Board Update - Feedback Required!

[Mac]

I need everyone to read this!

I have been putting off updating and upgrading my website for too long and now I am going to do it.

Hopefully from tomorrow, or over next week (But hopefully tomorrow.) I am going to update the board to the latest version of pbpBB, fix as many bugs as I can and bring this site up to scratch.

BUT

As this is a website dedicated to a close community of anime fans and friends, what I need is help.

Help, because I want to put as much stuff onto this website as possible to make it the best possible, and I can only do that if I can put on what people who use this site want.

For now, this is a short, non-exhaustive list of what I plan to do:

* Update the website forum to phpbb 2.0.23 or phpbb3.0.0
* Fix all forum bugs, such as PM errors, time errors, dead post pages, lag, etc.
* Update the RPG with a newer and completed version.
* Update or re-code the effects store to make it work (if possible)
* Update the FrontPage at the very least, at the very most with a full new theme and layout.
* If required, update the forum with a new, fresh layout.
* Update the forum registration with stronger anti-bot protection

What I need next, is as many suggestions as possible by everyone that comes here for what they want to see.

I want as many suggestions as possible, of everything you want to see, and providing it can be done I will try my best to put it up. It can be anything for example:

A Journals section
A image gallery (a better gallery than the current photo gallery.)
New forums, forum section layout.
A newer, updated shoutbox.

I've thought of a few other things, such as a showcase for fanart and fanfiction on the homepage and possibly a downloads section for anime soundtracks and FMV / AMV clips. But I need to know if it's a good idea.

etc. etc.

But firstly, I need help in making a decision. I want to update the board, but the question I have is to which version? the lastest verion of phpbb2 or the newest version, phpbb3?

I ask this because:

phpbb2 has more mod functionality and I can be more certain that things will work.
phpbb3 has more user-friendly features, and also looks a lot nicer, but I'm unsure if mods work on it.

If everybody is happy with how the forum 'looks' right now (in terms of layout) then I will simply update to the latest version of phpbb2. However if everyone wants a newer look I will try phpbb3.

But I am only going to do what everyone here wants.

So Please post your suggestions now!

[Soi Fon]

I suggest phpbb2. I'm not sure how new phpbb3 is, if it's anything like zetaboards, then it's not very flexible. It would probably have a lot of bugs that would need working out.

[Dark Shadow]

I like the layout, but, we do need to update the first page, maybe erasing and re posting it with new images and possible layouts with new info, unlocking the thread that is closed... anime or manga chat?... that one.

I offered in the shout box, but, since I also can't find time to code for free, it'll have to be on certain days and charging only for what is completed....

[Mac]

That's understandable Dyne.

I doubt it being very difficult to change the frontpage image and stuff but I was hoping to get a whole new frontpage with extra features.

I'll need to work on that though.

[frank]

You already have my suggestions in my PM.

edit in

but in the event that they are lost, this is what I posted in Vampie's thread and forwarded on to you, along with that other stuff.


But you need to do some things to attract gamers.

You need to do some things to attract RPers.

You need to do some things to attract artists.

You need to do some things to attract the more serious-minded.

You definitely need to do some things to attract totally anime-oriented members--like GG & Takai & Dyne.

You need to re-vamp the front page.

You need to get the little glitches out that are so frustrating.

You need to check the RPG mod and see if it is, isn't working and if FAQ needs installing, install it! Don't blame it on some mysterious entity out there.

You need to re-install the Special Effects. Fix the old, or if its still sick from viruses, put in a new program.

You need to install more visible smilies.

You need to set up a directory that will let you search for a specific member by name. Like Gaia has and some other sites: LJ, myspace, hi5, etc

You need to install a really efiicient bot recognition filter.

You need to work with people like Hara and Keated who are smart, know their way around the Net, and are techincally proficient.

You need to find some people that can help Mac with the coding.

You need to make sure, as much as possible, that continued operation of the site won't be interrupted for anything as stupid as not paying a bill or administrative power struggles.


on php I can't offer which might be better, because as everyone knows, I do well to just copy and paste. Here the voices of members like Soi Fon, Keated, and site owners or webmasters might be helpful.

[Takai]

I don't think anime image gallery is a good idea, UNLESS you are willing to make it into categories by anime/manga titles, and then separate those categories into fanart vs. official art. Because otherwise it'll be a mess equal to what google gives you if you enter "anime" in the image search. Though I'm afraid it might turn into a mess either way -.-

Definitely need to do something about the anime/manga reviews section, so people have a place to ask for suggestions on what to watch and stuff. And it's much easier to choose something to watch or read by reading the reviews of fellow anime lovers, not the official info on ANN or AniDB. Also, for the reviews, I think there should ba a template that everyone who writes reviews should follow. Otherwise it'll get confusing.

Maybe the Anime/Manga section needs to be expanded. I mean, it's an anime forum or what? ^^; We have so many different sections for general discussion and spam, but we only have anime and manga chat? Two sections out of the entire anime forum are actually dedicated to anime and manga. Maybe anime/manga fanart should be brought out of the creativity center and be put under anime and manga; i mean, separating it from the other art.
You might also want to do a separate section for Anime and manga trivia, so it's not with all the other stuff.
Also, how about anime news? I know that the information can be found on sites like ANN, but maybe we should have a section here too that would have a general overview. Like, Vampire Knight anime is finally coming out in like 4 days, and it's pretty big because the manga is popular. I mean posting this kind of stuff could be kinda cool. Or other popular stuff, like notifications when new episodes of popular ongoing series come out. Etc.

That's all for now. Hope it helped.

--edit--

I'm still thinking about anime games idea. I don't know how that would work out, but we should try. It just shouldn't be in anime chat section because it might get spam-ish. Maybe anime/manga games and trivia can be thrown together into one section to see how it'll go.

--edit2--

Also, how about a section somewhere in the anime/manga where people can discuss ongoing series? I mean a completely separate section from general anime/manga chat. So for example, the new episodes can be discussed there by people who actually watch the series. So people who don't watch it will not stumble upon any spoiler-ish information. Because, we all know it, hardly anyone marks their spoilers, and sometimes even minor spoilers count. Of course, discussion of ongoing anime should be separated from discussion of ongoing manga, because manga is way ahead and we don't want to ruin it for anime watchers only.

[Mac]

-nod- noted frank.

@ Takai - I was intending to do it exactly the way you feel it should be - ordered into anime / manga / fan art, etc. I've seen this done on other websites myself and it's quite popular.

And I have been thinking of heavily expanding the anime section. It depends solely on the number of members the site may eventually get but if what I plan works and the site begins to expand again so will the anime forums. It may well end up I will have to separate the forums into forums dedicated to certain types of anime/manga (i.e. space animes, romance animes, etc.)

On the subject of the reviews, well when I first came here Hiryuu wrote the reviews O_o I actually don't know at all how that works. Is it okay if I talk to you on MSN about that?

___

Also I've decided to go for phpbb3. Soi Fon was concerned about the security but it's been out quite a while and is apparently the best choice. Of course I'm making a backup of the site, so that if anything doesn't work I can go to an earlier version. I'm pretty sure the stuff we all know here - such as the custom title mod - will be implementable on phpbb3.

><

edit

@ Takai - there is a [spoiler] tag code for phpbb3. O_o so either way.. ^^;

[Takai]

@Mac.
There really isn't a one specific rule to write reviews. I'll explain to you on MSN what I mean about the template.
Spoiler tags are still dangerous, because they're tempting :P But I'd like to hear what other people think about a separate section for ongoing stuff.
Hmm. I don't think I agree with you on separating by genres. Most anime go under more than one category. I mean, you can't even separate stuff like Sports, because it might also fall under School or even Romance category. It's nearly impossible to be accurate with this kind of stuff. And if you make too many of those categories, people might start posting into where >they< think a certain anime belongs, while some of the categories will remain completely empty. That's what I think though. It never hurts to try.

[Mac]

@Mac.
There really isn't a one specific rule to write reviews. I'll explain to you on MSN what I mean about the template.
Spoiler tags are still dangerous, because they're tempting :P But I'd like to hear what other people think about a separate section for ongoing stuff.
Hmm. I don't think I agree with you on separating by genres. Most anime go under more than one category. I mean, you can't even separate stuff like Sports, because it might also fall under School or even Romance category. It's nearly impossible to be accurate with this kind of stuff. And if you make too many of those categories, people might start posting into where >they< think a certain anime belongs, while some of the categories will remain completely empty. That's what I think though. It never hurts to try.Hm. well you're the master, I just didn't quite understand it perfectly I guess.

sorry.

[Mac]

@Mac.
There really isn't a one specific rule to write reviews. I'll explain to you on MSN what I mean about the template.
Spoiler tags are still dangerous, because they're tempting :P But I'd like to hear what other people think about a separate section for ongoing stuff.
Hmm. I don't think I agree with you on separating by genres. Most anime go under more than one category. I mean, you can't even separate stuff like Sports, because it might also fall under School or even Romance category. It's nearly impossible to be accurate with this kind of stuff. And if you make too many of those categories, people might start posting into where >they< think a certain anime belongs, while some of the categories will remain completely empty. That's what I think though. It never hurts to try.Hm. well you're the master, I just didn't quite understand it perfectly I guess.

sorry.

[Lady Sano]

I like the idea of the new image gallery and downloads n.n
And I think the latest pbpBB2 is fine ahaha

[Kalika]

I would have posted back to this sooner, but I think Asuka ate all my account information. :lol1:

Thanks, Mac for helping me be able to log back on.

Everything that all of you have done so far is great!

I'm not sure what I could add that hasn't already been done or from what I hear isn't going to be done.