Forum Re-Design and Moderation

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

This forum has been an amazing place to find information on the Beach Boys, Recording, and Music in general.
With a (mostly) nice userbase and some very cool insiders and info, this is one of the most important musical websites I've visited.

However, for all it's glory, it isn't very... Stylish...
I'm not the most talented SMF programmers, but I have plenty of programming and overall forum experience.
I really like how the forum works now, but a few small features could be added... Like a "spoiler" feature and a warning system for posts that could result in a flame war.

Also, the moderation here has been generally good, but there's some situations I think could be moderated a bit tighter, so with that being said, I think a few new mods could be appointed.

This forum is a big part of the beach boys community. Let's keep it on top!

[Catbirdman]

As I mentioned on the other thread, I would welcome it.

I say "yea" to your idea from that other thread of incorporating the TWGMTR album artwork into the theme. It would be good if you could design a few options for group review, with that being one.

As for the feel and functionality, here are my thoughts:

• I love the functionality the board currently has that allows you to jump straight to the posts that are "new" since your last visit.
• I love the little buttons that take you to the top and bottom of each thread.
• I would like to see a feature added where, when you mouse over a thread title, it shows you a text sample from the first post in that thread.
• I would like to be able to put attachments - e.g. an Excel doc - into a post (or can this be done already?).
• Obviously I'm all for the idea of "safe" and "spoiler" tags as it was my musing on that topic that birthed the idea. 

[Austin]

Excellent project idea. And I'd be happy to contribute whatever HTML/CSS/JavaScript/PHP manpower that might be needed.

Various things I'd like:

- Better text viewing on mobile devices.
- In the "Recent Posts" section on the front page, fix the issue where thread titles with special characters will delete the entire thread title.
- Have the header link to the board itself, and not the smileysmile.net main directory.
- Some assurance that someone is regularly backing up the database.

How do we get the ball rolling on this? Mods, would you be able to help us out?

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I'm gonna draw up a mockup when I get home for a TWGMTR theme.

I'm not the best with SMF so I can't promise anything big, but most of that can be added pretty simply.

So whenever the mods say its okay, I'll get on it! 

[rab2591]

This forum has been an amazing place to find information on the Beach Boys, Recording, and Music in general.
With a (mostly) nice userbase and some very cool insiders and info, this is one of the most important musical websites I've visited.

However, for all it's glory, it isn't very... Stylish...
I'm not the most talented SMF programmers, but I have plenty of programming and overall forum experience.
I really like how the forum works now, but a few small features could be added... Like a "spoiler" feature and a warning system for posts that could result in a flame war.

Also, the moderation here has been generally good, but there's some situations I think could be moderated a bit tighter, so with that being said, I think a few new mods could be appointed.

This forum is a big part of the beach boys community. Let's keep it on top!

A spoiler feature and warning system for posts that result in a flame war: People here love flame wars. Take that away and there goes half the fun of this place.

About the mods: I think they're doing fine....it's a tough job to moderate the social atmosphere of a online community (especially this one). When someone really snaps, they usually swift in dealing with it.
______

As for style: you can actually change the skin of your page here (that greatly differ from the default bland green/black design). I forget how to do it, but from what I remember there are different colors, layouts that you can use. Someone else here would probably be more than happy to let you know how.

[stack-o-tracks]

The mods here are all great people and do an excellent job moderating the forum. There's nothing I'd ask them to do anything different.

[SMiLE Brian]

Board is fine as it is.

[ivy]

Wow. I run a forum for another pop act and I was just telling her yesterday how different Smiley Smile is from the average fan forum and how it's a breath of fresh air. So many fan sites (including mine) are about marketing themselves and fan hierarchies. I have 7 volunteer moderators and they spend all of their available time posting news pieces as soon as they hit the RSS feed and tending to social media, they don't participate in the discussions anymore. If I get an email to my iPhone from the artist's manager, my heart races until I can run to a computer and post whatever news  before a competing fan site. And then I can't express any even slightly controversial opinions about the artist (or my website will be pegged as anti- this or that) and I can't give members of my site any type of sass (or it will be perceived as bullying.) It sucks and it makes me not want to spend time on my own site.

So I really, really appreciate the lack of pretense on this board. It's just a bunch of people talking about their favorite music and that's it. To be honest, I had no idea who the moderators were until a couple weeks ago. That is absolutely a compliment because normally you get a lot of patronizing from mods who like to throw their weight around. I think the current staff is doing a great job in allowing the board to be largely self-moderating and then stepping in when need be.

I don't think creating a new theme is going to ruin the board or anything. I just think one of the best things Smiley Smile has going for it is how unaware of that kind of stuff it is and how the focus is so squarely on discussing the band.

That being said, if the owners want to make some changes, I would also volunteer my services with design and forum modification. I think the first thing to consider would be if Smiley Smile should stay on Simple Machines or be moved to more robust software. Of course, that's a money issue as well.

[runnersdialzero]

Board is fine as it is.

Agreed to the max. A few simple additions like spoiler tags etc. would be fine, but it's fairly annoying when people change formats every year or six months just because they can. Some data or information is always lost, some regulars always somehow fail to make it back, and sometimes a lot of folks are inconvenienced in some manner.

A board I joined in 2001 looks exactly the same as it used to and functions about the same, too, while adding a few simple things (adding the ability to view YouTube videos, spoiler tags) etc. and I like that. Same goes for here. It's simple and does its job very well. A lot of newer formats when it comes to messageboards just result in a lot more unnecessary clutter that no one really cares about, and I can't say the change in style is always a step up. A lot of newer boards are fuggerz as hell and indeed have a very cluttered look and feel to them.

So yeah. Nothin' wrong with keepin' it simple, d00dz ^_^ I will say the South Park banner, while cute, could be changed up from time to time, but that's a really simple thing and it's not especially important.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I'm fine with it being on Simple Machines; haven't had any issues and there certainly are a lot less outages than a lot of other forums I have been on.

and a warning system for posts that could result in a flame war.

I personally am for the idea, myself.

I love this community we have. Just wanted to get that out there

[Freddie French-Pounce]

I'd like to be able to embed stuff, like YouTube clips or SoundCloud links...

[SloopJohnB]

I wouldn't change anything. This is one of the best messageboards I've ever seen. Why fix something that works well? The mods are doing a great job, the interface is simple, even the looks don't need any improvement in my opinion. I like the mostly black/dark green background, it's quite relaxing and easy on the eyes.

[runnersdialzero]

Why fix something that works well?

Yes.

I like the mostly black/dark green background, it's quite relaxing and easy on the eyes.

True, too. White messageboards make my brain bleed if I use them for more than a minute or two.

[hypehat]

Yeah, the board is fine - the community is more why I post than any aesthetic concern, so why fix what ain't broke?

[Catbirdman]

MHO:

I love reading the board, I love the community (except for one person), and think the mods have been great - no problems there at all.

I'm just a bit meh about the overall theme. Mainly the banner. But that's just one man's opinion - I don't mean to offend anyone.

I think runners made a good point I didn't think of. Any fundamental change in software used/method of hosting/etc. (all stuff I don't really know much about) does tend to carry with it bugs and problems in the switchover.

I guess I would favor keeping it more or less the same, running on the same platform as it were, but change up the skin a bit, design a new banner, and throw in a few value-adds like spoiler tags.

I wouldn't mind an "ignore" feature (for that one person). 

How exactly would the "flame war" feature work? I've never heard of something like that - but I sure as f*ck would love to be able to steer clear of that stuff if I could!

But even if everything is kept the same, it's still one of my favorite places to go on the 'net.

[Mikie]

Normally you get a lot of patronizing from mods who like to throw their weight around.

That's for damn sure!!  Luckily it's not a problem on this board!

[Jason]

Normally you get a lot of patronizing from mods who like to throw their weight around.

That's for damn sure!!  Luckily it's not a problem on this board!

We aren't Shut Down.

[tansen]

I miss the ability to subscribe to a thread without having to either post a reply or getting email notification. Over at the Hoffman forum you can subscribe to a thread putting the topic in your own 'folder' - kinda like 'Updated Topics' here, only you don't actually have to participate in order to follow the thread.

Something that's possible here?

[Aegir]

I hate that stupid South Park banner. It doesn't even make sense. Early 70s Al, mid-70s Dennis, 90s Brian, 70s Carl, 80s Mike? and Carl and Dennis with angel wings and halos is kind of weird.

[runnersdialzero]

I hate that stupid South Park banner. It doesn't even make sense. Early 70s Al, mid-70s Dennis, 90s Brian, 70s Carl, 80s Mike? and Carl and Dennis with angel wings and halos is kind of weird.

OUCH OUCH OUCH

[The Heartical Don]

Board is fine as it is.

+1

[Dunderhead]

Could we change just one small tiny thing, maybe, please?

The list of users viewing the general discussion forum doesn't always fit my screen resolution. When a lot of people are viewing the board the list goes on as a single line past the edge of my screen. Is there anyway it can be changed so that the list will adjust itself into multiple lines so that it always fits on one screen?

I really love this board as well, and generally don't want to see any major changes, just a few small tweaks might be nice though.

[tansen]

One thing that find a little bit annoying is that whenever you make a new post to a thread, it takes you to the main forum, as opposed to the actual thread you posted in. I would like to see that change

[runnersdialzero]

Wait, really?

Edit: I'll be damned, so it is. I prefer it this way, but can see why folks would want it the other way around. An option would be nice.

Also, am I the only one who, when trying to log in, gets the password recovery thing when clicking the "Log In" or "Submit" button (I forget what it says) after typing their username and password? I have to hit enter for it to actually work and not take me to the password recovery form. There was a while a few years back where I thought I couldn't log in at all, and after about three attempts was barred from logging in when I figured it out because it registered them as login attempts. I am usually logged in all the time now, but sometimes I'm seemingly logged out at random and occasionally still make the mistake.

[tansen]

Wait, really?

Edit: I'll be damned, so it is. I prefer it this way, but can see why folks would want it the other way around. An option would be nice.

Also, am I the only one who, when trying to log in, gets the password recovery thing when clicking the "Log In" or "Submit" button (I forget what it says) after typing their username and password? I have to hit enter for it to actually work and not take me to the password recovery form. There was a while a few years back where I thought I couldn't log in at all, and after about three attempts was barred from logging in when I figured it out because it registered them as login attempts. I am usually logged in all the time now, but sometimes I'm seemingly logged out at random and occasionally still make the mistake.

Yeah, an option for it would be great.

Nope, you're not alone, that has happened to me too!