Forum Upgrade/Overhaul

[PatrickvD]

I think when the site abandoned the Disney aspect, it slowly became unremarkable. It was the Disney aspect that made it big.

While I get that Luke focuses primarily on reviews and so he was forced to branch out to non-Disney, I think the topics that are being discussed here indicate the only way this 'branching out' would have worked would be if it had become an animation oriented website. That way, the site could focus on reviewing non-Disney stuff and not alienate its core demographic. I mean, I want to say this in the nicest possible way, but I really don't care about a review of ... *checks main page* ... My Lucky Elephant.... (I want to place a non-offensive confused emoticon here, but there isn't one that matches my emotion. I also remember visiting the main page more often back when it covered Disney-related film news.

I believe this place can thrive, I know it can. Would Luke join this discussion if we'd invite him here? I don't know how to reach him and I'd be interested to see what his opinion is on the matter.

[Wonderlicious]

The forum actually used to have different Disney sections, didn't it? Like one was for Disney DVD and the rest was for General Discussion, then we got Disney Discussion. I forget. Anyone else remember how the sub-forums were?

The forums used to have less sections. Essentially, Off Topic used to incorporate what is now Off Topic, Movies, Music and More, General DVD Discussion and even Disney Theme Parks at one point. Also, Disney Discussion used to be called General Discussion.

[Jules]

@disneyboy: I'm not sure if you know this, but I was wondering about the Amazon link to support the site. This is a stupid question, but do you need to go to Amazon via that link, pick out your items and then buy them to support the site or is it okay to already have your shopping cart completely, and then use the link to go straight to buying? I've been doing it the 2nd way most of the time, and I wonder if I've helped the site or not.

A couple of hours ago I was considering starting a new thread about just this! Good timing DD, I need to know too!

While I get that Luke focuses primarily on reviews and so he was forced to branch out to non-Disney, I think the topics that are being discussed here indicate the only way this 'branching out' would have worked would be if it had become an animation oriented website.

That idea rocks. But if it were to happen now, I imagine most users interested in animation, having already registered at the "Animated Views" website and forum, would not bother to transfer here.

[PatrickvD]

While I get that Luke focuses primarily on reviews and so he was forced to branch out to non-Disney, I think the topics that are being discussed here indicate the only way this 'branching out' would have worked would be if it had become an animation oriented website.

That idea rocks. But if it were to happen now, I imagine most users interested in animation, having already registered at the "Animated Views" website and forum, would not bother to transfer here.

The Animated Views forum is way deader then this place. I stopped posting there because enthusiasm was an all time low level. I love the main page of AV, but it needs to find a better balance between in depth articles and articles relevant to news on current movies/projects.

And let's face it, UD's finest moments were the articles/reviews on Disney and the interviews with Disney legends.

[Disney Duster]

Thanks Divinity and Wonderlicious. I have to agree that I think the site should have more sections than less sections.

But I don't think this should become an "animation" site. Not all of us here are general animation fans. I'd rather it be known as what it is - a site for all home video releases, but a main focus on Disney. Right?

I mean, I want to say this in the nicest possible way, but I really don't care about a review of ... *checks main page* ... My Lucky Elephant.... (I want to place a non-offensive confused emoticon here, but there isn't one that matches my emotion.

Not this?:

Would Luke join this discussion if we'd invite him here? I don't know how to reach him and I'd be interested to see what his opinion is on the matter.

You can reach him at tsdvd @ yahoo.com (without the spaces of course).

And let's face it, UD's finest moments were the articles/reviews on Disney and the interviews with Disney legends.

I think the forum activity with the amount of people we used to have was UD's finest moments. More powerful than the writing was everyone's response to said writing.

[disneyboy20022]

When I order something on amazon I usually copy this

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... eimprovemz

And then on Amazon I find the ASIN number and I copy it and past it in the appropriate place where in that link it says to insert number here. Use the same method. It's the same way with books, but I just use the ISBN10 number instead.


On the page of Hunchback on Amazon the ASIN Number is located in the product details. Once I enter it, I hit the enter button to let the page load and ta da you got it.

Another place to read how to do it better is this link of Support This Site how to guide in the link below

http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 43&start=0

Luke's email is located at the bottom of the front page of this website. For timing purposes here is the email on the front page.

tsdvd@yahoo.com

[PatrickvD]

I mean, I want to say this in the nicest possible way, but I really don't care about a review of ... *checks main page* ... My Lucky Elephant.... (I want to place a non-offensive confused emoticon here, but there isn't one that matches my emotion.

Not this?:

Almost. lol.

[disneyboy20022]

Would Luke join this discussion if we'd invite him here? I don't know how to reach him and I'd be interested to see what his opinion is on the matter.

You can reach him at tsdvd @ gmail.com (without the spaces of course).

actually it's Yahoo not Gmail

[Disney's Divinity]

I forgot to add that I'm sure there'd probably be several people here who would be open to helping with reviews, though maybe Luke would be against having complete strangers. I know pap64 and Dr. Frankenollie have review sites, and I think there are some others (I wouldn't even mind helping either, but I don't think I could afford buying movies to review them, except a few I'm getting anyway).

When I order something on amazon I usually copy this

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... eimprovemz

And then on Amazon I find the ASIN number and I copy it and past it in the appropriate place where in that link it says to insert number here. Use the same method. It's the same way with books, but I just use the ISBN10 number instead.


On the page of Hunchback on Amazon the ASIN Number is located in the product details. Once I enter it, I hit the enter button to let the page load and ta da you got it.

What do you do with multiple items? I almost always try to get the free shipping.

[PatrickvD]

But I want more than reviews. Personally I would enjoy a weekly column from a forum regular. Or something a bit more substantial than a review. I'm not saying the reviews as they're being done now need to go, they can stay. But I don't think they're a very interesting foundation for a website. There has to be more. And I think the forum is filled with people willing to contribute.

[disneyboy20022]

I forgot to add that I'm sure there'd probably be several people here who would be open to helping with reviews, though maybe Luke would be against having complete strangers. I know pap64 and Dr. Frankenollie have review sites, and I think there are some others (I wouldn't even mind helping either, but I don't think I could afford buying movies to review them, except a few I'm getting anyway).

When I order something on amazon I usually copy this

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... eimprovemz

And then on Amazon I find the ASIN number and I copy it and past it in the appropriate place where in that link it says to insert number here. Use the same method. It's the same way with books, but I just use the ISBN10 number instead.


On the page of Hunchback on Amazon the ASIN Number is located in the product details. Once I enter it, I hit the enter button to let the page load and ta da you got it.

What do you do with multiple items? I almost always try to get the free shipping.

Usually once I add one item to a cart, I do a search for the other item and I use the same step I did for the first item of copying and pasting. Just repeat it.

[disneyboy20022]

Imagine the following statement to this theme music

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DhlPAj38rHc" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Has anyone contacted Luke or is this thread officially fried?

I have contacted Luke but haven't heard back from him.

However I've contacted Luke many times with threads very similar to this thread and do you want to where they are? They are buried in the deep sections of the Off Topic. So many times this type of thread is all talk and no action and it seems this one is too. Luke doesn't come on this forum hardly anymore because he's doing reviews. Someone other than me has to step up and contact and talk with Luke about ideas other than me. If any of you want to try to make a difference, don't let this thread get buried. and most of All thanks Luke for creating this place. Without him none of this would be possible. Show him there's more than me who's backs up talk with the action

tsdvd@yahoo.com is Luke's Email. Make a difference

[Elladorine]

*peeks in*

Just my two cents here . . .

I've long been under the impression that the forum is low on Luke's priorities. I obviously can't speak for him, but I know he has to concentrate on the reviews because this site is how he makes his living. I respect that he runs things how he sees fit and wish him luck in continuing to do what he loves.

However, when forums aren't run properly, they die. I've seen it happen so many times. And I'm not even talking about a lack of modernization in this case, but simple, basic needs like properly functioning searches, working polls, and active moderation. We don't have that here. The broken aspects of the forum software cannot be fixed unless it gets properly updated, and this version of phpBB is so old I'm not even sure if that can happen without losing content (I'm also quite sure it would be costly as it's likely unfeasible without hiring someone).

But I think more than anything, it's a lack of moderation that's killing the forum; some of our longest-standing and most renowned members have chosen to spend their time elsewhere due to things occasionally getting out of hand here. But to fair, the internet has changed in the past 10 years. The atmosphere, the expectations, the people. I think forums in general are dying in the way of the usenet as people move on to self-blogging and social networking sites. And newbies aren't exactly going to flock to a website that looks like it's straight out of 2003 regardless of the content, especially when basic functionality is broken all over the place.

During the whole google fiasco I never heard back from the offers my husband and I had given over helping with the site issues (he has experience with website building, code, and forums), and even his forum registration was never approved. He gave up, especially after I got reprimanded by one of the mods for supposedly being pushy and condescending in my genuine efforts to help (or something like that, my memory is hazy and the post was quickly deleted). And at the time, any concerns some of the members had about losing the community were swallowed up by the possibility of Luke losing his life's work.

It's been a great community and I have a lot of good memories from you guys, but you may have noticed my recent absence. The reason behind that has more to do with being extremely busy in RL than anything else. I'm still all for keeping the community together since we've got some great people, but I fail to understand why anyone would be considered a traitor for wanting to move the community to a new home when the future of this one has felt uncertain for so long (which is the impression I got when Heartless graciously started the temp forum). While this forum used to feel like an integral part of UltimateDisney, it now comes off as a forgotten DVDizzy leftover. The meat and potatoes of the site lie with the reviews and always has, so if you want to keep the site alive you can always find ways to support Luke by promoting the main pages; the forum itself apparently has very little to do with it.

Once again, just my two cents.

[PatrickvD]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Enigmawing! (I miss your illustrations, do you have a blog or something? I'd love to see what you're up to).

Back on topic. I agree that it seems the forum isn't considered a priority at all. And I also feel that it's dying. It's frustrating to hear that your attempts to help weren't accepted.

Personally, I've been warming up to the idea of moving to a forum/website that is in a healthier place. We're a Disney community and I just don't care about 90% of the reviews on the main page. With blu-ray and digital downloads taking over, DVDizzy just seems like a thing of the past. It shocks me to hear that it's Luke's main source of income. If that were true, having a more diverse website with a healthy forum/community to back it up would be in his best interest.

[Elladorine]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Enigmawing! (I miss your illustrations, do you have a blog or something? I'd love to see what you're up to).

Aw, thanks! To be honest I'm not posting much of anything anymore, but I still occasionally update at deviantArt.

Back on topic. I agree that it seems the forum isn't considered a priority at all. And I also feel that it's dying. It's frustrating to hear that your attempts to help weren't accepted.

I think we were all frustrated about something at the time. Nearly everyone was freaked out and scared of losing a good chunk of the lives they'd wrapped into this site, whether it was friendships, memories, or mountains of writing and expression. And Luke had more to lose than anyone else of course, so I can only imagine how he felt to see people asking solely about the forum when the entire site was in danger of going down. Long before the google threat I recall people getting annoyed at the newbies who didn't even realize there was more to this site than just the forum, so sometimes I wonder if there's some amount of bitterness over the attention it gets.

My husband was never a part of this community so maybe an outsider seemed threatening at the time (still seems odd that his registration here was never approved during the whole google scare). Sigh . . . I don't know. What I do know is that when I suggested the website needed updating and posted a sample layout that he had worked on, I got attacked by one member in particular for being supposedly aggressive and judgmental, which wasn't at all helpful at such an uncertain, stressful time. But I digress. It was frustrating to watch all that happening, it was frustrating to feel completely dismissed when I was honestly trying to help, and it's frustrating to see that the state of the forum itself really hasn't changed in the past year and a half.

Personally, I've been warming up to the idea of moving to a forum/website that is in a healthier place. We're a Disney community and I just don't care about 90% of the reviews on the main page. With blu-ray and digital downloads taking over, DVDizzy just seems like a thing of the past. It shocks me to hear that it's Luke's main source of income. If that were true, having a more diverse website with a healthy forum/community to back it up would be in his best interest.

I've always been an animation fan, and Disney's always been at the top of that. When I was new to the internet, I was longing to have actual conversations with people who felt the same way, knowing that there was so much more to Disney and animation than what my RL friends could see. My first major stops were DVDtoons and UD. And as great as the articles can be, I've always been more into the communities themselves because I love the interaction in making friends. I was devastated when DVDtoons went down years ago (it has since been revived as talktoons, but last I knew was still completely dead), which makes UD my longest-lasting online hangout. I've been around since 2003 and would really hate to see this place end up like DVDtoons.

I agree with you in that it would probably be helpful to grow the main site past the reviews. Although I always respected Luke's decision to expand the site beyond Disney into more general DVD reviews, I truly feel it lost its appeal and main demographic by doing so. And perhaps it's too focused on a concept that's becoming increasingly dated and not focused enough at a specific enough audience. But to be fair, I find it hard to think outside the animation box, as it were . . . if we had a bigger variety of articles about animation beyond Blu-ray/DVD reviews I'd be all over it. But something like My Lucky Elephant? Not so much. And my actual purchases are so few and far between; with very rare exception I only buy animated titles, and I pretty much already know what I'm willing to purchase without reading a single review (even if I do enjoy reading them they almost never sway my decisions). I'd love to have access to more information on upcoming theatrical films, behind the scenes content, personal stories and points of view on fans' attachment to the films and characters . . . but I guess that's what I already get out of this forum?

[Sotiris]

I'm glad you're back enigma. We've missed you! I hope you're here to stay!

And I'm not even talking about a lack of modernization in this case, but simple, basic needs like properly functioning searches, working polls, and active moderation.

All the functionality issues that you've listed - including inability to assign new mods - are due to a problem with the forum software. Luke has repeatedly tried to fix it on his own but couldn't. I'm sure if you contacted him at tsdvd@yahoo.com and offered your help he would gladly take it. He seldom visits the forum so he may not see this thread to contact you first. We would highly appreciate it if you did. Perhaps with your husband's help the problem can be solved without losing any content.

[PatrickvD]

Personally, I've been warming up to the idea of moving to a forum/website that is in a healthier place. We're a Disney community and I just don't care about 90% of the reviews on the main page. With blu-ray and digital downloads taking over, DVDizzy just seems like a thing of the past. It shocks me to hear that it's Luke's main source of income. If that were true, having a more diverse website with a healthy forum/community to back it up would be in his best interest.

I've always been an animation fan, and Disney's always been at the top of that. When I was new to the internet, I was longing to have actual conversations with people who felt the same way, knowing that there was so much more to Disney and animation than what my RL friends could see. My first major stops were DVDtoons and UD. And as great as the articles can be, I've always been more into the communities themselves because I love the interaction in making friends. I was devastated when DVDtoons went down years ago (it has since been revived as talktoons, but last I knew was still completely dead), which makes UD my longest-lasting online hangout. I've been around since 2003 and would really hate to see this place end up like DVDtoons.

I agree with you in that it would probably be helpful to grow the main site past the reviews. Although I always respected Luke's decision to expand the site beyond Disney into more general DVD reviews, I truly feel it lost its appeal and main demographic by doing so. And perhaps it's too focused on a concept that's becoming increasingly dated and not focused enough at a specific enough audience. But to be fair, I find it hard to think outside the animation box, as it were . . . if we had a bigger variety of articles about animation beyond Blu-ray/DVD reviews I'd be all over it. But something like My Lucky Elephant? Not so much. And my actual purchases are so few and far between; with very rare exception I only buy animated titles, and I pretty much already know what I'm willing to purchase without reading a single review (even if I do enjoy reading them they almost never sway my decisions). I'd love to have access to more information on upcoming theatrical films, behind the scenes content, personal stories and points of view on fans' attachment to the films and characters . . . but I guess that's what I already get out of this forum?

I don't think I could possibly agree with you more. You hit the nail on its head. I also buy animation dvd's/blu-ray's only these days. And the forum, which is 99% in-depth discussion on animation and disney should be reflected on the main page. The two of them aren't related anymore.

It's quite disheartening to hear the extend to which you went to help, including a new lay-out and all, was shot down.

[Disney's Divinity]

I'm glad you're back enigma. We've missed you! I hope you're here to stay!

And I'm not even talking about a lack of modernization in this case, but simple, basic needs like properly functioning searches, working polls, and active moderation.

All the functionality issues that you've listed - including inability to assign new mods - are due to a problem with the forum software. Luke has repeatedly tried to fix it on his own but couldn't. I'm sure if you contacted him at tsdvd@yahoo.com and offered your help he would gladly take it. He seldom visits the forum so he may not see this thread to contact you first. We would highly appreciate it if you did. Perhaps with your husband's help the problem can be solved without losing any content.

I agree with everything said here, including being glad you've posted again, enigmawing.

I do believe Luke might be more open to help now. I think he had a lot going on back when the Sitepocalypse nearly took place, and I think the last thing on his mind at the time was the forum (made up mostly of new members he didn't know much at all, considering so many old people have left).

@disneyboy: I would PM Luke, but I'm not even sure what to say... Having a member giving him ideas how to run/improve his site would probably come across really arrogant/annoying. I'm not sure he'd want it from a complete stranger, but I could just offer my help if he ever needs anything....? This forum needs a suggestion box.

[Elladorine]

I'm glad you're back enigma. We've missed you! I hope you're here to stay!

I've missed you guys too! I'm sorry I've been away so long. It's been an especially eventful/stressful/busy year for me and I've been horribly preoccupied outside of the Disney realm.

All the functionality issues that you've listed - including inability to assig new mods - are due to a problem with the forum software. Luke has tried to fix it on his own but couldn't. I'm sure if you contacted him at tsdvd@yahoo.com and offered your help he would gladly take it. He seldom visits the forum so he may not see this thread to contact you first. We would highly appreciate it if you did. Perhaps with your husband's help the problem can be solved without losing any content.

I've probably known longer than most that there's been no way to assign new mods due to the issues (I wasn't even sure if it was being openly discussed since it was deemed hush-hush at the time), and I think we've all seen that a lack of proper moderation has been taking its toll here.

I've long been under the impression that none of the broken aspects can resolved without upgrading the software (even though a previous upgrade is apparently what broke some of it) because there is no longer any support for it. I also recall that Luke had hired someone to upgrade the forum, probably in early 2011, but that it somehow fell through. Ages back my husband did say there's a possibility the currently used version is not compatible with Appalachia, and I think I passed that info onto Luke at some point that he should try to reset the theme (not sure if that ever happened or not but as you can see it remains at Appalachia). I'm not sure how familiar Rey is with the latest version since there was some kind of leap with it a few versions back; I'm also not sure how much he'll be able to tell is fixable without looking at the back end of things, but I'll ask him tonight and try to get an opinion (and a green-light) from him before contacting Luke.

I don't think I could possibly agree with you more. You hit the nail on its head. I also buy animation dvd's/blu-ray's only these days. And the forum, which is 99% in-depth discussion on animation and disney should be reflected on the main page. The two of them aren't related anymore.

It's quite disheartening to hear the extend to which you went to help, including a new lay-out and all, was shot down.

That's something I hadn't given much thought to, but you're right; the two aren't related anymore and that's likely distancing potential readers/posters.

I do hope there were never any hurt feelings or bruised egos over the whole sitepocalypse era; everyone was freaked out and I imagine that some of my suggestions were deemed irritatingly superfluous during a time he already felt he was being attacked. And I remember being so afraid that I was going to come off as arrogant or condescending (and to some, I apparently was).

I agree with everything, including being glad you've posted again, enigmawing.

I do believe Luke might be more open to help now. I think he had a lot going on back when the Sitepocalypse nearly took place, and I don't think the last thing on his mind at the time was the forum (made up mostly of new members he didn't know much at all, considering so many old people have left).

Thanks, happy to be here again.

Yeah, that's one of the points I was just trying to make, that he had to have had a lot going on and was subsequently freaked out (and many suggestions probably fell on deaf ears because of it). For what it's worth I've always felt a little out of the loop in my early days here (before rejoining under my current user name) and maybe that's why I've been a little shy about certain things to this day. Maybe now that things have settled a bit he'll be more open to suggestions on how to potentially fix things.

@disneyboy: I would PM Luke ...

P.S. Luke prefers getting emails over PM's, he stressed that a lot back in the old days.

[disneyboy20022]

I actually a while back I offered to review some stuff and he said that he didn't mind do it on his for right now but will keep that in mind.

I sent him an email yesterday (well at 2 am today) so it's probably too early for him to email me yet and all as I posted basically a resume to help him review a couple things once again.

I stayed in contact with Luke a Lot during the Google Hell thing and he actually responded to my emails a lot.

Although I think the reason he didn't take enigmawing's offer to help was because he has no idea what the Google Violation was or what there was to even try to fix. Google wouldn't ever tell him what the hell the violations was for and in fact no one ever told him and it was looking like at one point this site would go under but just as mysteriously as the violation appeared, it vanished. I don't think to this day Luke knows what the heck the it was or why it vanished. So that's why he didn't take enigmawing's offer up at least I'm pretty sure because he didn't know the source of it.