WXforum.net
Weather Related Organizations => WeatherUnderground => Topic started by: Greg_M on May 13, 2019, 07:19:38 PM
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Been trying all day to get an account with them.
Email address and password and click up the "Sign up for free" button and nothing happens.
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Been trying all day to get an account with them.
Email address and password and click up the "Sign up for free" button and nothing happens.
I guess you will have to have another one and wait. Per your avatar.
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So I finally got through (today) and filled out the forms and got Cumulus set up to report.
When I filed out the form it asked for the name of the station and I told it Mueller Mesa.
The problem is it does not show the name of the station, instead it just shows "Datil".
I have looked all over but cannot find a way to edit it.
I wrote to WU and told them about the issue but have not heard anything.
What to do?
G
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This is a known issue and will be corrected in the future.
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Any idea how long in to the future?
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Long enough that you probably shouldn't hold your breath waiting. They broke it "fixing" some other thing. One step forward, two steps back.
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Bummer
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Has anybody seen any improvement or progress in resolving anything with WU?
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Nope.
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Has anybody seen any improvement or progress in resolving anything with WU?
Yes. The concept of awarding a pws a “gold star” is better, not fixed, but better.
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Nope.
Yeah...just seems different browsers, different problems. One gets fixed another crops up.
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I added a station yesterday and had a "gold star" as soon as I refreshed the page, one entry on the graph. Kind of like a "participation trophy" I guess.
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Has anybody seen any improvement or progress in resolving anything with WU?
Yes. The concept of awarding a pws a “gold star” is better, not fixed, but better.
It used to be that WU stated the following regarding a pws receiving a gold-star.
“This is a high-quality weather station that has passed our quality control process for 5 consecutive days.”
Now WU doesn't state what the gold star means or represents. Some stations have it, others don’t. I have 3 pws that upload to WU—sometimes all 3 pws have the gold star and other times none or 1 or 2 have the gold star. The concept seems to change daily, if not hourly. When I stated the concept had improved...
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Note: postings of "haven't seen improvements (generally)", or general laments about what's happening with the WU website/services aren't helpful.
If you have a specific issue that needs resolving, please post it. If you have a general grouse, please refrain from posting it .. we've heard enough about "what was, isn't now, and is not improving generally".
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"Helpful" is a very subjective term, Ken. It should be obvious by now, based on how many times you've had to unsuccessfully play whack-a-mole since instituting a gag order on criticizing WU, that people actually DO find such posts helpful. Just as much as anything this forum is a community. People turn to it for support when they are frustrated. The fact that so many others share their frustration should be a strong indication to all concerned that the problem isn't with the people expressing an opinion. It's with anyone who thinks that removing opinions from a public forum does anything other than create additional problems. Not the least of which is decreasing participation on a site which rests on an already obsolete platform (discussion forums).
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If you have a specific issue that needs resolving, please post it. If you have a general grouse, please refrain from posting it .. we've heard enough about "what was, isn't now, and is not improving generally".
I have spent many days and weeks testing, breaking and retesting commercial websites that our company was developing over the past 15 years (I am retired now). We would never be allowed to use the "public" to beta test our sites. I started following weather as a hobby many years ago and a hobby shouldn't be so frustrating. I will start a new post with two issues.
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What a joke. It won't be long until you're the only one remaining, Ken. What good does it do to even put issues on this site? Is this a site for issues? Shouldn't the WU team have and manage their own? The only people that end up here are those so frustrated because there's no consistent feedback, even from the g/d WU site. They're looking for answers and there's none to be had, anywhere. Ciao.
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What good does it do to even put issues on this site? Is this a site for issues?
This wxforum has been here for more than a decade and has served thousands of people well with everything weather. Many people, like Ken, have put in a tremendous effort to develop scripts and respond to members questions and issues. I have been and still am a very proud member here. It had been mostly a very positive site and discussion. Ken has accommodated many new members when those members' favourite forum closed. About a year ago, to respond to forum members questions about issues they were having with Weather Underground, Ken coordinated with Weather Underground to come to this forum for some direct communication. It was not the intent that those folks be belittled or the organization berated.
Unfortunately when many Weather Underground users who had not been getting their expected satisfaction directly from Weather Underground found this forum they began to take out their dissatisfaction here and others joined in. Issues have been stated many times, and Weather Underground has periodically come on board to respond and report which I see as a good move, but to continue to repeat the same issues and hammer another organization on this forum is not what I expect appropriate for The Independent Weather Enthusiast's Forum!
Yes, bring forward an issue, and constructive discussion in follow up. But let us do and say the same way we'd like to be treated ourselves.
Please enjoy,
Paul
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Ken is not saying to not post about the issues. Rather to change the tone and don't come in here just to complain. If you have a problem, then fine speak up about it, but leave your feelings and gripes out. Some feelings are okay, it is about tact. I've many times expressed concerns about a lot of WU issues, but I've also done it in a way to elicit response from WU, and I have constructive criticism with suggestions.To say nothing has been fixed simply not true, and all that does is instigate disdain.
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"Helpful" is a very subjective term, Ken. It should be obvious by now, based on how many times you've had to unsuccessfully play whack-a-mole since instituting a gag order on criticizing WU, that people actually DO find such posts helpful. Just as much as anything this forum is a community. People turn to it for support when they are frustrated. The fact that so many others share their frustration should be a strong indication to all concerned that the problem isn't with the people expressing an opinion. It's with anyone who thinks that removing opinions from a public forum does anything other than create additional problems. Not the least of which is decreasing participation on a site which rests on an already obsolete platform (discussion forums).
I think you've misread my intent -- there's not a 'a gag order on criticizing WU' in place at all. Feel free to criticize, and include specifics citing broken/non-working things that WU can address. As with any 'support request', I personally feel that politeness is better than raving when trying to get attention/support from others, but YMMV. I do ask that complaints just not be repeats of the same laments voiced previously, and do include enough specificity that someone at WU might be able to start a problem diagnosis from the information. That's all I meant.
What a joke. It won't be long until you're the only one remaining, Ken. What good does it do to even put issues on this site? Is this a site for issues? Shouldn't the WU team have and manage their own? The only people that end up here are those so frustrated because there's no consistent feedback, even from the g/d WU site. They're looking for answers and there's none to be had, anywhere. Ciao.
I'm aware of only two current forums that are watched (and responded) by WU folks (at this time):
1) this very forum (Two WU folks are here)
2) The Wunderground API Community (https://apicommunity.wunderground.com/weatherapi) board
and Wunderground support email form (https://feedback.weather.com/customer/portal/emails/new?b_id=17298)
Yes, we've had multiple WU folks appear, then after a while (or staffing changes), disappear over the years. We have a couple with us now, so all I'm suggesting is to be civil with the requests/issue reports -- it's likely to engender their support better than the angry, sledge-hammer approach.
And thanks to PaulMy and galfert for their (very correct) take on what I'd said +1!
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Ken to ease the burden of administrating this particular wunderground section Galfert is a very active member, i dont know whether he has a full time job etc or what his personal circumstances are ,but he is very active and somewhat knowledgeable on many aspects of various subjects.he can only say No at the worst or Yes no problem at the best ,dont ask dont get :-) . However he may not feel upto it but its in no doubt this particular section has become a dumping ground for individuals wanting to vent and use it in some form of social media style where individuals find it satisfying to say what they feel regardless of its impact and the unwanted noise it generates. A lot useful information or genuine issues that could be resolved get lost in the noise . not suggesting to rule with an iron fist but sometimes a little help can go a long way to just keep it all organised and relative.
hope is all well Brian...
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Brian,
Thank you for the endorsement. I'm an IT consultant and I pretty much manage my own schedule. I value this community and enjoy helping people as well as learning from others. I'd gladly support Ken in any way he deems appropriate.
Regards,
George
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The easiest way for WU to turn off the faucet of negativity is to step up their game. Look, they signed with a team that had a long losing record. They don't get to blame the fans for booing or the media for asking tough questions. Don't like it? Be the team that actually wins, not the team that only talks about winning. So far they're still playing sub-500 ball, losing more than they're winning. See the redesign fiasco (the latest in a long string of fiascos) as one of many examples.
Anyone with delicate sensibilities can simply exit a thread and move onto another. But locking threads means NO ONE gets to participate.
For WU, this is a win win. They get admins to sanitize all remaining discussion here using the cleaning power of "positivity" and/or they make this sub-forum an equally ineffective clone of their API forum reducing traffic to the site as a whole. Either way, less damage to the WU brand and more breathing room for them as they continue to subtract value from their ecosystem.
Posting bugs is not a form of criticism. The WU API forum link that Ken shared above is chocked full of bug reports. Apparently, that too, is an "independent weather enthusiast's forum" that just happens to be run by WU? Why do some of those posters end up here too?
As soon as WxForum began policing this sub-forum to protect a private company or the feelings of its employees, it surrendered its independence. For years, this site has flourished with a permissive culture. Then, one day, out of the blue, threads in this (and only this) sub-forum start getting quickly locked by the admin. A company representative is allowed to scold and set ground rules for members in a pinned post (see: https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=36609.0 (https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=36609.0))! That's beyond the pale.
I get it. Many folks do not want to read continued moans about WU. Fair enough. Likewise, many others don't wish to read posts heaping undeserved praise on WU for solving problems they created. Yet, I'm not aware of anyone asking that such threads/posts be banished. It's called "free speech". Yes, the terms of service apply but wide latitude has been and continues to be granted in all but this sub-forum. Makes no sense.
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i dont disagree with your points what i do disagree with is with non constructive criticism ,
too many posts contain same old rant its like playing the same old record over and over again .sure raise a bug , raise an issue but to create less noise see if its not already been reported ,mentioned , the hard part is sifting through the noise .
im all for free speech but define it where it isnt just a rant and someone just venting , this forum is a rather unique place to find solutions,ideas from many long term experienced enthusiasts and much of that can get buried in the noise , it would be a shame for it to lose that identity and just become a dumping ground for those that want to just vent and not contribute.when i suggest administrative just a way remove the noise .
as above not to rule with an iron fist...brian
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My, we seem to be living in querulous times. So much (un)pent-up anger/resentment in the world at this time.
When we set up WXForum.net in 2006, it was to provide a forum for weather enthusiasts to politely post questions and receive mutual aid for problems/issues involving our common weather hobby. Over the years, some vendors of weather software/hardware/services also joined and continue to provide responses to their respective products/services. We encourage that, and only ask that all posters be treated equally and respect the registration agreement regarding forum behavior.
We have very seldom had to remonstrate posters for inappropriate behavior (hate speech, personal attacks, etc) and that is fortunate, and largely thanks to the members who continue to post with consideration for others.
This is in no way a 'vendors forum' where they get to set the rules of play .. this is our forum -- the rules in the registration agreement haven't changed. Moderation is kept to an absolute minimum, and moderator actions take place to engender good behavior.
The few instances of threads locked and/or users banned have been done reluctantly, but in an effort to keep the forum useful for all members.
As I've stated before, I, too, have been/am strongly displeased with WU's handling of customer issues for several years, and the wunderground website feature stripping. I just don't feel it's productive to continue to fume over what's happened so far, so that is why I encourage reports of specific issues as they are observed, and not encourage generic grumbles w/o specific issues.
That's all.
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The problem, weather34, is once you limit posts to "constructive criticism", you're limiting all other forms of legitimate criticism. Imagine if the 1st Amendment said you were allowed to say whatever you wish as long as you state it "constructively" or "positively". I believe North Korea would accept THAT definition. As always, it's defined by the administration.
I'm not arguing that there is value to yelling fire in a crowded theater. But to think that people don't have legitimate reasons sometimes to vent shouldn't be up for debate.
Freedom is messy and inefficient. But it sure beats the alternative!
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Since this thread has apparently gone into the WXForum doghouse, I started a new thread addressing only the concept of WU Goldstars.
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This is in no way a 'vendors forum' where they get to set the rules of play .. this is our forum
Then maybe you should take down the following thread, Ken: https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=36609.0 (https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=36609.0).
We encourage that, and only ask that all posters be treated equally and respect the registration agreement regarding forum behavior.
Equally? Do the rest of your members get to "turn the page" on everyone else, establish some new ground rules, get their thread stickied at the top of the sub-forum and locked for perpetuity?
As far as the registration agreement, I recall recently where someone went on a long, curse-filled tirade largely aimed at another member (galfert). It was an egregious violation of forum rules. You got involved but only to gently remind him of said agreement... to no avail. Now, what if he had aimed his gun at one of the official WU personnel in this sub-forum? How long do you think you would have let that behavior go on? But if it's aimed at galfert or one of us then, by all means, he can say his peace, untie his horse and ride into the sunset, registration agreement be damned?
This is, has been and continues to be the Wild West of internet forums. Fortunately, this territory has largely respectable cowboys in it. But if you try to enforce the law in only one saloon, you might expect the patrons to get a little testy. That would be doubly true right after Mr. East Coast Money Bags rolls through the saloon doors and announces that there's a new (old) sheriff in town. Expect gun play at that point.
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That these contentious exchanges between members and moderators are occurring is inevitable. It stems from the fact that there are many thousands of PWS users that are beyond frustrated at what IBM has done to WU. Except for a small subset of extremely motivated and technologically savvy enthusiasts that are willing to employ complex workarounds to get their PWSs somewhere on the web, most are just screwed, and they are angry. It's nice that this forum exists so matters can be discussed, but without both sides of the conversation being honest and engaged, it's really a pointless exercise that is bound to frustrate those that do take the issues seriously.
I have largely disengaged because it became clear to me months ago that IBM has only two goals here. 1) To prevent a slam-dunk lawsuit from equipment manufacturers whose equipment can contractually only connect to WU, and 2) Do enough to preserve the "hyper-local" weather station feeds that they apparently had some plan for.
If IBM wanted WU to work, it would work. The process might have taken months. Instead it has been a dog's lunch for years. That 200,000+ PWSs that people purchased on the promise that WU would host their data (presumably competently like it was) bothers them not at all. That while they have us beta-test their pitiful efforts while, at the same time, cranking out defective weather data to millions of end users apparently bothers them not at all. A cynical type would conclude that their stockholders are their only constituency group, and that WU is so far below the radar that nobody notices.
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If IBM wanted WU to work, it would work.
Make no doubt about it. WU is such an afterthought, I wonder why they don't just unload it to someone, anyone, it has to be a thorn in their side and would be next to impossible to not be an improvement as is. Like my dad use to say "the squeaky wheel gets the oil", well PWS owners are still squeaking, but alas, not a drop of meaningful oil. If WU was my only option, I'd be squeaking to the point of banishment from here, of that I'm sure... ](*,)
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Seeing that, locked", "Turning the page" thread frosts my cookies every time I look at this topic. The page would appear to be the blank page at the end of the book. WU was getting wobbly before Itty Bitty Machine came along. Now it's FUBAR. Considering how badly the roll out of the upgrade has gone and the lack of any, meaningful, progress in fixing everything that's wrong it's no wonder tempers are short. I suspect that the WU "team" over there is just overwhelmed by all the problems. Yeah, grousing and complaining won't fix anything, only WU can fix what's wrong, but it does provide some momentary relief from the frustration.
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If WU was my only option, I'd be squeaking to the point of banishment from here, of that I'm sure... ](*,)
That's the thing. I don't need WU either. I post to this forum mostly to help others.
I'm a web developer with ~15 years of project management experience. I'm self-trained in meteorology, and I have an electronics passion dating back to childhood. The site linked in my signature should provide some kind of proof that I'm not speaking from ignorance or pulling anyone's leg.
So far, Ken has been a good sport and patient. I appreciate that. In turn, I've tried to be respectful.
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I just shut mine down. It's too far gone. Too many other sites out there.
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The site linked in my signature should provide some kind of proof that I'm not speaking from ignorance or pulling anyone's leg.
Top-left menu is not working with Firefox (66.0.5) ?
Regards
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The site linked in my signature should provide some kind of proof that I'm not speaking from ignorance or pulling anyone's leg.
Top-left menu is not working with Firefox (66.0.5) ?
Regards
Sorry, I'm not able to replicate that problem using Windows 10 & FF 66.0 (see attached screenshot). Working perfectly. No Javascript console errors.
(I use BrowserStack as a testing platform)
I also tested on Mac OS X 10.11.6 & FF 66.0.5 using a computer I have on hand. Again, no problems whatsoever.
Make sure you don't have a Javascript blocking extension enabled in Firefox.
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Sorry, I'm not able to replicate that problem using Windows 10 & FF 66.0 (see attached screenshot). Working perfectly. No Javascript console errors.
(I use BrowserStack as a testing platform)
I also tested on Mac OS X 10.11.6 & FF 66.0.5 using a computer I have on hand. Again, no problems whatsoever.
Make sure you don't have a Javascript blocking extension enabled in Firefox.
Strange. No Javascript blocking extension here and no errors in console :/
No issue in Chrome.
Regards
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I'll be pulling the plug on WU today.
I'll be back when they get their problems sorted.