Suggestion Box

It's your site--don't hesitate to throw ideas, suggestions and/or constructive criticism our way. If we can agree they would improve the BGO experience, we'll do our best to make it happen.

 

[Mark The Homer]

You can do just about anything - its just php coding. The BG Overdrive feature in the football forums? Total custom coding job.

So DM, what you're asking for is a mod where you click the user cp, and there's an option called 'My Quoted Posts' - which when clicked takes you to a list of any posts where one of your posts was quoted by another member - that it?

That would be amazing if that could be done. I always thought things like that were very difficult, mostly because of conflicts with other things. I don't have any experience with it personally, but here's a small snip from a large post DH posted roughly a year and a half ago...

A few things you have to recognize:

1. A lot of the ideas provided by members are great. However, what MOST never consider is that.... these types of modifications to the software are simply NOT possible from a programmer's perspective.

A lot of "hacks" are buggy to begin with (because the code for them aren't written by the original programmers).... and they cannot co-exist with other new functions or the whole software will be completely unusable and buggy.

It's not a matter of snapping your fingers... it's a matter of logistics. You can't just add 100 new functions to an existing software (again, written by programmers.. most of them sloppy to begin with).... without bogging down the software and causing problems in other areas (or bugs).

Some functions, given the way the code is already written.... simply can't be added.

 

[Om]

We've added several custom modifications so far without any real problems, so hopefully our luck will continue with this one.

 

[Boone]

That would be amazing if that could be done. I always thought things like that were very difficult, mostly because of conflicts with other things. I don't have any experience with it personally, but here's a small snip from a large post DH posted roughly a year and a half ago...

A few things you have to recognize:

1. A lot of the ideas provided by members are great. However, what MOST never consider is that.... these types of modifications to the software are simply NOT possible from a programmer's perspective.

A lot of "hacks" are buggy to begin with (because the code for them aren't written by the original programmers).... and they cannot co-exist with other new functions or the whole software will be completely unusable and buggy.

It's not a matter of snapping your fingers... it's a matter of logistics. You can't just add 100 new functions to an existing software (again, written by programmers.. most of them sloppy to begin with).... without bogging down the software and causing problems in other areas (or bugs).

Some functions, given the way the code is already written.... simply can't be added.

I appreciate what DH is saying here and he's right, to an extent. But there are probably a good 20 hacks Om and I have personally installed here that work seamlessly. Those are all modifications written by coders that were not part of the original vbulletin software. I'm not sure that DH ever did any of the coding on the old ES site (could be wrong, but I think the vast majority of that work was done by Blade). We have seen, for some of the custom stuff and more complicated 'hacks' that an 'average' coder can make a mess of it. If you get a good one, I'm not sure there's much you could imagine that you couldn't make happen, if you're willing to spend the money to have it created.

I suspect what Dead Money is asking for isn't complicated. Whether it's something that would be appealing enough to the group to be worth pursuing, I don't know...

 

[Mark The Homer]

Excellent.

You might also consider possible future upgrade issues. But by all means, forge ahead! Sounds like a lot of fun.

Hope your good fortune continues.

 

[Boone]

Well, you raise good points Mark - Dead Money's suggestion sounds like a good one though, and I'll bet we can make it happen. Keep them coming people

 

[Dead Money]

Kinda long sorry for the rambling...

For years now, I have frequented hundreds of forum sites and forges special relationships with the members of said sites including several from here. I'm an avid angler and surfer so my fishing and surfing bookmarked sites are numerous... I'm responsible for all the systems on multi-million dollar vessels, smaller ones, jet skis, computers, navigation equipment, vehicles, offices, docks, well, you get the point. This all leads me to a slew of forum site memberships. Being a redskins fan leads to at least a dozen too...

These "relationships" we all have has a tendency to become a little anonomous and I tend to share a pic of myself in a lot of them just so that I can put faces with names. With the skins in particular there are just too many common usernames and everchanging signatures to keep track sometimes... :new_idea: Right Skinsfan23847r56384 ?

What the heck am I getting at? Face Shots as avatars as an option is something that I think fits football fan sites well. I know I know... At one time you may remember me asking to change my username for the sake of anonymity... But once the embarrassing photos stopped being circulated it made me behave more in a manner where I would like to share who I am, where I am and more about me than that I bleed burgundy and gold.

This of course would come with a price which would be custom avatars and they of course would have to be moderated. If you could put up with some delays I would volunteer. See I'm a boat captain, so if I'm traveling, its hard to keep up. We do spend a lot of time dockside and we always have internet dockside.

I've really enjoyed facebook to keep up with the friends I've made all over the place. I know a lot of members here personally and I'm sure some of you know many more than I. Its fun, but always a struggle to put faces together at tailgates and travel games, etc...

Anyway its an idea and there would have to be Admin approval on avatars they would have to be stored on your servers so people couldn't just change the pic and re-save with the same name and to prevent dead links and would probably come with some sort of waiting period for users. It would require rules like must have your face in it or whatever you deemed necessary.

Anyway, I think you get it... kick it around and let me know if I can help. Love to see everybody get along like in the old days and putting your picture up makes you more accountable for what you say and how you say it. Just my 2 cents. Thanks again for all the hard work guys.





Kevin

 

[Boone]

Hey Kevin,

First of all, thanks for taking the time to give some great suggestions

Did you know that all members already have the ability to post their own photo? When you click on a member's name and go to their profile page, there's all kinds of options there, including an option to add a 'profile picture', either from a photo located on another website, or uploaded directly from your pc. That photo will then show up on your profile for anyone who wants to view it. It will also show up when you click the 'Members' list. We made a conscious decision when we designed BGO to limit avatar use - because we wanted a certain look and feel to the site, and felt giving total freedom for folks to load their own avatars wasn't something that fit in with what we were envisioning. I think there are huge chunks of functionality that members here haven't even figure out are available because most other sites don't offer it. The profile page is just one of those. In fact, if you're a premium member, you have total ability to completely customize your profile page.

 

[Dead Money]

Hey Kevin,

First of all, thanks for taking the time to give some great suggestions

Did you know that all members already have the ability to post their own photo? When you click on a member's name and go to their profile page, there's all kinds of options there, including an option to add a 'profile picture', either from a photo located on another website, or uploaded directly from your pc. That photo will then show up on your profile for anyone who wants to view it. It will also show up when you click the 'Members' list. We made a conscious decision when we designed BGO to limit avatar use - because we wanted a certain look and feel to the site, and felt giving total freedom for folks to load their own avatars wasn't something that fit in with what we were envisioning. I think there are huge chunks of functionality that members here haven't even figure out are available because most other sites don't offer it. The profile page is just one of those. In fact, if you're a premium member, you have total ability to completely customize your profile page.

Great John thanks for the info! And the plug was just subtle enough where it might work! Custom avatars are a major PIA and I hadn't thought about the "look" and "feel" both very important points I simply overlooked. I still cant believe I found the time to type that up... Ugh. Thanks again, great job as always!

 

[Burgundy Burner]

so I cruise thru profootballtalk.com and they have the "local sites" section on the right for the skins. You guys ever think about putting BGO up there?

I don't want it to get too big. I like the cozy, small-town setting in here.

But it is up to the powers that be.

 

[Boone]

so I cruise thru profootballtalk.com and they have the "local sites" section on the right for the skins. You guys ever think about putting BGO up there?

Request made - good idea

I don't want it to get too big. I like the cozy, small-town setting in here.

But it is up to the powers that be.

We're going to grow - it's inevitable. For us, it's not about staying small, it's about safeguarding the culture and feel of the place. We're not looking for exponential growth, we're looking for the right kind of growth with the right kind of members.

This place is an oasis, and we're committed to keeping it that way

 

[Yusuf06]

...For us, it's not about staying small, it's about safeguarding the culture and feel of the place. We're not looking for exponential growth, we're looking for the right kind of growth with the right kind of members.

This place is an oasis, and we're committed to keeping it that way

Amen! I sincerely hope you all are able to pull that balancing act off and I have every confidence you all will do so.

Okay, on to my completely irrational and unreasonable request. My apologies if this has already been mentioned.

I absolutely LOVE BGO Mobile. One minor flaw though. Is there any way you could increase the font size? If you all can't hook me up I'm going to have to get longer arms.

Thanks again for a truly great site guys. You've got a winner here.
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

 

[Boone]

I'll peek at it - it should be do-able Y, just a matter of finding the code snippet. I'm on it

And thanks for the compliments - we're really just getting going, but for our first season, I think the newbie head coaches here haven't been half bad ...

 

[Yusuf06]

You guys have earned those compliments, and then some. I thank you and my eyes thank you Boone.
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

 

[Boone]

Okay gentlemen - I've increased the default BGO Mobile font size from '10' to '12'. Looks much easier on the eyes from my end.

What say you Yusuf and friends?

 

[Yusuf06]

Thanks again for increasing the font size. It's sooo much better. My eyes may last well into my 50's now.

Okay, on to my next unreasonable request. Is there any way you all could add a link that provides the user with the option to move over to the non-mobile optimized site? I was trying to get to the Pickem page and just realized it isn't there in the mobile version of the site. If adding the mobile/full site link isn't an option, adding all the forum links to the mobile site would work equally well.

Yeah, I know. I've always got plenty ideas for changes and none about how to get 'er dun. At least that's what our IT guy at work always tells me.
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

 

[Boone]

I actually think there *is* an option to bypass the mobile skin, but it may not be working correctly. I'll see what I can do.

And keep the suggestions coming - they are appreciated, and that's the only way we'll get better

 

[Yusuf06]

Well, I'd like to be able to say I saw it and the link didn't work. Unfortunately, I didn't see it but I checked and the link didn't do anything...assuming you meant the link to "PC Mode" and the problem isn't with my iPhone/Safari.
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I've noticed that when I quote someone on BGO Mobile, it is very hard to respond. It shows the previous quote in one-line of text, instead of wrapping around in the text-box, if that makes sense, and I can't see what I'm typing as the cursor goes to the end of the text (I assume). This is using the standard BB browser.

 

[Boone]

I'll give it a try and see if I can see what you're talking about...

 

[Mark The Homer]

Couple ideas:

Get rid of the 2009 schedule. Replace it with 2010 opponents.

Place a link underneath your BGO graphic at the top so that clicking on it will bring a member to the home page.