Community Suggestions, Wishlist, Complaints, & Unresolved Issues

if i were to list some wishes they would be as follows:
-member awards, some members have recieved awards for builds in local and national shows. they should be recognized for them.
-recognize outstanding builds, there have been some fantastic builds in this forum. i feel that they should be pointed out, much like the online newsletter highlights different threads. the staff of fsm is an excellent judge for these.

i will check my list at those two items. there are many things that would improve the forum and many things that would take away from the atmosphere of the forums. too much altering may be more detrimetal than helpful.

joe

Wish list: I love the photo gallery and chat feature ideas!

Unresolved issues: the search feature hasn't worked for me for ages. I can't go past page one of my posts.

Thanks for this opportunity, Dave!

Photo gallery and a chat would be great. I'll see if I can think of anything else.

Keep 'em coming.

Seriously, even if it's already been said, post if you'd like to see that feature (or if you don't want to see it). If it's something you think is outrageous, post it anyways...ya never know.

Anyone have any thoughts regarding what would improve the group builds experience (from start to finish)?

- - - - - - - -

The login/logout fix seems to be going well so far (it's only been 24 hours tho').

Search still is broken, but in the meantime there is the "unofficial" search page.

how about the unresolved issue of a "certain" web guru at kalmbach not posting his picture?????


I want chat. gallery would be nice, but not neccasry. but at the top of my priorities would be to fix te search feature.

Couldn't agree more.....improved (functional?) search feature and chat feature in that order.

Thanks for allowing us to input to this great site.

Bob

First off I'd like to say that the sigs add a lot of personality and I wouldn't change them a bit. This forum stands out heads and shoulders above all the rest as far as the sense of community that has been created here and I think the personalized sig pictures have had a lot to do with it. They seem to serve the same function that avatars serve on other forums.

The main feature I'd like to see is a trading forum (I know, I know).

1. Search feature fix. I'm not sure if I was using it right, but I think the search brings back the entire thread, rather than just the post. Gets a bit annoying if I've gotta scan through 25 pages of posts before I find the item I was looking for...

2. Some sort of indicator on the thread that tells you whether or not you've posted in that thread or not. Check out automotiveforums.com or aircraftresourcecenter.com to see how this works. (Once you've logged in, it puts a black 'dot' over the folder in the topics list if you've posted in it.)



Murray

I have to agree with Woody, a "trading post" like over at Starship Modeler would be great. My two cents.

No problems with the format. You could do away with the OT forum though and I wouldn't miss it. Its an international modeling forum not a blog site.

A direct post of photos rather than linking to a site would be nice.
Anything that would improve the visual media of the site would certainly be welcome.

A repository of articles by staff or members would be helpful. These could be how to's, product reviews, tips and tricks. I know that abreviated versions show up in the separate forum catagories but something more elaboate would be an asset.

Still beating that dead horse:

Trading Post

'Tis the only thing missing from this forum...


Fade to Black...

If people don't like the size of my signature, I can minimize it you you guys want...

In order of desire:

1. Fix the search engine
[This has been broken for way too long.]

2. A member's trading post
[The policy is just plain dumb. Kalambach and FSM are NOT going to lose money by allowing a forum for member trades because they never would have made the money to begin with. No member in his right mind is going to take out a $10 classified ad to sell four $12 kits! An administrator can moderate and immediately delete posts from obvious commercial activities.]

3. A member's photo gallery broken down by genre (photos uploaded by members)
[Moderated by an administrator to ensure size and content standards are met.]

4. Ability for members to delete their own posts, even if replies have been added
[This would allow members to clean-up old, out-of-date, or no longer applicable posts without having to go through administration.]

That's all for now. Thanks for this opportunity to express our views.

I, too, think that a trading forum would be good.

Randie

My list:

1: Fix the search, I don't use it often but when I do I really need it to work.

QUOTE: 2: Some sort of indicator on the thread that tells you whether or not you've posted in that thread or not. Check out automotiveforums.com or aircraftresourcecenter.com to see how this works. (Once you've logged in, it puts a black 'dot' over the folder in the topics list if you've posted in it.)

(Good idea Murry)

3: Gallery. If I am not mistaken using HTML tags would put images in posts but not eat up bandwidth like linking back to your server.

4: Trading post.

Just my

Hi David,

Thanks for the opportunity to make suggestions.

In addition to what's already been said about having a indicator for threads where I've posted, I'd like to beef up the watched threads list.

First, make it optional to receive e-mails when somebody posts something new.

Second, make a link on the main forum page so that I can get to my watched topics from there.

Thanks!

I think the single greatest suggestion is a member's gallery. The ability to post pics directly would be fully exploited by a lot of our members. However, I could understand space becoming an issue with that. Chat would be OK, but it's not something I'd use, so whatever.

One quarell I have is with the current state of Group Builds. Personally, I think the inclusion of a dedicated GB forum is ok, but I can't help but notice that the participation levels of some of the active GB's has dropped quite a bit since the portal was added. What I'd like to see is two separate GB forums, one dedicated to land/sea vehicles of all types (including ships) and another dedicated to anything flying. Just a suggestion. EIther way, I think the GB issue is one that definitely needs to be addressed.

A flea-market forum would be great. I understand the current FSM policy is to not allow users to sell their own items online. However, create a forum for this purpose alone, as this would be a wonderful addition. Considering the level of involvement in this hobby by many of our members, this group would be a great asset to everyone.

Just my opinions.

I think a Members Gallery would be a great addition, but it would require some built in restraint. Size & number of pics could become an issue. Would not like to see file size limited in a way that degrades pic quality, ARC has an 80mb limit which requires a lot of compression for most digipics.

A Trading Post would be nice, although I can understand FSM reservations since this is a commercial site. Still, something like Plane Trading on Hyperscale would be fun.

Fix the search function. I don't even try to use it anymore. Not worth the hassle.

how about the issue about putting the poll feature in every area of the forum???

Direct links would be of the biggest aid for many. IMHO

I would like members or admin. to state the beginning and ending to a group build in the subject line. Would end many "When does this start........."etc.

My 2 cents worth:

After posting I am not returned to where I left off ni the forum. I tried clicking right away on the "return to forum" thingy but I always end up at my new post and then have to go to the forum, then to the page where I was ... Maybe I'm doing something wrong??

I agree that the issue with the advertisers can be worked out to allow a trading post.

I do like the individuality that is allowed here, with the signatures and all. The off topic forum can be a hoot and I spend a lot of time there; although maybe it's time to end the never ending story and move on to something else ...

Generally speaking, this is a great forum and the best at having created a spirit of family, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it (just tinker a bit).

Thanks for the opportunity,
Bruce

I too would love to have a chat capability and a trading forum. Love the way things are set up now and would hate to see anything change but I know all things must change eventually. I especially love the sense of "family" that we on the forums enjoy. I've been on a few forums, but I always return to this one because of that sense of belonging here.

I think the most signifigant suggestion is a member's photo gallery on the forum site. I don't have my own webpage and I have to go to RonUSMC's website, but pics are always getting deleted, and when I check back up on my posts that had pics, everyone tells me their red x's , which they are. This isn't FSM's problem, but having a place on the FSM website would eliminate these problems. But thanks for listening.

..........
would love the MEMBER PHOTO GALLERY.........i'd like to do what others are doing under their signature without having to go through all the rig-a-ma-roll of other web sites...........and as soon as i have a scanning capabliity i'd like to upload a project or two for some feed back.........
i like the idea of a CHAT PLACE but, am skeptical that if it is not monitored......it could become like other chat sites in cyber land.......
a TRADING POST......yessssssssssssssssss.......where would you like me to post the list of kits?????????

all in all.....i've little to compare this forum to.......as i've not ventured to many others but, then so what.......can't express enough how great this place is.......
maybe tweek a little here and there.......an add-on or two.....etc.......
kudos to Mr. Voss & his staff.......awesome place you've built here
thank you..........

Just thought of something that would be real helpful. A seperate area to post links in. I'm finding I'm chasing these suckers all over the place and half of the time I never find them. There have been some really good ones posted that I can't find now. I know I should be bookmarking them, but when you're on a borrowed computer thats impossible to do. BTW, That was an awesome link for the large scale B-52 Mr Voss, unfortunately my wife saw it and now she wants one.

David,

Thanks for this opportunity

1. Chat room
2. Trading post
3. Indication that you have already posted in a thread.
4. Easier way to return to forum after posting.

I know these all have been suggested but wanted to add my
Thanks
Richard

David:
Here's one more ... can it be possible to add streaming video as well as picture images to posts?
I tried and couldn't make it happen.

Notswithstanding my ulterior motive of destroying Sean's phantom in view of all and sundry, I am sure there are those out there who would like to include panorama images of their models or dioramas.

There could be a time restriction of 10 seconds or so ...

What do you think?
Bruce

A couple of quick updates...

Search - Listing of post by members not working past page 1
This has been fixed.

Search - Search page not working (search times out)
Still working on this...
In the meantime, there's always the "unofficial" search page

Login/Logout Issues
Did some work on this and updated the site. Shouldn't (knock on wood) be an issue for most people now.

Easier way to return to forum after posting.
After posting, does it take you back to the topic you posted to or back to the Forum Index? If it's taking you back to the Forum Index, then it's because you have what is termed as "referrers" blocked -- Norton Internet Security (and others I'm sure) label it as "Information about visited sites".

David,

A. A chat room would be at the top of the list. (Although this probably flies in the face of Ben Franklin's advice: "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open it and be proven one").

B. Seperate Links Room - break it down into catagories (aircraft, armor etc) and put it under the references forum. (you'd probably end up refering to it as "job security").

C. Trading Room - Would I like to see one? Yes, I've got a bunch of 1/4" models simply taking up space that I'll never build and would like to have the room and the cash (or swap) for something I can use now. By the same token I can understand the problems faced here. It would be darned hard to keep out those people who are trying to make a living by buying and selling models over the net from gathering there. (Take a look at Ebay - 2 years ago 90% of the sellers had 100 or less sales/purchases and the prices were very good. Now the biggest percentage of the sellers have 5000, 7000 or even 10,000 sales/purchases and most of the prices are retail or higher and you still have to figure in shipping) My problem is that I don't have an answer for the problem.

Thanks for asking