So true! I've been so stressed today getting taxes finalized before the deadline!
I actually feel better after these last few posts. Now I can go to bed on a happier note! 
Good night, or depending on what time it is where you are at, Good day all. 
Allen
Slapping?!!! Ai, ai, ai!!! No violence in this thread, please 
Am back to ladybug mode 
Wing cases had to be sent for dry-cleaning...
I'm delighted about all the comments and responses which are being posted to this thread - yays!!!
For instance, I find it very interesting that for some people, writing in the forums is like speaking, while for others, writing and speaking are separate - or combined (=written oral speech).
I love this forum thanks to the encouragement I have got, and am always getting, from the wonderful friends I have made here. Hugs to all of you!
AllenM: if you ever meet me in person, you'll discover me to be the world's most insane and quirky ladybug! Thanks a lot for your kind words!
SendOfJive wrote:I'm not completely convinced that this survey is not for Yaso's Doctorate in Forumology, but here goes anyway....
Who's willing to supervise my Norton Forumology thesis? Two parties are usually required for this daunting task - supervisor and co-supervisor ;-)
Another thing I wish to mention about this forum is that the mods and admins are really great; they know how to interact with posters.
They always remain courteous and professional and know how to be politely firm when a poster misbehaves. Not all forums have such professional mods/admins! A few months ago, as an enthusiastic but bewildered user of a new iphone, I was searching for information and came across a German forum where the furious moderator had posted the following message (I have translated the below from German into English):
"If I have to read such garbage at 1 AM and feel forced to delete 13 posts again, then I'm going to get the ban-hammer swinging, trust me!"
Needless to say, although a non-member of that forum and therefore in viewing-only mode, I got my information somewhere else...
Hi Yaso,
So true, I've been to a few of those unfriendly support forums as well.
The overall friendliness of the staff/moderators and the users at large is why I love this forum so much when it really comes down to it!
Allen
Aw, group hug!
Yaso says: "AllenM: if you ever meet me in person, you'll discover me to be the world's most insane and quirky ladybug! 
Thanks a lot for your kind words!"
Yaso, when my husband and I get a chance to meet you, we will have a BLAST together! However, we will expect you to show us around a bit!
Of course if and when you have a chance to come to our location we will also show you all the sights here as well.
Allen
Here are my toughts:
Yaso_Kuuhl wrote:-does the anonymous interaction in the Norton forums/lack of face-to-face contact make you feel more comfortable or more uncomfortable?
I think for me it's the same. By writing my toughts I can clear them, so maybe it gives me(/us) a bit more comfort, as I do not say "stupid things" (you know, the first things that come to your mind, and sometimes they are so lame, you won't belive :) :)) what maybe will come in a face-to-face conversation.
-is writing in the forums more like speaking for you?
I must say yes. For me these (and other) Forums are the place to speak in English/other languages as in Hungary we just speak Hungarian :P.
-do you feel that you have to be more formal or that you can be more informal when posting in the forums? (is this dependent on whether you are posting to a board, where everyone can view what you have written, or whether you are using the private messaging system?)
I think we must be a bit more formal here (so many readers from all over the world...), some informal parts can be added as well like adding a little personality from you to be a little unique, but you still have to be formal. Not using contractions (IMO, sthing, etc.), swear-words (like "WTF"), and most of all when the user is rude we must be still be polite, not picking up the behaviour of the user... This way we look the professional help the users need.
But PMs are a different topic.... It depends again who we are talking to. If I write to one of You, it is more possible that I write a more informal PM to you (like some of us do the same ;)) than to a user I do not know.
-what attracts you to the Norton forums that you return to visit it on a more or less regular basis even when you are not experiencing an issue with your Norton product?
I like helping people. And I think if you are good at something you "must" help the others who can't do the same as you. Most people can solve the things with/without the help of the Support teams, but having infos from other users - who are a really good knowladge base about the topic/software/hardeare/etc - is much better, as Supports mostly have some kind a rule/list how to fix things. And we do not have these, we have our experiences, our methods to solve errors.
-Admins and moderators: since you are always watching what's going on in the forum - what are your perceptions of the forum interaction(s)?
N/A :P :D :D
Everyone, please feel free to add your comments, thoughts and/or questions about interaction in the Norton forum :-D
AllenM:
Thanks
Which makes me wonder: how many Norton forum members have met up in real life/know each other in real life, and was the impression they created in the Norton forums carried over to face-to-face interaction?
PapauZ:
I like helping people. And I think if you are good at something you "must" help the others who can't do the same as you. Most people can solve the things with/without the help of the Support teams, but having infos from other users - who are a really good knowladge base about the topic/software/hardeare/etc - is much better, as Supports mostly have some kind a rule/list how to fix things. And we do not have these, we have our experiences, our methods to solve errors.
Great observation, I find the forum far more flexible than Customer Support because Support very probably has to follow scripts and rules, as you said, so that can be a constraint in some ways and situations.
Also, interesting point about using English and Hungarian in the forum, with English being a non-native language for some posters (of course, "native language" is a problematic term; there's a lot of debate about it among linguists).
Yaso_Kuuhl wrote:Also, interesting point about using English and Hungarian in the forum, with English being a non-native language for some posters (of course, "native language" is a problematic term; there's a lot of debate about it among linguists).
This language problem I can say is now a big trouble in our country... :( Most of the Hungarian people (except young ones, like me who leared one or two languages in the schools) do not speak languages. This happened because of political things as well, and how the people lived in the Soviet Union while we were the part of it, they just simply didn't need to learn languages.... They have been teached to Russian, but everybody hated it, and forgot it after school right away....
And now in the tech-sciences it is a great problem, because most of the programs/products are English ones, or if they have translations (like Symantec and Microsoft products), not all of them have "native languaged" Support. Eg. if you have a problem with the Symantec products, you can only contact the English chat support integrated in the program, or these forums, or via phone (UK or Germany). And we have a Symantec Hungary here!!!!!
Please forgive my late arrival to this most interesting thread created by Yaso.
The anonymous interaction can be a two edged sword. It does allow the individual to maintain an air of privacy which is quite important in today’s internet world and may even lend some confidence to the members as they post material.
However, the lack of face to face contact makes it imperative for one to choose their words carefully. As mentioned many times, no one can see if you have a smile on your face when presenting a statement and of course one must always be mindful that English may not be the primary language of many members.
Writing in the forums is like speaking for me, except with the added benefit of being able to review what I am about to say before hitting the post button. There are times when I wish I had this option for live oral conversations!
Formal or informal? Interesting question. I have not considered my public postings to be “Formal” but there is a certain level of decorum which I try to maintain. When dispensing advice I strive to provide accurate information while avoiding unnecessary “techno-speak”. At the beginning of a new thread, the original poster’s computer knowledge may not be readily evident, so responses have to be composed with the appropriate information which does not overwhelm a novice, yet is not insulting to a computer literate person. So, in that regard, my posts may at times seem formal, but if the original poster seems open to it, I will add a lighter comment just to make them feel more at ease. I think this reassures them that they are conversing with a real person and not a “knowledge base”.
I believe the Private Messaging system lends itself to a more informal tone as generally folks are speaking to those that they have developed a friendship with.
My attraction to the Norton Community began when as a “Newbie” I posted a question about NIS 2007. My query was answered rather quickly and a number of folks jumped in to comment. I was impressed by the speed of the responses and the helpful nature of those involved.
I had participated in other “technical support” forums prior to this, but they all suffered from one of two issues:
1) The forums were not very active and the reply time could be measured in days.
2) The “experts” providing advice often came across as arrogant, giving the impression that their time was being wasted on such a simple question.
Needless to say, the Norton Community projected an entirely different atmosphere where there were always interesting topics being discussed and the replies came almost in real-time. And, those involved seemed to have a genuine interest in helping others regardless of the original poster’s computer or product expertise. Soon I found myself in a position to answer a few simple questions for other members and then I was hooked! I had found a wonderful “online Home” and have been happy here ever since, working with a lot of fabulous people and a product line I believe in.
So in that regard, I offer Kudos to the Forum Administrators and moderators for keeping the Norton Forums a vibrant and interesting Community!
Last, but not least, I would be remiss if I did not also make special mention of Yaso’s contributions (such as this thread) which always exude the highest level of Community enthusiasm!
Wow, wonderfully in-depth comments from you, Phil - thanks for your thoughts on the Norton forum interaction and for your kind words And you always make everyone phil good :-D
Writing in the forums is like speaking for me, except with the added benefit of being able to review what I am about to say before hitting the post button. There are times when I wish I had this option for live oral conversations!
I sometimes wish I had that option, too!!! :-D
Phil,
Very nice responses and very well said!
Writing in the forums is like speaking for me, except with the added benefit of being able to review what I am about to say before hitting the post button. There are times when I wish I had this option for live oral conversations!
Don't we all wish we had this option for oral conversations? Of course even on written sometimes something slips through on the pre-Post review and then I have to hope I can at least catch it before the 1 hour edit period runs out!
Allen
good morning , i was just looking thru here and found this, could you please tell me what this post is all about? is it so that we can chat live if i have a problem or not ; )? thanks
Hi patricias,
Good morning and welcome to the Norton Community Forum.
This thread (started by Yaso_Kuuhl) is asking for people's opinions and thoughts about what it is like to post and interact with other community members in the forums. Some have expressed that it is easier than verbal or in person conversations. Others have expressed that sometimes it is actually more difficult in some ways because we don't typically know each other and we are conversing with other members from all over the world which presents certain unique challenges.
This thread is not about having a problem which needs to be solved but more just getting opinions on the topic from other community members, a sharing of opinions and to engage others in a light form of conversation.
Right now you are in the Forum Feedback forum which is a place where you can start your own thread or post replies (as you just did) on general topics or topics related to the Norton Community Forums in general.
There are several other forums shown here which are basically broken down by product group. For example, the Other Products forum is for posting questions or getting help for products like Norton Ghost, Norton Systemworks, Norton Save and Restore + some others.
Then you have the Norton Internet Security and N360 forums which are for Norton Internet Security and Norton 360 respectively. Both of these forums are for asking questions and seeking help for problems related to those products. But these two forums in particular are also quite popular for others to seek help when they believe they are infected with a virus or other malware. There are a lot of veteran members who can provide a tremendous amount of assistance in such cases.
There are other forums listed for different areas of discussion, feel free to browse around and kind of get a feel for what each forum's purpose is.
And by all means if you have any specific questions please feel free to ask them or even start your own thread to discuss it with other members.
Again, welcome to the Norton Community Forums and from all of us we hope you enjoy your time here.
Allen
Great explanation, AllenM!
Now, I am wondering about the following: have any forum members met up in real life, and did the other person come across the way they did in online life?
Last year I met Stu, huwyngr, and Phil_D. All great guys, just as they are on the Forums. I look forward to hopefully meeting more this year.
