The Discuss GTD part of the forum seems to be down

[Folke]

I do not seem to be able to add posts or threads or anything over there, but it seems to be working over here in the "Gear" department.

 

[vbampton]

You mean you can't see the new thread button, or that you type a new thread but nothing happens when you try to post?

 

[Folke]

I can see all the buttons etc as usual, and can compose the contents of a new post or thread, but when I hit the Post button I get an error message (often after a long delay during which it says Working). In Firefox the error message reads Empty Response. In Internet Explorer it reads "Server Timeout".

I haven't seen anyone else posting anything over there lately, either. Same reason, perhaps?

 

[vbampton]

Yep, I can repro. I've pinged John.

 

[Suelin23]

I was getting that error too

 

[Folke]

Still not working. Strange. Both forums are one the same web site, same IP address etc.

 

[PeterW]

Still not working. Strange. Both forums are one the same web site, same IP address etc.

Certainly is strange, but for me the big problem is that the forums are getting very little love or attention. Maybe the paid-for forums are working ok but this wouldn't encourage me to subscribe!

 

[TesTeq]

I am afraid that the forum software is out of control. But there is a positive outcome of this situation: I see no spam. Probably spammers find it too difficult to post anything there... :-(

 

[vbampton]

But there is a positive outcome of this situation: I see no spam. Probably spammers find it too difficult to post anything there... :-(

LOL I was thinking just the same TesTeq. I haven't had to delete any for a couple of weeks!

 

[Folke]

I am still having the same problem, but I have seen that some threads there now allow posting.

The error message has changed in IE to "Error while saving content: server abort", but in FF it still reads the same (empty response).

The thread I am having problems with is the one about low activity etc.

EDIT: Actually, adding this post here took an awful time, too. Maybe something is generally slowing down the whole site's ability to update posts, and maybe it is just a matter of whether a given update takes slightly longer or slightly shorter than the timeout limit?

 

[Folke]

Today, the "empty response" error message comes almost immediately, so it does not seem to be due to a general delay.

 

[Folke]

The other part of the forum still does not work for me. Cannot post new threads or add posts to existing threads.

 

[Folke]

Getting tired of this.
Is anyone in charge of keeping this forum software up and running, or has it been abandoned?

 

[PeterW]

It looks like no replacement for Kelly was appointed and therefore they are now effectively unmanaged. Which as I mentioned earlier means they are slowly becoming irrelevant.

 

[TesTeq]

Getting tired of this.
Is anyone in charge of keeping this forum software up and running, or has it been abandoned?

Let's face the truth. DavidCo is building its international presence in the corporate world. There's no point to maintain free public forums for demanding users. If I were DavidCo CEO I would shut down the forums (even the GTD Connect part). I would just pulled the plug because death by starvation is unpleasant and tasteless. I think there is no measurable marketing value of this activity.

 

[Folke]

... death by starvation is unpleasant and tasteless.

Indeed.

 

[Folke]

I think there is no measurable marketing value of this activity.

Indeed hard to measure, maybe even impossible. But not necessarily insignificant.

The David Allen Co as a corporate consulting firm probably benefits from the huge public awareness of the methodology and of the books and all the resulting buzz. As just a regular corporate consulting firm they have no other distinguishing traits, as far as I know, and there is any number of rivals. These firms typically adapt to each individual client corporation's needs and wishes, and they pretty much share and use the same pool of knowledge and methods and tricks, and they thereby tend to lose any trait of individuality they may once have had.

Keeping up the public buzz - supporting the GTD methodology as a "radical movement" - is not necessarily meaningless for the corporate marketing, but indeed hard to measure. (The methodology also requires some adaptation for corporate needs).

 

[mcogilvie]

Let's face the truth. DavidCo is building its international presence in the corporate world. There's no point to maintain free public forums for demanding users. If I were DavidCo CEO I would shut down the forums (even the GTD Connect part). I would just pulled the plug because death by starvation is unpleasant and tasteless. I think there is no measurable marketing value of this activity.

While I agree with what you say, I think what we see is a manifestation of deeper issues.

 

[Lydiak]

I really enjoy the GTD community that the David Allen Co has here-- it's sad that the software changes are affecting users so much. Another community that's really nice, but maybe not as active as this one, is the Reddit GTD community. They have some good discussions there occasionally, worth checking out if you're looking for a secondary outlet.