The Flat Earth Society

The Flat Earth Society => Announcements => Topic started by: xasop on December 01, 2013, 12:28:31 PM

Title: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 01, 2013, 12:28:31 PM
In light of the recent botched migration of .org to a new server, and the fact that several people have expressed interest in moving somewhere else, I'd like to make this place better for all FESians. If you're willing and able to help with general improvements, please post in this thread.

I have some ideas myself for how to make things better, but they're mostly behind-the-scenes stuff that makes it easier for me to maintain the site, and they're not a very high priority.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Lord Dave on December 01, 2013, 02:01:42 PM
In light of the database fuckup, I'd like to run my werewolf game here instead.

My hope is that it'll get people to register here.  Thoughts?
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 01, 2013, 02:11:27 PM
Guys, I'm in. but we are going to have to bring a few things with us.


The first. My rage smiley. its mine and I love it.  :'( These smileys suck - you know we could shop for some cooler ones.
Second. We can't have the exact same theme. that's super seriously stupid. Gonna put this out there but I made a perfectly good theme that never got finished. All it needs is some smart person to sort out the avatar sizes in your top right box. Have a look. I don't think its that ugly, its different anyway and ok until one of our super talented admins comes up with something better.
Third. Lets steal our fucking wiki back. we wrote it and its the only thing that ranks on the other site anyway.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 01, 2013, 02:18:15 PM
Oh, I should ask, what can I do to help you?

you know, apart from posting here?


I really think we should just be building for a relaunch and some announcement in the press about how the society has elected a new president.

If you want something, let me know.

Custom smileys, some thread starters, an FAQ ... I'll help wherever I can. If we cuild it, they will come.

Also having all the same sections as FES is a bit silly. Lets look to do something smarter.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 01, 2013, 02:28:27 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48ufRGIUPZo

Please add youtube support.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Lemon on December 01, 2013, 03:18:34 PM
Hi, just wondering, is .tk possible? I know it's generally considered the free one, but I think it looks nicer.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 01, 2013, 03:31:13 PM
The first. My rage smiley. its mine and I love it.  :'( These smileys suck - you know we could shop for some cooler ones.

PizzaPlanet is handling this.

Second. We can't have the exact same theme. that's super seriously stupid. Gonna put this out there but I made a perfectly good theme that never got finished. All it needs is some smart person to sort out the avatar sizes in your top right box. Have a look. I don't think its that ugly, its different anyway and ok until one of our super talented admins comes up with something better.

I'm trying to make people feel at home. They've just had a month of posts yanked out from under them at .org; I don't want to make any huge radical changes that might put people off.

Once we're settled in, we can consider other theme options.

Third. Lets steal our fucking wiki back. we wrote it and its the only thing that ranks on the other site anyway.

It's underway, don't you worry.

Oh, I should ask, what can I do to help you?

A new FAQ would be lovely, and maybe even some forum rules that don't suck. I reserve the right to veto any rule that gets written, but if you could draft up a set of them, that would be very helpful. Just as long as we can call each other niggers afterwards.

I really think we should just be building for a relaunch and some announcement in the press about how the society has elected a new president.

I don't quite share that goal. I just want to make this forum the best possible place for people to talk about FET. If we start vying for political power in the Flat Earth Society, we're going to have a much tougher time of it.

Let's see how the forum goes before we try anything too drastic.

Also having all the same sections as FES is a bit silly. Lets look to do something smarter.

We don't have all the same sections. I got rid of FEB.

Please add youtube support.

All in good time. Please create a thread about things like this in S&C; just posting here is likely to go forgotten.

Hi, just wondering, is .tk possible? I know it's generally considered the free one, but I think it looks nicer.

If somebody registers a .tk domain name, we can use it for this site. Personally, I'm not too fussed about the domain.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 01, 2013, 03:31:41 PM
In light of the database fuckup, I'd like to run my werewolf game here instead.

My hope is that it'll get people to register here.  Thoughts?

Sorry, I missed this before. I think that's a great idea; feel free to go ahead.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 01, 2013, 10:17:53 PM
as I read FES.org has had 131 posts made today. I has also had 323 spam bot accounts created today because someone has removed the site's protection. ::)
Its crawling in bots.

This site has 260 posts today so far. A 2:1 win for the new site with 27 accounts created, all genuine.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Alchemist21 on December 01, 2013, 10:23:37 PM
as I read FES.org has had 131 posts made today. I has also had 323 spam bot accounts created today because someone has removed the site's protection. ::)
Its crawling in bots.

This site has 260 posts today so far. A 2:1 win for the new site with 27 accounts created, all genuine.

The site also randomly switches you from the old .org server to the new .org server.  So basically there are 2 groups of posters simultaneously posting on the site and separate of each other. 
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 01, 2013, 10:48:34 PM
as I read FES.org has had 131 posts made today. I has also had 323 spam bot accounts created today because someone has removed the site's protection. ::)
Its crawling in bots.

This site has 260 posts today so far. A 2:1 win for the new site with 27 accounts created, all genuine.

The site also randomly switches you from the old .org server to the new .org server.  So basically there are 2 groups of posters simultaneously posting on the site and separate of each other. 
I can't log into it so I wouldn't know. :(
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Snupes on December 01, 2013, 11:43:54 PM
I need fast reply! ;o;

Also, anything I can do? I'd love to finally be able to help around here. :]
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Alchemist21 on December 01, 2013, 11:53:54 PM
Fast reply?  That exists here.  I've been using it the whole time.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 01, 2013, 11:56:31 PM
I need fast reply! ;o;
go to profile - modify profile- look and layout

second from bottom is "Use quick reply on topic display:" - Change that to show on by default.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Vindictus on December 02, 2013, 12:04:23 AM
I'm happy to help, but my skills are pretty limited.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Snupes on December 02, 2013, 12:09:38 AM
I need fast reply! ;o;
go to profile - modify profile- look and layout

second from bottom is "Use quick reply on topic display:" - Change that to show on by default.

Yep, thanks! I stupided and got all confused since I thought it was a default option. Everything is all well and good now. :D
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Vindictus on December 02, 2013, 12:11:22 AM
Holy crap, quick reply is the most useful thing ever.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 02, 2013, 12:16:59 AM
Holy crap, quick reply is the most useful thing ever.
You are such a hopeless noob.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Alchemist21 on December 02, 2013, 12:21:54 AM
Wtf.  Quick reply was default for me.  It wasn't default for you guys?
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Vindictus on December 02, 2013, 12:23:29 AM
Wtf.  Quick reply was default for me.  It wasn't default for you guys?

It was there but it wasn't open by default. Now I'm part of the quick reply master race.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Snupes on December 02, 2013, 12:32:06 AM
It is wondrous. The only minorly sadface thing is the lack of format buttons, but it's not that big of a deal to type them.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Shane on December 02, 2013, 03:11:55 AM
Parsifal, if your goal isn't to make this the "new" fes then how will we get enough new members on this site to have any sort of new FET discussion?
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: spoon on December 02, 2013, 04:52:28 AM
I'm willing to help in whatever way possible.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Alchemist21 on December 02, 2013, 04:54:47 AM
I'm thinking of pm'ing members that haven't registered on this site yet to come here.  Is that too spammy?  I currently stand poised to send about a dozen different users a pm for this site.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Alchemist21 on December 02, 2013, 05:32:39 AM
Going ahead and sending a pm to every active member I can think of who hasn't registered here yet.  Except the admins.  Should I invite the old admins like Jack and Wilmore?
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Benjamin Franklin on December 02, 2013, 07:43:02 AM
Let's make this the best FES spinoff ever!
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 02, 2013, 08:15:31 AM
Going ahead and sending a pm to every active member I can think of who hasn't registered here yet.  Except the admins.  Should I invite the old admins like Jack and Wilmore?
Not as admins!
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Blanko on December 02, 2013, 09:59:57 AM
CN no have Christmas wtf
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 02, 2013, 11:05:30 AM
Should I invite the old admins like Jack and Wilmore?

Please do. Everyone is welcome, if they choose to join.

Not as admins!

Wilmore will have a place as admin here, if he chooses to take it. He has a good head on his shoulders and has done some great things for FET.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Adolf Hipster on December 02, 2013, 12:30:17 PM
What about John and Daniel?
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 02, 2013, 12:44:30 PM
What about John and Daniel?

They won't be admins, but by all means invite them.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 02, 2013, 07:46:00 PM
A new FAQ would be lovely, and maybe even some forum rules that don't suck. I reserve the right to veto any rule that gets written, but if you could draft up a set of them, that would be very helpful. Just as long as we can call each other niggers afterwards.

Rules - Here goes

Treating Others
This is a place for open and free discussion on a wide range of topics and we ask that you respect each other by not bullying or harassing other members of the forum.

This is not the place for personal attacks, or to deliberately stop the flow of conversation from taking place. Please; Do not Hijack threads with the same questions if an FEr has already answered them; do not post irrelevant images or text in other people's topics for no reason other than disruption; do not make any personal insults or irrelevant one word answers. Do not spam the Flat Earth Forums with a bunch of new threads all in one session. Do not sign-up multiple user IDs.

Racism
People are welcome to discuss issues surrounding race. Racist remarks will not be tolerated on this forum. Political stances can be discussed without resorting to racial stereo-typing and abusive remarks towards a race of people. Anybody trying to stir up racial hatred will be banned without warning.

We do not shy away from discussing controversial topics. We welcome debates where other mainstream media outlets would not. However, this is not an opportunity for anyone with any kind of racist agenda to spread their propaganda or to recruit others.

Personal Information
Please be very careful about posting any personal information on this forum. We cannot be held responsible if you choose to post information which reveals your location, identity, or anything else which you may later regret divulging.

We advise that you keep details regarding your employer, your location and your friends/family vague, unless absolutely necessary.

Please do not at any time post your telephone number or postal address on the public forums without permission from the moderators. Do not ask other members on the forum for their personal contact information either. We take privacy very seriously here and anybody seen deliberately breaking this rule will be banned without warning.

Private Messages (“PMs”)
Private messages are subject to the same rules and Terms and Conditions as the rest of the forum.

Please do not post PMs on the forums at any time without prior written permission from the Webmaster.

If you feel a PM has broken the guidelines and you wish to bring it to a moderators attention please use the "report PM" feature. To do this you click on the report to moderator link.

The Admins of this forum reserve the right to access a users private messages ("PMs") at any time for reasons including, but not limited to:
Suspected spamming (including chain PMs)
Threatening behaviour
Suspected illegal activity
Recruitment/solicitation
Please note: Accessing a users PMs will only ever be used in very extreme circumstances. It is not a standard feature we use.

It should be noted that the private message service is not a securely private or confidential means of sending communications to others and you are strongly discouraged from using it to share sensitive information with other users.

We will endeavor to protect your privacy at all times and will never access, read or disclose PMs unless absolutely necessary.

Advertising
Advertising is strictly prohibited without prior written permission from the Administration.

Thread Topics
The Moderators reserve the right to move posts into more appropriate sub-forums at their discretion.

We have many sub-forums and we ask that before posting a thread you consider where your post might best be suited. We also suggest before posting that you use the search function to see if there is already a thread you may add your post to rather than starting a new thread on a subject that may have recently been discussed.

Trolling
While the Flat Earth Society welcomes discussions on their theories and don't expect everyone will necessarily agree with every aspect of their work, anyone who joins this forum with the sole intention of flaming the Flat Earthers on their own forum will find their account suspended.

Please do not flame others or deliberately disrupt users who wish to seriously discuss flat earth theory.

While it is perfectly fine to discuss aspects of Flat Earth Theory that you disagree with or do not understand, posters who habitually criticise flat earth input while offering little or nothing constructive to other forum discussions will not be allowed to dominate this forum.

Report Post Feature
If you see a post you believe breaches any of our forum guidelines, please feel free to report the post to the Moderators, who will decide on what action (if any) needs to be taken. The link for reporting posts is in the bottom right of that post. Only signed-in members can use this function.

Avatars and Signatures
Any user using an unsuitable avatar or signature (unnecessarily brash/large, pornographic or insulting to other members) will be asked to remove it. A Moderator may remove an avatar and/or signature at any time if deemed necessary.

Complete nonsense/Angry ranting forums
Threads which are binned due to abusive, off topic or “petty” rants may be moved to the “Angry Ranting” or "Complete Nonsense" sub-forums. This sub-forum is only accessible by registered members.

It is at the Moderators' discretion whether to delete or lock threads which have descended into rants or to move them to the nonsense forums.

Complaints and disputes with regard to Moderation
If you have a complaint against a Moderator or you feel you have been unfairly treated after having attempted to resolve an issue with the Moderator involved, you are free to bring the matter to the attention of one of the Forum Admins who in this instance will act as an arbitrator to assist both parties to find a resolution they can both agree on. However before taking this course of action, we expect that members will try and resolve these issues with the Moderator involved as a first step.

Discussing moderation on the forum
While we appreciate that everyone has an opinion, moderation issues may NOT be the topic of thread discussions, no matter how strongly you feel about what may or may not have happened to yourself or another poster. If you have a problem with the moderation, make a thread in the Suggestions and Concerns forum.

The Moderation team is NOT at liberty to discuss such matters on the forum threads.

Please ensure you have read our Forum and Communication Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions before signing up for an account.

For information on our procedures for dealing with users who fail to abide by these rules please read the Rule Breaches section.


If you need any help with regards to posting or have an inquiry about anything forum related, please contact a Moderator who will be happy to help.



It is our hope that you will enjoy being a member of our community.



Thank you,

The Flat Earth Society.


I ripped this from another site that is similar to this one. Changed the words a bit. Feel free to butcher further as you please.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Alchemist21 on December 02, 2013, 07:50:41 PM
This is a good list.  Thork, you should make a thread for this and then edit it as needed.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 02, 2013, 07:52:38 PM
This is a good list.  Thork, you should make a thread for this and then edit it as needed.
Usually when I go do something like this, Rushy, Parsifal, Blanko and Saddam will want to criticise the shit out of it because I did it. They can do that in here.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Alchemist21 on December 02, 2013, 07:54:17 PM
Make it like the FAQ.  A locked sticky which the admins, mods, and OP can edit, and a thread in S&C for suggestions on what needs changing.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 02, 2013, 07:57:36 PM
Make it like the FAQ.  A locked sticky which the admins, mods, and OP can edit, and a thread in S&C for suggestions on what needs changing.
I'll get shouted at. If they want it, they can have it.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 02, 2013, 11:08:34 PM
Thanks for that, Thork. I'll read over it in more detail later and edit as needed. There are considerably more rules there than I had in mind.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 02, 2013, 11:25:08 PM
Parsifal, if your goal isn't to make this the "new" fes then how will we get enough new members on this site to have any sort of new FET discussion?

Sorry, I missed this post before. I think you've misinterpreted what I said. I want this to be the best possible FES forum (and wiki) it can be. However, I am not aiming to take over the Society part of things -- all the background stuff Daniel does that doesn't pertain in any way to our online community.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Alchemist21 on December 02, 2013, 11:32:19 PM
Whoever can succeed in the negotiations to erect a plaque on Bedford Bridge in honor of the Bedford Level Experiment should be the new FES president.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: juner on December 03, 2013, 06:47:58 AM
I am throwing money at my screen but nothing is happening.

But, seriously, happy to help.  I am smart, handsome, technically savvy amazing, well endowed, and generally awesome. 
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Vindictus on December 03, 2013, 08:57:57 AM
handsome, technically savvy amazing, well endowed

Pick 2.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 03, 2013, 05:43:24 PM
Any of you kindly volunteers feel like writing an introductory blog post for the FES homepage? I seem to have contracted writer's block.

This is going to be the first thing RE noobs see when they look at our new site, so choose your words carefully if you take on this task. :P
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 03, 2013, 06:19:57 PM
I had done a lot of research and entries into the FEIR board on the old site so I deleted them there and posted them all here. Hopefully that will be helpful.

That's awesome. Thanks.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 03, 2013, 06:36:04 PM
I've put a list of things that need help for the CMS site in the CMS thread (http://theflatearthsociety.sjm.so/index.php?topic=725.msg2167#msg2167).
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: rooster on December 03, 2013, 06:47:45 PM
Also, if people want more traffic then maybe we should make a video with the site's link and start posting it around. People could write up the script while someone else is the spokesman.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 03, 2013, 06:48:34 PM
Also, if people want more traffic then maybe we should make a video with the site's link and start posting it around. People could write up the script while someone else is the spokesman.

As long as other people are writing the words for him to say, I nominate Thork as the spokesperson.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: rooster on December 03, 2013, 06:49:19 PM
Also, if people want more traffic then maybe we should make a video with the site's link and start posting it around. People could write up the script while someone else is the spokesman.

As long as other people are writing the words for him to say, I nominate Thork as the spokesperson.
British accents do add respectability.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 03, 2013, 06:52:19 PM
Thanks for that, Thork. I'll read over it in more detail later and edit as needed. There are considerably more rules there than I had in mind.
Its more advice than rules. What to if you hate a mod. Don't give away personal info. How to report a post etc etc.

Just a standard set of forum rules. Nothing strange.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Crudblud on December 03, 2013, 08:01:01 PM
Also, if people want more traffic then maybe we should make a video with the site's link and start posting it around. People could write up the script while someone else is the spokesman.

As long as other people are writing the words for him to say, I nominate Thork as the spokesperson.
British accents do add respectability.
I would be happy to lend a hand with this as well.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 03, 2013, 08:02:36 PM
Also, if people want more traffic then maybe we should make a video with the site's link and start posting it around. People could write up the script while someone else is the spokesman.

As long as other people are writing the words for him to say, I nominate Thork as the spokesperson.
Wait a minute, wut?
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: juner on December 03, 2013, 08:10:33 PM
I would be happy to lend a hand with this as well.

This needs to happen.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Blanko on December 03, 2013, 08:32:59 PM
Also, if people want more traffic then maybe we should make a video with the site's link and start posting it around. People could write up the script while someone else is the spokesman.

As long as other people are writing the words for him to say, I nominate Thork as the spokesperson.
Wait a minute, wut?

That just means nobody but you cares about fucking Google rankings.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 03, 2013, 08:34:12 PM
Also, if people want more traffic then maybe we should make a video with the site's link and start posting it around. People could write up the script while someone else is the spokesman.

As long as other people are writing the words for him to say, I nominate Thork as the spokesperson.
Wait a minute, wut?

That just means nobody but you cares about fucking Google rankings.
I know you are frightened by people you don't know, but they are just friends you haven't met yet. ::)
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Pete Svarrior on December 03, 2013, 11:18:28 PM
I'm in favour as long as I can get a side recording of Thork saying "super e".
Also, Crudblud's dramatic voice would greatly complement Thork's natural charisma, friendliness, and charm.
Sadly, my accent is poo-poo, but I could help with the graphical side of things, if we were making a video.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 03, 2013, 11:26:26 PM
but I could help with the graphical side of things, if we were making a video.
actually, we could do a history of the modern flat earth society from the Rowbotham right up to the bit where we all left as one and set up our new site. A kind of this is why we are here.

Maybe like one of those "draw my life" vids, and I'll happily voice it for you. I can't draw by hand and don't have the time to do something animated on the PC.

But anyway, you can use my voice. That's fine.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: jroa on December 03, 2013, 11:42:36 PM
I vote for Crudblud to be the voice of FES.  Thork would be a fine choice, as well, but Crudblud sounds like he could have been an actor or something. 

Crudblud (3)
Thork (2)
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Thork on December 04, 2013, 12:06:46 AM
I vote for Crudblud to be the voice of FES.  Thork would be a fine choice, as well, but Crudblud sounds like he could have been an actor or something. 

Crudblud (3)
Thork (2)
Its cool. Let him do it. There is plenty of stuff for everyone to do.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: spoon on December 04, 2013, 03:42:37 AM
I'll make some mellow background music!
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Blanko on December 04, 2013, 11:23:07 AM
Why don't we have a favicon yet??
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: xasop on December 04, 2013, 11:56:32 AM
Why don't we have a favicon yet??

Because it isn't important.
Title: Re: Help wanted to make this place better
Post by: Blanko on December 04, 2013, 12:06:25 PM
Why don't we have a favicon yet??

Because it isn't important.

Yes it is.