Why Bother With This Forum?

January 4, 2008

OK guys,

Here is a can of worms for you to mull over.....

As you can tell from the Topic Title and Description, I am pretty miffed about this issue?????

Firstly I will tell you what my gripe is and secondly I will tell you what I envisage some of the responses could be.

Firstly

I want to set up an online store and tried to do so by using osCommerce (I know some of you think this is swearing on this forum) but found some issues that I was unhappy with. So I did some research online to look for an open source option; and CC was one that was highly recommended, not only for the product and ease of use but also the forums......

I wanted to test both before even considering investing in version 4, as I see a lot of people do.

So after installing CC3 I was having difficulty in sending emails to customers and even receiving them as a test user and placing an order and then as admin changing the status of the order.

I have used both mail() and smtp settings and still got no joy, I have been liaising with my hosting company and together we have still not been able to find a solution. I thought I was close and was advised by support from my hosting company to add some php code to my form!!!!

My most recent post is simply asking for help on this one?

I have done extensive searches on the forum and come across posts that have suggested some things, which I have done and still no joy! The time investment in doing this has been well over a month now and as you who want to make money from an online store will agree, time is money!!

I have also posted things on the forum under my profile of izcrab, now I have received some replies and some I see that people have read the posts but have not received any answers. I have even PM some of the more experienced members of the forum.

As you all know running a business, we all want to keep costs down and therefore look for open source products that report to be able to do the job and also that support in the form of forums is very good....

I have even read a post from someone who said that even though they have posted some issues he never gets a response...... ironically the response he got was from people about his dissatisfaction with the lack of responses.... how do you figure that one!!!!!!!!

I though at the time since I have had a couple of response then I will plod on, however my recent posts have been read but seem to be getting ignored...

Secondly

My thoughts on what I think I will get back......

Responses like the previous guy, from people who say that I am talking rubbish and that the forum is the best one on the net for the product.....

People telling me to do a search, check out the sticky posts, contact my hosting company............

More reading of this post and again no responses..........

Summary

I am new to CC and was hoping to get some help.

I have posted things and had responses and tried them, but no success.

I have read sticky posts and done searches, but no success.

My latest posts seem to be being ignored, is that because people have run out of ideas, can't be bothered, or could it be that I am not in with the in crowd of the forum.....

In crowd what in crowd.......

It would appear that if you are a newby then you may have not posted anything of a contributory nature to be part of the in crowd and therefore be eligible for a response. Or that as a newby we keep asking the same questions over and over again............I would have thought that was to be expected from a forum......

Well there you have it, my experience with a so called very good product and support forum........

Regards to all that can be bothered......

izcrab.

burgensteen · January 4, 2008

Maybe people dont know the answer, thats why your not getting a response !!!! or maybe its just because its been Xmas & New Year and people are just too busy !! Thats my excuse anyway :w00t:

You say your using a form !! do you mean a contact form or do you mean the tell a friend form ? as cubecart doesnt have a contact form as standard and this would be a third party mod and the best person to speak to would be the author of the mod.

If you do a standard install of cubecart and the emails dont send at all whatever you do this is most certainly a host issue.

January 4, 2008

I echo Burgensteen's post. The issue you're having is one that I have not experienced, therefore I am unable to reply with any helpfulness. Also, a straight install of CubeCart should work, and if it doesn't, then there's an issue with your host server that is preventing it from working.

The forums here have been immense help to me over the course of the years, and I continue to check them daily for new information and to help others where I can. I am not paid to do this, but it's my way of giving back to the community that has given me so much.

You bring up a question about why some posts get answered and others don't.

The basic answer is that the posts that get answered are seen AND RECOGNIZED by someone who has had the same problem and found a solution to it. Many posts have ridiculous titles which give NO indication what they are about, and those of us who are busy won't always take a look at them to find out what the poster is asking for.

This indicates at least 4 conditions to be met before a post can be answered.

1 - the subject line adequatly describes the issue

2 - someone else has had the same problem

3 - that other person found a solution

4 - that other person is willing to take the time to post a response

If anyone has an issue that cannot be solved through the community forums here, the next thing to do is to contact CubeCart support directly and ask for help there. Yes, this option requires that you spend a little money, but it's a small investment compared to spending a month trying to solve the problem on your own.

Your post indicates that you tend to focus on free options and tend to avoid paid solutions where possible.

I understand this thinking, as I've been there myself. Let me offer you the benefit of my 5 years of running a business online. There's a reason the phrase "you get what you pay for" is common.

I would have been MUCH better off had I been willing to invest $2000 or so to properly educate myself about online marketing and another $2000 or so on the right tools to do the job. Compared to the costs of running an offline business, this is PEANUTS!

The absolute BEST solution for someone just starting out that knows little about web servers and PHP scripts is to hire a 'real' webmaster who does know this stuff and will set up your site for you. You could find someone that will do this for $500 or so. That's an incredible bargain for the use of your time and the professional results you will get.

However, if you're REALLY interested in knowing the technology behind the scenes, then you could buy a few good books and study for a couple of months, practicing on various projects to build your skills, and then you'd be able to take care of your site and other people's sites too.

The REAL bottom line is that you don't have to know everything to run a business. Those of us who have taken the time to learn the nuts and bolts of this business are not nearly as successful as those who hire the work out to others and concentrate on the SELLING AND MARKETING of their products, which is where the REAL MONEY is at.

But if you insist on doing it yourself and not paying for expert assistance, then it will take time. Lots of it. Especialy if you're running into a problem that no-one in this community has experienced.

Personally, SMTP mailing hasn't worked on my site. I'm not sure why. PHP mail() works fine, and that's okay with me. Ergo - I've not had to solve your problem, and I'm not able to give you any help on it.

Ask me about affiliate program integration, or Authorize.net and I have plenty of experience to share.

January 5, 2008

Not to beat an issue to death, but you also have to remember you posted during the holidays when not many of us are hanging around as much. Everyone is busy with family not to mention the holiday rush of orders and customers wanting everything yesterday.

Personally, I have never had a problem with the mail() settings and no little about mail servers, so couldn't help. Sorry. As stated above, most of us learn by having to do something to our own stores and share that information when someone else has a problem. But if its something no one has seen before, it's really hard to give advice.