Special User Sections > Site/Forum Features
Discussion: How can we Improve DonationCoder?
skrommel:
:) Love DC, great content, but the design is a bit dated.
We need a changing start page to let everyone know what's inside, something like HowStuffWorks.com.
Show the lastest threads in the most active forums, the latest test and reviews, the latest programs from Coding Snacks, the latest tutorials, the greates bargains, with pictures, movies and people.
The forum too doesn't show the depth of things, it needs to be arranged, or get a better start page.
It probably takes a new framework, but then we could have tags, clouds, likes and dislikes, Facebook integration and whatnot.
Looking forward to the future.
Skrommel
cyberdiva:
The forum too doesn't show the depth of things, it needs to be arranged, or get a better start page.
It probably takes a new framework, but then we could have tags, clouds, likes and dislikes, Facebook integration and whatnot.
-skrommel (April 28, 2010, 08:41 AM)
--- End quote ---
I feel very differently from Skrommel about the forum's structure. I've been amazed at how easy it is for me to find all the new topics/messages that interest me. I simply click on the "Unread Posts" button, mark all the entries as "read," and then go down the list and uncheck any that interest me. I then get rid of all the "read" entries, leaving me with just the ones I want to read. It takes me almost no time to do this. As far as I'm concerned, the forums work VERY well, and if they ain't broke....
And I confess I have no interest in tags, clouds, likes, dislikes, etc. And I'm VERY wary of anything having to do with Facebook, which each week seems to find new ways to erode users' privacy.
I love the DC site, and especially the forums. It was the forums that brought me here about three or four years ago. I think there was a thread about my email client, Mulberry, that I probably found via Google. I joined so I could post a message in that thread, and soon I discovered that DC was a software lover's dream site. Lots of knowledgeable and civilized folks offering their opinions of current software, news about new programs, alerts to discounts and special deals, intelligent reviews and useful commentary, and much more. Eventually, I began to take advantage of some of the impressive donationware from the DC site, but what brought me here and has kept me hooked are the forums.
JavaJones:
I'm with you cyberdiva, but then I'm fairly used to forum systems and how they work. I think the idea(s) here are to perhaps try to help new users get used to things. But personally I still feel the tag cloud, facebook integration, like/dislike, etc. approach is not necessarily the way to go for DC.
I honestly feel like we may be overthinking things. An improved, more dynamic home page, with a method of culling out active/interesting/useful topics from the forums, along with a way to catalog and update more concrete info like a wiki, would go a long way IMO. No need to change the fundamental functioning of the forums, which otherwise seem to work quite well for what they do.
- Oshyan
40hz:
It probably takes a new framework, but then we could have tags, clouds, likes and dislikes, Facebook integration and whatnot.
-skrommel (April 28, 2010, 08:41 AM)
--- End quote ---
I was never much a fan of clouds.
But to skrommel's point about the "depth of things" in the forums, for once I can see where something like a topic cloud might be a useful addition to a site like this one. The only problem I could see is if it somehow made people feel they needed to introduce topics and frame their comments to coincide with existing tags rather than let them range as far and wide as they currently do.
Structured discussions are great when you're looking for something specific. But they can easily become a box if you're not careful. And if there's one thing you can say about DCers - they definitely "get outside the box" when discussing things.
There's also a lot to be said for serendipity. So let's be very careful not to do anything that could scare that gentle little creature away.
As far as integration with something like Facebook (or Twitter *choke*), I'm not super keen on bringing in the whole "social web" thing. Especially since that technology (and crowd) brings with them a whole slew of 'issues' we haven't had to deal with. At least not yet - and thank goodness for it!
So +1 with cyberdiva on that one even if I'm mainly concerned for different reasons.
Just my 2ยข
.
mouser:
the idea of having a topic cloud and a start page showing latest coding snacks, reviews, hot topics, i think has a lot of merit, and could be in keeping with the idea of having nice "VIEWS" into the existing content.
i like the idea of an improved starting page that shows latest and useful stuff in different categories..
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