There are many things which are known ahead of time with a product change of this magnitude:
1. There will be bugs. Not everything gets caught, especially with so many different use cases and almost endless customizations, custom code, etc...
2. Customization will be a lot different. So old patterns don't work in the new enviroment. That was made clear.
3. The look will be totally different than the old SM.
4. The New SM will not have every feature request that was every mentioned or desired.
5. Certain things will go away in favor of a cleaner design - its more about the pictures, less about every little doodad option/button.
Given these known factors you will have four main groups:
I. People who love the new SM over the older version
II. People who like many aspect of the new SM but still wish for 'other' features
III. People who would love SM if they could figure it out and/or get their issues resolved
IV. People who can't stand the new product and will most likely leave
IMO, the vast majority fall into the first category of which I'm apart. Two and three are next. With far fewer in the last category. Legacy users are a mixed bag for a number of reasons mostly related to still struggling with change. Overall this is a huge success for SM and many more new users will be added, more than ever before. But will some leave? Of course.
For those who plan on sticking around try to excercise a little patience and courtesy when addressing your particular issues. Once resolved you don't want to feel like the back side of a donkey. Of course there will be complaints. That's the nature of customer service during such big events. The heros are working fast and furious to fix newly discovered bugs I'm sure. Other things like design, layout, extra feature requests, etc... will have to wait for another day IMO.
I don't really understand your need to drive the bandwagon, but more power to you. I've only seen 1 person leave in the last few days, and haven't seen anyone else talking about it. Some of us who have complained have been long time customers and are sticking with this upgrade.
Now that doesn't mean we have to jump on the "happy" bandwagon just because SM chose to dumb down the system to make it easier for the masses.
Will this system turn out to be better? Perhaps, only time will tell.
That doesn't mean that we have to enjoy losing valuable customizing tools that were once available.
Maybe new and better tools will be released one day, but that doesn't exactly help us today.
Most of us have come here to find solutions to the problems that we are now engaged with.
A lot of us have come here to discuss our displeasure with the bugs that were caused by this upgrade and to see if anything can be done to fix it.
Maybe if all of us had very simple websites with a dozen galleries these issues wouldn't have such an impact on us.
Maybe if your clients were calling you because they couldn't access their images you might feel a little different.
I've been a huge supporter of SM for 6 years, but that doesn't mean that I have to drink the Kool Aid.
I've never said that I was leaving, and don't have any plans to do so. Yes, I'm unhappy that the bugs in my legacy site didn't really leave me a choice in upgrading, but I'll deal with this upgrade the best that I can and be as patient as possible for solutions. However, that doesn't not mean that I will not voice my concerns over what is important.
Thanks for the honest feedback. I understand not everyone is happy, but we are busting our tails to try to make the unhappy ones happy. Will it happen overnight? Probably not, but I really think we can do it.
In these threads I see a lot more ranting than I do people actually looking for legitimate solutions. And I guess you have to vent somewhere, right? So that's fine. And you can also complain about others not agreeing with your rants. That also gets old pretty quick. But if you really want problems resolved I would focus more on that vs. blaming, complaining, chastising, etc... That doesn't really go very far with regards to addressing issues whether self induced through lack of understanding a new system or a valid bug.
You brought your "cheers" for the new smug into a couple of threads about some problems that some of us are experiencing with our sites.
Now you may believe that all of us brought these problems upon ourselves and that's fine. Everybody's entitled to their opinion. I don't see suggestions by you on how to solve these issues, so I'm not sure what your goal is.
You're happy with the new SM and that's fantastic. I really wish that I was happy with it. That would have made the last 75 hours much easier. Why don't you start a "Happy" thread and share your joy with the world instead of bothering to add nothing of significance to those threads you don't like?
You brought your "cheers" for the new smug into a couple of threads about some problems that some of us are experiencing with our sites.
Now you may believe that all of us brought these problems upon ourselves and that's fine. Everybody's entitled to their opinion. I don't see suggestions by you on how to solve these issues, so I'm not sure what your goal is.
You're happy with the new SM and that's fantastic. I really wish that I was happy with it. That would have made the last 75 hours much easier. Why don't you start a "Happy" thread and share your joy with the world instead of bothering to add nothing of significance to those threads you don't like?
Well, in all fairness, this thread was never about a bug, so Derek really didn't interject his opinion in a Bug report.
You brought your "cheers" for the new smug into a couple of threads about some problems that some of us are experiencing with our sites.
Now you may believe that all of us brought these problems upon ourselves and that's fine. Everybody's entitled to their opinion. I don't see suggestions by you on how to solve these issues, so I'm not sure what your goal is.
You're happy with the new SM and that's fantastic. I really wish that I was happy with it. That would have made the last 75 hours much easier. Why don't you start a "Happy" thread and share your joy with the world instead of bothering to add nothing of significance to those threads you don't like?
Well, this thread is about all the ranting. So the points I made are 100% on topic. In another I tried to help you help yourself. But it seems that you're so focused on being upset that its just not getting through. As I said in the other thread if you really want help be apart of the solution... or would you simply rather argue and complain more?
Here's how you can be apart of the solution:
1. Include all the steps to recreate your problem.
2. Describe anything you are doing out of the norm.
3. Try setting up a new gallery, add a photo, password protect it. Does it work?
4. Switch the hidden feature on/off. Does that change anything in your case?
5. Narrow the issue down to the point of failure from working steps to the point it breaks.
6. Submit a bug report in that forum with the details above.
7. Ask on the customization forum if there is a known work around to this bug, if it is in fact one.
As I recommended earlier if you want a resolution sooner provide more details about your particular use case. In some cases there will also be a work around in the mean time, like unhiding a gallery for example. Like they say in any emergency situation, don't panic. Instead try reasoning through it and help SM fix the issues as they crop up.
HamsterHuey expresses my position perfectly. Frustration and concern about where Smugmug's effort has been spent, and what has been lost in the process.
Michael, I take your point, that yes, there is no requirement or urgency to switch over this week, or this month.
That being said, falling somewhere between II and III on dereksurf's Smugmug customer categorisation, I'd like to be able to use the new features sooner rather than later. I'd like to offer my customers a nicer, cleaner, faster interface, as well as a decent mobile site. I'm PAYING for those features, whether I'm using them or not.
But I can't switch. There are just too many problems I either don't know how to resolve or I need to wait for Smugmug to resolve. I've raised more bug reports and support tickets this week than I have in the last 5 years. (which have, on the whole, been speedily answered, if not entirely resolved) I'm glad to hear that you guys are "busting your tails" getting these issues resolved, and hope that I too will be trumpeting the awesomeness of Smugmug again soon.
They just launched! There WILL be bugs and flaws.....its the nature of launching something NEW!!! Give everyone a breakm they are working overtime answering questions and tweaking things...Stop being angry, and have patience!! Once all the kinks are worked out, I'm sure that everything will be beautiful.
I'm SHOCKED at how many people are upset! People at Smugmug are human.....relax and soak up the new GREATNESS!!!
As a reminder, you do not need to use the new SmugMug. We are not forcing you to use it now. Please continue to use Legacy SmugMug. Come back in a couple months and give it a try, and hopefully all the issues you are having won't be a problem.
Michael
I wan't going to say anything until I read this respone...
And we were charge more money for a new smugmug and now we are told we do not have to use it?
Answers like that show a lack of sensitivity to your paying customers, customers that pay for this upgrade and now they are told "you do not have to use it if you are not happy with it... wait and maybe in the future we may fix things and you may like it".
There is no excuse for the amount of bugs and lack of information.
Why don't come clean and accept that this release was rushed to entice unhappy people over Flicker...
Well, this thread is about all the ranting. So the points I made are 100% on topic. In another I tried to help you help yourself. But it seems that you're so focused on being upset that its just not getting through. As I said in the other thread if you really want help be apart of the solution... or would you simply rather argue and complain more?
Here's how you can be apart of the solution:
1. Include all the steps to recreate your problem.
2. Describe anything you are doing out of the norm.
3. Try setting up a new gallery, add a photo, password protect it. Does it work?
4. Switch the hidden feature on/off. Does that change anything in your case?
5. Narrow the issue down to the point of failure from working steps to the point it breaks.
6. Submit a bug report in that forum with the details above.
7. Ask on the customization forum if there is a known work around to this bug, if it is in fact one.
As I recommended earlier if you want a resolution sooner provide more details about your particular use case. In some cases there will also be a work around in the mean time, like unhiding a gallery for example. Like they say in any emergency situation, don't panic. Instead try reasoning through it and help SM fix the issues as they crop up.
Great suggestion, but the problem I experienced would have been stuck at #1 of your instructions since I did NOTHING (no preview initiates, certainly no "unveil") and still my site was affected by the "new" SmugMug - even though we were promised no such thing would happen.
To their credit SM fixed the problem, but not without trying to place the blame on individual site owners first.
The bigger issue (IMHO) isn't the bugs, it's the features that were removed.
Great suggestion, but the problem I experienced would have been stuck at #1 of your instructions since I did NOTHING (no preview initiates, certainly no "unveil") and still my site was affected by the "new" SmugMug - even though we were promised no such thing would happen.
To their credit SM fixed the problem, but not without trying to place the blame on individual site owners first.
The bigger issue (IMHO) isn't the bugs, it's the features that were removed.
Yep, bugs were introduced. They've been working on them overtime I'm sure. In situations like this it's very common for all parties involved to blame the other person or group. It could never be 'my lack of understanding' or 'my code!' Many times they discover later it was their problem, misunderstanding how the new features work or that a bug really does exist. That is why its important to document the process. Its simply the way the industry works. Everything starts with a clear, detailed description of the problem. In your case you did nothing. But still, *something* stopped working under a certain set of conditions as opposed to everything randomly. That's the detail which is important to better pinpoint and then resolve problems quickly.
With regards to certain features being removed, that's another story entirely. I think there needs to a separate thread or subforum on feature requests, long lost favorites - bring back my favorite whizbang XYZ, maybe even voting for some of those cherished items. Its not like SM is somehow now sealed in stone to never change again. Rather they can build upon this new, greatly improved foundation. But because it was a Full Rewrite they did not have time add in every little thing that was there before. And some things will simply be different like the way customization works now.
1. Include all the steps to recreate your problem.
2. Describe anything you are doing out of the norm.
3. Try setting up a new gallery, add a photo, password protect it. Does it work?
4. Switch the hidden feature on/off. Does that change anything in your case?
5. Narrow the issue down to the point of failure from working steps to the point it breaks.
6. Submit a bug report in that forum with the details above.
7. Ask on the customization forum if there is a known work around to this bug, if it is in fact one.
Really? You want the customer to fix the problems? When do we take pictures? These issues should have been investigated and solved by SM employees BEFORE the Kraken was released!
But you are right, just this morning I took my Wife out to eat and when we got to the restaurant, I noticed our table was filthy so I went to the kitchen and got a wet rag and wiped the table down.
While I was in there, I overheard the Chef say that the Cook called in sick so I proceeded to cook lunch myself. Later on, I washed the dishes, cleaned off the table and then left a huge tip...
Really? You want the customer to fix the problems? When do we take pictures? These issues should have been investigated and solved by SM employees BEFORE the Kraken was released!
No, you simply don't understand the process. Instead of complaining that my site is broken, now fix it, you have to thoroughly define the problem including steps involved to recreate it. See How to Report a Bug.
That's far from You fixing it which you couldn't do even you wanted to, unlike washing your dishes. Rather its being proactive in helping SM pinpoint the issue so that They can fix it. In addition by going through this process you may actually learn something along the way, like discovering a work around, or possibly that there is another way to achieve the same results built into the new functionality now. I know this takes a little more effort. But it will get you a lot further than simply grumbling. That is if you have a legitimate bug vs. just a gripe.
Comments
Hey Thanks Derek!!! Means ALOT to us
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Thanks for the honest feedback. I understand not everyone is happy, but we are busting our tails to try to make the unhappy ones happy. Will it happen overnight? Probably not, but I really think we can do it.
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Google+
Twitter
Photo Blog
You brought your "cheers" for the new smug into a couple of threads about some problems that some of us are experiencing with our sites.
Now you may believe that all of us brought these problems upon ourselves and that's fine. Everybody's entitled to their opinion. I don't see suggestions by you on how to solve these issues, so I'm not sure what your goal is.
You're happy with the new SM and that's fantastic. I really wish that I was happy with it. That would have made the last 75 hours much easier. Why don't you start a "Happy" thread and share your joy with the world instead of bothering to add nothing of significance to those threads you don't like?
Website
Well, in all fairness, this thread was never about a bug, so Derek really didn't interject his opinion in a Bug report.
Facebook
Google+
Twitter
Photo Blog
Well, this thread is about all the ranting. So the points I made are 100% on topic. In another I tried to help you help yourself. But it seems that you're so focused on being upset that its just not getting through. As I said in the other thread if you really want help be apart of the solution... or would you simply rather argue and complain more?
Here's how you can be apart of the solution:
1. Include all the steps to recreate your problem.
2. Describe anything you are doing out of the norm.
3. Try setting up a new gallery, add a photo, password protect it. Does it work?
4. Switch the hidden feature on/off. Does that change anything in your case?
5. Narrow the issue down to the point of failure from working steps to the point it breaks.
6. Submit a bug report in that forum with the details above.
7. Ask on the customization forum if there is a known work around to this bug, if it is in fact one.
As I recommended earlier if you want a resolution sooner provide more details about your particular use case. In some cases there will also be a work around in the mean time, like unhiding a gallery for example. Like they say in any emergency situation, don't panic. Instead try reasoning through it and help SM fix the issues as they crop up.
My Smugmug Gallery
Michael, I take your point, that yes, there is no requirement or urgency to switch over this week, or this month.
That being said, falling somewhere between II and III on dereksurf's Smugmug customer categorisation, I'd like to be able to use the new features sooner rather than later. I'd like to offer my customers a nicer, cleaner, faster interface, as well as a decent mobile site. I'm PAYING for those features, whether I'm using them or not.
But I can't switch. There are just too many problems I either don't know how to resolve or I need to wait for Smugmug to resolve. I've raised more bug reports and support tickets this week than I have in the last 5 years. (which have, on the whole, been speedily answered, if not entirely resolved) I'm glad to hear that you guys are "busting your tails" getting these issues resolved, and hope that I too will be trumpeting the awesomeness of Smugmug again soon.
I wan't going to say anything until I read this respone...
And we were charge more money for a new smugmug and now we are told we do not have to use it?
Answers like that show a lack of sensitivity to your paying customers, customers that pay for this upgrade and now they are told "you do not have to use it if you are not happy with it... wait and maybe in the future we may fix things and you may like it".
There is no excuse for the amount of bugs and lack of information.
Why don't come clean and accept that this release was rushed to entice unhappy people over Flicker...
Great suggestion, but the problem I experienced would have been stuck at #1 of your instructions since I did NOTHING (no preview initiates, certainly no "unveil") and still my site was affected by the "new" SmugMug - even though we were promised no such thing would happen.
To their credit SM fixed the problem, but not without trying to place the blame on individual site owners first.
The bigger issue (IMHO) isn't the bugs, it's the features that were removed.
Yep, bugs were introduced. They've been working on them overtime I'm sure. In situations like this it's very common for all parties involved to blame the other person or group. It could never be 'my lack of understanding' or 'my code!' Many times they discover later it was their problem, misunderstanding how the new features work or that a bug really does exist. That is why its important to document the process. Its simply the way the industry works. Everything starts with a clear, detailed description of the problem. In your case you did nothing. But still, *something* stopped working under a certain set of conditions as opposed to everything randomly. That's the detail which is important to better pinpoint and then resolve problems quickly.
With regards to certain features being removed, that's another story entirely. I think there needs to a separate thread or subforum on feature requests, long lost favorites - bring back my favorite whizbang XYZ, maybe even voting for some of those cherished items. Its not like SM is somehow now sealed in stone to never change again. Rather they can build upon this new, greatly improved foundation. But because it was a Full Rewrite they did not have time add in every little thing that was there before. And some things will simply be different like the way customization works now.
My Smugmug Gallery
Really? You want the customer to fix the problems? When do we take pictures? These issues should have been investigated and solved by SM employees BEFORE the Kraken was released!
But you are right, just this morning I took my Wife out to eat and when we got to the restaurant, I noticed our table was filthy so I went to the kitchen and got a wet rag and wiped the table down.
While I was in there, I overheard the Chef say that the Cook called in sick so I proceeded to cook lunch myself. Later on, I washed the dishes, cleaned off the table and then left a huge tip...
No, you simply don't understand the process. Instead of complaining that my site is broken, now fix it, you have to thoroughly define the problem including steps involved to recreate it. See How to Report a Bug.
That's far from You fixing it which you couldn't do even you wanted to, unlike washing your dishes. Rather its being proactive in helping SM pinpoint the issue so that They can fix it. In addition by going through this process you may actually learn something along the way, like discovering a work around, or possibly that there is another way to achieve the same results built into the new functionality now. I know this takes a little more effort. But it will get you a lot further than simply grumbling. That is if you have a legitimate bug vs. just a gripe.
My Smugmug Gallery
Random extension being created along with new empty galleries. It's embarassing for some of running our sites as businesses.
whoALSE => Allen
One form of time travel is thru Captured Moments
Shoulda, coulda, woulda. They didn't catch every bug which comes as no real surprise. It's history, done. So how do you move on from there?
My Smugmug Gallery
Other than my watermarks going sideways between my legacy site and my as-yet not unveiled new site, everything seems to be going ok for me.
perroneford@ptfphoto.com