Tarantino

For the record, I think allowing people to change their name is a bad idea.

PhantomStranger

I can understand it for the few people that have badly dated usernames like Name_DVD or something, but in general I agree that allowing changes for everyone hurts the continuity of a forum. Blu-ray.com allows anyone to change their name at any time and it's a mess, people that post for years under one name will suddenly switch their name. It becomes impossible for other users to know who is speaking.

Brent L

I didn't know that you could do that there, that really sucks.

As long as it isn't totally changed, I think it should be allowed to change it slightly when it is outdated. I could also possibly be convinced to allow it once period for people regardless of the reason, but who knows how you could even track that. For that reason alone I would say just to allow it for people on a poster by poster basis when their name is outdated and that's it.

andicus

Exactly. I realize we're not going to get an 'anything goes' forum, but being admonished or even suspended for posting suggestive, but non-nude pics is just ridiculous.

Norm de Plume

This thread is a good idea, as it seems to me forum activity has dissipated considerably.

Avatars are basic for forums. I don't think I have ever seen a vBulletin forum that didn't offer them as a matter of course. I don't really care, but some people do.
A name-change to something less specific sounds like a smart idea, too. Maybe something like entertainmenttalk.com.

LorenzoL

That's the reason why I'm spending more time at that forum especially with their mobile app for tracking your collection. Mind you though, I do tend to agree that more members is not necessarily a good thing, as they have some unusual characters on the above forum.

This used to be my main site since I joined but I have been spending less time the past few years.

I'm glad that you asking us about our suggestions iBobby but it seems to me that it's a little late for asking us about feedback. This should have been done at least, a few years back.

Brent L

Holy crap, I had no clue that they had that as an option. I have been wanting an app like this for so long. I can't believe I didn't realize they had one already like that. It is absolutely perfect. Goodbye for good DVD/FilmAF! Thanks for mentioning that LorenzoL!

And yes, more people here just for the sake of more people isn't good. I agree with that. However, as activity drops as a whole it sure isn't going to entice new members to decide to join in. When that happens, it eventually leads to a dead forum. I don't say this to be all doom or gloom, but it happens all the time when sites/forums do not stay on top of things and actually advance and update as other sites do and as new ones come out with new features. Then on top of that, if someone brand new stumbles on DVDTalk, they may not even stay because of the name considering how to many DVD is a dead media, and to make matters worse DVD Talk is the very top folder here on the forum. Lets say you are new to online forums and you are looking for somewhere to chat about your Blu-ray collection. You find two major forums - DVDTalk.com and Blu-ray.com. Which of the two are you going to check out first? If you are not familiar with DVDTalk already why would you even think to check here if the site's main purpose is DVD? It is possible to rebrand a site or property without destroying the past in order to move forward to keep things growing.

I would be perfectly content if the people over the last ten years all just stayed here and posted as we always have and were just as active. That isn't the case though. People are posting less, people are flat out leaving and moving on to other forums, and we don't have as many new people signing up and becoming active to keep things consistent.

I know, it's already been said that the name isn't going to change so I'll drop that, but it doesn't change the fact I think that is a huge mistake moving forward.

Ok, sorry for that little spiel. First things first, I agree, lets take care of some of the basic changes first. Who knows, maybe that sort of thing would be enough to pick things back up.

Nick Danger

The front page is truly awful. Go to www.dvdtalk.com and start clicking on links on the left side. They're cobweb blogs, reviews from 2010, and a porn site. A potential new user will try a couple of times to find something relevant, and then go away forever.

Ten years ago, there was so much traffic that an entertaining post in the Other forum would get bumped in the afternoon, and again in the evening just so everyone would see it. Now, instead of a post dropping to page three in a few hours, the Other forum has posts from 3-4 days ago on the front page. Politics, Sports, and Adult were split off from the Other forum in response to the amount of traffic. Now, lots of forums should be combined to keep them active.

The main problem, as I see it, is the static feel to the site. Everything is kept the way Geoff left it, like Miss Havisham's wedding feast. It has the same look and feel, the same forbidden topics, the same software, even the same moderators (some of whom no longer log on). It seems like the membership is made of people who joined when the site was vigorous, and are still hanging around. That isn't going to attract new blood.

kd5

I would say make DVDTalk re-direct to HDTalk and vice versa, so that no matter where you choose to go you end up here. A name change to HDTalk maybe?

Clean up some of the dead and out-dated links and material that hasn't been updated in years. I'm not so much in favor of a face-lift, I kind of like the current look and feel of this place, and that DVDTalk hasn't joined the phone app-look crowd (I hate that shit).

I've never understood why you have to pay to have an avatar here, this is the only forum I've ever belonged to where that rule is in place.

If there is going to be a premium membership, I would think that pemium content would be a necessity. The Adult forum was before my time here but I think resurrecting that (amongst other things) would go a long way in making a premium membership here worth paying for.

Also, Adam Tyner has some damned good ideas.

LorenzoL

Similar to Adam Tyner suggestions, the above is also very much true. Great observation Nick!
However, the suggested "improvement" will cost money, which I'm not sure IB are willing to do so. Even, their reluctance to change the name of DVDTalk to HDTalk which they own, is puzzling to me.

PhantomStranger

That main page does need to be redesigned and made more relevant for today. Combining some of the subforums' traffic makes sense. There aren't enough regular posters in some of the subforums and those topics basically exist in their own walled off gardens.

SterlingBen

Allow more than 36 images in a post!!!! This would be very helpful to everyone who runs Challenges and people who participate too much.

Also yes for avatars.

Perhaps voting up or down peoples posts for rep, like with Slickdeals, I enjoy that dynamic.

On collection lists would be something that could really help retention.

Bring back the adult forum.

Keep all threads forever bumpable.

Also thread bookmarks and list on site.

Thread reminder, if thread see's 20 more replies or if 1 week has past pm me, that sort of thing.

Also larger PM box. Extra large boxes for anyone presiding over challenges.

ibobi

How many images per post is a better number?

Is there any list of people who run challenges? Nobody has PM'd me asking for a bigger box.

covenant

Avatar guidelines should be really simple:

The maximum size of your custom image is 100 by 100 pixels or 24.4 KB (whichever is smaller). No animated images please.

done.

SterlingBen

Does 150 seem crazy? Perhaps a tiered system where you have to be a member for a certain period of time to prevent abuse but It would solve a problem I have at least 4 times a year (others too).

There is a thread over here that speaks to the challenge runners perhaps:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-talk/55...ompendium.html

Off the top of my Head:
Chad
Mister Peepers
caligulathegod
Dimension X

Drexl

It probably should be both, to keep people from using huge images with less complexity to get under the 24.4k limit.

ibobi

They'll be a lot more specific than that, just as far as content goes. We'll get some guidelines up soon.

The main thing is, we'd love to be able to open it up to anything you want to upload within reason, rather than have you pick from a set of clipart and stuff. But we can only do that if people adhere to the family-friendly nature of the forum.

TheBang

That's hilarious. I didn't realize that, but on this "family-friendly" site there are 3 links on the front page that take you directly to a page that shows you 2 women getting it on, a woman getting penetrated, fellatio, and more.

DJariya

Not to point fingers, but I think most of the people who still visit this forum aren't really motivated to contribute anything to keep activity up. You have threads with hundreds to sometimes thousands of views, but alot of times noone is saying or contributing anything. DVDTalk and HDTalk use to thrive on people talking about old and new releases. Now noone has a damn thing to say. Same goes with the bargain forums.

I guess the majority use this site for informational purposes and don't want post anything.

covenant

I thought that would go without saying. If someone puts a risque avatar up they can expect mod intervention. The guidelines are already in place. No offense but this forum drives me crazy sometimes...

The http://mustangforums.com/ is also owned by IB. They allow avatars and they have the same Site Terms as here.

Norm de Plume

Appropriate reference. Musty, stale, cobwebbed, nobody visiting.

chuckd21

Bring back the suggestive cover art. Those threads were always fun.

Also bring back art.

Trevor

I especially second the post "likes" or whatever the software allows. I know many people hate those as being too-Facebook, but I would love to show appreciation to especially helpful or funny posts, without having to make the effort of quoting them or posting.
I have PMs turned off because my box is too small.
You forgot the current Challenge runner, me!

Other Challenge runners include MinLShaw and The Monkees and a couple others that I'll edit in later.

Edit to add: CardiffGiant and takingchase.
Yeah, this site will never be family friendly as long as the top center of EVERY SINGLE PAGE has a link to adult DVD reviews.

argh923

I disagree with this. Example - the Six Feet Under finale thread in TV. It gets bumped every year or so with new people who watch the finale for the first time. In addition, sometimes a topic becomes relevant after a long period of time, and it's good to see the previous discussion on said topic.

I definitely agree with this. I've seen the posts about people who do challenges getting theirs bumped, but I think an overall bump is necessary - even if it's just to 50-75. This is one of the more restrictive forums I've seen in terms of PM box size.

This would be FANTASTIC. Really innovative and could spark a lot of discussion around collections and such. Really like this.

Definitely agree with this. There doesn't have to be an "adult section" of the site itself, but it's silly that we can't even discuss topics like this on the forum.

As someone who's had their name changed, I think that it should definitely be on a case-by-case basis, but that the admins - some much more than others - should be a little more understanding and flexible about reasons. Mine was changed as a result of a divorce, and one admin completely dismissed me and was pretty much insulting in the process. I think there are definitely legitimate reasons for a name change, and that features such as the "formerly known as" tag - which I've left up, despite the time period I was instructed to do so having expired - help mitigate that confusion.

I never even visit the front page. The forum has always been the draw for me.

Agreed here. I think the Sports forum is healthy on its own, but maybe some of the others could be combined. Also, do we need a "DVD Bargains" and "HD Bargains"? Shouldn't we just combine into one? Seems like some consolidation of the forums could be beneficial.

My primary suggestion, which ties into this last quote...we're running on a fairly outdated version of vBulletin. I run a fantasy basketball site - much, MUCH smaller than this one - that runs on 4.1.3. Is that something that's been considered for this site? It definitely feels stale at this point, there's no denying that.

b2net

Just had a thought ... and might get rotten fruit thrown at me for suggesting.. but an attraction to premium membership.. may be the collector software...... as an incentive..


and I must re-iterate... hdtalk.com needs to be an alias not a re-direct..