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| Website improvement ideas 27/01/2019 at 21:47 #115131 | |
KymriskaDraken
963 posts |
Steamer in post 115072 said:It looks really good. There are enough images to in the text to break it up, and all the important items are there.Split the difference and say "Many simulations...." and maybe provide an example (eg WCML). Kev Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 27/01/2019 at 21:52 #115132 | |
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KymriskaDraken
963 posts |
GeoffM in post 115071 said:Dick in post 115064 said:I would say keep the upcoming games (maybe rename it Multiplayer sessions?) and upcoming events but lose the rest. After all the content is only one click away, and I think most regular users will have set the "remember me" cookie so they won't see the new page anyway!Getting rid of all the junk on the left hand side (shout box etc) until logged in will improve it.There is no shout box when logged out. Others have said that they do want some of the things on the left. Perhaps lose the ads but that's all. Kev Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 27/01/2019 at 23:05 #115140 | |
Peter Bennet
5357 posts |
GeoffM in post 115063 said:GeoffM in post 115041 said:First"Mark all read" I am aware is not marking absoltely everything read (within the 90 day cut-off), but am unable to understand why at the moment.Fixed. I don't think it is fixed, just tried it and while it did mark most as read, a very few were not. Seems completely random which ones remained. Went back 5 pages and estimated as a dozen or so. Second My default (saved) setting is "Latest Posts" and pressing the mark all read link refreshed to the Forum Index page. Can it be left on whatever page one was on when the option was selected? Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 28/01/2019 at 20:39 #115171 | |
GeoffM
6280 posts |
Games section improved: - Bugs in subscribing to users fixed (various issues) - Bugs in showing who you're subscribed to, and who subscribes to you fixed - Users can now make a game Public (anybody can see and join); Private (only the hosts accepted attendees can see and join); and Testers (only for developers and testers). SimSig Boss Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 28/01/2019 at 21:20 #115176 | |
Edgemaster
332 posts |
There's another class of user we need to focus on: users returning after a long time away from SimSig, and who may not be aware that most sims are now available through the loader / system files. I fell into this category when I picked SimSig up again towards the middle of last year, and have occasionally noticed that others fall into the same trap. For example, this evening one returning user attempted to join a host with the exe version of Carlisle, was not aware that the loader had been introduced, and attempted to access it by purchasing a donation. (As discussed in the shoutbox). It is important that the upgrade path is made clear for those who have been out of the loop. The fragmentation of sim details across multiple pages on the website and wiki does not help this confusion, especially if someone first comes across the rather sparse Carlisle donation page in their frustration. Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 28/01/2019 at 21:28 #115178 | |
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GeoffM
6280 posts |
Edgemaster in post 115176 said:There's another class of user we need to focus on: users returning after a long time away from SimSig, and who may not be aware that most sims are now available through the loader / system files.I'm not sure how one caters for all types of people who haven't been for (a) a month; (b) a year; (c) 5 years, without actually knowing this (and logins are unreliable information when it comes to what is installed). Ideas welcomed. Incidentally no donation for Carlisle in the last couple of days, and again, it does state "donation". SimSig Boss Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 28/01/2019 at 21:48 #115179 | |
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Edgemaster
332 posts |
GeoffM in post 115178 said:Older users will likely bee-line to the individual simulation download pages, without reading (or forgetting) about the loader, even though it does have an obvious "Download first!" warning. One small improvement might be to add a description to the Obsolete downloads category, explaining that all the downloads are now available through the loader (with a link to instructions). And to move the exe installers for scrolly sims that remain in the main download sections to the obsolete category, or delete altogether as appropriate. (I assume that some old versions may be being kept for old timetable compatibility?) Log in to reply The following user said thank you: KymriskaDraken |
| Website improvement ideas 28/01/2019 at 23:04 #115182 | |
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Peter Bennet
5357 posts |
Edgemaster in post 115179 said:GeoffM in post 115178 said:Not all .exe Sims are obsolete (yet).Older users will likely bee-line to the individual simulation download pages, without reading (or forgetting) about the loader, even though it does have an obvious "Download first!" warning. Peter I identify as half man half biscuit - crumbs! Log in to reply The following user said thank you: JamesN |
| Website improvement ideas 28/01/2019 at 23:26 #115183 | |
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Edgemaster
332 posts |
Peter Bennet in post 115182 said:Not all .exe Sims are obsolete (yet).Understood, but there are a large number of exe installers in the main parts of the download section for sims that are currently available through the loader. Last edited: 28/01/2019 at 23:26 by Edgemaster Reason: None given Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 28/01/2019 at 23:42 #115184 | |
MarkC
1089 posts |
Edgemaster in post 115183 said:Peter Bennet in post 115182 said:Put on mantis for it to be looked into (#0023199)Not all .exe Sims are obsolete (yet).Understood, but there are a large number of exe installers in the main parts of the download section for sims that are currently available through the loader. Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 29/01/2019 at 10:35 #115188 | |
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Phil-jmw
670 posts |
In the user-contributed timetables area, would it be possible to have sim names come up in bold type when new timetables are added, making it possible to see at a glance when new TT's are available? Then, when you have taken a look, either have the sim name go back to normal type automatically or have a facility for the user to 'Mark As Read'? Regards, Phil. Last edited: 29/01/2019 at 23:39 by Phil-jmw Reason: None given Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 29/01/2019 at 22:24 #115194 | |
9pN1SEAp
1102 posts |
Now with the high number of games, the desktop site has nearly two screens of upcoming games before you see any other content, when viewing on a mobile. Can we truncate the Upcoming Games to maybe 5 and add a "seel all" link?
Jamie S (JAMS) Log in to reply The following user said thank you: postal |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 04:54 #115197 | |
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GeoffM
6280 posts |
9pN1SEAp in post 115194 said:Now with the high number of games, the desktop site has nearly two screens of upcoming games before you see any other content, when viewing on a mobile. Can we truncate the Upcoming Games to maybe 5 and add a "seel all" link?There's just no pleasing everybody, is there?! :) I think the cut-off would be better at 7-8 days so people can see immediately what's coming up. Otherwise people may simply not notice the additional games going on and miss out. SimSig Boss Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 10:01 #115200 | |
postal
5190 posts |
GeoffM in post 115197 said:I think the cut-off would be better at 7-8 days so people can see immediately what's coming up. Otherwise people may simply not notice the additional games going on and miss out.That would leave 9 displayed of the 12 currently advertised at the time of writing which is neither status quo nor addressing the point! Why more than 2 or 3 days on permanent display with a display all button for the rest? That leaves the information available for those who want to join something in short order while putting anyone who wishes to plan for further ahead with the minimal disruption of one extra click. After all, I thought that part of the exercise was to produce a more readable and customer friendly web-site. I'm not sure that overloading the site with information for what is effectively a niche product achieves that aim. “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 11:49 #115203 | |
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Jan
889 posts |
GeoffM in post 115197 said:9pN1SEAp in post 115194 said:Now with the high number of games, the desktop site has nearly two screens of upcoming games before you see any other content, when viewing on a mobile. Can we truncate the Upcoming Games to maybe 5 and add a "seel all" link?There's just no pleasing everybody, is there?! :) 1. Having a cut-off of 7-8 days (or maybe 7-8 days or 5 games, whichever is more?) as a sanity limit might be useful even on desktop. 2. Due to the way the page works, using a different cut-off for the mobile layout (i.e. not the full mobile page, but the mobile layout of the desktop page) would probably be too complicated [1], however 3. Setting some reasonable "max-height" (150px or somewhere in that area?) value in combination with "overflow-y: scroll" on the "page-body" element of the "Upcoming Games" panel (restricted with a suitable "max-width" media query, similar to the other CSS rules for the mobile layout) would be a reasonable alternative, I think. The only thing that's missing is that at the moment only the Ads and Shout Box panels have a class respectively ID that allows to uniquely identify them within the context of CSS selectors. So either the Upcoming Games panels needs its own ID, too, or seeing that there is a "hidden-sm"/"hidden-xs" class for panels that should be completely hidden in the narrow layouts, you could create something like a "restricted-height-sm"/"restricted-height-xs" class with the corresponding rules attached (in theory, the Upcoming Events box could benefit from the same treatment, although in practice I guess there usually aren't quite as many pending events as there are games). [1] Although something might work with a little JS - set a CSS class on anything that's more than the default number of games to hide them by default (optionally on mobile only), and then use a "View more" link that removes that class through JS and thereby unhides those games. Two million people attempt to use Birmingham's magnificent rail network every year, with just over a million of them managing to get further than Smethwick. Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 14:39 #115205 | |
Dick
386 posts |
I'll say it again, although it doesn't seem to have any support from anyone, all the items in the left hand column should only be visible when logged in. It is of absolutely no interest whatsoever to the casual visitor to the front page which should merely be a showcase for Simsig. It is just clutter which adds to confusion for potential customers.
Log in to reply The following users said thank you: postal, kbarber |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 15:00 #115206 | |
pedroathome
887 posts |
Dick in post 115205 said:I'll say it again, although it doesn't seem to have any support from anyone, all the items in the left hand column should only be visible when logged in. It is of absolutely no interest whatsoever to the casual visitor to the front page which should merely be a showcase for Simsig. It is just clutter which adds to confusion for potential customers.Persionally, I'd argue that being able to see upcoming sessions will encourrage people to look into SimSig further as an active community. The same goes with being able to see the forum. For example, if I am browsing the SimSig website from my phone, I am never signed in. I'd still in this case like to be able to view at a glance any threads which might be of importance. Yes I know its possible to goto the Forum and View Latest Posts, but it is less convienient James Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 15:29 #115208 | |
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Dick
386 posts |
pedroathome in post 115206 said:Dick in post 115205 said:Probably because I am not interested in multiplayer, I take the opposite view. I think it gives the impression that Simsig is an online game to be played as multiplayer rather than a standalone simulation that can be played in isolation.I'll say it again, although it doesn't seem to have any support from anyone, all the items in the left hand column should only be visible when logged in. It is of absolutely no interest whatsoever to the casual visitor to the front page which should merely be a showcase for Simsig. It is just clutter which adds to confusion for potential customers.Persionally, I'd argue that being able to see upcoming sessions will encourrage people to look into SimSig further as an active community. The same goes with being able to see the forum. Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 16:32 #115209 | |
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GeoffM
6280 posts |
postal in post 115200 said:GeoffM in post 115197 said:The mission was to reduce the number displayed - and I make it 7, not 9. So mission accomplished. What we could be looking at instead is how the information is presented rather than cutting off useful information.I think the cut-off would be better at 7-8 days so people can see immediately what's coming up. Otherwise people may simply not notice the additional games going on and miss out.That would leave 9 displayed of the 12 currently advertised at the time of writing which is neither status quo nor addressing the point! Dick in post 115205 said: I'll say it again, although it doesn't seem to have any support from anyone, all the items in the left hand column should only be visible when logged in. It is of absolutely no interest whatsoever to the casual visitor to the front page which should merely be a showcase for Simsig. It is just clutter which adds to confusion for potential customers.I don't agree - I'm more with James on this. A user wants to see a website that shows some form of life. I wouldn't buy from a website that appeared to be dead. SimSig Boss Last edited: 30/01/2019 at 16:32 by GeoffM Reason: None given Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 16:39 #115211 | |
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postal
5190 posts |
pedroathome in post 115206 said:Persionally, I'd argue that being able to see upcoming sessions will encourrage people to look into SimSig further as an active community.I haven't seen anyone arguing that upcoming sessions should not be advertised. The comments have been about the emphasis. Given the current experience, I think it's a doubtful point about the encouragement. Even on the days when there are multiple hosting sessions taking place, I'd be surprised if there were as many as 50 people taking part. Compare that with the number of daily visitors to the site and multiplay is probably a niche product. If we want to draw people in and get them to join a thriving community I don't think we want to make it seem like the niche product is the be-all and end-all;we need to set our targets a bit wider and with a bit more thought about what the average user (whoever that might be) would want out of SimSig. “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply The following user said thank you: Dick |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 16:46 #115212 | |
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postal
5190 posts |
GeoffM in post 115209 said:The mission was to reduce the number displayed - and I make it 7, not 9. So mission accomplished.By that argument, you would be claiming success if you reduced from 12 to 11! What would you actually see as a sensible target where the space taken up balances the usefulness of the information? “In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe Log in to reply |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 17:08 #115213 | |
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GeoffM
6280 posts |
postal in post 115212 said:GeoffM in post 115209 said:Exactly. Like the LUL Central Line, the equipment met all the requirements and passed all the tests. Unfortunately the requirements didn't meet the unidentified target.The mission was to reduce the number displayed - and I make it 7, not 9. So mission accomplished.By that argument, you would be claiming success if you reduced from 12 to 11! postal in post 115212 said: What would you actually see as a sensible target where the space taken up balances the usefulness of the information?Try now. SimSig Boss Log in to reply The following users said thank you: Edgemaster, postal |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 18:24 #115216 | |
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Albert
1313 posts |
I did not notice the full list of games until now - maybe you can add a (small, unobtrusive) text "6 more games" at the bottom, and sort the full list ascending (just like the short one) rather than descending?
AJP in games Log in to reply The following user said thank you: KymriskaDraken |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 18:59 #115217 | |
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JamesN
1574 posts 
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Following on from comments elsewhere - a record of when users signed up for a game would be useful; even if only visible to the person who created the game.
Log in to reply The following user said thank you: KymriskaDraken |
| Website improvement ideas 30/01/2019 at 19:06 #115218 | |
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9pN1SEAp
1102 posts |
GeoffM in post 115213 said:Try now.Much nicer. I would suggest if there's more than can be seen it says "(X more)". Thanks! Jamie Jamie S (JAMS) Log in to reply |