TWG/Forum Improvements

[Chimera]

Um...is Bob someone I should know? Or Spriggan in disguise?

[Chimera]

Okay, you all want a comment about TWG improvements...

I think the new TWG should be in purple and mauve and have a whole section devoted to pictures of me... jk.  

Actually, one thing I've wondered about is if there is any way for the site to update itself? I always have to click on a link for it to update. I don't know enough about website design, but other sites update automatically, don't they? And I also liked the suggestion that someone made sometime about there being something that would show when you got a new PM (sorry about being so vague--someone sometime something  ). I always have to remember the number of PMs I had last and often I forget to even look at it. Many times I haven't realized that I have a new PM until someone posts on a thread "Chimera, check your PMs." It be nice if new PMs were obvious, like in your email. So those are my real suggestions, and now this thread hasn't been bumped in vain.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

please no more conversation about what was right or wrong to post in this thread, it's a business thread, and the point has been made.

when you say "update itself" do you mean refresh in your browser? Just hit "refresh" then it's not taking up bandwidth when you're not using it. As for the PMs, I rarely (if ever) use them, since email and IM are much more efficient, but we have discussed how the link to your own PMs is too obscure. It'd also be nice if it let you see the PMs you had SENT, so you could remember where a conversation was coming from.

[Chimera]

See, I know so little about web lingo that I don't even know how to describe myself and what I mean by "udating itself". I will attempt to, though. This is the first forum I've been to, and when I first came to the site I found it interesting that if I wanted the site to be current, I had to hit refresh--I'd never seen a site like that before. Perhaps it is common for forums where people are posting constantly--I don't know. But it has been on my mind for awhile so I thought I'd throw it out. Really, though, it's not a big deal--like you said, e, I can hit refresh or I just click on a section and then click on home and it refreshes the page. The blue burst that indidcate a new post are helpful--definitely keep a type of those in the new site.

And e what you said about the PMs is pretty much all that would need to be done. I don't use it much either, but it is a nice little feature that could be made more clear.

[Entsuropi]

I read that as 'the link to your pm's is too obscene'.

Which was a lot more exciting than what he actually said.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I am filled with lies and deceit.

[Archon]

Hey SE, you can see what PM's you sent. Check your outbox. When you click on "Your instant messages" and it takes you to the next screen, the link is right above where incoming messages would be.

[Spriggan]

Um...is Bob someone I should know? Or Spriggan in disguise?

it was me, I had put away my laptop and was waiting to leave work (my replacement was late, as usual) so I was using one of the work computers.

As for Chimera's update suggestion.  It's quite easy, most scripting (javascript or PHP) can do it, basically you're telling the browser to hit the refresh button every set amount of time (generally 5-10 minutes).  I personally really find it annoying since they tend to update (and thusly reload) while I'm reading something.  Yahoo news is an example of this.  If you want something where it would update in real time that's a lot more complicated and not anything we could even do on TWG with how our server is set up and would require everyone who wanted to use our forums to download a program (a java applet at the very least or the forum would have to be in Flash).  I can't actually think of any site like this, there's probably a few forums that do but they'd more be concept things then actual full community.

The new forum's PM features are pretty standard with what's popular in current Forums (our site's forum is several years old so missing some of these things) and the PM notice is more prominent.  For one you can set it so you receive and e-mail when you get one (good for those of you that don't want to give out their actual e-mail but still want forum members to be able to contact you) or you could set it so you receive a pop-up window notice (I think) when you get one.  Personally I'm with SE, everyone here has easy access to my e-mail so why bother with a clunky PM system?  But I know others use it so we'll be making sure it's easier and more useful.

Something like this could be added to TWG 4.0 if I feel like it, though it would have to be optional since I know I wouldn't be the only one who would get annoyed by it.  But this isn't the place for this type of discussion since it's been superseded by the TWG 4.0 board.  Basically if you have any suggestions that EUOL himself could easly (ie little or no coding at all) add then make it here, anything else goes into TWG 4.0, just make a new thread if there isn't one that suits your need.

[Eric James Stone]

Perhaps it would be a good idea to create a board where people could put topics about conventions, workshops, etc.

[Tage]

Theoretically, the Writing Group forum is the proper place for that. At least, that's what I've understood it to be for.

[Eric James Stone]

You know, I had completely ignored that forum because its categorization under Alternate Realities and its description did not make me think it was a general forum about writing.

[Marche100]

heres a suggestion. We have a writing board here but no art one. I think we should have one to share artistic abilitys and brag.

[Spriggan]

That's an option.  For now though you could place art related things in Webcomics, that's close enough.

[Tage]

An "art" board would be a little bit like an oekaki, which is fine in theory, but the last site I installed an oekaki for had major problems with it. If it's just art discussion, well, I don't see an issue with creating a forum for it if people want it.

[Spriggan]

I wasn't thinking of an Oekaki, though I don't think we need on of those they cause too much of a problem with keeping things moderated.