I can confirm that, as a new Bambu user, it’s not clear how to ask for help(open a new topic).
I’m printing since 15 years and can’t find my problem via search.
I ask the bot how to open a new threat.
This situation breaks the until now positive Bambu experience.
I love it when someone finally interjects some actual factual data like this post just did. 
Kudos 
Why can’t more people supply evidence rather than shoot from the him and opine without data to back it up?
I’m just wondering how long I have to wait before I can post a question?
You can now. You have acquired basic user status.
Same question here. I have an issue with my printer and feel lost as I have no rights to post my question. I feel not beeing a valuable customer.
Once you attain “basic user” you’ll be able to create posts. It’s been a minute but I believe just by reading the forum you’ll unlock that status and be able to create a post. Doesn’t take long.
I have yet to hear about anyone being [blocked] from the forums for no apparent reason… There’s a reason for everything in life. Forums have been around for decades and pretty much go by a standard set of rules. You can compare them along the lines of being the same with social media pages pretty much except not as often monitored by moderators.
I try my best to help others here and that’s all my intentions are.
But the reason for the New Topic button being missing is not apparent to the new user, it is just not there.
I would prefer that the button remain, but direct the new user to a page explaining why they cannot start a new topic. Or simply replace the button with an explanation. Maybe gray it out, and say “pending trust level promotion”.
I don’t know if this change can be made by the forum administrators or if it requires a change by the Discourse software developers, but there is a problem here that really needs attention. There are daily complaints by frustrated new users, some of whom put their questions in inappropriate topics since they have no apparent alternative.
Well, contrary to what is repeated over and over, attaining the basic status is not enough to post a new subject. I suspect you can the next day but I gave up and didn’t try for a while.
I think this is a very reasonable solution. My guess is Bambu has limited customizations available to them around the discuss platform.
Adding to this thread that I absolutely agree that this isn’t intuitive to new users (as I am one). It’s unintuitive to hide the ability to make a new post to new users. I simply want to ask the community a question so I can develop better models for the community and I now have to jump through hoops to do so. Discouraging.
Having been on a lot of forums over the years, I think the reason why new users aren’t granted immediate trust has to do with spamming. I don’t know where they come from, but the first defense is they seem dissuaded by being slowed down. A lot of them may even be automated bots. So, maybe it would be adequate to take a “Prove you are human” test when signing up, but maybe a little more rigorous than usual. Maybe that’s all it would take. Or maybe just making a new user supply the serial number on their printer and then checking whether the would-be poster matches the corresponding registered user would be enough. Maybe those properly validated users get express trust, and the unwashed masses (unfamiliars) get a more thorough scrubbing down.
I don’t mind the energy hurdle. There was a peculiar poster on here recently who wasted a lot of people’s time, and it was all over an issue that had absolutely nothing to do with 3D printing, let alone a Bambu Labs printer. So yeah, keep the dreck out, or you’ll be awash in it and people will retreat to reddit.
Well, the other time tested way to do it, as some other forums do, is that new users can post right away, but it’s held until reviewed by a moderator. It introduces some delay, but depending on staffing, maybe not much. Maybe given Bambu’s deep pockets, this would be the better route.
Welcome to the forum.
You don’t have to be nuts to be here, but, you will be eventually.
We are sorry to hear about this, but please note that there are certain measures in place to ensure we avoid spam.
The moderator team has daily cases where new users join that want to spam the forum with various topics completely unrelated to 3D printing.
The requirements are explained by the Discourse bot in a message after you sign up, and following them will allow you to create new topics.
We will try to explain the process a bit better so new users can have a better experience after they login.
The current globally pinned topic explains the process to get accustomed with the trust levels, and the required steps needed to level up and be able to post.
In my view, Bambu Lab’s approach to forum security is entirely justified. Having managed forums myself, I understand the necessity of these measures—all major forum software, not just Discourse, includes similar features to combat spammers. It’s like protecting a house from insects: if you don’t seal all the entrances, you’ll soon be overwhelmed. Software like phpBB, XenForo, Invision Community, myBB, and SMF all have similar authentication steps for new users, underscoring how essential these measures are.
Rather than seeing these steps as inconveniences, we should recognize them as necessary precautions that keep our community safe and functional. Your efforts are appreciated, and they contribute greatly to maintaining the quality and security of this forum. We understand the need for these measures and stand behind the decisions made to protect our space.
I agree with the measures, they do work to keep spam at a minimum. But I don’t think their existence or how to comply with their requirements is communicated to new users very well. There are too many complaints and too many posts added to the wrong topics - that many users cannot be that dense.
I remember the “disco bot” message that I received was confusing and I probably deleted it as spam. I’m was never into disco, I had no idea what “Discourse” was. I came to the forum as part of my pre-purchase research, and apparently lurked enough to satisfy the forum requirements before I actually had an original question.
I don’t know if Bambu can fix this. The forum software obviously modifies the web page to omit the “New Topic” button just for new users. I think it should instead leave the button but link the new users to a page explaining the trust level requirements. That sort of change might need to be done by Discourse.
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I want to mention also that I am seeing a welcome increase in posts by @SupportAssistant.
I don’t know if that is an employee, a group of employees, or a bot, but I appreciate that more of the questions and concerns expressed on the forum are being seen and addressed by Bambu.
The requirements are shown in the link shared before. It is a pinned post for all users which can be accessed by everyone to read the rules and the way the forum works. It was just updated with additional information to clarify some of the questions.
If there are specific suggestions on how to improve the experience, please share your thoughts and we will take note of them.
Unfortunately, not all the changes you already mentioned can be implemented due to the forum limitations, but we will be working on further refining this.
In regards to the creation of posts in the right category/sub-category - Everyone should be able to do it as expected, but it doesn’t always happen and some users decide to create a topic in a random place. The moderation team is moving some of the posts, but it is not always an easy task considering the increasing number.
My issue is not with the restrictions, but rather not clearly communicating HOW to post. Since you can read the forum without creating an account, it’s very likely that the majority of users create an account so they can create a new post. For that reason, have a pinned topic or direct message titled “How to post a new topic or question as a new user” or something similar. UX 101 - anticipate the most likely action the user will take and make it clear.
Call out clearly the action the user wants to take: “create a new post.” In that topic, clearly articulate step by step the actions they must take (which this part looks to be done in the readme).
Thanks to EULAs and other clutter, combined with high-quality UI work by other common sites, “Read Me” and other instructional topics are frequently skipped.
My problem isn’t with the restrictions, as it seems we can all agree here. The problem I have is the unclear path to get to be able to post. There should have been the post button greyed out and a tooltip to inform the user they will have to achieve a certain amount of tutorial and read time before they will gain the ability to post. Like even right now, I still do not have any idea what I need to do in order to post so that I can ask for help on my print, which was the whole idea of a forum in the first place. A marketplace to let people ask questions. If the concern was to get bots and trolls. Then the forum account should be connected to our Bambu lab account (Which it seems is already done), and those users have full rights off the bet.