What can we do to make vBulletin.org a better place?
 

Some people have raised an issue lately that vB.org isn't what it used to be, or what it could potentially be. So, with that in mind, we have decided to ask the community: What can we do to make vBulletin.org a better place? What are your ideas of a great community?

Post your thoughts in this thread. Tell us what we can do to make it a better place.

kevin, i personally think the admins and mods at vb.org are doing a great job. they come up with new original ideas, try to get involved the members with various contests and new things.
the main atraction for people here at vb.org are the hacks. most of the time, people just go directly onto the forum and search for something new.

you know what it's missing here at vb.org? the proper display of announcements. most of the time people dont see it at all becausre they dont read it, so it's normal not to get a high response. let me tell you what i did me on my forums. at the top of each page i located an announcement with a query to display to content of an important announcement, like for example the hack of the month, etc. so in this way, people cannot miss it and they get excited.

take a look below for an example:

so once we have in place this system, i guarantee you people will interact more often.
also we must ecourage our community to submit ideas or cool things they would love to see created here.

we are hackers, so we love new cool things that we can participate onto, at vb.org.
is normal that the mods and admins dont get excited when they work hard to make a project and nobody interact.

It's already a great place. There is an apparent slump in posting because it would appear that a lot of members are posting on vB.com because of vB3 discussions there. Also, hackers are waiting for vB3 to come out.

For myself, I come here usually daily to see if there are any new hacks to inspect and possible install, and to answer any questions (if I know how to or if I have time). That's the only reason why I come. A community is what its members make it. I would love to see more people from vB.com post here. :) As it is, I find myself posting there more now, since posts here tend to be about inane subjects, or requests for hacks that can easily be found using the search function.

yes that's an important point.
i think vb3 discussions should be here, too. also posts of the developers about more hacking relevant infos like the new permission system so the hacker here can diskuss in more details here with the devs and other fellow hackers.

That's a wish from me as a Hacker and user on this board, not as mod ;)

I will have to say very little but I think the Release forum should be more modded. I have seen hacks posted that dont even have hacks in them and so on. This place is good but sometimes I come here and go.. what to do what to do. I personally think a clan system would be cool. Give a chance for hackers to start clans (after being accepted) and have hack offs ;)

hmm, i think the clan system sounds intresting, can you explain a bit more detailed what you would do in this system?...

Releaseforum: Ok, i think i'll take a greater look at this in the future :)

Well it could be made really easy but here I go.

The groups for this site work like hacker organizations. A user on this site has the choice (or not) to start a new organization or request a new one made through a admin/mod.

Once it is created the organization is set a group leader that can add users that request to be in the group, delete them, add news for the group, and maybe some other feature like a mini forum.

group members can refer other members to join and have like you do with registration.. # of refer..

Also maybe in your postbit it will show which organization you are with.

These usually promote people to compete which is good on this site since it might preduce more hacks.

I myself currently have a system like this in production.

hmm, sounds really intresting to me....
so groups can work together on creating hacks released by the whole group instead of one individual. which can lead to some greater add-ons not just simple hacks, really addons.

but as long as we have installed vb2 here it's not so easy for the admins to create these usergroups with their own forum and so on...

maybe the should use a beta of vb3 ;)

but i think it's a good idea if it's practicable to do

Actually it doesnt take creating a new forum. Just a new table with the basic info like

id,groupid,postuserid,title,comment,time

something like that.

well if it's decided to add such a system maybe you can help coding ;)

ok, but we need more suggestions too :)

Review, adjust, and enforce the forum rules here. The maturity level at times here is appalling. Too many times I have seen hissy fits from various hackers over what ultimately means diddly squat.

Have hacks rated by well-known and respected VB team members. Not to be rude but 3345 responses to a "great hack" by 3345 kids means nothing to me.

~Regs.

i totally agree.

you're thinking of a jury system?
so just Hackjury members can rate threads and also should rate threads?

i dont like the sound of clans...

but i agree you should make sure the mods keep an eye on the forums cuz sooo many ppl post in the wrong places...

also we need to encourage more people to make hacks... i mean some of us *drops head in shame* hardly know any php... perhaps steps cud be taken for a staff member to teach php to people...

id certainly like to learn more about php and id like to code my own hacks too...

Perhaps get rid of the inactive mods too... i know they're busy but corey and jonathan rarely post in their respective forums... perhaps appoint someone like me who knows a lot about the vb templates system who can regularly post...

Also i think that we should have an experienced php coder who keeps an eye on the full releases forum and if people can't provide support then this staff member can..

----------------------

Just a few ideas :)

- miSt

i personally think a clan system will create only division in a community...
only the idea to have separate teams makes me wonder.. who get's other's team etc... i dont know. i never thought about it, but this is my first thing that passed through my mind.. division.

A review system if you will, such that final hacks are reviewed in terms of adding loads, optimization, etc. I'm not talking about 'usefulness' here since that is something that depends on individual tastes. Set up a new forum or hack in a separate rating system only available to esteemed VB team members.

My vision is one where quality is separated from quantity.

Another suggestion is better user levels... I have no clue as to what a "tyro hacker" is or how that differs from an "ultimate hacker"... Is it based on post count? Is it based on the number of hacks submitted?

Promotion and demotion of mods is a good idea as well. Some definitely are not pulling their weight around here :rolleyes:

~Regs.

the reviews is an excellent idea. very good point indeed.

I also think that the inundation of 2.2.xs are stifling things a bit (people don't want to apply a ton of hacks then have to do it all over again). That and vB3. Otherwise I think this is a great place. :)

IMHO the most important problem in vb.org is it does not befit well with its primary concern, that is "vbulletin hacks".

The number of hack threads is over 1200 in full releases section and it's impossible to track them with the existing system anymore. Hacks appear in the main page while they are released and the new release rate is so rapid that they expire even in 2 or 3 days. Then they are forgotten in the dark corners of Full Releases section and nobody runs into them unless they are accidently bumped. Hack db is a very nice idea but it's obvious it's not working very well to promote hacks.

IMO a new approach is needed urgently to handle the rapid hack release rate (which is a good thing BTW!)...

I'm not determined what would be the best approach but different methods can be thought like:
* Dividing the section into small pieces and seperating the small code modifications from major hacks (like Xenon always suggests)
* Putting hack releases under moderation
* Promoting more hacks in the main page dynamically. Top 10 hack list might be good idea but it just makes sures that the hacks in the list will be always in top 10 considering the traffic they get just because they are listed in that list. Different promotion tools can be coded such as listing top X hacks according to different criteria and randomly changing..
* In forum home there can be a small line choosing a hack randomly from the db with a few lines of comment and giving it a chance to be promoted..
* Regs's idea is also nice
* More hacks from different authors should be applied to vb.org. This would both increase the functionality here, encourage hacking and promote more hacks to vb members..

Well many others can be thought but I guess I made my point. The bottom line is: Full Releases section is a mass and does not suffice for the very high number of new hack releases anymore..

We have a chance: Vb3 will be released soon, so whatever new approach will be applied, it can at least be applied to VB3 hacks section..

i agree with you entirely logician...

also id like to see you upgraded to mod my good friend... your one of the best hackers around .... ;)

- miSt

logician, that's why firefly spent a month to code the database.. it's a great tool to be used.
i use it all the time when i need an older hack.

well but some users don't add their hacks to the database... :(

perhaps this could be changed:
noone can create thread in the fullreleases forum anymore, but threads are created automatically there when someone posts a hack in the Database.

also as Pal Logician said more subforums for Full releases could help, hacks which are already in the HackDB can be moved easily to the new subforums i think, they are already catagorized.

The Minihack forum i suggested some time ago is already planned Chen told me shortly after i became Mod here, but i think just for the vb3 hackin forums

intresting idea, but hard to do: the Admins don't have so much time, you can see this board runs at vb2.2.6, because Chen doesn'T have enough time to upgrade yet...

if any help is needed i'd be more then happy to help the community...

As for more authors... thats up to them if they want to learn and try...

As for a rating system i dunno... there's a crucial factor of everyone's 'first' hack... i've seen many that are not to be mean but not necessarily hacks... like my own if you care to check out out... yeah i know pretty sad ;) but anyways first feedback from the community wasn't that great :p so i disappeared for a couple of months and returned more confident... as you can see i have made some improvement... but a 'hack ratings system' is like a 'bash new hackers' type deal... thats just my opinion...

As for and idea... perhaps if its someone's first hack there can be some kind of noticication (prefix?) so that members know its their first (second and third as well maybe?) so that they feel more comfortable and hackers will be easier....

Another idea... similiar to a new feature 'vb3 similiar threads' have a vb similiar hacks that would appear before confirming a hack release... this would maybe stop releases from being released in the past...

I don't know what else... just some input and my opinions... regards...

g-force2k2

Some very interesting ideas. I like the idea of a clan-type system though I do have misgivings about it dividing the community.

Some kind of PHP course would be stellar. If anyone who knows PHP well would like to volunteer to lead a course in PHP, please contact me or Firefly.

Dividing up the hacks would probably not be a bad idea. We'll look into that.

I didnt say otherwise Pal.. Hack db is a great tool if you are searching for a specific hack. But most of users are just visiting the site to "fish" for the hacks. They surf Full Releases section and take a glance for recently bumped hacks, check site's first page to get top 10 hacks or recently released hacks and just try to see if there is a hack they can apply to their board. The existing system of vb.org is overwhelmed by the rapid hack release rate and is not sufficient to users for "fishing" hacks. Only around 50 hacks are on the surface, while 1150 are laying in the dusty corners of full releases section. The existing structure is just like an iceberg..

Cant you notice this from your own hacks? A hack sometimes gets 5 installers in 2 months, then someones asks a question and thread is bumped in full releases and it gets 10 installers in 2 days. Happens to me all the time..

I agree the functionality and necessity of hack db, but I'm just stating that vb.org needs other tools/structures to promote "forgetten" hacks more and helps the visitors "fish" well..

I understand that. However if this is the case then it means vb.org needs more Admins. There are a lot of marvelous Mods around (like yourself) who are excellent vb hackers. I'm sure most of them can handle being Admins and easily handle these kind of chores..

Besides if a consesus about what will be done is maintained and management approves some of the proposals here, I'm sure many experienced hackers would happily help out coding/hacking of new vb.org additions/features.

agreed 100%

My 2 cents.. Thx for listening..

May I make a suggestion? Mabing making a catagory for 2.x when 3 comes out listing hacks, and support forums, so it can be organized better.

The review system is a good idea.

g-force2k2,

Consider the review system as something for hackers to aspire to. If new hackers get their feelings hurt because their first hack did not get reviewed or it was given a 'poor' review, then perhaps those users are not made out to be php programmers... I would think that to be good, one needs to be open to criticism and more importantly, to learn from what is said. Basically, it goes hand-in-hand with maturity... mature people will accept it, others... well... we've come full circle now to my other suggestion :D

I'm afraid that having clan-systems will cause divisions. It is human nature and something that has already kinda happened here... one only needs to look at the whole arcade drama to see how some groups can cause division, even when that was not the original intent.

FWIW, these are my own humble observations here so take them however you want :D

Cheers,

~Regs.

We will not be adding more admins. We will probably not be adding additional hacks unless we see a need for them. Installing them for the heck of it doesn't really help anything.

Everyone has good points so far. :)

I really like the idea of a better organization of hacks, so the small and old but excellent hacks do not get lost in the mass. The hack db is excellent, but maye it should include all hacks. Also, more categories that are more specific would be great too. Maybe make a staff member responsible solely to maintain the db and move hacks to the correct category.

1. Better Forum Organization for example why is there a beta sub forum in Full Releases

2. Better hack release rules, before any hack is to be released it should be released in the beta forum. How many hacks have been released in the beta forum in the past 3months?

3. Better hack guideline rules, I agree there should be a hack review system. Lots of hacks are released without a proper description etc.

4. The Php Tutorial sounds like a good idea I rather learn how to make a hack than beg someone to help me make one or remake one, I have tryed the request forum in the past and got lil or no luck at all.

5. Also if a member is to release a hack he/she should be able to provide support NO MATTER WHAT, and also provide support on this forum only. How many times have we seen hacks released and two days later the hack releaser doesnt provide support because A. if it worked on his test forum it shoould work on ours or b. he got tired of people complaining that the hack didnt install right, again that goes back to my suggestion that all hacks should be released in the Beta Releases first then after successful install and testing by a range of people it should get moved to full release

6. More organization in the Front Page, like you could categorize the hacks into a download section. The Hacks Database imo is cool, but it could be organized better

7. Oh yeah what if you could divide the hacks up by installer level, install time

well this is all I could think of at the moment, thanks for asking and listening

hypedave

hehe, i want to discuss that point again with you if you released a few hacks.

@tubedogg:
The staff organised some great ideas but it's probably hard to continue them. We are at July if we speak about 'hack of the month', we don't know nothing if we speak about 'contest for the new slogan'. Inform members about it. Why not putting someone else on the idea if the other don't have time for it anymore?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Lesane
[B]

hehe, i want to discuss that point again with you if you released a few hacks.

[QUOTE]

nope I havent released any hacks at all, but I think its annoying for someone to relase a hack and not give us support for it at all, just because the hack worked on their test forum does not mean its gonna work on everyones forum, I can show you a prime example of a hack that was released and he gave no one support on it at all, then ask that he be contacted outside of vb.org for support and when we did that we still got no support, so why release a hack on a community like this if you are not gonna suport that hack at all, thats just not fair to the users that go installing the hack onto their board then come back to get support for a problem and the only answere they get is, its worked on my board you doing something wrong. or we wait for months and months of no support or comment at all. just my two cents.

Hack of the month: not enough members had participated, that's why it wasn't continued --> Look at postings by Teck here ;)

New slogan: stopped till vb3

[QUOTE]Originally posted by hypedave
[B][QUOTE]Originally posted by Lesane


hehe, i want to discuss that point again with you if you released a few hacks.

Quote:

nope I havent released any hacks at all, but I think its annoying for someone to relase a hack and not give us support for it at all, just because the hack worked on their test forum does not mean its gonna work on everyones forum, I can show you a prime example of a hack that was released and he gave no one support on it at all, then ask that he be contacted outside of vb.org for support and when we did that we still got no support, so why release a hack on a community like this if you are not gonna suport that hack at all, thats just not fair to the users that go installing the hack onto their board then come back to get support for a problem and the only answere they get is, its worked on my board you doing something wrong. or we wait for months and months of no support or comment at all. just my two cents.

Yes, that's annoying indeed. But you can never force someone to give support or to continue his support.

:disappointed:

Glad to hear that.

well id like to volunteer myself to be mod for the "Template Questions and Button Requests" forum...

i have a comprehensive knowledge of the vbulletin template system and im sure i could give more support and dedicate more time than jonathan and corey have available :)

_______________

Swiftly moving on... the hacks database definately needs to be more organized and so do the full releases forum... im interested as to see what unfolds :)

- Mist

Xenon is referring to this post:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...700#post301700

also, i think is a good idea to have Hack Reviews.
there are to many hacks released just for fun with alot of code errors, bad queries, unorganised code structure, etc.
so the review will give a direct apercu (short view) on it's contents.
it's the code reliable or robust? does it kill your server by generating a huge ammount of queries? could you make it more compact by eliminating some steps? the +? the -?
every hack should have a link to: Read this Hack Reviews.

if i would be a hacker and someone would tell me to do it in another way, i would thank him for teaching me a better way, so the next time i dont make the same mistake.

mist, vBulletin staff will contact the apropriate people they need, when they need someone.
usually they look among posters to see who have the most experience to cover the opening.

then why should vbulletin.org staff allow those to release a hack and not give support. Think about it you have a great community. so if one person released a hack and doesnt even bother at all to give support. then you have someone jump on the band wagon and say okay the staff here doesnt care if I release a hack and not try to provide support on it at all so im gonna do that same ok. then all of a sudden you have lets say 85% hacks released and support provided at all. You never know it bound to happen, I mean personally I have never submmited a hack before but if I did those would be the things i look at if Johny submitted his hack and didnt provide support then im gonna do the same thing to only becasue the staff allowed johnny to submit one and not provide support. I believe, again this is my opinion only that in order to keep a community like this successful there must be some type of guideline in place for submittng hacks because think about it if one person submits a hack and doesnt even provide support for it all in no shape form or fashion, how will that set an example to the first time vb hackers?

I mean yeah you can't force someone to provide support but its not fair to the community for someone to release a hack and not provide support at all when their only comment is, it worked on my board so " it should work on yours as well "

again just my two cents