Collarspace Discussion Forums


Home  Login  Search 

Hello, is anyone there ?


View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest
 
All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid >> Hello, is anyone there ? Page: [1]
Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 7:11:36 AM   
Nanako


Posts: 222
Joined: 2/7/2011
From: Glasgow, Scotland
Status: offline
Hi folks. A couple of other, smaller sites I'm on, are open to suggestions on how to improve. and several suggestions of mine have been implemented rather rapidly, as well as always recieving a response from an admin about them

I noticed that collarme has a feature for this too. In the news ticker on the left side, it asks for suggestions, it's a link tat takes you to a box where you can type stuff in.

I've put in a few ideas a few days ago, but there's been no sign of mere acknowledgement, and certainly no change.

My main idea is to save the keyword field in searches, as this not saving makes the site very painful to use for me, dur to being unable to pinpoint locations any other way. The Maximum distance field uses zipcodes and thus only works inside the US, another critical flaw that I've put in a suggestion about.

Both of these issues have been on the site for several years. :(

Is there anyone behind the scenes, listening? working to fix things? The idea of an abandoned site where the admins don't care, really depresses me :(

< Message edited by Nanako -- 2/13/2011 7:12:07 AM >
Profile   Post #: 1
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 7:20:28 AM   
WinsomeDefiance


Posts: 6719
Joined: 8/7/2007
Status: offline
Hi Nanako,

The admins do care, and the site is definitely not abandoned. It is ran, mostly, by volunteers who are dedicated to the site, but also have additional life responsibilities outside of the site. Try to be patient, you'll hear back from someone. Whether or not your ideas are implemented quickly (or at all) really isn't an indication of whether your idea has merit, or that the site does or doen't appreciate your input. I'm sure they do. More realistically, it is probably an indication of site admin/owner having the resources to implement.

WinD

(in reply to Nanako)
Profile   Post #: 2
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 7:36:16 AM   
DesFIP


Posts: 25191
Joined: 11/25/2007
From: Apple County NY
Status: offline
Changes cost money. Since this is a free site, that means there is a limit to what changes can be implemented. 

_____________________________

Slave to laundry

Cynical and proud of it!


(in reply to WinsomeDefiance)
Profile   Post #: 3
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 9:53:40 AM   
SylvereApLeanan


Posts: 8275
Joined: 11/1/2007
From: Hell
Status: offline
Also remember that you're talking about making changes to the site's coding.  Depending on the nature of the changes, that coding can take days, weeks, or even months.  The site is run by volunteers who do this in their spare time.  It might be awhile before you see any difference.  It will depend on what the site owners determine is a priority and what is considered less urgent.

_____________________________

Sylverë
Dark Muse
30 Fluffy Points
Grumpy Cat is my spirit animal.
Shadow Governess & Mean Girl
"There's something that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick."— The Doctor

(in reply to DesFIP)
Profile   Post #: 4
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 11:24:49 AM   
Nanako


Posts: 222
Joined: 2/7/2011
From: Glasgow, Scotland
Status: offline
The distance thing is a big problem. I did posit an elegant solution though and point to an example of it being implemented through google.

However, the keyword not saving is definitely not a big problem. It's just a form element. I'm not sure whether the site saves in a clientside cookie or serverside settings, but either way recording the information for the keyword field is really not that hard. It'd be an hour or two's work I believe.

As for the cost of these changes, would nobody be willing to donate a little to improve things? I certainly would

(in reply to SylvereApLeanan)
Profile   Post #: 5
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 11:53:57 AM   
Lockit


Posts: 11292
Joined: 5/7/2007
Status: offline
You might take into consideration that you have been here a very short time and may not be seeing everything from a perspective that some who have been around a while longer, can see. There are many things that are required in running a web site this large and many things that people tend not to think about. In my own site, so much smaller than this one, I had a hard time finding trustworthy people that weren't on an ego trip and that would ruin what I had worked hard to build. One bad moderator and you can be in some serious trouble. I had one that I had known for fifteen years and with one horny moment in time, he nearly cost me my site. One bad partner that fell in love with me and she nearly took it down again. It's amazing what the wrong person can do in a very little time.

By the number of awaiting approvals and seeing the mods around, I wouldn't go so far as to believe or accuse the administration of abandoning the site because they don't do what you or others have energetically insisted they do to make the site better. You cannot please all the people, all the time. You cannot put money where none is expected and even if you could through other means, it doesn't mean it would please everyone. (Name one site that is perfect and I will project and state that you will have someone else that doesn't think it is perfect.) You can't put more hours in a day and you can't put people in power too quickly.

Because a thing looks easy to accomplish, doesn't mean it is the best thing to accomplish in comparison to many other things that may need to be the focus. Ever had a really full day of work, family, friends, crisis in this or that and then one more thing balloons on you? You do what you can, you do the best you can and still someone is there with a need or an expectation. Business or running a web site is no different than a too busy life with not enough time in a day to deal with everything that might crop up.

I have reported things and while I do get a response, I don't expect it. As long as they get it, know and deal with it however they see fit... I am good with that. Anything I can think of to improve things... I might share with them, but I don't expect them to take my suggestions because even though I have run a web site, this one is far different and I don't know exactly how it all goes, what's involved and why I should merit any real deciding factor simply because I decide what should be. If I wish to own a site, I will call the shots, but until then, it isn't my site and I may not have a clue.

Being patient is the best thing I can recommend. Beyond that, enjoy and use what is here. Many of us have enjoyed and used it for years and haven't had any real major issues and that is why we are still here.


_____________________________

No matter how old a woman gets, some men will think she was born yesterday! ROFL... I love this place!


(in reply to Nanako)
Profile   Post #: 6
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 12:29:44 PM   
SylvereApLeanan


Posts: 8275
Joined: 11/1/2007
From: Hell
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Nanako

The distance thing is a big problem.


See, I don't consider it a problem at all since I don't use it.  A much higher priority, IMO, is to implement more search filters.  For example, I want an option for relationships so I can filter out people who are married or already owned.  I'd also like to be able to filter out people who do drugs or drink heavily like I can on OkCupid. 
 
So which of these options is a higher priority?  Which features will benefit the most number of people?  And how much time will the coding take?  Is the ROI worth the effort?  That's what the site owners have to consider.  Just because you want the owners to implement certain features doesn't mean it will happen right away.  Or at all. 

_____________________________

Sylverë
Dark Muse
30 Fluffy Points
Grumpy Cat is my spirit animal.
Shadow Governess & Mean Girl
"There's something that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick."— The Doctor

(in reply to Nanako)
Profile   Post #: 7
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 2:42:02 PM   
Nanako


Posts: 222
Joined: 2/7/2011
From: Glasgow, Scotland
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Lockit

You might take into consideration that you have been here a very short time and may not be seeing everything from a perspective that some who have been around a while longer, can see.


Actually I've been around for over 2 years before I made this profile. The distance thing was broken for international users then, too  :(
I asked CM support about it then, as well, and was told why it didn't work, but no mention of making an attempt to fix it. ;-;
It does seem strange, and rather embarrassing, to offer a feature which will silently fail for a lot of people. And it feels kind of exclusionary too ;-;

quote:

Anything I can think of to improve things... I might share with them, but I don't expect them to take my suggestions because even though I have run a web site, this one is far different and I don't know exactly how it all goes, what's involved and why I should merit any real deciding factor simply because I decide what should be. If I wish to own a site, I will call the shots, but until then, it isn't my site and I may not have a clue.
Being patient is the best thing I can recommend. Beyond that, enjoy and use what is here. Many of us have enjoyed and used it for years and haven't had any real major issues and that is why we are still here.

To be fair Miss, the news ticker does actually ask for suggestions. Does it seem unreasonable to expect more from the suggestion box feature than writing words to toss into a black hole?
You're probably right about patience though, maybe it hasn't been long enough. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for an acknowledgement eventually, but I wouldn't mind waiting a bit longer.

(in reply to Lockit)
Profile   Post #: 8
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 3:01:31 PM   
Nanako


Posts: 222
Joined: 2/7/2011
From: Glasgow, Scotland
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: SylvereApLeanan

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nanako

The distance thing is a big problem.


See, I don't consider it a problem at all since I don't use it.  A much higher priority, IMO, is to implement more search filters.  For example, I want an option for relationships so I can filter out people who are married or already owned.  I'd also like to be able to filter out people who do drugs or drink heavily like I can on OkCupid. 
 
So which of these options is a higher priority?  Which features will benefit the most number of people?  And how much time will the coding take?  Is the ROI worth the effort?  That's what the site owners have to consider.  Just because you want the owners to implement certain features doesn't mean it will happen right away.  Or at all. 

sorry miss, I actually meant that it's a big problem to fix, as in it would definitely take a substantial amount of work, as a comparison to the keyword saving. The other site I pointed to as the solution, gives users a map (of the entire world) powered by google, and allows them to stick a pin in their location. It also allows several levels of precision, so you can stick a pin only in the right country, or zoom all the way in and stick a pin in your house.

However, if you speak priority, I believe that fixing this -in some way- has to be a higher priority than the things you state.
Why?
Because it's not just a missing feature. It's a bug. If you live outside the US, selecting any option for distance other than "any" causes your search to return 0 results. It does the same even if you ARE in the US, unless you've put in a valid zip code. Nowhere on the search page, the account page, or the help page, is this explained.

It doesn't have to be fixed in the manner I described above, but could at least be fixed in some stopgap manner. Like if the user hasn't entered a zip code, attempting to select the option could popup a dialog saying "This feature is only available to residents of the US, who have entered a valid zip code on the My Accounts page"
It would still be exclusionary, but at least it wouldn't be causing user confusion and possibly giving the impression that the site is empty.

With a stopgap solution in place though, I would agree that fixing it properly is a matter of what's important. I can't honestly answer which is most important, the only thing that could would be a general poll of users to find out which features are most desired.

How long have you been waiting for the features you mention, Miss? Has an administrator ever mentioned plans to implement them ?

I will give a simple scenario though. I live in scotland, which is technically a country. However, to the rest of the world, we seem to be treated only as part of the UK, an entity which consists of several other countries. It's a rough guess, but I believe scotland is somewhere between 15-30% of the total land area of the UK, and less than 10% of it's population.

I can't use collarme to search for people in my country. At a base, it searches for people anywhere in the UK. And as you can probably guess from the population values, 90% of those results are going to be outside scotland, and therefore probably too far away. I can't use the distance feature either for obvious reasons, so the only efficient way of finding people in scotland to chat to is either typing Scotland into the keyword search, or typing the name of a major city. I'm not entirely certain but I think CM gives the option to pick only "scotland" as your location, as searching for a specific city brings up entirely different results from searching for the country.  This has the problem that unless I search for every city and town, one by one, there are lots of people in marginal areas outside major cities that I'll miss. The only alternative seems to be searching for people in the UK generally, and sorting through the 90% chaff to find people that might be nearby.

It just feels rather clumsy to operate, and very america-focused. Especially compared to the fact that people registering their location as the USA, are invited to farther choose the state that they're in. A built-in, systematic part of the site that makes it easy to find people in your own state.

(in reply to SylvereApLeanan)
Profile   Post #: 9
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 5:15:58 PM   
VideoAdminAlpha


Posts: 3876
Joined: 7/25/2008
Status: offline
The ticker is up because there are a lot of suggestions being collated, and with a million plus members, as you can imagine there is a truckload every day. Every user has different needs and wants, and we are looking at the WHOLE picture, which is why the ticker was put up, to actually see what the majority wants. That is because we DO want our users to be happy. There will be no individual answer to your support, but please rest assured that we take all the suggestions seriously, and in fact, ASKED for them. It does take a bit to start implementing them, so because there are so many GOOD suggestions, that even though you may not see any action, the first action may be taken on something that you dont use. Hopefully now you know that your suggestion has not been ignored, and stay on the lookout for new features/abilities as they are brought into existence in response to all the suggestions received.

_____________________________


You can't please all the people all of the time.Unfortunately there are times you cannot please any of them :( You can only do your best, and hope they realize that.


(in reply to Nanako)
Profile   Post #: 10
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 5:23:00 PM   
SylvereApLeanan


Posts: 8275
Joined: 11/1/2007
From: Hell
Status: offline
<threadjack> *pounces Ms. Alpha* </threadjack>

_____________________________

Sylverë
Dark Muse
30 Fluffy Points
Grumpy Cat is my spirit animal.
Shadow Governess & Mean Girl
"There's something that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a stick."— The Doctor

(in reply to VideoAdminAlpha)
Profile   Post #: 11
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 5:27:25 PM   
VideoAdminAlpha


Posts: 3876
Joined: 7/25/2008
Status: offline
I love pounces :)

_____________________________


You can't please all the people all of the time.Unfortunately there are times you cannot please any of them :( You can only do your best, and hope they realize that.


(in reply to SylvereApLeanan)
Profile   Post #: 12
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 7:11:25 PM   
NocturnalStalker


Posts: 3858
Joined: 12/4/2010
Status: offline
I bet you do.

_____________________________

"The road I walk is paved in gold to glorify my platinum soul."

(in reply to VideoAdminAlpha)
Profile   Post #: 13
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 7:14:33 PM   
MercTech


Posts: 3706
Joined: 7/4/2006
Status: offline
And some of the glitches in the site coding can be interesting.
I did the local distance thing and found that if you use a zip code from Mississippi you can also get people from Alaska.

I never knew Jackson, Mississippi was 87 miles from someone in Alaska. Made a new pen pal though.

Stefan

(in reply to VideoAdminAlpha)
Profile   Post #: 14
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 7:30:50 PM   
ModTwentyOne


Posts: 2504
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: MercTech

And some of the glitches in the site coding can be interesting.
I did the local distance thing and found that if you use a zip code from Mississippi you can also get people from Alaska.

I never knew Jackson, Mississippi was 87 miles from someone in Alaska. Made a new pen pal though.

Stefan


It's not a site coding issue, it is a user coding issue.  If someone enters the wrong zip code on the MY ACCOUNT tab, they will show as local to people who may be thousands of miles away.



< Message edited by ModTwentyOne -- 2/13/2011 7:31:08 PM >


_____________________________

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

(in reply to MercTech)
Profile   Post #: 15
RE: Hello, is anyone there ? - 2/13/2011 10:51:27 PM   
GreedyTop


Posts: 52100
Joined: 5/2/2007
From: Savannah, GA
Status: offline
*sends hugs to 21 and VAA*

dammit, 21.. now I gotta look for my Rush CDs again.. I cant find them...

_____________________________

polysnortatious
Supreme Goddess of Snark
CHARTER MEMBER: Lance's Fag Hags!
Waiting for my madman in a Blue Box.

(in reply to ModTwentyOne)
Profile   Post #: 16
Page:   [1]
All Forums >> [Casual Banter] >> Off the Grid >> Hello, is anyone there ? Page: [1]
Jump to:





New Messages No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages
 Post New Thread
 Reply to Message
 Post New Poll
 Submit Vote
 Delete My Own Post
 Delete My Own Thread
 Rate Posts




Collarchat.com © 2025
Terms of Service Privacy Policy Spam Policy

0.250