Heads Up and Member Feedback - Your opinions on the future of the site :)
- Thread starter TheLoveBandit
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ClubbinGuido
Ex-Bluelighter
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this is not the lounge. 
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brutus
Bluelight Crew
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I would like to see a way to report a user. I know we can report a post or thread, but I think we should have an option to report another user that is constantly being a nuisance or either giving completely incorrect information. I don't think it should be a rating system, just like a thumbs up or thumbs down so other users know whether to believe/ignore the poster.
Wait, I just realized this was already mentioned.
Wait, I just realized this was already mentioned.
dr-ripple
Bluelighter
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- Nov 4, 2006
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- 966
Just my 2 cents but I vote no on the Mod voting. Just not necessary we are all unique lets keep our styles that way. Why be pressured/influenced by a rating. You live you learn. . Yeah no voting or rating system . .. THIS IS NOT HOT OR NOT !
Put new posts back on the top bar. . I know its in quick links but maybe make that top bar editable. . !!
More colours or styles would be nice but not necessary. . BL Light is BLight for a reason . . its not the red light special . . --ignore that one I think its useless Its fine the way it is. . .
allow journals to be rss feed separately - I understand you have an RSS feed for the Site in whole but what about just individual RSS feeds for the journals?
User name Change is an interesting feature that I see a lot of people ask about. I like the idea of donating 10.00 or something to have a current/old user name changed. Additional 5.00 to have the post count carried over BUT with a form of letting others know that the BLers name has been adjusted or edited moved or re-activated. (ie) say I click on the user name it views the profile in the profile it would have the users previous name. The NEW user name could be in a bold or have a star next to it and/or a different colour to notify people that he/she has a past.
In the events can we have a google/yahoo map of PUBLIC events. The option of adding it to a public map around the country/world.
In the music section can we add a list of sites you can share your music on. Not sure if this is necessary but maybe just add it to the introduction like advice as to where music people can upload/share a link of they're beet or music.
I think if this could be en-acted that would be nice. . maybe putting a post advisory when posting Like a popup/reminder additional post approval when posting here when you are a GLer. Still today sometimes I forget so maybe a constant advisory. I mean there are so many posts in this category.
Put new posts back on the top bar. . I know its in quick links but maybe make that top bar editable. . !!
More colours or styles would be nice but not necessary. . BL Light is BLight for a reason . . its not the red light special . . --ignore that one I think its useless Its fine the way it is. . .
allow journals to be rss feed separately - I understand you have an RSS feed for the Site in whole but what about just individual RSS feeds for the journals?
User name Change is an interesting feature that I see a lot of people ask about. I like the idea of donating 10.00 or something to have a current/old user name changed. Additional 5.00 to have the post count carried over BUT with a form of letting others know that the BLers name has been adjusted or edited moved or re-activated. (ie) say I click on the user name it views the profile in the profile it would have the users previous name. The NEW user name could be in a bold or have a star next to it and/or a different colour to notify people that he/she has a past.
In the events can we have a google/yahoo map of PUBLIC events. The option of adding it to a public map around the country/world.
In the music section can we add a list of sites you can share your music on. Not sure if this is necessary but maybe just add it to the introduction like advice as to where music people can upload/share a link of they're beet or music.
I think if this could be en-acted that would be nice. . maybe putting a post advisory when posting Like a popup/reminder additional post approval when posting here when you are a GLer. Still today sometimes I forget so maybe a constant advisory. I mean there are so many posts in this category.
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Coolio
Greenlighter
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- Feb 29, 2004
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- 6,946
I'm okay with a karma system, but PLEASE don't turn Bluelight into Slashdot. I don't want to have most of the content of Bluelight unavailable to those who haven't created a BL account and figured out where in the user CP the option to unhide posts with bad karma. Except for the trolls who get their posts deleted by mods, I think everyone's contribution to a thread is very important here.
Coolio
Greenlighter
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- Feb 29, 2004
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- 6,946
Most important change I'd like to see at Bluelight: an official IRC server, with SSL-only connections.
No stupid nickserv/chanserv bullshit either, just have the ircd authenticate the nickname/password provided by the IRC client against the forum's user database. Tie IRC-operator status to Moderator status. It's very easy, I've done it many times before, there're tons of ircds that support SQL or LDAP auth.
The mods here are for the most part so well-loved and do such a great job that I can't imagine too many complaints about abusive IRC ops would filter through to the admins.
Pretty please.
No stupid nickserv/chanserv bullshit either, just have the ircd authenticate the nickname/password provided by the IRC client against the forum's user database. Tie IRC-operator status to Moderator status. It's very easy, I've done it many times before, there're tons of ircds that support SQL or LDAP auth.
The mods here are for the most part so well-loved and do such a great job that I can't imagine too many complaints about abusive IRC ops would filter through to the admins.
Pretty please.
Infinite Jest
Bluelight Crew
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- 24,398
wiggi said:
Thanks for your comments
If someone's being a nuisance, please report any one of their nuisance posts, and mention in the report that they've been doing it in other posts (you could also say 'in this thread' or 'in this forum' if that's relevant).
If someone's giving incorrect information, the best response IMO is to refute it in the thread.
As mentioned, rating might be an option.
Infinite Jest
Bluelight Crew
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Treacle said:Leave EADD alone. I'm sure you remember what happened when you tried to split it into two separate forums?
Do what you want with the rest (or delete 'The Lounge').
(Not aiming this just at Treacle): I personally agree, but I'd like to see better arguments than 'leave it alone' and 'last time we kicked up a fuss'. We should always be willing to consider changes. (That said, I'm strongly against a split, because I think the current system works fine, and the forum has a good spirit and sense of community to it).
Calling on us to delete other forums just b/c you (presumably) don't like them is kinda out of order - you'd hate it if someone said 'delete EADD and make the Brits post in the Lounge'
i feel that eadd works because of the mixture of drug and social discussion. from a cultural perspective drugs are cheaper and more easily accesable in the uk than they are in other countries. so for us our drug use is almost an every weekend occurence and not just something saved for special occasions- hence why i think the events forum is so unloved! stemming from this is conversation that is fluid and not confined to one genre, if we split the forum i think we would end up with a hardly used drug discussion forum and an over used social forum that would no doubt end up being a mixture of drug and social talk anyway.
Riklet
Bluelighter
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- Jun 6, 2005
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- 2,294
Leave EADD alone (!11!! sorry!), it's by far one of the most useful and enjoyable forums for the European contingent, and despite a couple of flaws (need more Africans!), it's definitely the reason many come to Bluelight, myself included.
I think having regional forums, with the ability to make their own decisions about how they're run, and to please the membership is pretty vital on a harm reduction site like Bluelight. Harm reduction can often be immensely locality based; a random example being some dodgy MDMA going around in the North of England at the moment, which looks like toffee. The feedback given in EADD is imo much more useful than having it buried somewhere in the ecstasy forum, and perhaps even ignored. Some topics need the locals, surely?
I also think EADD just having one forum works great, and means it is by far one of the most user-friendly forums on BL. If money's the issue, then chargin for name changes and stuff would make sense... or just increase info about the need to donate etc etc.
Tbh I can't think of anything about BL that should be changed?
I think having regional forums, with the ability to make their own decisions about how they're run, and to please the membership is pretty vital on a harm reduction site like Bluelight. Harm reduction can often be immensely locality based; a random example being some dodgy MDMA going around in the North of England at the moment, which looks like toffee. The feedback given in EADD is imo much more useful than having it buried somewhere in the ecstasy forum, and perhaps even ignored. Some topics need the locals, surely?
I also think EADD just having one forum works great, and means it is by far one of the most user-friendly forums on BL. If money's the issue, then chargin for name changes and stuff would make sense... or just increase info about the need to donate etc etc.
Tbh I can't think of anything about BL that should be changed?
Klue
Bluelight Crew
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- Nov 23, 2006
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^ Seems like everyone has said they would like to see EADD left the same. I don't read it much, but I'm sure I would be more likely to post in a EA Social forum. (I that was allowed, being an Aussie :D)
Also, I wanted to thank the staff responsible for tweaking the settings so that threads with new posts stay marked as unread longer than half an hour :D
Its great, but I have noticed it only lasts a few weeks. Maybe thats because of my browser settings?
Cheers
Also, I wanted to thank the staff responsible for tweaking the settings so that threads with new posts stay marked as unread longer than half an hour :D
Its great, but I have noticed it only lasts a few weeks. Maybe thats because of my browser settings?
Cheers
Shambles
Bluelight Crew
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Klue said:
Oh we love to hear from all over in EADD - we're a friendly bunch who like to discuss drugs in a social context
.Admittedly, the European (particularly British) sense of humour can be a bit confusing and impenetrable to some visitors but we love you all really
.
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Shambles
Bluelight Crew
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Personally - and speaking here in no kind of "official" capacity but simply as a regular EADDer who also happens to be a mod - I like the set-up as it is. However, I can see that it could potentially be a little off-putting - cliquey even - to newcomers and passers by. I also realise that, in my mod-capacity, I could do more to make our little corner of BL more welcoming and will do what I can in order to try to achieve this goal.
Imagining myself as a first-timer just looking for some advice or information - and also remembering my own noob days - I would want to be able to feel comfortable in just asking people what their opinions were without being put off by an impenetrable wall of in-jokes, side-tracks and irrelevance. For the most part, I think this is usually the case - serious questions are given serious answers - but more can always be done.
For the most part, EADD is populated by intelligent, experienced and knowledgable people who have a lot of valuable information to share. Perhaps it's not as obvious to visitors that this is the case as it could be because so much of our time in EADDland is spent larking around and I would like to make it clearer to passers by that it's not just there for shits and giggles.
How to achieve this... don't know, to be honest. To my mind, EADD is a pretty small and tight-knit community - we seem to look after our own pretty well. The way EADD works currently is, in my view, as a predominantly social forum with a whole wealth of knowledge and experience lurking beneath a surface of silliness. To somebody just dropping in, it may all seem unnecessary, but I feel that this is what keeps the forum alive.
Bollocks, I've completely lost my thread (again - I blame the drugs) so I'll stop rambling. The long and the short of it is that I like EADD the way it is, but I'd love to hear from newcomers and occasional posters as to what would make EADD more user friendly for them. Basically I have no idea :D.
Imagining myself as a first-timer just looking for some advice or information - and also remembering my own noob days - I would want to be able to feel comfortable in just asking people what their opinions were without being put off by an impenetrable wall of in-jokes, side-tracks and irrelevance. For the most part, I think this is usually the case - serious questions are given serious answers - but more can always be done.
For the most part, EADD is populated by intelligent, experienced and knowledgable people who have a lot of valuable information to share. Perhaps it's not as obvious to visitors that this is the case as it could be because so much of our time in EADDland is spent larking around and I would like to make it clearer to passers by that it's not just there for shits and giggles.
How to achieve this... don't know, to be honest. To my mind, EADD is a pretty small and tight-knit community - we seem to look after our own pretty well. The way EADD works currently is, in my view, as a predominantly social forum with a whole wealth of knowledge and experience lurking beneath a surface of silliness. To somebody just dropping in, it may all seem unnecessary, but I feel that this is what keeps the forum alive.
Bollocks, I've completely lost my thread (again - I blame the drugs) so I'll stop rambling. The long and the short of it is that I like EADD the way it is, but I'd love to hear from newcomers and occasional posters as to what would make EADD more user friendly for them. Basically I have no idea :D.
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i'd like to inject some counterpoint into the discussion and hear some thoughts - from frequent eadd participants and others - first hand.
i want to make it clear that i'm not lobbying for a split of (or even any specific change in) eadd. i just want to prompt a full and frank discussion of what we're doing, how and why.
in large part, i defer to the eadd staff to provide input on what's best for that forum which could be anything and everything from radical change to the status quo.
about two years ago, there was talk of splitting eadd. you can read some related discussion here: gcse winners (EADD Split/suggestions?).
at that time, i ran some simple statistics of eadd traffic. at the time, over half the entire forum traffic was contributed by only 20 posters. further, in the month leading up to the discussion, those 20 posters had contributed nearly two thirds of the total forum traffic.
i asked, at the time, what is the value - to bluelight as a whole - of a forum in which a huge number of mostly social posts are made by a handful of posters and the occasional drug-related question receives an answer which could easily be obtained in a more focused forum elsewhere on the board?
in light of these discussions, i ran the same statistics again to see up to date data. here are the numbers:
posts in eadd in the last 3 months: 21855
of those, posts by top 20 posters: 16767 (77%)
posts in eadd in the last year: 71063
of those, posts by top 20 posters: 46963 (66%)
to put those numbers in context, here are the numbers for the lounge (a purely social forum with large traffic) and psychedelic drugs (a focus forum with similar traffic numbers to eadd):
3 months
percentage of lounge posts by top 20 posters: 43%
percentage of pd posts by top 20 posters: 45%
1 year
percentage of lounge posts by top 20 posters: 37%
percentage of pd posts by top 20 posters: 39%
the proportion of traffic generated by the top 20 posters has increased to three quarters. these numbers incline me to ask, again, what's the value, to bluelight as a whole, of a forum in which a small group of posters are responsible for the bulk of the forum content (and the percentage of content for which this group is responsible is getting bigger)?
alasdair
i want to make it clear that i'm not lobbying for a split of (or even any specific change in) eadd. i just want to prompt a full and frank discussion of what we're doing, how and why.
in large part, i defer to the eadd staff to provide input on what's best for that forum which could be anything and everything from radical change to the status quo.
about two years ago, there was talk of splitting eadd. you can read some related discussion here: gcse winners (EADD Split/suggestions?).
at that time, i ran some simple statistics of eadd traffic. at the time, over half the entire forum traffic was contributed by only 20 posters. further, in the month leading up to the discussion, those 20 posters had contributed nearly two thirds of the total forum traffic.
i asked, at the time, what is the value - to bluelight as a whole - of a forum in which a huge number of mostly social posts are made by a handful of posters and the occasional drug-related question receives an answer which could easily be obtained in a more focused forum elsewhere on the board?
in light of these discussions, i ran the same statistics again to see up to date data. here are the numbers:
posts in eadd in the last 3 months: 21855
of those, posts by top 20 posters: 16767 (77%)
posts in eadd in the last year: 71063
of those, posts by top 20 posters: 46963 (66%)
to put those numbers in context, here are the numbers for the lounge (a purely social forum with large traffic) and psychedelic drugs (a focus forum with similar traffic numbers to eadd):
3 months
percentage of lounge posts by top 20 posters: 43%
percentage of pd posts by top 20 posters: 45%
1 year
percentage of lounge posts by top 20 posters: 37%
percentage of pd posts by top 20 posters: 39%
the proportion of traffic generated by the top 20 posters has increased to three quarters. these numbers incline me to ask, again, what's the value, to bluelight as a whole, of a forum in which a small group of posters are responsible for the bulk of the forum content (and the percentage of content for which this group is responsible is getting bigger)?
alasdair