Why add the new Sefaira category?

Continuing the discussion from About the Sefaira category:

I’m curious as to why this was added as a category in the SketchUp forum!

Yes, Sefaira is a Trimble product. But is it going to be so closely tied to SketchUp/my.sketchup/Layout/Style Builder that it merits its own category in the SketchUp forum?

I’m not a Sefaria user, nor do I anticipate starting to use it. It just seems to me that this doesn’t belong on this forum!

Sefaira isn’t specifically a feature of SketchUp, so it doesn’t belong beneath that category. Sefaira is it’s own product within the SketchUp family so gets it’s own section.

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Do you plan for Sefaira use to be included in a SketchUp Pro license along with LayOut and Style Builder? If not, then giving Sefaira it’s own category seems wrong to me.

I just did a forum search on Sefaira. Total of 6 hits, of which only 2 had to do with using it paired with SketchUp.

Do some forum users use the Sefaira extension? Probably. I took a closer look at the Sefaira site, and it’s a very specialized product, with uses far beyond SketchUp integration through an extension.

Seems to me that if Trimble wants to set up a place to talk about it, giving it it’s own forum - distinct from this forum - would be a far better choice.

Regardless of whether or not Sefaira is included in future Pro licenses, I think its a good thing to include in the SU forums. Why not, its just another location to find information its not like it will effect forum users in a negative way. I would much rather go to one place in search of information than have to sign up for a separate forum.

On a related note, Sefaira should be included in the 2018 Pro license. In an industry largely controlled by Autodesk products adding the program as native features (not unlike sandbox tools) would give SU a leg up on the competition.

I agree with this.

Well this site and it’s Discourse system is already setup. It might cost way more to create another account with Discourse using some other domain name.

I would think it could always be split off in the future, once the traffic warrants this.

Well, it is a relatively new product (of Trimble’s.) Give it a chance.

I myself never paid much heed to Sefaira. But I just read it’s wikipage. Really sounds like a good product.

It has been linked to SketchUp (via an extension) since 2013, a full three years before Trimble acquired it.

Look at the conversation happening on it’s Extension Warehouse product page, (in the product Reviews) and it’s obvious it needed a public forum for discussion:
Extension | SketchUp Extension Warehouse

I agree. It really does sound like a good product. It is also, no question, a very specialized product. Highly useful for architects trying to design energy efficient large buildings.

But it doesn’t have much use for an overwhelming majority of SketchUp users (I’m guessing here.)

And it’s on that basis that I question it’s status as the only extension (that isn’t included with SketchUp Pro) to have it’s own place within this forum. That’s giving it pride of place that, IMHO, no $899/year licensed product (Trimble or otherwise) deserves.

I’m not saying don’t talk about it. Just talk about it in Extensions with a “Sefaira” tag.

What’s next? OK, Trimble Connect I could see as justified given the model sharing and communication with other platforms that it enables. How about other Trimble products? Will we be seeing every Trimble product with a connection to SketchUp receive it’s own category?

What about popular non-Trimble products? There’s certainly enough conversation about VRay on this forum - far more than (I expect) Sefaira will appear. Doesn’t it deserve it’s own Category? Assuming it costs Trimble (virtually) nothing to add a category, why not give every extension with over 300 downloads it’s own category?

Back to Sefaira. It’s one way that the beauty of keeping SketchUp focused on geometry modeling, while allowing 3rd party extensibility, manifests itself. And I think this forum should stay focused on this core competency.

Perhaps there should be a policy of adding specific extensions as 2nd level categories under “Extensions” once a threshold of use is crossed. Perhaps 500 downloads and 30 forum threads? (That came off the top of my head.)

Now, if Trimble starts including a Sefaira license as part of the SU Pro, my feelings would be different.

How is it “within the SketchUp family”? Is it’s SketchUp user base anywhere close to it’s Revit user base?

The more I explore Sefaira, the more I’m convinced that, as a stand alone, separately licensed product, the most recognition it should have on this forum is as a tag - or (perhaps) a 2nd level category under “Extensions”/

Yet. Ie, perhaps they wish for the SketchUp and Sefaira userbases to start “rubbin’ elbows”, exposing each other to the other product. And they want Revit/Sefaira users to hear about SketchUp users using Sefaira, their experiences etc.

They are both in the same division of Trimble.

The Discourse system only allows one sub-level (I think I read over at Discourse Meta.) They refuse to add any more and will close any request threads asking.
So, perhaps Jody put Sefaira as a top level category, so to leave room for a FR and or Technical Issues sub-cats later.

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This, and because Sefaira isn’t technically a feature or function of SketchUp.