Update the Forum layout
I was part of the conversation when the members wanted certain changes. Now I am back again.
I had this idea about improving the current layout of the forum to accomodate more topics than they are listed now. This will give the visitor access to more content and the threads that are currently invisible under categories can also be brought out. The Right rail remains the same.
The main reason for me to seperate the Content Threads is - I for one may not be interested in all contests and at times these threads are the only top 5 or 10 threads that are visble under Latest Activity. At the same time, by creating a seperate section would mean that all contest related threads would be visible upfront, and not getting burried down under other threads. A win - win.
Yes, there are many other things that we are still looking for and am listing some of the most needed items.
Features Implemented:
- Edit Button for replies: Will be active for a maximum of 5 minutes after a reply is submitted.
- Threads now have First / Last page buttons.
Features still to be implemented:
- Inbuilt Editor Smiley - Its about the TinyMCE edition then. The Smileys take time to open and if we have inbuilt Smiley - like we have in IndiTalk, it would be much easier and people may use it more often.
- Update: IndiPolice can now send IndiMail users (who are not in their network) by going to their Profiles. Renie and team are working to enable IndiPolice sending emails to all users via IndiMial itself.
- Update: Also required is more rights for IndiPolice to change the Category of the thread, and edit / delete an individual post/replay to a thread if it is found to be flaming.
I am sure many of you have other requirements but lets stick to a very few of the issues that we would like to get addressed at the earliest. I have tagged this post for Admins already.
Please let us know your views on this layout.
Reason: Edited Image link
Showing recent topics from 'Off topic' category would be good but I think that there are many other better options available. Also, if you really felt that a three column layout has to be implemented on the forum home page, I personally did not like it much. It doesn't seem to be attractive.
Here are some of my suggestions:
- The reason for the contest pages filling up the important stuff is that it isn't updated regularly. At times, the contest gets over long back, but the topic still remains sticky. I think that the problem can be solved if the sticky threads are removed from there as soon as the contest ends. There usually isn't much discussion after the contest ends. The discussion resumes after the result are declared. At that time, teh thread can be made sticky again.
- Rather than showing the Off Topic threads on the forum main page, we can have an extra category titled 'Miscellaneous'. Many of the topics do not fit into one of the existing categories and so people are forced to file them under 'Off topic' and the threads do not get the attention they deserve. At this moment, I am unable to recall any threads of that nature but still, I did feel like that in certain cases. Threads which are really meant to pass time can go into the off topic category. ( There aren't many of that kind, so there would be no problem about not getting attention to those threads ) And those, which do not fit into one of the existing categories or are not completely related to blogging can go into the miscellaneous category.
- Edit button: Have to agree!
- Smileys: If you meant the IndiChat way, where it would replace all occurences of :) with
, then we ned to think about it. I at times, prefer to use the non image smileys over the images. ( I really get confused which of these two are emoticons and which of them are smileys ;) ) And, I think that others may also feel the same way. Here again, I have a recommendation, there are commonly used smileys like 
and 
. These should be available with a single click i.e. they should be added to the toolbar. At times, loading the small smileys dialog takes time. P.S. I thought that the editor was built by IB themselves. - Next Last Page: These days, there are hardly any discussion threads which cross hundred replies, so there may not be much use of it. But still, having it is also a good idea to cater to those few threads.
- Looking at the toolbar, I see that there is a preview button. Not sure when they have added it, or was it there since the beginning.... buut after opening the preview, how do we close the dialog. Pressing ESC did not work and clciking outside the dialog also didn't. I have copy everything from the preview and refresh the page.
- It would also be helpful if we are able to resize the text box of this editor used in replying so that typing lengthier replies would be easier. The resize option is available in the editor used for creating threads.
@Ranjith - We normally keep the contest threads sticky until all the prizes have been sent out - which is why they are sticky for a long time. We don't want anyone to think we've forgotten about them! If we have a seperate category for contests like Hemal suggested, that solves the problem.
I feel that having two categories titled "Off Topic" and "Miscellaneous" would be reduntant... can you think of any threads which deserved to have a new cateogory?
Loading the smiley dialog box takes time - I agree! I'll see if there's a workaround. Will also look into having the option to resize the reply textbox.
hmm, guess its a limitation of the TinyMCE editor then. nonetheless, I hope Renie and team are listening to this as well.
At this point of time, I feel that the following two threads under important stuff can be removed from there:
- Deleted threads I don't think that it really needs to be there in that place. When we say important, it needs to be important to a majority of the members or should be an announcemnet which everyone needs to know. The thread is important only for those who need to know why their thread has been flagged, who consitiute a very small group of people.
- IndiBlogger Twitter Users! What is the need of this thread when the member profiles have a link to their twitter pages?
I wish to raise certain points here, my views based on what I've observed and felt could make this place better for the entire community -->
- Newbies section: I feel newbies need a place to feel welcome after joining in. Some good discussive/general introductory threads can be made sticky where the newbies feel free to participate - like this one. Who likes to be surrounded only with threads filled with rules after coming in at a place for the first time? Again, how many actually bother reading them, is a different issue altogether.
- Link giving should not be a taboo: I can very well understand for the spam links and the Indi Police does a great job with them, but link giving in the forum should not be considered a complete taboo. When I was new here, I remember how the interactions that had ensued in threads like this and this had built up my confidence tremendously. And these are just few of the numerous examples we have. Those of us who have been here long enough, know how it was with regards to link giving. Interactions and sharing are two major aspects of the forum and that is how it should always be. No offence meant to the police but is it right generalizing the course of things that could happen if someone initiates a thread that requires sharing of post links? I don't really know but I believe we can give a chance sometimes to see how things develop. If the thread indeed shapes up like a link farm, the option of locking or deleting it is always there. But if it doesn’t, think of how much confidence this place has the potential to infuse in so many like me. Again, only my views and I could be wrong.
- Monthly forum heroes: We can do away with the ‘all time’ forum heroes for ‘monthly’ heroes where people with max. replies in a month can be featured. Features like these can increase and encourage participation of the members currently active. It would be interesting to hear what the heroes and other actives think of this.
- Good blogging related threads can be made sticky once a while in addition to the contest/rule threads that we already have. This can inspire more people to come up with good threads and carry the discussions in a meaningful manner. Also, different categories can have different sticky threads depending on the number of views, responses, etc.
- As for the edit button, I personally don’t feel the need for it (not that I don’t require it
) but if you see, there is already a spell check feature in the editor window. What can be done, additionally though, is that it can be toggled on by default. Those who really really bother, then, can do the corrections needed before hitting the reply button. If something is still missed by any chance, you always can add one more reply below. But have to say, the formatting does go for a toss sometimes. 
Hemal, the layout that you have created is good and very thoughtful but I tend to agree with the views of Ranjith especially when the contest threads are the ones that are the most popular with the members these days. In a way, its only logical that these threads deserve max. attention by staying right there, at the very top.
One needs to accept what you've said regarding the Edit button. Even I started checking my replies for typos before hitting the reply button. But still, sometimes, they just creep it without my notice.
+1 for point no. 2. Even I'm of the same opinion but since most of the members here are against giving links, I never wanted to be a lone man supporting those who give links (reasonably ) .
Monthly forum heroes - that sounds good!
Good blogging related threads made sticky - that problem should be solved once the IndiPolice have more powers on the forum.
I forgot to add this last night:
As for the layout, I am too of the opinion that Contest threads are the ones that are most popular with members these days and hence it makes a strong case for its own section. Which is what you see on my image I posted above as well.
@Renie: Thanks and good work! Looking forward to the changes! Also, just wanted to add as an afterthought in the case for the monthly heroes -- please do spare a small corner, somewhere... for the 'all timers' as well 
@Hemal: Agreed with what you say on the contest bit, makes sense.
Coming back to the link sharing bit, well... I feel, one of the ways to take a call on ambiguous threads could be to let them stand instead of bringing them down with a conclusion. This way the thread stays open for the general members and a call can be taken on it's authenticity based on the "response". It's like "Janta ka faisla" ... that also saves the IndiPolice of taking it on their shoulders every time. If the thread generates interest positively, the thread can remain. If not, then the due course of action can be taken by the IndiPolice.
I believe that there are some things in this forum that have set it apart from the rest of it's counterpart and made it so attractive for all of us. Care should be taken to retain the essence of a place while also moving forward at the same time. Anyways, whatever it is... here's to a bright future ahead!
@Arti thanks :)
I am still of the opinion that some sort of control is needed to contain and may be we can consider public opinion, but it would come with its limitations too. A custom voting fuctionality needs to be developed (ala Like / Dislike) which can be invoked by a moderator if S/he feels its required. We surely want to build a cohesive environment, but not with loosing the importance of the forum. At times some may not see at the long term view - the shorter term view would become more obvious - beating the purpose of improving the platform for future. I am not saying its a not a good idea, infact its a super idea for this platform where bloggers have more say always.. when we go ahead with this, we will need to keep the limitations in mind...
Hemal, actually what you are saying is something very different than what I was wishing to covey My bad, I should have been more clear in my reply...
I wasn't indicating towards any voting kind of replies (as in Likes/ dislikes) by members on whether the thread should remain open or not. In fact, I feel that would not be a viable option at all to be put into practice, as you yourself have rightly said.
What I meant by "response" ... was the ‘general response’ that members give once we see the topic of a thread – the normal replies a topic or a thread generates. The kind of interest generated can help you accordingly decide on the nature of the thread and this way, it also becomes the voice of the community and not the IndiPolice alone. All this, I humbly suggest, only for those unclear topics where the IndiPolice might be facing a dilemma in deciding on the reliability. Otherwise, you always have your controls to play with and do the needfuls :)
I think I understood pretty much the same you wanted to convey first time
I am still of the opinion that some sort of control is needed to contain and may be we can consider public opinion, but it would come with its limitations too. A custom voting fuctionality needs to be developed (ala Like / Dislike)...
Sorry if it was me who was not clear.
I was suggesting that we would have to have something like a like/dislike to get a sense because without a proof that a topic is not going into the forum it will be difficult to convince in general. Plus, it also leaves an option for possible biasness from IndiPolice's side which, as you well know, has been questioned time and again. Or we have a general "Report" button and show the count of number of people who have reported the thread as something that is against the rules/ethics on which the IndiPolice can take action. Without something that can validate the action of IndiTeam or IndiPolice, it will be a lot difficult to judge a thread for removal and justify it.
Thanks Hemal, I guess, we were just looking at the same thing but with slightly different perspectives. I do get the link now.
I think we already have a report button in place. I wonder who gets the notification though after someone clicks on it. I like the idea of report count being visible to all, I think this can help credit a certain weight in the confidence of both, the IndiPolice as well the thread creator. It can be like an additional tool beneficial for all.
Guess, we were just looking at the same thing but with slightly different perspectives! Thanks, I do get the link now.
One thing that can be done regarding links is that whenever a user posts links, a message should be displayed to the user asking him to share only those links which are relavent to the discussion and if a user simply posts a link, he should be asked to share the contents of the link rather than just the link. After reading such messages, most of the bloggers would probably not take too much advantage of links. If someone posts too many unnecessary or irrelavent links, his account should be flagged for some duration and he should not be allowed to post any links in that time period. I think that implementtaion of these things (at least the first ) is not too difficult.
Hmm, there is a clear warning on Inditalk which is comfirtable ignored. But, in this case, if it is a pop-up, may be of some use. I personally feel that unless there is a provision of penalty, nothing would work. On that note, the last suggestion (temporary flagging) seems to be useful. But again, what should be the criteria of flagging? I won't suggest sutomation. Why don't we have a report user option here?
The warning on IndiTalk doesn't look like a warning at all. The colours are too cool.... :-) The warning will be more effective if it is displayed in a brighter colour only when the user posts a link. The message containing the link should be sent to IndiChat only after the user clicks some button like 'I understand' or something similar.
The current message looks more like a statuatory warning found on cigarette packs and in films when people indulge in drinking and smoking.
Why automation? IndiBlogger has sufficient number of moderators and as per my observations, all of you log in to IB atleast once a day. :) And yes, there should a report button over there too. Not many would get the thought of going to the 'Contact Us' page.
Off topic: Why is everyone adding the word 'Fool' to their profile names? A few days back, Pramod and now Animesh? New trend? 
I agree not all topics may be healthy, not all bloggers genuine and it is true that we all judge things according to our understandings. But we must also understand that exceptions will always be there, everywhere and there could arise a possibility that others might be suffering because of them. Cant these exceptions be reported directly to Renie via mails?
The only thing that I am wishing to highlight is that -- what spamming concerns (however genuine they may be) can sometimes do is plug even those threads which could have been good to many people here. Does anyone here remember when was the last time a thread where link sharing was asked for, was approved to go ahead and closed down only after it got spammed mid way?
This is off topic but still related to IndiBlogger: What is IB's take on blogs that have been added to the directory a few months or years back but are currently non functional i.e. the blog has been completely deleted or the domain name has expired and is curently a parking domain. I have come across such blogs quite a number of times. If I report those blogs via the contact form, will they be removed or will those links be allowed to stay since they were at one point of time valid blogs?
@Ranjith - Timing! As of this moment, we have a crawler running to check every blog in the directory. We'll do another verification pass after a month, and automatically remove all dead blogs. Once that's done, we'll do the same for the posts on IndiVine.
@DS - With regards to blog moderation, we do give priority to the bloggers in the city where we are having a meet, but we only approve the blogs which comply with the guidelines. Are there any instances you could point out? We've rejected many blogs which were created specifically for blogger meets.
Hemal - welcome back!
About the layout - what resolution do you use? My only concern is that on a smaller rez, the forum homepage would become very long... I do like the proposed classification though. Seperating the IndiBlogger contest/meet threads from "Important Stuff" is on my list already.
1 - Edit button for replies: will implement on priority. Should we give about 5 minutes to edit replies?
2 - Next Page, Last Page - will implement.
3 - Inbuilt smileys - will implement, at least for the commonly used smileys.
Eeh, the formating on iPad is not working - mobile site is too light for an iPad though Hey Renie, thank you very much for all your replies on this thread.I was concerned too of the resolution but thought it still might fit in. I was using 1440 x 900 on my monitor. But for smaller resolutions, can you guys could do a liquid layout where the divs are vertically aligned based on the width of the browser available for the page. You can take call based on the analytics for IndiBlogger, discount resolutions for tablets.
Speaking of tablets, how about doing a tablet app? Which means people accessing IB on tabs can adv the app or else be directed to the mobile version (which needs an upgraded layout for sure). Too much ask? :)About the edit button, if feel 2 mins max be enough because it has possibilty of being edited after someone's response. Or as you suggested, lets keep 5 mins but adding a reason for edit mandatory like at starting the thread. This will help identify edited comments.For rest all, thank you! I also liked the idea of the increased controls for mod.
Still struggling to get the right formating.
Eeh, the formating on iPad is not working - mobile site is too light for an iPad though
Hey Renie, thank you very much for all your replies on this thread.I was concerned too of the resolution but thought it still might fit in. I was using 1440 x 900 on my monitor. But for smaller resolutions, can you guys could do a liquid layout where the divs are vertically aligned based on the width of the browser available for the page. You can take call based on the analytics for IndiBlogger, discount resolutions for tablets.
Speaking of tablets, how about doing a tablet app? Which means people accessing IB on tabs can adv the app or else be directed to the mobile version (which needs an upgraded layout for sure). Too much ask? ;)
About the edit button, if feel 2 mins max be enough because it has possibilty of being edited after someone's response. Or as you suggested, lets keep 5 mins but adding a reason for edit mandatory like at starting the thread. This will help identify edited comments.
For rest all, thank you! I also liked the idea of the increased controls for mod.
I recommend a place for discussion regarding improvements in the blog development common for all portals like Wordpress , blogger, Typepad, Postrous etc.
It would great if we could share the basic elements of technology with everyone . This would surely enhance the standards of blogging.
Aryaansh
Hey Aryaansh, that sounds great esp. for a tech challenged person like me but how would it be different than the category of 'Platforms and addons' that we already have?
Having a category is a different thing .....where people post when they have problem related to something .
We can let people know on our own about the latest conventions , stuff and other options that they can caary out in their efforts to blog ...which we lack i believe as most of us care about just SEO optimization not about what else can we do with our blog , like efforts in enhancing it ...
Making them be aware of some terms in the web development which we usually come across ..The news is that this semester i had a subject related to web-development which did opened my mind on the vastness of it and thought how can it be used to enhance blogs and others too be aware of it .....
Its totally their choice if they wanna implement it on their blog or not .
but creating such stuff on a platform like indiblogger where many of us have so much talent in us ...can help increase activity on this site and for this purpose i recommend taking help of many tech bloggers who blog about such implementations
they ll have an exposure and a way to increase their viewership too ..a win -win situation on both sides
we can do it on a week-basis ...
@Arti he is talking about something similar to a Newsletter! :)
@Aryaansh A page where we can update the lastest happening in the web world which can be beneficial to newbies. I like the idea, but there are already so many sites that give the same information outside IndiBlogger and tech bloggers some among members of IndiBlogger. My only challenge is "should this information be redundant here"? Because IndiBlogger forum is a place to interact, not only for technical discussions but otherwise too. Not every one comes looking for a technical issue on IndiBlogger. I believe the focus should be on more engagement between people than involving too much technicals, unless its absolutely required.
@Hemal Shah
a kind of newsletter but our focus would be on
facts related to blog
understanding the SEO operations.
Scripts that are supported on various platforms available ...
the most common codes to the most common widgets and
the list goes on........
i am just requested you and all to club it on one platform that would increase the activity on site and also help the newbies and non-techies.
As not all of us here are geeks nor from a computer related background.
Sounds great but what I feel is that the aggregation of stuff mentioned here is more suited for IndiVine. For ex. A search for “widget codes” in Indivine leads us to all the related posts in one place. Similar results can be achieved by keying in the other terms also.
I agree with Hemal where he says - forum is a place for interactions, more towards having a conversation about these articles rather than simply reading and understanding them for which we already have an IndiVine.
It was just a suggestion :)
We can do well without it too that seems .....:)
Great going Hemal! yes the next page and especially last page is very much needed! After some 'painful' time I realized I could flip between old first-new first but that is not really a solution.
And Arti has also raised a few good points, hope some of them are implemented in the near future :)
Thank you guys.
welcome bud!
@Renie - Any updates on when the changes are planned, if any?
If all goes well, I should be able to edit this reply.
- I just edited this reply, with 140 seconds to spare. Yay!
mods ought to be allowed to edit other people's posts as well :P
Coming soon dude!
Awesome!!
Edited in 140 secs to spare too!!
Hey Renie - there should be a message that this particular post has been edited - if not making reasons for edit mandatory... what say?
First and last buttons added, as you can see here.
yep! works perfect!
Renie, the Last button does not get highlighted when we are on the last page. Can we do something about that?
I agree with Animesh Ji's suggestion.
Update!
As of now, mods should be able to send IndiMails to anyone, and others should be able to reply to them as well. There are a few temporary caveats though:
- The IndiPolice have to go to a blogger's public profile page to send him/her an IndiMail.
- The conversation has to be initiated by an IndiPolice - which means that non-IndiPolice cannot send IndiMails to IndiPolice unless it's a reply.
Do we have any non-IndiPolice volunteers who don't mind getting a few test emails from the IndiPolice to make sure this works properly?
That's wonderful and I don't mind going to public profile to send an Indimail. Afterall in most of the cases, it will be required to inform about some thread on the forum for which one can easily click on member's profile, so not a big deal.
Now the million dollar question, how to test it! Volunteers required
And yes, please also update the description of the thread. You need to add this new feature there
@Animesh
yes i get you! I can also check for the people who have added me to their network but I have not added them - thus there is no mutual connection - the main criteria for any blogger to be able to use IndiMail.
And yes, i will update this development on the description of the thread at the drop of the hat, at the momemnt a bit busy.
@animesh @renie
Yes I was able to send IndiMail to a random user.
When was the first button added for forum threads and that too for this thread of two pages?
its part of the functionality. You get best of both worlds here :P
Bug in edit reply feature
If I post a reply on the 200th page of a thread and then edit it, I'm automatically transported to the first page! The page should remain the same, no?
Yeah, I noticed it too few days back. And you are right, we should be redirected to the current page
hmmm, i didnt notice that but good catch @Arti & Ani :)
I think the forum has become a joke what with blogging threads taking a backseat.
I would suggest to have the 'general and off topic' as it previously was, hidden. Presently the forum does not even resemble a blogging forum.
Even the Inditalk is inactive since people are talking on the forum itself!!!
Just my personal suggestion, others might disagree.
I also feel that the General and Off topic should be hidden (or come out with some good design of the forum as Hemal suggested). Also, comments on the threads under General and Off-topic should NOT be counted for deciding Forum Heroes.
why not simply remove forum heroes? Do we really need it? Its gauged by number of posts as it is..
Yes it is needed. We all geeks may prefer not, but to inspire participation, it definitely does its job!
A lot of people here like it because it gives them a chance to showcase.
Now for people like you, Animesh, and me, we have participated in many threads and people who are part of the thread do know us well. However others who are not a part of these conversations hardly would know you unless you are active on IndiTalk.
Newbies draw a lot of inspriation from the top 10 Heros. The instantly relate to the Forum Heros when they contribute to their threads or interact with them on other threads. Its a huge morale booster. The new format now is instead of all times, it will be on monthly basis.
Drawback of this would include people posting crap which is known already. But the key for the platform is to inspire the bonding. we will, time and again, find miscreants and as IndiPolice we will have our job to do.
Newbies draw a lot of inspriation from the top 10 Heros
One needs to agree to this statement. When I was new here, the people who figured in that list and were still active on IndiBlogger were Hemal, Pramod, Arti and Mohini. ( The others were never seen on the forum; even today ) Each one of them have a unique quality. All of Hemal's replies are well thought, backed by reason and he reacted in a calm way even when the thread was on fire. One can see friendliness and a sense of joy in Pramod's replies. Arti welcomes newbies with a smile and helps them get acquainted with IB. And Mohini's replies are interesting and inspiring- a lot to do with spiritual things.
Now, I like that list because I am seen in it most of the time.
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