[GFX] Updates!

[Six]

EDIT: Please don't mind the poll, the poll is explained in this post in red.

Hey guys,

So I was brainstorming yesterday, on how to make signature of the week a little more appealing. There's a lot of planning that still needs to be done, and I'm just playing around with ideas at this point. I figured it'd be helpful to get some insight from you guys.

In this thread I've included a poll concerning SOTW's location. Please take a moment to fill it out, don't say something random if you don't get it, I'd like some genuine answers of those interested. You can read more about that at the end of this post. What I just really wanna focus on now is how to keep things interesting.

So I've been thinking and here's what will happen... More bonus weeks in SOTW. This means bigger prizes, and better prizes. I've not only implemented the fact you get a coloured username after a certain amount of wins, but also, bonus week winners can get a coloured username of choice for a week, bigger gil prizes, more expensive vbShop items. Perhaps we can even dub a spot for you for the next mascot?!

Clearly the last one is something I'll have to discuss, but the coloured names, goodie bags, more gil will be a sure thing.

Are there things you guys would like to see with signature of the week? Let me know!


This is the proposal, please take a minute to read... Perhaps I should've been clearer... The poll should have stated:

1. Keep the SOTW as sticky threads - like they are now.
2. Make a new sub-forum under the Graphics Reverie exclusively for SOTW.
3. Either works.


__________________

Regarding the poll: Some of you may have been around when Signature of the Week had it's own Sub-forum. I personally thought it got less clicks due to a more sub-forum location, requiring "more clicks". As you can see now, Signature of the Week is held right above the graphic threads as stickied threads, do you guys like this? Or would you prefer SOTW to have it's own sub-forum like for example the Gallery and The GFX Lounge have?

Let me know through the poll.

 

[The Witch]

I be honest... every GFX forum I'm on has its own SUB-forum for SOTW. There are SO many threads in the graphics reverie as is it makes it look cluttered... and it's hard to find if the SOTW/AOTW cluttered with all the other threads that are there as well. I always enjoy flipping through the entire history of previous SOTW threads. and if you gave SOTW its own sub-forum, people would ALWAYS get to see the latest sotw but also the older threads. if it continues to stay in the GR it could be buried and pushed down and forgotten which leads to no votes and no activity. and if you're going for activity then it make sense that you would give it its own sub-forum.

I think it looks more profession when it's its own sub-forum as well. I know i'm not a determining voice in the matter but I'd like to see the gfx section get back to what it was and I think this is the best way to get there.

so yes, it should have its own sub-forum. less clicking and more gfxing!

did I understand this right? probably not


edit: im probably having a stroke because there are so many mistakes in this.

 

[Six]

I agree that with giving it it's own sub-forum, it is more self explanatory with finding the section. We tried this before, I don't know if you remember, and I can't really say if it was due the inactivity of the members or just because of the change, but activity dropped, voting got less... So we reverted back to the old way, (the current) have the SOTW up in stickies above the GFX threads, which is the MAIN start of the GFX area - the Graphics Reverie. So it being lost and buried, I don't think so, to be honest, but I think having it in it's own sub-forum WOULD allow better announcements without having too many stickied threads up.

I'm 50/50 on this, so I want to see what the members think. Sometimes it bothers people to go to Forum > Sub-Forum > Sub-Forum > Sotw in order to be able to vote somewhere, and THAT alone might mean the threads will be buried in their own sub-forum, because no one bothers clicking so much. I'm not sure though...

I would prefer to have everything look a lot neater and organized, but there's only so much we can really do. That's why I'm asking for your guys' input.

Thank you VERY much for giving your thoughts, Cali. Please feel free to drop in anytime and give suggestions and opinions to the other members who might post here as well!

@Callisto, SOTW having it's own subforum would mean it goes UNDER the Graphics Reverie, it will not be a stand alone forum. So it'd actually require more clicking. xD It would NOT be a sub-forum of SPIRA, it'd be a sub-forum of the Graphics Reverie like The Gallery, GFX Competitions, The GFX Lounge, Request Section, etc.

 

[The Witch]

Oh, I thought you meant it's own sub-forum... not sub-sub-forum well, then... they're both pretty much the same then.
I thought it was gonna be like;

bevelle
> ff clubs > pairing clubs > general clubs

luca
> blah > blah > blah

SOTW / AOTW
> sotw threads > aotw threads

Graphics reverie
> the gallery > GFX lounge > requests

gfx clan house
> EA > LC > etc

why can't it be its own sub-forum? Six

 

[Six]

Hm... No, that's not what I meant. See, the SOTW is part of the graphics part of Spira, and the Clans and unrelated Clan sections are divided... but having three different separate sub-forums for graphics? I'm personally not sure on that...

We can see what others things, and maybe discuss it further if there would be more interest in this... Have Mits and Tia take a look, too. That's not what I meant, though.

Hopefully we get a few more opinions dropping in.

 

[The Witch]

It's just one more section. it's not that much. but yeah, it's up to you guys. i just figured no one else would give their opinion so i wanted to be the first.


if it's not what you meant then i think it makes very little difference

 

[Six]

Callisto, thing is, if you look at all the main sub-forums in the sections, you can see that each "main" sub-forum has multiple sections in it. A signature of the week sub-forum would ONLY have the guidelines, voting, discussion and results, and the occasional update and news flash coming around. It seems quite... redundant to have a whole separate sub-forum for "just" signature of the week, you know? I personally don't really mind, however, I can see where this would be deemed as unnecessary. That's all.

I'm glad you brought it up, don't worry about that. That's why I was looking for opinions! Perhaps we can get something good out of it. What I was more talking about with the sub-forum was just the change we had for a short time a while back. Like I said though, I'm not sure if you remember. Wasn't long lived. We'll see.

 

[Galadín]

Six

I think having SoTW as a sub forum would work best. After all if people are genuinely interested they can always favourite the sub forum tab, thus making it infinitely more easy to find. Also, giving SoTW a seperate sub forum might lend the contest more weight and importance. Inevitably, if people are too lazy to complete a few more extra clicks, then they are more than likely not going to be that bothered to vote or participate in the first place.

I think that in terms of organisation and layout having the SoTW stickied above the general graphic threads does not particularly promote the contest. It seems almost an incidental and doesn't appear to have any continuity with the rest of Graphic Reveries base section. Considering also that there is a Hall of Fame, Discussions & Results, Guidelines and Voting thread, it makes sense that since there are a number of threads concerning this competition, it should have its own section in order to keep it grouped together where others can identify it as a complete SoTW contest area.

If your ultimate plan is to expand and enhance the SoTW competition, then it would probably be best if it had its own sub forum. The end goal is to generate more traffic and with this in mind, it would be nice if they had place to park their cars.

 

[Six]

In all honesty, I just want to know what the members think.

I'm definitely not against making SOTW it's OWN sub-forum in Spira, but... it just seems rather redundant to have a whole section on the main Spira page just for 5 threads? Signature of the Week is a weekly competition but won't be more than that... It's not like other competitions you can expand on, it kinda defeats the purpose. I'll have a talk with Mits and Tia, see what they think, though.

These are just "concerns" not voting against anything. I don't mind change, and definitely don't mind it if it's beneficial to the section. I'm USED to SOTW being there because that's how it's been since I joined. I'll have a chat, see what those two think.

 

[Galadín]

Six

Just clarifying because I'm not sure if my meaning was very evident. I was speaking in terms of having the SoTW as a sub forums under the Graphics Reverie rather than Spira as a whole.

I'm not sure that having it under Spira would be a great idea since, like you said, it is only four to five threads maximum. It would be kind of a waste if you ask me.

 

[Six]

Oh right, so you mean a sub-forum under the Graphics Reverie. We've had this for a short while before, but this would require people to make more clicks - and I'm not sure if that's be worth it. Either way, OR make the Graphics Reverie's main page, SOTW only, and move the GFX threads, but that seems rather.... Out of place. I'll consider the Sub-Forum, and let the admins look at this.

Perhaps we can get a bit more response.

 

[Darkbeat]

Yes, lurker replying... XD

So quite the dilemma here from what I see. There are definitely good points, but from experience I can agree with what you said Six. A sub-forum would require more clicks and the more people would have to click, the less interest there is to actually view that section (though some of the hardcore members won't mind, I assume).

I think it would be easier to make the main page of Graphics Reverie a bit more organized. This would mean that you should lessen the sticky threads. Maybe by turning the Rules & Guidelines thread into a permanent announcement for this section. Next to that maybe cleaning up the old threads by archiving them.

As for the SOTW threads, how about creating a new SOTW Discussion & Results thread in which you use the first post as a Hall of Fame to post all the results of the winners or a list of all the SOTW's, their teams and the winners and their names would be hyperlinks to their tag(s). Seeing you work with colours with the sticky threads, you could also have the SOTW threads have a different colour to stand out more.

Just some thoughts ^^

 

[Tyler Breeze]

Yes, lurker replying... XD

So quite the dilemma here from what I see. There are definitely good points, but from experience I can agree with what you said Six. A sub-forum would require more clicks and the more people would have to click, the less interest there is to actually view that section (though some of the hardcore members won't mind, I assume).

I think it would be easier to make the main page of Graphics Reverie a bit more organized. This would mean that you should lessen the sticky threads. Maybe by turning the Rules & Guidelines thread into a permanent announcement for this section. Next to that maybe cleaning up the old threads by archiving them.

As for the SOTW threads, how about creating a new SOTW Discussion & Results thread in which you use the first post as a Hall of Fame to post all the results of the winners or a list of all the SOTW's, their teams and the winners and their names would be hyperlinks to their tag(s). Seeing you work with colours with the sticky threads, you could also have the SOTW threads have a different colour to stand out more.

Just some thoughts ^^

Yeah, I voted to leave it the way it is. Though, that's only because Kira mentioned it would require people to click things more if it were moved into it's own sub-forum/area. Like Darkbeat brought up, there are some hardcore members who wouldn't mind it (me), but then there's always the factor of new members maybe joining up and it would be more hidden than it is now. I also agree with Darkbeat about archiving some old threads and making the GR look a little more clean cut. It all comes down to what the majority thinks though, and that's the poll results.

 

[Six]

What it should come down to, is what is most beneficial for the section itself.

Don't mind the crappy photoshop job, but look:

This would be if SOTW would get it's own sub-forum back under the graphics Reverie. This means the stickied threads above the graphics threads, would ONLY be the main guidelines, and once in a while a news/update thread. So two stickied threads at the most. While much more organized, there is an extra subforum as you can see then. SOTW. You have to click the SUBFORUM in order to go to the guidelines, and voting. To be fair, that shouldn't be that big of a deal. However, some people might think it is. The crossed out threads are ones that would disappear as stickies if SOTW had it's own subforum. Much cleaner looking with only 2 stickies opposed to like, 6.

It would be more logical for SOTW to have it's own sub-forum, however, logical and "looks better" isn't always the way to go.
@Darkbeat, The stickied threads, are to a minimum at this moment. We need the Hall of Fame, and combining this with the Discussion and Results could be an option but that only means one thread less. The General Rules and Guidelines is a thread that has to stay. It's the MAIN guidelines for the Graphics Reverie. The SOTW guidelines and Votings have to be stickied, or else they will get lost in the member's graphics threads updates. So the stickies we have now, sadly are already to the lowest amount.

I can't work with more colours either. xD The threads I make are auto-purple, but I can't make one thread this colour etc.

So yeah, perhaps a bit stuck, we'll figure it out!

@JeriKane1998, a new sub-forum for SOTW for new members would be easier, actually. Look at the picture I provided, SOTW stands out. The way it is now, SOTW as a sticky thread in the main graphics reverie, it's pretty overwhelming to look at.

While I'm not set on a sub-forum, it WOULD be easier to navigate for newer members.

 

[Darkbeat]

Ah yes, I see what you mean.

But what I meant was for the SOTW threads to remain as a sticky thread. True that the Rules & Guidelines are a must there's no denying that, but in all honesty a permanent announcement in this section would suffice. It would stay on top of the Graphics Reverie, in short they are more visible for everyone instead of members having to scroll down since they're now at the bottom of all the sticky threads...this also results is less people reading them or paying attention to them.

Shame about the colours though, because it would solve a lot XD

 

[Six]

Haha, yeah. I think... you may be confusing the sub-forums for sticky threads..

The Sub-Forums of the Graphics Reverie, are currently: The Gallery, GFX Lounge, and the Request section.

The Graphics Reverie itself starts under those sub-forums, with the stickied threads, and under the stickied threads the members' graphics threads. So have the rules and guidelines where it is at the moment, is mandatory. It's at the bottom of the sticky list because it goes by date, but it won't get lost in the members' threads.

Just figured I'd clear that up. Maybe I misunderstood. xD

 

[Darkbeat]

Whahahaha okay yeah I think things are getting confusing now, I think either that I misunderstood it or that I didn't explain things too well XD

Actually I don't think anything is wrong with the sub-forums, They are good as they are now and the extra sub-forum looks good, but it's not attractive for new members (extra clicking and such). And I think that it would be nice to have more members participating and voting on the SOTW and all.

As for the Graphics Reverie itself, I see your point when it comes to how it is organized. As you said, first all the sticky threads (of which some are mandatory and the SOTW) and then the members' thread. I know that threads are being stickied based on the date that they're created.

This is why I suggested the permanent announcement idea. It would mean that it would mainly look like the following:

You'd first see all the sub-forums, then the permanent announcement with all the Rules & Guidelines (which would never move and would always be visible due to its permanent state even if a new general announcement would be made for all sub-forums outside the Graphics Reverie) and then the stickied threads (SOTW Discussion/Hall of Fame/Guidelines/Voting) and then the members's thread.

Not sure if I explained that clearly in my last posts XD

 

[Raiiyokuu]

Actually, I take my vote back and vote for it having a sub-forum of its own.

I don't really mind the way it is now, since I can go always go on the SB and click the SOTW link, via sticky note.

But I think it would easier as well if it had its own sub-forum too.



Not really bothered either way. But eh.

 

[Mitsuki]

I don't mind either way. There's pros and cons no matter how you look at it.

I do think that having its own sub-forum would make things look neater. Bonus points.

As for clicking, I don't think it would threaten anything. If a member is browsing from the main forum, all they need to do is click on Signature of the Week sub-forum, then the SOTW threads. The very same way that we're doing it now. Members browsing from the main forum have to click Graphics Reverie first, then the SOTW threads.

The only thing I would be iffy about having its own sub-forum is that it will look rather empty. It would seem a bit odd and maybe even a waste of space. Unless of course you can think of any other SOTW-related threads...like, Artist of the Month? However, that might be hard to keep track of since you're already doing GFX Artist of the Month for the GFX Clans. So if not that, then maybe consider doing a Monthly SOTW Tagwall, where you can combine all the SOTW winners for a certain month and present them neatly? (And leave it there for the whole year). You don't have to do this alone all the time, but maybe assign someone every now and then to make a sig of the week compilation for that month. The good thing about this is that members can easily view all the SOTWs for that year so far, without having to check the messy SOTW archives.

It's a whole new project to think about at least, while also getting members involved.

But yeah, if you're going to make a sub-forum, I highly suggest thinking of ways to fill up the sub-forum section with new SOTW-related threads.

All in all though, definitely leave it for the members (majority) to decide.

 

[Six]

This is the proposal, please take a minute to read... Perhaps I should've been clearer... The poll should have stated:

1. Keep the SOTW as sticky threads - like they are now.
2. Make a new sub-forum under the Graphics Reverie exclusively for SOTW.
3. Either works.
@Callisto, @Hayabusa, @JeriKane1998, @Darkbeat, @Galadín


Raul = Undecided, Cali = against, galadin = for, darkbeat = for, jerikane = against, mitsuki = undecided.

Username	Leave as is	Sub-Forum	Un-sided
Hayabusa			x
Callisto	x
Galadín		x
Darkbeat		x
JeriKane19998	x
Mitsuki			x
Yu Narukami		x
Steve-O		x

If this does go through, this is the plan. New sub-forum under Graphics Reverie. Title, and stuff:

Signature of the Week
Weekly competitions, and free for all to enter.

---Withing this sub-forum there would be the next forums-----

SOTW WINNERS (All winners in separate threads from the current year.)
SOTW HISTORY (All winners from previous years, all threads in the SOTW Winners will be moved here at the end of each year.)

----The threads in the MAIN forum----- MIND: these are examples:


[SOTW] Discussion & Results.
[SOTW] Hall of Fame (would this be redundant if the SOTW Winners thread is back)
[SOTW] 63 Guidelines.
[SOTW] 62 Voting.
[SOTW] Scoreboard (perhaps to replace the Hall of Fame thread, as people can now look at the SOTW Winners/History for the Hall of Fame really. This thread may then help to keep track of who won how many times, etc. Not as much tedious updating as it would be if there was a Hall of Fame AND a scoreboard)