Project Logs

[Ian]

At the moment, we've got a project log section which allows a member to create a project thread and update it with followup posts, however it blocks replies from other members so that the project thread flows properly. At the moment, there's a separate project log discussion sub-forum where comments can be made.

After a prompt from @Arouse1973, it looks like the current system can be a bit confusing, so I'm going to work on a way of improving this.

We've got a few options, and I'd really like to hear your thoughts on which you would prefer most:

1. I can add a notice to the top of every thread in the project log section, with a link to the discussion forum, stating that this is where comments should go.
2. We can open up the project log threads so that anyone can reply. The edit time would be unlimited so that any updates would need to be edited in to the first post. This is the most simple solution.
3. We can add a new "project log" section to the resources area. This would mean that projects can be update/edited all in one post and comments can be made in an automatically linked thread.
4. A new project log area can be created, which works similar to the resources section, but each project could include a mini-gallery, tab for components used, any relevant file uploads, etc... This would look great (and would be fully customisable), but would only be worth it if there was a likely demand. If people would create more project logs if there was a better way to do it, I'm happy to do with this option. Automatic discussion threads would be linked.

 

[Anon_LG]

Which one do you think is best Ian?

 

[Supercap2F]

I think number four would be really cool! I like the automatic discussion thread when you post, I have already had two PMs because it is kind of confusing how it is now.

Are you planning on moving all the current project logs to the new section when it's created?

Thanks Ian!!
Dan

 

[Ian]

Which one do you think is best Ian?

They all have their merits, I'd probably go for either #2 because it's simple and familiar, or if it looks like project logs will really be popular, then I'd go for #4. It's a lot more work, but would look really great if we get a few new projects per week.

I think number four would be really cool! I like the automatic discussion thread when you post, I have already had two PMs because it is kind of confusing how it is now.

Are you planning on moving all the current project logs to the new section when it's created?

Both #3 and #4 would have the auto-discussion threads, which is great for linking discussion but keeping the log clean . I really like that feature too!

Whichever method is used, all of the existing ones will be moved over .

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

I think I like options 3 and 4 best, and option 1 least. But I'm concerned that there won't be enough interest to justify the work required to implement option 4.

 

[Gryd3]

I think I like options 3 and 4 best, and option 1 least. But I'm concerned that there won't be enough interest to justify the work required to implement option 4.

I'm with Kris on this. Demand needs to be there to justify this.
Other than that, I think number 3 would be a solid fix as long as users can put the project in the proper section

 

[chopnhack]

I like 4 best as it would be the easiest to follow from the viewers perspective, but I appreciate how time consuming it could be to implement. As others have echoed, is it justifiable considering the number of projects we see? This appears to be a persistent problem and 4 seems like the best long term solution. I don't like 3 because it would seem that the first post may become too long and potentially hard to edit?

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

I take the point about long posts being hard to edit. I find that the bugs in the post editor get more and more troublesome as the post length increases. I guess I would try to keep the article to a reasonable length, perhaps by pruning unimportant and outdated text out of it, rather than keeping it like a blog or diary.

 

[chopnhack]

I take the point about long posts being hard to edit. I find that the bugs in the post editor get more and more troublesome as the post length increases. I guess I would try to keep the article to a reasonable length, perhaps by pruning unimportant and outdated text out of it,
rather than keeping it like a blog or diary.

Its a good point, but it will be incumbent on the poster to go back and prune. The nature of the project type post is iterative and therefore will seem like a blog until perhaps the endpoint is reached. That could be quite a lot of cleaning. I know of a certain post that has over 200 entries. I would not like to be the one to go back and clean it up

 

[Gryd3]

I take the point about long posts being hard to edit. I find that the bugs in the post editor get more and more troublesome as the post length increases. I guess I would try to keep the article to a reasonable length, perhaps by pruning unimportant and outdated text out of it, rather than keeping it like a blog or diary.

I wonder if the forum software allows the thread creator to delete posts. Essentially being a moderator for their own 'project log'

 

[(*steve*)]

I wonder if the forum software allows the thread creator to delete posts. Essentially being a moderator for their own 'project log'

That's an interesting idea.

Another interesting thing (and it's probably unachievable) is to have posts other than the thread owner's to be hidden by default so you view the thread as a series of posts by the creator.

Its a good point, but it will be incumbent on the poster to go back and prune.

Yes, I think that's really important and in doing this pruning any replies in the thread will become confusing. As a moderator I've been able to edit the first post and delete replies as they were handled, but for a non-moderator to do that would require that (a) they have access to the features, (b) they are motivated to use them, and (c) they don't use them for evil . There is plenty of scope for doing evil if you can delete (or worse, edit) other people's posts. However the software keeps a track of these things, and anyone doing evil could not keep it hidden from the moderators.

An alternative to option (1) above is for replies on the project log thread to be automatically placed in the discussion thread.

I like the idea of option (4), but I guess Ian is telling us it's a fair bit of work for him. I would like to think it would be used, but I'm not certain how well project logs are being used right now.

I'm not going to vote on this because as a moderator I have the means to "fix" threads more or less the way I want to. This question is for those of you who need or want a little more control over a special thread type where you are really taking the lead role.

 

[Anon_LG]

To find out the demand for project logs and their use another thread could be opened with a poll asking: how much members currently post their projects, how often members make projects and how often people would think they would upload to the project logs if a new system was implemented.

 

[Ian]

Well #4 seems to be a very popular option, so what I may do is come up with a beta test where people can try it out and see what they think of it. I think if we get it working well we may be able to encourage users to post more project logs, as I know that they're really interesting to read.

Give me a week and I'll see what I can do .

 

[Anon_LG]

That sounds good Ian, I know I will be posting some projects if the system is updated.

 

[Ian]

I've started work on the test project log section and it should be visible to anyone logged in (although only read-only for now). I've converted one of @KrisBlueNZ 's articles as a test (I hope you don't mind ) and I'm working on getting a few things improved with the system (as image uploading isn't as straight forward as it should be).

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

That was quick! It looks really good Ian I especially like the image gallery feature.

 

[Ian]

The image problem has now been fixed, so it looks like we're pretty much ready to go . I'll await feedback on any changes that you'd all like to see made, so that I can tweak things before launching and converting the old project logs.

 

[Ian]

I've enabled the project log section fully, so I'll start converting old project logs over the coming week . Once that is done, I'll do a full and proper announcement.

 

[KrisBlueNZ]

Do you think that there's a lot of similarity between resources and project logs? I think the resources could benefit from the new features you're adding. Resources and project logs should still be kept apart but they could be handled internally in the same way. What do you think?

 

[Ian]

Part of the problem is that although both sections look similar, they are using different software - one of them can handle image uploads only and the other is more flexible for article-type projects. Ideally we'd have the best of both worlds, but there's not a way we can do that as we'd have to pick (and stick with) one system. Both are great software addons, but one works slightly better for articles and the other slightly better for projects (specifically because of the gallery). Perhaps when XF 2.0 comes out we'll see an improvement in one (or both) and we can convert to a single addon. If there is a way to add these features, then I'll do it .