Since this is more theforum for this type duiscussion, and not the support forum, I will post my thoughts here. As with other posts made by Paul, the recent ones have been removed, and I decided not to use the support forum as the place to go into a childish back and forth of blame games and name calling (eventhough Paul was continuing to do just this).

I asked Paul where are the hostility was coming from and all he posted was basically that he gave me advice a few years ago and I did not know what the f’ I was doing (his choice of words). The only thing he gave me advice on was pointing me to a free script on Belahost to verify PayPal IPN post backs. This is not like he spent hours upon hours teaching me anything, or that I would not have been able to find this on my own… it just so happened I got him on Yahoo and asked. So now he seems I am indebted to Paul to never create and sell an addon using PayPal.

So, Paul’s responses are to shoot back and try and be mean and childish, making negative and derogatory comments. He also is releasing free addons to compete with our commercial ones and cheaper addons. Namely the XML site feeds, which he stated that our install charge was ridicoulous.. Well, I have had numerous people complain about Paul’s addon support… so there you go. He can offer his addons for free and then not support them.

Paul may be under the impression that me and Al are making tons on the addon site.. we are not. We get enough to keep it going and keep making improvements on our other addons. Paul states that we were selling competing addons that undermined his… well he had stop selling the XML feeds months ago, if not close to a year.

I contribute to the boards where and when I can. I go there whenever I get a chance and if I see a question I can anwser I do. Yes, I do offer paid services… but I am not getting rich off the post from paid work… most of the people that most there want something for nothing. Al also contributes his time and money, yet get treated like a leach.

Ryan, I say this will all honesty. There are alot of complaints about the moderation at the boards and the way people are treated when they come to the boards. People think that the forum is getting out of hand and very unprofessional. This may be why contributions are down. No one likes being treated like a child, or being talked down to and it happens frequently. Also, when someone comes to the forum and they see alot of bickering they usually just turn around. One of my clients compared it to a room full of Junior High girls.

Whatever problems Paul has, I hope he can sort them out.

I have dabbled with OR extensively, and have to put a couple of sites in production with their own custom templates. I’m impressed with the product as well. I agree that a lot of people tend to post their questions knee jerk – without researching first. In my case, I tried to give back by answering questions as I gained experience with OR. However, my posts concerning problems I was having that who’s answers were not found in the forum were met by admins and people such as PB FLash as “it must be something I’m doing wrong” or similar indifference. I’m not sure why you would post an answer to a post if you don’t know what the answer is, but just to bully someone based on assumptions of their level of intelligence. In this particular instance, I solved the problem on my own and posted the answer on the forum, since a lot of other people were having the same problem. Again, the admins including PB Flash add threads to my post indicating that anyone should be able to figure out the obvious – when these same people could not answer in the first place. Again, meaningless and child like attitudes. I don’t know the moderators, but they seem to have maturity issues. As a user of your forum, I feel belittled, and like big brother is always watching. I also don’t feel that your rules apply to everyone. You are not supposed to publish links to your own products or web pages, but PB Flash sure does – as do those template guys in the UK, and others as well. I’m sure the answer is the level of contribution these people give, but there is the preception of a boys club here where only the few are invited. So, as the previous poster stated, I have been treated like a child, and talked down to. You can have all the rules you want, but when you become vindictive in enforcing them, it’s you that has the problem. You ask for support by donations, code submissions, or posting helpful answers on the forum. I would say that the latter would be of the most value to you, but you the moderators, consistently drive away the people who have an intimate knowledge of your product. I for one am turned off by the treatment I have received, and will no longer post answers. The moderators have made it abundantly clear that my help is not appreciated, and I no longer feel welcome. The moderators seem to be intimidated by people who are on or above their level of intelligence, and intolerant of those they perceive to be below it. So, I’ll be one of those who just take – if I need to. Since your super user core seems to be dwindling as evidenced by people who need to take a break, and announce it publicly, I suggest you look at it from a users perspective and find out how to get people such as myself back into your pool of knowledgeable forum posters.

May I make a suggestion? Well I will anyway. When someone “sells” you something you then have the right to complain/criticize. When someone gives you something for nothing, regardless of what it is, you no longer have that right. You could simply offer some constructive criticism.

Trekster, I don’t mean to offend, but you need to go back and read your own post. It seems to me by the time I reached the end of your post you had taken a very juvenile position; almost a tantrum.

All my experiences with Paul have been positive and quite professional. I think we should all feel quite blessed to have people like Paul offering their time. If these folks get a bit put out from time to time then I think we need to accept that and simply move on remembering they’re human as well.

Just my two cents.