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Post by NiLah on May 13, 2010 16:40:08 GMT
Some of us have speaken about moving the forum to thither sheenful phpBB Personally I'm all for it, but would welcome any input from thineselves. *puts adminly hat on for once* Discuss! ;D
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Post by zvezda on May 13, 2010 18:20:50 GMT
Thanks for starting this thread Nilah.
To set the discussion in context I thought it would be useful to post some of the message I sent you earlier:
Now that things are beginning to gather momentum, and more people are checking out the forum, I think it’s time to take Heaven & Hell to the next level. Several of us were chatting about it on Tuesday night, and we all agree that there are things we can do to make a great forum even better.
I think we all agree that we want the forum to look attractive and be user-friendly. What you have done so far is a very sound basis from which to proceed, which is great! The framework is good, for example: sensible topic groupings etc; but as we know the skin could be enhanced and those adverts really do need to go!
I said to you a while ago that some of us are very willing to pay the make the board ad-free; following Tuesday’s conversations I can confirm that this is still the case. So that’s one quick and easy thing we could do right away. I know you said you wanted to wait and see what was happening with the official stuff, but I believe that the LAR team’s comments to me – plus today’s post on their page – mean that H&H is here to stay. So let’s do it!
Secondly, it’s also the right time to change the skin of the forum: we now know the colours the band uses so we could base our new skin around that. I’ve asked the LAR team if that’s ok with them. I’m not sure how much customisation is possible with proboards, however.
The pfww forum is of course the holy grail of layout and user-friendliness – again, you’ll know how far we can go with proboards to emulate that kind of thing – I don’t mean mimic, because that would be wrong – but to use it as a model of an attractive, easy to navigate forum. As you know, pfww looks so good because it’s on phpbb, and the basic skin/template on phbb is so much nicer than that of proboards.
I understand that with phpbb you download the application and tweak it/design it to suit your needs, buy some web space and deal with the hosting yourself. Hosting always costs and needs more administering, but in return you get a better looking board with more control over it. The cost goes up in line with traffic - at present we would probably be looking at £100 per year – which is not far off what it would cost to make proboards ad-free – so if we’re prepared to do that, then I would argue that it makes sense to migrate the site over to phpbb while we’re at it.
I really do feel that this is something we need to do quite quickly, so that we are ready for the upsurge in interest in the band, and we are not stuck with having to make changes to a busier forum. Now is the time, I’m sure you agree! Moving to phpbb will solve the problem of appearance and will also give us improved functionality.
Just to say: me, Amy, Jen and Is are willing to pay for a more professional-looking forum, but if anyone else is also willing, then you can let me know. I should add that donations are not compulsory and you shouldn't feel under pressure to contribute if you can't afford it.
Edit: people have been telling me that this thread is locked for admins and mods only, so they can't post - Nilah can you please unlock it? Thanks.[/i]
Stella xxx
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Post by NiLah on May 13, 2010 21:17:15 GMT
I am a numpty, aren't I? It wasn't the thread, it was the whole section...there had to be some logical reason for that once upon a moon... I'll be right back and actually read Stella's post.. *switches computer* edit: I considered reposting some of your delightful message, but decided it's really up to you to share your witterings Wish I could get my brain in gear...is this thread working now? I'd love to hear some opinions...
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Post by stellar on May 13, 2010 22:41:39 GMT
Yes the thread is working now.
Thought I might start the ball rolling.
I think we should aim to improve the look and feel of the forum, bringing it in line with the official website if the LAR team are happy with that.
We could just ceate a skin for this forum as structurally it is fine, and why waste all the hard work that has gone into it, but there are advantages of moving the forum to phpbb, in my opinion. And these advantages will become more apparent as the forum recieves more traffic I suspect, as it is remotely hosted - I suspect it will become slower for one thing, as traffic increases.
So a decision should be made 1. Create a skin for this forum and upgrade to an advert free version of proboards if this is possible. 2. Move the forum to phphbb while it is still small and start from scratch with the look and feel there. Main disadvantage of this is all the initial configuring.
The things that bug me about the forum atm are 1. The fact that there is no button to navigate between pages. 2. The adverts 3. The fact that it's appearance cries out for improvement
Personally, I can offer HTML/CSS/Photoshop/ MYSQL and (to a certain extent) php skills, plus a fair amount of free time.
It would be nice to have made some noticeable improvements to the forum by the Scala gig.
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Post by NiLah on May 13, 2010 22:51:56 GMT
^ Thanks for your post I like option 2 personally It will be no trouble to start everything up again. Also there is so much I hear about ProBoards having "rules" (which I must have read, but do not recall) - ones which are incredibly easy to infringe. Getting out of here is a great idea Let's collect the skills/offers of support that we have to share At least then we know who's capable of doing what. Myself, I'm very proficient with PhotoShop, and reasonably good at working forum sites. I don't know the language of coding, but I find it of interest. It has to be said that part of the reason this site looks ratty is because we've spent months awaiting advisement on what's to happen over on the LAR site - but now it's high time we sort out the appearance of Heaven + Hell!
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Post by pixiecullen on May 13, 2010 22:56:19 GMT
im willing to help out any way i can!! as of the end of this month, i have a hell of a lot of free time, so i can do/help out with anything that you want to throw my way!!
as for forum costs, etc.....im more than happy to help....if there is a way to do it that isnt via paypal then let me know.....im banned from paypal
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Post by zvezda on May 13, 2010 23:00:44 GMT
I also like option 2 I have good project management skills and could act as Project Co-ordinator if you like I really did get a clear vibe from the LAR team on Tuesday that H&H is supported and is here to stay, no matter what they do with the official website. And today's link on the LAR FB page to H&H is proof of this endorsement. I'm waiting to hear back from them re whether they have any objections to us using their colours and typeface etc - and whether there's anything else they'd like the forum to include. I will share the information here. This is all really exciting - as Steve said in his parting words to me on Tuesday night - "it's gonna be awesome" xxxx Edit: Robyn, if I end up being the finance person (which I am very willing to be - something else I can do to help!) then I'd be happy for funds to come in via cheques or Paypal xxx
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Post by zee on May 13, 2010 23:13:25 GMT
I like the option no.2 the best if the LAR team won't have anything against it.
I offer my experience working on different forum sites, lots of free time and the love I've had for this band since the very beginning.
I'm also ready to donate money for the forum cost.
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Post by zvezda on May 14, 2010 14:58:00 GMT
I like the option no.2 the best if the LAR team won't have anything against it. OK guys, I've just had a quick message from the LAR team: they think our ideas sound really good and Matthew will be getting back to me by Monday with some further input from their end. Once I hear from him again I'll let you all know. This is gonna be awesome, peoples!!!!
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Is
New Member
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Posts: 1,128
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Post by Is on May 14, 2010 15:05:40 GMT
so will we lose our karma points if we start over? option 2 seems good and i echo Zee - so long as LAR sanctions what H&H intends upon doing, i say onward and upward i am in for the long-haul - i cannot offer technical expertise (is clueless) but i will help in any way that i can in addition to donating $$$$ via paypal
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Post by xxjennydxx on May 14, 2010 15:18:34 GMT
I know I've been here like 5 minutes, but I like option 2 as well. It's been a long while since I used proboards, and I'm used to phphbb.... I plan to stay here, so a nicer, easier to use/naviagate and SHINY! forum will be awesome!
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Post by stellar on May 14, 2010 17:16:44 GMT
First off, thanks to Boo for admin rights. Hope I can be of service.
Frustratingly, I have had no internet all day, but now I'm back, will spend some time looking at what Proboards offers and checking out the phpbb documentation. I also lean towards option 2, but if it is easy in the meantime maybe we could knock up a quick skin for this forum as it is likely to be around for at least a moonth. Depends how quick and easy it is to do.
I have a ton of work to catch up on after this week, so will try to clear that this weekend, so I have plenty of spare time when LAR get back to us on Monday.
I'm also quite happy to contribute financially, and may be able to offer some hosting space - certainly enough for while the new forum is being developed and then maybe a test forum if thought necessary to try out further updates before applying them to the live forum.
I'm really looking forward to getting involved in this. As Stella says it's gonna be awesome!
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Post by poetress on May 14, 2010 17:25:10 GMT
I also agree with option 2. I'd be happy to help out in any way I can, I'm just not sure what I can do (not being particularly technically minded). I'm good with paperwork/organising if that’s any use and I'd also be willing to manage finances (tho I know Stella has already volunteered). I'd also be happy to contribute to costs as and when. The only concern I have about that is what happens if we need cash and no-one is able to donate at that time? We need to have contingency plans for the funding (even if they hopefully won't ever need to be put into action). Also I wonder if we could find a way of fundraising as well as people donating. Other forums i've been on have sold forum badges, t-shirts, etc (admittedly with varying degrees of success) to keep a slush fund in hand. I have plenty of other ideas for fundraising but that’s maybe getting a bit ahead of ourselves…. But yes, in short I vote for the move and improvement and I’ll help out in any way I can poetress x
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Post by zvezda on May 14, 2010 17:25:24 GMT
Great Jen - thank you - it's so good to have you involved in this <3 Edit: sorry Sam, I just saw your post. To reassure you, I would be willing and able to be the source of any emergency slush fund we may need But yes, fundraising ideas are <3 and I'd already thought of you with your fine imagination in that regard! It's great to see people are up for option 2 - let's see what LAR have to say - I know they're excited about our ideas, and once I hear from them further I will let everyone know here. Thanks for all your support guys - this forum is a special place and you are all stars
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Post by pixiecullen on May 14, 2010 17:41:45 GMT
if we do posters and such forth i have a few connections from previous jobs with record companies that i can use to get high quality posters and such fourth done with minimal cost, that way we can sell without making very little in the way of profit. i also have varying connections with the "alternate" world in which i can also use in which to promote forum (as well as band which im still doing ) i can use modification conventions to help promote, people there are usually more than willing to pay attention to music there as well as modifications. worldwide promotion i can do aswell......i tend to travel alot, so i can always spread a little Beanie love around with me where ever i go
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