M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
GENERAL => Site and club discussion => Topic started by: Master on June 26, 2007, 05:12:07 PM
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It's summer, lots of free time, so I though, how about making this forum more user friendly and fun to read / visit.
I have enough php / html /css experience, and have done similar modification to other forums, so I think it would be nice to make this forum M42 style, I could post images of the updated designs for everyone to judge before making any permanent changes
So, what do you think?
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I think this is a great forum - easy to use, clean, easy to read. I'm happy w/ it. What functions are you able to improve on?
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Well, I won't touch the functions, as you said It's great as it is, just the looks, and a slight layout change maybe.
Maybe add new smilies, think of some funny ranks based on post count, some background pictures M42 style, color scheme maybe. The first two don't require php coding, but I guess the admins are a bit busy, so I'm willing to take the challenge ;)
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I would love it if it would email me when threads I have subscribed to have had new submissions... like I have told it to. As it is, it just sends emails for private messages, but not thread updates.
Other than that, I am satisfied with the appearance of the pages.
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Well, I won't touch the functions, as you said It's great as it is, just the looks, and a slight layout change maybe.
Maybe add new smilies, think of some funny ranks based on post count, some background pictures M42 style, color scheme maybe. The first two don't require php coding, but I guess the admins are a bit busy, so I'm willing to take the challenge ;)
It all sounds good :D
More smilies is a great idea - especially if you can do animated ones - smilies are awesome!
And I like the funny ranks idea!
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But I like my title! :)
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I think It would be a good idea maybe different members cars every so often. I like the idea of more smilies. On another note i would like a button for my posts.
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Yeah the email sending, posts link and a banner with randomly changing members' cars would be awesome! Changing the color theme will probably be welcome by everyone too.
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I do like the easy-to-use factor of this foum, plus it is very easy to read even though it is kind of style-less ;). More functions are always good though...
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What do you think about this?
(http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/Masterrer/Variouse/M42Club.jpg)
I think it looks GREAT (at least I didn't think it would turn out to look so good)
Yes I know there is a problem going with such big pictures as these: TRAFFIC
So If most of us agree on going with something similar, we should help out and donate a few bucks to cover for the traffic…
P.S. This design is not complete, as I am thinking on where to put the ads, title, etc. So stay tuned for Updates!
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Here's how it may look with the google banner, donate button, etc:
(http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/Masterrer/Variouse/M42Clubv2.jpg)
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Looks better than expected I must admit, but I think that the theme would look better if it was a consistemt color instead of red and blue. Otherwise, good work. :)
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Looks better than expected I must admit, but I think that the theme would look better if it was a consistemt color instead of red and blue. Otherwise, good work. :)
Thanks! I'm not too handy with photoshop, I can make the color consistent, btw here's how a finished product may look ;) :
(http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/Masterrer/Variouse/M42Clubv4.jpg)
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Looks good Master, not trying to be a party-pooper here but I do have some concerns.
One the big/color Google banner needs to be on top. The ads barely cover hosting expenses as it is, but they are covering it. We can drop the donations button though, no one uses it anyhow unless poked and prodded.
Second, I agree the red and blue do not work well together, problem is, red text often is more difficult to see. Lastly the top banner is awfully tall. That means on every page you will be scrolling that much more. Yes many sites do have huge logos and such, but if you ask me and some other old school web guys, it is wrong. Reason being is that the most common resolution on the internet is 1024x768 with 800x600 coming in second (yes, people still use that!).
Who owns the rights to those pictures? I have been down that road before as well.
Also, how are you doing this? Playing with a graphics editor? Vbulletin works in weird ways when trying to alter one color, it can effect many others. Trying to lay this out in there, will be far different than just changing the color on a screenshot.
I have not had time to tweak on things due to work, but I just hired a web guy, so maybe things can start happening again.
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Looks good Master, not trying to be a party-pooper here but I do have some concerns.
One the big/color Google banner needs to be on top. The ads barely cover hosting expenses as it is, but they are covering it. We can drop the donations button though, no one uses it anyhow unless poked and prodded.
Second, I agree the red and blue do not work well together, problem is, red text often is more difficult to see. Lastly the top banner is awfully tall. That means on every page you will be scrolling that much more. Yes many sites do have huge logos and such, but if you ask me and some other old school web guys, it is wrong. Reason being is that the most common resolution on the internet is 1024x768 with 800x600 coming in second (yes, people still use that!).
Who owns the rights to those pictures? I have been down that road before as well.
Also, how are you doing this? Playing with a graphics editor? Vbulletin works in weird ways when trying to alter one color, it can effect many others. Trying to lay this out in there, will be far different than just changing the color on a screenshot.
I have not had time to tweak on things due to work, but I just hired a web guy, so maybe things can start happening again.
Yes, I see what you mean. I did this with a graphics editor (I didn't want to set up my own vbulletin for practical testing as it is time consuming), but we don't have to change the color scheme, It's just something I suggested. We can use one of the free available vbulletin themes like these:
http://www.themesbase.com/?category=vBulletin
and add my header and footer on top;
Also what concerns the image copyright, I can imagine that being a problem, but we are a non profit organization, so the rightfull owners of these images, can't file a lawsuit on us anyway, as we make no profit based on this. And we can remove them on first notice, even if someone finds out we're using them.
Copyright can be a stupid thing sometimes, I imagine that the right holder of the pictures is the one who took them, but how about what's actually in the picture? It's like I take a picture of your car, and then hold the copyright for it, I think it's stupid.
Anyway, why not do a poll, and ask our users what minimum resolution they are surfing this forum with? I think thats what I'll do…
Also changing the header size is a no big deal:
(http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s319/Masterrer/Variouse/M42Clubv5.jpg)
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Also what concerns the image copyright, I can imagine that being a problem, but we are a non profit organization, so the rightfull owners of these images, can't file a lawsuit on us anyway, as we make no profit based on this. And we can remove them on first notice, even if someone finds out we're using them.
Copyright can be a stupid thing sometimes, I imagine that the right holder of the pictures is the one who took them, but how about what's actually in the picture? It's like I take a picture of your car, and then hold the copyright for it, I think it's stupid.
It may be stupid, but yes, the photographer owns rights to the picture, however, he cannot use it without your permission for the car (unless it is impossible to identify your car from any other). You do not have to file for copyright anymore, it is instant. Filing for it, only improves your chances in a legal battle.
How are we non-profit? We have no tax exemption and because it runs on my server, it could be looked at in a much different way than you think. The Google banners could be construed as "for profit". Even worse is that there are M42club shirts being sold and keychains in the works, even if the site never saw any of that money (which it didn't), it still shows we are selling a product. It is a gray area that can work against us if someone wanted to press it.
Non-profit does not excuse you from copyright unless the copyright holder agrees to allow it free for non-profit use. They can easily send a cease and desist letter, I get about 1 per year for my other site alone and it is under the same circumstances as this place. Several BMW sites have been contacted by BMWNA to remove logos which was why I changed it. It is bad enough having a small company having a complaint with you, having a major corporation with lawyers on staff is another.
As a club member, you are buffered by all of this. The server and domain however are in my name, I am the one they complain to, or my ISP. It takes almost nothing to get a server shut down. Been there done that.
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Ok ,the pics are from the DVD "Chasing the Touge" i presume
http://store.driftingshop.com/chasingtouge.html
The pics were taken by Wes Tang, although I didn't find any contact info to ask his permission to use the pics.
These pics are also available for download as desktop wallpapers here:
http://www.livesockets.com/home2/index.php?channel=gallery
Don't know if asking them (livesockets) for permission is a good idea?
The pic of the motor I've found on one of my older hard drives, I think I got it by searching 318is with some p2p program, but we can always pretend it's one of our members (maybe it is actually)
Well sheepdog, I don't have a lot of experience in copyright, but we have 3 options here, either we ask livesockets.com for permission or hope that Wes Tang stil holds the rights to those pics, and won't sue us because he is in Japan, and can't/ doesn't visit forums about bmw
or scrape the whole thing and wait till I find some good pics I made myself to use for the design, and hope I don't sue you one day :-D
Are smilies copyrightable btw?
Also what about the picture m42club uses as its index
Its surely copirighted…
And also the one is currently used for header, I'm sure I saw it by googling "winding road"?
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The one on the index I am unsure about and at one time was changed was was thrown back up after a problem. It was put up originally by another member to get the site rolling. We were much smaller then. We are at the stage where this stuff will begin to cause problems.
A new main site is in the works.
Same with this place. I have around a dozen sites I maintain, plus a normal job, things take a while. Which is why I hired a webmaster. With any luck soon this place will never have to worry about hosting or donations or anything else.
The picture used at the top of this page is rights free under a Creative Commons license. Anyone can use it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TailOfTheDragon.jpg
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A new main site is in the works.
Same with this place. I have around a dozen sites I maintain, plus a normal job, things take a while. Which is why I hired a webmaster. With any luck soon this place will never have to worry about hosting or donations or anything else.
It means my "pretty" design won't be featured on m42club :(
I want my mommy (runs away crying)
Oh well, at least I tired ;)
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It means my "pretty" design won't be featured on m42club :(
I want my mommy (runs away crying)
Oh well, at least I tired ;)
Never said that.
One thing I have learned running forums, people may not like the look of it, but they deal with it. Major changes will cause people to leave because you can never please them all as well as you already have. Sounds tupid, but I have seen and had this happen several times.
And voting on it, is for the birds. People complain, you change it, round and round you go, finally it seems everyone is fine with it and you are ready. You implement it, and I can promise you with 100% certainty, people will complain. They wait until it is finished to speak up or you get the people who have not been around all week or whatever.
I have seen sites with 3 times the membership we have, redesign, and lose 90% of its members almost overnight.
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Wow, I didn't realize how much work goes into this stuff. I've got a lot more apreciation for you guys now... ;)
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OK, so WTF is going on with the forum now? Lime green in the quick reply box? Maroon?
I actually liked the blue...
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Green makes it easy to spot what section I am editing.
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Ahh, ok, as long as it isn't going to stay Christmas-y.... :)
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For me the site is really more about a group of M42 owners and their cars.
I say this in great confidence as I too, at one time, had a site and forum. I am disappointed that the donations from shirts did not make it to the funding drum. AFA site design and direct correlation to complaints, I hope they are different here. I like the content here and as long as it centers around the car I am more than happy to contribute. I can go with whatever design scheme prevails.
Thanks for this place.
BTW, I like the red.
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Is that my engine in the upper left hand corner? Sweet!
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To much red. :p
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To much red. :p
I kinda agree, I just gotta figure out how to thin it out a bit.
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I like the new heading however I think the blue theme we had before was fine.
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The way it looks right now, looks great.. Now lets just do something with that header. Im willing to help or give up any of my photos for the forum, just let me know what your looking for.
Edit: Looking at the site on my pc and it's all red!
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Header? I just used the only motor shot I have, it can be swapped out if needed, and the black can be changed as well.
(http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa76/shutterflick/m42club.jpg)
The "help the club" would replace the paypal "make a donation" button
Just pm me for the files, or if you want anything changed.
The boxes looked great with the blue gradient at the top.
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Wow, finally some changes :)
If somebody wants to use my header or footer from the previous page I will happily provide the files ;)
P.S. I agree that it's probably too much read, sheepdog maybe you should choose a softer color (add a bit purple, as I tried)
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the new forum looks hot. nice job. love the red
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The way it looks right now, looks great.. Now lets just do something with that header. Im willing to help or give up any of my photos for the forum, just let me know what your looking for.
Edit: Looking at the site on my pc and it's all red!
How about this?
Could members submit pics of their specific geographical area featuring their car and the roads they drive on? These could be rotated in the header and will show the diversity of the car and the different areas we all represent.
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Header? I just used the only motor shot I have, it can be swapped out if needed, and the black can be changed as well.
(http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa76/shutterflick/m42club.jpg)
The "help the club" would replace the paypal "make a donation" button
Just pm me for the files, or if you want anything changed.
The boxes looked great with the blue gradient at the top.
That looks good can you get me the original?
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No problem. As in the original, you want the .psd or just the image?
You on pc or mac? Cause Im gonna have to send the fonts with it unless I raster them.
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No problem. As in the original, you want the .psd or just the image?
You on pc or mac? Cause Im gonna have to send the fonts with it unless I raster them.
Pm sent.