2010 Initiative - Member Input Requested
I wanted to take an opportunity to get some feedback from members regarding the site functionality and design at NextGen RPG. Last year, we threw together a site, super quick and throughout the year added to it and improved it so that it was easier for our members to use. The speed with which we built her, serviced our needs very well at the time, because we needed a functioning site as soon as we could, so that we could resume game play.
Now, however, our knowledge of the beast known as Drupal, and our own needs have increased alot. So...our goal in 2010 is to recreate NextGen RPG from the ground up, convert our games and transfer them to a new site. The new site, will be more user friendly and will be built to be less of a resource hog - which will benefit everyone involved. We are not planning to lose ANY of the functionality that you currently have, but we'll be finding ways to do it better.
This is the time for us to implement NEW things. So, if you have ideas of how to make navigation easier, of things you'd like to see that we don't already have, anything of that nature...NOW is the time to speak up. I can't promise that we can do it, but I can promise that we'll take every suggestion seriously and see if it would be an added benefit to the site and something that we can do.
I'm also opening up for volunteers. In addition to our website initiative, we also have a few other exciting endeavors that we could use volunteers for. Anyone with graphic experience, technical experience, dynamic readers (yes...readers as in out loud), willing editors and anything else that you think you can bring to the table, please let us know. GMs (dedicated and committed) are always welcome and I could also use volunteers for site mentors and site recruitment.
I think this past year has shown our commitment to our members and to improvements in what we offer. I'd like this next year to continue that commitment to our current members, while targeting selective growth so that we can add more rich games to our community! If you would like to become an active contributor to the community, please give me a shout so we can see how we can put you to work.
China
Edit: I'm not gonna keep this stickied, but for the love of gawd, send me some feedback, peeps. Surely you don't think this site is without flaw or places for improvement.
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Comments
It's practically perfect in
It's practically perfect in every way!
Fear change. Change is bad.
Fear change. Change is bad.
If we didn't have change, we
If we didn't have change, we wouldn't have NextGen RPG.
Love it! ...and that's an order.
My only suggestion is, if
My only suggestion is, if you're gonna have a wiki associated with the site (I like wikis), for god's sake, NOT Tiddly-wiki. I thate that thing. Endlessly clicking and clicking and clicking. Use some other, more user-friendly wiki.
Otherwise, I got nothing.
Thanks Sinanju, I agree, I'm
Thanks Sinanju,
I agree, I'm not a fan of Tiddlywiki.
Thing is, since the purpose of a wiki is to allow anyone to edit and expand a given piece of material...I think we've done that with Guidebooks. I'm a bit hesitant to implement a wiki, with it's own wiki mark-up, when we already have a built in solution with the guidebooks.
If you have an argument for having a wiki, above and beyond it's ability to allow multiple people to edit game related content pages, please make it. I'm happy to hear it!
I like wikis. I use them at
I like wikis. I use them at work - every project has it's own wiki page for things like documentation, presentations, meeting minutes, test results, etc., so I'm comfortable working with a wiki. Tiddlywiki is no problem for me - I know how to use it and I've used it in the past and it's simple.
I'm good with guidebooks, too. But I think wikis allow for better organization of material.
Quote:But I think wikis allow
Could you say more about this? Cuz I don't get it, but I want to.
For one they give you an
For one they give you an easier way to link different information together without having to memorize or copy and paste the URL of any material you want to link to.
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Imagination is the seed of intelligence. Nourish it and watch it grow.
Guidebook vrs Wiki
I think it all comes down to user familiarity between the two.
I think that looking at Cozeroth's guidebook is a good example. I feel that currently that's our best example on the site of an organized guidebook.
A person's knowledge of code does not need to exist to create and manipulate a guide book page. They just have to familiarize themselves with the linking and anchor buttons on the text editor. So, for someone that already knows wiki markup - that might feel hard.
...but I think that the number of people that have a knowledge of wiki markup code isn't going to be as high as those that feel comfortable learning how to use the text editor.
I do admit that the guide pages require a GM to put some thought into a navigation bar - at the get go. Where as a wiki, kind of automatically spawns that navigation bar, by immediately placing title shortcuts at the top. ...and that wiki shortcut, is pretty darn awesome, I agree on that.
With resource space being what it is, though... I'm looking for a very definable reason to offer both and not just one. There are some efforts being made to allow wiki mark - ups in existing text editors, and we'll continue to follow those. I mean, wikis have a huge fan base, and I admit to being a fan of them. (not tiddly, but media wiki - I loved)
As someone who is not
As someone who is not familiar with wiki markup but very familiar with the text editor and HTML I have to disagree on which is easier.
I know the concept behind wikis and how links are created to other information and I will still say the wiki is the easier of the two. URL links are easy to mess up even with copy/paste. Wiki links are just words and a hell of a lot shorter.
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Imagination is the seed of intelligence. Nourish it and watch it grow.
A reason for having a wiki
A reason for having a wiki above and beyond the ability for multiple people to edit content? No, that's THE reason for a wiki. But if you're content with the guidebooks, that's fine.
ETA: But I see others have made some of the points I'd make. Wikis are, in my opinion, a lot easier for people to edit. Especially since it's remarkably easy to link any wiki page to any other without worrying about URLs. They allow for lots of people to cooperate in creating the database, and any given short entry can be expanded by anyone who interested in doing so. There are also "conversation" pages where people can discuss issues or questions without cluttering up the main page.
I like Wikis a lot. But contrary to popular opinion (mostly my own), it's not All About Me.
Having a wiki would not add
Having a wiki would not add on to the resources used. The wiki code would not be used by Drupal and vise versa. The only way it would take up more resources would be if people had browser windows open to both at the same time.
Very much like having two programs on your computer. Unless both are running the only resource having two programs take up is hard drive space.
The main problem with a wiki at this point is there is no easy solution to have one log in work for both.
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Imagination is the seed of intelligence. Nourish it and watch it grow.
I have very limited
I have very limited experience with either of them. I dont work with computers everyday. From my perspective, give me a button. I wouldnt convert from the current guidebook to wiki, though.
Why isn't the word 'phonetic' spelled the way it sounds?