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The mac community

A

alxths

macrumors 6502
Original poster
When I first decided to look into macs, I was surprised at the amount of participation there was in their support forums and the general positive attitude of the people there. Then I was charmed to see that the great sense of community that exists on their support boards, is carried over to numerous boards such as this one...

I'm wondering though, how important is this sense of community to all of you as mac users? Suppose there was none at all, do you think you would still use macs?

Personally, I think it's great that so many people can derive connections like this out of something so simple as the brand of computers that they prefer. I'll be buying a mac as soon as the ibook gets upgraded and I thikn knowing that there are so many people that I can rely on for answers to questions and advice is one of the biggest motivators for my switching...*tear* =p

So, what do you have to say?
 
well i found the community after i loved the mac...so if it didn't exist i wouldn't be missing anything as far as my enjoyment of the mac, however the community is a plus. i agree it is great that so many people can come together on this interest. its very fun to be involved in the discussion that are in this site, i've been to a decent number of forums..not tooo many but there not a one as cool as this one as far as the community. you get to know people very well here. its really great.
 
yeah i too learned to love the mac way before i knew there was a community-- it was just me and a couple of people that were even slightly interested. but a place like macrumors, and the community in general make it a very rewarding pursuit--

i think it's always good for people to band together and form communities like this-- unless they're, like, nazis or something. that's probably not good...

🙂
pnw
 
Ditto to what was said above. I have loved my Macs since long before the net was a user-friendly means to communicate with like-minded people.

Lemme put it this way... If I could have one item on a desert island, it'd be my Mac with an everlasting battery.
Dan
 
Originally posted by alset
Ditto to what was said above. I have loved my Macs since long before the net was a user-friendly means to communicate with like-minded people.

Lemme put it this way... If I could have one item on a desert island, it'd be my Mac with an everlasting battery.
Dan
Click to expand...

what that include wireless internet too??

if so then totally thats what i would have...except of course if you had the interenet you could probably get help off the island..but you get my point
 
if i ever need any info casually for peecees (i dont have one anymore) i use the mac boards... 🙂

extreme mac-ism then: "i will never have sex again with the peecee users".... 😉
 
Re: The mac community

Originally posted by alxths

I'm wondering though, how important is this sense of community to all of you as mac users? Suppose there was none at all, do you think you would still use macs?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say the forum-community is most appealing/interesting about the Mac community.

I think the interest in Apple and the fact that a rumor-community exists makes it very interesting and exciting.

The fact that tons of people anticipate Apple events and keynote events is a cool and fun thing... being around sites like this pre-Expo/annoucements is a very unique experience.

arn
 
"Sense of Community"
You know this sounds a lot like someone who is doing a ethnographic study on mac users. Ok, I am finishing up my American Studies degree, but I swear this is the kind of question that I have written many papers on. If not, my apologies.

Anyway, when you trust your computer you can have fun with it, this leads you to love it, this leads you to talk about it, this makes you friends mad cuz they have PeeCs, this makes you go online to talk about it, this makes you wish apple would kidnap Gates's loved ones and hold them for his micro$loth shares giving SJ control.......😛 ....sorry was imagining PeeCs fade away and mac being the new standard.
🙄
So yeah, macs rule...
 
An engineer, a mathematician and a priest...

Originally posted by alset
Lemme put it this way... If I could have one item on a desert island, it'd be my Mac with an everlasting battery.
Dan
Click to expand...

Personally I'd have to have a can opener. Maybe that's the new consumer device Jobs has got planned! An electric can opener! 😀

As you can see, I'm a "newbie" (This label has really gotta be ditched - it's like having an "L" on your car when you're learning to drive), but I've been using Macs for years.

Nevertheless the community thing probably had an indirect effect on me in terms of the strength of the brand. No-one loves PC's. I just one day decided to make a quality of life decision to only have Macs in my home. One of the best decisions ever!

Ditto Herr Neumann's comments - sounds like somones's going to school on us folks!
 
I believe that there's no other computer company that has a loyal following like the mac.

I've used Macs since grade school (eighties) while occasionally using a PC. Sadly the first computer I owned was a stupid Tandy PC with Windows 3.1. Just used as a gaming machine but when I went to highschool I was fascinated by the ease of use the mac had. Since then, I've stuck with the mac but I still have a pc for games...and p2p sharing.

I'll always stick with my mac. If there were no forums for Mac users, I would still be using a Mac. Just for the ease of use and lack of troubles should be enough for a person to buy a Mac
 
Re: Re: The mac community

Originally posted by arn
I wouldn't say the forum-community is most appealing/interesting about the Mac community.

I think the interest in Apple and the fact that a rumor-community exists makes it very interesting and exciting.

The fact that tons of people anticipate Apple events and keynote events is a cool and fun thing... being around sites like this pre-Expo/annoucements is a very unique experience.

arn
Click to expand...
I'd have to agree with arn on this, that's exactly how I feel about the Apple "community." Now don't get me wrong, there is definitely a community out there of pc users, but it's usually a bit?h session......
 
Well, the whole mystique about Apple and the rumor anticipation is a product of Apple's corporate philosophy not to tell anyone anything until its ready, and then some.

Any new 'thing' that might be of significant interest is usually saved for a Steve Jobs keynote speech, more hoopla, more oohs and ahhs from the audience. Its all a show and we're all welcoming it.

Once in a while something leaks and we're like sharks in a feeding frenzy. All due to Apple.

If you look at the amount of speculation, wishes, rants and accolades in the threads here you get a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about. The rest of the site, distributed computing, community, news, etc., all evolved over the years as the site has grown and there is a wider interest than just macs here.

D
 
The fact that the computers are so appealing is what has lead the development of a loyal Mac community.

There's no chicken and egg thing here, its the computer stupid.
 
Please note that this is a play on "Its the economy stupid" and not a bash on anyone here.

(however, I did think at least some of us would automatically take it in the spirit of its intent)
 
Originally posted by howard
what that include wireless internet too??

if so then totally thats what i would have...except of course if you had the interenet you could probably get help off the island..but you get my point
Click to expand...

I don't think i would believe someone saying that they were trapped on an island with a net connection and an ibook with an everlasting battery. 🙄
 
Thanks for all of your comments.. And no, im not using this as some sort of make shift focus group for a research study 😛

It's all very interesting though... especially when you consider that a similar community is now building around the company Nintendo as it continually loses ground in the console wars.. you could probably argue that these sorts of communities(i need a new word for that) develop as people, upon seeing everyone around them owns a PC or an xbox or ps2, feel the need to seek out others with their preferences to assure themselves that they're not 'outsiders'--a very human tendency...

I'm wondering now.. does apple ever do anything to show their appreciation for their fans? Making laptops look so slick that they attract women doesn't count😛 I mean, have they ever directly acknowledged the benefit of this community?
 
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