The Org Redesign - Goals...

[Nya-chan Production]

LAMVs can and always have been announced in the OT forum... if there's going to be a forum where one could announce them, it should be OT.

Not everyone has access to the OT forum. I really don't think adding a simple LAMV announcement subforum is that big a deal, it would just serve as a focused place to receive proper feedback on LAMVs, the creation of which is never going to surpass AMVs on this site, but whose existence can't be denied.

"You want to do something other than the purpose of the site - you can if you pay 12$/year"

[Pwolf]

LAMVs can and always have been announced in the OT forum... if there's going to be a forum where one could announce them, it should be OT.

Not everyone has access to the OT forum. I really don't think adding a simple LAMV announcement subforum is that big a deal, it would just serve as a focused place to receive proper feedback on LAMVs, the creation of which is never going to surpass AMVs on this site, but whose existence can't be denied.

Why not add a cartoon music video sub forum also? the point being, the OT forum is used for that purpose, it's OT. I think your arguments for LAMVs should be used to make the OT forum non-donator rather then creating a specific OT forum about a specific subject.

[LittleAtari]

Before people really start diving into the LAMV issue, remember that we have a thread for that in site feedback already. You can find that here.If you would like to argue for a section for videos other than AMVs then please do so there to avoid duplicate threads. I also think that there's a lot to discuss on this topic that cant be contained in this thread.

I think I'd rather ask the question if you would like an area on this site to present and discuss things other than AMVs or another is would you rather see this site develop to foster creative editing in addition to AMVs

What I would like to see from the Org's redesign:

1. Make it more fun
2. Have a better interface
3. Have more users & visitors
4. Have people's amvs noticed more

As I see it our goals should be:

1) Make it easier to find videos.
2) Make it easier to download videos.
3) Make it easier to participate in the forums.
4) Make it easier to go from viewer -> editor.

I suppose I would also add
- Make it easier to add and upload videos
- Make it easier to donate

I would like to see all of this question is 'How?'


For this I present my 'How's:

Make it more fun
Overall, I think that this can be achieved through doing a lot. It's an all encompassing image that comes with improving many features which will be addressed by everything else I'll talk about in this post.

Have a better interface
Simple is the way to go. Identify what people want to do the most of and make that easier to access. Generally, I think these are to make it easier to upload and download videos and navigate the site.

Improving upload
I like FTP, but I think it alienates people that don't know how to use it and it isnt a standard. Allow for people to use a more standard method of upload like Youtube's upload system. This has been said many times before, but I want to emphasize that I don't think that FTP is the only issue with uploading. It's like a 6 step process to upload here whereas on youtube, it's a 1 step process. In addition, people who are new to a site that requires a 100MB extension may not be able to get their videos up here.

Now because of the way our catalog and search system works, we cant have a 1 step system, but we can still simplify our upload process. First let's improve the language of the upload system. Right now, people must 'Enter a Video' instead of Upload a video first. For a user who doesn't understand the catalog concept behind the Org, this is confusing. They're looking for the upload button. So having a distinctive upload button would really help.

Upon pressing this button, they will be asked for basic information about their video: Title, Description, Anime, Audio. Put this all on the same page. It will at least make the process look faster. Also give the option of adding a description later (which i think we have as a feature anyways)

For adding Anime to the video, make it more simple to do so. I shouldn't have to search through a list of anime right away. Adopt a search for Anime function similar to how we do for musical artists. Still, because of Japanese titles, in some cases we may need that list. So if and when someone cant find their anime by typing it in, there should be an option that says, 'See Anime List' or 'I dont see the Anime here, I need to see the list.' This should link to the list that we have now. Or right away, people should be given the option to type the anime into the box or 'give me the anime list.' We should make sure that there is also a note saying 'The Anime you're choosing may be new or not on the list yet, please go here to request it to be added to the list.' I know right now, we have to go to site help or the moderator dropbox to add an anime to the list, but this should be a more automated process. They should be linked to a form that they can type the anime into that directly send the request to the admin that has to approve it being added. In turn, the user should receive a PM/email saying that their anime has been added. I also think that this shouldn't stop someone from uploading the video. It should say that the anime is still unconfirmed and if it turns out that the anime was not approved, the admin/mod can remove said video and explain that it is not an anime. I figure that once the admin/mod approves or disproves that the title added to the anime list is not an anime, it's still connected to that video and should be simple to address.

Now for the 100MB upload limit, state on that initial upload page that there is a 100MB upload restriction and offer help if said video is over 100MB. Let the user know that they can fill out a form for a larger upload request or learn to compress their video. Basically there should be two links here: one that links to a basic tutorial of Zarxgui and another that links to the upload request form. It should say something along the lines of: File over 100MB? If you have not compressed your video try using Zarxgui (link to Zarx tutorial). Already compressed? Request large upload permission (link to large upload request form)

Now for FTP, some people will still find use for FTP. If you're uploading a file as big as AMV Hell then, being allowed to use the features of FTP like resume upload, helps a lot. So make sure to include an option that allows for FTP.

The Premiere System is a little weird. We're in an age where majority of the people want their video available right when they upload it it. So by default, make videos available immediately and also provide an option that says 'make video available at a later date.' Upon specifying that option, they should be met with a drop-down menu to specify the date or allow them to just type it in and show the format that we do dates here on the Org (MM/DD/YYYY or however we feel like doing it)

The only issue with this is that some people still want to specify the date their video was created if what some time ago. Make this optional. If someone doesn't specify that it was made earlier, make the system assume that the video was created the day it was uploaded.

Hide features that most people wont want to use for every video they're uploading
I've touched on a few things about uploading the process being a long one, but still all those features are there for a reason. They give more flexibility. It's just overwhelming. Basically, I want simple 'Default' options visible and an option to see 'Advanced' features more.
Default options are Title, description, anime, music, and genre. Advanced is everything else. The only thing that I would probably like keeping visible is a 'Collab' and 'Convention Participation' check box or drop-down menu that toggles other options to add things


Improving download
This comes from everything from searching for AMVs to being blocked by the star ratings queue when downloading videos.

Make it easier to search for videos
One thing that I love about youtube's interface is that the search option is right in your face. It's designed for people to get to searching and watching videos as fast as possible. Right now our quick search option is way off to the side and bottom of the members page. That quick search option should be the main thing that you see on both the main page and the member's page. Next to said search button, you can put an option to go for an advanced search, this can lead to a page for the Super Search and other options.

The Language of Download
Alright how many of our users don't seem to know what the difference between an indirect and direct link is? How many people know what we're referring to when we say 'local.' I think our local downloads should just say 'download' and then there be a place for the 'Links' to the direct and indirect download. I'm not sure if there is much that we can do to solve the 'indirect and direct' problem except let users know what a direct and indirect link is when they input their video information.

The donation screen confuses people
but we need it or at least some other way to tell people to donate. Make it less intrusive. How about when someone downloads a video, have them wait a few seconds and say something like your video will begin downloading in 'X' seconds. Remember to donate to keep this site alive. Donators don't have to wait for their downloads. This probably more intrusive, but less confusing. If someone can come up with something less intrusive, go right ahead. I more concerned with the confusion the message brings.


Have people's amvs noticed more

I've seen people talking about changing the way the star ratings system and top 10% works. This will help. I think another way to do this is to have some way of featuring user videos outside that. Maybe we should have a 'Feature this' option on the video description/preview page. Those videos can be collected into a list and we can have videos with certain anime or genre cycled on the member's page or something. So when people ask for a video to be featured. That video gets put into a few different lists based on their Genre, Anime or Musical artist and every week we can have an automated system that features an anime, genre or musical artist on the main pages. Another way to do this is to make it a member option only be shown one type of video upon logging in. Maybe someone is on a Soul Eater craze and they only want to be shown Soul Eater videos in their featured video preview or another thing people can do is search the featured videos of a category.

Honestly, I think we could have a completely other topic on how to have people's AMVs noticed more on this site.


Make it easier to participate

I think a lot of people view participation as being active in the forums, IRC, and journals, but it's a lot of things. It includes people who just upload their videos and do nothing else. I view it as social interaction. Basically, it would be great if there were various ways to connect socially with people outside the forums and draw people to the forums. This can be down through having public comments allowed on videos and allow people to comment whenever and allowing people to comment on Journal posts. Now, I also believe that people should have the option to not allow these video by video if they choose to. As for getting people to the forums, the best example I can provide is TeamLiquid.net's approach. They feature threads on their main page. Now please note, I think that that their site layout is way too busy, but I do like that they do have the recently updated forum topics on the main page based on category and they also have a spotlight in which mods choose threads that should be spotlighted. teamliquid.net