Suggestions, Comments, and Concerns.

[Creech]

Hi all!

 

So the subscribers have had several threads in the past where the staff solicited ideas about perks for the subscribers, concerns have been posted up, questions about the subscriber process, etc.

 

Something like 95% of the posts in those threads were from people who are no longer subscribers, so I thought a fresh start was appropriate.

 

If you have any suggestions, comments, concerns, or general information that you want to share about how awesome the subscribers are, this is the perfect place to post about it!

Edited November 20, 2013 by Creech

[Creech]

The perennial choice always seems to be x360a.org email addresses so I can broach that and get some closure one way or another.

 

How about signature size limitations removed or modified? Does anyone care about that at all?

[THE DEADLY DOG]

The perennial choice always seems to be x360a.org email addresses so I can broach that and get some closure one way or another.

 

How about signature size limitations removed or modified? Does anyone care about that at all?

 

To be honest I think the sig regulations are fine the way they are now. Sometimes people are over and if it's not heinous then nobody truly minds, and sometimes it is so bad that it needs to be fixed for the sake of all those members who have trouble keeping the webpage fixed and easily accessible.

 

Like I said, probably not an issue that anyone should lose sleep or time over.

[DEG23]

How about signature size limitations removed or modified? Does anyone care about that at all?

 

I agree with Deadly Dog, i think they are okay ATM. Most follow the rules and those who don't are often politely cautioned from other members before Puck enacts swift justice:p Definitely don't remove the sig limitations.

 

Lately there seems to be an influx of people creating new threads without searching, i know that's nothing new;) and i don't know how useful this will be but i'd like to see standard stickies on all new forums. Maybe in addition to the usual, achievement discussion and trading threads, maybe include a general FAQ, Video thread, glitches/bugs thread?

 

I know it won't magically stop people from creating new threads for boosting etc but if the same threads appear on every game, maybe people will get into the habit of using the stickies instead?

[Gackt]

150x150 avatars with 100kb limit for subscribers. The extra space would be a nice extra perk for subscribers and they would be quite noticeable over regular members. Maybe even draw in some more subs

 

I agree with the others about the signature limitations being fine how they are.

[THE DEADLY DOG]

150x150 avatars with 100kb limit for subscribers. The extra space would be a nice extra perk for subscribers and they would be quite noticeable over regular members. Maybe even draw in some more subs

 

I agree with the others about the signature limitations being fine how they are.

 

OoO! This would mean I could get an extra large picture of the Deadliest Dog in the whole wide world. lololol.

[N7 Shadow]

150x150 avatars with 100kb limit for subscribers. The extra space would be a nice extra perk for subscribers and they would be quite noticeable over regular members. Maybe even draw in some more subs

 

I agree with the others about the signature limitations being fine how they are.

 

I second this. It would definitely take notice among regular members. Also the extra kb would be nice. lol

[Nozza]

Not so much towards the site, but more my permissions.

 

Can you have a look at them in the ACP, because on occasions, I seem to receive 'Reported Post' emails. I can see what they're complaining about, and I get links to the thread mentioned etc.

 

Obviously from there onwards, I can't do anything. Whenever one pops up, I normally just delete it, but would save me the time if I didn't get them. Unless I'm a secret Mod?

 

-----------

 

For the site. I agree with the signature limits as mentioned above.

 

Also, I know it was like this at one point, but it seems to been removed. Can none Subscribers AND Staff members get access to this forum.

 

I remember Minty allowing it and offering it to use Guide Staff a while back, as we technically are contributing to the site, so we should have the perks of this forum. I think it'll be great to offer it to all current staff members no matter what their role.

 

It means they can keep in touch with any current competitions are going on. Just because they may not offer X amount of £/$ and month, they still do a good amount of work to keep the site running, so maybe having this extra perk is no harm... Agree?

[Creech]

Not so much towards the site, but more my permissions.

 

Can you have a look at them in the ACP, because on occasions, I seem to receive 'Reported Post' emails. I can see what they're complaining about, and I get links to the thread mentioned etc.

 

Obviously from there onwards, I can't do anything. Whenever one pops up, I normally just delete it, but would save me the time if I didn't get them. Unless I'm a secret Mod?

 

-----------

 

For the site. I agree with the signature limits as mentioned above.

 

Also, I know it was like this at one point, but it seems to been removed. Can none Subscribers AND Staff members get access to this forum.

 

I remember Minty allowing it and offering it to use Guide Staff a while back, as we technically are contributing to the site, so we should have the perks of this forum. I think it'll be great to offer it to all current staff members no matter what their role.

 

It means they can keep in touch with any current competitions are going on. Just because they may not offer X amount of £/$ and month, they still do a good amount of work to keep the site running, so maybe having this extra perk is no harm... Agree?

 

 

I will have to dig around on both of those, neither seemed obvious when I looked at the settings.

[Nozza]

I will have to dig around on both of those, neither seemed obvious when I looked at the settings.

 

Ok, cheers.

[iBuzz7S]

Well first of all - http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=399756

 

 

 

• X number of thumbs down = hide comment
  
  • News articles get spammed an awful lot. It happens anywhere, so you can't just avoid it. How you can have it moderated by fellow members is if it the comment hits a certain number, it gets removed and will only be viewable if the person(s) click the 'show' button
    

   

  [*]Double posting

  • Surely there is an add-on that will automatically merge a post if you are posting right after your own? It slows down them goofs who spam 5 posts in a thread. It also can encourage members to use the edit button by putting a little warning note when the post is automatically merged
    

   

  [*]More activity from ALL staff

  • I know very well this is voluntary work, been there and done that myself. But when you are signing on and your last post was days/weeks ago, it kinda gives the impression that the person has no intention of interacting with members and only signs in to maybe do a report or two and leave, so they don't get demoted.
    
  • I actually like it when (well, only recently been noticing it a little more than before) the boys in blue post. Just because their position is a higher than others, they don't think different of themselves. They act like any other regular member (for the most part) and interact with others.
    
  • The admin have enough on their plate and again, been there and done that, but as long as things are up-to-date behind the scenes, I can't complain
    
  • http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/member.php?u=50231 - hasn't been online in a month and hasn't posted in over a year.....
    

   

  [*]More announcements

  • Unless I've skipped over it, there has never been anything about the issue(s) of achievements syncing. It's all speculation about something changing and X360A will be violating something if they do it anyway. Although I have reasons to believe otherwise, maybe a formal announcement would be good? I mean, it has been quite a while and apart from the odd post here and there, there is no concrete answer.
    
  • With that, just announce things. It looks like the admin aren't too active and they shouldn't have to be, but the site owner should not be afraid of saying hi once in a while and updating the members of a few changes being made.
    

   

  [*]Update what is outdated

  • http://www.xbox360achievements.org/staff/
    
  • Pinned threads
    
  • Official Twitter 'group' announcement would be god since there is one for MySpace and Facebook
    
  • How about something for YouTube? Money can be made with a partnership, why on earth this hasn't been done is really wrong
    

   

I think the perks are fine. I mean, you're paying to help support the site. You can't expect the world in return. Maybe we can change our username ourselves? It will be limited of course, but it beats having to make a request and wait.

 

 

Just some things I've thought of or have been thinking of lately.

 

Edit.

Also just notice that this particular post can't be seen when clicking 'Find all posts by iBuzz7S'. Perhaps a little edit for this to be possible?

Edited November 14, 2012 by iBuzz7S

[Creech]

Well first of all - http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=399756

 

 

I like that idea. Not really needed for most games, but certainly the AAA titles.

 

X number of thumbs down = hide comment

• 
  
  • News articles get spammed an awful lot. It happens anywhere, so you can't just avoid it. How you can have it moderated by fellow members is if it the comment hits a certain number, it gets removed and will only be viewable if the person(s) click the 'show' button
    

 

arstechnica.com just implemented this, and it works really well. I will definitely pass this one along.

 

 

 

• 
  
• More activity from ALL staff
  
  • I know very well this is voluntary work, been there and done that myself. But when you are signing on and your last post was days/weeks ago, it kinda gives the impression that the person has no intention of interacting with members and only signs in to maybe do a report or two and leave, so they don't get demoted.
    

 

I can't control anyone else. Sometimes things come up IRL, and the staff member tells us in the staff forum, but that doesn't get passed along to the board as a whole. Not making excuses, just sayin'.

 

 

 

There are definitely staff members who disappear, and that sucks for everyone. The admins try to take a reasonable approach that bears in mind that we are all volunteers, but we have definitely purged staff many times over the six years I have been here. Hah, I just noticed that today is actually my 6 year anniversary with the site.

 

 

 

Unless I've skipped over it, there has never been anything about the issue(s) of achievements syncing. It's all speculation about something changing and X360A will be violating something if they do it anyway. Although I have reasons to believe otherwise, maybe a formal announcement would be good? I mean, it has been quite a while and apart from the odd post here and there, there is no concrete answer.

 

 

Well, various staff have posted about it, but it definitely should be added to the Super FAQ. I will take care of that in the next couple of days.

 

 

 

 

• 
  
  • With that, just announce things. It looks like the admin aren't too active and they shouldn't have to be, but the site owner should not be afraid of saying hi once in a while and updating the members of a few changes being made.
    

 

 

 

Webb is super active...he runs the front page, does all the press stuff, etc. He just doesn't do much in the forums.

 

 

 

RoutineX spends his time coding, again super active, but not member-facing.

 

 

Minty...he has run into one of those IRL deals currently, but he is the admin in charge of the forums, and as a rule is perhaps overly active. For now, I am trying to fill in for him until his IRL issue is resolved.

 

 

 

 

Edit.

Also just notice that this particular post can't be seen when clicking 'Find all posts by iBuzz7S'. Perhaps a little edit for this to be possible?

 

I can see it when I checked your recent posts... Since this board is hidden from most of the members, the search script may be set to exclude it. I can see if it is a simple setting that I can change, but if not I don't think it is a high priority type issue.

[Capn Doug]

One thing I have always been asking for is updates on ongoing issues. Key example is the leaderboards. Last I checked (which was a while ago, admittedly), they could not add new people or change existing users. It has been like this for months and is also affecting gamercards. It would be nice if there was something like a "Known Site Issues" thread in the FAQ where these issues were listed and updates were given. Something like "Changes to the Microsoft feed mean that we cannot add new members to the leaderboards. We are aware of this issue and are working on the necessary coding changes. There is currently no ETA for when they will be up and running again. Updated Nov 14th, 2012." We don't need immediate action on everything, but at least knowing it is still on the radar would be nice.

 

Also, can we hide the Subscribers tournaments board? It's depressing to see that we have not had a tournament in almost 3 years.

[Gackt]

 

Also, can we hide the Subscribers tournaments board? It's depressing to see that we have not had a tournament in almost 3 years.

 

Definitely this ^^

[Creech]

The Leaderboards are running and updated. Pants and I added over 400 users in the last two days.

 

Not sure if I can hide the Subscriber Tournaments, but I will take a look.

[Capn Doug]

The Leaderboards are running and updated. Pants and I added over 400 users in the last two days.

 

Not sure if I can hide the Subscriber Tournaments, but I will take a look.

 

Awesome. As I said, I hadn't checked in some time (I really haven't looked at much beyond the GSL forum in the last 2 months), but the example extends to other things as well. When something happens, there isn't a lot of information that filters down from the top of the hierarchy.

[kaleido42]

I can see it when I checked your recent posts... Since this board is hidden from most of the members, the search script may be set to exclude it. I can see if it is a simple setting that I can change, but if not I don't think it is a high priority type issue.

 

Along the same lines (and I would imagine one fix for both), normally when you're in one of the other forums there's a search drop down beside the forum tools drop down, that's missing (at least for me) in the subscribers forum. Also can't see the subscribers forum in the advanced search either. Not a huge deal for most, but when you're trying to find an older thread the lack of search can easily turn a few minutes into a couple of hours...

 

Not sure if I can hide the Subscriber Tournaments, but I will take a look.

 

Shouldn't that be as easy as making it viewable to mods/admin only? Then just change the permissions back if it ever actually gets used again?

[Creech]

 

Shouldn't that be as easy as making it viewable to mods/admin only? Then just change the permissions back if it ever actually gets used again?

 

I know HOW to do it...the question is do I have the necessary access? Technically that is admin level stuff, and I don't have that everywhere.

[kaleido42]

I know HOW to do it...the question is do I have the necessary access? Technically that is admin level stuff, and I don't have that everywhere.

 

Ah, sorry. Misunderstood

[Don Jose]

I agree about the signature things. I'm probably one of the rare people that actually turns off all signatures in posts.

 

My suggestion:

 

Downloadable PDF's of guides and/or roadmaps for subscribers. It's nice to be able to print things out sometimes or have a copy of something on my device when I don't have internet access. I know I can print a roadmap out already, but it's not really formatted for print.

 

I can imagine the backend to this might be a huge ordeal, but it sure would be a cool perk for subscribing. It seems like once the code is setup it's just a matter of parsing the existing HTML/php in to PDF form. Perhaps I'm trivializing it some...

[Creech]

Not so much towards the site, but more my permissions.

 

Can you have a look at them in the ACP, because on occasions, I seem to receive 'Reported Post' emails. I can see what they're complaining about, and I get links to the thread mentioned etc.

 

Obviously from there onwards, I can't do anything. Whenever one pops up, I normally just delete it, but would save me the time if I didn't get them. Unless I'm a secret Mod?

 

Okay, so in a way you ARE a secret mod. You have moderator permissions in the Guide Team forum, so the script that chooses recipients one reported posts sees that as a moderator. Can you let me know the next couple of times that you get one? I would be interested in seeing if you are getting ALL reported posts, or just some. Thanks.

[Nozza]

Okay, so in a way you ARE a secret mod. You have moderator permissions in the Guide Team forum, so the script that chooses recipients one reported posts sees that as a moderator. Can you let me know the next couple of times that you get one? I would be interested in seeing if you are getting ALL reported posts, or just some. Thanks.

 

I HAVE THE POWER!

 

Yeah will do. As Guide Staff, we do get certain perms, just like the Club guys. So that maybe the issue. I'll give you a nudge when I get another one.

 

----

 

Looking at the post about the leaderboards being updated. Have you added all the tags that were mentioned, but does this still mean they won't work due to script issues?

 

For example. My old GT (OINozzIO), still works for this site if I add it to my options. But months ago I changed it (SnozzyBear), but this doesn't register or show, even though my post in the leaderboards has been erased... Have you just intially added them to the system, but none will show up or work until the scripts and all that are fixed?

 

----

 

I also agree with the first point Doug made about the current issues FAQ thread. I think it'll help.

[Barad]

I HAVE THE POWER!

 

Looking at the post about the leaderboards being updated. Have you added all the tags that were mentioned, but does this still mean they won't work due to script issues?

 

For example. My old GT (OINozzIO), still works for this site if I add it to my options. But months ago I changed it (SnozzyBear), but this doesn't register or show, even though my post in the leaderboards has been erased... Have you just intially added them to the system, but none will show up or work until the scripts and all that are fixed?

 

Same thing here, my old Shockwave gamercard shows fine on site with old data but not my new name, not sure how the gamertag change works when updating leaderboards and all that so kind of confused lol.

[Gackt]

What about a 5dollar subscribe option? the FAQ before it was replaced with the new one seemed to have a lot of people saying they would subscribe if there were a cheaper option. Not sure why people find 10 dollars a month too expensive(I can afford it and I don't work lol) but maybe the extra option would pick up some new subs?

 

Also any idea if my previous post could be something that could happen? It would be a pretty neat extra perk!

[Selections]

Took me 6 months to realise my Ad-Blocker for Firefox was preventing me from loading your video's hosted with Viddler.

 

- I suggest that subscribers of a certain level (Or perhaps just as 'Subscribers' in general) have ads disabled from the site. I know other sites use this as an incentive and it works great. Just depends on how well you guys rely on Ad's in addition to subscribers, hence the certain level people have.

 

- Roadmap/Achievement guides that involve a heavy amount of youtube video's should have a Spoiler tag or similar to hide the vid's. A few guide pages lately completely crash my laptop. Its not a PoS, but when you load a thread up with 15 youtube video's things get a little crazy.

 

- The little profile you have just below the x360a logo for the site should also incorporate your forum profile + User CP.

Edited November 18, 2012 by Selections