Author Topic: What changes would you like to see on DonationCoder.com in 2007? (Read 48,781 times)

mouser · « **on:** December 04, 2006, 05:11 PM »

Now's your chance to have your voice heard - what changes would you like to see take place on DonationCoder.com in 2007?

Ideas large and small are welcome.

Gothi[c] · « **Reply #1 on:** December 04, 2006, 06:02 PM »

- More developers
- More game development stuff
- More C++
- Some cool forum visualization tool thingie

[edit]
- More cross platform developers and programs
- More open source developers
[/edit]

But good job sofar!

gri · « **Reply #2 on:** December 04, 2006, 08:05 PM »

Quote from: mouser on December 04, 2006, 05:11 PM

Now's your chance to have your voice heard -
what changes would you like to see take place on DonationCoder.com in 2007?

Ideas large and small are welcome.

I would like to have no conflicts..
http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=6152.0

app103 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 05, 2006, 12:16 AM »

I'd like to see some member written articles...maybe a series of some sort.

Things comparable in quality to this well written one.

These would be great additions to the blog and might get the blog some attention.

Might be nice to see the return of the podcasts too.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #4 on:** December 05, 2006, 05:39 AM »

I know this is DonationCoder but I always like to see others' views on hardware. People here are such a savvy bunch that, to me, their opinions count for more than those of most reviewers. It's always good to hear from people who actually use stuff.

Having said so I realize that, in terms of peripherals, I bought 2 new monitors, a 500GB HDD, a laser printer and an ink-jet this year and never even thought to comment on them. Would anyone else even have been interested?
Oh, yes, and I'd like to win something at least once a month, please

Deozaan · « **Reply #5 on:** December 06, 2006, 11:22 PM »

Quote from: app103 on December 05, 2006, 12:16 AM

Might be nice to see the return of the podcasts too.

Yeah what happened to the podcasts? I don't care if they're short because not many members are participating, and I loved being able to submit my own content--I just had a period of time when I moved and didn't have internet access for a few months so I could no longer submit anything.

Programming School is neat, too, but schools typically teach you how to do something and then give you an assignment. I'd like to see some tutorials or links to tutorials that will teach the concepts. For someone who has never programmed before, getting used to the "grammar" and syntax of code can be a bit tough just going from the help files, which are usually meant for reference.

EDIT: I'd also like an option on the forum to ignore a post so that it never shows up under my Unread Messages. Some topics just don't interest me and I'd like to not have to click on them or mark them as read every time someone posts just to clear my Unread Posts screen.

Josh · « **Reply #6 on:** December 06, 2006, 11:38 PM »

I would like to see more forums that allow discussion that isnt centralized around the coder. Yes, this is donationCODER, but, as pointed out above, there is such a vast amount of knowledge here that its a shamre that we are limited to the living room to discuss various topics. Such things could include hardware, gaming, software, etc. This could all be under one specific forum with subforums underneath.

Veign · « **Reply #7 on:** December 07, 2006, 12:24 AM »

To remedy the situation with non-coding / software topics maybe a new domain could be opened for Hardware. This way DonationCoder stays pure to its intent and purpose. Staying pure may give more credibility to DonationCoder and therefore attract more authors / developers who are willing to donate which in turn brings in more users.

Just a thought, what ever thats worth...

CodeTRUCKER · « **Reply #8 on:** December 15, 2006, 01:55 AM »

I would like to see some form of "Kudos" we can click on in every post, both positive and negative. They are completely anonymous and can only be entered once for each member. Democracy in it's purest form.

CodeTRUCKER · « **Reply #9 on:** December 15, 2006, 03:02 AM »

Oops, I forgot... There might even be some form of tangible reward, via "Cody Credits" or something like that.

Ruffnekk · « **Reply #10 on:** December 19, 2006, 09:44 AM »

First off, I think FarmSteader's idea about Kudos is very good, although I fear it might refrain people from donating real credits, defeating the purpose of the site. The concept works though. The same principle is used on another forum I visit regularly, www.tek-tips.com. Any user can flag a post as very helpful, and the author will receive a star for it. I have gathered around 25 stars and it feels good and it motivates you to help other people better.

My own ideas about improving www.donationcoder.com:

1. I've posted this before in another topic: I'd like to see a section where coders in particular can post FAQs, tutorials or 'Tips-n-Tricks' dealing with subjects or language elements they are proficient in. These posts can be about programming in general or a specific language topic.

2. I'd like to see an option where I can be notified of an important post by the staff. This could be any new topic in the 'Official Announcements' board. If you put this option in the profile settings and enable it by default, then all users will be notified of new topics like this one. This will, in my opinion, greatly improve the feedback on the site with regard to user opinions. For whatever reason, some users cannot or will not browse through each forum board regularly and therefore miss important threads.

CodeTRUCKER · « **Reply #11 on:** December 19, 2006, 10:56 AM »

Thank you, Ruffnekk.

mouser · « **Reply #12 on:** December 19, 2006, 11:51 AM »

There is a feature built into the smf forum system called Karma, which might do partly what you want, but the last time it was brought up it was decided against here. We could consider it again.. It's a somewhat controversial feature since it can become like a popularity contest..

More on karma feature: http://docs.simplemachines.org/index.php?topic=104.msg124#msg124

But maybe we could figure out a way to "niceify" it..
for example:
Give each person 1 unit of karma to give away each month for each month they are active on the forum. eliminate the ability to negative rate people. So all you can do is positive rate them. And only allow supporting members to give karma, to prevent people from signing up just to give out karma..

mouser · « **Reply #13 on:** December 19, 2006, 11:52 AM »

Quote

I'd like to see an option where I can be notified of an important post by the staff.

i like this idea too, and maybe a central page where the most important posts can be seen all together, regardless of section.

Ruffnekk · « **Reply #14 on:** December 19, 2006, 11:58 AM »

Quote from: mouser on December 19, 2006, 11:52 AM

i like this idea too, and maybe a central page where the most important posts can be seen all together, regardless of section.

That would also be nice, to have one central location for important messages.

Quote from: mouser on December 19, 2006, 11:51 AM

But maybe we could figure out a way to "niceify" it..
for example:
Give each person 1 unit of karma to give away each month for each month they are active on the forum. eliminate the ability to negative rate people. So all you can do is positive rate them. And only allow supporting members to give karma, to prevent people from signing up just to give out karma..

Yes I definitely think users should not be rated negative, even though they may deserve it sometimes

But seriously, rating negative raises the overall feel of competition and that is something you should avoid. Rating only positive will drive people to help others better and they will feel good if they are appreciated for it. There should be no ratings or rankings, except maybe a one-time-a-year award like FarmSteader proposed.

Byte · « **Reply #15 on:** December 19, 2006, 01:13 PM »

I'd like to see a hardware section, personally. I know it's donationCODER, but in order to code, don't you have to have hardware to code with, and on?

Just my $0.02 - I'd prolly be more active here if there were a dedicated hardware section.

app103 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 19, 2006, 01:33 PM »

Having all the hardware posts buried in the Living Room really isn't that good for finding what you want when you are looking to see if anybody has made any comments on something specific you are planning on purchasing.

It would have been nice to find this discussion before I made my decision. It would have been nice to hear what people had to say about it and see if they could have come up with better alternatives that would fit my requirements/budget.

Just adding a General Hardware Discussion section right under the General Software Discussion board would do the trick. It really wouldn't be changing the focus of the site...It would just make the info easier to find without having to sift through all the posts about flash games, cool websites, and other yummy distracting stuff.

Arjen · « **Reply #17 on:** December 19, 2006, 02:01 PM »

I don't think there are topics that can't be discussed (like hardware, or whatever), but I think this site should not try to do everything. It should stay focussed on its "mission" (although not obsessively).

Some suggestions for improvements:

Better/easier navigation. For example, why are Download, Bug tracker, Chat located next to forum functions like My Profile, and not at the top of the page?
Cleaner layout of the site. Make a couple of sections. Don't put too many links on one page.
Integrate the bug tracker accounts with the forum if possible. The bug tracker might deserve some more attention; people should submit their bugs there, not on the forum.
Let users have their personal page (or extend profile) where they can post/list their articles, programs etc.

rjbull · « **Reply #18 on:** December 19, 2006, 04:28 PM »

Quote from: mouser on December 19, 2006, 11:52 AM

Quote
I'd like to see an option where I can be notified of an important post by the staff.

i like this idea too, and maybe a central page where the most important posts can be seen all together, regardless of section.

Most of us already receive the short-form newsletter by e-mail. Why not add "important posts," announcements etc. to it?

mouser · « **Reply #19 on:** January 01, 2007, 09:26 PM »

One thing I would really like to see implemented on DonationCoder.com are some resources to help our regular members get some exposure for their websites and projects.

Maybe a special page where members can list their projects, or offer their computer-related services (web design, programming, art, etc.).

I am a bit reluctant to re-implement stuff that surely is done much better on other job posting sites, so we should think hard before doing anything elaborate. It might simply be better to add stuff to just link to users profiles on another site.

Another idea: Rather than (or in addition to) putting google ad boxes on the site, we could show random boxes with info about member sites.

I think this internet of ours is becoming too much a matter of the giant businesses which are overflowing in money to buy publicity and attention, and then the rest of the population which can't get noticed. I'd like DC to help out in it's own tiny way to bring some attention to projects created by normal people. Anything we can do to advance that i'd be very interested in.

Deozaan · « **Reply #20 on:** January 01, 2007, 09:28 PM »

I want to see more games created by DC members!

mouser · « **Reply #21 on:** January 01, 2007, 09:35 PM »

Quote

I want to see more games created by DC members!

Me Too!!! SO GET STARTED#&*(*%$%$

Gothi[c] · « **Reply #22 on:** January 02, 2007, 04:51 PM »

<tease_mouser>

Quote

Me Too!!! SO GET STARTED#&*(*%$%$

I want to see mouser finish his thesis and Ph.D in 2007

</tease_mouser>

Wordzilla · « **Reply #23 on:** January 02, 2007, 05:05 PM »

Quote from: Gothi[c

link=topic=6375.msg47744#msg47744 date=1167756719]
I want to see mouser finish his thesis and Ph.D in 2007

Hah, I get it!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

You MUST be one of his professors!

kyrathaba · « **Reply #24 on:** January 20, 2007, 12:24 AM »

Quote

I'd like to see a section where coders in particular can post FAQs, tutorials or 'Tips-n-Tricks' dealing with subjects or language elements they are proficient in. These posts can be about programming in general or a specific language topic.

I second the motion. I'd be willing to contribute some screencasts I'm making for a couple of C# sites. They're going to be a series of C# tutorials for the ultra-noob, progressing into more advanced topics gradually. And of course, I'd love to be able to benefit from tutorials put up by other users.