Excellent Forum!

[dhoganjr]

I've been using Elements for a little more than 2 years now, both 1 and 2, and have been reading this forum just as long. I have learned so much from you people it's incredible. Everybody seems so friendly and helpful and rarely seems to get frustrated with newbees. On the other hand, I have occassionally visited the Photoshop forum and have noticed a totally different tone there. They seem to be very impatient with new or repeat questions, even getting upset with posters. I would be very intimidated posting there if I used Photoshop, very comfortable here though. Thank you!

[Chuck Snyder]

Ray, I was giving them the benefit of the doubt, I guess....but I haven't
visited there myself in many weeks. Chuck

[Ken Nielsen •]

Hi, I am a regular poster on the Photoshop Forum, and I remember all of the posts from the past several years. There are two sides to the Photoshop forum, one is for Mac and one is for Windows. You will find the more intense artists and professionals on the Mac side, where I hang out. There is little tolerance for those who come on as newbies and purport to 'know it all' - they get chewed up handily. But for honest regular folks, like you and me, we are the friendly bunch who enjoy the craft and art and the privilege of being employed to run the best software on earth - Photoshop.

I got Elements on a disk with a Wacom tablet I bought for home use and I am very impressed with the program. It is a little Photoshop. This is nice because if you ever want to step up to Photoshop, you will be prepared in many areas of how the tools work and how the program operates.

Best wishes to all here,

Ken

[Chuck Snyder]

One of the differences is our reaction to seeing a posting by a 'newbie'. Here, we see it as an opportunity to help someone solve their current dilemma, learn to enjoy the program, and, hopefully, become a contributor to the forum and even the Challenge. In other places, the reaction may be a bit less constructive...

:-)

Chuck

[Ray]

You want to get an example of what I'm saying? Read this. A guy posted a
Photoshop 7 question on the Photoshop Album forum. I kindly instructed him
to post his question on the Photoshop Forum. Jim Lutte (Adobe volounteer)
moved the thread to Photoshop Win Forum for the same reason.

Later, someone (whose name I won't mention) took the time to let me know I
was wrong whereas, of course, I was right in suggesting this guy to move his
post to the other forum (because my post was in the thread, and not Jim's) :

"Ray...

I believe yer lost, sonny.

Head down the road apiece, and ya know where the old Knoll house used to be?
Keep going.

Then, when you get to that corner where old-man Cox rolled his haywagon,
turn right. Go till you see the Burma Shave sign, and stop before you get to
the last one.

Get out an' holler real loud; a friendly Mr. Hewitt will be along to point
you the rest of the way toward where yer goin'. "

And, of course, the guy posting the question in the first place never got an
answer!

Ray, who definitively thinks some people have way too much free time :)

[Schraven Robert]

Ray,

I get your point about the unhelpfulness of some in other forums.
I hope you forgive me but when I read the persons unhelpful note I couldn't help but wonder where he lives and what kind of accent he has in his speech. My guess is that he chews gum, comes from the southern states and walks around in cowboy boots. Am I right?

Robert from Europe

[Beth Haney]

Naw, I figure the guy chewing gum and wearing the cowboy boots probably has more class than whoever posted that! :)

[Ray]

Robert, I have no clue because, frankly, I didn't understand a word of what
he wrote (or she.. ?) English is a second language to me.

Ray

[Dave Hamer]

Ray wrote:

>You want to get an example of what I'm saying? Read this. A guy posted a
>Photoshop 7 question on the Photoshop Album forum. I kindly instructed him
>to post his question on the Photoshop Forum. Jim Lutte (Adobe volounteer)
>moved the thread to Photoshop Win Forum for the same reason.
>

I saw the same posting but had no idea, that it had been previously
moved by a forum host. I too thought it was in the wrong forum but went
ahead and answered the question as best I could.

Dave

[Chuck Snyder]

Now, Robert....let's not be too harsh on people from southern states wearing
cowboy boots and chewing gum.....we're not all bad, honest!

:-)

Chuck (deep in the heart of Texas, with gum stuck on the heel of his cowboy
boot...)

[Ray]

No, of course not. As not all Quebekers are seperatists, not all...are...
;)

[Beth Haney]

Frankly I don't think anybody would ever run up against that person face to face anywhere in the country - except maybe in a tavern around midnight just before the bouncer put him out the door. He sounds like the kind of smarta-- that gets his jollies long distance. It would be interesting to know if the person uses his own name or hides behind a user name, except I'm too lazy to look. :)

[Raymond Robillard]

Robert, home was meant for this forum :)

[cookgreg]

Hey... I'm a newbie! Could someone chew me up and spit me out so I feel at home? I like it here as well. Everyone on this side of the fence puts there pants on one leg at a time versus the other side where Geeves the butler does it for them while they look down their long noses at him. :) (Insert snappy rim shot here)

[Beth Haney]

Wow, cookgreg-the-newbie, we usually like to do everything we can to accommodate requests from newcomers for "help", but I'm not sure anybody here can handle this one! I get a touch snippy every once in a while, but I have to be in a really bad mood before that happens. The day has just been going too well. Maybe later? :)

[cookgreg]

Thanks Beth, I'll take your raincheck then. ;)

As for the topic at hand, I've been using PS for about 5 months. The product itself can be intimidating at the beginning. Prior to coming into the Elements U2U, I hovered in the Photoshop forums w/o posting. One thing I observed was anxious newbies who, understandibly want to know how to do THIS right now without doing any research on their own. That is when I saw "the regulars" eat them up. I don't think their intention was to curb enthusiasm, but rather to encourage them to dig through all the bells and whistles for themselves. THEN, if they still had questions, it would be alright to post. They just use (at times)a snide tone to express it. Me, I'll just relax in here you where I don't have to worry about fangs and claws if that is alright with all of you.

Greg

[Grant Dixon]

cookgreg

"Could someone chew me up"

Wow ... this reminds me of the spat between the masochist and the sadist.
The masochist said "Hit me, just go a head and hit me."
The sadist said "No."

g.

[dhoganjr]

Ray,

I too saw your helpful post redirecting the person to the correct forum. I've read enough forums to have realized that it was most likely reposted by a moderator and was appalled at the responses you received.

By the way, I go to Montreal each year for the Grand Prix, what a beautiful city you have! (You live in Montreal right?) In fact, it was the pictures I have taken at the Grand Prix which got me started with all this Adobe stuff. Maybe someday DSL will come to my little rural part of heaven...sorry, New Hampshire, and I will be able to post some.

After my initial post I was a bit concerned that I may have offended some users; it's nice to see that I was not alone in my feelings. Thanks again to everyone fo the help over the years!

[Ray]

dhoganjr,

Yes, I live in Montreal. Asside from attending the Grand Prix, did you have
time to visit the city ? Old Montreal, perhaps ?

Ray

[Ray]

dhoganjr,

On your next trip, be sure to visit Old Montreal. You'll get a really good
sense of old Europe. And the restaurants are all fabulous and for a very
reasonable price! From there, take a walk in the Old Port, and enjoy the
festivities, and perhaps an IMAX movie as well :)

From Montreal (driving), we've visited New York, Plattsburg, Burlington,
Saratoga Spring (very charming city!), and of course, Toronto and Ottawa.
Next trip is New Brunswick.

Ray