It wouldn't be a true analysis as you can buy EZ-Robot products from other retailers. Just curious but why would you be interested in that statistic?

While I'm not surprised I am top for questions answered I did expect the gap to be much smaller, especially as I've not answered many at all in the last 3-6 months.

I guess it also flags up the drop in my engagement here over the last 3 months too.

hi rich

it was just an idea if some by alot off parts he/che will also have spare parts. so iff someone robot is defect they can contact eachother and have there , robot fast repaired.

I really would't want everybody to know what I'm buying and how much.

I think it would be cool to have 2 different sections of the forum. The first would be for those who are using Revolution robots. This would reduce the number of posts someone new would have to look through to find an answer on a specific robot. The second section would be for those who are doing things outside of the Revolution product base.

I also see value in keeping these together as it would help people to make a smooth transition from Revolution to non Revolution robots and would give both groups visibility to all posts. I just dont know how confusing it is for someone who is trying to program a Revolution robot to see great information on a B9, R2 or Inmoov build. I dont know, I see benefits to keeping them together and to splitting the topics apart.

dave

it says not what you by or spending..

In that case mine would be very misleading since I purchased a large quantity of EZ-Bit cube extensions which would put the quantity of items higher than someone else who may have bought 40 revolution robots.

Touching on Mr Cochran's post of searching through less posts, the search function of the forums is very powerful and has always had the ability to filter posts to specific items with keywords and more importantly tags (of which there are tags for each of the revolution robots). For instance, all Revolution Robot topics are here. Where as all EZ-Script topics are here.

That is true if people choose the correct tags when they make the initial post. Unfortunately that isn't always the case.

Previously, there were not a set of robots that were unique to ez-robot. Students and schools didn't have these robots. Teachers who are new to these products may be hesitant to allow their students to have access to this site when anyone can post anything on this site. Also, the revolution robots use a specific set of components that can be shared among them. This used to not be the case here as everyone who built had to either hack or build from scratch.

What I have seen is that there are a lot of builders who don't come around much anymore. The questions being asked seem to be far more about scripting or functions in ARC, or the "I didn't setup my jd correctly and now he is broken" type question. I think that the community is far more dumbed down now than it was a year ago. I am not saying that anyone is dumb but the level of the questions in the Community discussions is far more basic. I believe this is why some have lost interest in the community and why it has less involvement than a year ago. Splitting the two would allow you to either be in an area where design questions are being posted, or in an area dedicated to EZ-ROBOT specific components.

Either way, I'm good, but my students will not be allowed to use the community. The school has looked at the forum multiple times and either found robots with nipples , off color comments or something someone is thinking is funny. They won't allow it.

We do not have the resources to moderate and participate in two forums, unfortunately. Although, there is nothing stopping you from creating a forum of your own for advanced users

Do remember, these new comers may be asking about their jd robots - and those questions may seem simple, but there was a time that our questions were simple as well. Every time someone comes on the forum asking a "simple" question, we put effort toward the tutorials to prevent it from happening again.

The number of questions from revolution owners hasn't changed much - as in the early days it was "how do I make a walle". New comer questions are the same but different. These new comers look up to your robots, as well. That's why they're here - aspire to become an expert like all of you.

You can make a forum of your own, but that would damage the balanced ecosystem which has evolved on here over theast 3.5 years. I'd be sad to see a desperation.

DJ, I completely understand what you are saying and agree with what you are saying. I wouldn't create another forum and believe me, I am not bashing anyone.

I try to help where I can with most questions as time allows. I just hate to see that there is a lot less participation from people who I look up to also. I also completely understand about the staff issue. You guys do a great job with the people you have.

The concern that I have is that as these more advanced users leave there are consequences as you know. I have been thinking about how you would be able to balance the needs of the new user with the needs of the more advanced user. The only thing I could come up with that would possible be a solution would be a different area for those who are building vs using the revolution robots. It is just an idea and if you build vs buy doesn't necessarily indicate your level of skill in an area, but it would possibly help. There is a lot of information on how to do things in either the build or buy arena. My feeling is that there are probably a lot of questions like "How would I make JD say my name" when it would apply to either builders or buyers. The tag would be Revolution robots or JD when the tag should be Scripting or object recognition.

In any event, it was just an idea that I thought I would throw out there to try to keep the builders and buyers happy. The school's decision to block the site is another issue but I don't think that there is a solution there.

My solution for people asking simple questions is to begin leveraging advanced users ability by creating tutorials. There's a new section which will be like instructables. Allows you to make tutorials which are step by step with photos and videos. With lots of those, there will rarely be any questions like your example. And every time there is a question like your example, making a tutorial is more productive than giving a response.

Leveraging our advanced users knowledge is more important to me than segmenting us into two groups.

I see such a powerful revolution occurring - with the fact that our community and product has finally begun reaching a new segment of consumers! It's remarkable, really... Like the personal computer hitting the shelves of Sears or radio shack. That was a big step in the evolution of the PC, and it's awesome that it's happening to us. As a community, we've been slowly evolving ourselves for this to happen. It's what we all wanted - more users and larger reach. Now that it's here, I'll keep making little tweaks to respond to the new users.

We should be celebrating I'm hoping this puts ez robot into a situation where we can begin developing new products quicker!

My philosophy has always been "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to build a robot to hunt for him and he will eat for a lifetime".

I take pride in a couple of the tutorials I have created, namely the TIP120 circuit and the L298n H-Bridge tutorials (however, since an OK tutorial is never good enough for me I do welcome any comments on them). Both of which were created after seeing many similar questions which would be answered by these tutorials.

Long story short, I think you're on the right track with the instructables thing and using the knowledge of the advanced users to benefit everyone.

Maybe adding an "Advanced" tag could be used to allow a slightly better way to filter. The info could still be available to all, and help remind the use of the tags. Ron

Personally, for what it's worth, I don't think "advanced" instructions are ever of any use. Tutorials should be written in such a way that they can be followed by advanced users or new users without any question.

EZ-Robot's range of products (software, hardware etc) is all designed to be easy to use therefore there should never be anything which is classed as "advanced" or "difficult".

@DJ Sures.

Quote:

We should be celebrating. I'm hoping this puts ez robot into a situation where we can begin developing new products quicker!

I just re-read this thread because I have something to ask, but I just wanted to comment on the quote above first.

I just wanted to take the opportunity to share a few thoughts since I first joined EZ-Robot back in May 2014. I have been celebrating along with you at the growth of EZ-Robot and do what I can to get the word out wherever, and whenever I can in my small corner of the world, something I haven't done on the scale I have been for EZ-Robot (except for helping promote a friends pub). Whether it's showing and telling people about EZ-Robot at public events I'm involved in, being part of Evangelist team and giving personal and individual responses to each task, or showcasing my projects in person of on the web where I always make sure I provide pictures, videos, and links to EZ-Robot. I have also in the past helped parents of my nephews and nieces friends who have bought EZ-Robot products based on what I have told and showed them. Unfortunately, I'm now unable to do much of that as I would like due to a substantial change with life at home to the point where I have had to give up work for now to and become a full time carer. Anyway that's another story.

It's been great watching the progress you guys have been making since I discovered EZ-Robot and joined 14 months ago (doesn't time fly when your having fun), and it's nice to see the new members joining the forum. Truth is, this is the only forum I'm actively involved in on a regular basis, and the reason for that is simple... Generally, it's just a nice place to be. It's one of the friendliest forums I have come across and one of the must helpful. I mean, when I joined, one of my first threads was asking help with speech recognition and got some very helpful advice, and now I'm writing tutorials and helping other members with it, all thinks to the help I was offered here. Sure there have been a few bumps along the road and I think a few minor improvements can be made to have forum, but it's mainly been a positive, productive and enjoyable experience, and still is.

Another great thing about the forum is having the ability to productively help other members out with their issues and questions which I enjoy doing whether it's a general enquiry or if it's someone asking for assistance, and with the knowledge I've gained I now feel confident enough to do so. See for me, it's not about earning a little store credit here and there, it's about giving back to a community that helped me so much when I first started, and still help to this day (and helping others helps make the world a better place too). I've also learnt so much more helping in this way as it confirms what I have learnt, and pick up additional information from other members that I was unaware of.

So DJ, I want to say that yourself, your team (old and new), and the forum community members have done an absolutely fantastic job getting to the point where you are now, and the only direction EZ-Robot can go... Is forwards. You have something very special here, so long may your vision and success continue to move on and grow as I believe in your vision. I am so pleased that I came across you guys and I am happy and proud to be a part of EZ-Robot. CHEERS "Clink")

Anyway, after all that, I did want to ask a question, lol.

Quote:

There's a new section which will be like instructables. Allows you to make tutorials which are step by step with photos and videos.

Do you have an ETA on when you will be implementing the Instructables style section to the website? I have a few tutorials I have written up, some of which I've used in other posts, but don't wish to post them as a tutorial thread, as I would rather add these in the new section instead.

Thanks... for everything.

Steve.

Bumping post #15 for DJ's or Jeremie's attention.

Steve, it's been online for a few days. It's located under the LEARN section. It's in beta status and will have a tighter integration with the rest of the website as we continue to develop for it in the upcoming weeks. There's something else that I am working on which will revolutionize ARC - there will be a beta version of it this weekend and also integrates with the website.

That's great news. Thanks for getting back to me DJ, and I hope you are well rested and had a nice break. If anyone deserved one, its you. I'm looking forward to the changes. Exciting times.