[Jeff]

On Tuesday, July 11th I hosted an informal chat on the future of BigBlueBall. Where do you think we can improve? What ideas do you have? What questions do you have about where BigBlueBall is headed?

The chat, hosted on our BigBlueBall IRC server, featured some of our IRC regulars and a few newcomers as well. The environment was terrific. Everyone got into the spirit, sharing what they felt would help make BigBlueBall a better place.

This is a summary of the topics we discussed.

The Arcade

Jeff: What are some things that would encourage participation?

dvelez1985: more games

Jeff: Ok, I heard more arcade games. On the topic of arcade games the staff has discussed that we probably need to periodically reset the scores, to keep it interesting.

Tigerblade: The games should not be the main attraction. The IM forums should be.

BigBlueBall's Focus on Instant Messaging

ShadowdogMU: What if we expand, remove the "Everything about IM", become a more broad forum? I mean not everything, keep IM as our focus, but add a lot more below it, and promote that.

Jeff: The main focus of BigBlueBall will remain IM, VoIP and related technologies

The Downloads Section

princeG: expand the downloads section of each messenger

dvelez1985: expand the downloads and put more usefull downloads

Jeff: I like the idea of expanding the downloads section, but I'd also like to stick to the good stuff.

Tigerblade: how would we "expand" the downloads section?

ShadowdogMU: add more?

Jeff: there are lots of crappy add-ons out there that I'd rather not promote

princeG: make it more user friendly and update when necessary as they tend to get outdated in a short time

Jeff: As for adding more, we have the ability to do so, but we have only a few contributors. I've heard that we need to expand the downloads (more downloads), update it more frequently, and a more "user friendly" interface.

There was some debate about whether it would be better to link directly to files (like the Yahoo Messenger setup program) or to download pages (like the official Yahoo! Messenger download page). Linking to the pages is easier to maintain, because they tend to change less frequently than the files. We didn't reach a final decision on this, and probably need further discussion.

EvilSeph: a review accompanied by download description

Jeff: Reviews are a great idea, I think. And it's something that can be done right now

Welcoming New Members

EvilSeph: We being entirely honest here? If we are, we need a more friendly and welcoming CC team. You make one little mistake and they get offended. They're the CC team, they should be able to deal with it in a calm and sensible manner.

Tigerblade: well... with the CC team... i honestly havent' noticed many *offending* posts.

princeG: there arent really offending posts

Jeff: maybe I need to spend a little more time in there

Tigerblade: i think i haven't yet seen many (if any) CC staffers be overly harsh or rude to new members.

Jeff: I've had feedback from some people that they felt BBB was too clique-ish

Tigerblade: if anything, it's generally been when someone posts an introduction where they use outlandish colors and sizes, etc.

EvilSeph: but every little time they do it, it hurts BBB's image. they represent BBB beyond any other staff member, bar yourself.

Clint: Not to sound rude, but to a newcomer, that does make sense. The first thing I though was "Wow, there are a lot of staff groups on here!"

ShadowdogMU: Amen

princeG: i think they are very friendly, but maybe, MAYBE, sometimes staff gets to overeact on some peoples introductions and tend to move it to review requested or just talk about it

Tigerblade: then there's generally a mild mention of 'please use normal text'

princeG: just lighten up on that

Jeff: I have seen and heard some attitude. We have to remember that someone new doesn't know the site or what's permissible or not, and give them a little slack

Tigerblade: sometimes, *some* people do come across as having a bit of ... attitude. but it's usually in response to a provocation.it's generally not just spontaneously mean.

Jeff: I will spend more time in the Introductions section, and work with the CC team to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Tigerblade: well... true. that i have noticed... when people reply to old topics, some people have responded unnecessarily harshly. but even if you're a "noob" you have to notice things like timestamps, especially when they're displayed above *every* post.so when the last post in a thread was over a year ago...

Jeff: yes, but there is nothing inherently wrong with replying to an old post. if we don't want people to reply, we should close the discussion

Tigerblade: or giving "advice" to someone who asked for it over a year ago

EvilSeph: it was answering the exact topic of the thread

ShadowdogMU: Yes, but I feel sometimes people go through ALL the old posts, and be like, "Hey! Here is a topic about a similiar problem I have" and thus they hijack the thread

EvilSeph: they said their asl.

Clint: From what I have noticed, many old-post-revivers are something small that is barely relevant to the topic.

EvilSeph: as was requested in the thread. it doesn't matter if the poster is banned. it's not grounds for a 3 pronged attack against a member.

Jeff: agreed. none of this is a reason to attach someone new. so... we need to revisit the process, and remind ourselves that we were new too at one time

Tigerblade: what do you suggest in regards to the resurrected post thing then, Jeff? have someone tactfully explain that the post is really old, then lock it? (when appropriate to lock?) if it's a useful post, just leave it. like the "behind the posters" thread is OLD, but it's still going. which is fine.

Jeff: I personally have no problem with resurrecting an old post, as long as the reply is relevant. if it is not relevant, the topic can be split. don't beat up on the poor newbie. just split the topic, reply with an explanation

Developing More Tutorials

dvelez1985: can we get some forum of programers who want to dedicate their time in making tutorials. kind of a basic in vb and how it works with most protocols like ymsg

Jeff: it's a good point. BigBlueBall is not just a forum
Jeff: we used to publish tutorials more regularly

dvelez1985: you have made some tutorials
dvelez1985: for instant the psi thingy was good

ShadowdogMU: We could do tutorials on common things, or even complicated fun things, like that psi thing

Jeff: great ideas dvelez and shadowdog

Clint: I think that to start, there should be some tutorials showing new users how to get around the forums. Some users are not used to forums (or vBulletin), and may need some help getting around.

Tigerblade: ok... so any sort of list of tutorial ideas?

ShadowdogMU: We can make video tutorials, but then again, video might be bad to dialuppers

Jeff: I think there could be lots of tutorials. Short little things that a lot of people don't know how to do

dvelez1985: hey a tutorial on internet ediquet

Clint: I wrote one on XChat (an IRC client).

Jeff: I like this tutorial idea... and I'll post a topic calling for suggested topics

A BigBlueBall Makeover?

ShadowdogMU: I would be happy to work on designing a new BBB

BShink21: I agree with Brock that BBB needs a facelift

Jeff: as for a redesign...

EvilSeph: I think the website is un-user friendly

Jeff: I think the site needs some redesign as well
Jeff: the menus are confusing

Tigerblade: here are my thoughts on a "redesign"
Tigerblade: the menus can get a bit confusing at times.
Tigerblade: not necessarily to me, cause i've been around for who knows how long.

EvilSeph: amen ^^

Jeff: yes, we have too many
Jeff: I completely agree
Jeff: it sucks

ShadowdogMU: and I personally do judge websites by how well they look, just throwing that out there

princeG: we might not get confused, but newbies can

Tigerblade: instead of "IM Basics"... maybe there have a link to "IM Centers"
Tigerblade: and from "IM Centers" you can get to any of the other centers.

princeG: the older menu structure was easier and more good looking, imho

Jeff: princeG, you mean the old vertical menu with fly-outs?

princeG: yes

Jeff: I agree... what we have now for navigation sucks
Jeff: we who visit all the time might have gotten used to it
Jeff: but newbies could easily be confused and lost
Jeff: so this is a "must do" in my book

ShadowdogMU: Jeff, I would be glad to help facelife the site, graphically of course

The Welcome Email

xerraire: Jeff, when people join, what do they get in their email?
xerraire: A confirmation email or something like that?

Jeff: yes xerraire
Jeff: they get two emails
Jeff: a confirmation email with activation code
Jeff: and a welcome email

xerraire: On the welcome email...what exactly does it have?

Jeff: here's what it says:
Jeff: "Dear (new member),
Jeff: Thanks for registering at BigBlueBall Forums! We are glad you have chosen to be part of our commmunity and hope you enjoy your stay.
Jeff: All the best,
Jeff: BigBlueBall Forums

xerraire: Oh Jeff, that doesn't seem to be enough in my opinion
xerraire: and that is something that is easy to correct

Jeff: Xerraire: What would you suggest?

xerraire: Besides a very friendly welcome
xerraire: links to various important places on your site
xerraire: is there a rules or FAQ section

Jeff: Yes, in fact there is

xerraire: the news
xerraire: anywhere you think that would lead them to feel

Tommy: Jeff with xerraire's idea how about, a section to introduce the mentors, advisors and the admin

xerraire: like they know where they are going and what to do

Jeff: Great suggestion, and pretty easy to change!

Contests

princeG: remember the song and its story contest, coulf we revive that or something similiar.. i think it was very good

Jeff: ah a contest
Jeff: another good suggestion.

EvilSeph: we could hold contests on IRC
EvilSeph: but I need TCL.

princeG: i had fun with that contest

EvilSeph: a trivia contest etc.
EvilSeph: or you win something for contributing trivia questions.

At this point, the hour was up. I edited liberally, but tried to capture the basic topics that were shared. Thanks to everyone who joined the chat, and my apologies if I've removed your comments. Feel free to add to my notes below.

Some of these items were good ideas and can be quickly implemented. Others will require further investigation, thoughtful design and discussion. But I want you to know I appreciated all the feedback, and will do my best to incorporate it into whatever BigBlueBall becomes.

Consider this your invitation to join in the conversation. If you have a question about BigBlueBall or a suggestion for improving the site, share it right here.