This was part 1, btw: http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=4079.0
First of all, let me just thank and congratulate again Open Source for his commitment to maintaining this forums. Even when he's out of town and busy with his own life, he still finds time to work on this site. For a one man team Administrator, he does his job very well.
(Let me sneak in some thanks to our moderators who do their best to keep the forums healthy and alive. OMG! I just noticed that Jonathan Riddell is a moderator!! THE jriddell!
)
Anyway, on to the meat of the thread, my suggestions:
1. Probably a modified color scheme, to reflect Dapper's new look, as was suggested by Hestia (http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=5429.0).
2. Repeating the call for a revamp of the forum organization.
3. Still hoping that there's a way to have the side panels configured per user settings, meaning that if user A wants it on, it stays on wherever he is, but if user B wants it off, it stays off. This is specially useful in promoting the "unused" features of the site. (more on that later on)
4. I think there should be a KFN FAQ, even a very short one. It could contain the history/origin of the site (to clarify that this is not a Canonical-run forum), rules and regulations, descriptions of the forum sections, etc. I'm not sure everybody wanders off into the Administrative Announcements to find these information. A very visible link to a FAQ would perhaps be better.
5. Kubuntu Announcements, while open to the public, should not be a place to start questions. It's ok to post replies or questions in replies, but not start a thread asking for support (happened once). I think it should be included in the description of forum sections.
6. I like the portal. As much as possible, I use it in my bookmarks. It also has some nice features that are possibly not that used or even unknown. I have some suggestions to possibly help in "advertising" it or encouraging users to use it (hmm... that was quite redundant):
- the "Welcome to KubuntuForums.Net" should always be on top, but it should also be short. Also, it might be more appropriate to have the Kubuntu logo instead of KDE (or maybe both?).
- Instead of the Kubuntu Announcements section in the portal, maybe you could put the "Recent Threads" instead. If it's possible, just list the thread titles, and no more contents. To see an example of what I mean, check this out from the KDE-Forum portal (http://www.kde-forum.org/portal.html). This could be a good way for people to keep track of new topics or new replies, especially if they don't have RSS readers.
- You could also still retain the Kubuntu Announcements part, but since that section is open to regular users, it's open to spam, wrong threads, etc. Maybe the mods could have the ability to put some Kubuntu Annoucnements into the Latest News so that it dislays in the portal front page? (Or probably not)
- RSS feed: /. is a very controversial source of information (or gossip if you prefer), so I don't think having that in the front page isn't really pretty. Some alternative sources of feeds could be: KDE dot news, PlanetKDE, Planet Ubuntu, Linux.com. I have tons of feeds, if you want. But of course, having 5 different feeds isn't good either. I wonder if there's going to be a Planet Kubuntu (in English. There's a German site already).
- encourage people to use/post in the site's features. Let's have a "Desktop Screenshots for the Month of xxxxx" so that people could get to use the Image Gallery. Maybe we could encourage users to post news, blogs, quotes, etc. Or even use the Shout Box. This is assuming, of course, that the site can handle the amount of data that could come in.
- the shout box, IMHO is a nice feature. Did it really cause such a ruckus that it had to be removed from the forums page? I think it's a nice place to put important announcements. Of course, there should be rules to prevent chaos from reigning.
Whew! That's quite a load. Of course I don't expect all of it to be implemented immediately. Heck, I don't even expect it to be implemented at all. Just suggestions anyway. And given the time that Open Source has, I won't feel bad if he decides not to do it. The forums is functional as it is. These are just suggestions on how I think (emphasis on "I think") it could be better.
OK, I'm stopping here.
First of all, let me just thank and congratulate again Open Source for his commitment to maintaining this forums. Even when he's out of town and busy with his own life, he still finds time to work on this site. For a one man team Administrator, he does his job very well.
(Let me sneak in some thanks to our moderators who do their best to keep the forums healthy and alive. OMG! I just noticed that Jonathan Riddell is a moderator!! THE jriddell!
)Anyway, on to the meat of the thread, my suggestions:
1. Probably a modified color scheme, to reflect Dapper's new look, as was suggested by Hestia (http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?topic=5429.0).
2. Repeating the call for a revamp of the forum organization.
3. Still hoping that there's a way to have the side panels configured per user settings, meaning that if user A wants it on, it stays on wherever he is, but if user B wants it off, it stays off. This is specially useful in promoting the "unused" features of the site. (more on that later on)
4. I think there should be a KFN FAQ, even a very short one. It could contain the history/origin of the site (to clarify that this is not a Canonical-run forum), rules and regulations, descriptions of the forum sections, etc. I'm not sure everybody wanders off into the Administrative Announcements to find these information. A very visible link to a FAQ would perhaps be better.
5. Kubuntu Announcements, while open to the public, should not be a place to start questions. It's ok to post replies or questions in replies, but not start a thread asking for support (happened once). I think it should be included in the description of forum sections.
6. I like the portal. As much as possible, I use it in my bookmarks. It also has some nice features that are possibly not that used or even unknown. I have some suggestions to possibly help in "advertising" it or encouraging users to use it (hmm... that was quite redundant
):- the "Welcome to KubuntuForums.Net" should always be on top, but it should also be short. Also, it might be more appropriate to have the Kubuntu logo instead of KDE (or maybe both?).
- Instead of the Kubuntu Announcements section in the portal, maybe you could put the "Recent Threads" instead. If it's possible, just list the thread titles, and no more contents. To see an example of what I mean, check this out from the KDE-Forum portal (http://www.kde-forum.org/portal.html). This could be a good way for people to keep track of new topics or new replies, especially if they don't have RSS readers.
- You could also still retain the Kubuntu Announcements part, but since that section is open to regular users, it's open to spam, wrong threads, etc. Maybe the mods could have the ability to put some Kubuntu Annoucnements into the Latest News so that it dislays in the portal front page? (Or probably not)
- RSS feed: /. is a very controversial source of information (or gossip if you prefer), so I don't think having that in the front page isn't really pretty. Some alternative sources of feeds could be: KDE dot news, PlanetKDE, Planet Ubuntu, Linux.com. I have tons of feeds, if you want. But of course, having 5 different feeds isn't good either. I wonder if there's going to be a Planet Kubuntu (in English. There's a German site already).
- encourage people to use/post in the site's features. Let's have a "Desktop Screenshots for the Month of xxxxx" so that people could get to use the Image Gallery. Maybe we could encourage users to post news, blogs, quotes, etc. Or even use the Shout Box. This is assuming, of course, that the site can handle the amount of data that could come in.
- the shout box, IMHO is a nice feature. Did it really cause such a ruckus that it had to be removed from the forums page? I think it's a nice place to put important announcements. Of course, there should be rules to prevent chaos from reigning.
Whew! That's quite a load. Of course I don't expect all of it to be implemented immediately. Heck, I don't even expect it to be implemented at all. Just suggestions anyway. And given the time that Open Source has, I won't feel bad if he decides not to do it. The forums is functional as it is. These are just suggestions on how I think (emphasis on "I think") it could be better.
OK, I'm stopping here.
)...but it's long already
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