Thanks for all the feedback and ideas, people. I'll respond to some of them now.
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Originally Posted by asimov
If I was to have a whinge about some dislikes, it would have to be when the site go's down (server) which is rare but annoying. I know you are apparently looking into this
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yeh, it's annoying for everyone when the site is down or slow. Fortunately they've been rare, and the speed has been good lately with no noticeable slowness (at least, for me).
We are still planning to move to a new server, but it has been put off until the new year to avoid any downtime or problems while the xmas competition is running.
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Originally Posted by ving
I dont see the point of having a confirmation of reciept for PMs, but thats probably just me.
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The confirmation of receipts for PM's is very annoying, I agree. Unfortunately there's no setting to turn it off. I've spoken with mojo about this and we'll hack the code to remove that "feature". Stay tuned.
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Originally Posted by ving
I think an asro pic of the week or month on the front page would be good. possible one created by a formum member as we get quite a few pic thru here
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Yep, a good idea and one i've had for a while too. I'm hoping to create an image gallery for forum members to post their pictures into, and from that i'll create a pic of the day/slideshow feature for the site.
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Originally Posted by chunkylad
What I mean is to compile all our current eyepiece or telescope specifications and info into a comprehensive, updateable set of reference tables. So, as revues are written, their specifics can be added to the database
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It's a good idea Dave, it just needs someone to write it
I like the idea of a comprehensive table of eyepiece/telescope specification data, so you can see eye relief, exit pupil, TFOV, AFOV etc for an eyepiece versus a specific scope.
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Originally Posted by thiink
I dont know how hard it would be, or how other people feel about it, but what about piping news from websites such as space.com (or similar) to a column on the front page (using RSS feeds?). Something similar to what whirlpool do with the "More news" section on the front page. Im sure I miss a lot of news on other sites because I dont visit them often, but I usually come here fairly regulary, which would make it a great central source for news
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A good idea, Simon. I've avoided pulling news from places like UniverseToday simply because at the bottom of each news article, it'll have a link "discuss this news" which takes you to the UniverseToday forum. There's no problem crediting the source, but ideally I want people discussing the news item on the IceInSpace Forums.
I'll have a look at some other RSS news sources though and see what I can find and how to implement it. I agree it would be good to have more science news content on the front page - it's just time that's stopped me from adding science news articles like I used to.
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Originally Posted by thiink
- make a link/form on the main news site that people can use to submit news directly to you relating to Australian austronomy/observing or what ever, for use on the front page as news. This may be more make for more overhead than you have time for. That and there is already a link for people to email you at the top. I guess I would like to see the front page utilized more for things other than site updates etc. Maybe give the mods access to also add news?
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All people have to do is send me an email or PM if they want content added to the site, but an online form might encourage them to do it more. I don't have a problem giving access to responsible people to add news articles themselves - I encourage people to contact me if they are interested in helping out in this way.
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Originally Posted by rochler
The only suggestion I can think of is to encourage the more knowledgeable members to contribute more Projects, Articles & DIY. This is the stuff that newbs like me *really* appreciate. Those of you who have been enjoying astronomy for years have an absolute wealth of info. currently in your heads - I'd like to copy some of it to mine hehe...
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Very true, we've got a great knowledgebase of information here on the forums, but I'd like to convert more of it to articles for the site. It just takes someone to write it, or compile it from what they've found on teh forums. I'm happy to edit the articles (that's my job!) but I need someone to write the content and send it to me to start with.
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Originally Posted by davidpretorius
have a section where better quality dso's can be uploaded ie 500k
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Not a bad idea, i'm thinking the user gallery will allow larger uploads. Just need to check on disk space requirements.
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Originally Posted by davidpretorius
apart from that we really need to start co-ordinating camps and get togethers ie an online diary of major dates ie snake valley and any thing else that may interfere with organising a camp anywhere in the country. I would love to go to a camp in the Northern Territory given 12 months notice or even a rockhampton one where Bird says the seeing is great. 12 months notice would be needed to organise a trip for a family
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Good idea. I've got plans of adding a community calendar showing the yearly calendar of star parties along with other relevant events (new/full moons, etc). I've done a similar one on another site I wrote, so hopefully it won't be too much effort to make it work for IceInSpace.
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Originally Posted by sheeny
Now here's an idea that I don't imagine is easy to do, but since you asked here it is... Most members know their lat/long - I'd love to see that on a map. Even if it's just dots so you can see how many other members are nearby or within an hour or two's drive. It doesn't have to identify who the members are...
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As Slice posted, the old "plot" map still works. I'm still nagging Terry to finish the new IceMap, but it won't be done this year. Hopefully 1st quarter next year.
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Originally Posted by sheeny
I'd like to reiterate the comments that some of the others have made about developing the articles, resources and reviews parts of the site. As well as "our own" articles, resources and reviews, what about links to others on the web? Helps provide a "second opinion" before you lash out on an expensive purchase! For example, following a telescope review could be a list of other reviews of the same scope from other sites on the web, so if you are seriously considering this bit of gear, you can access a variety of good info.
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Good idea, i'll start doing that for future review articles.
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Originally Posted by gaa_ian
Can smiles in the advanced window (when composing a message) be automaticlly set to be the most popular ones ?
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Good idea Ian, I remember seeing a "hack" for this a while back, i'll do some searching again and see if I can find it. I'm planning on rejigging the smilies as well and adding a few new ones, and removing the less-used ones.
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Originally Posted by gaa_ian
One more suggestion, a "spell checker" ?
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I'll look into it, i'm sure there's a mod for it.
Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and feedback.
If you have any other ideas, please feel free to post them here or PM me.
![[1ponders]'s Avatar](../vbiis/customavatars/avatar45_9.gif){kind=avatar}
@ving. guess I shoulda usd it.
