An Open Letter to Kesa and the GC Community Team

14 Dec, 2023 05:47 PM

Hello Kesa,

I'm reaching out with regard to the state of the GrabCAD community website and what can be done with it going forward. I see on your profile that you are GrabCAD's "Community Manager" so this seems to be your domain. My (and many other member's) concern is the complete lack of oversight on the spam, scammers, bots, and garbage accounts being allowed through, unchecked on a daily basis. In my weeks of information gathering, it's quite apparent that this has been taking place for years with no action being taken to clean things up.

I have been working with Yasin for weeks, sending him links to bot accounts, spam/scam tutorials and models, lists of profane usernames, etc. He has stated multiple times to me and the community that this is not his role on GrabCAD, but he will do what he can to help. When asked about who we should actually be talking to about these concerns, he doesn't give up any names.

Here are some community discussions that you should be aware of and probably make yourself known in.

https://grabcad.com/groups/grabcad-community-user-group/discussions/coincidence-or?page=1#p36358

https://grabcad.com/groups/grabcad-community-user-group/discussions/the-bot-plague

https://grabcad.com/groups/grabcad-community-user-group/discussions/influx-of-bots

https://grabcad.com/groups/grabcad-community-user-group/discussions/how-is-this-cad

https://grabcad.com/groups/grabcad-community-user-group/discussions/spammers-8-caders-4

Some of these conversations have conclusions, but they point to a larger, unresolved problem with this website. I also see that you have been active in other discussions, but absent in all of the ones related to spam, bots, model theft, etc. Why is that? Why has it fallen onto only one of your staff (Yasin) who isn't even responsible for the community side of GrabCAD?

What things are being worked on in the background to address this? What steps are being taken to avoid the constant influx of new garbage accounts? Most importantly, where are you and anyone else responsible for the community in these threads addressing these concerns? You and your team are giving the community the perception that this site has been abandoned and thrown to the wolves.

I eagerly await your response,

-Steven

Steen Winther

Dec 21, 2023

Steven Kiley

Dec 21, 2023

One entire week with no response. Nothing in DMs either. Hang on tight to the cushy position Kesa. This wouldn't fly at any other organization.

Steven Kiley

Dec 28, 2023

Two weeks without a response.

Steven Kiley

Jan 5

Well at this point, I think we can all safely assert that the GC community has been abandoned by those responsible for its' maintenance. Three weeks without a response is worse than most government agencies. While I appreciate Yasin for stepping up to fill the shoes of his negligent colleagues, he has also been covering for them and failing to disclose proper contact channels for resolution.

Starting today, I will no longer be submitting any spam reports, DMs to Yasin, or otherwise voluntarily moderating this community in any capacity. I'm going to treat it with the same respect as those who are paid to run it. I am also moving forward with my plan to create a direct competitor to this site, where I will be aggressively poaching valuable members from this community when the time comes. I have no idea what the timeline is on this, but I welcome all collaboration and discussion on how to make this happen.

To Stratasys leadership: It's clear you've prioritized profit over community after your acquisition of GrabCAD. I hope it was worth it. Enjoy the shambling corps of this website after I gut it of all of the valuable contributors that keep it lively and interesting.

Jack K

Jan 5

Steven Kiley Well at this point, I think we can all safely assert that the GC community has been abandoned by those responsible for its' maintenance. ...

Steven; how do we join your new and improved CAD sharing site? I'm ready to switch!

Steven Kiley

Jan 5

Jack K Steven; how do we join your new and improved CAD sharing site? I'm ready to switch!

I have nothing up and running yet, but I'm going to make it my mission to put something together.

Steen Winther

Mar 14

Steven Kiley Well at this point, I think we can all safely assert that the GC community has been abandoned by those responsible for its' maintenance. ...

I find it disgraceful that nobody at GrabCAD/Stratasys has the balls to answer your letter and that the community manager (Kesa) leaves his position without a word being said about it and without anyone being appointed to take over. WTF is going on...?