Forum Upgrade/Overhaul

[Heartless]

So as not to carry on an off-topic discussion in the Hunchback thread, and since it had sparked quite a discussion, I've created a thread to discuss the current state of the site and forums.

To continue from where you guys left off...

Not only are the majority of the forum features inoperative (polls, PMs, etc..), but I've always had the impression that the entire layout and structure needed an overhaul as well (not to mention a new theme to the forums themselves to make them look more aesthetically appealing).

I just find it incredibly unorganized to have one board for all Disney discussions (and then 10 others for off-topic stuff that rarely is used).. In my opinion, it should be broken down into several different categories. I think it should be split up into separate boards for General Disney, Disney DVD/Blu-ray releases, rumors, and even furthermore into music/movies/tv shows... there are endless possibilities, but I find having ALL Disney discussions jumbled into one board on a Disney forum is insane.

Back when the Google fiasco happened, I created a quick forum on the side incase this site went under.. just so everyone would still have a place to go if the worst happened. Of course, with more time, the entire archives could be transferred, snazzy and colorful layouts can be created, new and fancy forum features can be added, and an overall better structure can be implicated.

There was a lot of grief back when this idea was in motion.. but I'm not sure if things have changed since then or not.

[PatrickvD]

Agreed with everything you've said. I would totally support such an overhaul.

What would it require? Should we contact Luke about this and see if there's anything we can do together to keep the site and the forum strong and moving forward?

If the forum slowly dies then the sitepocalypse did happen. Just really, really slowly. Which would be sad.

[The_Iceflash]

Reposting my post here:

I have an idea though. I'm a member of a forum that recently upgraded to XenForo forum software. http://xenforo.com/

That's something that could always be looked into. If anyone uses Tapatalk or Forumrunner apps it is compatible with it. The archives are able to be transferred over and have been for the forum below and their archives are HUGE:

If anyone want to look at/join the forum to see if that software could be something worth considering here it is:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/

[disneyboy20022]

Now you all do know how to contact Luke don't you? His Email is on the front page at the bottom but to save time I'll just post it here.

[email protected]

Luke can't do this alone so I think with all of us working together this might work. Luke's been the only one doing the reviews in case you didn't notice. So that's why it looks like he's running the entire site on his own like a one man band at the moment. I know not a lot of people contact him over this at least not with the offer to help. Usually it's a request and not an offer to help and find a real solution.

EDIT:

Also if anyone orders anything from amazon use this guide of how to support this site and it has a link to use. If we use this link it gives Luke a cookie so Luke can get help with money to help make this site keep going and the funds should he need to help get this site an extreme makeover

http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 43&start=0

[Disney's Divinity]

I just find it incredibly unorganized to have one board for all Disney discussions (and then 10 others for off-topic stuff that rarely is used).. In my opinion, it should be broken down into several different categories. I think it should be split up into separate boards for General Disney, Disney DVD/Blu-ray releases, rumors, and even furthermore into music/movies/tv shows... there are endless possibilities, but I find having ALL Disney discussions jumbled into one board on a Disney forum is insane.

I disagree with this. This is how the forum has always been, and it's worked fine. I think dividing Disney Discussion, while it may look more organized, is completely needless.

While I wouldn't dislike a forum upgrade to fix the PM issue (I can PM, but I know others can't), the search function (which I haven't had a huge amount of problems with, personally), and the polls, I don't think the forum needs to be overhauled at all.

[The_Iceflash]

I just find it incredibly unorganized to have one board for all Disney discussions (and then 10 others for off-topic stuff that rarely is used).. In my opinion, it should be broken down into several different categories. I think it should be split up into separate boards for General Disney, Disney DVD/Blu-ray releases, rumors, and even furthermore into music/movies/tv shows... there are endless possibilities, but I find having ALL Disney discussions jumbled into one board on a Disney forum is insane.

I disagree with this. This is how the forum has always been, and it's worked fine. I think dividing Disney Discussion, while it may look more organized, is completely needless.

While I wouldn't dislike a forum upgrade to fix the PM issue (I can PM, but I know others can't), the search function (which I haven't had a huge amount of problems with, personally), and the polls, I don't think the forum needs to be overhauled at all.

I agree about the splitting up into more sub-forums. In my experience, the more you have, the less posts they would have in each. We don't want dead sub-forums. That said, there are certainly enough functions not working where a software upgrade is almost necessary. We don't want to lose even more functions.

Like Disneyboy said, we should do what we can to help.

[Heartless]

Agreed with everything you've said. I would totally support such an overhaul.

What would it require? Should we contact Luke about this and see if there's anything we can do together to keep the site and the forum strong and moving forward?

If the forum slowly dies then the sitepocalypse did happen. Just really, really slowly. Which would be sad.

What would it require? That's a difficult question without me personally knowing what is going on behind the scenes. It also depends on whether Luke is willing to go forward with such a plan. I don't have experience fixing such a degrading and older forum. However, I'm familiar with how they work and the administration behind them. I've worked with phpBB's system for years, and while I don't know exactly what's going on behind the scenes, I can tell you that they are pretty simple to work with and something such as changing the theme and aesthetic of the site can be done virtually effortless. But again, I don't know the specifics and what's going on administratively. If simple features cannot be fixed very easily, something must be pretty messed up.

And yes, I agree with you.. The current state of the forums has been driving people away in my opinion - instead of attracting new people - which is unfortunate.

I disagree with this. This is how the forum has always been, and it's worked fine. I think dividing Disney Discussion, while it may look more organized, is completely needless.

While I wouldn't dislike a forum upgrade to fix the PM issue (I can PM, but I know others can't), the search function (which I haven't had a huge amount of problems with, personally), and the polls, I don't think the forum needs to be overhauled at all.

I think the points you stated actually are the issues.. You're correct, this is how the forum always has been. For, what, 10+ years? It needs to be modernized. I don't even know how easy fixing all the current issues would be.. It seems like a forum upgrade would be easier than finding ways to fix all the existing problems.. Not even to mention to add all of the NEW features that come standard with forums today.

I agree that normally, one forum for Disney discussion would suffice; however, this is a Disney site (or it originally was, I don't know how it's really referred to as now). Even so, an entire site revolving around Disney discussion should not cram all the discussion into one board. This causes so much clutter, makes thinks difficult to manage and moderate, and makes things further difficult to search for and find. Not to mention it looks terrible. So you are right again, it isn't necessary.. Of course, no changes to the site are necessary, if you want it to continue to be in the state it currently is in.

I agree about the splitting up into more sub-forums. In my experience, the more you have, the less posts they would have in each. We don't want dead sub-forums.

It wouldn't even be sub-forums, just more than ONE board for everything Disney. I just don't understand the logic behind this... when there are 10 other boards on here for off-topic discussion that are pretty dead... I think we should combine some off-topic discussion (since that isn't the site's priority) and expand Disney discussions. I don't see how it would deaden anything.. On the contrary, it would invigorate more boards instead of having only one that is always active.

And it goes further beyond the problems that people complain about most on here (PMs, search function, polls, etc). The entire BBcode system doesn't work. You need to manually enter in any code tags in order to bold, italicize, quote, post an image.. etc. or it doesn't want to work correctly.

Today's standard forum features - spoiler tags, attachments, like/dislike, etc. - sure, they aren't technically necessary to have a barebones place for discussion. But that's what forums have these days. I'm not saying all of this needs to be implemented into DVDizzy's forums.. just merely providing examples as to why we are behind.

I believe that in order to bring this site into the 21st century, and furthermore prevent it from dying (aka attract new people and prevent old members from leaving), it needs to be upgraded with at least a new aesthetic and new server upgrade. People have become accustomed to these features, and when the OLD features don't even work, what's the point?

Just my two cents on the matter.. :shrugs:

[PixarFan2006]

I do agree that the forums should be upgraded somehow. The boards have been dead for quite a while now. For example, many people RARELY post in the DVD/Blu-Ray forums, and it makes the message boards look like a ghost town. What I really don't agree with you, is how you said the older members wanting to come back after the upgrade (since some of them gave their reasons in forum posts why they chose to left).

[Disney's Divinity]

I think the points you stated actually are the issues.. You're correct, this is how the forum always has been. For, what, 10+ years? It needs to be modernized.

So the forum should become more modernized for the sake of being more modernized? That makes no sense. If there was a problem, that would be different, but Disney Discussion works fine (and has worked fine) the way it is. "Cluttered" is the last word I would use to describe it.

And, personally, I don't feel the "state the site's currently in" has anything to do with the way the board is organized. I visit multiple other forums, and I don't find them superior to this one (barring the issues with search engine, pm, etc.). The lowered activity occurred after the Google issue, not because of the forum itself.

[ajmrowland]

I'd support this.

Also, I think we need to start acting more like a community again.

[disneyboy20022]

Also, I think we need to start acting more like a community again.

Agreed

[Avaitor]

Also, I think we need to start acting more like a community again.

I get dibs on being Jeff Winger.

[Linden]

I'd welcome an upgrade. The forum is okay the way it is, but it could stand some tweaks and, of course, some fixes. And it could definitely look prettier, like it deserves. I really wish there were more people here, and a makeover could bring some more in.

Personally, I'd like to see a forum for non-Disney animation, since we're all animation fanatics.

[Heartless]

So the forum should become more modernized for the sake of being more modernized? That makes no sense. If there was a problem, that would be different, but Disney Discussion works fine (and has worked fine) the way it is. "Cluttered" is the last word I would use to describe it.

I didn't say that. I said that becoming more modernized would help attract new members and more discussion. I think that would help a problem the forum is having in general.

If it isn't cluttered, I can't see how you could describe it as organized.. I guess that's just a matter of opinion.

And, personally, I don't feel the "state the site's currently in" has anything to do with the way the board is organized. I visit multiple other forums, and I don't find them superior to this one (barring the issues with search engine, pm, etc.). The lowered activity occurred after the Google issue, not because of the forum itself.

Not specifically with how it is organized, I'm saying the structure of the board is one of many contributing factors... The Google issue lasted for a couple weeks, and has long since been rectified. It may have contributed to the beginning of the decrease in activity (even though that's arguable), but it's certainly not the only cause.

[The_Iceflash]

My concern isn't forum organization and such right now. I think our biggest concern should be the forum software. With the number of things not working now, it's only a matter of time until there are more software issues. We can't do any forum promotion, adding new mods, or overhaul or anything like that with the forum slowly breaking. I think we need to deal with that first. We should discuss together and with Luke what we can do to help. If anyone is in contact with members that haven't posted in a while but are still around it may not be a bad idea to get them involved as well.

[Jules]

Personally, I'd like to see a forum for non-Disney animation, since we're all animation fanatics.

Great idea! I would love that!

[PatrickvD]

Who here has been in contact with Luke before and is willing to get in touch again to see what his opinion is on the matter?

[disneyboy20022]

Who here has been in contact with Luke before and is willing to get in touch again to see what his opinion is on the matter?

I've contacted Luke on many occasions. He told me others are too busy to contact him. That's why I truly think it shouldn't be just one person to contact him. I mean I will contact him but I do think more of us should to show him we don't take his work for granted and make an effort to show him we can help.

He's the only one doing reviews right now. Just check the author of these 5 reviews.

Here Comes the Boom
http://www.dvdizzy.com/herecomestheboom.html

Paranormal Activity 4
http://www.dvdizzy.com/paranormalactivity4.html

Peter Pan Diamond edition
http://www.dvdizzy.com/peterpan-bluray.html

Odd life of Timothy Green which he just reviewed last week
http://www.dvdizzy.com/oddlifeoftimothygreen.html


Hotel Transylvania 3D Combo Pack
http://www.dvdizzy.com/hoteltransylvania.html

Like I said he's running this entire website on his own. That's why not just one of should contact Luke. We all do to show him we care about his work and the future of this site. He told me that he's paying more into to this website than it gives back and that the site never full recovered financially from the Google Hell ordeal

[Disney Duster]

So the forum should become more modernized for the sake of being more modernized? That makes no sense. If there was a problem, that would be different, but Disney Discussion works fine (and has worked fine) the way it is. "Cluttered" is the last word I would use to describe it.

I didn't say that. I said that becoming more modernized would help attract new members and more discussion. I think that would help a problem the forum is having in general.

If it isn't cluttered, I can't see how you could describe it as organized.. I guess that's just a matter of opinion.

The forum actually used to have different Disney sections, didn't it? Like one was for Disney DVD and the rest was for General Discussion, then we got Disney Discussion. I forget. Anyone else remember how the sub-forums were?

[Disney's Divinity]

I'm not sure. It might've changed because the site/forum became DVDizzy rather than Ultimate Disney, and the Disney Discussion was supposed to be equal with Movies, Music & TV since the site wasn't just about Disney releases anymore.

I wonder if we'd get more traffic if Disney was given more focus in the site title. Without "Disney" in the title, this just seems like a DVD release website (which, not to be cruel, is pretty common on the Internet), whereas the site/forum is more Disney-oriented than the name would make it appear. I think Disney fans would flock here if Disney mentioned in the title somehow, while also letting people know you can find info. for non-Disney films/releases as well (since I know Luke probably has to go outside Disney in his reviews now). I think a lot of Disney fans bypass the site (or never even see it when they search for "Disney"), when they could be visiting/helping the site if they knew it was Disney-related.

Movies, Music, & TV gets attention for the most part (depending on the topics posted), but Off-Topic is a bit of a ghost-town now. It did get a lot of attention (not even that long ago) when certain members would post news topics though. I'll try to post more news stories in the future, so maybe people'll check that section out more. I know I tried to get a few games started in the Polls & Games section to bring some life back to it, since it's a shadow of what it was when I first joined here.

@disneyboy: I'm not sure if you know this, but I was wondering about the Amazon link to support the site. This is a stupid question, but do you need to go to Amazon via that link, pick out your items and then buy them to support the site or is it okay to already have your shopping cart completely, and then use the link to go straight to buying? I've been doing it the 2nd way most of the time, and I wonder if I've helped the site or not.