The Pinball Arcade Fans Forum SURVEY - Your Feedback Is Very Important!

I, along with others, would like to know what everyone thinks about The Pinball Arcade Fans Forum up to this point. Please copy and paste #01 - #10 into your post and use the following key to answer #01 - #09 with the appropriate corresponding letter and leave feedback for #10 if applicable or respond with “None”. Your feedback is very important and very much appreciated.


A - Agree
B - Somewhat Agree
C - Somewhat Disagree
D - Disagree


01) The Forum is informative and useful :

02) The Forum is organized and easy to navigate :

03) The Forum Staff is friendly and helpful :

04) The Forum is my main source for information on The Pinball Arcade :

05) Information on The Pinball Arcade is up-to-date and accurate :

06) I usually find or receive answers to my questions or concerns on the Forum :

07) I’m happy with the level of FarSight Employee interaction on the Forum :

08) The Forum aided in my descision to purchase The Pinball Arcade :

09) I would recommend this Forum to others :

10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?

01) The Forum is informative and useful :
A
02) The Forum is organized and easy to navigate :
A
03) The Forum Staff is friendly and helpful :
A
04) The Forum is my main source for information on The Pinball Arcade :
A
05) Information on The Pinball Arcade is up-to-date and accurate :
A
06) I usually find or receive answers to my questions or concerns on the Forum :
B
07) I’m happy with the level of FarSight Employee interaction on the Forum :
B
08) The Forum aided in my descision to purchase The Pinball Arcade :
D
09) I would recommend this Forum to others :
A
10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?
The improvement I have is of a technical nature/Qyality of Life request. Forums don't flag as read after I read all the posts in them, to flag them as read I have to renavigate to the forum in question to see all the posts again, then and only then will the forum's icon reflect that everything in there is read.

edit: For instance, I just read this post/thread, I even replied to this post but now when navigating back to the forumlistings this forum is still flagged as having an unread message. I can only get rid of this by clicking the forum, see the read threads, then navigate away from it. This, in fact, is driving me bananas

01) The Forum is informative and useful :
A - This is my primary source of TPA information and discussion

02) The Forum is organized and easy to navigate :
A - Being able to navigate by table or system is helpful.

03) The Forum Staff is friendly and helpful :
A - They changed my name when i typoed it while registering, this made me happy

04) The Forum is my main source for information on The Pinball Arcade :
A - As soon as i checked this forum out I've never returned to the facebook page, as it's a troll den and I got tired of reading the same question 6 times a day

05) Information on The Pinball Arcade is up-to-date and accurate :
A - It seems that when available, the information is posted here promptly, and PinWiz has been rather diligent in keeping most announcments up to date in a central location

06) I usually find or receive answers to my questions or concerns on the Forum :
A - I typically don't ask too many questions, however, I've noticed that the community is more than willing to answer any questions to the best of their ability without being condesending to the asker.

07) I’m happy with the level of FarSight Employee interaction on the Forum :
B - I understand that the Farsight team are busy and Mike does address concerns, however, I do wish more of the staff would take part in the forums, and kind of wish that they would take part in general discussions more often, as part of the community with less "seperation". As friendly as he is, it does feel, possibly because we are so demanding of him, that there is a bit of us and them type seperation.

08) The Forum aided in my descision to purchase The Pinball Arcade :
D - I decided that I was purchasing TPA before I even knew they had a Facebook page, which of course is where i found out about this forum

09) I would recommend this Forum to others :
A - Certainly, it's been up a while and hasn't spiraled down to a drudgery of trolls, rants and the like. I like it here and I'm sure that other like-minded folk would too

10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?

Not sure as of now

bavelb said:

The improvement I have is of a technical nature/Qyality of Life request. Forums don't flag as read after I read all the posts in them, to flag them as read I have to renavigate to the forum in question to see all the posts again, then and only then will the forum's icon reflect that everything in there is read.

Click to expand...

After some back and forth PM'ing with Gord with some info on the subject, Gord adjusted some database settings. Issues solved. Thanks! This puts my OCD-inflicted mind to rest.

And thanks for figuring out how the change could be made

01) The Forum is informative and useful :
A

02) The Forum is organized and easy to navigate :
A

03) The Forum Staff is friendly and helpful :
A

04) The Forum is my main source for information on The Pinball Arcade :
A

05) Information on The Pinball Arcade is up-to-date and accurate :
A

06) I usually find or receive answers to my questions or concerns on the Forum :
A

07) I’m happy with the level of FarSight Employee interaction on the Forum :
B

08) The Forum aided in my descision to purchase The Pinball Arcade :
D

09) I would recommend this Forum to others :
A

10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?
Nothing to add currently.

01) The Forum is informative and useful :
A
02) The Forum is organized and easy to navigate :
A
03) The Forum Staff is friendly and helpful :
A
04) The Forum is my main source for information on The Pinball Arcade :
B
05) Information on The Pinball Arcade is up-to-date and accurate :
A
06) I usually find or receive answers to my questions or concerns on the Forum :
A
07) I’m happy with the level of FarSight Employee interaction on the Forum :
A
08) The Forum aided in my descision to purchase The Pinball Arcade :
D
09) I would recommend this Forum to others :
A
10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?
None

Its a bit difficult for me, cause i am new, and still reading whole forum.

But i kinda miss a few topics like this:

- explaining all words used on the site. Like DMD, SAS, pinball 2000. Or what does: cabinet support mean. Stuff like that
- some sort of histroy topic, ok, i can use google and other sites. But maybe on this forum it would be nice.


but so far, great forum, good memories, nice stories and videos, good lads. Keep up the good work.
-

01) The Forum is informative and useful :
A
02) The Forum is organized and easy to navigate :
A
03) The Forum Staff is friendly and helpful :
A
04) The Forum is my main source for information on The Pinball Arcade :
A
05) Information on The Pinball Arcade is up-to-date and accurate :
A
06) I usually find or receive answers to my questions or concerns on the Forum :
A
07) I’m happy with the level of FarSight Employee interaction on the Forum :
A
08) The Forum aided in my descision to purchase The Pinball Arcade :
A
09) I would recommend this Forum to others :
A
10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?
None I can think of

Just like to add that since this forum opened I've not bothered even lookin' at Facebook page. Main reason is all the info is easy to find along with extra "nuggets" people add on a certain subject. Big plus is you don't have to witness inane comments which Facebook is full of on various pages

My answers would be..................

01) The Forum is informative and useful :
A

02) The Forum is organized and easy to navigate :
A

03) The Forum Staff is friendly and helpful :
A

04) The Forum is my main source for information on The Pinball Arcade :
A

05) Information on The Pinball Arcade is up-to-date and accurate :
A (and the no rumours policy is appreciated)

06) I usually find or receive answers to my questions or concerns on the Forum :
A

07) I’m happy with the level of FarSight Employee interaction on the Forum :
B (I appreciate these guys are juggling a lot of balls at the minute, and would prefer them to work on coding and development as opposed to interacting with us, but their interaction does seem sporadic and a little random, maybe a regular Q&A time could be set up each week when we would have a 1/2 hour of their time).

08) The Forum aided in my descision to purchase The Pinball Arcade :
D (I'd been sat watching for this to release since about Nov 2011)

09) I would recommend this Forum to others :
A

10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?
I think this is a vbuletin issue as opposed to a TPA fans issue, and not something I've had to do a lot. But to insert an image in a thread, it must be uploaded to another share site first, and the url link then posted here. It would be better if you could upload images directly from device. (unless I've missed something - and this can already be done).

Just to sum up - This is a great Forum, ran by incredibly helpful people, and issues only accurate information.
Really appreciate the effort and time people put into this. Thanks everyone!

01) The Forum is informative and useful :
A
02) The Forum is organized and easy to navigate :
A
03) The Forum Staff is friendly and helpful :
A
04) The Forum is my main source for information on The Pinball Arcade :
B
05) Information on The Pinball Arcade is up-to-date and accurate :
A
06) I usually find or receive answers to my questions or concerns on the Forum :
A
07) I’m happy with the level of FarSight Employee interaction on the Forum :
A
08) The Forum aided in my descision to purchase The Pinball Arcade :
D
09) I would recommend this Forum to others :
A
10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?
Nothing at the moment, forum is great as it is

Nik Barbour said:

I think this is a vbuletin issue as opposed to a TPA fans issue, and not something I've had to do a lot. But to insert an image in a thread, it must be uploaded to another share site first, and the url link then posted here. It would be better if you could upload images directly from device. (unless I've missed something - and this can already be done).

Click to expand...

It's a setting that can be changed for the forum, but I have it disabled for a reason. The hosting plan the forum is on doesn't include a ton of space, and I'm worried that allowing graphics to be uploaded will use up the space rather quickly and I'd have to bump up to a higher (more expensive) plan. I'm fine with the amount I've spent on the forum so far, and the monthly costs as-is, but I don't really want them to increase, and I don't really want to put advertising on the forum, or have a PayPal donation button.

Gord Lacey said:

It's a setting that can be changed for the forum, but I have it disabled for a reason. The hosting plan the forum is on doesn't include a ton of space, and I'm worried that allowing graphics to be uploaded will use up the space rather quickly and I'd have to bump up to a higher (more expensive) plan. I'm fine with the amount I've spent on the forum so far, and the monthly costs as-is, but I don't really want them to increase, and I don't really want to put advertising on the forum, or have a PayPal donation button.

Click to expand...

Hey Gord.
Makes sense when explained, and as I said it's a very minor inconvenience which is required very rarely. (I was struggling to think of an improvement really).

It probably sounds nieve, but I had no idea you were funding this out of your own pocket.

I get a lot from this site and would be more than happy to donate towards its costs.
I'm a long way off wealthy, but would be happy to give a monthly contribution.
I'll bet others would too!

I would, but I have DLC to download for IOS and PSN this month....

....wut? ....Too soon?

Gord Lacey said:

It's a setting that can be changed for the forum, but I have it disabled for a reason. The hosting plan the forum is on doesn't include a ton of space, and I'm worried that allowing graphics to be uploaded will use up the space rather quickly and I'd have to bump up to a higher (more expensive) plan. I'm fine with the amount I've spent on the forum so far, and the monthly costs as-is, but I don't really want them to increase, and I don't really want to put advertising on the forum, or have a PayPal donation button.

Click to expand...

Gord, have you considered a tier based membership system? Not sure how much it would help, but like the VPForums, I'm a Silver Supporter there, but in general, I don't think i ever go over what would be allowed by a free membership, but I also remain a silver supporter because i want to make sure that I contribute to the community every year (as opposed to a lifetime membership).

I'm not sure if certain features (such as uploading pics) can be activated on a user by user basis but those with paid memberships could enjoy a few perks. I would do it just to help offload the cost from you and I'm sure at least a few of the more serious pinheads here would happily upgrade their membership. This also helps create a community atmosphere where everyone feels like the board is "their own backyard".

First pic I would upload would be:

Nothing wrong with a paypal icon. Not asking, not in every eye sight on the forum, but put it somewhere as an option for members who want to support. It always will generate some money.

I know i will make a small one, few quid. When more do, and they will, you have some cash to help this forum.

Just an idea.

01) The Forum is informative and useful :

agree

02) The Forum is organized and easy to navigate :

agree

03) The Forum Staff is friendly and helpful :

agree

04) The Forum is my main source for information on The Pinball Arcade :

agree (Farsight's website is useless, do not use Facebook)

05) Information on The Pinball Arcade is up-to-date and accurate :

agree

06) I usually find or receive answers to my questions or concerns on the Forum :

agree

07) I’m happy with the level of FarSight Employee interaction on the Forum :

disagree

08) The Forum aided in my descision to purchase The Pinball Arcade :

found the forum after purchase so not relevant

09) I would recommend this Forum to others :

agree

10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?

formal bug list for each platform, table (Black Hole is a mess on the PS3 for example)

Cheers

It's something I'd consider for the future, but I really don't want to have a tiered membership, or request money from the users. If it gets to the point where it's either shutting the forum down, or asking for donations, I'll go the donations route, but until then it'll be free for all to use. I started the forum because the FB page was horrible, and we needed a community for the game, not to make money off it.

Everyone here is already helping in the best way they can, by making posts, and reading posts by others

01) The Forum is informative and useful :
A - Way better than Facebook overall
02) The Forum is organized and easy to navigate :
B - Easy on my mac. Not as easy on my ipod touch. Maybe a mobile site or app?
03) The Forum Staff is friendly and helpful :
A - No one's insulted me yet
04) The Forum is my main source for information on The Pinball Arcade :
B - I strongly agree that its where I spend the most time but, with a Facebook app, opening and clicking on "The Pinball Arcade" only posts is super easy though for the latest info.
05) Information on The Pinball Arcade is up-to-date and accurate :
A - I like the "latest news" page and the new table
06) I usually find or receive answers to my questions or concerns on the Forum :
A - Once again, the "latest news" page is very helpful
07) I’m happy with the level of FarSight Employee interaction on the Forum :
B - Would always like to see more but, hey, they got a game to make.
08) The Forum aided in my descision to purchase The Pinball Arcade :
D - Ever since the Gottlieb Collection I search every now and then for what Farsight was doing on the pinball front. I found this forum to discuss the game and pinball related topics. Not to make one sentence complaints.
09) I would recommend this Forum to others :
A - Unfortunately, while I do know people who play TPA, no one is into it enough to join and post. Sorry.
10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?
Mobile site or app. More polls (i.e. (Pick three tables) What non-licensed or licensed WPC Bally/Williams tables (not announced) do you want most, what Stern (classic and new, a poll for each) tables do you want most, what Data East tables do you want most (pick three poll for licensed and pick one for the measly set of non-licensed ones), etc. The list could go on and on. There's a nice System 11 poll that I liked. Just want to see more. Thanks. Keep up the good work.

dtown8532 said:

10) What improvements or additions would you like to see on the Forum?
Mobile site or app

Click to expand...

I've tried all kinds of forum apps since this forum started, to make viewing easier on my phone.

Vbuletins own android app is purely for managing a Vbuletin forum - nothing to do with viewing a vbuletin forum.
Also tried several standalone forum viewing apps (like 'Forum-runner' etc..) none of them work with this site.

Has anyone has found a forum app that works with this site?