One of the criteria I use to choose an application is the quality of its forums. I consider a good forum to have to have at least two attributes: 1 To be active (a user should have an answer in less than 48 hours). 2 The main participants (mods, power users) should be tech-saviour and courteous. If the devs also give a hand then that's a top-notch forum. How important is a forum in your choice of a program?
I think the tech support matters a lot more than whether or not forums exist. Towards that end I have seen quite a few programs with good support but almost dead/non-existent forums.
Makes no difference at all as long as their support via tickets or e-mails are fast but it is always a nice plus to have customer support in the forums. As long as their support is fast through the forum because i've used AV's forum in the past and they took like a week to answer so that's useless for me. An example of a great support forum is Emsisoft, no joke. They usually answer me within hours, sometimes even faster and they really try to help you out. Okay enough propaganda.
I chose "essential", but only in qualifying "serious" software (CAD applications, engineering soft.s, etc.). If only considering lesser importance security app.s, I deem a forum desirable, but not essential.
It's essential for me. I don't use any software that doesn't have a dedicated forum to discuss it. Edit: unless I can't find good alternatives.
I get a program, I use it. If I have problems with it, I look for a forum, otherwise the existence of a forum has no bearing my decision to get the program. A lot of the programs I use are supported with forums, but a lot are not.
I think it's a nice plus if there is a support forum, but I don't consider it essential to my choice or decision to use any software....
If you can get good support through email/phone whatever, then forums aren't needed. It can save you time waiting for someone who has a clue to answer your question with specific and relevant answers and can save you from the inevitable forum trolling.
I think forums help and sometimes help you understand the inner working of the programs far more than the usually web site does "sales web site"
Not important at all to me, as usually never require any kind of support - if I have problems I work it out myself.
You think wrong, at least when dealing with marketing and word of mouth of current and potential customers. You want an example? PCLinuxOS ca. 2007. There was strife between members of the development team, and it spilled out into the public forums where it had no business being. To make a long story shorter, infighting started between certain moderators and development team members that ended up being put on customers in the form of extremely rude "RTFM" comments, unanswered topics because the threads were being filled with "I'm right, you're wrong"..between moderators, and longtime forum members taking sides. New users were backing away slowly, Distrowatch got wind of it, and, sure enough, the actual OS started turning into a steaming pile. Tex returned from leave, mods started vanishing, posts deleted and, over time, they've gained back more respect and the OS is doing rather well now. But, example aside, you can't just think of whether the program works well or not when you determine overall quality. A great product with terrible support makes a terrible product.
Support forums are important and certainly has an influence on choosing an app. I consider forum as part of the support for an app along with email support ticket.
Forums can be helpful, but aren't a necessity. It's simply one form of support that I may not need, plus I can always come to Wilders and other sites.
The presence of a forum is an indicator of quality. An open and vivid discussion on its boards instills trust in the organisation and its product.
