requests board

[NecroVMX]

Although whether you continue to use this or not is completely up to you guys, i'd like to offer my thoughts on this.

I don't think it's such a great idea to have this as the way to put in requests, here aremy reasons

1- phpbb is unstable, i've used it many times before, and one thing it loves to do is crash. this can lead to a time when requests can't be put in unless the dj happens to be on aim or the chatroom

2- the thread will get big, the previous way seemed to only keep requests up that were a certain amount of time old, but now someone will have to literally go in and dump them once in a while.

3- users will have to actively unselect the signature box with each post, regular users might forget leading to unwanted bbcode or html on the front page

4- on the prevoius point, if html or javascript sneaks it's way on, it could be exploited. the simple text box of before was immune to this.

5- the old system was great, and wasn't really broken, so it didn't need to be fixed. it was wonderful for anyone to just come to the main page and without having to navigate away both make a request and start listening.

6- the main page refreshes every minute, so if people leave messages you didn't have to be at the forum and looking at that thread, and hitting refresh

7- new listeners might be put off by it. previously i could show someone delicious agony and be like "hey check out this site, it really kicks ass" they start listneing and make a request right on the main page, the dj plays their song (possibly) and they feel really gratified and realize what we all have come to know....that DA kicks a lot of ass. Now to make a request the user will have to open another window to a forum and create an account, then post a reply in the forum. people might decide it's not worth it. we all know that it is, but the old way was SO easy and conveinant that even lazy people will love it.

8- more on that, many people will make accounts at the forums only to make requests, it can become glutted with users only using that one thread or only using it once and not again.

9- it's near the bottom of the page with "music you want da to play" near the top. a lot of new listeners will follow the forum link from the main page to the forum to make a request and use that forum, instead of the correct one.

However i DO like the idea of it showing our name and links to our profile when we post. so perhaps it could be done both ways? leave this system and also have a way to post requests right at the main page? i'm sure there's a way that will do it.

thanks for reading this, if you do

[LesPaul1059]

That's actually what i was thinking: Doing it both ways. You get the best of both worlds

[elliot]

My responses:

Although whether you continue to use this or not is completely up to you guys, i'd like to offer my thoughts on this.

First of all, thanks for caring. Seriously. I gave this some thought before converting. And by the way, the old version is sitting on the web page; I can swap it in at ay time. So, consider this a trial.

1- phpbb is unstable, i've used it many times before, and one thing it loves to do is crash. this can lead to a time when requests can't be put in unless the dj happens to be on aim or the chatroom

I agree with this. But if phpBB goes down, all the forums are out. Requests are the least of the problem. And, is it really a huge deal if requests are broken for a few minutes? At least we'll still be streaming, and I'd like to think the non-requested music is pretty great.

2- the thread will get big, the previous way seemed to only keep requests up that were a certain amount of time old, but now someone will have to literally go in and dump them once in a while.

I can set the auto prune, but that's an administrator issue, and transparent to the listener (you).

3- users will have to actively unselect the signature box with each post, regular users might forget leading to unwanted bbcode or html on the front page

The part that displays on the fron page automatically trims the post to something reasonable, like 200 characters. Sure, it would be nice to automatically not include the signature, but if it slips in, no biggie. Also, only the last 20-30 requests will be visible on the front page.

4- on the prevoius point, if html or javascript sneaks it's way on, it could be exploited. the simple text box of before was immune to this.

Actually not, but you're right, and that's true for all postings. BTW, if you are really ito phpBB, I'm using the Fetch All mod to display the posts on the front page.

5- the old system was great, and wasn't really broken, so it didn't need to be fixed. it was wonderful for anyone to just come to the main page and without having to navigate away both make a request and start listening.

True, and that's a concern. I can easily allow non-registered users to post. Again, this is an experiment. Let's see what happens.

6- the main page refreshes every minute, so if people leave messages you didn't have to be at the forum and looking at that thread, and hitting refresh

Actually, the main page refreshes every 15 minutes. The old board then didn't refresh for a long time. What you see refreshing is a transparent iframe for the playlist. That refreshes 60 seconds. The new request board is also a transparent iframe that refreshes every 90 seconds. You think it should be more frequently?

7- new listeners might be put off by it. previously i could show someone delicious agony and be like "hey check out this site, it really kicks ass" they start listneing and make a request right on the main page, the dj plays their song (possibly) and they feel really gratified and realize what we all have come to know....that DA kicks a lot of ass. Now to make a request the user will have to open another window to a forum and create an account, then post a reply in the forum. people might decide it's not worth it. we all know that it is, but the old way was SO easy and conveinant that even lazy people will love it.

I agree with this. But, see below...

8- more on that, many people will make accounts at the forums only to make requests, it can become glutted with users only using that one thread or only using it once and not again.

Doesn't really matter. I'll clean out accounts that don't get used for a long time.

9- it's near the bottom of the page with "music you want da to play" near the top. a lot of new listeners will follow the forum link from the main page to the forum to make a request and use that forum, instead of the correct one.

There is a pointer on the front page that will take you right to the reply screen. See, I did try to make it easy:-)

However i DO like the idea of it showing our name and links to our profile when we post. so perhaps it could be done both ways? leave this system and also have a way to post requests right at the main page? i'm sure there's a way that will do it.

I think this outweighs a lot about the negatives about having to register and log in.

thanks for reading this, if you do

Nope, didn't see it.

[LesPaul1059]

Your response to number 5, that's what I was thinking. I know most forums enable guest posting, so we might not get an influx of one or two post wonders. It would be more convienant that way, and of course, we're registered, so we get to see our names up hehe

[NecroVMX]

thanks for reading my suggestion and your replies. i really do like this, i just think the old system is better over all, i think being able to have both would be really asskicking

[Mr. Jeff]

the Knoxville area has a really fine group of young musicians in the area called Ground Lift. I have been to several of their shows and was delighted by their songcraft and musicianship. The first time I saw them, they nudged my band (Pie in the Sky) out of the local "Battle of the Bands." I would hope that DA could get their music on the wire.

[NecroVMX]

maybe you ought to have not only made that a seperate thread, but put it in the "music you want DA to play" forum?

[Mel]

Please, Please, pleas, play Frameshift's new album - An Absence of Empathy. It is Amazing!!! It has Sebastion Bach on vocals, and Henning Pauly who is an amazing musician!!! Its AWESOME! Please play it!
Thanks!
Mel.