So...Things have slowed down...

You may have noticed that things have slowed down here on MSF.

The activity has dropped, discussions havent been as forthcoming as before, and the echo machine is back.

Personally, I have been getting hit hard with college assignments since there is only 2 weeks left of classes (woohoo!), and on the side have been trying to get soem big updates ready for the coming days. Unfortunately I have run into some speedbumps and unless i can iron them out, my plans will have to be scrapped.

Anyways, rest assured I am not done yet...so you shouldnt give up either!

Hang tight!

Mike.

 

Cool. We will do that.

 

I ran out of steam, dude.

I just stopped, looked around & went "nah f*ck this" & went into "chill" mode.

So chill, I sleep most of the time.

 

I'm around but I've been snowed under trying to get a massive job finished. Nearly done though

 

i dislike the slowing down of MSF

 

We (Mike, Michelle and I) are working on adding more contests to the forum to add a little pizazz and bring you guys back. Things like (and none of this is final, so don't hold me to it) free Premium memberships, gift cards, and more. So check back often, as you never know what we'll come up with next.

 

That won't save the forum. What that does is encourage members already on the forum to stay. You need to actually recruit more members. If you want to keep members go check out my Salvation thread.

 

9001 new bells and whistles won't bring people back. I'll be honest, I see absolutely NOTHING of interest here at this time. And it's been what? 2 months since my last log in? Also, I find that the 'new' skin/layout is abismally ugly, and far too over complicated to efficiently use. It took me 10 minutes to find the login button, another 5 to get to my UCP, and I only found my profile due to the notification bar. Ever heard of the KISS method? Use it.

 

Acer brings up a very valid and good point. Simplicity is a good thing for a site. I personally have also thought that we might have added too much on and off. so, we probably still want to have unique features and provide many features yet we need to keep it simple at the same time. Balance is key, else I eat my shoe?

 

Good point and trust me, we are working on this. However, it makes it much more difficult if our current members bring negative activity to the site. I am sure you know what I am talking about. I am not pointing any fingers, but it does not make things easier for anyone. Trust me.

We do not have 9001 bells and whistles nor will we. We simply upgraded the site to the latest version of vBulletin to take advantage of some new features it offered. We actually have a lot lot less modifications installed than we did on the old version. I appoligize if finding the usercp is difficult for you to find. I will look into creating a guide on how to navigate this version easily, and with a little bit of time, you will be able to find your way effortlessly. The saying "Rome wasn't built in a day" is a good quote for what I am trying to say here. Since you havent visited in over 2 months, you have missed a lot. Hopefully, after playing around a little bit, you will come to enjoy the new look and feal. I am one of the people who dont like change, and this updated software was a stepping stone for me. But I have come to enjoy it, and continually learn new things about it everyday. I hope you will too.

I think the main problem here is people arent as familiar with vB 4 as they were with vB 3. New things take time to adjust and there will always be people who are unsatisfied with the change. I remember after the update though you were very enthusiastic about the new features? Im curious as to what happend? You even created a blog post about the new features and how you were excited about them, the blog post was turned into an article so it would be visible to everyone when they first visited.

the above statements are from my point of view and share my thoughts and reasons for the changes in your absenses. I have tried many times to gather community feedback regarding changes and ideas, but have only recieved silence. This left me with no suggestions and I had to go with what I liked and thought would be good for the site. Obviously, you think I was wrong in my decisions based on the above statements. However I still will (and always have!) accept any constructive criticism or feedback. But please keep in mind, if you are going to severely tarnish the appearance of the site or its staff, posting that in a public forum may not be the best route. You all know my email, I havent hidden it from any of you. You all know how to get ahold of me, I have made it as easy as possible. You just need to make the first step if things arent to your liking. Maybe then we can tailor the site to benefit you (our users), and everyone else involved.

That is all I am going to say.

 

well, VB classic is slightly more intuitive to navigate, and is somewhat better if you want to operate a forum. CMS is better if you want to run a community. Choose one, and fly with it! also, learn some php and css

 

Thank you for your suggestion. I will take that into account.

 

Aye... my reasons for not being here is because I'm borderline about to be admitted to a psychiatric ward, plus I'm making stuff to sell.

The layout is easy, if you use *flutter eyelashes* Girly Eyes. Which means you look, and study, and shift things around. Instead of standing up & screaming at the blasted thing to show itself.

I would say we should start with specific forums - *hint hint* - for countries, where it includes news, freebies, local events, stuff like that.

 

Your suggestion is a very good one. However, I feel it would add additional forums, that would not be used and would make the community appear more "empty" than it actually is. However, if it would guarantee more activity, or there is a high demand for things such as this, I would be more open to it.

But as it stands right now, I dont think it would be feasable, but would love to keep the brainstorming going!

 

well i think i can help for the time being. thats right. im back...

 

*hugs krabbby*

I Hear ya, Michelle. Going to advertise a bit, over at Twitter... *flutters eyelashes*

 

Always good to see your username floating around the place krabbby! Welcome home!

Michelle?! I didnt see a post from michelle?!

 

I'm lost!

 

Oh & welcome back Krabby.

 

I think Imma try to work up my twitter following so I can help spread around msf later....