Introduction to Change

"Change means that what was before wasn't perfect. People want things to be better. "

                                                                                                                                                -Esther Dyson

Change is always something we often feel uncomfortable with. We become accustomed to how things are and we learn to anticipate on how situations will respond. Change, although is an invitation for failure and chaos, change is also an invitation for improvement and growth. Without taking the risk of change, we risk the state of fermenting in our own success.

I am Voice4Vision, a professional Creative Thinker. I provide fresh ideas for those seeking to make something better. The ideas I present are unbiased, with the understanding that PUBLIC IMAGE is the best product anyone can market and profit. If you can't make yourself look good, than the consumers will not even look at you.

 I come here today, to hopefully create a debate in which everyone here is invited to discuss the best ways in which the Market needs to be controlled without favoring either the consumer nor the developers. I am a victim, as are many others, however...I do not wish to victimize those that made me a victim. I merely seek to get what I pay for and expect that it works as advertised. Yet, the developers should not be entitled to fix unexpected third-party mod compatibility issues.

In order to highlight and properly debate the issues, as well as keep the focus associated to individual topics, I feel that it is necessary that we attempt to break things down individually and group them into categories soon after. Once we determine the categories, a new topic will be created to focus on that category, allowing for better control and to simplify the arguments.

Listed below are my suggested topics/categories. I will not post my suggested solutions, until after we can agree it is a problem.

1) Rating System and Comments -

Although a great feature, it easily allows misleading opinions. Most purchasers of a product will find one error, report it and it gets fixed - then post their rating and comment. But once another error is found and the issue is ignored, the rating and Comment System becomes obsolete, other than a Dispute Topic in the forums. There is no collaboration with the Rating and Comment System with support management.

2) Purchaser Entitlements -

There are very few Market items which state what the purchaser is entitled to and for how long. I purchased a product that was on its last leg WITH NO INTENTIONS of furthering its development other than as a new market item. If I had known this from the get go, I would NEVER have purchased the item. There should be some sort of "protection" from Purchasers getting caught at the end of a Scripts life.

3) Developers Responsibility -

There should be some level of responsibility on the Developers Side to ensure and protect the investment the Users of Dolphin. If it were not for the Users, than dolphin would be nothing but a bunch of developers with their own ideas and no market. The Developers of third Party extensions is what will make or break the Dolphin CMS. It should be the Administrations concern and responsibility to ensure that the developers strive to maintain a proper image for the Boonex Community.

4) Support Management -

Private Messaging and Emails support should be discouraged, as it makes Support a non-traceable affair. It should be encouraged that support be handled in a manner in which the results can easily be obtainable for those wishing not to contact author.

5) Market Management and Control -

There seems to be very little control of the Market, let alone verification that the Authors are in fact providing what they say. It can easily become abused simply by a single sale. If I want to make a fast $50, I can easily put together a few bogus files, add it to the market and await for one single purchaser. Wallah, I got what I want and no one can do anything about it. A paypal dispute will not even be legally allowed to refund anyone’s money.

These are merely topic suggestions; I have provided no ideas regarding the issues I highlighted. Please let me hear your topic suggestions so that we can start moving onto each category, and hopefully compile some new ideas for a better market we can all support, and help paint a pretty picture for the Boonex Success.

My two cents,

Voice4Vision

 We all (costumers) dream with all this, but CRM is definitely something that will be not rising here until we have a professional team hired for it.   I am sure the actual CEO here is awared about it.

  Nice post Voice4Vision.  Thank you.

I think these a great topics and we'd love to hear more opinions on those. We are on the verge of a major Market makeover and we build Dolphin 8 with a completely new Market system in mind, so any input that Unity members may have is best to be shared now. 

Thank you Megarick and Andrew. Although I do have plenty of ideas of my own, what I am trying to attempt is a compromise between the Consumer and the Developer. Something that can work for both people, with the idea of NOT taking away from the developers, but at the same time protect the investment of both Boonex and the individual sites we build.

With everyones involvement, we can all band our thoughts together considering the pro's and cons of every suggestion, to not only understand how it might affect others, but also understand how it might affect us. However it is imperative that we get the majorities involvement, as people tend to not appreciate the changes when they feel they were not heard.

Voice4Vision

Voice4Vision very well written............ That said I think that the majority of people here come into this entire process with very unrealistic ideas of what is going to happen or can happen. The discussion you bare trying to foster all I can say is WoooooHooooo it is quite clear you are a very talented communicator. Expectations of Public Image hmmmm again what is Boonex's vision for this? I clearly wonder with all the negativity by so many along the way of the process of development, development being by Boonex and people like me trying to build something, if they sometimes don't pay attention to what seems like such basic, "Public Image," items. Trust in a purchase of mods is far more important than keeping a developer online because he/she has submitted so many products and that DEV needs to support that product. Really I understand the thought process but once the trust line has been crossed they need to go period end of story. IMHO you send the wrong message to all involved when you have such a policy in place. It's like saying well he did good work before we will give him another chance no matter how many people say he/she has ripped them off. My true overall opinion is thank you to Boonex but on some topics like the connection to database issue which is enough to bring a server down if not addressed is unthinkable as the progression of development matures. I have never ever seen the customer support like I am getting from Host Gator! I am very critical of customer support but this company gets it. The other day I came across a new feature for a server audit oh my goodness very cool with warnings of you need to change this. Great let's do it now! I made the change's only later to find out it would make the site even slower a direct contradiction to a new wonderful feature!! Public Image would dictate...... hey we need to send out a quick update or people might even follow what appears to be written as mission critical by the new page we just built.......... Unrealistic expectation's versus Public Image comes down to one very old statement! If we always aspire to do what is right we can live with outcome or fallout of all that we do.  All I can do is thank you for all the time involved in the development of what is DOLPHIN........

 csampson1, thank you for the compliments. I think the biggest problem with ANY CMS, is that so many people try to consider majority without even asking the majority. People often fail to realize that a CMS is intended to be basic, with the ability to add features. People don't over look

 By encouraging change, we will always reconsider what is right and wrong, however, we need to be smart as to how each change affects all other changes and what is not changed. But if we sit back and allow nothing to change, then what we see today will remain tomorrow.

Now please, lets focus on the topic at hand, we are trying to discuss Topics regarding Areas within the Market that needs consideration of change.

Just bumping the thread in hopes of getting more responses prior to moving forward with the next step. As Andrew has stated, this is the time to get our heads together and compromise a new plan in which benefits every user of Dolphin as well as Boonex itself. So far the only Categories of Topics that will be discussed is what I have posted. If anyone has other areas of concern regarding the Boonex Market, please voice your opinion here. You have Andrew's blessing!

Voice4Vision

I think there is a matter of perspective to be addressed here.... Since when did it become our duty to mend either dolphin or the Bonnex market???

I have a site made with the Dolphin CMS which has adittional modules purchased from the Boonex market. That makes me a customer. If I go into my local chip shop and the deep fat fryer is broken, I do not fixt it for the shop owner! I could give him the card of a good engineer that could fix it or I could advise him on his customer service, but ultimately, I can not fix what is wrong with his business and i should not have to.

If the shop owner does not fix his equipmment, then he will loose money and ultimately his business when I and everyone else go to the shop down the road that has a fryer that works! Boonex knows whats wrong with both Dolphin and the Boonex market place. They have been told a million times by many angry site owners. Just this week I have come across another basic flaw in the dolphin system that, dispite many requests, has not been fixed in D7. This problem will not be evident in D8, but my site is not on D8 so that does not help. Concequently, my customers are not happy, and my business has a weakness or as you so eloquently put it - its public image could be tarnished.

I think there has been more than enough debate on here about what is wrong and how to fix it. Boonex knows eactly what need fixing both within its product and its maket place and its customer support system.

I love what Dolphin can do in the right hands or for someone with deep enough pockets. But there is no way I would advise anyone entering this competetive market sector to use Dolphin unless they had either the experience, the time or the finance to pull it off.

Mr Boon... Please... Enough of the words and the limited support and actions that we all know are just crumbs to keep us happy.... Action is required - not just an updated platform like D8 - but real action like fixing the problems that you know exist in D7, customer support and the Bonnex market. You are responsible for these, so please take the responsability for them and fix it. It is your business, and your business directly effects the business of your customers.

Hi all,

  I think the first step here is to elaborate and apply a SMART SURVEY to detect many levels of complains, satisfaction and improvements desires.  Also a present documentation to compare later after.   Like a photo before/after.
  Sometimes some companies are afraid to listen from their clients, suppliers and staff.  Their are afraid that some negative opinion will contaminate more people.   But the truth is this gives more positive points than negative ones.  It shows that a company cares about the end-users and is looking for improvements.
  It actualy should be done quartely in a CRM Program...

  Here, this is a starter for Change Project.