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Author Topic: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site  (Read 23564 times)

Ballreviews

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Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« on: April 22, 2008, 03:49:24 AM »
Hello Everyone-

      We are looking to update the site with new features, and a better forum to keep Ballreviews as the best ball review site out there.  We are looking to add reviews for shoes, bags, and accessories.   Also we are going to implement video and picture uploads.  We are looking to you guys for any suggestions you have for the following categories - Layout, Content, Navigation of the site, and Forum Tools.  Please feel free to post any suggestions you have for these categories, but try to keep it short and sweet.  

Example post:  Forum Tool - I would like to have a better way of searching the forum.

      We thank you for your suggestions, and help in making Ballreviews the best it can be.

 

Mike Austin

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #31 on: April 22, 2008, 11:34:49 PM »
quote:
I suggest they get rid of the trolls.......
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Disclaimer: The link above provides the pack of lies that I have mindlessly conceded to believe as true since I am an American without any access to honest information, and because I am a result of a society that has brainwashed me into blindly following whatever our government and media tell me to think.


Why you gotta hate on the Trolls?  Not that I like them or anything, but what about the Blood Elves, Tauren, Orcs, and Dwarves?  You gonna let them stay around too?

Sorry, couldn't resist, back to your regularly scheduled programming.....

So no hijack, I like some pictures for avatars, the Pugs need a place to be seen!

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I've started messing with my site again, wrecking it myself:  www.mikeaustinbowling.net


Check out Tony's Journals - they are FREE!!
http://www.allbowling.com/journal/public.php?uid=67&leagueid=2054



Edited on 4/22/2008 11:35 PM
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dizzyfugu

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #32 on: April 23, 2008, 03:26:51 AM »
quote:
quote:
Not to knock a site I don't really participate in, but these forums are significantly more work for me to read quickly than the ones here. The layout is simple and more than effective. No obnoxious avatars to take up space, create visual noise, or slow down page loading. No gigantic "user info" box before each and every post, limiting the amount of space the actual content takes up. There's a tremendous amount of empty space on that page, it's just wasteful. The additional information that's listed for those users would more than fit under their usernames using the existing layout.

I like the simplicity of this site. There's one ad at the top and one at the bottom and links to sponsors on the left.

The color scheme is simple and easy to read. Fonts are well-behaved and appropriately sized. No pale fonts on a dark background, no teeny text.

I come here for the content, not the visuals. As cool as avatars may be to 18-year-olds on Myspace, they add zero useful content to the site.

 


Well said, Shelley.  Those are my feelings too.  I like the KISS method for webpages and hate the sites with too much video or picture content.  I prefer forums to be easy to read and fast loading for those still on dial-up or with older computers.



I support this, too. BR.com might look a bit dull, but the non-presence of pictures and visual rubbish all the time that takes space and download capacity is a very handy thing about this site. At best, I'd allow small (!) avatars. A limit to signature size (number of lines/symbols/type size) would IMHO also something to think about.

Image and video upload would be a nice feature, but since frequent posters have most of the time access to external web platforms I do not think that it is really necessary - as long as external links work. It keeps this forum site, or the public part, "clean" and sleek. I have seen horrible forums where (probably mostly youth) users flooded the site with tons of visuals, animations, even sound - but content was negligible. Please do not fall into this trap with BR.com!

Individual color choices (for local view) might be an option, though, the grey and white format looks a bit dull - but the layout is very effective, and the separation between the "normal" and sales forums had also been a nice step to keep the forums clean and on focus. Maybe a better advertising about this on the home page would be another step?

Another suggestion: Maybe introduce a review section for exotic pieces - like (very) old balls, small brands or overseas material, a kind of catch-all. Since all ball entries are pre-determined, only the forums can be used to post an impression, and the entry will soon get lost.
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jensm

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #33 on: April 23, 2008, 04:55:08 AM »
A coaching forum. Better yet, a coaching forum staffed in some way by coaches.

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Regards,

jensm
Regards,

jensm

pnj1967

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #34 on: April 23, 2008, 05:47:56 AM »
Before ANY ONE does a review they have to have a Profile, and some kind a template for doing a ball review !!!
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Enjoy the people on the ballreview.com forum. Like to help when I can.

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Users,  I wont deal with,  CBB and Bingham's Bowling Supply Online Bowling Store and read my profile.












Grayson

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #35 on: April 23, 2008, 06:23:33 AM »
sure has been suggested before but I'll just say it... maybe again:
 I'd like to have more sophisticated forum itself... with marking if threads have new answers; jumpin to the newest unread answer etc.
_The whole BR-gforum is big... and somtimes keeping track of a highley and strong discussed topic is hard

I think the new features like shoes etc will be nice and videos surely will not hurt the whole thing.


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Sebastian Koch
"Have fun and bowl well!" - Grayson
"Some things are made so even idiots won't fail using them.... But I ask what about the genius?" - Grayson

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scotts33

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #36 on: April 23, 2008, 06:26:53 AM »
quote:
Before ANY ONE does a review they have to have a Profile, and some kind a template for doing a ball review !!!


Here, here!!!  How many times has this been suggested. 100, 200, 300 times?  
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Scott

Scott

beerkann

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #37 on: April 23, 2008, 06:42:02 AM »
As far as I'm concerned, this is the Gold Standard for bowling related sites.  Descriptive links are well organized on the left.  The majority of the page is dedicated to content on both the Main page and content pages.  Colors, although not dramatic, are easy on the eyes.  Navigating to any section from any other section is very intuitive.

Minor improvements would be to make the search function cover more than the current 30 day maximum.  I know it slows down the PCs' (not sure what it might do to your servers), but sometimes you just have to go back further than a month.  

In an attempt to limit useless content, maybe a pro shop or industry section would be helpful.  This would be an elite section where a second login would be required to perform a post.  Only pro shops, PBA members, USBC upper level management, manufacturer's reps, certified coaches (no lower than silver) and other demonstrated industry professionals can post in this forum.  It would be read only to the rest of us.

Great ideas that I fully support so far are:  Walter56 and his idea to have reliable posters delete topics.  I’d add the ability to consolidate duplicate topics within a forum.  Color-coding the profile button is absolute genius.   I'm warming up to the idea of a College forum.

There was a paragraph here dealing with Avatars, videos, signatures, and grammar.  I deleted it so I wouldn't insult anyone.

Strapper_Squared

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #38 on: April 23, 2008, 07:21:21 AM »
Not sure that reviews of shoes / bags / accessories is a useful topic.

**I would like to see a searchable section with specs and drill sheets from retired equipment.

**I also would like to be able to search (and view all the replies) posts older than 30 days directly though this site.

**A small sections where "auctions" can be created for equipment/etc.  BR members able to bid and a count-down timer.

S^2

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dicnic

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #39 on: April 23, 2008, 09:32:41 AM »
I subscribe and post on an RV site, RV.net. It uses a software package which provides a neat feature to wit: When you put your mouse cursor over a post subject in the menu, it shows you the first line of the post. Very handy to determine if you really wish to read the original post.

Thanks for asking!
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Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
<font color=red><h4>Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night. </h4></font id=red>

shelley

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #40 on: April 23, 2008, 09:42:56 AM »
I would like to comment on the idea of adding pictures and videos to the site.  I can see why you would want those things, it'd be nice to simply throw a small 160x160 picture of the layout up here instead of trying to fake it with dashes or periods to get around the insatiable appetite of the whitespace-eater.

But, like avatars, that would increase the size of the pages.  Larger pages means more bandwidth.  More bandwidth means increased hosting costs.  Increased hosting costs must be offset by increased ad revenue.  That means more ads.  We currently have exactly two ads on each page, one small one at the top, one small one at the bottom.  That's awesome.  How many forums put ads between posts or cover the whole first screenful of a page with ads?  Isn't that obnoxious?  How many more ads would you be willing to put up with to add a feature that's already covered by links to sites like Imageshack and Youtube?

You want to change your color preferences?  Fine.  Doesn't make a difference to the way I see the page.  You want to make the site slower and loaded with ads (which are served by a site which may be slow as well, further decreasing load times)?  How fscking stupid can you get?

SH

BallReviews-TECH

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #41 on: April 23, 2008, 01:36:30 PM »
quote:
I subscribe and post on an RV site, RV.net. It uses a software package which provides a neat feature to wit: When you put your mouse cursor over a post subject in the menu, it shows you the first line of the post. Very handy to determine if you really wish to read the original post.

Thanks for asking!
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Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.


Good point. See, small things like this can get overlooked so keep up the posts!

-BR-Tech
-BR-Tech

1MechEng

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #42 on: April 23, 2008, 02:01:08 PM »
My wishes for this site:
1.) Improved search features. It's nice to go back and read posts or find information from more than 120 days ago. Currently, I have to go the the FAQ, and click on the link ... then select my search preferences. Then finally search in the archives for a post. It shouldn't be that hard.
2.) A "sticky" for the BallReviews FAQ. It should always be at the top of the Misc - Bowling Related forum. Even better would be a direct link to the post on the front page of the site.
3.) Improved moderation and enforcement of the sites rules. There are a few posters here that are intelligent, impartial, and thus able to serve as part-time moderators. CharlesT, Ragnar, and a couple others come to mind ...
4.) Bring back Sawbones. I miss his thought provoking topics and intelligent discussion.  
5.) I like the current simple interface. It's fast,a nd easy to read. However, adding just a couple of items like no. of posts, the ability to go to the last page following a posted reply, etc. would be beneficial.

My $0.02 worth. Thanks for reading.

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Dan
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Dan

BallReviews-TECH

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #43 on: April 23, 2008, 03:06:43 PM »
quote:
...
2.) A "sticky" for the BallReviews FAQ. It should always be at the top of the Misc - Bowling Related forum. Even better would be a direct link to the post on the front page of the site.
...


The FAQ is actually already stickied on the "Misc-Bowling Related" forum though I think someone suggested at one point actually using the html version and linking to it from the left nav.

-BR-Tech
-BR-Tech

BowlingWolf

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #44 on: April 23, 2008, 09:39:50 PM »
Either eliminate or create a separate section for irksome venom-loaded religion bashing posts, as well as posts on politics, but particularly religion.

It just seems that often times religion bashing dominates this site, instead of the intended concept, which is bowling.

Thank you.

OHBowler

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Re: Ballreviews Needs Your Suggestions For Updating The Site
« Reply #45 on: April 23, 2008, 10:09:05 PM »
how about a section dedicated to just WTB,WTS,WTT things that are not bowling related?