# How to make this site even better - suggestions please :)



## Giaguara (Aug 25, 2003)

Tell us how to make this an even better site...  ANY suggestions - minus pr0n, warez, serialz, p2p and following the board rulz.  ::alien:: ::love::  ::angel::


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## Arden (Aug 26, 2003)

Make the text in the Home, Gallery, User CP, Rules, Search, Register, Post Topic, and Post Reply buttons larger and less squarish.
Add a checkbox to thread listings to allow functions like subscribing, unsubscribing, opening in new window, etc. with a drop-down menu.
Enable auto-subscription with the quick reply box.
Allow storage of up to 3 avatars, including the currently active one, to make changing between them easier.
Add a "Remember New Threads" link so when my browser crashes, I can click this link and go back and read all the new threads that supposedly aren't new anymore.  It's very annoying when I have 50 or so new threads, most of which I haven't read yet, and the browser crashes or the computer freezes, and when I click "View New Threads" only 2 or 3 appear.
Fix the broken img tags that still appear.
Fix the gallery.
Increase the maximum size of private messages.  Posts can be 4 screens or more, why can't PM's?
Under the name of the person who started a new thread, put the date of the first post.
Rework the (currently useless-seeming) gray buttons at the bottom of every page.
Add an option to disable vB code in a post so one can give an example of vB code.
Make me (and dlloyd, if you're feeling generous) a moderator. 
Hopefully some or all of these (especially the last one! ::ha: are easy enough to change.


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## Arden (Aug 26, 2003)

Does no one else have any suggestions?  Am I the only one?


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## mr. k (Aug 26, 2003)

I would make the site up with less tables and more css... A table might be ok for the listing of current threads, but marking the form posts up with tables doesn't seem semantically correct.  And even on my cable connection loading all these tables is slow - if you get a real dedicated coder into the site I bet he could clean it up a little.


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## Arden (Aug 27, 2003)

I agree.  Anytime I load a page that's more than 30 or 40 K (which is often with larger posts, usually 10+ per page), the browser always hangs for a while.  Sometimes, when I'm loading multiple pages simultaneously, it hangs for several minutes, probably while Explorer parses the PHP code.  Div's would be really easy to put into place instead of table cells.


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## Randman (Aug 27, 2003)

More pro-active stuff. Reviews and suggestions, links. The site can be very helpful when fixing a problem or discussing the merits of something vs something else, but to find out what's out there, you almost have to check out other sites.
  If there was a greater emphasis made on getting people to share their Mac experiences. If someone's tried  a shareware app, what their impressions are. If they've had problems, how they solved it. Maybe answer questions. Maybe someone has a great desk setup and someone else would like to emulate it. There's a little bit of that here and there, but not enough.

  Also, there should be more cross-platform talk. Working with Windows is almost a necessary evil these days and there's plenty to learn about that. But also, how Macs work (and can work better) with other media such as PDAs and Smart Phones.


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## mr. k (Aug 27, 2003)

I think weekly articles published by different members of the board would be cool, they could really generate press for the board and would draw people in through google and word of mouth.


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## Giaguara (Aug 27, 2003)

Nice ideas! More, more! The mods will be not interfering with your creativity on this but for sure, some of the ideas will be tried. I like especially the reviews and problem resolve and article ideas ... but more more more. ..


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## mr. k (Aug 27, 2003)

Free email addresses to all members...
How about a gallery that people actually use!


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## Arden (Aug 27, 2003)

And actually works!

What about a template for making themes that we can submit for consideration?  Just because Apple only gives us the choice of Blue and Graphite does not mean this site can't have more than 2 schemes.


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## mr. k (Aug 27, 2003)

Ok, my #1 suggestion - Have these guys makeover the website.  And apple.com too!!


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## Arden (Aug 27, 2003)

Put in window.status messages for buttons and links within-site.  For example, you could make the status bar say the name of the next and previous threads for those links.


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## twister (Aug 28, 2003)

> _Originally posted by arden _
> *Enable auto-subscription with the quick reply box. *



YES


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## Ricky (Aug 29, 2003)

A lot of your suggestions are actually within the vBulletin code themselves, I believe.  Not easy to change.  
Keep 'em coming, though.    It's always nice to have fresh, new ideas.


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## Arden (Aug 29, 2003)

Well, if the vB code needs to be tweaked to make this site better, then what's a little difficulty on the programmer's part to improve the customer's experience?  I'd be willing to do it if I knew PHP.


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## Arden (Aug 30, 2003)

How about adding a "Post Reply"-style input box for writing our signatures?  That way, we can add colors and styles easily without having to guess at colors, and we can preview our signatures before finalizing them.

Also, what about a link in the thread listings to be able to reply directly to a thread without having to read it?  This would help if, for example, you're the last one to reply to a thread and you want to add something (exactly like I'm doing now).


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## chevy (Sep 9, 2003)

No other ideas ?
Are we so perfect ?


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## Ripcord (Sep 9, 2003)

I believe the forums are too spread out - there are too many forums, and too many overlapping.  Especially when looking for help, it's less useful to post to one of the smaller (but probably more appropriate) forums since they're much less frequented than the others.

For example, I think it's silly to have "The Net: Coding" when there's "Mac OS X Software Programming".  There's not enough seperation there, and not a large enough audience to split off "Network-related coding", particularly with ALL the other "Net" gorups. 

It's silly to have "Apple General" AND "The Cafe" AND "Opinions, Reviews and Open Letters" AND "The Conference Room" AND "???".  I understand that they each have their own functions, but they overlap far too much without enough distinction (or audience) to really be useful.  Instead, it hurts because after failing to build a decent thread, get replies, etc. I'm much less likely to frequent ANY of the forums, and eventually wander off-site.

I don't want the forums to be congested, but I don't think this would be a problem on this site.  

Also,

I've been noticing that when mods move threads, in a lot of cases they fail to leave behind a "moved" message, which is very confusing, especially given the very large number of forums and the occasional "forum-cleaning-happy" mod (not picking on anyone).  Please leave "Moved" messages?


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## Urbansory (Sep 9, 2003)

Hmmm, what the hell is the oval with the arrow next to Profile supposed to be? 

Auto subscriptions would be nice.

How about some type of Macintosh identifiable imagery so we are a Mac community. I could do that, get me some images to work with and I'll spice them up. 

Member desktops, I like to see desktops and i like to show off my creative desktops.

A store to buy mac products would be cool, maybe you can get us a discount, a group discount, VERY COOL.

New logo, my logos take time, but I would consider helping with one, notice i said consider on this one.


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## twister (Sep 9, 2003)

how about fixing my email editions?


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## Ripcord (Sep 9, 2003)

Oh, and let us have (slightly) bigger Av icons =)


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## Arden (Sep 9, 2003)

Urban: Those arrows show the status of the poster.  If it's orange, (s)he is online; if it's blue, (s)he is offline.

And I don't understand why some of the image tags have not been fixed.  So far, only the attachment icon comes to mind.  This theme has been around for several months, and most of the bugs have been worked out; why has this failed inspection?


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## Arden (Sep 10, 2003)

What about including a small, 1-cell tall (since this site uses tables ) message when a post is deleted, or a "Deleted:" message when a thread is deleted?


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## Urbansory (Sep 10, 2003)

O, well it is too big, that line should have a relative size, I don't like it anyway.


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## BoneFill (Sep 10, 2003)

Is there a way to include a "translate post" button... i get mostly anything you say without translation but there are certain words that i don't get and it takes a lot to copy/paste to translate that words... I'm lazy, what else could to say? 

Redesign and working galleries will be cool too... Just don't make it too fancy it will take a lot to load and i guess that we all are here because of the content not the look....


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## Arden (Sep 10, 2003)

It's pretty complicated to write translation software for the Internet, and I doubt Scott is willing or able to do it well on his own.  Try babelfish.altavista.com or just ask us what "Xyz" means.


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## twister (Sep 10, 2003)

i got an email edition!!


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## BoneFill (Sep 11, 2003)

There's no need to write a new translation engine and I'm sure it can be done at least on Vbulletin boards... more info at vBulletin.org and you can see a working version of what i'm talking 'bout at icalledit.com look at the bottom of the thread at that site... 

This hack seems to be a bit tricky to setup but it works and it works with babelfish so all babelfish languages will be available...

I just want you to consider the possibility of adding a thing like this to the board it'll be cool for no-native english speakers... like me... 

THX


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## toast (Sep 11, 2003)

- Send mail to vB. Ask for XHTML/CSS coding.

Mr K., as StopDesign and Jeffrey Zeldman are now employed by Apple, they won't be able to design the site for us []. But we could ask Dave Shea or Owen Briggs [].

- I still us the Beige theme because it's nicer: nicer images, no weird drop shadows, larger space on screen, usw.

- Hot chicks, hot chicks, hot chicks. Did I mention hot chicks ?


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## ScottW (Sep 11, 2003)

We have plans in the works to get rid of the current THEMES, emphasis on both themes. 

Scott


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## Giaguara (Sep 11, 2003)

Bonefill, the babelfish translations have one bad side. Try to write something in spanish, babelfish it to english, and then babelfish it back to spanish. See what happened? As they translate word by word, not by frase, expression or sense, I'd be a bit cautious .. but never seen that trick incorporated to a vB before. hmm


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## Randman (Sep 11, 2003)

Hey, we could use that translate function and then only Herve/Tree/Elektro would be the only ones that people could understand.


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## Giaguara (Sep 11, 2003)

Like THIS or THIS?


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## twister (Sep 11, 2003)

i personally think we change themes to much.  pick one and stick with it.


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## ScottW (Sep 11, 2003)

Change is good.


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## BoneFill (Sep 11, 2003)

LOL G you're right but for what reason you want to translate and then re-translate it all again?... and that will only affect if you want to translate what you're posting there's where i didn't made myself clear i guess... i think it will be useful for reading not for posting...

On a different note, could we have a nice icon (favicon) for this site?  casue the vB icon has nothing to do in a Mac OS X site...


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## Quicksilver (Sep 11, 2003)

there is a Mac OS X based graphics pack for this site that would be really cool for the images....


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## edX (Sep 11, 2003)

quicksilver - this has been a common suggestion thru the years. but...

1) we''re not apple
2)we don't want to be confused as being part of apple
3)hence we avoid things that immitate apple's style and appearance. 

keeps us out of any ill feelings on apple's part. understand?


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## dlloyd (Sep 11, 2003)

edX, couldn't it be a user-choose-able option with the default being something else? That would avoid all but #4.
quicksilver, where is this theme?!


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## Arden (Sep 11, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Mr. Site Creator_
> *Change is good.*


 Oh really?


> _Posted earlier by El Creator Del Sito_
> *We have plans in the works to get rid of the current THEMES, emphasis on both themes.*


 I think you would beg to differ.

I think we should have user-submitted themes, then we the ppl [sic] can vote on which we'd like the option of having.  And an Aqua theme would be alright if you didn't make it the default, IMO.


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## Giaguara (Sep 11, 2003)

Bonefill, what I suggested about the translating on Babelfish, and re-translating the same thing back is only to show how it changes. You understand both English and Spanish, so you'd see how it changes on 1 translation, then on the 2nd. Think then a user who is not fluent - if you translate a text to another language it looks bad, especially if the logic of the language is different. Thus, if I who don't speak any German or Japanese, think in Italian, Spanish or English and translate THAT to German or Japanese, it will be very difficult to understand. Some friends babelfished me emails trying to make me think they speak Italian. But as they didn't, it was painful to read. Everything is on the wrong way. but apparently word by word it can be correct - with a lot of expressions and words translated wrong. If you think and write in German and babelfish it in English, it will look very hervèish. The verbs are weird and in the wrong places, and so on.


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## Arden (Sep 12, 2003)

Herveish... LOL


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## toast (Sep 12, 2003)

Getting rid of themes, why not. Getting rid of useless graphics would be cool too.


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## Orbit (Sep 25, 2003)

allow the img tags in peoples sigs and have an option to turn it off if you dont wont to wait for them to load


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## Arden (Sep 25, 2003)

We've actually been through that before, and most people are against it.  Ask Habilis.


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## edX (Sep 25, 2003)

image tags are not going to happen. like arden said, this has been discussed and dismissed previously.


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## Arden (Sep 25, 2003)

I think there should be additional search options, like to search for all posts over X posts long or all posts created by member Y.


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## edX (Sep 25, 2003)

search by member's posts is already an option arden. just how often do you bother to use search, huh?


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## Arden (Sep 25, 2003)

All the time, as a matter of fact.  I actually misprinted there: I meant search for all *threads* created by a member, so for instance I could see how many threads I've created, or Androo, or you, or whatever.  Sorry about that.


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## Arden (Sep 25, 2003)

Did I mention this already?

What about an option to post to a thread without viewing it?  This can be useful if you already read it but didn't post, or if you're the last poster and you want to add something new.


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## edX (Sep 25, 2003)

last suggestion is just plain an extravagance for laziness.  just go to the thread and post reply. no need to go to last read post or anything. 

as for viewing all somebody's posts - go to thier profile and click on the link to view all posts by this member. 

the purpose of this thread was not to ask for more things for scott to have to code into the vb setup. it was to ask what we can do to stimulate more interest, to moderate better, to make coming here more enjoyable. it's not about the physical gizmos of the site, it's  supposed to be about the intangibles that the members and moderators can contribute to the site.

and at this point, my suggestion is to limit arden to 10 posts a day.


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## ScottW (Sep 27, 2003)

arden,

This is not the place to discuss features to be added to vBulletin software. Your best bet would be to open some discussions over at http://www.vbulletin.com.


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## Arden (Sep 27, 2003)

Okay, thanks.  I had made those suggestions before I went and read all about bulletin software, and when G said suggestions to make this site better, I thought it meant anything goes.  I can't really think of anything along the lines of what Ed's saying.

BTW, vB 2.3.2 is out... you might consider upgrading.  Plus, version 3 is at beta 7, so I'm sure you'll go full up when it becomes final.  I like the "Similar Threads" feature of 3.


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## chevy (Sep 29, 2003)

That's so simple... in French we name that "YAKA"... some bosses are know for that: when you have a problem they tell you: "just" find another solution !


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## Arden (Sep 30, 2003)

Um, wrong thread?


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## dlloyd (Oct 12, 2003)

Well, one thing I've been thinking about for awhile:
Could we migrate to Invision Powerboard? The speed of that thing is amazing. Just go visit Macfora to see what I mean. Also, it is just much cleaner .
It wouldn't be a MAJOR deal, because there are porters available for Invision Powerboard that would transfer all the MySQL data over and everything.
I think personally the Macfora looks a lot better than this site, however I like all the people here


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## tree (Oct 12, 2003)

I would make a forum "Train of thought".::love::


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## dlloyd (Oct 12, 2003)

What, you mean like a wiki?
I think that has been discussed and rejected before.


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## cogito (Nov 5, 2003)

expand.  Put a cool OSX Utilities/Hacks software section.  Also maybe a case gallery and or Desktop Gallery to give us a place to show off out custom rigs.  Im totally thinking like a total Mod archive with themes and desktop pics and cool stuff that all nerds like.  More than just message boards would be sweet.  Consider keeping a apple news section like slashdot or wired so we only have to go to one site when we want to check the news and our recent posts.


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## Alex (Nov 5, 2003)

We are more than just message boards =D
www.macosx.com


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## Arden (Nov 6, 2003)

Yeah, but not much more. 

Dlloyd, I think with vB 3 you'll be reconsidering the desire to change to IPB...


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## edX (Nov 6, 2003)

you also might notice that the gallery (link at the very top of page above logo) is working again. feel free to share desktops you create.   just don't go posting stuff you happen to find on the internet. that has never been what our gallery is about. if you don't own it, don't share it.


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## Randman (Nov 6, 2003)

News, Rumors and Discussion is pretty catch-all. Could it be broken down into something a little more user-friendly? Maybe make it Apple News, the rumors and discussion will follow.
  Also, how about the mods having a roundtable discussion on certain issues from time to time. Pick posters (2 to 6) who seem to know their stuff and let them go at it over topics such as high-end iBooks vs low-end PBs, too early to move to Panther? G5 vs dual G4, etc? Then open it up for comments from everyone else. Include voting so people can have a voice in that way as well.
  Also, have more DIY threads. Tap the knowledge base here like ipodlounge.com does for the iPod. Have people contribute articles or tips of the day on various function of the Mac world. Make it more pro-active and less reactive (discussing news, cafe talk, problem-fixing).


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## Arden (Nov 9, 2003)

News, Rumors and Discussion was lumped together during the Great Switch, as I will now be calling it.  I don't think they're going to go back to splitting it up again.

I do like your second suggestion, though.


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## mr. k (Nov 9, 2003)

Randman, I think that the whole discussion idea would be good - but thats up to those all might modders.  Also, I think that with the new front page people can start publishing articles (maybe why I bought a 12" powerbook over a 12" iBook, how to set up x11 on panther, etc) to grow the community.  If you haven't already surf over to macosx.com -- it's not just a /forums redirect anymore.  The site it growing!


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## Arden (Nov 11, 2003)

Yeah, there's a little more to this site now than just a forum.  I posted a review of my Tungsten E up there, you might want to do something similar.

I think someone tried something like that roundtable discussion idea and it didn't last very long, as many discussions on this board do or do not.


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## porteous (Nov 17, 2003)

I think I'm probably stating the obvious in saying that most people, including me, appreciate the new look and feel to the forum. A lot of work has obviously gone into it.

One slight quibble (please forgive me if this has been mentioned already and answered - I don't have time to trwal through all the previous posts): the type size of postings (and this reply) is rather large and cannot be reduced - certainly not on the Windows PC I'm obliged to use to view this site from work.

That might suit some people, and I'm aware that you can't please all the people.... But you did ask!


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## Arden (Nov 19, 2003)

porteous said:
			
		

> I think I'm probably stating the obvious in saying that most people, including me, appreciate the new look and feel to the forum. A lot of work has obviously gone into it.
> 
> One slight quibble (please forgive me if this has been mentioned already and answered - I don't have time to trwal through all the previous posts): the type size of postings (and this reply) is rather large and cannot be reduced - certainly not on the Windows PC I'm obliged to use to view this site from work.
> 
> That might suit some people, and I'm aware that you can't please all the people.... But you did ask!


 The site was designed with Safari in mind, which, being a Mac browser, displays text smaller on average than Windows browsers.  So I can see where you're coming from with that.

Isn't there a thing in the menu bar or controls or whatever to let you decrease the size of browser text?

I think that would be cool, though, to be able to choose between larger text and smaller text, if vB allows it.


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