You have made a total of 4 topics, and 3 of your topics have replies (people trying to help). What can you mean “It hasn’t worked that way for me”. That’s an 75% reply rate, where your cherry picked posts on existing topics are 0 for 2.
To be clear: this is me helping you (too), even if you don’t perceive it that way.
I REALLY understand that it can be frustrating when you try to automate stuff in your place, spend some money and time, and it doesn’t work as you would like to.
As you can see from my profile: I have started with HA with ZERO knowledge about home automation and I have also had some moments where I was really pissed because it didn’t go as expected.
You can also see that I have created quite some topics to get help and this wonderful community has helped me to get to a level that I’m really pleased with.
Let me tell you a secret: maybe, in real life I’m a really stunning, sexy, good looking woman, no strings attached, wealthy, … but these guys over here don’t know this.
I have the same tools as you do, but maybe I use them differently…
You have created some topics where you ask for opinions.
Do have a clue how many times this happens when someone asks an opinion?
From your reading time, I might conclude that you haven’t yet taken the time to get to know HA well enough or how this forum works.
You could debate that by replying that you read a lot while not logged in.
Still, the way you created your topics/posts might be improved and for clarity: I’m not a pro either!
Lastly: HA can be a steep learning curve and you know why?
Because it can almost do everything that you can imagine AND with the devices that play nice.
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Is it really such a surprise that the company who built the product and you paid them for it, has more expertise on said product than the HA community? Most of us providing support for Z-Wave here don’t even own half the devices that we help with. These Aeotec energy meters are also notoriously difficult to configure and have firmware problems.
Meanwhile, it seems you got a solution from Aeotec. Why not contribute the solution back to the community? What configuration changes did you make to fix it? Maybe it can help improve the HA solution.
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I see pointing out the hype as helping me far more. 
I’m not the OP, Nick. I started out with ST six years ago, had things in a good place with a few issues, and was lured to change by the idea of local control. I’m not “really pissed” like the OP, merely pointing out that the HA hype is very different from my experience.
You might. I don’t see any need for debate, that’s simply true.
I’ve ascended that curve for 9 integrations and ~80 devices already. My point is that for 2 of my most important devices, I’m not seeing a path other than leaving them on ST (with a steep curve on ST for one of those), so I get where the OP was coming from and don’t find the reflexive defensiveness of some here to be convincing.
Not at all. The context was replying to @michaelBH’s cursing of Aeotec and agreeing with @sparkydave.
Because the solution was for ST, not for HA, so not much of a contribution IMO. My issue is being unable to change desired parameters in HA, not about my not knowing which parameters to change. But I started a new topic, as suggested. Shall I post it there?
Please keep in mind that if I manage to get vastly improved help by pointing out the lack of help, that’s great. But it’s not going to change my experience to date.
How are you changing the parameters? Just click the little button and make a change and you’re done.
Nothing else needs to happen.
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Thanks.
Not sure why you’re illustrating with a Zooz switch. I have had no problems with those.
I have no problem getting to the parameters page. It’s 6 pages long for my energy meter. See sample below.
Something else needs to happen. I can make changes to the numerical values stick only if I hit the button on the meter after each one. That’s why I posted a reply in the only thread that covered that in depth.
The problem is that I’m trying to change some of the switches, but those changes won’t stick, whether I press the meter button afterward or not.
It’s just as arcane in a very different way with ST, but it worked.
because I don’t have whatever device you have
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Fair enough, but I hope you can see that it’s not simply about hitting the Configure button.
Let’s continue in the thread I started:
I was aware of that.
You seem to be chiming in and criticizing the lack of help, remember: the topic is titled “So Ready to Walk Away”.
Odd that so many topics get answered solved!
Yeah, it’s always the others who are responsible for our doings…
A little less?
By going with the flow you might make more online HA friends to help you but you don’t have to take my word on it; just consider the advice of the mod.
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first, the forums aren’t a help desk. The forums are “staffed” by just regular users who like to learn from others and offer help when and where they can. If you don’t get a reply in the forum it’s not HA’s fault. Neither is the forums fault. Nor is it especially other volunteer users fault.
Next to help you answer your own question…
if you go to the main HA forum page at the top you’ll see a list of tabs. one of those will be “Latest”.
Click it.
in that list that pops up you can see every topic posted.
in that list of topics you can see how may replies each topic has gotten. I’d like you to compare how many of those posts have a 0 next to them compared to those that have > 0 after them. the more than 0 greatly outnumber the 0.
so yes, ‘requests for help are “most likely” to receive help’ is very true.
It depends on the topic and the helping users knowledge whether that help will be successful or not.
But at least people try to help.
And in the rare instance that no one replies maybe it’s because, as has been pointed out, no one has any experience with the thing you are asking. I’m not going to reply to something if I have no clue about the question.
And in that same “Latest” list above you can even see how many people opened it to read it. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a topic that had 0 replies and 0 reads. Maybe it could happen if the topic was just so ridiculous or poorly worded but it’s definitely not the norm.
Or the question is asked in a way that’s hard to figure out what’s being asked. I especially hate questions that require me to read a wall of text that I have to parse thru just to get to the heart of the question.
I don’t have time to read that much especially if I try to read all the new posts in my feed. If a question looks like it’s interesting or something I might be able to answer I’ll open it and read it.
If I open it up and I’m greeted with the aforementioned wall of text in the first post I just move on.
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@michaelBH August 2023 and not very far into it? Patience is a virtue. Alot of kind people gave you alot of answers but I saw no replies from you. Did you see my longer post and take it to heart? Are you coming back to try any of the suggestions, or just ghosting us?
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I’m saying that based on my experience, the needle is somewhere in between, but well away from the OP’s.
A lot less, even more less today after getting amazing help from @freshcoast on my two largest issues. However, I’m still on the fence as to whether the time and expense have been worth it. Time will tell.
For all I know, my chiming in here may have produced far more help in the last 3 days than going with the flow would have. That being said, I don’t conflate correlation with causation.
No, that would not measure what you are claiming it measures.
Dealing with home automation we don’t speak about this. Especially not with our spouce 
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then what is it measuring?
Several of them relating to issues important to me have additional posts saying, “I have this problem too.” And a snapshot on a single day is extremely biased against posts with no replies, as they would obviously fall off the “Latest” list more quickly.
you know you can keep scrolling down right?
you aren’t tryin to imply that the majority of posts only ever get a “me too” reply are you? I’m not saying it doesn’t happen but it’s only a very small minority are like that.
I do. Does that remove the bias that you ignored?
Nope, just pointing out that MY reality is between the two extremes:
Is there something unclear about that? Do you realize that you are providing strong evidence of this? Maybe less arguing about how helpful you are and more helping would move the needle the other way.
Good job, go on that way!
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I am! I just posted something I figured out about the zen74 switch on one of those threads that lacked help. Then someone else made a helpful comment.
Gawdalmighty! Is this still rumbling on? More than a month now. 
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