Ideas to improve AO

[Justus]

"badges", "medals", "rep points", etc.
don't want them

I get your rant, and I'd agree with some of it. But it's centered around when people are just doing it wrong. The main reason I'd vote for signature lines is simply because most BST transactions go down via PM, and it's REALLY handy to have a link to your feedback in a sig line so that with each PM the recipient has an ability to just click on it and get there. It's much better than having to go back and search for the sale thread again, or searching through the feedback forum.

And the avatars... if we're grown up around here, then you could certainly expect the type of avatars that are not annoying, and that stay constant so that people are quickly and easily recognized by them. Avatars that I wouldn't want my kids to see or which induce epileptic seizures can simply be nuked by the mods/admins.

But my point is that if we start throwing cold water on every new thing simply because we can find one example of somebody making it annoying, we'll be left without any content whatsoever. Should we have to forego these conveniences simply because some people exploit them for annoyance? Or can we just clean up the annoyances without throwing out the conveniences? My thought is that if this is a mature forum, then the efforts required to police these kinds of things should be minimal.

[Chrome]

Justus, agreed that all these things SHOULD be able to be taken in and used as intended. . .

. . . and I hope I didn't come off as a rant, but rather just some (maybe long-winded) constructive input. I guess I just don't want a nice, suburban neighborhood to turn into the Las Vegas strip (not that the strip doesn't have its own unique charm for folks into that sort of thing ).

As the baby is placed gently into the bathwater. . .

[zondo]

Most places have a way to disable sigs and avatars in your viewing (BEO and MCB, for example). Otherwise it takes forever to load in some locations and on my phone

The choice should be offered, IMO.

I don't get "rep points," but a feedback rating system would be more appropriate for what we do here.

[knownothingmags]

I don't get "rep points," but a feedback rating system would be more appropriate for what we do here.

so are we going to be spotted our positive ratings?
or does everyone start fresh?

[BigEvil]

Bring back :

1)Triangle
2)Don Miguel


/Thread

[luke]

Bring back :

1)Triangle
2)Don Miguel


/Thread

I had to double check, but Don is the only one I have ever added to my ignore list.

[zondo]

so are we going to be spotted our positive ratings?
or does everyone start fresh?

No... Feedback ratings like how eBay, BEO, PBN, etc. have for transactions. I don't like the rep ratings.

[Dayspring]

Most places have a way to disable sigs and avatars in your viewing (BEO and MCB, for example). Otherwise it takes forever to load in some locations and on my phone

The choice should be offered, IMO.

I don't get "rep points," but a feedback rating system would be more appropriate for what we do here.

Once this site is on new software and new hardware, it'll load remarkably faster.

Secondly, once on new software, you can use Forumrunner to view the site on your phone. No sigs to be seen there.

[captian pinky]

sigs

i do like them mainly because of the links to sale threads aswell as feedback. sometimes its a pain to find especially when someone hasnt sold something in months or more.
not really crazy about the huge banners some people run in there sigs but im sure there will be a way to limit those.

feedback

i do like how pbn has the feedback rating posted in the top right of every post. it makes me feel more comfortable to know that someone has 0 negative feedback. that doesnt mean im not cautious still but knowing that 300 postive to 0 negative.is much faster than reading 8 pages of feedback to figure out if the person is going to possibly screw you.

[MANN]

Bring back :

1)Triangle
2)Don Miguel


/Thread

LOL. poor Don. He has to be an adult by now.

[sillypookie]

Rep points make my head hurt.. I frequent a few other forums and TBH I still don't get them and they seem like a bit of an epeen generator. I know some forums have a 'supporting member' tag that has some weefle benefits like oversize PM boxes and such and a little 'flag' under your name to indicate you contribute... but I don't think people need to be hit over the head.

I do think selling limited/tasteful ad space is not so bad an idea. I am sure there are manufacturers that would be happy to take a little space and help things sail along.

I've always liked the more mature vibe here... since I have come back it seems a bit 'colder' than I remember if that makes sense, but it still seems mature. I think capturing the essence of that is key.

I think just based on the number of people who stepped up for AGD themed merch to save the site, the CafePress idea is a no-brainer as well.

I'm glad the community came together to save this, and I think that's what is going to keep it strong.

Also hexagons. I like hexagons.

[BTAutoMag]

if we bring back sigs make the size a set size, on another site we are allowed a 75x500 and less then 25k in size.

[Lohman446]

Sigs: I like sigs within limits. I also like the idea of sigs being allowed once per user per thread to prevent their overuse.

I do not like the new "fancy" feedback systems like on PBN. I like the feedback program we have now. I would like to see a way of making the feedback threads easier - perhaps just the user name as the title.

[BTAutoMag]

maybe theres a way to put a built in feedback thread... instead of having to search for it you can get to it in the drop down menu from clicking the members name

[Lohman446]

maybe theres a way to put a built in feedback thread... instead of having to search for it you can get to it in the drop down menu from clicking the members name

That would be handy. I have never seen it but its a good idea