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Avoid bad software versions by reading their forums

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zridling:
A piece of advice I persistently give to users is to peruse a software company's forums before purchasing anything. There's a nasty trend going around where every other version is so bad as to be a criminal offense to users. But if you study their forums, you'll quickly get a sense of their support commitment, along with any unusually high user discontent. ACDSee 6.x was an unmitigated disaster, but their version 7 removed many features and bloat to become their best and fastest version yet. ZoneAlarm 5.x was another disaster that took the company an entire year to repair, but by then the company had lost most of its loyal customers. I'm sure you know of at least one or two from personal experience.

For the latest software implosion, check out the PGP Forum for their just released 9.0 version.

mouser:
i agree, visiting the forum for a program can be a great way to see how it treats its customers.
and of course the lack of a forum is a bad sign.

the only thing you have to remember is that for many programs, the only people who post on the forum are those having trouble; so a forum which is mostly empty except for some people with problems should not nesc. dissuade you from purchasing a program.

Scott:
This is a generally good idea, but people need to keep in mind that a lot of forums are moderated, whether the forum is hosted by the author directly, or by a "third-party" host.  I have seen negative posts deleted and edited many times, and users lambasted for posting honest (but negative) constructive criticism.

zridling:
That's an excellent point Scott, as I have been kicked off of numerous forums for posting a criticism of the software, or griping about an unfixed bug across several versions. Many forums' TOS state that you must email support with any gripes and must not use the forum to post anything negative (in more vague and vacuous terminology), or you CAN and WILL BE banned.

If you ask me, a company should produce a beta version of the software, throw up a forum for all suggestions and gripes, and then fashion the initial release around what the company knows customers want. But that doesn't happen with many apps!

And mouser, you're right. That's why one should distinguish between "unusually high user discontent" and just the normal forum noise of users demanding features. By the way, in the EssentialPIM forum today, someone actually recommended that they add a Checkbook feature to the program so that they wouldn't have to bother with Excel or Quicken anymore. Holy snickes!!

mouser:
another thing i always look for, to get an early indication of quality of company is: a version history list.

a nice detailed, dated version history list is always a very good sign.

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