Big Changes Afoot

Important Message: The layout of Paradoxdruid.com may be changing soon, to more of a Forum then a blog.

Please, even if you’re a lurker, go to the trial site paradoxdruid.com/forum/ and make your opinion known, at least on the poll.

The new site would solve these problems/add these features, among other things:
* Visual notification of new replies to posts, for each user
* User customability- a stored signature, avatar picture, personal details, whatever
* More robust database backend
* New options, like Polls and such
* All around more complete solution

As you can tell, I think it would be a good move. But this is our site (it would be pretty boring if only I posted here, eh?), so I really want all of your opinions as well.

And hey, maybe this will provide incentive for some of you lurkers to start posting. 🙂

12 Responses to “Big Changes Afoot”

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Um. I hate forums. A lot. The format makes me crazy. I don’t like the pictures off to the side. Especially if the pictures are actually animations. I also hate the long quotations that people attach that show up every, single time they post. It seems really pointless. If I ever click on a link from a search that takes me to a forum, I immediately retreat. I think they’re confusing and poorly set up. However, I’m not the most frequent poster to the site and I suspect, looking at the poll at least, that most people like the new format. So, please switch over if you think that would be best. Just don’t expect to see me around so much. 🙂 (Also, since I feel put off enough not to register to the forum this evening, just know that if I ever do sign in, I would vote for “Ugh. I hate it. Pass and let’s get back to the blog.”)

Again, though, please don’t base it all on me . . . move if you so desire.

ShortSpeedFreak - October 20th, 2004 at 10:11 pm

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Ever think it might be good for you to try new things and try to break through any existing conservative barriers in your belief systems? 🙂
Just a thought. (Don’t let the teasing get to you too much, really.)

But I am sorry you don’t like it… maybe all of us can compromise, somehow..

Teisha - October 20th, 2004 at 10:55 pm

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how is does using a forum vs a blog constitute being conservative OR part of a belief system?

mallorn - October 21st, 2004 at 11:14 am

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I was mainly teasing about saying “_belief_ system.” What I basically meant was that Druid is trying to _progress_ to using a new and different forum/communication system. This movement is going against _conserving_ the existing blog/system to try and incorporate the suggestions and address the complaints that had been made about it. It is a change (the opposite of conservation). Sorry if my quasi-political jargon was at all offensive.. I only really meant to tease.

Teisha - October 21st, 2004 at 11:59 am

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I agree with ShortSpeedFreak on this one. We have a small intimate group of people who regularly contribute. I think this (blog style) lends itself better to the small group. It is less cumbersome. Animated icons also annoy me. Nifty the first cycle through, okay the second cycle, after the 5th or 6th cycle it become obnoxious.

Stephen - October 21st, 2004 at 2:16 pm

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Talk about one point polarizing the issue! I changed my icon to non-animated, enough already. 😛 Try looking at the format again with an unbiased eye, there’s more there than animations! *chuckles*

That said, I do understand your concern about the loss of intimacy. I’m working on ways to compromise, combining the best features of both.

Thanks again for your input– I love to see people posting on our site. 🙂

Paradoxdruid - October 21st, 2004 at 2:52 pm

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I’ve looked at the forum again. I could probably be reluctantly persuaded to sometimes post to them . . . I just don’t like the format as much. I guess I’m just a minimalist at heart. I like black text on white background. Sometimes some pictures or smiley faces. But the forum feels too “busy” to me. And I’ve never liked the way the topics are displayed.

ShortSpeedFreak - October 21st, 2004 at 5:33 pm

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Eh whichever

Gilvoro - October 21st, 2004 at 10:25 pm

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Well, ShortSpeedFreak and Stephen, you might get your wish for the status quo… the new phpBB board seems messed up today, after no changes, and I don’t know how to diagnose the problem. Urrgh.

*yawns* Ah well, I can dink around with it later.

Paradoxdruid - October 23rd, 2004 at 12:34 pm

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Or maybe I should wait half a day, because the service department at my Hosting company is staffed by gods who can fix anything. Time will tell. 😉

Paradoxdruid - October 23rd, 2004 at 6:47 pm

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One thing that probably wouldn’t be an issue for most other people, but I noticed that it was a bit more of a pain to write my descriptions of the pictures on the forum. I like the way I can insert the pictures into a post with just a couple clicks. I may not have figured out how, but I wasn’t able to find a way to put the pictures in without having to type out the URL for the coding.

Other than that, I’m mostly neutral, though I slightly prefer the format of this section, rather than the forum.

mcmillan - October 24th, 2004 at 9:29 am

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So, I went back and looked at the forum some more. I don’t like that there are multiple pages of responses. I like the blog-setting with a single page that you can scroll around on. I also dislike (as poorly explained before) that you can only see the title of the post and not the little intro. I don’t like posts with “catchy” titles on forums that don’t give any information. I tend to get pissed off and ignore them. I’d like to know what I’m getting into before wasting my time. The blog allows catchy titles and actual information. Also, unlike Mallorn, I like things to be displayed chronologically, not in order of popularity or recent postings. It drives me crazy when a topic isn’t where I left it, as it were.

ShortSpeedFreak - October 23rd, 2004 at 11:42 pm

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