Author Topic: A Word of Welcome (Read 1840 times)

archivist · « **on:** April 01, 2009, 12:01:00 AM »

Now that the ceremonial first post is out of the way...

Welcome to the NEW Features Message Board!

Based on the positive response to the FMB Archive, I'm going to try out this new forum. It will provide a place for fans of The Features to get together and discuss the band. Just as importantly, it's also a place for members of the old message board to reconnect and discuss any topic that may come up.

The forum software is still new so if you see any glitches or have any suggestions, please let me know. I'll continue to tweak the settings as we go along. Since this is, I suppose, a "fan site," it should be fan-driven. So if you have ideas for cool features or ways to improve the system, I'll try to make it happen.

Welcome back! Let's get this thing started!

richarddawson · « **Reply #1 on:** April 01, 2009, 01:27:34 AM »

Wow. At the expense of looking like I've been feverishly checking the blog, I'll bite. Great work (again), Archivist!

iwantelvis · « **Reply #2 on:** April 01, 2009, 02:21:22 PM »

Yay! I'm a little too excited about this!

Tom Foolery · « **Reply #3 on:** April 01, 2009, 06:21:21 PM »

I'll freely admit that I'm way super excited to have this thing back. The Features Message Board was always full of smart, interesting, and really funny people. I've missed all of you guys and have often wondered what happened to each of you.

Maybe we can catch lightning in a bottle again and turn this back into a nice, little on-line community.

DigsySlattery · « **Reply #4 on:** April 02, 2009, 08:16:13 PM »

I'm going to be able to type 'Pelham' faster than any other word in the dictionary.

And I need another thing to add to my facebook/gmail/google reader rounds. THANK YOU!

And why can't I figure out the avatar and signature?! Is it a "post at least three times" thing? Am I stupid? I will persevere!

archivist · « **Reply #5 on:** April 04, 2009, 12:31:46 AM »

Quote from: DigsySlattery on April 02, 2009, 08:16:13 PM

I'm going to be able to type 'Pelham' faster than any other word in the dictionary.

Since it was spam that killed the old board, I made sure to activate all of the spam prevention features on this new system. So before you post, you have to pass a test to prove you're not a robot. I thought a question about Matt's last name would be easy enough for humans to pass. The good news, though, is that after you post five times, you no longer have to pass the test. So you shouldn't get too tired of typing Pelham.

Quote from: DigsySlattery on April 02, 2009, 08:16:13 PM

And why can't I figure out the avatar and signature?! Is it a "post at least three times" thing? Am I stupid? I will persevere!

You should be able to edit your signature right off the bat. If you can't, please let me know, and I'll take a look at it. You can't upload a custom avatar until you make Junior Member (25 posts).

carligula · « **Reply #6 on:** April 04, 2009, 11:55:41 AM »

Quote from: archivist on April 04, 2009, 12:31:46 AM

You can't upload a custom avatar until you make Junior Member (25 posts).

Unless you're jamiecarrol apparently

Keith · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2009, 11:04:21 AM »

Mr. or Ms. Archivist---

are you willing to share how "relevance" is determined? Has this already been covered?

$:-\$

DigsySlattery · « **Reply #8 on:** April 16, 2009, 11:11:17 AM »

Quote from: Keith on April 16, 2009, 11:04:21 AM

Mr. or Ms. Archivist---

are you willing to share how "relevance" is determined? Has this already been covered?

$:-\$

I discovered that you an click on 'relevant' and 'irrelevant' on each post, thus boosting or lowering people's ratings. So far it looks like everyone is relevant. Who will be the first to deem something irrelevant? And am I now asking for it by bringing it up?

Also, I still can't figure out how to upload a custom avatar, and I'm way over 25 posts!

carligula · « **Reply #9 on:** April 16, 2009, 12:43:27 PM »

Great. It's like Karma on the inforoo board... :/

Peace Frog · « **Reply #10 on:** April 16, 2009, 01:03:43 PM »

I must be missing something. I'm not seeing the relevance button.

carligula · « **Reply #11 on:** April 16, 2009, 04:16:28 PM »

It might be another 25 post milestone. I guess I'll find out when I hit "post"...

EDIT: Yup.

Peace Frog · « **Reply #12 on:** April 16, 2009, 04:24:14 PM »

Guess I better start postin'

archivist · « **Reply #13 on:** April 17, 2009, 12:27:11 AM »

Quote from: Keith on April 16, 2009, 11:04:21 AM

Mr. ~~or Ms.~~ Archivist---
are you willing to share how "relevance" is determined? Has this already been covered?

You left out the "extra" ones:

Keith, I've just been waiting for someone to ask about the "relevance" scores!

I wanted to make sure that this new message board has some interesting new features that the old board didn't have. One of these features is the "relevance" / "irrelevance" score for each member. It works just like the "karma" system on other message boards. After you've posted 25 times, you'll be able to tag members as "relevant" as a way of thanking them for making a particularly good post. You'll also be able to ding members for stupid posts by marking them as "irrelevant". To get the ball rolling (and to provide some sense of continuity), I gave everyone a relevance point for every 250 posts they made on the old board. That's why some people currently show as being more relevant than others. Now that people are starting to cross that 25-post milestone, we'll hopefully start to see some action.

Digsy, I misspoke earlier. You can upload custom avatars when you become a Junior Member. That happens after 50 posts... not 25 as I stated before. So you're almost there. And if I'm wrong this time, I'll fix it so you can upload your own avatar. I know you're getting anxious.

Enjoy the new message board, everyone!

Juan Horsetown · « **Reply #14 on:** April 17, 2009, 09:02:06 AM »

What we really need is a stats page to know who is posting the most and the most relevant. That way the silent competition of who is posting the most can resume.

DigsySlattery · « **Reply #15 on:** April 17, 2009, 01:59:39 PM »

Quote from: Juan Horsetown on April 17, 2009, 09:02:06 AM

What we really need is a stats page to know who is posting the most and the most relevant. That way the silent competition of who is posting the most can resume.

The list of who is posting the most can be found here

http://www.fmb-archive.net/forum/index.php?action=stats

But I don't think a relevant option is up yet, right?

DigsySlattery · « **Reply #16 on:** April 20, 2009, 05:08:24 PM »

Oh man, I broke 50 and my options are crazy now. But I still can't find a link to upload a custom avatar, or even where I can edit my current one. Yeepers!

Tom Foolery · « **Reply #17 on:** April 21, 2009, 10:00:47 AM »

To change your avatar (or, I assume, to upload a custom one)...

In the menu at the top of the screen, select "Profile". That will display your profile. Near the top of that screen is a tab that says "Modify Profile". Clicking on that will bring up a menu. From that menu, select "Modify Profile."

I agree that it's not very user-friendly.

JustAnotherDrive · « **Reply #18 on:** April 21, 2009, 10:55:18 PM »

I just want to thank you for this. Every March, I wonder how the Features maddnes would have gone, after every Lost, I wonder what the Features board would think, after every show, I wonder what were some of the songs. I've missed you guys. Thanks, archivist, for giving this back to us.

DigsySlattery · « **Reply #19 on:** May 19, 2009, 09:50:39 AM »

Is there any way to get a search function set up on the archived message board? I'm finding it hard to write about the history of Features songs over on my new tumblr (plug plug!) since I can't search for the song's title.

Also, http://damageisdone.tumblr.com/

archivist · « **Reply #20 on:** May 25, 2009, 12:15:42 AM »

The original idea for the FMB archive was that it would be distributed on CD. In that format, there wouldn't be a way to have a search engine. To fill that need, I decided to build the "Subjects" index.

However, the "Subjects" index is still a very long way from being completed, and (hopefully) the web version of the archive will be with us for some time to come. So I think a search engine for the site would be a really good idea. I'll see what I can come up with.

Bowl of Fire · « **Reply #21 on:** September 15, 2009, 11:15:52 PM »

*blink*

i feel like i just woke up from a really long weird dream in which the features messageboard didn't exist.

hopefully i can get my old avatar back, but i guess freddy mercury will do for now.

hola!

archivist · « **Reply #22 on:** March 03, 2010, 08:20:08 PM »

Hi, Guys.

As you can see, I've just upgraded the message board's software. The upgrade process trashed my pretty "Some Kind of Salvation" theme. This default theme isn't too bad, though. I might add in a nice Features-related logo at the top, but for now, I think we'll stick with this.

Let me know if you have any problems with the new software.