Hey, City Journalers and Journal Followers. You might have heard through the grapevine that the city journals section is being revisited. I haven't made any functional updates to the current system lately because I've been working on a whole new build, so instead of doing a bunch of little updates, I figure I'd just do one bit update.
So, I've already taken in a lot of really good feedback over the past few months about how you're using the journals, where it works, and where it doesn't. So based on feedback, I'm starting to compile a list of features to add:
Custom banner for each Journal
Unlike the user blogs, I can only allow a certain amount of customization. I'm thinking of giving each journal the ability to set its own custom banner, since many journals like to include it in at the top of the posts anyway. Is this something you'd like to see or do you prefer to set a unique banner for each post?
Reordering of posts
The ability to re-order post entries
Distinct user badge for each Journal
There was a suggestion to have a distinct user badge per journal, as opposed to per user, so this seems to make sense
For journal followers, the option to "follow" a journal, which will be listed on the main journal page.
Speaking of the main journal page, I feel this is one of the weakest areas that could use some improvement. I have a couple of ideas in mind, but I'd really like to hear more of your feedback first if you think the main journal listing can be displayed or function differently.
Is the ability to edit your own comments important? Is that something you wish you could do from time to time? Often? Or rarely?
Journalers, what additions would you like to see? What doesn't work so well right now that could be improved upon?
Followers, what would make reading journals easier, faster, more enjoyable?
Thanks, all!
Sep 29, 2009 at 5:35 PM I think at least the ability to delete own comments would be nice... not that I need to but it would be nice.
Sep 29, 2009 at 11:21 PM I don't know how many people would find this useful, but when making a new update, it would be nice to see the comments from my previous update on the same page, so that I don't need to go in between two windows in order to reply to comments.
Sep 29, 2009 at 11:26 PM Personally, I'd like to be able to edit my comments.. there's always those times when you make a spelling error or forgot to say something.
Sep 30, 2009 at 1:51 AM Currently if I want to 'edit' a comment I copy the whole comment and paste it into a new reply window, so I can make the change and then delete the old comment. This works fine if you see something you want to change straight away but does not always work quite so well if you want to 'edit' after someone else has replied after you.
I always check a post after it is posted and often go back and fix typos, or spelling mistakes or make small changes.
So yes, in short an edit function would be useful.
The other problem is not being able to PM directly from the CJ section or see if people are online. This requires returning to the main forum.
Sep 30, 2009 at 5:56 AM Is it only me? I feel the journals section is slow - may be too many images on each page.
A lot of the times I can not move from one page to another especially after I have left a comment on one C.J. I just get trapped and have to move to another web page using my favorites.
Sorry for my English, I hope all this makes sense :-)
Sep 30, 2009 at 9:10 AM I like the way table of contents divides up the different sections of a CJ neatly. It allows you to navigate quickly to different parts.
I think if you were to add any more customisations it should be based around this.
For example table of contents is the main CJ homepage.
From there there would be links to CJ entries, the CJ author could upload a region/transport map into the map section, Country stats page, history page, about mayor page etc - basically making the CJ more organised and structured and separating the content from fact pages etc.
It would also be nice if there was an option to hide all comments on a page so that readers can view just the CJ and its pictures.
Keep up the good work!
Sep 30, 2009 at 10:53 AM I agree most of the ideas above, specially the one talking about a custom banner and main page for every CJ, but I think it would be a great idea to have an entry autosave option, just like Blogger does. Fearing my computer crashes or the Imageshack tool goes mad, I copy-paste my entry in Word to have a backup, but having an autosave option would do things much more comfortable.
Sep 30, 2009 at 1:18 PM Yipee! More encouragement to start a CJ! :)
Sep 30, 2009 at 4:56 PM Hi Dirk,
well, you asked for it, so here are some thoughts ...
I'm not really partial to that upload-mask, where I have to load images one by one by one ... I'd much rather drop in a list of image-urls (I up from my own webspace), then slap the IMG-tags around and be done with it.
[If that can be done already, I havn't figured out how (sorry then ;-))]
As for banners and lots of customizing - well, I'm old school ... I'd rather encourage people to do more about their content, as I'd rather see loads of new, cool, great city-images, solutions for tricky network- or terrain-problems and similar than 'personalized' gimmicks. Sometimes it pains me, when I leaf through loads of pages with many sketches and icons and banners and flags, many words, quite meaningless detail-shots, but hardly a good city image or clever problem-solving ... or just a cool new idea how to put stuff together.
Editing comments - not sure what you mean, I see no problem there. I'd rather see a fix so Opera can also display the comments ;o)
If anything, than I'd like to see a comment module, where ALL comments can be listed, answered, edited, deleted, whatever - without having to jump around through the different journal-entries. You know, sth. like the way it is handled in wordpress for example ...
On a general note: I wish there was a way to motivate (maybe force?) the readers (or should I say: consumers) to more activity as well. When I see a journal with 50.000 views, but only 30 comments and/or ratings, I sometimes wonder why that is so ... That leads me to the conclusion, that the comment function is somewhat too cumbersome or limited for most. Maybe it would be good to strenghten the channel (CJ-Forum) where Mayors and Visitors can get together and exchange thoughts, not solely tied to just one individual CJ, but to all published CJs in general (or at least the ones worth talking about) ... more features, pick of day/week/month, interviews or whatever. Though I'm aware that you'll probably have to find dedicated Mods first ... :-\
All in all I feel the CJs are not as much in focus as they deserve to be - after all, that's what SC is all about, more than spending endless hours downloading stuff ...
so I better stop here, before I start rambling more and more ... :-)
greetinx
/pa.eng
Sep 30, 2009 at 5:09 PM Sorry, after reading one more time thru the other comments, I need to add one thing:
I like the idea of Jules (comment 6) - splitting the TOC into a tree of different modules, where the author has to separate stuff into
"map section, Country stats page, history page, about mayor page etc"
That's great thinking and closely related to my ramblings about 'gimmicks' ... those would be separated from the 'meat', namely those mentioned great city-images etc.
THAT "would make reading journals easier, faster, more enjoyable" (to answer your last question) ;o))
Sep 30, 2009 at 7:13 PM Awesome, thank you guys.
@Jon - That might prove tricky, but I hear what you're saying.
@dimipol - Is the whole site slow for you or just the CJ's? Does anyone else find this slow? Could it be because of where the images are hosted? (Imageshack by default)
@Jules - that's an interesting approach, too. I'd have to see if most people prefer dividing up their content in that way as opposed to just telling a story.
@Paeng - thank you, valid concerns. I have not been able to personally recreate the comment bug in Opera, but during the revamp we will have some more diverse testers.
Overall, I do want to feature the CJs more prominantly, so this is going to be a real focus. Thanks for the great suggestions.
Sep 30, 2009 at 8:09 PM I agree with beebs, I'd like to be able to edit my comments.
Sep 30, 2009 at 8:35 PM @Dirk - generally I don't find the CJs (much) slower than other parts, actually I find it surprisingly performant for the large number of pics in some CJs (and I'm only on a mobile connect, no bigdeal dsl). But when it is slow, it's really slow ;o) ... and yes, it is usually the waiting for delivery from other servers (pics, ads etc.).
As for my Opera (9.64) problem - don't know, when I call the page, it offers to download the comments (which of course it never does), and then the comment box just stays empty. No big deal, I'm already used to switch to FF for CJs ;-)
Sep 30, 2009 at 9:21 PM I really hope I use these features as soon I get to my CJ again someday. Can't wait for banners!
To Dirk:
Is this site on maintence since I'm getting "No Access" when trying to go on the STEX or the fourms.
Sep 30, 2009 at 10:34 PM Here's my 2 purrs worth...
1) I would like to see the buttons (page numbers, thread links, etc... like the old CJ section) at the top AND bottom of every page in the new section to aid in navigation.
2) I would like to edit comments (and let users edit their own)
3) The new CJ section seems slower when it firsts loads, then it runs OK. I have tried it several times in different ways - always the same results.
4) I don't see a need to subdivide the TOC page by content type. If an individual wishes to do so, they can do that at the beginning when they set up their CJ.
5) Personalized banners and CJ-specific pix would be awesome and much appreciated.
6) The width of the comments is less than that of the standard 800 pixel wide update, causing those who may want to embed a picture (BTW, we need IMG code working in this section badly!) to have the pix cut off.
7) Overall, I would like to see more fonts supported by the forums.
8) Overall, I would like to see a bigger viewable window for posts when editing or writing. Even when maximized, the editing space is a sliver of the screen.
And, finally, out of curiosity, what kinds of features does the software offer that we are not currently using?
Oct 1, 2009 at 1:56 AM i would like more custimization
Oct 1, 2009 at 12:03 PM @ Schulmanator - Thanks for the those. On the editor issue, is there not a button to "edit in full screen" for you? I think it's a blue square icon in the toolbar (usually) ...
Oct 1, 2009 at 3:20 PM Hmmm... I was pretty sure [img] and [q] were working in the CJ comments at one time...
I guess it broke!
Oct 1, 2009 at 4:19 PM Maybe you could make a feature where you can make affiliates with other journals, like Youtubes Video Responses
Oct 1, 2009 at 5:44 PM Hi guys,
I think the CJs should be more organized. For example, we should find more specific titles and also facilitate the creation of entries ... I do not know if you do not understand or simply do not want to understand me, but the important thing is simplicity access and creation of CJs.
Blakeway, journaler of "The Makadewa Post V2"
Oct 1, 2009 at 5:50 PM Hi guys,
Oh and also, it'll be fantastic if we could see in "Last Updated" part of CJs the city journal that had been update the last time first (entry are counting in that)... Example: I just update my part "Downtown", I add alot of pics and informations. I get into City Journal first page and then what I see? Nothing! There's the CJs of only people who made an entry the last... So... no one could see my new Downtown update, only if I made a new entry, THAT I DON'T WANT! (sorry for caps)
Blakeway, journaler of "The Makadewa Post V2"
Oct 1, 2009 at 8:10 PM @simguy228 - Was discussing with Zelgadis about "linking" to other journals, exactly in that way.
@Blakeway - Being able to see what's been updated or edited might appear under only journals you're following, but a good suggestion.
Oct 1, 2009 at 9:26 PM Dirk. You rather forgotten my inquiry. What was I saying was that I'm getting "No Access" when trying to go on the STEX or anything besides this. Is this a maintience of some sort?
=========
Anyways, I hope if there's an edit button now or something.
Oct 1, 2009 at 9:36 PM @Evillions Email me and I'll look into it.
Oct 2, 2009 at 7:41 PM I think I have decided to move to the new CJ section mainly. Overall for CJs I really like it over standard forum threads.
I like the layout better having the updates at the top of each entry - much better organised than a thread where everything is jumbled together, and so much easier to find what you are looking for, even in your own CJ.
CJ Forum... Now what page was that update on again?
Especially if you are returning to a CJ to do a 'catch up'.
Yup if the [img] code could be fixed that would be great... I tend to do it the open the box way, but that is the way I learnt... but I have used the [img] method on other sites and yes it is a quick way of banging in multiple pics, if the files a numbered pic1 pic2... just have to change the number at the end.
Schulmanators comment about not being able to post a standard 800x600 image in the comment area is also a good point, and it would also be great if this could be fixed.
Oct 3, 2009 at 9:32 AM i would love to the ability to follower your cj comments. so i cna get a pm that tells me that a comment is posted on "X" cj and what the comment is
Oct 3, 2009 at 11:32 AM Shulmanator and Abcvs are right I guess!
Oct 3, 2009 at 1:34 PM The ability to re-size the text box would be GREAT.
Oct 3, 2009 at 4:37 PM i think you should be able to put polls, which would make journals like brookstone much easear to vote on, and the journal creators should be able to give custom titles to all people who post on it, and make a councle sort of
Oct 3, 2009 at 7:16 PM YES...
banner thingy... good
img code...........good
(better)support for opera(for basically the whole site) AWESOME!!!
please make the site mesh with opera better, its kinda difficult the way its layed out now....
Oct 3, 2009 at 11:01 PM Could you put the option to favorite cjs like on youtube?
Oct 4, 2009 at 9:55 AM I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but there should be different sections that the CJs are sorted into, like the stex. Some categories could be Rural, Realistic (my favorite), Urban, and Real World.
Oct 6, 2009 at 10:10 PM I would appreciate having the use of an edit button again in the new CJ section. I make typos constantly and in the older section I can edit.
I also like knowing which of my "buddys" are on-line and that is another feature gone from the new section.
I like the ease of following in the old section by using the provided tool in topic tools. I would hope that ease of following would come back. I am using the RSS function in several at this time but I am hopelessly liking the old style of the three things I just mentioned.
Thanks for the opportunity to say what I think.
Oct 6, 2009 at 11:22 PM Jules again!
If authors prefer there to be little separation of content, would it be possible for the TOC to be added to the top of each CJ page to make navigation quicker? As some TOCs can be quite large, it could be limited to only 3 or 4 entries with an option to expand. I sometimes get lost in CJs reading through then clicking back to TOC then forgetting where I wanted to go!
A further thought buttons to hide all text/comments/pics depending on what you are looking for. Sometimes I'm just looking for visual inspiration, sometimes I'm looking for info etc and being able to "strip" out the other bits would be useful.
Thanks for making such an amazing site Dirk.
Oct 7, 2009 at 11:57 AM Thanks for the great tips, guys...
The plan is to have a larger pool of testers, too, so you'll all be invited to check things out.
Oct 7, 2009 at 7:50 PM Just as an aside, what font did you use for this journals' banner, as well as the "dimensions of simcity 4" post? It looks spiffy.
Oct 9, 2009 at 5:10 PM Your ideas for the CJ section are great, Dirk! I would absolutely love to see them put into action, as I really enjoy customizing my city journals.
Oct 10, 2009 at 6:49 AM Well, Dirk I'm back with more ideas
(1)We need more smilies
(2)Why do the city journals use the comment system, can't we just use the post and reply
(3)Why is it that the CJ section is not put into categories, can we please separate them into categories like them folks at SC4D
Oct 11, 2009 at 11:04 PM I think that there's an ongoing problem with ppl down-rating files and journals out of spite.
I think a simple solution to this is that if you have a journal (probably not practical for files) then you forfeit the ability to rate other ppl's journals.
This will mean that only people without a vested interest will be able to rate journals.
It's not a perfect solution sure but it will certainly stop ppl being jerks about rating...?
Thoughts?
Oct 15, 2009 at 7:42 PM A lot of good ideas here, but in regards to what CSGdesign said, I don't think restricting CJ ratings to people without CJ's is that great of an idea. I like to rate the CJ's of my pals, and I like it when they rate mine. Maybe make a way for the City Journalist to be able to see who rated their CJ what. Then if someone does rate it really low for some reason, it could be looked into.
Hope this Helps a bit!
Jan 26, 2010 at 6:30 AM Thanks for information! http://www.google.com