UM 8.0 updates & suggestions

[Janiel]

I think the community board should be split apart from GOTD and made its own forum

also belive that UM should have a forum for Sports

The community board is generally off topic, having nothing to do with general unexplained mysteries. So it fits best within the section it's already it.

And sports are often seen as a hobby, so any sports would be discussed under the Hobbies & Interests section.

I saw someone mention having limited Mods for certain areas, just to clarify, we had those a while back. Called Forum Leaders. If I'm not mistaken, though, they were all promoted to Mods a short while after. Going by that, I don't think we would need them again. Then again, I haven't been around as much as I used to be, and I may not know about any problems when it comes to the forums staying moderated.

[Saru]

I just want to say thanks to everyone who has posted in this thread so far, and to keep the comments and suggestions coming.

Some of the changes that have been suggested here will be included in the update, along with many others designed to improve the design, navigation, speed and efficiency of the site.

I can't give an estimation on when the updates will be implemented just yet, but they are being worked on, and the first series of improvements, some of which based on ideas brought up in this thread, should be appearing in the not too distant future.

[Bigfoot_Is_Real]

The community board is generally off topic, having nothing to do with general unexplained mysteries. So it fits best within the section it's already it.

neither does chess or games and member stories so its a viable canadante

also Saru when are we going to get a new mod like at a certain number of posts or a certain number of members just wonderin

( maybe we could have a new rank )

[Subtemperate]

Bigfoot..... please do not post in response to this....

also Saru when are we going to get a new mod like at a certain number of posts or a certain number of members just wonderin

The easy and obvious answer is, when its felt the forum needs one (or more) then it would be done.

As for the other two: The chess section is not a discussion forum, it is a competition which would only get participants on the front page. People will go down the page and see it, and if interested join up. its the same with members stories, without the front page exposure it would not be used.

The community forum is not the most necessary forum, it does not need to advertise itself for people to use.... it makes sense to have it where it is.....

Now i think its time you stopped replying to every reply in this thread, as i think you've given over your point of view quite enough... and have had enough ideas. If you come up with anything world shattering , by all means post it... But please stop posting random things like "when will we get another mod"...

[newbloodmoon]

Perhaps putting in code for a threadstarter to be able to self moderate the topic that they had started in the event it gets spammed or has to many off topic comments. This way the threadstarter can remove the offending items and not have to run to a moderator for small issues. This would open up a moderator for dealing with more serious issues, like harassment as an example.

[Raptor]

If you could encourage more people to use the chat somehow that would reduce the amount of spam around the forum.

[.........................]

Perhaps putting in code for a threadstarter to be able to self moderate the topic that they had started in the event it gets spammed or has to many off topic comments. This way the threadstarter can remove the offending items and not have to run to a moderator for small issues. This would open up a moderator for dealing with more serious issues, like harassment as an example.

That is what the mods are for. If the threadstarter self-moderated a topic, all kinds of information could be deleted if they are not in agreeance with the threadstarter, imo.

[BurnSide]

Good point Rowan. There's far too much space for member moderation of own topics to be highly abused, it would never fly.

[Megalomania]

Perhaps putting in code for a threadstarter to be able to self moderate the topic that they had started in the event it gets spammed or has to many off topic comments. This way the threadstarter can remove the offending items and not have to run to a moderator for small issues. This would open up a moderator for dealing with more serious issues, like harassment as an example.

No. No. No.

Because anyone who doesn't believe the silly experiences that the thread starter tells them, has their posts deleted.

[Bigfoot_Is_Real]

Customizable blog wallpaper

[AutumnDragon]

no offence but the forum color is boring. maybe you should change it.

[_hAiLO_]

We are in the 21st Century. How about a very stylish future look with a merged mysterious theme. That might be pretty hard me thinks.

[ShaunZero]

When a thread gets over 6 pages, I'm too lazy to read through all. I suggest a skin selector. Maybe we can get graphics artists to spice up the visual appeal to UM. You can have custom made skins made all over. Make a few nice looking skins and install code for the skin selector. It does get a little boring seeing the same colors all the time being that I come on this website so much. It's not so visualy appealing.

If I think of anything else, you can bet your buns I'll be back.

EDIT: What if we have a search engine wich is capable of searching for a specific post instead of topic. Like, I can choose a topic to search on, and find a post.

Edited February 11, 2006 by ZeroShadow

[et's daddy]

how about a seperate sub-heading just for sports to gather all of those topics together ?

may make them easier to find for some people

i do realize this isnt a sports forum but general writing and art have sub-headings

and hey, diversity breeds goodness eh ?

[Snowbaby]

Pink links? with light pink hovers??

[ShaunZero]

Pink links? with light pink hovers??

That could be a skin suggestion.

[Xenojjin]

Perhaps a forum dedicated to just general philosophy . Since the forum has gotten larger there may be a part of the community that would be interested in such a thing . Currently if we have a general philosophy section its spread out amongst every other forum ... it would be nice to have a place for members to share their deeper thoughts and may even spawn some cool ideas for the formal debates board .

Or not . Up to you . Personally I like this site alot . Its one of the few good large forums still on the web that hasn't been overrun by Jerks, trolls, and the generally dumbtarded .

PS- bring back quick reply ? Helpfull for 56k .

Edited now that Ive read something that caught my eye:

Perhaps putting in code for a threadstarter to be able to self moderate the topic that they had started in the event it gets spammed or has to many off topic comments. This way the threadstarter can remove the offending items and not have to run to a moderator for small issues. This would open up a moderator for dealing with more serious issues, like harassment as an example.

ughhh... I could see that being abused . A better idea may be allowing users to delete their own posts/lock their own threads once they reach a certain point in the sommunity ( 1 month/250 posts ..some simple requirement like that ) and even that may be abuseable .

Edited February 11, 2006 by Xenojjin

[Tommy]

It seems a lot of the suggestions are more cosmetic changes than anything, but to address a few of the other points:

- What if we have a search engine wich is capable of searching for a specific post instead of topic. Like, I can choose a topic to search on, and find a post.

The current search engine is quite versatile if you use it properly. You can narrow the search to specific forums and have it display results as posts in chronological order. If you really want to search a specific ‘post’, then if you’re using IE, you can use the ‘find on this page’ feature. I’m sure the other browsers have the same feature.

- A better idea may be allowing users to delete their own posts/lock their own threads once they reach a certain point in the sommunity ( 1 month/250 posts ..some simple requirement like that ) and even that may be abuseable.

We always try to avoid deleting posts as it disturbs the continuity of the threads. Also I don’t think limiting the time-frame for a thread to be open for, or by the number of posts would be beneficial either.

[ShaunZero]

A forum for philosophy would be nice as well. Where others can feel more secure discussing topics of philosophy. Instead of posting in a section where most debates happen instead of discussions.

So I agree with Xenojjin.

The current search engine is quite versatile if you use it properly. You can narrow the search to specific forums and have it display results as posts in chronological order. If you really want to search a specific ‘post’, then if you’re using IE, you can use the ‘find on this page’ feature. I’m sure the other browsers have the same feature.

Ok, thanks. Although I hate IE and will never use it, I'll see if firefox can do this as well.

Edited February 12, 2006 by ZeroShadow

[Beckys_Mom]

I think the Movies, Music, books and televison section should be split into three differnt sections - One for Music, one for Movies and Televison and one for books. There seems to be a continueing trend in which threads about books are overwhelmed and forced from the page by threads about Music, movies and Televison, which seems to stop those interested in said book seeing the thread and commenting.

I don't think there needs to be more mods, but instead users need to be encouraged to report a thread, reply or blog entry to moderaters should it breach the site rules.

Walkens Two Cents

I like that idea I was actually thinking about it before hand and was going to mention it

Some advertising for the debates section.

Many members dont even seem to realise the section exists

YES!!! I would like to see the Debates section better advertised...its stuck in near the bottom of the list and it is one of my fav places to vist

Bigfoot, please don't just post for the sake of posting.....

Yea bigfoot, Subbys right ...you are just posting for the sake of it

To add - I think there is enough Mods in this forum that seem to know how to handle it well, we don't need anymore, I am sure SurMan is well pleased with the ones he has

[Dante The Hunter]

I like that idea I was actually thinking about it before hand and was going to mention it

YES!!! I would like to see the Debates section better advertised...its stuck in near the bottom of the list and it is one of my fav places to vist

Yea bigfoot, Subbys right ...you are just posting for the sake of it

To add - I think there is enough Mods in this forum that seem to know how to handle it well, we don't need anymore, I am sure SurMan is well pleased with the ones he has

Could the crytozoology myths sect. be split into things/creatures proven to exist through cryptozoologoy and ones waiting to be confirmed or simply myth?

P.S Hey BM not seen you around latley

[Beckys_Mom]

Could the crytozoology myths sect. be split into things/creatures proven to exist through cryptozoologoy and ones waiting to be confirmed or simply myth?

P.S Hey BM not seen you around latley

Miss me huh LOL

Oh take a look at my post count I have been around..every day in fact (hope that doesn't sound sad lol) but I speand 90% of my time on the Spirituality V's Skepticism boards I made it my home...feet well under the table lol

[Saru]

Update

Just to keep you informed on whats going to happen, the site updates are going to be applied to the site in stages. Each stage will apply a series of updates to a certain area of Unexplained Mysteries, as oppose to everything being applied all at once.

The first stage, a series of updates to the design and functionality of the main front page and associated sections is almost complete and should be appearing within a day or two. I will post a couple of threads just before this stage of updates goes live which will outline the changes that have been made and to report on the progress of the updates overall.

Note that some features, such as the front page poll and documents section will be temporarily removed, as they will be getting replaced with new versions as part of a later update stage.

I'll post more details just before the first stage goes up within a couple of day's time.

[Saru]

The first stage of updates for UM 8 are now live on the site.

Full details and a list of changes can be found here:

Updates Progress

[Paranoid Android]

Cool

The mainpage is going ot take some getting used to. But it looks pretty sweet.

Regards, PA