Forum closed for non-registered users?

[Lambik 192]

j.nowacki stated:

As a part of this process the forum visibility was restricted for non-registered users.

Why? Are the suit-guys a bit embarrassed about their introduction of the 4.x version at CES?

This kind of measures isn't a hopeful sign for Fibaro's business strategy towards it's users.

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[Shad 4]

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[Lambik 192]

I read that.

So the forum is closed for unregistered users because of forum migration?

Yeah right.

[D-Vine 64]

Think it's no good to close this forum.

The hole reason I bought the HC2 few months ago is because I read lots of things on this forum with all it's possibility's of the scene's and more.

[qedes 5]

I only just realised Fibaro have done this.

This is absolute bulls**t, their explanation makes no sense -- there is no real reason to do this except censorship. Reading some of the threads in here I can see why they would be keen to censor, especially after gaining new publicity at CES. If I were a tech journalist who had just heard about Fibaro, user forums are the first place I would go to research what the product is like for its users.

Given how long version 4 has been promised, and how many bugs and catastrophic errors there continue to be, I am really angry that Fibaro are getting away with this. They post occasional replies here, ignoring issues that they find too prickly or difficult, and they never give any concrete answers. I have to say that Fibaro tech support seem OK -- my system was unusable after I stupidly upgraded to 4.030 (I couldn't even remove and re-add any devices), and I couldn't recover to a working older version. Within two days tech support had remotely restored me to 3.600. Whoever actually pulls the strings at Fibaro is a terrible person, with NO respect for customers and NO idea how to run the business.

I think the tech world is slowly waking up to the possibilities of home automation and the Internet of Things. There are lots of young, up-and-coming products in the news. Google have been buying out companies like Nest and Revolv, so they're obviously working on something big, too. I had so much hope for z-wave and Fibaro in particular, and I invested so much time and money in Fibaro products. I have become more and more furious at them, not just for their terrible products, but their awful PR and customer skills. Companies that behave like they do are not destined to last. I am using my HC2 with 3.600 for the moment, but as soon as a competitor that supports z-wave arrives, I am putting it on eBay. SmartThings is looking promising for early support of lots of z-wave devices...

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I would be interested to hear if any of you forum users are willing to try and take this further. I strongly feel that what Fibaro have done in locking this forum is censorship, and the tech media who may be writing articles on Fibaro should know what is on here. I don't have a Web background, so I don't really know how to address this, but I feel that it's wrong and I want to do something about it.

[UrSv 6]

I strongly feel that what Fibaro have done in locking this forum is censorship

No, it's not censorship. It's a private forum which can have any set of rules. People are quite often confusing "shouting in the street" rights and claim freedom of speech and all sorts of rights. It does not apply. The forum runs under any rule that the owner may want to have and it is up to them if they want to remove posts and prohibit or allow content as well as if it should be an open or closed forum.

[qedes 5]

To "censor" is to review something and to choose to remove or hide parts of it that are considered unacceptable.

I didn't objectively define what Fibaro have done in an absolute sense as censorship; I subjectively stated that I strongly feel this is what it represents. I agree with your point that this *is* a private forum, run under private rules. I don't dispute that, and I'm certainly not arguing that this is a free speech issue. What I am doing is querying why this particular rule changed at this particular time, and I'm calling bulls**t on the official reason why.

I'll simplify my post for you:

1) Forum has changed from open -> closed.

2) Administration has given rationale (migration) that does not make logical sense.

3) Alternative explanation more likely (limiting bad publicity in wake of large international event)

4) I feel betrayed by many of Fibaro's behaviours up to and including this decision.

5) I would like to offer new potential customers the opportunity to benefit from the opinions and experiences of current customers.

6) Does anyone have any suggestions on how to achieve this?

[MrMxyzptlk 10]

Yes a very simple solution.

I as a consumer have the responsibility to do the research on various choices / decisions in my life. If I am considering a product, I always register for the products forum first in order to gain additional insight.

I think that making registration mandatory is an industry standard and a non issue.

[carmar74 4]

Calm calm, in a week

will return perfectly normal .....

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I had an old user ....

Dear User!

The account you created on forum.fibaro.com was never activated. If you wish to use it, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with username you used during registration. Due to migration of the forum to the new engine, which will take place at the beginning of the next week, all inactive accounts will be deleted.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Kind regards,

FIBARO Support Team

[Liquidchild 2]

To be honest I can't really say I am bothered either way... its not uncommon to register for forums and takes about five minutes to do so, so I assume anyone (reporter or otherwise) who has a vested interest in researching a topic wouldn't mind taking the five minutes to do so.

In regards to the official reason vs the 'unofficial reason', I doubt any company would publicly say we have locked a forum to ensure bad reports don't easily seep out - regardless if that's the case or not. Very few companies are going to voluntarily shoot themselves in the foot.

[Nepher 0]

Having to register to a forum is not censorship, it's just fair. I'm even surprised it's not just for the customers, which would be in Fibaro's rights anyway, while here it's open to everybody, exposing the discussions also to prospect customers, which is good for us anyway. A company's forum, when they host one, it's just their own, full property, and they can do whatever they like to. Censorship simply does not apply here, and it's an insult to real censorship acts around the world to claim it here.

[akatar 206]

bull

every commercial company who wants to sell has a open forum

you want new costumers to have a look around and give them a change to read how youre products are

open to look around, register to post

[deanrparry 19]

If you cannot figure out the real reason why your a mug! Embarrassing for them!

[rantta 2]

Now, after migration, would Fibaro please allow search engines on this forum?

 

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