I have read the “Degradation in the forums” thread and to me the problem is that so many of the users here are extremely childish. Calling other users trolls and ranting on subjects they know nothing about. Suggesting that their values, beliefs, and opinions are greater than all others’. For people who claim to be such experienced programmers and artists, such an attitude doesn’t fit. If these people were really as smart and experienced as they claim they would be more objective and open-minded. They would be rationale and intelligible. They would not behave like naughty little children.
This forum is in dire need of moderation. I see that there are some users entitled as such, but I do not see it happening. Rather I see these users engage in the same juvenile behavior time and time again. I don’t know if the owners intend for their product to devolve into a tool solely for hobbyists, but the state of their member forums conveys a very unprofessional image. The degradation of these forums may eventually lead a degradation and decline of the user base. Professional users want professional support. If a professional views the support as second rate, they may conclude that the product must be second rate as well. These forums are the sole source of product support, and they are clearly second rate at best.
@gasface: Notwithstanding the other (intentionally sarcastic) posts to this thread, I’m afraid I respectfully disagree with your comments. The forum is actively moderated, although we will gladly admit we can’t be everywhere at once. The exchanges you describe mainly take place in the Gossip and Showcase sections where we don’t feel it would be appropriate to moderate heavily. However, while we allow users freedom to criticise and even to question others’ technical competence, we strongly oppose any use of offensive or abusive language. Such posts are removed when found and the offending users are banned if necessary. If you find a post which you consider offensive, you are welcome to use the report button (bottom left of each post) or else to send me a PM with a link to the thread in question.
Arguments and trolling rarely take place in the support sections of the forum and they are more heavily moderated when found. Hundreds of questions are satisfactorily answered every day by the community. In addition, I and other UT staff patrol the forum, aiming to provide answers to questions that have slipped through the net.
Finally, I should point out that the forum is not the only channel of support offered by UT. The support team can be contacted by e-mail (support@unity3d.com) and we also have Unity Answers which is a community site with a somewhat different operating principle to the forum.
We are always looking to improve our support and we welcome suggestions and criticisms. However, if your early experiences of the forum have been unpleasant then I would urge you to stick with it a little longer. The community is mostly very helpful and we consider it the product’s strongest asset.
I’m sorry but I suggest you to actually use this forum on a daily basis to fully understand what are the real problems mentionned in this topic you’re referring to.
You total number of posts is 2, which means you’re either a newcomer, and therefore don’t have the forum experience to understand what we’re talking about, or either you never participated in here.
You can’t judge a community if you don’t even belong to it.