Wow, I posted this mainly to give Dean a little "jab", not to start WWIII (or I guess now it's WWIV)!
First some facts:
CocoonTech is very happy for Dean and the popularity CQC is getting. He has put a lot of time and thought into the product and now it’s great to see the fruits of his labor come to fruition.
Remember this, CocoonTech stuck beside Dean waaayyy back when he was first starting out. We gave him his own forum, had him as a special CocoonTech chat guest speaker, and even held a contest so he could gain popularity by giving away some copies of CQC. Name
ONE other forum that has helped Dean as much as this forum has, especially in his early days with the product! I think this point is important, especially for our newer forum members who were not around and may not be aware of this!
As far as biasing, it's kind of funny, when CocoonTech first started out it was considered a "HomeSeer forum". Maybe it was taking on the character of its staff (electron and I both use HomeSeer).
I agree with Guy that this forum would appear to take on a "bias" on whatever product is popular at the time (in our early days the Ocelot and Caddx were the hardware rage).
As far as voicing opinions, I believe (as already stated above) that this forum is as unbiased as it gets. Yes, some of it is negative.
That's what it takes to be unbiased, BOTH positive and negative. If a vendor only wants to hear POSITIVE comments about their products, well, they shouldn't venture out of their own (moderated) forums then!
Don't think for ONE SINGLE MINUTE that HomeSeer, Cinemar, Elk, and others are not reading all of these (positive and negative) comments though. They know deep down that CocoonTech will offer a true representation of a product's highs and lows and believe me, they are "keeping score" with the heartbeat of their products on this forum (I have had MANY vendors echo this while at CES this past year)!
I have had what could be perceived as "negative" comments with the Elk M1 recently. I know some of it is just what "I" would want, but I'm betting there were at least one or two meetings at Elk Technologies discussing my points.
Also, in order to bring balance, I recommend Elk and list the many positive features it offers.
I believe the frustration of trying to make (ENTER APPROPRIATE VENDOR NAMES HERE) products work is echoed on this forum. I mean after all, if a product is ready for release, why do users feel THEY are beta testing (a released product) while trying to make it work?!?!
No documentation, conflicts, etc… all lead to not enough beta testing and total frustration to the end user.
I realize there is pressure to get a product out, but the retribution of not having it work needs to be thought of before releasing a “half baked†cake!
A company can take this as “bashingâ€
OR they can recognize that there are a LOT of problems with their products and act accordingly (instead of burying their heads in the sand).
Also, I must say, that as a regular HomeSeer forum member, I have witnessed MORE HomeSeer bashing on THEIR site than I have on ours.
Also, for what it is worth, I guess you could say I "advertise" BOTH MainLobby AND HomeSeer posting examples of these products into my How-To’s. (Might not be a big deal to some, but I believe the How-To’s , as I’ve stated many times before, are the flagship of CocoonTech).
I believe that a LOT of balance is offered on this forum. You just have to step back and take notice of BOTH positive and negative posts!