preferred alternatives to Apple Support Communities for providing support to users and developers of Apple products and services

Existing alternatives: Logic…

In the Logic Pro area, the following topic offers some suggestions:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2688917 — Alternative Forum Feedback

Thank you, I would like to keep:

• discussion of Apple Support Communities in other topics (example)
• focus in this topic on discussion of alternatives.

Klaus1 wrote:

http://mac4mac.freeforums.org/

It includes a number of knowledgeable contributors on technical matters (some of which also post here), but also contains a lot of 'chatter'.

That's new to me — thank you.

I could Google plenty (probably too much) but there's nothing like a firsthand suggestion from someone like yourself.

I'm an occasional contributor to MacRumors, and a variety of other forums, but I don't aim for such places; I sort of stumble into them. As an example of something stupidly nitpicky that bugs me in MacRumors (but not enough to drive me away, not even enough for me to report the bug): nonbreaking spaces appear as asterisks.

As an example of somewhere that I might aim for, visit regularly: a few years ago I joined Sussex Mac User Group (SMUG). In recent years I have been very inactive, I might rekindle my activities in its mailing list and occasional meetings around the county.

Most types of chatter are bearable. Good manners preferred but if people choose to be bad, I can easily ignore such things.

I'm most chatty in federated microblogs, where things can be kept brief. Examples:

• http://identi.ca/group/apple
• http://identi.ca/group/macosx
• http://identi.ca/tag/lion

— each of those now contains a related question (and whilst that one question was automatically cross-posted to Twitter, I'm much less engaged with Twitter because for conversation, Twitter's interface is very poor).

I'm less interested in locality … more interested in UIs that are pleasing, with reasonable quality of content.

Another example: the old Nabble interface to macos-x-server. The more modern Nabble interface to lists is even better but so far, in the newer domains used by Nabble, I haven't stumbled across any Apple-oriented forums.

For existing lists served by Apple (or whoever) there's also The Mail Archive but at a glance, I can't see my current Apple interests archived there. In any case: I prefer something like Nabble because it allows me to post.

What's pleasing will differ from person to person … keep the suggestions coming.

Thank you!

Posts crossed paths. In addition to the ramblings above, another ramble …

Recalling that a couple of years ago I liked and bookmarked stuff relating to WMD Editor (example), today I visited Stack Exchange. That's pretty much off-topic because I expect the average Apple user to have zero interest in WMD Editor or Stack x, y or z back ends. Back on topic …

Stack Exchange

Areas include:

• Apple (FAQ)
• Super User (FAQ).

Neat. I very quickly found this concerning FileVault and Boot Camp and this concerning versions 1 and 2 of FileVault, both of which will help my work in progress around the two versions of FileVault.

It's better than neat:

• OpenID enabled — very appealing
• recognises my contributions elsewhere — whilst gaining reputation doesn't drive me, I do like the Stack Exchange implementation.

##Apple-support group on Wuala

## signifies that it's unofficial and I don't expect anyone to join me there. For the moment it's just a dumping ground for bookmarks and other files. Normally I use Diigo for bookmarking but today, with screenshots in the mix, Wuala fits the bill.

When I opened this topic I had (still do have) something completely different in mind, so don't get sidetracked by the Wuala resource.

What else? Who else?

OK, so you have an idea that I'm into Mac OS X, particuarly Lion, with a dash of Mac OS X Server; and that Stack Exchange appeals to me. Whilst I opened this topic, it's not about me and certainly not limited to the Mac stuff.

Still keen to build a list of external resources that people find most useful. I'm sure that such lists have been built umpteen times before, but I'm particularly interested in the likes of people who have a strong crossover with Apple Support Communities.

At the end of this topic, if there comes an end:

• I'll be able to decide where — apart from Apple Support Communities — I should share and gain my Apple support knowledge (my gut feeling at the moment is that it'll be a handful of places, no more)
• I hope that passers-by will be able to make their own decisions.

Thanks again

Graham

Thanks.

Mac OS X Hints: I found much of excellence there over the years, but the apparent requirement to type HTML (for anything other than plain text) makes me dislike contribution.

Macintoshian Achaia — Ars Technica OpenForum: some good content but there are no preferences for pagination so where a topic is long (example) I'm disinclined to read. Not because the topic is long, but because the pagination makes reading something long more difficult. YMMV.

What I previously described as the Apple area of Stack Exchange is more properly, officially known as:

Ask Different

The Ask Different experience is incredibly satisfying. In a nutshell:

• I find what exists there faultless — a rare unconditional compliment from me
• for me the only thing that's obviously missing is an overview of things starred (favoured/bookmarked) across the Stack Exchange network (alongside Ask Different, there are sites such as Super User, with some overlap) — this network overview of favourites is planned.

So, I have almost certainly made my final decision — far sooner than expected, thanks to great experiences in various Stack Exchange areas:

• top quality Apple questions, answers and learning in Ask Different
• Apple discussions in Ask Different Chat
• microblogging in Identi.ca
• minimal presence in Apple Support Communities.

I'll leave this question open, for others to contribute/discuss at their leisure.

In recent months I have been active in MacRumors Forums. Unresolved problems are extremely rare. All things considered, I'm delighted with the move.

… bugs me in MacRumors (but not enough to drive me away, not even enough for me to report the bug): nonbreaking spaces appear as asterisks. …

The forthcoming migration from vBulletin to XenForo will end that problem.