Toothlessjoe
12-06-2009, 09:54 PM
I think this is a great idea...
At the moment everyone can only really choose a theme or edit their profile page (which can be hidden, thank god, some of you have awful taste :p) which is pretty dandy. However, I think the way forward would be to have everything customizable to each user: So the banners, background, forum arrangement/listings and so forth. More like your desktop at home would be. Totally to your own preferences. I mean, nobody else is going to have to see it, it's just that way for you obviously. So why the hell not?
When people use a program, browser, desktop, desk at work and so on they like to change it to suit them. So why not with websites? I mean, keep a standard setting that you can revert back to like everything else of course, but this lends great potential and usability.
You can even have a (moderated) forum where users can upload their own content to the site for everyone to use if they want. It sure as heck beats having a competition once in a blue moon to decide on some new content - Just don't have someone like Spectral in charge of it, that way almost all content can get through, not just the shit he enjoys ;). That would get all the users involved with each oither and the site then. If people don't like the banners, they can make their own for each other to choose from on their personal display.
You can probably run with this idea in more detail, but that's the basic premise of it :thumbsup:.
UPDATE:
For the mainpage/website, why not give people access to something like a proper profile page? Something akin to Facebook? Where people can upload photos of themselves, have some info sections, favourite things, and a section linking to all the material they have contributed? Not posts, but like articles, or uploaded pictures etc?
People like this kind of shit, people like identifying interests/thoughts with others and interacting more than they like just reading some shit. That's why sites like Facebook are so popular.
and talking about the mainpage and this website in general:
Scale it all down. Everything is very large and space consuming on the main page considering it is basically covering the same thing: articles. I think it'd be nicer to rip off what Google Chrome does. Just make everything smaller in size. Fonts, boxes etc. Maybe just have a simple list of links, without the CSS and whatnot and just a heading above them? Uses less space, and is direct enough. Keep it all to the sides.
In the centre that box scheme of frequently visited websites could be adapted for Zoklet:
http://blogoscoped.com/files/google-chrome-screenshot.jpg
Obviously instead of sites they frequent, you could make permament fixtures to similiar websites of interest. One to D.I.Y sites, one to some Torrent sites (that is the key, I think, because torrents are the new way of exchanging information and media) and so forth.
Make the main page like a hub to the best of the internet as far as related things go, and then have Zoklets original content, forums, and whathave you linked too. You need a way to draw traffic and purpose to the site, and making a hub type setup of related themes and massive user interactivity and profile pages type stuff (ala Facebook), I think, is the best way.
Example: I like MMA. I don't go to MMALinker for the forums and original content firstly, I go there because they link to the best videos, news sources and related MMA stuff around. Someone else does it better than they ever could. However, I do use the sites own stuff (forums, content) as a secondary feature now.
At the moment everyone can only really choose a theme or edit their profile page (which can be hidden, thank god, some of you have awful taste :p) which is pretty dandy. However, I think the way forward would be to have everything customizable to each user: So the banners, background, forum arrangement/listings and so forth. More like your desktop at home would be. Totally to your own preferences. I mean, nobody else is going to have to see it, it's just that way for you obviously. So why the hell not?
When people use a program, browser, desktop, desk at work and so on they like to change it to suit them. So why not with websites? I mean, keep a standard setting that you can revert back to like everything else of course, but this lends great potential and usability.
You can even have a (moderated) forum where users can upload their own content to the site for everyone to use if they want. It sure as heck beats having a competition once in a blue moon to decide on some new content - Just don't have someone like Spectral in charge of it, that way almost all content can get through, not just the shit he enjoys ;). That would get all the users involved with each oither and the site then. If people don't like the banners, they can make their own for each other to choose from on their personal display.
You can probably run with this idea in more detail, but that's the basic premise of it :thumbsup:.
UPDATE:
For the mainpage/website, why not give people access to something like a proper profile page? Something akin to Facebook? Where people can upload photos of themselves, have some info sections, favourite things, and a section linking to all the material they have contributed? Not posts, but like articles, or uploaded pictures etc?
People like this kind of shit, people like identifying interests/thoughts with others and interacting more than they like just reading some shit. That's why sites like Facebook are so popular.
and talking about the mainpage and this website in general:
Scale it all down. Everything is very large and space consuming on the main page considering it is basically covering the same thing: articles. I think it'd be nicer to rip off what Google Chrome does. Just make everything smaller in size. Fonts, boxes etc. Maybe just have a simple list of links, without the CSS and whatnot and just a heading above them? Uses less space, and is direct enough. Keep it all to the sides.
In the centre that box scheme of frequently visited websites could be adapted for Zoklet:
http://blogoscoped.com/files/google-chrome-screenshot.jpg
Obviously instead of sites they frequent, you could make permament fixtures to similiar websites of interest. One to D.I.Y sites, one to some Torrent sites (that is the key, I think, because torrents are the new way of exchanging information and media) and so forth.
Make the main page like a hub to the best of the internet as far as related things go, and then have Zoklets original content, forums, and whathave you linked too. You need a way to draw traffic and purpose to the site, and making a hub type setup of related themes and massive user interactivity and profile pages type stuff (ala Facebook), I think, is the best way.
Example: I like MMA. I don't go to MMALinker for the forums and original content firstly, I go there because they link to the best videos, news sources and related MMA stuff around. Someone else does it better than they ever could. However, I do use the sites own stuff (forums, content) as a secondary feature now.