Site features

[Wayne]

Everyone keeps wondering "why" we went this direction with the site and I thought it would be a great time to introduce a couple of features...

1) Reputations
Similar to user "ranks" (such as "Technoid, etc), Reputations allows you to add, or remove "rep points" from a user based on their individual posts.  Essentially, if you like a post a user made, or find it helpful, drop him a point in the bucket using the green + symbol in the thread itself.

Over time, this will let you establish a feeling of who really helps out (who you can ask a question to) and should prove most helpful.

2) Your own personal ignore list
In our User CP (Control Panel) you'll find your Ignore list, meaning you can FINALLY ignore Doomy once and for all.  

3) Social bookmarking.
I realize we're talking about the Amiga crowd, but some of you are actually hip to the world, so All threads now have the ability to be added to social bookmarking sites like Digg, etc.

If you find a thread helpful, or it's a news item, please take a moment to bookmark it using those tools.  It will help AO in attracting more people to the hobby, and to the site.  It will also help in getting new news items out faster and to more people.

3) Tagging
When posting a new thread or post, you'll see a box for "Tags".  These are IMPORTANT because each thread also has a "similar threads" function.  Using tags helps, because it brings the site closer and makes related topics much easier to find without having to resort to a forum search.

4) More to come
There are literally dozens of "easter egg" features, such as Facebook, and Twitter connections (All new news items will be Tweeted from Amiga.org's account so that they can be followed by millions) which will be coming soon as the server swap is complete.  It's up to you guys to find them.

Wayne

[AmiGR]

Ok, this sounds better and better! :-)

[RRunner]

3) Tagging
When posting a new thread or post, you'll see a box for "Tags".  These are IMPORTANT because each thread also has a "similar threads" function.  Using tags helps, because it brings the site closer and makes related topics much easier to find without having to resort to a forum search.


Wayne

Thanks for the heads up on this. One suggestion on the tagging... From experience, relying on users to tag or keyword postings will result in a strange array of applied metadata. Users will make typo's and interpret the content differently which will mean the inter-linking will not function. It might be wise to create a popup list of controlled vocabulary which the user is forced to use in order to tag postings. This way we know that if I think it is a "cat" and you think it is a "kitten" and someone else thinks it is a "feline"... well... with the controlled vocabulary list we can be forced to all use "Cat".

Of course, this is just a suggestion and I don't know if it is even possible to implement... but it is something to consider.

[motorollin]

It looks like amiga.org is really going to move ahead of the other forums in terms of features and linking to the rest of the world. The only thing stopping us now is the imperative need for a dancing banana!

[Wayne]

The only thing stopping us now is the imperative need for a dancing banana!

Working on it, but the backup data's at the house, replete with the old smilies.  That is, unless of course everyone wants to e-mail me their favorite and I'll put them up ASAP.

Wayne

[RRunner]

Hmmmm... I see where I can add/remove from someone's reputation... now how can I see what a person's reputation is? It would be cool if this appeared to the right of the user's avatar in the thread... which might affect you you respond to a post.

EDIT: Ahhh... I see it now... the green dot on the right side of the page under the number of posts. Nevermind...

[Wayne]

Of course, this is just a suggestion and I don't know if it is even possible to implement... but it is something to consider.

I wish it were possible, but tags are what they are, and they're all human generated.  Typos and all.  

Wayne

[GadgetMaster]

Great stuff.

Espcially the Social bookmarking. I think the couple of articles that were Dugg might have pulled in a few new members.

I would urge others to use the new features too. Time to pull in the crowds again.

[Methuselas]

Working on it, but the backup data's at the house, replete with the old smilies.  That is, unless of course everyone wants to e-mail me their favorite and I'll put them up ASAP.

Wayne

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA You really don't want me to do that, 'cos I'll make a bunch and go crazy with it. :p


I really like the new Amiga.org, Wayne. I'm happy with the progress you're making with it. Out with the old and in with the new.

[Wayne]

I forgot!!!!

One feature I forgot is the "report post" function in each post which will send a report to a moderator in case there's a problem with a post, or someone (like me) is out of line...

It's the little caution symbol next to the green + on he dark blue header bar for each post.

Wayne

edit!  Forgot you can also rate each thread which might help others know what's good vs fluff.

[ZeBeeDee]

@ Wayne

re: Ye olde dancing banana

One for consideration lol

[Wayne]

@ Wayne

re: Ye olde dancing banana

One for consideration lol

There is something to be said for a man with a banana fetish.

The smilies are back.  -- Including your banana.

Wayne

[motorollin]

There is something to be said for a man with a banana fetish.

Indeed

The smilies are back.  -- Including your banana.

Thanks Wayne!
:banana:
:drink::drink:

(four image per post limit... grumble grumble grumble...)

[Wayne]

(four image per post limit... grumble grumble grumble...)

Limit removed, until someone goes nuts..

[Amiduffer]

Things are looking up.

Is there any way to have rotating YouTube videos linked at the bottom so that a different Amiga themed video is displayed everyday?