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Post by Yaggleberry Finn on Nov 27, 2012 14:29:36 GMT -6
Ok, another thought. I agree that some other format would be better than proboards. Did you have something specific in mind?
Whatever it is, I think it has to be able to incorporate a forum/comments section pretty seamlessly. One site that I check almost daily is arrowheadpride.com, which is a part of sbnation. They recently did a redesign which I actually am not a big fan of, but I still like the overall idea of their site. You have the site admins who write front page material, but there is also room for fan posts, which can make it to the front page if they are high enough quality. In that way it encourages a lot more fan participation.
Is that feasible for a new Skylanders site, both in terms of functionality and also in desirability? Folks seem to be more interested in a place where their voice can be heard... we could be that place. I know that one of the complaints at DS is that the moderator doesn't give very many concessions to the users. They don't have much say at all in what happens there.
Anyway, that's my triple post, I will refrain from anything else until you all jump in.
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Post by graz73 on Nov 27, 2012 18:30:09 GMT -6
You've put some good thought into this!
I'd like a front page that had news and blog type summaries, and a forum with as many sections as it can support. By that I mean, if there are are few users, just have one "skylanders" area, but if there are lots of users, break it down by game, subject, reviews, trading,etc....
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Post by glumshanksgirl on Nov 27, 2012 19:55:15 GMT -6
The forums I moved my game design team to can integrate with a website supposedly. I haven't done so myself due to not needing a front page yet for my applications (and due to spending more time working ON those applications than filling the forums and a site with information...). I use lefora forums, but there's one that installs with a sort of one-click deal based on the same technologies called tal.ki. That's a good step up from proboards in integration direction, but lefora (from my days of experience now) aren't as powerful as something like Invision or whatnot. There was another forum software that I used to use, but could never figure out how to get my website log-in to integrate to my forum log-in (possibly due to hosting side errors). But for fast, simple forums that seamlessly integrate, I'd look into lefora/tal.ki to start out with, and then you may always upgrade to a bought software with more powerful features at any given time. tal.ki/ <- The simple one-click type embeddable forum to any website page. (There are pricing packages too that give you more powerful features, but for starting out, hey, it isn't bad). Wordpress is definitely the blogger I'd use for informative updates if a full blog is necessary, as most paid shared-hosting plans come with one-click installation for that. A simple website name IS more important than you think. Not everyone can remember longer titled sites or site names that have nothing to do with the subject matter. You have to take into consideration that not everyone bookmarks sites so being able to remember a url offhand is essential for repeat visitors. Plus, something catchy and in tune with the subject will always look and feel more professional/welcome than anything else. And you will have to decide upon a domain name before you can do any serious hosting under said name. You do not want to have to switch names mid-stream because then you're looking at domain pointers and all that, which I do, which is just more time and pain in the butt. >_>;; Cause then you have to set up those redirects everytime you switch out. So choosing and sticking with a domain name is important. As for forum sections, they need to be neatly organized and not in one clump. I was a little confused on where to post on these forums when I first joined. If this is Skylanders concentrated, it shouldn't be too hard to set up categories and sub-sections based upon what's already out for the series. I could get a whole forum set up and out today, if we had a website to post it on  . I'm pretty ACP-savvy, in forums. The goal should probably be to be the most complete and comprehensive source for anything Skylanders. Right now there are a few little spots all over the net that have this or that, but nothing that is 'complete" feeling; Basically I have to shuffle about to 3-4 different websites to get what information I need to get for any given area in Skylanders subjects. Having one website that combines it all, even if it means hiring a few more hands at work to maintain/focus their one station, is worthwhile for collectors and fans. Activity - When you have a domain, you'll get more hits, almost automatically. The more information out there on the website the crawlers can bunch up, the wider it will spread. You also get ad credits through most paid hosting providers which boosts traffic. The reason this doesn't have much activity is because it isn't maintained enough for the information to "get out there". Once you set up the domain and website descriptions and keywords and start promoting and adding the infos, people will come to grab it, and some will stick, then others will see people sticking, and they will stick, and it will just accumulate over time, IF it's kept up. TL;DR - The ball won't stay rolling until it's started rolling. |
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Post by graz73 on Nov 28, 2012 9:56:40 GMT -6
Great insights there!
Check out this post from DarkSpyro:
Should we offer to team-up with this guy?
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Post by glumshanksgirl on Nov 29, 2012 3:47:39 GMT -6
Depends on if we find out if they're dedicated enough. If they could it'd be a big helping hand to us in getting things set up and keep it running. :>
I don't know if they'd be willing to part ways with the name ThePortal, since theportal.anythingnicesounding is taken.
EDIT: Asked them. C:
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Post by Yaggleberry Finn on Nov 29, 2012 9:16:21 GMT -6
I hopped on their site but didn't join, so I only saw what was available to guests. According to what I saw, there are now three members (including glumshanksgirl) so it's very much in the starting phase. I'd be on board with joining forces with them or anyone else who wants to make a go of it. I agree with GSG, however, that ThePortal wouldn't be a great choice for a name. While www.portalmasters.com is taken, www.theportalmasters.com is still available. And even though removing "the" was a good idea for Mark Zuckerberg, I think selling ourselves as THE Portal Masters could be a nice touch. What do you guys think about www.theportalmasters.com ? |
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Post by glumshanksgirl on Nov 29, 2012 12:04:52 GMT -6
That sounds fine to me~ although quite a bit similar to the already taken name so it might cause some problems with like identification. They said they were checking out the proposal now.
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Post by glumshanksgirl on Nov 29, 2012 12:22:59 GMT -6
"Wow, well this is quite the proposal here. I will say that I am definitely interested, but I do have some hesitations.
Firstly, I really don't want to leave The Portal. I worked really hard to make this site over the last week and to plan it for months. I just don't want to leave to become a staff member at some other site and abandon this one.
Then there is the whole URL thing. The great thing about ZetaBoards is that you can use whatever URL you want, without buying a domain name. I just never got around to changing this one lol. ZetaBoards is by far the best site for making your own forums. I have a lot of experience with it.
I have a few other concerns but I don't think now is the time to discuss them. I do have solutions to a few of your issues though, like the URL one.
If you would like, you may have the rest of your staff who are interested in creating a Skylanders site, join here and discuss this all further with me in the staff room. I don't really think this should be discussed in the public eye. I will elaborate on all I mentioned, there. So just join, and I will give you all staff access. (Just let me know who is the staff, so I don't give permission to the wrong person lol.)
Like I said though, I am definitely interested in this. Thanks!"
It won't let me edit my old post for some reason, but here is the reply from that member.
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. I'm pretty ACP-savvy, in forums.