Should there be an Apple section?

Hello!

First, some statistics:
There are more than ten dedicated Mac users (some are even referred to as fanboys) on this forum and definitely a lot of iPod users. We even have a few iPhone users, even though it isn’t officially available in India yet. The Apple thread, which was started in May 2007, is the fastest growing thread around these parts and, with over 6,750 replies as of this writing, is the lengthiest one on the entire forum.

This thread has now become absolutely huge and it’s very difficult to harness the vast pool of Mac-related knowledge it contains. We need a way to categorise our discussions, the ability to search them properly and spotlight the more important posts. We need to have more of a presence on the forum so that the growing base of Mac users in India have a stronger representation on one of the premier technology forums of India. The launch of the iPhone is only months away and it would be great if the new users had a forum to post their problems into.

We need a new category for Apple related threads on this forum. There are just too many of these spread all over the forum—at least 918, as of this writing—and it would be very convenient to be able to have them all in one place. It would also be better for those others who do not want to have anything to do with Apple. Just like you can ignore the open source section if you don’t want anything to do with Linux and the gamers one if you’re not into it, you can choose not to visit the Apple section then and will hardly ever run into any Apple related threads.

Please vote in the poll above and let us know what you think. Administrators, or whoever decides matters like this one, we request you to make a new section for Apple fanboys like me. Please give it a thought!

Thank you!

First vote goes here

Which will make you happy

Thank you, that was fast!

i dont have any problem with it being a section or not

sure, make one

F

I agree . I don't see why not.

+1

Thats fine with me i guess..
But make sure you have a sticky related to iPhone just to make sure new iPhone threads dont pop up every now and then..

there should have been a fourth option:

4.I don't care at all,but if that makes you guys any happier,I am sure gonna vote against it.

Just to keep the poll neutral.

.

No problems with me at all... Go ahead, n make one...

I vote in favour of arya .. ! there's no harm in creating a separate section for Apple Discussions !

A separate section would actually help in answering all the "OMG iPhone Indiyeah. When coming??????? OMGzzzzz .... ooh iPhone" queries that pop up every now and then

No, seriously though, there is a vast amount of information that lies in that thread. And there's even more with its contributors. Segregation is ideal and preferable

Who are the 2 people who voted "No! The last thing we need is MORE of this Apple nonsense." ??

New section would be great

@Pat:

It's an Open Poll. See for yourself

+1
a dedicated Steve Jobs section wud not b a bad ida

a revelation preshit votes for "I don’t care either way, but if it makes you guys happy, sure, go ahead."

+1. I vote for a YES

I don't care either way, but if it makes you happy, go ahead

Technically, that's a 'yes', right?

N

hell yeah

that would be great and few sticky threads for common questions related to iphone,ipod,imac,mac/macbook,mac os

preshit.net said:
@Pat:

It's an Open Poll. See for yourself

Oops..My bad..Dint realise that

I am all for it if it makes forum, better organized.

Improvise - any time
+1

+1
Yeah there should be an apple section, that would make things better organised

Well, anyways why to create a Public Poll?? Do you want to know the names of Apple haters??...

But if it makes the forum better & more organised, then its okay.

But sometimes, what do I feel is that the Official Apple thread also contains some offtopic Chat and it is in QnA........whereas the BSNL thread which is on-topic most of the time, is in Chit Chat........No offense to anyone BTW......

No. Apple is toooo expensive in India

+1 .. a dedicated section for apple related products will be excellent move.

@Mods: can you create the new section or is it done by the admins

M

It can only be done by admins. And this has been suggested couple of times earlier too but seemingly admins don't think that it's worth it. But, looking at the amount of apple queries, though insignificant compared to ones for windows and windows based products, surely there should be a separate section.

If mods could create sections then goobimama would create one for apple and one for alcohol

/me runs

Another vote goes to "YES". Since there are many mac users in the forum, it'll be a good idea to create a separate section for it.

I would be voting No after this reply.

My reasons: Apple is an integral part of everything related to consumer technology, computing, software and even the smartphone segment now (which will help the company to become more mainstream soon, especially in India). Considering the volume of discussions and threads which we have on a daily basis (and their nature), I am inclined to think the current sections suit to a tee. The existing ThinkDigit forum layout is based on categories, so we have discussions based on categories (a PMP thread allows discussion of all PMPs be it an iPod or any other brand). So, all the discussions and views are welcome.

If there was a section dedicated to Apple, all the posts related to Apple news, rumors, discussions, troubleshooting and likes would go directly in the Apple section. It goes without saying that this would damper all-round growth of the general category wise layout. The most important thing to take into consideration is that requesting an Apple category is not the same as asking for a "Gamerz" section. Reason being the latter doesn't disrupt or disorganize the flow of views. Topics which go in Gamerz have nothing to do with any other section but the same cannot be said for an "Apple" section (if we have that somewhere down the line).

I have my own reservations from a moderator's point of view too. Anything slightly Apple related would be asked for a push to Apple section be it - should I buy a MacBook or a PC laptop, should I buy a iPhone or an HTC touch, so on and so forth. This is why a category wise layout is good. And past experience of moderation alone reminds us the horrors of keeping a check on the long Apple thread and requests like - 'Zomg, can't you just leave this thread alone, is a single thread for Mac users too much to ask?!' and all those things on an open, free-to-use forum. There's no way I can be sure if it would repeat but it's highly likely that the number of instances where members get carried away can escalate.

There's nothing to feel bad about 'not having an Apple section on this awesome forum'. There was no Gamerz for what seemed like an eternity (imagine where all those HL2/DOOM3/FarCry discussions used to go). We already have a good thread going related to Apple in general. Rest of the discussions can be continued in individual category based sections. It would help if the off-topic discussions are kept in check so that there's more useful discussion (and not a chatroom) which more users would be interested in.

If there was any doubt, here's the dealio: these things (grant of new sections) are entirely on the discretion of admins/Team Digit. I would like to use this thread to request for a 'Personal Technology' and "Laptops" or 'Mobile Computing' section instead. The former to keep some personal tech discussions like wallpapers, Bloggers Corner, Share your websites, etc (which sometimes gets deleted due to the pruning which is enabled in ChitChat). Mobile Computing, obviously, for tons of laptops which people tend to buy these days, netbooks, UMPCs and all those crazy stuff people use to surf the internet on the move.

Sorry for the long reply, never intended to make it so long. Just went ahead and clarified on some of my views in more detail.

I see your point but what you aren’t taking into consideration are the Mac related discussions, which will form the crux of the new section. There is simply no place on this forum for Mac users right now. Macs are different from other computers—the hardware is different (and I’m not talking about the technical aspects here, which no one cares about) and the software is definitely so. You just cannot create a new thread asking how to secure empty the Trash and hope some Mac user takes notice. And the thread for all things Apple is getting a bit too unwieldy now.

I’ve been on this forum for several years now and never entertained the idea of a section dedicated to Apple stuff. When others raised the issue, I was the first one to vote against the idea. I think, back then, it didn’t make sense to make a new section for a few people, a tiny percentage of the total number of members on this forum. However, the scenario is different now. Apple has become a lot more successful and the number of Mac users has increased. More importantly, the awareness has increased and Macs, iPods and iPhones are frequent points of discussions these days.

The Mac and the iPhone are platforms which are different from all the other platforms we have discussions on on this forum. Why do we have an open source section? To segregate Linux users into their own area, because the Windows discussions are not very useful to them. Open source was clearly taking off and it merited a section of its own, so that open source users didn’t go scurrying around trying to find their topics of interest all over the forum.

Same goes for us, Mac users. It’s very difficult to find out the new Mac related discussions being started almost every day here. Sure, the volume is a far cry from the amount of Windows related threads, but it’s a significant number. And it would definitely increase if users had a proper place to put them into. Typically, a Mac user’s doubts can only properly be solved by other Mac users and we don’t want PC users to be barging in and flaming the Mac when we post about our problems and issues, as happens every so often around these parts. I’m sure it would come to a stop if we had a separate section. Just like I never visit the open source or gamers section because I’m least interested in what happens there, I’m hoping the Apple haters will avoid the Apple section if they have nothing of value to contribute.

Please take this seriously. Apple is completely different. It’s in a category of its own. None of the hardware or software in any of Apple’s products is the same as the rest of the industry’s. Apple customers also typically tend to stick to Apple whenever they make any new purchases and like to listen to purchase advice from other Apple customers only. When we purchase new accessories, for example, we want the Mac users to weigh in with their opinions about its compatibility and stuff. If a PC user comes in, even with an intention to help, his input is of hardly any value to the Mac user if the device in question happens to be incompatible with Macs, for instance.

We need an Apple section. There’s no doubt about it. The Apple related discussions are spread all over the place right now and you frequently hear people complain “not again” and “this is not in the right section” in them. I would like to see all that put to a stop once and for all. Even the forum members are with us, as you can see from the poll. I request the moderators to please bring this to the attention of the administrator(s) and at least ask them to enlighten us with a reply.

Thanks to everyone who’s voted in the poll!

mehulved said:
If mods could create sections then goobimama would create one for apple and one for alcohol
/me runs

LOL! That’s a good one. :lol:

it would be fine, but I think there are tooo little apple users in this forum to add significance to the section. so I chose the second option.

As far as I can see it, the apple thread is doing fine, so stickying it and perhaps moving it to chit-chat would do the trick.

While Sourabh's argument would have held weight in any other situation, this is Apple we are talking about. You don't find any "HP forums" or "Sony forums" around the net. But search for Mac forums and you will find tens of thousands of them spread around the globe.

Of course, none of them pertain to the Indian crowd, which is why we like to post about our Mac stuff on the Digit forum (best forum on earth btw. Largely due to the awesome moderation I guess).

Having an Apple section would cover all Mac problems, News, iPod related stuff, and all that comes in between.

@Metal: What would you think of moving all Open Source discussions to a single thread and them sticky-ing it in the Chit Chat section? Sure there are more open source guys on the forum, but there are a lot of people into Apple these days. Take a look at the number of visitors and replies on Apple related threads.

goobimama said:
@Metal: What would you think of moving all Open Source discussions to a single thread and them sticky-ing it in the Chit Chat section? Sure there are more open source guys on the forum, but there are a lot of people into Apple these days. Take a look at the number of visitors and replies on Apple related threads.

Main reason is, apple is more of a hardware based thing; while opensource is more software based. as you might have noticed, software troubleshooting has many more posts and views than hardware troubleshooting.

yes, there are a reasonable number of apple users here, but its far too low, being less than 20.

but going from your other arguement, it might be a really great idea to have this forum host apple stuff, while at the same time its a part of a mainstream tech forum.

What I can't beleive is that apple does not have its own India section in its mac forum, the way MS has merawindows. (meramac anyone ?)

Apple is all about the software! How many times does one have to keep saying this?

goobimama said:
Apple is all about the software! How many times does one have to keep saying this?

yah, but its users need specific hardware

Also, Apple does not have any Mac forum of their own. Only the official support center which isn't exactly a place to chill out at.

An Apple section would be welcome. I am not an Apple user and don't plan on buying a Mac, but then this is a PC help forum and it would be nice to have all possible platforms on discussion.

Now that Mac thread has grown too large (6000+ ??), so it would be a real service to Mac users to have a separate section.

I know we don't have a separate section dedicated to Microsoft........but we have the whole forum

MetalheadGautham said:
yah, but its users need specific hardware

And they don't just sit quite after buying the hardware, do they?

I think there should be such a section and the thread should be renamed as "The Apple Chit Chat" And people with profiles on the Apple Thread could be Section Leaders

No, goobimama is already a moderator and he does an excellent job already.

(Just in case you were serious with that last comment.)

MetalheadGautham said:
As far as I can see it, the apple thread is doing fine, so stickying it and perhaps moving it to chit-chat would do the trick.

Oh yeah, and what purpose would that achieve, besides undermining its value and significance even more?

There is really no good reason for not having an Apple section on a technology forum. When I was on orkut, I used to know many Mac using people who used to visit the Digit forum and then not sign up just because it didn’t have any Apple section. I myself wouldn’t have signed up had I first visited this forum after purchasing my Mac. After all, what would I sit around discussing in the other sections—how to remove viruses from Windows or install software on Linux or cheat sheets for Windows based games?

C’mon, it’s been due for a long time already. Give us an Apple section.

go on! I dont have a problem.

I doubt whether any of these apple(mac) users are gonna help themself in a big way

(as in technical s/w or h/w CLI etc).

H

I don't see any problem why there shouldn't be, though doubt if this thread at all helps, as and when the admins have to do it, But what the hey, you have my vote!

Edit: Er what?! the options edited! Argh, the previous statement was better, as the surprise part doesn't hold me sound. Ok, 3rd option chosen.

^^ What previous statement?

Well, I’ve done my share (I think). Can you mods, specially Milind, do something about it now?

My good sir, it is not upto the mods to add/remove forum sections. That power rests only with the admins.

I know. But don’t you guys have a direct line of communication with them? You can bring it to their attention, right? Maybe even show your support.

I mean, if you want it as much as I do, of course.

i hope that creating the section would'nt increase the troll fights

I really think that there should be one, so I voted Yes.. coz look at the Official thread of Apple and look at its size.. Its difficult to find in the thread if we're looking for Apple Software or Hardware.. so Apple Section is a must..

praka123 said:
go on! I dont have a problem.
I doubt whether any of these apple(mac) users are gonna help themself in a big way (as in technical s/w or h/w CLI etc).

yeah

Look at this.

This is why we need an Apple section.

jamesbond007 needs thread subscription, not an Apple section for the first problem (someone making an appearance within minutes of a reply). When someone replies in a subscribed thread, the member is notified immediately via email.

Regarding the second problem, subscription is also a solution to that. When you find something interesting, subscribe to it for later reference. Plus, there's an option to auto-subscribe to threads (in which you've posted).

I'm just saying, each forum member has their own reasons to visit the forum, for example, a Firefox fanatic has to check Technology News, Chit-Chat, Open Source, QnA, Software Troubleshooting, Reviews and Tutorials (just to get a complete dose of what people feel about the Firefox experience across the boards). The sheer number of such users would obviously be more than Apple. Does that mean we should start a Firefox sub-section?

I am not comparing the two, just giving you an example. A section on the forum should bring order and convenience to all. We have category based sections for a reason in the first place. If there were to be an Apple section on ThinkDigit forums, it would break the structure of all the existing sections (even more so from the moderation point of view). Just because a particular thread is related to an Apple product it would probably have to go into Apple section (if there is one in future) - the Technology News would no longer cover Apple News, general questions concerning Apple won't go in QnA, Review of Apple hardware wouldn't go in the "Reviews" section, (perhaps the Apple-themed FightClub topics to be moved to Apple section too?).... this is my primary concern and the reason behind my vote. And Apple is not the same as Games and Open Source which people can conveniently ignore. Also, if we were to follow the general structure and only the Apple discussions qualify for a place in Apple section - the volume isn't much to warrant that right now.

I personally have no problems if there are a few more sections, it will only help the forums to grow faster in that field but other things have also be looked at (particularly the layout of forum even a non-regular forum member is accustomed to). In my opinion, reasons like 'there can be peace if there was an Apple section so non-interested people can avoid it' shouldn't be the basis of a new section. Moreover, why do you have to carry on all discussion related to Apple on a single thread? It only adds to a closed discussion between a few regular members. Just break it based on every day happenings (MobileMe outage, new rumored Al MacBooks, etc) and perhaps that encourage discussion from a more varied visitor base and eventually force the admins to create a new section.

As always, these are just my views. Admins know best.

^^ I think you got most part right, but in the end, I am now starting to think apple DOES need a section of its own. (edit my vote to option #3 please).

Because its something like this: Apple users flood the board sometimes with the same type of articles over and over again. Just look at the sheer number of iPhone threads for example. Then very often there are these post about some new feature or a new tutorial for OSX. Then there are all those speculatory threads.

Just looking at it makes me feel like I am living in a huge mess. So to filter out stuff, its indeed good to have an apple forum here.

As for those threads about weather someone wants to buy mac or dell, if he choses dell, it can remain in mobile monsters, and if he choses mac in the end, the thread can be moved to apple forum as an archieve. :lol:

.

Anyway, other than that, I fully agree with your previous post that we need a seperate section for laptops and a seperate one for mobile phones. Perhaps you could make the Mobile Monsters section a subforum.

And personal tech section would also be welcome.

Looking at the sheer number of threads, I think OpenSource section too deserves a splitting to sections like OSS Hardware, Linux, BSD/Solaris, non *nix programs, OSS Chit Chat, etc within a OSS subforum.

OSS chitchat ? :lol:

MetalheadGautham said:
Looking at the sheer number of threads, I think OpenSource section too deserves a splitting to sections like OSS Hardware, Linux, BSD/Solaris, non *nix programs, OSS Chit Chat, etc within a OSS subforum.

weird

praka123 said:
OSS chitchat ?

you know... where we can hang out together and discuss nonsense like post your desktop screenie, etc :lol:

coming back ,who's gonna listen your suggestions Oh ,dear macky boys?

Oh yeah a split up into various distros will be good.
Newbie questions, hardware related etc, theming etc

M

For that you need both quantity and quality.

aryayush said:
Look at this.

This is why we need an Apple section.

No, THis is why you need to use a a feature-full and customizable browser like Opera or FF

@Sourabh: The Apple thread has grown out of proportion. It has information regarding the platform and has very little "News" about anything Apple. I myself have been an active part of that thread and find it inconvenient as it is right now a mix of everything and the Sunny spamming the thread with his heating problems after every 2 posts. Also, what's this about making the forum easier for moderating? Does this mean make it difficult to surf in any way?

The information contained in the thread regarding softwares and hardware available for the Apple platform and the troubleshooting all happening together at one place is very troublesome and irritating to go through.

I have always been against 1 thread for everything related to something 'A' or 'B' and till now wasn't in favor of a dedicated section, but looking at the amount of activity that happens in the thread, we could surely do with one section.

And, what kind of a rubbish argument is that OSS can have it's section because it is software and Apple cannot because it is Hardware! First up, when did Apple become hardware? 60% of the thread is filled with OS X and applications running on it!

I would like to remind people of this forum what the famous NY Times tech columnist David Pogue had to say* about Apple on the eve of iPhone launch: Today we see the birth of the third biggest computer platform - iPhone, Apple & Windows. Period.

* Not exactly the same words, but pretty much implied the above.

So looks like there should be one! Let's contact the Admins!! YaY!

chesss said:
No, THis is why you need to use a a feature-full and customizable browser like Opera or FF

iMav said:
I would like to remind people of this forum what the famous NY Times tech columnist David Pogue had to say* about Apple on the eve of iPhone launch: Today we see the birth of the third biggest computer platform - iPhone, Apple & Windows. Period.

* Not exactly the same words, but pretty much implied the above.

lolz

No Apple/Mac discussion should be allowed in this forum. The one in QA section should be deleted. This is WIN/LIN only forum

Sourav, in your argument (argument being the operative word here), you keep focussing on the iPod and the iPhone and how having an Apple thread would separate them from other MP3 players and phones. But you are completely disregarding Macs and Mac OS X. Name me one section where we can appropriately ask how to format a hard drive on Mac OS X and be assured that it will be noticed by other Mac users? Linux users have a place they can post their problems in and have them answered by fellow Linux users. There is no such place for Mac users.

There are three major desktop computing platforms right now—Windows, Linux and Mac. This forum has put its entire weight behind catering to the former two. But now that the latter one has become quite a presence on this forum, it’s time to welcome it with open arms. I don’t want to keep posting all my queries in one thread where they’re easily buried within a week. I don’t want to have to inform other Mac users myself every time I create a new Mac related thread. And I sure as hell just can’t hope that they’ll stumble upon it all by themselves.

There really is no justification for not having a stronger representation of the Mac platform on this forum, now that we have so many dedicated users ready to rake in the benefits from it. None at all.

@iMav,
Great post, man. Thanks for the support!

F

Linux users have a place they can post their problems in and have them answered by fellow Linux users. There is no such place for Mac users.

Technically, we come under the Open-Source section not the Linux section and I'll scream bloody murder if someone divides it . Theres like kabillion of distros

.

I seriously fail to see the logic behind not having an Apple Section / Subsection. Theres like Apple threads all over the place. Not to mention if you do a search for something based on Apple theres a 75% chance it points to that humongous thread in the QNA section. May the person looking for the information in that thread have the patience to go through all those pages, cause seriously I would rather check for information on some other forum.

Aryayush: Why not just check with the admins. Send Raaabo or Fatbeing a message and ask them to take a look at things and explain why a section for Apple users would be to the Forums and other users best benefits. After all, they are the only ones who can make this section right?

FilledVoid said:
Technically, we come under the Open-Source section not the Linux section and I'll scream bloody murder if someone divides it . Theres like kabillion of distros .

it implicit

but not so obvious until second thought.

I also think we need a chatroom for Apple users here. I'm getting tuned into the Chatroom talk.

I voted No because : Right now with whatever little time I get to browse this forum, I rarely check Gamerz section .. So if Apple threads are in (say) News section, I'll read them .. but if all of them will go to Apple section its more probable that I'll skip them .. It will become another ghetto ..

News will always be news. We aren't talking about total isolation (like we have the power to do that) of anything and everything related to Apple. We're talking about threads like "What are you favourite iPhone apps", "Just got my Mac, what should I install", "Interesting articles", and well, stuff like that. I don't think even if you tell him you can stop Aayush from spamming the Technology News section with his incessant Apple threads.

LOL! Of course, when Apple releases new MacBook Pros or there’s a second version of the iPhone, we’ll still post it in the Technology News. In fact, I already do that judgement in my mind when I decide to post about some Apple related news on this forum. If it’s something of general interest and important enough, it goes in the Technology News. If not, the Apple thread it is. That will continue.

But the Apple thread is falling woefully short now.

Ah well , Why not?
The number of guys using Apple related stuff are growing steadily , also even though our resident mac geniuses dont acknowledge them , we do have a few guys using 'Hackintoshes' too.

If not as a main section , perhaps as a subsection of the Q&A section.
Either way , i'm ok with it.

FilledVoid said:
Aryayush: Why not just check with the admins. Send Raaabo or Fatbeing a message and ask them to take a look at things and explain why a section for Apple users would be to the Forums and other users best benefits. After all, they are the only ones who can make this section right?

Well, that’s what goobimama is for.