I had a thought for the FAQ - I could start a thread called Frequently Asked Questions. All could add to the thread as they see fit with the Moderators editing the content as they see fit. With frequent additions, the thread would be kept up top in the new message list. Your thoughts?

Please remember to try a Search before asking your first question.

The Search link is located at the top right of all Forum pages.

Updated to the latest release of the UBB engine. This corrects an issue of producing duplicate Search results that was annoying me.

A delivery of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (still a bit of a novelty here) arrived during the update, so the Forum was down for slightly longer than I had planned.

I heard 'cadcam' was starting to get the shakes... j/k Jay.

[ 11-21-2002, 12:14 PM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

Please follow these links to review the Forum Guidelines and FAQ.

Forum Guidelines

Forum FAQ

Attaboy cadcam!

old Multax - [email protected]

new Multax - [email protected]

Coincidence? I think not. IP and email bans put in place. Buh Bye.

Well, the jury is still out (although 100% agree with Bullines at this point) - we're taking a Poll on whether or not this posting is spam.

[ 09-26-2002, 09:16 AM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

When you click on "Vote Now", you are presented with the question:

Do you consider the recent CMM link board spam?

Yes - It's unwanted board spam that should be moderated

No - It's useful information that should be left as is

A recent post by TalkMaster - CMM Talk - informed the eMastercam.com community of a "very interesting and informative site" - what turns out to be his own CMM board.

When the link is the very first post from a New Member, the information is unsolicited, and the New Member is not likely a licensed Mastercam user, I tend to feel a bit used.

I feel differently when a contributing Member asks where to source lollipop cutters, and others provide links based on their own independent experiences.

So for information purposes, let's put it to a vote. Don't let my comments bias your opinion.

[ 09-26-2002, 08:39 AM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

Peter and Andrew - Cool it on the personal comments.

Negative comments regarding resellers are taboo here. Please refer to the Forum Guidlines.

Since most Members dislike the idea of filtering only the negative, and allowing the positive, we general just stay away from the topic altogether.

I'll lock this thread now, but leave it viewable as a reminder of the Guidelines.

Set back to the way things were. Let's all calm down.

0 - New Member

11 - Member

200 - [Custom Avatar privilege]

500 - Senior Member

Once you've reached 200 posts, you are entitled to a custom avatar. You can email me with a max 96 x 48 pixel image, along with SIM number and company name to verify that you are a licensed user.

The Avatars are just a way to have some fun. Adding a custom Avatar as a perk at a higher post count limits the amount of manual labour for the poor Webby (while controlling what goes up), and encourages contribution here. The Levels of course relate in no way to your knowledge. Post count only. Why? It's automated (limits the amount of manual labour for the poor Webby), and it's completely non-judgmental. It's a pure measure of participation. With no posts, there would be no forum. So it follows that a board has to value participation. It's a completely common thing to do in a Bulletin Board community.

We actually do have the capability to do Member *ratings*, but will never go there.

We're thinking about this revised scheme:

0 - Entry

25 - Level 1

50 - Level 2

100 - Level 3

200 - [Custom Avatar privilege]

500 - Forum Elder

The term elder would imply that they've been around and know how things tend to run here. Many of the rules may be unwritten, but these people know them. Elder - an influential member of this forum community.

An alternative similar to the old scheme:

0 - New Member (dropping the Junior)

11 - Member

200 - [Custom Avatar privilege]

500 - Forum Elder (or Senior Member)

Just thought the MC product level tie-in would be fun...

Thoughts and comments?

[ 08-16-2002, 09:17 AM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

I'm thinking 500 posts for an Avatar may be out of reach for the average high contributor on this forum. Only 4 make the mark after 2 and 1/2 years. Perhaps we should offer the Avatar at 100 posts. Let's says it's under review.

[ 08-15-2002, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

Member Levels on the Forum are based on the number of messages posted, and will be changed as follows:

0 - Entry

25 - Level 1

50 - Level 2

100 - Level 3

500 - Advisor

1000 - Director

Advisors may be polled by board Administrators on decisions pertaining to the forum.

Advisors may also send in a custom Avatar to be added to their profile.

Directors may have the opportunity to vote on decisions pertaining to the forum.

CNC Software employees and Mastercam Resellers are exempt from Member Levels and may have their company name displayed rather than a Level.

[ 08-15-2002, 10:57 AM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

Please note that CIMCO Integration is a sponsor of eMastercam.com.

A Spellchecker was included in an earlier UBB version but was removed from the package for a variety of reasons. They may put something back in eventually, but it's not an option at this point. You can always copy and paste into Word or an email application with a spellchecking.

In order to keep the Forum as a free service, we can't afford the overhead of reviewing each membership application. When we have reason to believe a member is not a licensed user, we act swiftly to request their SIM, run it past CNC Software, and ban their email and IP address from the forum for life if we find that they are an illegal user. Usually the snitch tips come in from other members. Forum narcs!

We could include the SIM number as required info during registrationr, but I believe CNC Software was not entirely sure this was a good idea. Someone from CNC could confirm this.

My person view is that licensed users would tend to bear the brunt of any actions we would take to crack down on illegal users. How many first time posters were helped quickly out of a jam the very day of their posting? What if the registration process took 2 weeks?

[ 07-16-2002, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

It obviously boils down to personal preference, but the majority vote is to keep the color scheme as is.

[ 07-11-2002, 07:37 AM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

Received a complaint regarding the colour scheme of this site. I use white text on a black background. I personally find it softer on the eyes - white is nice for paper, but harsh on a monitor. Hollywood agrees - check out the credit roll at the end of any movie. We also use Mastercam which has a black background as a default.

The "Printer-friendly view of this topic" currently offers a Black text on white view, for those who are interested.

The "black on white" camp has these arguments:

"Black on white is much more readable. The way it is today, the forum is very hard to read. Functionality should dictate the form not vice versa."

Just to see where others stand - with no promise of a change - I'll put it to a poll.

Sure. Did you want the same content as you provided for the FAQ? If not, send me the content (as Charles did for the 'Speed up MC' topic), and I'll throw it into the Tech Tips area.

'sausage' has been banned from the Forum using email and IP blocking. His account has also been locked and frozen. His last message was clearly written to provoke this outcome.

sausage has violated several forum rules, including the two top unwritten rules:

1. Be nice to PDG

2. Don't xxxx off the Webmaster

[ 06-05-2002, 09:52 AM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

An eMastercam.com Forum Member found 'kuei' promoting illegal Mastercam sales on another forum.

No longer considered a licensed Mastercam user in good standing, kuei has been banned from use of the eMastercam.com Forum.

[ 11-21-2002, 10:31 AM: Message edited by: Webmaster ]

Keeping an eye on this thread...

The forum is reseller-run with CNC Software's blessing and promotion. We happily follow their recommendations regarding some of the forum policies. As a Member, you live by a few rules here, as detailed in our Forum Guidelines.

We stay away from complaints about resellers, we don't quote prices, we try to be polite, and when we offer criticism, we keep in the constructive realm. It's the price we pay for a vibrant on-line community. There's a delicate balance that is [surprisingly] rarely challenged.

Right now bryan.davis is rubbing a few people the wrong way, but I'm not convinced his comments are out of line. When you boil off the 'venting', he's saying that in his opinion Solids does not compete with the functionality offered by other CAD packages, so the pricing shouldn't put it in direct competition with said packages. That's good direct end user feedback for CNC Software.

Philosophies regarding web forums are varied. FastCompany.com had an interesting article regarding web use - Internet 101. Here's a snip:

The Internet is still quite young for some industries including ours. I think we're only at an early stage of 'web enlightenment'. You may see the rules and expectations change in the years to come. For now, I think things here are working well (for all parties invovled - developer,resellers,educators,users), with only minor posting restrictions.