>I might agree -- but a business (DaniWeb) is not a democracy where
>all the employees (members of the forum) get to vote on how the
>business (DaniWeb) is run.

I think you hit the nail on the head. It seems like shortly after Dani announced that she was taking this site in a more business-like direction, she became noticeably less approachable and dismisses our concerns too quickly for comfort. I expressed concern after that announcement, and unfortunately it's starting to look like I may have been right. The business might thrive, but at the cost of alienating the members that helped make the forum great.

Nick Evan commented: You're damn right +0
donut_gal commented: you're retarded +0

I think it is a difficult balancing act, and one that a lot of people end up having to face: your business (substitute site, community, project whatever) hits a certain size and you have to make the decision of how to take that growth forward. Keeping a site like DaniWeb running day to day does not come cheap, yet Dani does not charge for membership. The only way that this place can survive is for it to be treated in a business-like manner.

That said, I think it's a little unfair to suggest that Dani has become some kind of dictatorial tyrant. Sure, there are decisions she takes that the community are not involved in (just like Facebook does not consult with their members when making decisions about user interface changes for example) but she does still monitor feedback in forums such as this one and elsewhere, she does still listen to what the old-timers are saying, she does still have her finger on the pulse of DaniWeb in my opinion and perhaps most importantly an awful lot of the decisions she takes are taken bearing this feedback in mind.

Compared to many other sites I frequent which claim to be community oriented there is still much more of a feeling that member input counts for something here.

I'm not saying everything is perfect, nor am I saying that every decision Dani makes will be popular or even prove to right, but on balance she still has my confidence.

commented: *Nods* +0
commented: she charged me for membership... but I suppose it was voluntary +0

>> yet Dani does not charge for membership
Try charging for membership! I dare ya!

commented: Agreed. +0
commented: jephthah has joined the group, "if dani charges for membership, we're out of here!" +0

That said, I think it's a little unfair to suggest that Dani has become some kind of dictatorial tyrant.

Those are your words, not mine.
I personally don't think that a mustache will look good on Dani..

I'm still grumpy that i don't get "My Favourite Forums" anymore...

I'm still grumpy that i don't get "My Favourite Forums" anymore...

If you don't mind the extra click: it's still on the frontpage : http://www.daniweb.com/

But i do mind the extra click. It used to be so much easier, i could access it from anywhere and it would tell me all the forums with new posts.
This new way i have to continually go back to the front page or refresh a bunch of tabs :S its just not nearly as good... I don't go to as many forums as i just cant see if there are any new posts so why check when chances are that there are no new posts?

But i do mind the extra click. It used to be so much easier, i could access it from anywhere and it would tell me all the forums with new posts.
This new way i have to continually go back to the front page or refresh a bunch of tabs :S its just not nearly as good... I don't go to as many forums as i just cant see if there are any new posts so why check when chances are that there are no new posts?

Same. Plus its nice because as I mark each forum as read and click on the next forum it would update MFF with which ones were read or not as I went along.

If nothing else Dani could stick the MFF below "related forum features" instead of on top. I don't mind scrolling around to wherever it is at, as long as it is on every page like it was. Its pretty handy to see new posts all over the site.

I have to admit I preferred it when MFF was on every page, but speaking for myself it's no biggie having to click back to the homepage to get at it to be honest.

The 'Mark as Read' thing with MFF on the front page is broken to go along with being less accessible. I have to say I prefer the way it was.

If nothing else Dani could stick the MFF below "related forum features" instead of on top. I don't mind scrolling around to wherever it is at, as long as it is on every page like it was. Its pretty handy to see new posts all over the site.

I think this is a good idea. If the other stuff just has to go higher up the bar, put MFF down to the bottom. At least it would still be visible on all pages.

I have to admit I preferred it when MFF was on every page, but speaking for myself it's no biggie having to click back to the homepage to get at it to be honest.

I don't bother going back to the main page -- just use the menu like I always did before there was MFF.

Member Avatar for diafol

I liked MFF. Constant tinkering doesn't necessarily improve matters. I use DW because I like the no-fuss interface and there's so much to do and say. However, recent changes haven't done anything to 'improve' matters, for me, at least. They have just annoyed the hell out of me. It's like going to your local supermarket and finding that they've moved all the items and put them in different aisles. This wastes my time and causes an no little outgassing of steam from the old auditory organs.

I'm not against progress but some of the tinkering seems needless.

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