Ideas for Newgrounds' Evolution

[Denvish]

We’re all aware that NG is constantly evolving. The ideas for development, primarily from Tom and Wade, are hitting liljim faster than he can implement them, while ideas from users are scattered throughout threads in the fora (forums). NG has one of the most creative groups of people on the net, with some great ideas for future changes to Newgrounds, but those ideas from users are getting lost in the spam. This thread is an attempt to consolidate those suggestions into one central, easy-to-read form that the admins can readily consult without having to dig through tons of crap.

Posters: DO NOT SPAM OR WHINE. This is not the place for you to complain about things you don’t like about NG, just for constructive advice and ideas for the future.

1) READ the posts in the thread, to make sure that you are not simply rehashing a previous post.

2) Don’t spam up the thread with comments that merely agree with another poster.

3) Don’t spam up the thread with comments that merely disagree with another poster.

4) Don’t waste anyone’s time complaining about your blammed flash, why it’s taking so long for other ideas to be implemented, that people who don’t make flash are allowed to vote, and the like. If you don’t like NG, leave.

5) Discussion is encouraged, flaming is not. If you think someone else’s idea is impractical, take the time to explain why, or don’t bother posting. If you think someone else almost has the right idea, expound on it. The resulting conversation may help us come up with something else.

6) Take the time to consider whether your idea is practical and useful, or frivolous and inefficient:

--- a. How much bandwidth or server load will it cost?

--- b. What level of user demand for this idea would there be?

--- c. Does it serve a purpose, or would it merely, “be nice to have?”

--- d. Is there something else NG does that already takes care of this?

--- e. Is there something awaiting implementation that covers this?

--- f. Include your reasoning in your post.

7) Keep in mind that this is neither a list of demands, nor a slate of what WILL be put into place. This is merely a thread to allow the users to express and refine their ideas for what they would like to see done with NG. The final decision, as always, rests with the admins.

So, in which direction(s) do you think Newgrounds should be heading? What should be added to the site? What should be tweaked? Why?

*Footnote: This thread has received the OK from liljim. Thanks to D0GMA for tweaking/rewriting this post ;)

[PickleSqueeze]

I think Newgrounds has enough rules already. However, a nice new rule would be not to allow double-posting, unless you made a crutial mistake in your last post.

[pieoncar]

At 1/31/05 06:35 PM, Denvish wrote: --- a. How much bandwidth or server load will it cost?

--- b. What level of user demand for this idea would there be?

--- c. Does it serve a purpose, or would it merely, “be nice to have?”

--- d. Is there something else NG does that already takes care of this?

--- e. Is there something awaiting implementation that covers this?

--- f. Include your reasoning in your post.

First, I'd like to be able to see for how long I'm banned (which does not happen so often for me, but I can't speak for other people). This could be as simple as making all posting abilities disabled, so it would be the same as though a topic was locked; or, just a small message somewhere on the page saying "You are banned until 7:00 PM Feb. 2, 2004. Please click here for the reason."

As it is, it is frustrating to type out somewhat lengthy post and then find out that you're banned for something stupid you did earlier. I've done that on a couple occasions. Then the only way to find out when you're unbanned (unless you made a note of it the first time) would be to write out another post, but then some people tend to make lame "Can I post again yet?" posts.

This idea:
- Server load: almost none.
- User demand: medium, I think.
- Purpose: more towards nice to have.
- Already exists: somewhat, but not optimized.
- Awaiting implementation: no, as far as I know.
- Difficulty of implementation: low.

My next idea (I'm sure we will be seeing much more of this idea) is the text search for the BBS.

I am fairly technologically educated, and I thus believe my approach is feasible (although I'm not sure exactly which database wolud be best for the job): rather than searching through a dynamic BBS, there needs to be a static version of the BBS. The BBS would be "cloned" perhaps once every night, and then, depending on the computer(s) doing the job, it may take a few hours to convert all the posts in the BBS into a static database, which would be searchable with very little server load. The result of this would be that now the users could find obscure topics that had useful/funny links, on the caveat that they wouldn't search topics made within the last several hours; but, they shouldn't need to, since it would be reasonable to expect one to remember a topic from that recently, or at least be able to find it again.

For anyone familiar with Linux or Unix, I'm thinking of the `locate` command.

This idea/implementation:
- Server load: depends on creating the database; might be performable with a dedicated desktop computer?
- User demand: high.
- Purpose: BBS convenience, primarily.
- Already exists: not anymore.
- Awaiting implementation: no, as far as I know.
- Difficulty of implementation: medium?

And I had another idea, but I lost it while writing my second one. I'll post back later if it comes back to me.

[Eldarion]

The ability to preview replies before posting them would be great.

» It would allow users to check that all their html tags and/or other text formatting was correct before posting.

» It would (or should) silence those who whine for an 'edit post' button. (Something that has been requested many times, but can never be implemented due to the obvious opportunities for abuse).

» The preview could also have an in-built spellchecker. OK, so most NG users mangle the English language so badly that no human, let alone computer, could decipher their mistakes, but it would catch some errors at least.

» It would allow users to preview any images they are posting. Sometimes, images show poorer quality on the BBS than they did on the user's hard drive.

» This would be especially useful for anyone making lists/tables in their posts. They would be able to format their columns etc. correctly before they post.

This feature could be implemented be having a 'Preview' button beside the 'Post it!' button which would open the reply in a new window, displaying it as it would look on the BBS. The user could then just close the new window, correct any mistakes, and hit preview again, until they are happy, and finally hit 'Post it!'

[jonthomson]

At 1/31/05 07:04 PM, ShitPissFuckCuntTits wrote: My next idea (I'm sure we will be seeing much more of this idea) is the text search for the BBS.

If it really is a case of server load as to why it hasn't been introduced, a stop gap measure would be to abuse Google - set up the search field to automatically search newgrounds.com using the advanced search for the desired text. Shouldn't be too hard to do in theory.

Failing that, restore Cat Dynamics to its former glory and run a monthly promotion whereby the winner gets a poster of Pico signed by Bob Carolgees (Spit the dog costing extra).

[pieoncar]

At 1/31/05 07:04 PM, ShitPissFuckCuntTits wrote: And I had another idea, but I lost it while writing my second one. I'll post back later if it comes back to me.

Okay, I don't think either of these two were the forgotten idea, but here goes anyway.

Sometimes, there's just one good post that's really funny or informative, that I want to show my friends who don't use Newgrounds. For that purpose, it would be convenient to have a direct link to a post, rather than that person having to read through the posts on a page. It should be very simple to create another page, similar to viewing a thread to which nobody has yet replied. However, rather than cluttering the rest of the pages with "Direct link to this post" links, it would make sense, in my opinion, to just have said link on the same page as the "Reply to this quote" page, perhaps.

This idea/implementation:
- Server load: none.
- User demand: low.
- Purpose: convenience in sharing posts outside of the BBS.
- Already exists: no, unless you count reading the post inside the "Post Reply" box.
- Awaiting implementation: no, as far as I know.
- Difficulty of implementation: very easy.

Next, this one is mainly for the programming forum (and probably somewhat for the Flash forum too, when it comes to Actionscript).

Simply put, code is much harder to read when the indentation is removed. I think allowing the "code" tag in HTML, in addition to the current tags, would help facilitate people helping one another out with code, due to the enhanced readability. Rather than having to copy and paste and then test out someone's Javascript code, I could potentially just identify the problem from a missing brace nested deep somewhere in their code.

This idea/implementation:
- Server load: none.
- User demand: medium-high in Programming forum, unknown in Flash forum.
- Purpose: easier to help people program, and easier for people new to coding to understand code that others post.
- Already exists: no.
- Awaiting implementation: no, as far as I know.
- Difficulty of implementation: very easy.

And I'll probably be back later with more.

[jonthomson]

Oh yeah, if if can be done, add a feature in the message composition thing whereby if we type a certain string (such as ~faq~, say) it'll automatically link to a given thing (in this case, the FAQ). Works a charm on many forums I know of.

[liljim]

At 1/31/05 07:04 PM, ShitPissFuckCuntTits wrote: My next idea (I'm sure we will be seeing much more of this idea) is the text search for the BBS.

Forget that - in fact I should have made an addendum to the e-mail I sent back to Denvish about this... I've tried so many things with the text search, they all haven't worked out.

As for user demand being high for this - it really isn't - there were only ever a handful of people searching for things (by text) when the text search was operational. The topic search is still up and running and most people don't think twice about even using that before creating a new thread.

I don't think Denvish intended this as a BBS-oriented "evolution suggestions", either, although that's the way the thread seems to be going already. Try and think outside of the circle.

BBS ban thing noted. I think that's a good idea. Not sure about the link to post in a thread idea, but that might work. Question of placement (where you get to see the link on the page that you want to send to someone else) and whether or not anyone (other than you, of course :)) would actually use it.

[SeeD419]

I think the best possibe idea I've heard from anybody so far would be to be able to see if you've already reviewed a flash or not. Has anybody ever typed up a review only to hit submit and realize you've already reviewed the flash before? Very frustrating...

I'd propose exactly what Retrogade has done. After you've reviewed a flash, the review button disappears. Maybe it's just me, but I thought that was a really great idea.

I've had tons of ideas for Newgrounds during my stay here, pardon me for only being able to remember one. I'll probably be active in this thread, or at least back later on with some new ideas.

[PickleSqueeze]

I'd like to see a "Edit Post" button... t's very frustrating when someone posts something right before you as you are writing your post, and makes your post look stupid.

[pieoncar]

At 1/31/05 08:34 PM, liljim wrote: As for user demand being high for this - it really isn't - there were only ever a handful of people searching for things (by text) when the text search was operational.

Oh, I didn't realize this. I was just going by the fact that it seems to be the most commonly complained-about thing on the BBS (but you'll probably prove me wrong here too, haha :P).

Not sure about the link to post in a thread idea, but that might work. Question of placement (where you get to see the link on the page that you want to send to someone else) and whether or not anyone (other than you, of course :)) would actually use it.

Agreed, given the current setup, there isn't really a good place for it, and it certainly doesn't deserve its own button next to the reply and contact author buttons. I would honestly be satisfied if it were as little as just having to manually type in newgrounds.com/view_single_post.php?id=XXXXXX. It could be up there in the ranks with those weird random NG links like blah.

So now I'm kinda going through my head for non-BBS ideas to, er, cancel out my earlier ideas :X Thing is, I spend the most time on the BBS, when I'm at Newgrounds.

Of course the first thing to come to mind would still involve the BBS. I was thinking an XML/RSS feed for the News posts, but maybe extending that to P-Bot's posts would be cool too. But again, the question of how many people would use that...

I don't know why I feel so obligated to come up with stuff. Might have something to do with the hours of entertainment that Newgrounds has provided me.

[Denvish]

Cool. Nice to see some well-thought out ideas gracing this page

At 1/31/05 08:34 PM, liljim wrote: I don't think Denvish intended this as a BBS-oriented "evolution suggestions", either, although that's the way the thread seems to be going already. Try and think outside of the circle.

Yeah, I probably should have listed some of these in my original post... it just didn't really occur to me that people would be thinking solely of the BBS. So, take the time to consider these areas of Newgrounds, as well:

Front Page
Flash Portal
Collections
Profiles
Stats Pages
Audio Portal
Alphas

I'm sure there are aspects of the site I've forgotten, but that should give some food for thought.

Just a quickie before I start my main comments... please could the volume on the Portal Flash (when you roll over the swfs) be turned down a little?

OK... so, I'm going to have a go at the Audio Portal. I know the admin have some ideas in process/pending for the AP - unfortunately, I have no clue as to what the plans involve, so my comments are going to be based on the way it stands at the moment.

Currently there are on average between 5 and 15 new audio authors submitting each day. I have no way of telling how many new submissions from approved authors hit the AP daily (guessing: 50-100), or how many Audio authors there are in total (thousands?), but there are some serious flaws with the way the Audio Portal is running. Issues get raised whenever the AP is mentioned in a News post, and I've also seen several post in General by disgruntled musicians. I don't have all the answers, so I'd appreciate it if this subject was discussed at length by anybody interested, preferably in a constructive manner.

The two main problems I find are these:

Due to the fact that voting on the AP is unweighted, and only one vote per user per life is allowed, it's all too easy for good submissions to end up with a score of 2-, and weak submissions to get 4+. I'd hazard a guess that the average submission on the Audio Portal has a maximum of 15 votes thrown at it. Something needs to be done to make this process fairer and more balanced, since it's way to easy for jealous musicians to vote down or a bunch of friends to vote up.
It's hard to suggest what, though; the most sensible suggestion I've seen so far is to encourage more people to vote on UJ music, possibly by awarding them BP points. In other words, make the AP more like the Flash Portal - crap gets removed, good stuff gets through: reviews on audio get added to your total review count: BP points get added to your BP total OR your profile gets a new stat, AP points. The obvious problems with this idea:

- Musical taste tends to be a lot more personal than 'Flash' taste
- Would probably require some MAJOR recoding of the AP, and NG in general
- 3-10 second loops would probably end up at a (voting) disadvantage, even though they are actually more suited (than 3 minute songs) to the AP's primary purpose: providing soundtracks for Flash artists
- I'm sure there are more... hit me with them >:)

The second problem is one that also afflicts the Flash Portal. If your music/movie doesn't make either the front page or a collection (or in the case of the AP, the first page of a category), then it's destined to languish forever in obscurity. The only way you're going to get people to listen to it is by blatant self-promotion on the BBS and/or people finding it through your other work. Generally, the first page of each genre on the AP is filled with either known and established artists like evil-dog and Paragon, or new submissions on which the author has voted 5, and no-one has noticed yet. This means that some of the best stuff in each category is buried on page 2 or lower... I spent a whole day finding 8 clips for a game I recently made.
I don't know if there is a ready solution to this. Although I'd like to see some more categories with emphasis on acoustic music (biased? me? No!!! honest), I can understand why liljim doesn't want to go overboard with new genres.

Please add your comments and suggestions to this, I've run out of steam for now but will probably get back to it at some point to try and clear up some points and/or make more constructive suggestions as to what could be done.

[liljim]

At 1/31/05 08:58 PM, ShitPissFuckCuntTits wrote: Of course the first thing to come to mind would still involve the BBS. I was thinking an XML/RSS feed for the News posts, but maybe extending that to P-Bot's posts would be cool too. But again, the question of how many people would use that...

It's funny that you should mention rss feeds - I actually have thought about creating feeds in the past (not so much for the bbs stuff, but what's listed from the (Flash) Portal). I played around with some wml feeds as well a year or so ago (just for those wanting to check things out from their cell phone) and with some javascript feeds (because that's just a case of referencing an src rather than parsing information from rss feeds).

In the past, there were swf files that you could embed in your site that would display the latest 5 Flash Portal submissions, the top 5 Flash Portal daily submissions, etc. These have been discontinued for a long time now. I don't know the reason for that, but it makes me wonder how many people were actually using those files on their site and it also makes me wonder how many questions were fielded about setting up those files from users wanting to reference the files from their site.

That's the key thing to bear in mind here (amongst everything else) - whether the benefit of having the feature outweighs the problems that might arise for having said features. Even from when I came on board, the site was so much more easy to maintain (correct problems where they occur, when they occur) when there were less features on the site to maintain.

Existing features need constant attention, though that attention (when applied) goes un-noticed by users, because it's all transparent to them (unless mistakes are made in tweaking problems with existing features and then it's painfully obvious, because umpteen number of threads are made about whatever glitch might have occured as a result of the changes).

Producing rss feeds wouldn't take very long at all... I just worry about all the e-mails and forum posts that would be made about implementing the feeds into the users' sites. Even if a tutorial accompanied links to the feeds...

I dunno, I'm rambling. :)

[FIGMENTUM]

At 1/31/05 08:48 PM, MuyBurrito wrote: Mod-Elves.

Interesting idea. Perhaps the whistle system could be brought to the BBS? That way the mods wouldn't have to be bothered with the selection and abusers of the feature would still be dealt with. Marked posts/threads could be placed in a control panel visible only to the mods, a la the review moderation system. Multiple flags could move the post/thread towards the top of the control panel.

I also think mods could be trusted with the IP addresses of all posters, just to be certain of who's alt is who's.

[jonthomson]

At 2/2/05 02:56 AM, FIGMENTUM wrote:

Interesting idea. Perhaps the whistle system could be brought to the BBS? That way the mods wouldn't have to be bothered with the selection and abusers of the feature would still be dealt with. Marked posts/threads could be placed in a control panel visible only to the mods, a la the review moderation system. Multiple flags could move the post/thread towards the top of the control panel.

Yeah, that'd be nice in theory. The only thing is that there's only nine forums that people can post in (three of which are reply only anyway), and none of them move particularly quickly. Compare that with, say, GameFAQs, which has the sort of system you describe, where they frequently have 5,000+ users on with thousands of boards, some of which do 30,000 messages a day. There, such a system is necessary (because they have nowhere near as many mods per user as we do, and due to sheer size). At least here, it's small enough that we usually pick up on everything.

I also think mods could be trusted with the IP addresses of all posters, just to be certain of who's alt is who's.

I think there's some legal issues with that or something, although it'd be a godsend.

[Denvish]

Ho hum. This has been popping into my head on an irregular basis for a couple of months, and I've seen it mentioned a few times on the BBS.

I know it's not really what NG is about, but there are a lot of good (and more than a few awful) tutorials that have been submitted to NG. Quite often, they're used as an excuse to not bother making a movie, but there are some very good and informative tuts around.

Would it be possible to get a section for tutorials added to the COLLECTIONS? Tom wouldn't even need to do much work to implement it, since AGH has made a pretty comprehensive list of the best ones - see here

[Luxury-Yacht]

I really wish that we could see our whistle points, and how many other people have. Also, I have been lurking about the AP lately, and I noticed that my reviews for audio are not shown in my profile. I'd like it if we could include those reviews.

[M-A-R-C-U-S]

wow i would think i have a few ideas but at the moment im pretty tired, lol. sorry Denvish.
i think that before NG has any major changes, it needs to become more well rounded.
our profiles need to be updated to go with the bbs and the portal, www.newgrounds.com/portal/stats needs to have a make over, and the other 'old sections' of ng need to be re-vamped...
then the new ideas should start kickin' in.

[FIGMENTUM]

At 2/2/05 07:32 AM, jonthomson wrote:

At 2/2/05 02:56 AM, FIGMENTUM wrote: Perhaps the whistle system could be brought to the BBS?

NG != gfaqs, mods catch everything, redundant.

Heh, the Gfaq forums actually came to mind while typing that post. I was thinking more along the lines of trouble makers in clubs. I don't know exactly how thoroughly the C&C forum is moderated, but at the rate some of the clubs grow it would be understandable to learn that not every page is scanned and mod approved. The clubs with several hundred pages under their belt are in the same boat as P-Bot's postings; spam/flames/inappropriateness is easily hidden. In cases such as these, the 'neighbourhood watch' could prove quite useful, since I'm sure you mods would rather not have your inboxes filled with links to minor infractions.

I think there's some legal issues with that or something, although it'd be a godsend.

AFAIK, IPB forums have it set to default. If a little footnote about it was included in the rules I'm sure NG would be covered legally (since you have to confirm you've read the rules to post).

[jonthomson]

At 2/3/05 02:59 AM, FIGMENTUM wrote: Heh, the Gfaq forums actually came to mind while typing that post. I was thinking more along the lines of trouble makers in clubs. I don't know exactly how thoroughly the C&C forum is moderated, but at the rate some of the clubs grow it would be understandable to learn that not every page is scanned and mod approved. The clubs with several hundred pages under their belt are in the same boat as P-Bot's postings; spam/flames/inappropriateness is easily hidden. In cases such as these, the 'neighbourhood watch' could prove quite useful, since I'm sure you mods would rather not have your inboxes filled with links to minor infractions.

With regards to C&C, a few clubs have unofficial arrangements with some mods to cut down on the spam (i.e. if they see spam, they'll tell someone), but that's the biggesr problem, yes. Clubs should know that big clubs have been locked in the past when they've degenerated into spam, and really ought to police themselves to some extent.

As for P-Bot, some mods do check it, at least for post-count whoring. If someone's got the last reply in 12 topics in a row it's easily spotted. Same with NG News/Network News, they move slowly and it's easy enough to check.

[ramagi]

At 1/31/05 06:35 PM, Denvish wrote:

Ok Since I already expressed before this, not here.

How the whole review system works.
I like the idea about being able to tell with out looking through all the reviews that you reviewed that Flash.
I like to see how the whole process of how bans for people with reviews work.
I have seen many people complain that they have been banned for long periods of time and are not getting responses fro the Ng admin.
I know that would require recoding the system, and have been told by James that he would like tha change it.
I like to see something how the BBS system works.
Leave the spam link ban a permanet ban.
The gereral ban givethe ability to give how long the ban is for. Then give tither the review mods the ability to delete revies, or make a page where reviews can be voted on by several review mods for deletion.
It would require more coding, I don't think it would create much more load on the server.
It would Help the NG staff with the back log of reviews that happen.
even though I have been told something may be in the works.

[TVs-Slayer]

I just got a small suggestion. Perhaps being able to flag responses to reviews as well as the review itself. Oftentimes I see an author using racial and sexual slurs towards people who review them. Just a minor irk I have.

User demand: Probably just me.
Purpose: Keeping the site clean.
Already exists: Only for the review.
Awaiting implementation: don't think so.
Difficulty of implementation: Low I'd guess.

Just wanted to give my piece.

[ramagi]

At 2/3/05 03:41 PM, -Gooch- wrote:

At 2/3/05 12:31 PM, TVs_Slayer wrote: I just got a small suggestion. Perhaps being able to flag responses to reviews as well as the review itself. Oftentimes I see an author using racial and sexual slurs towards people who review them. Just a minor irk I have.

I ment to say somethign about that myself, I have notice some authors can be offensiive to reviews taht do not break the rules. Which is unfortunate.

1) The Newgrounds Quick Draw gives out extra experience points. Let's say maybe:

5 points for the first depositer
3 points for the second depositer
1 point for the third depositer

This would favor people from the same time zone as the sever, plus those with non dial up users. I rather have something fair to all the Newground users.

[Denvish]

At 2/3/05 03:41 PM, -Gooch- wrote: 1) The Newgrounds Quick Draw gives out extra experience points. Let's say maybe:

5 points for the first depositer
3 points for the second depositer
1 point for the third depositer

No offence, but that would be completely unfair to users from timezones besides the US... I tend to sleep very short shifts, but I'm nearly always asleep at 5:00 am, as are most of the other residents of Europe.

[pieoncar]

At 2/3/05 03:50 PM, Denvish wrote: No offence, but that would be completely unfair to users from timezones besides the US...

It's an interesting idea. Why not give a bonus to the first X depositors every hour?

[Tommy]

At 2/3/05 04:01 PM, -Gooch- wrote: All in all, I'm trying to think of a fair way for everybody to gain extra experiece points, so that everyone has an equal shot at extra points, but at the same time, encouraging everybody to deposit. :)

Im all in favour of encouraging users to deposite more, but your system will have problems.....

One of which being, say one user becomes extreamly good at this, eg(i know he probably wouldn't be but....) Humantarget, if he is getting more than him daily 10 everyday then this is going to cause, more and more people to complain about the level requirements raising out of control, which is fair enough because they are alot as it is, do we really want them to get even bigger still?

[phileeguy]

I'm sure that I will think of ideas for other sections of this fine site later, but for now all I can think of are 2 ideas for the BBS.

Firstly, I would like to see the minimum letter/number in words search requirement on the BBS be dropped from 4 to 3. There are many threads that consist of "WTF", "LOL", and the ever rare "How do I use my (something that's 3 letters)" which may be 5 -10 pages old but you cannot find it with the search tool.

The only problem I could see is a possible overflow of results.

Another thing on the BBS I would like to see is a different Post Icon/ emoticon, perhaps a Sickly Green Face, God knows that would apply to many threads. Perhaps instead of increasing the total number of the Post Icons we can remove sayyyyy the Light Bulb. The Light Bulb is nice, but to me it only conveys the "I've got an idea" statement to grab someones attention, whereas attention grabbing is the Exclamation's forte. I can't see why it should'nt be used for ideas as well.

Do I get grief for this idea, like grief was had over the new angrie faic?

[Tommy]

At 2/3/05 05:05 PM, phileeguy wrote: Another thing on the BBS I would like to see is a different Post Icon/ emoticon, perhaps a Sickly Green Face, God knows that would apply to many threads. Perhaps instead of increasing the total number of the Post Icons we can remove sayyyyy the Light Bulb. The Light Bulb is nice, but to me it only conveys the "I've got an idea" statement to grab someones attention, whereas attention grabbing is the Exclamation's forte. I can't see why it should'nt be used for ideas as well.

I like this idea but why stop at a few new icons for the corner slot, why not implement the icons like they have on Retrogade.com, where your given a whole selection to choose from that can be used in posts. This would be alot better than people using things like ^_^ : ) etc..... You could even ern them some how, or recive them as a secret......

[Tommy]

At 2/3/05 05:49 PM, BareNakedMike wrote: Why not have a Link to the BBS Rules and FAQ, seeing as how like 80% of new users never use/see the Nav bar on top.
This way it will be easier to see them without having to post about somthing, like Leveling up.

This could be a good idea however....
When you sign up for an Ng account their is a page that advises the new user to read the faq, if they don't read that it's unlikly they will read it anywere.

[Fuel2Fire]

I think it would be a much greater idea to not show an actual rating of the song untill at least 5 people have rating the song. I know many audio portal artists can likely relate to this.
I had a song that recieved about 70 downloads in like 3 days if that but I was the only person to rate the song (obviously the artist gives it a 5 to put it on top of charts so others will actually listen to it)
So after 3 days with a 5 rating and people downloading my song very fast 1 other vote of 0 put me to a 2.50 rating and halfway or less down the chart. Since then the # of downloads of the song maybe went to like 3 more in about a month. I doubt this is coincidence.

So my idea is that all songs newly added should have a 5 rating till at least 5 people have rated the song. This way it is more fair to the artist and people will take that extra few seconds to actually rate music.

I figure an average from 5 ratings is fair to both artists and NG. 5 ratings will give a decently accurate rating of the song and making it a low number gives it a chance to drop faster to allow newer and better songs to be rated better. No point in keeping a bad song up till about 15-20 people rate it for it to drop. if you feel a different number is better than so be it. But at least this way its more fair to the artist.

Just a thought of mine to end some of my own, and other audio portal atrists, frustration. Thanks for your time NG admin.

-Signed