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- This topic has 15 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 17 years, 2 months ago by MrOats.
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January 29, 2007 at 2:33 pm #26292sarahtownyMember
I was about to post this in the suggestion box, but then remembered I had the staff badge on at the moment, so it would have looked a bit daft. So I decided to post it here. You lucky things you! :p
As you know I have been away for a little while. In that time I have joined a few sites (don’t worry nothing to do with IM, not a traitor honest).
Anyway, I noticed in these other sites little things that made me feel very welcome.
They are small but made a difference to my time whilst there. Here are a few examples:
1. When you log off bbb, you get a box that says ‘All cookies cleared’, then a link to view the last page you visited and a link to the forum main page. Instead of saying all cookies cleared (like who cares!). Why not say ‘Thanks for visiting bigblueball and come back soon’.
2. If someone gives you a rep point then you get a message telling you so. Nothing to elaborate just a little note informing you and thanking you for your input. On a site I visit, if that happens you get some really funny messages like ‘your fame is extending to the outside world, keep it up!’
3. If a member of staff amends one of your posts, tell the person why! I saw on one of mine, that there was a section that should have given me a reason why but it was not completed. Mmmh that does not give you a welcome feeling at all! I worked out why after a while mind you, but maybe the average member might not. It just could be worded better that’s all, I found it a bit abrupt.
4. Clear down the birthday section, it’s about 3000 pages long now and takes me about three days to open it up. (In fact I can do that while I am here if its agreed).
5. If someone posts a good topic and there is over 10 responses they get an automatic rep point.
6. We have a buddy list, it does not seem to do anything, or is it me? On private messages when you are composing a message, it would be great if that list was shown so I could just to click on the name or names. Would be cool if someone added you to their buddy list, you got an email or message on the site to let you know. If I was new and people did add me, I think it would make me feel a part of the community and therefore, come back for more!
As you can see there is nothing major but just little tweaks that would make the place seem just that little bit fun and welcoming.
January 30, 2007 at 2:25 am #157545OreoMemberThose are excellent suggestions Sarah…thank you so much for posting…I think everyone could learn a thing or two from some of the things we can start now and the others (like “Thank you for visiting”…those are great too…but that’s up to “The BigBlueBall” himself ๐ )
February 14, 2007 at 5:40 am #157543detn8rParticipantQuote:4. Clear down the birthday section, it’s about 3000 pages long now and takes me about three days to open it up. (In fact I can do that while I am here if its agreed).I agree… the thread is dating back a few years. It definitely could use a good car wash ๐
February 14, 2007 at 7:26 am #157540Jeff HesterKeymasterdetn8r;214880 wrote:I agree… the thread is dating back a few years. It definitely could use a good car wash ๐Don’t erase it! Start a brand-new birthday thread, then lock the old one after one last reply with a link to the new thread.
February 15, 2007 at 2:56 am #157554MrOatsMemberJeff;214883 wrote:Don’t erase it! Start a brand-new birthday thread, then lock the old one after one last reply with a link to the new thread.Good idea,
Sarah, great suggestions! I really like the “rep point for 10+ replies on topic”, the goodbye message, and the buddy list ideas.
February 17, 2007 at 12:19 pm #157548sarahtownyMemberJeff;214883 wrote:Don’t erase it! Start a brand-new birthday thread, then lock the old one after one last reply with a link to the new thread.Done ๐
February 17, 2007 at 5:10 pm #157553NessaParticipant@sarahtowny 214990 wrote:
Done ๐
Don’t forget to add the link to the new Happy Birthday thread in the old Happy Birthday thread! (since some people may look at old one first)
Other than that, all looks great!
February 17, 2007 at 5:12 pm #157546SpikeMemberWait, I’m confused. Why did we make a new thread? The forums should only load 20 posts at a time, so the load time wouldn’t be any longer than any other thread.
February 17, 2007 at 9:28 pm #157549sarahtownyMemberhatedjealousy;214994 wrote:Don’t forget to add the link to the new Happy Birthday thread in the old Happy Birthday thread! (since some people may look at old one first)Other than that, all looks great!
Ahhh good thinking! Will go do that now:0)
February 19, 2007 at 5:52 am #157541Jeff HesterKeymasterSarah, thanks again for the suggestions. Here’s my point-by-point response.
sarahtowny;214250 wrote:1. When you log off bbb, you get a box that says ‘All cookies cleared’, then a link to view the last page you visited and a link to the forum main page. Instead of saying all cookies cleared (like who cares!). Why not say ‘Thanks for visiting bigblueball and come back soon’.Logging off is not the same as leaving BBB. The message your suggesting is misleading and confusing. People generally log off specifically because they want to clear their cookies. Personally, on my own PC I never log off, and I suspect most people do the same.
But I agree that the message “All cookies cleared!” is not warm-and-fuzzy. I’ve changed it to “Thanks for visiting BigBlueBall! You are now logged off, and all cookies have been cleared. You can continue to browse BigBlueBall, but to post you will need to login again.”
sarahtowny;214250 wrote:2. If someone gives you a rep point then you get a message telling you so. Nothing to elaborate just a little note informing you and thanking you for your input. On a site I visit, if that happens you get some really funny messages like ‘your fame is extending to the outside world, keep it up!’This message is a single phrase in the database. It currently says “Thanks for adding Reputation to this user. May you be lucky enough to receive the same Reputation back in turn.”
I’m all for creating a better, funnier message, but there can be only one. We could change it periodically, but there is no facility to create rotating messages. Any suggestions on a better, more entertaining wording?
sarahtowny;214250 wrote:3. If a member of staff amends one of your posts, tell the person why! I saw on one of mine, that there was a section that should have given me a reason why but it was not completed. Mmmh that does not give you a welcome feeling at all! I worked out why after a while mind you, but maybe the average member might not. It just could be worded better that’s all, I found it a bit abrupt.This is our policy, however if someone edits a title using the AJAX functionality (where you just click the title and make a change) you don’t get a chance to add a note (and that would defeat the whole “quick-and-easy” premise behind the AJAX functionality, anyway). So that should be the only exception. As a reminder to the entire team, if you edit the body of a post, please leave a reason.
sarahtowny;214250 wrote:4. Clear down the birthday section, it’s about 3000 pages long now and takes me about three days to open it up. (In fact I can do that while I am here if its agreed).We already covered this one. Thanks for setting up a fresh topic, Sarah.
sarahtowny;214250 wrote:5. If someone posts a good topic and there is over 10 responses they get an automatic rep point.There are two problems with this. First, it’s not configurable in vBulletin. But even if it was, just because someone gets 10 responses, that doesn’t make it a good topic. I would prefer to leave the “manual” point system, encouraging and reinforcing it’s use by using it ourselves.
sarahtowny;214250 wrote:6. We have a buddy list, it does not seem to do anything, or is it me? On private messages when you are composing a message, it would be great if that list was shown so I could just to click on the name or names. Would be cool if someone added you to their buddy list, you got an email or message on the site to let you know. If I was new and people did add me, I think it would make me feel a part of the community and therefore, come back for more!The buddy list is of limited value, and I’m not sure it was ever meant to do what you’re suggesting (something akin to contacts on Myspace?). What it does do is allow you to open a popup window with your buddies listed. If they are on BBB, you’ll see that indicated. You can click their name to start a PM to them. There is no email notification if you are added, nor is this an option.
I know this may sound weird coming from me, but a website about instant messaging does not make a good community. Most people who come here are looking for help with specific technical problems, not to make new friends.
I like building community and I like the sense of belonging that a “regular” has, and I’m not trying to discourage that. But the reality is, the number one objective should be improving the content of the site. This includes news stories, IM info, tutorials, tips, tricks, reference, and of course, support through the forums.
Having said that, if we still want to expand the social network aspect of BBB, we may want to take a look at a system that integrates with vBulletin and provides the kind of functionality you suggested, plus a lot more. Check out Zoints.
February 19, 2007 at 6:28 am #157544detn8rParticipantooo… I really REALLY REALLY like Zoints!
February 19, 2007 at 2:22 pm #157551princeGParticipant“May you be lucky enough to receive the same Reputation back in turn.”
Lucky is definitely not the most suitable word here as you dont really need luck on your side to get rep back, but post something of good quality or entertaining etc. ๐
February 19, 2007 at 6:27 pm #157550sarahtownyMemberprinceG;215088 wrote:“May you be lucky enough to receive the same Reputation back in turn.”Lucky is definitely not the most suitable word here as you don’t really need luck on your side to get rep back, but post something of good quality or entertaining etc. ๐
Yeah something like “Thanks for adding some reputation, you must have really enjoyed that post. We hope you will keep on posting and some day you might post something interesting, if you haven’t had one yet your posts must be really dull so keep trying” Haha just kidding ๐
Mmh ok back out of silly mood, what about “Thanks for adding some rep points, we hope you keep posting and you will get rep backs real soon” Or something like that anyway …
February 20, 2007 at 3:15 am #157547SpikeMemberZoints seems to me like it would be more trouble than its worth. I say we continue to work on the CMS and other things making this site better and more content-ful (is that a word?). We’re losing member appeal, and if this site is focused on instant messaging support like Jeff just said, then we aren’t going to have any use for this Zoints thing if nobody’s going to use it. I know I wouldn’t use it, I’m not a ‘social networking’ kinda guy.
February 21, 2007 at 3:56 am #157552MrEggsaladParticipantI say we get the users back then think more about Zoints. I think it’s fine, we’d have some fun with it and it would add a new spin to BBB. But first things first is to get our userbase back, because without that there won’t be much of a network to be social on.
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