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All: The new Billszone site with the updated software is scheduled to be turned on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. The company that built it, Dynascale, estimates a FOUR HOUR shut down, from 8pm Pacific, (5pm Eastern) while they get it up and running. Nobody will be able to post in any forum until they are done. Afterwards, you may need to do a web search for the site, as old links will not work, because the site is getting a new IP address. Please be patient. If there are bugs, we will tackle them one at a time. Remember the goal is to be up and running with no glitches by camp. Doing this now assures us of that, because it gives us all summer to get our ducks in a row. Thank you!
There is work to be done and things to be learned. We are going to try to get the old look back - or something close to it. We also know there are bugs. A thread will be started to report bugs and then we can pass those onto the host.
Thank you for all the patience and support with this - hopefully this will greatly reduce the crashes and other site issues we have had lately.
Please use this thread to report any issues you come across
http://www.billszone.com/fanzone/forum/feedback-forums/billszone-q-a/6521455-upgrade-report-bugs-here
For those that don't use the home page, what would make you start? For those that do visit, what would make you visit more often, or make the page more useful / usable for you?
What would you add, remove, or just change about the home page?
The updates you have made are great. i think it looks sweet!
i would like to see a preview of threads in the BillsZone, with the idea of encouraging visitors to post in the forum.... but we'd have to make sure they were decent threads, rather than some of the nonsense that's been posted recently.
My only complaint is it's slow to load on my dsl, but that's not your fault.
1. Use whole width of page based upon user's browser settings
2. Don't waste so much space under 3rd column - put something there or reorganize
3. Make it easier for readers to submit news
4. Have a low graphics option for front page. Too busy!
5. If possible incorporate "personalized" front page (You would need to be logged in first) like Google does.
Mitch - definitely - while it won't be as big of a change as from the last version of the site a few years back, it will be different
Shelby - yes, the 'latest threads' preview is on my list. The reason we had to remove it was because it was causing some kind of problems, I don't remember if it was because of the forums software upgrade or what.. but by now there should be a workaround.
Devin - it'd be great to post videos, but thats what got us in trouble the first time. As far as the ton of info, actually I think thats part of the problem, one of my main goals is to remove some things that aren't necessary. The archives of non-billszone written news stories for instance is probably gonna go.
G. Host - Good suggestions. #1 - Probably not going to happen because of the level of control I like to have over where everything is placed - I use a lot of absolute positioning in css, which some would say is not good practice, but it allows me to easily get the exact look I want. #2 - Definitely agree - there are reasons why its lopsided now, due to some of the ads, but this will be addressed. Actually, the plan is to make the page MUCH shorter, with less stories & scrolling on the main page. #3 - Interesting idea, I will look into that. Not exactly sure how to implement it with the current news system, but I'm pretty sure it can be done. #4 - Yes, had not thought of that, but a very good idea. #5 - yes, that was part of the design of the current page, but I never got around to implementing it.
Please keep the ideas coming - while I don't have any time frame for a new front page (I literally just started thinking about it a few days ago), for anyone that uses the site, this is your opportunity to have a hand in designing it the way you would like it to be.
I think that we could use some more writers to create some original pieces. I believe that there are many posters who write some very good posts and take time writing it and I would love to see some of them write articles for the site. Jan Riemers and Lifetime Bills Fan are two of the main ones I could think of. I think that we do a great job of keeping everyone updated with the latest news, but we need some more originals. I'm not good at these, except for the training camp reports and the gameday grades (when I actually do them). But when we have them up there, it definitely helps.
Props go to Dozer, Draft Boy, R. Rich and all the others who have worked their ass off to write the Draft Guide pieces.
Oh and I do like the design of the front page, the top banner and the games underneath look sweet. Plus I like the left hand column with all the links. I do think that there is a lot of unused room though and sometimes it seems like it's all squished together.
I hate to say it but I hardly every go to the front home page. Hardly might not be the right word, maybe I go there sometimes. If I were to give an opinion of it I would say it is just to busy. There is so much information jammed onto the page. I guess I would say to lose some of the items there. The writing is small. I know you need to raise money for the site, but damn, there is a lot of advertising on it.
Mikey - I agree about the originals, and I have a couple of ideas for that, the main one being copying bb.com's user blog system.. I think that was a great idea, and is sort of a middle ground between a full fledged article and a forum post.
As for the unused space, unfortunately that's a product of people using older / smaller monitors. You have to design around what resolution most people are using, and at the time it was still 800x600, so people like us using 1280 width end up with some dead space.. I have to check, but now I'm sure the most common resolution is 1024, so a new page would be wider & more spacious.
Also, one of main goals (if not THE main one) is to make it much easier to post the daily news stories, or ideally automate that altogether. I've got a lot of learning to do to make that happen..
BTW, you ARE good at writing.. And if its something you enjoy doing, DO IT, don't worry about how 'good' you think you are - I'm a little older than you, trust me, I've learned the hard way.
Scumbag - great idea - it'd probably be better to have both - maybe the first post shows when you hover over the thread title, and the last post shows when you hover over the Go to Last Post graphic (that little circular blue arrow).
Ghost - The original site didn't have much available as far as archiving, searching, etc., so when it was redesigned, I probably went a little overboard with all of that. But then most NFL team sites are even busier, so its tough to say. But I agree completely, one of the biggest goals is simplify and pare it down.
As for the ads, its not something within our control anymore - since we switched providers, those ads are the price we now pay for our web hosting. Believe me, nobody was more upset about it than me - the page was never with ads in mind - next time it will be, so hopefully they'll be a little less obtrusive..
To have a Bills version of Wikipedia. That would be an awesome reference tool. Like a database of all things Bills we can contribute to. There is a script to run it basically all you need to do is customize it to us. I saw it while looking for a vbulletin hack some time ago. I am constantly looking all around the web for bills stuff it would be nice to have a central place to look.
Another idea might be to have an official Billszone.com RSS feed for original content and breaking news.
Personally I like the front page as is, apart maybe not having it fixed and making it stretch the whole page and taking out a few excesses. Maybe instead of making the links all visible create a "Linkworthy" section or something to unclutter it a little.
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