Sketchup prehistory
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this is pretty of topic, but hopefully there is a quick answer.
How come you moved to a new forum?
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Hello to all and a Happy New Year! I don't post much but follow the forums regularly. I started using SketchUp in March 2001 at version 1.37 I was working on a weekend for a presentation on a project which I needed to present sketches the following Tuesday. I was using a couple of programs at the time to generate 3D models, but they were a bit cumbersome in that you had to input every coordinate point - not much use when you are still conceptualizing. I wanted to present perspectives from two or three positions, so I thought I would scan the internet to see if there was anything that could help me. I think my search may have been "perspective sketch software". Anyway, I came upon the SketchUp website, saw that there was an 8 hour trial - not demo but full program - and thought I would give it a try. I downloaded the program and thought maybe I would get a chance in 8 hours to learn to navigate the interface and get a "feel" for the program's capabilities. Well, in the trial period I not only learned the interface - oh so beautifully simple and intuitive - I also built a simple but useful model of my project from which I could print out orthogonal and perspective views for tracing over for my presentation sketches. I was so excited I purchased the software as soon as my trial period ended that weekend. Then on Monday, the deadline gremlins struck. For some reason I couldn't open the model I had worked on that weekend to make my prints. I called SketchUp for tech support and was put over to Jim Holman and explained my predicament. Jim asked me to e-mail to him the file I couldn't open and he would look at it. I sent it right away. He called me back that afternoon and said that they were able to salvage the file( something had gone awry in the header or something like that ) and he was e-mailing the file back to me. I got it and was able to make my prints and my deadline. Believe me I was sold right then on @Last and SketchUp. Oh, as a postscript, the software I had been using for 3D was FastCad 3D and Virtus Walkthrough Pro. Anybody on the forum ever used either of those?
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I started on a late version of SU4 while doing ca a work on another project that was winding down. I was lucky enough to sit next to a guy that was demonstrating it use to a group of people in a huddle. I saw the pushpull command and istantaneous shadow and I went nuts! The rest is history. When I talk about SU I always feel like I'm doing a commercial. I could not understand why no one else in my office was excited as I was at the time. Learning sketch up got me excited about architecture or just pure design again. It also inspired me to learn other programs as well. Thank God for SU!
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@remus said:
How come you moved to a new forum?
These forums that we are now at are unofficial forums created by Coen and his team for the benefit of all of us. These forums are relatively recent but they carry on where other forums left off. You may have seen postings about 'transfers'. Those are recent transfers from the initial version of these same forums.
The brief history of the SketchUp Forums is as follows: @Last, the original developers of SketchUp, only sold SketchUp online and at trade shows. They created a very basic forum to allow users to help each other and share ideas about SketchUp. That started back with SU version one just before version two was released. Those forums had steady growth corresponding with the growing popularity of SketchUp. Over time several sub-forums were added including a Gallery allowing users to share their work. @Last intentionally kept the forum features very minimal and it did seem to make it easy for new visitors. Initially there wasn't even a registration requirement. For the first couple of years there was no moderation either. As the popularity of SU grew it got to the point that @Last realized the 'community' that had developed could look after itself. Several active users (myself included) became moderators but the reality was not much moderation was needed. At one point some users broke off and created their own more moderated forum. That was the Push/Pull Bar forums. It originated to have more design-oriented forum. Its founders had been critical that at the official forums everyone was too 'nice' and that the level of discourse on the designs behind the SketchUp images was almost non-existent. They created an alternate community to suit their needs while the original forums continued on meeting the needs of the rest of us who participated.
After Google acquired @Last the old forums had to migrate to a new server and upgraded forum software. That change lost most of the old stuff or at least linkages were broken. Registration became a requirement too. Life went on. The big hiccup came when Google released the free version of SketchUp. That really bothered many forum users and some decided they didn't want to participate any more. Their fear was that the community would get swamped with thousands of new 'free' version users. They thought we'd get buried in 'How do I make a box' question. It never happened. Membership did grow but it seemed most new sign-ups were more interested in reading the tips and getting inspired than actually participating.
The next big change was Google eventually decided that they should migrate the forums over to their Google Groups system. That was a shocker for many. Most users who had grown used to 'forum' systems found the idea of switching over to the 'Groups' approach a big step backwards. Some users felt it was time to say goodbye, some were willing to give Groups a chance, and others like Coen said some alternative was necessary. Coen created the forums here at his SketchUcation.com website. Many of the old forum users made the leap and the community started over. This new SketchUp user's community has continued to grow. We have also been seeing the gradual participation of more Google employees. They recognize the importance of this community.
Regards, Ross
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To make what Ross says a bit more precise, Coen had created his forum (unfortunately with a beta version of phpBB) about two months earlier than Google announced the migration to the Google Groups some time mid May last year (you can see some drop in the post stats after it happened there). Also you can see that most of the members there are now members here (as well). Until then there were hardly more members here than about a dozen or two.
Now as for this latter "transfer" of SCF (that is happening now), it was needed because the beta software Coen used had a lot of (mainly security) glitches and it turned out that it was not compatible with the final stable release we are using now. The transfer was badly needed and the sooner the better.
Fortunately Google (and the SU Team) realised (more exactly have always known) that the human resources that accumulated here are so valuable that they haven't abandoned us and (I hope) there isn't any inimical sentiment in either party now. We help them with finding glitches, coming up with "wishes", the ruby scripters giving ideas for further development - and they are also here to help us (and I also hope that they even enjoy being here).
And last but not least, the majority of the beta testers are also here...
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Thanks Csaba.
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I only wanted to clarify that because I didn't want Coen to seem to have made some "contra-Google" actions or what. He just simply offered his existing place for the existing community.
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thanks for the in depth replies, it's all jolly interesting. Before i'd just assumed that you'd moved purely because the old forum software was getting a bit old!
Just to add a bit, i prefer this forum to the google groups 'forum', its a lot easier to use and it never feels as swamped down as the groups, basically, good job on the forum!
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I remember being absolutely giddy when SU 3 came out and we could have individual surfaces have transparency....wohoo no more exporting two views one with all surfaces opaque and one with all surfaces transparent in order to get an exterior view where you could see through the windows but not the walls...I remember staying up all night "playing" with the software like a kid at Christmas.
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As for Google Earth and SU (hope this isn't too off topic), the Kmz and Collada SU exports make this easy. Commercially though, providing a Google Earth building modelling service is tricky. There are 2 significant obstacles that I hope Google will eventually address;
- Most clients wants to see their properties appear instantaneously and permanently on Google Earth, the 3d warehouse route does not guarantee this, if your model is approved, it can take months to show up on GE and then it is only in "the best of 3d warehouse" layer, it may never appear in the default building layer. Google want quality but surely the easy way to get quality is to make the modelling service commercially viable. Second Life, Twinity, Virtual Earth allow instant upload.
2.Google Earths policy on what is classed as unacceptable advertising is unclear. I cannot find out if it is acceptable for a 3d building to have a corporate logo on the side of it.
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