Forum member activity statistics

[puppyluvr]

I dont like the colors/theme is "unusable"??
I recycle computers, and donate them, (quietly )
I carefully build their Puppy to suit their needs,
and their machine....And I never hear a peep...

I wonder just who is responsible for putting the "word on the street"?

Maybe I should consult my babysitter.......

@How many threads are you gonna drag into this???

[Sylvander]

I began using Windows 95 in December 1996.
Been using Windows ever since.
Only because I didn't know how to make any other OS actually do things.

Tried a number of Linux distros, but couldn't get them to do things easily.
Commands needed in a terminal just to do the simplest things.

AND THEN I TRIED PUPPY LINUX!
Recommended by ErnieK of the PC-Guide.

Suddenly there are some ways in which I can do MORE/FASTER/BETTER than in Windows.

Now I prefer to work in this Puppy or that.
Puppy1 can fix Puppy2 [and vice-versa], and either can fix Windows.
Switched my favorite backup program from "Image for DOS" to Pudd, and Xfe, and the FREE SyncBack under WINE.

And, and, and...
smm, Thunderbird, GParted, Psync, pCD.
And learning...

[dogle]

Master-wrong referred to the daily forum hit-count and said:

I think that explain that pups aren't fleeing the kennels

Unfortunately, it doesn't!

(See leading post - the concern is the apparent "churning" of forum users, and why it should be happening).

Given that the most-on-line figure reflects new-release activity two years ago now, the daily hit-count may have more or less plateaued some time ago; I'd expect a progressive increase in hits, if all were well. Ecomoney's Source link presents lots of very interesting figures, but we still have no adequate way of assessing actual usage of Puppy or other Linux distros.

In this gloom, Puppyluvr's remark is a most cheering light:

I carefully build their Puppy to suit their needs,
and their machine....And I never hear a peep...

[aarf]

I seem to be seeing fewer queries which I can attempt to answer these days - by which I mean the technical expertise of the newcomer seems to be escalating.

Or else, I'm getting more stupid!

Seriously, though, I feel it would be a great shame if Puppy, contrary to all intentions, were becoming a distro for the nerdly. I do hope that's not happening.

these are also reasons for much optimism.how many XP forums did you ever visit or contribute to? Puppy is becoming more user friendly and the documentation is at a stage where less newbies are needing to ask questions. I'd say that is a very welcome development indeed. It is not puppy that is becoming more "nerdy" but the puppy forum community going in the nerdy direction which is therefore not a cause for concern but may be a cause for celebration.

[dogle]

Excellent point, aarf, and well made.

I'd love to believe that's the way it is, but we're still hitting that same ol' brick wall - at present we have no way to tell whether it's healthy optimism, or non-healthy complacency.

[joopyhellspawn]

Ok, I am pressed for time so I didn't read all the comments through, so I apologize if what I have to say has already been said but here goes.

One of the reasons for the dropout of new members is that the only reason that they join is because they had a problem, joined to find out how to fix it and once it was fixed they never had a need to come back and have continued to use Puppy since. My sister was running the Barbie-expanded version for over 3 years and never had a problem with it and the only reason she changed was because she was given a spiffy new laptop running vista. She actually had the opposite than usual learning curve in that she had to adjust to Windows from Puppy. She doesn't like it and wants me to install Puppy on it as soon as I can. Unfortunately, the laptop is some type of mongrel, it is a 64 bit AMD running in 32 bit. So, although some things rum fine, others don't. But I digress. My point is that just because some members never post again they still might be as happy as clams running their Puppies.

I love the Puppy community, they are always helpful and friendly. However, I do find it frustrating on the forums when I need to find the answer to something that the search feature is not that good. I can definitely see how some newbie who might come along, especially a Windoze refugee, plug some keyword into the search field and then get deluged by a list of threads that would appear to have nothing to do with they needed. THis isn't only a problem on this board of course, but when these newbies are putting forth their first foray into the uncharted waters that is Linux, I think it can scare them off. Of course, they would probably feel the same way having to forge under the hood into Windoze but there they usually don't have to because there is always some huckster around the corner willing to do it for them for a fee. They are used to that model. Freedom can be scary. So scary they had to concoct religions for most people. Again, I digress. My point, is that I wish there was a better way to search out the answers on the forums. THe answers are usually out there but the way it is now, you have to go through a shitload of threads to find them.

[DaveS]

you have to go through a shitload of threads to find them.

This is very true EXCEPT for this: http://wellminded.com/puppy/pupsearch.html

Sadly, few know about it.

[cthisbear]

"My sister was running the Barbie-expanded version for over 3 years "

Yes, a great release.

""""""""
" when I need to find the answer to something, that the search
feature is not that good. "

Frustrating. Although many are to blame for their continuing problems.

Vague questions, no specs, no Puppy version or Puplet variation.
And quite often just below their post was a similar question.

The McDonalds syndrome exists...answers to go.

Anyway I hope that you can give your sister a Puppy fix for the laptop.

/////////

Here are a few Vista tips

If you boot Puppy you can make a backup of Vista
on your C: Drive.

Call it 1 Vista Backup whatever.
Copy all the Vista Files
Windows
Documents and Settings
Program Files
Programs??? can't quite remember
Users

and the root files.
Because as sure as Hell Vista will screw up.

""""""""

Turn off UAC
All Vista updates...you will miss nothing, just the pain of
MS screwing your hardware.

:::::::

Antivir Avira free is the way to go...
no email siupport but I look on my email server first,
and delete any rubbish and then download it.

Also use custom when installing, and untick the Guard feature.
When you have set it up...use the expert mode.

And take off the nag screen

http://www.elitekiller.com/files/disabl ... ir_nag.htm

http://www.tipsfor.us/2007/08/15/make-a ... re-usable/

::::::::::

AVG Free is stuffed....has really gone backwards.

Avast Home free is good for many.

Comodo has a free AV/Firewall...
a bit of a nagger but safer than Vista.
You can install your other antivirus first and untick Comodo AV.
Stop everything in Windows reporting back
Number 2 firewall of those tested.

Online Armor Pro...number 1

Online Armor Free was number 3.

http://www.tallemu.com/free-firewall-pr ... tware.html

""""""""""""

Majorgeeks downloads...great site.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads29.html

http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads31.html

http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads34.html


//////////////////////////////////

If you have an infection...the most recommended on Whirlpool are:

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/

Dr Web Cureit
Malwarebytes Anti Malware
Superantispyware

Clean Windows:
What files 4 XP....Vista has 2 different?

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-re ... m?t=998716

"""""""""""
Handy:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=37005


Scroll down page to my 2nd post.

""""""""

ccleaner for cleaning.....only tick the desk icon when installing.

http://majorgeeks.com/CCleaner_Slim_d4191.html

:::::

XdN Tweaker

http://xenomorph.net/?page_id=336

""""""""""

Most recommended...Black Vipers Page
Windows Vista Super Tweaks

http://www.blackviper.com/WinVista/supertweaks.htm

"""""""""""""""
Network Magic

http://www.purenetworks.com/download/

http://www.datafilehost.com/download-d257a07e.html

Old version…still good. Good 4 Vista.
Still let’s you use the simple features after 7 days.

I reuploaded this...for XP and Vista users.

On Win7...the only thing they got right is connecting to hidden networks.
So you don't need it it.

""""""""

Driver Magician Lite
Back up your drivers easily.
Free and fast.

http://www.drivermagician.com/Lite.htm

""""""""""""""""""

Replace Vista with XP

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-re ... ?t=1108783

There are solutions.
The worst laptops are later Dells to downgrade to XP.
Plenty of forums about.

HP had a good one...May 2011 edit.
But in their infinite wisdom and greed the links go back to HP.
There may be some help here though in my Whirlpool post.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1186205

""""""""

Redirect back to HP.
http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/for ... Id=1272393

http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/for ... Id=1269464

////////

Despite what some say you don't have to reformat for XP.
By moving your files in Puppy you can then install XP,
but don't format.....leave existing file systems alone.
Never forget the B Word.........Backup.

::::::::::::
Acer.

http://soulpass.com/2007/11/10/installi ... 53-laptop/

""""""""""

http://www.drivers-xp.com/replace-vista/hello-world/

http://forums.driverlot.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=3

""""""""""

Probably a dead link..May 2011
http://alt.nntp2http.com/computer/drive ... b2b04.html

"""""

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Install- ... 7807.shtml

////////////

Also download another File Manager...this really helps
because Vista has more Dog in it than Puppy.

xplorer²

http://zabkat.com/x2lite.htm

This runs fine.

"""""""""""

This is an old thread...so no guarantee that all the links work.

OK!...May 2011 I have checked all links and if there is a problem
I have edited that link to inform you.
Things happen though on the net...sometimes there is a hiccup
and the page won't load....example >> Cisco link today.

My newest advice is here...
and the first links are fixed on page 2 of that post.

http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=58305

..........Chris.

[hillside]

Ive just spent a good chunk of time reading through this section and I've come to the conclusion that, if a problem exists, it's not a problem worth worrying about. There's just no way to tell if someone was just distro hopping and never intended to stick with Puppy or if the next person continues to use Puppy but never posts. In the end, what does it matter?

It would be kind of cool if Puppy Linux became the next big thing, but big things have a way of fading away again and that wouldn't feel so good. No one NEEDS Puppy to become a big thing. No one would really benefit by such a situation. So, why worry about it? There are plenty of people happily tapping the keys of their Puppy install. Make Puppy better, not more popular. Although, I think Puppy is darn good already -- good enough that it's all I use.

[vtpup]

you have to go through a shitload of threads to find them.

This is very true EXCEPT for this: http://wellminded.com/puppy/pupsearch.html

Sadly, few know about it.

Yeah the phpBB search is a pain even for the experienced. And yeah, even though it's posted as a sticky, the majority of newbies don't know about the "wellminded" search. Because people naturally click the search button at the top of the screen, rather than read a forum topic about searching for something by NOT clicking on the button at the top of the screen.

I have a suggestion. Change the hotlink of the search button from http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/search.php to http://wellminded.com/puppy/pupsearch.html

If you really miss the old way, add a second button next to it called "Painful Search" and add the old url.

[gerry]

I find that churning of forum members happens on all the forums that I dip into. I recently visited the Debian forum after a break of several months- scarcely a familiar name to be seen!

[legendofthor]

From my confuddled point of view I think Puppy Linux is heading in the right direction. I believe the community are truly focussed on tweaking a good product into something better. I have never come across such a community orientated forum and distribution. All contributors should be proud of what they have developed. From answering "newbie" questions to help Barry and the team test out new versions of Puppy.

And if the uptake amongst your associates is painful - join a local Linux users Group - or even start one yourself (a frustrating way from personal experience). And promote Puppy there. Easy to get agreement to use Puppy for a LUG CE version of Puppy - with a local flavour.

"Heart of a Lion, skin of a Rhino" - alas most Windows don;t want to change - If I had a dollar for every time I heard "I'm not using your stupid Puppy for my computer" I could probably buy a couple of Burgers lol.

Keep plugging away
Cheers
Martin

[BladeHunter]

I went back to Slackware, easy to work with and easy to config

[TheProphet]

I sold very recently a re-worked Dell short-tower optiplex for 25 USD to a guy who uses it strictly as a multimedia mixer.

The people are there and responding well.

Perhaps the reason there's not more hits on the forum, twofold:

Puppy works and works well.

Things that don't work so great are programs not written by the Puppy team and it's usually an internal bug in the program itself, not in how it works with the Puppy platform.

The biggest problem people tell me about is with running KDE programs in GNOME or vice-versa, and since both are separate projects from Puppy, well, when you have such a problem you look for help from the KDE project.

Because it's a K compatibility issue and not platform specific.

Downloads have been so many that you exceeded your bandwidth, last month at least. Need more mirrors especially in North America.

So it seems that any problems with More Users isn't that of a lack thereof, but a surfeit.

I would just bet the folks at Redmond Washington are worried.

[nooby]

you have to go through a shitload of threads to find them.

This is very true EXCEPT for this: http://wellminded.com/puppy/pupsearch.html

Sadly, few know about it.

Yeah the phpBB search is a pain even for the experienced. And yeah, even though it's posted as a sticky, the majority of newbies don't know about the "wellminded" search. Because people naturally click the search button at the top of the screen, rather than read a forum topic about searching for something by NOT clicking on the button at the top of the screen.

I have a suggestion. Change the hotlink of the search button from http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/search.php to http://wellminded.com/puppy/pupsearch.html

If you really miss the old way, add a second button next to it called "Painful Search" and add the old url.

I say Yes! to this. What is there to lose if that is done?

[vtpup]

Nothing I can think of, except frustration, Nooby

Thanks for the back up, but I'm afraid one person agreeing with this idea every 2 years does not a plurality make.

ps, just think of all the signatures that could be devoted to something else, the reduction of explanations needed in the forum, the fewer times irritated regulars would snap out "Google is your friend". Not to mention, the reduction of noobies dropping Puppy linux because they can't find an answer to a problem in the forum threads -- which was the topic of this thread's OP.

such a small thing....

[puppyite]

IMO the subject of this thread smacks of sensationalism.

Understand that people mostly wander on a forum to get some questions answered, then they leave, they’re not looking to make it a lifestyle.

And who knows how many people lurk and never think to post, only they know why.

[dogle]

OK, time for the OP to remount the soapbox ..

When I took to analysing the forum membership roster all that time ago, I was genuinely alarmed by the extreme skew in the distribution of active membership life, hence this thread. Given the exceptional quality of support on this forum one might expect yer average happy user with that first question answered to have quite a few more, over time. In most cases this was not happening; to me at least, this was a very strong hint that something might be gravely wrong, and perhaps right-able. (Following nooby's 2-year-bump I have relented only sufficiently to tone down the title a bit, now having suffered gentle rebukes from such diverse luminaries as Lobster and puppyite, both. :-) ).

The lack of any clear consensus beyond 'Don't worry, be happy' on this thread back in 2009 led to the formation of the beginners' 'Puppy needs your help too' thread in an effort to dig deeper and find out what might be going wrong / how to fix it. Analysis of the truly superb response to that thread has made clear, inter alia, that two issues above all have been off-putting to newcomers and the real biggie is the struggle they have to find the information they seek. (The Eternal Curse of all Linux??) I'm therefore bound to agree with vtpup and nooby that the search opportunities need to be made much more obvious to the raw newcomer - but ideally at square one (and likewise IMHO puppyite's excellent FAQ).

There is a snag, though. The Kennels has benefitted enormously from peppyy's generosity and wellmindedness in hosting the Puppywide search (I seem to have a problem with that G-word for some reason) and long may this continue, although I am sorry - and consequently all the more grateful to peppyy - to see he has been absent from here for quite a while. Such philanthropic hosting incurs not only cost but hassle - I'm mindful of the travails of Caneri, Raffy et al - even Barry - and there is an obvious problem in incorporating helpful links in the ISO, where ideally they should be, if their continuity cannot be guaranteed with fair confidence.

Ideas, anyone?

[vtpup]

In the ISO? nah.

The suggestion, a simple one I made 2 years ago, was only to change the search button in the Puppy forum heading above. -- see look up at the top of the page....

That could always be changed back to the old lousy search, if no one wanted to host the "well minded" page, or ot it could be altered to point to any current URL for it.

In fact the code for that button doesn't have to point to any particular private web page, at all. It could point to Google, with the included expression "site:murga-linux.com" which limits search results to this site.

For those who want the old forum search, a button below the new "Search" button could point to the old method and be labeled "Painful Search", as I mentioned a couple years ago.

Just think of all the wasted time and words that would have been eliminated.

[rarsa]

From someone that could be considered as "gone" according to the original post:

There is no need to panic. My reasons, in no particular order

- If Puppy were only used by the people that contribute to it, that would be enough. Marketing? Market share? why?
- I know many people that use puppy and have never been on this forum. And some others that still use it and no longer come here. I am a perfect example. No longer around here, but always carrying puppy and using it frequently.
- The Linux Pro Magazine from June 2011, had Puppy Linux on the DVD. I would consider it a great measure of popularity and a good testament to the people that work on it.

Long live Puppy.