Re: Rendering transparent objects changed in M8
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg114274] Re: Rendering transparent objects changed in M8
- From: Helen Read <readhpr at gmail.com>
- Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2010 06:09:50 -0500 (EST)
- References: <ictftk$mfv$1@smc.vnet.net>
On 11/28/2010 6:54 AM, Daniel Lichtblau wrote: > >> "David Skulsky"<edskulsky at gmail.com> wrote: >> truxton spangler<truxtonspangle... at gmail.com> wrote: >> [...] >>> Shame there isn't a web page on their site with bug fixes and work >>> arounds. Apart from being useful for users it would reduce the load >>> on their tech support people I would guess, because we could check out >>> the fixes and work arounds page before contacting them. >>> >>> TS >> >> I like your idea and I hope you send it to Wolfram (and that they >> implement it). >> >> Meanwhile, I'll post any additional workarounds I learn about in this >> group (perhaps we should include "workaround" in the subject to make >> searching a bit easier). >> >> David > > Might be a good idea. I gather there were some management misgivings > regarding this in the past, but my recollection is sufficiently foggy > that I cannot really address that, and in particular I do not know if > this remains a current issue. I will make some comments on various > social and technical aspects. > [snip] > (3) It is not easy to get this information to users who might need > it. We do not always recognize when a question involves an issue in this > territory. And most people who have such questions are not likely to be > MathGroup readers (specifically, your "we could check out the fixes" is > far from "most users would..."). The upshot is we might often face > ignorance on both our end (when we fail to recognize this type of an > FAQ) and the user's. This of course does not make having a workaround > list a bad idea: it simply indicates why it might be of limited use. > > (4) It can be difficult to write an FAQ in such a way that it is > clear to most readers. So we could end up doing work that has little > applicability. I believe our experience is that this is an issue, but > not a serious one (meaning, an FAQ can be generally useful as a first > line of defense). It seems to me that the Wolfram User Portal would be the perfect place for some kind of FAQ / Wiki / Forum. I set up a Wolfram ID a few months ago, when I signed up to be a Beta tester for v.8. At the time the Portal was pretty bare bones, and I assumed that more features would be added before the release of Mathematica 8. Here we are months later, and still the *only* thing the Portal seems useful for is for obtaining Activation Keys and/or downloading the software. It would be nice if there were some actual content there. I know plenty of Mathematica users/enthusiasts (students and colleagues of mine) who don't have any idea how to get to Math Group, but would seek out a FAQ or Wiki or Forum if such things were readily available via a tab in the User Portal. It would be great if I could tell someone who runs into something weird in Mathematica, "Log into the User Portal and look around the FAQ..." or "Log into the User Portal and post a question on the Forum." -- Helen Read University of Vermont