and unicorns all of the time ..if I am spending thousands of $$$ with your company and am voicing my opinions in a respectful manner... thus, it may not be the best thing to continually bite the hand that feeds

    ....not necessarily saying this is the case here, yet, just reflecting on my stories/experiences illustrations of how atmospheres above could get ruined over time as I definitely think my friend's company is biting their own employees--both those assisting with making them $$ --and their customers $$-- and yet still they wonder why things are not going well all while seemingly blaming the wrong people.

     

    Post edited by PixelPie on
  • xyer0xyer0 Posts: 5,934

    frank0314 said:

    Matt_Castle said:

    I've not seen any exact figures, I've only heard broad strokes, but I have credibly been told that many of the active users on the forum are only modest spenders by Daz's statistics - or barely at all in some cases. We in the forums are statistically a minority, and literally vocal (in that we're the ones ranting and raving, at least if you're not too literal about it).

    This is not to say that I think that Daz should disregard the forums - you don't want the louder people spreading the bad word about you - but if your argument is vocal minority, that's us.

    They are full aware of what is being said in the forums because we report to them on a daily basis, many times a day. Sometimes changes are easily made but others are not so easily done without considerable time and work that would require drastic changes. Even with the forum users being the active minority of the customer base, they are very important in terms of business, daily functionality, public sentiment, and how to improve and get a better understanding where things may be going wrong. I lot happens behind the scenes. It may not be noticeable but it is there and quite regularly, sometimes in large scale and others in minor adjustments that have big effects. Every decision has it's pluses and minuses. 

    I nominate you for press secretary. That was incredible---I mean literally unbelievable---but I do feel better, and there was zero gaslighting with minimal word salad. 

  • NylonGirlNylonGirl Posts: 1,812

    Just hanging out in the I Can't Close This Thread complaint thread...

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