Working List

[Solistia]

I don't want to sound like a jerk...but I see all these ideas people have in this forum, yet the only ones I've seen Silv comment back on and/or implement fairly immediately have been Quinsta based suggestions. Without any notice from her it appears like she's either disregarding the ideas or ignoring them. I know I'm not the only user who feels this way.

What I suggest in order for users to NOT feel this way is an Admin Working List, or To Do list. This will show us what Silv is working on, what she wants to work on, and possibly how far along she is. I know coding isn't done overnight, so it's nice to have a little insight on what's being worked, since we are usually only notified after the feature has been complete.

Working on AAA, each artist having a To Do List has been very helpful to keep our users informed of what we're working on or planning to work on, particularly very background elements that users don't normally see. So this is something I'd really love to see from Silv.

It doesn't matter much to me if a feature takes forever to implement. Just knowing Silv is thinking about Secundi is enough for me.

[BabyKittenCandy]

Im sure its not that Silv is ignoring the idea's but rather that, while she is the only admin still active it makes it hard to make all the decisions for the absent members. She will implement Quin features since its her shop and she can.

What we really need is for either some of the other admin to come back or to contact and say they no longer have time and to step down so new ones can be appointed.

[Wildfilly94]

I agree on new people being appointed for those who've been gone for so long

[Silvanon]

Um, well, since you're asking for what's going on, here it is:

It's true that I haven't been doing much at all for Secundi the past many months.  We had a move, followed by a long and involved several months of me putting together the database that Conrad needed for his dissertation.  I didn't have time for Secundi or Quinsta during those many months.  When I got done with the dataset, there was a new problem - funding from the university had run out, and Conrad was still too busy working on his degree to leave time for a job.  I looked into getting a job myself, but the cost of child care would eat up practically everything I'd be able to earn, regardless of how many hours I worked.  So I threw myself into the one thing I knew I might be able to actually make a few dollars on - Quinsta.  Secundi is small with limit people able to spend money, so I did what I could to expand Quinsta elsewhere, PI and facebook.  With everything I could do we still didn't quite make it and ended up having to beg money from family.  That was a really hard and shaming position to be in, and that I tried my absolute best to avoid.  But hey, I did do my best and we came really close!

Now with the new semester we happily received a bit more funding from school.  I still need to be bringing in some income, but things aren't as tight, and I'm finally able to start thinking about Secundi proper again. 

Earlier this week was the first time I'd had a chance to really look at the things that have been suggested here over the past few months.  The inbreeding display seemed to be something a lot of people were currently wanting, and I thought it was certainly do-able since PI had figured out how to do it, so I went off to research if ~I~ could figure out how to do it.  It turned out I did figure out how to do it, but the how was so complicated that I knew if I didn't dig in and do it right then, I'd forget and have to do the research all over again.  So that one ended up getting done right away, without much time for me to comment that it was actually in production.

Since you're asking for it, I'll go through the rest right now and write up commentary on how do-able I think they are.  Keep in mind these are going to be first-impression reactions without any research behind them, and it usually does take me some research before I know if I can do something or not.  So - back with reactions soon!

[Silvanon]

Here's a master list of responses:

New Idea for Agency Pets  http://www.secundi.net/forum.php?topic=7105.0
-Agencies create and manage their own seperate accounts owners can send unwanted pets to.
+I created one for my own agency, Quinsta, and have offered automation to the other site agencies, who may take me up on it if they wish

===========================================

A lot of ideas from my head. http://www.secundi.net/forum.php?topic=7116.0
- Inventory divided by Agency
+ I can do that, and it shouldn't take too long.  I'll try to get this one done this month.

- Feeding/Vetting/Health
+ Being forced to feed/whatever every so often or the pet/plant/whatever dies is a pet peeve of mine, so I'm not up for implimenting a forced feeding thing.  I would consider have an optional feeding/whatever option that earns you SG, though.  I'd like more discussion on whether people would want that before doing it.

- View siblings?
+ This is certainly possible, but I wouldn't want to put it on an often-used page like the pedigree proper.  I'll make it it's own page and link it up.  I can do this one by the end of the month.

- Basic interactions
+ This is very possible, but it's very time consuming to come up with lots of things for pets to say, and it takes ~lots~ or else things start feeling repetitive and boring very quickly.


- Taking pets on an adventure with you
+ This is possible, I'm not sure right now how much coding it would take to impliment, I need to go back and look closely at the current adventure code.


- More adventure events
+ Definiately possible, has the same problem as the Basic interactions suggestion in that it'd take a fair bit of time to come up with all the various happenings.

- More adventure places
+ I totally agree this one really needs to happen.  I even have a few places that someone did up for me.  I don't remember who and I need to go back through the dark recesses of my PM box to find them.  I'd be totally up for more volunteers to do more places, too.  Creating the artwork itself is the biggest time-consumer on this one.

- Clickable adventure images?
+ Um, I guess we could.  Do people really want this?  It'd take a fair bit of time to code up, so it's not something I'd want to do if people aren't very gung-ho about it.

- More games!
+ Yeah, we do need more games and that's one of the things that's always in the back of my mind that I need to do.  Games take a LOT of coding, though, and ones like "Question of the Day" and "Crosswords" also need ongoing maintenence to keep fun.  It's always a challenge, too, to figure out games that I really can do in PHP, which doesn't update real-time like Javascript and Flash.  Minesweeper sounds fun to me, and maybe possible, but I'm going to have to really put my brain to the question of how I'd code it.  Random chance games are much simpler, I could probably have another of those done up by the end of the month.

==================================================

Inactive Agencies http://www.secundi.net/forum.php?topic=7119.0
- Mark agencies as "inactive" if they're inactive, optionally remove them from lists.
+ Sounds like a good suggestion.  Some parts of it are more difficult than others.  I can have inactive agencies marked as such and in their own section on the master agency list by the end of the month.  Letting people choose whether to show inactive agencies in their own lists is a lot more involved.  I think it's a good suggestion, but I might not get it done this month.

===================================================


... I think everything else is a lot older and/or pretty much been responded to already, however please feel free to point me towards anything I missed.

[Solistia]

Thank you so much Silv. I know it means a lot not only to me but the community to see where you are and how things are going, as well as your opinion on our suggestions. It is very nice to see you thinking about Secundi as a whole :3

I know admins do a lot behind the scenes that users don't really know about (whether it's backend stuff or even just home life), just don't forget to let us know that you're thinking about us! <3 (we can get lonely without our sole admin ;u; )

And speaking of admins, I agree with BKC and Wildfilly that it may be time to consider new admins for a helping hand around the site. It's hard being responsible for every little thing, and having admins can help you focus on jobs that you prefer to do, or jobs only you do <3

[Pinkshadow]

I agree with it being time to appoint new admins since i think it could take some of your workload off Silv

And maybe have more time to other stuff

[Silvanon]

Ironically choosing new admins is one of those things I really wish I had other admins around to help me with.  ^^

Ok, so, new admins.  In the past, the other admins did the following:

- Moderated the forums
- Answered questions about Secundi rules
- Dealt with rule breaking
- Came up with ideas for expanding Secundi
- Offered opinions on new site agencies, expansion suggestions, rule changes, punishments for rule breaking, etc.

I guess I should probably take applications for the job.  Should I allow the public to vote on candidates?  Or alternatively let people give me private feedback on candidates?  Or not involve the public and go over applications and choose people by myself?

[Pinkshadow]

I think you should do it privately, as i would feel you are the most objective person to judge it

[PonyMama]

You can always for the first one, open applications, then have people send in opinions privately to you, as long as you don't say who you are leaning towards

- this may increase or decrease opinions on them being suitable for the job, since you may not see everything

then if you feel you need more admins/mods you will have a team to help you choose

[Elenaria]

You may want to think about adding an additional coder to that list Silv. I don't know if there are many in the community but it is possible you have someone else who is decent with coding and can impliment some of this stuff without you having to do it all.

[Silvanon]

*nods*  That's true, I'm not sure who has a hidden talent for PHP in the community (or perhaps a good knowledge of Flash and how to connect it in to a database?) but if someone does, and wants to help out, please contact me!

[Wildfilly94]

I think open applications would be great! Voting publicly could turn into a popularity contest (Or rather, thats how it happened in high school.. Lol) So I say it should be all up to you on who becomes admin.

Another thing, mabye have them write a section in the app about which section of secundi modding they'd like to do. Doesn't have to be the one they DO, but to let them let you know their strengths would be nice for them, as well as you.

Eta: I've worked in PHP before.. but all I did was buttons that change colors and show text when you click somewhere.. That stuff.
I have worked in Flash as well, but again, not TOO experienced (Made animations. Which I might add is SO much easier in photoshop, depending on the purpose. D| )

[Solistia]

I too only know very simple PHP, but I have a book (PHP and MySQL for Dummies) that sits next to my computer mocking me for not reading it yet >> Perhaps one day in the future I can contribute |D
At the very least i know my way around SMF coding with direction. I've had to do a few manual mod installs on my own forum.

I know money isn't really an option, but if you check out virtualpetlist.com you may find someone willing to help code for the site if they're interested (after posting up code pricing inquires on two separate occasions, I got two free coding jobs from people who wanted to try out their skills |Db )

[Midnight Phantom]

I agree with wildfilly, a public voting would just end in how many people one person can convince to vote for them.
Ironically, if you are still in touch with at least one of the old admins(who just doesn't want to play anymore, etc.) you could ask them to help you decide. Or just a random person not part of secundai, at least it will be a more impartial decision.

[Lectral]

I am still here, and have been smacking spammers when I get to them first.  Unfortunately, I have 0 coding skills, so I can't help out there.  I have finally gotten adjusted to my work schedule vs my fun time on the comp, so I have been able to get on here more often.  I am still willing to help out when and where I can, including helping choose new admins, if Silv wants help with that.

[SkySong]

I agree with Wild. Public voting is too easily a popularity contest, and it should NOT be the direct result of who gets to be an admin. However, I can agree with running a public voting to see who people would appreciate, then taking that into consideration before you make your final decision. But this is your site, and I think you've done a fantastic job so far despite everything in rl that pops up, and will be happy with any of your decisions.

[Silvanon]

It's been nice seeing you around again, Lectral, and I'd love your input on admin applications. 

Edit:  I've been thinking over the inactive agencies suggestion - what if instead of making it optional for people not to have them in drop-down lists, there are simply two drop-down lists on every page that currently has an agency drop-down list - the first drop-down is for active agencies, and the second is for inactive agencies?   I think that'd be a lot easier coding-wise, but would that make you guys happy?

[Wildfilly94]

I think that would work great, silv. ^^

[Kadana Sorano]

Regarding the agency drop downs, that would be fine

Regarding the applications, me personally, I don;t cre about who becomes a mod.  Not in the "I could care less" sort of way, but more in an "as long as they aren't power mad and remain friendly and such, then it doesn;t bother me one way or another who gets the job done" sort of way. 

Not sure if I'm clear there or confusing, appologies, I'm pushing 24 hours without slepe now..

I do however think it is very important for you and Lectral and any other original mods/admin who are still lurking around, to pick new staff and such that you all feel comfortable working with and friendly toward.  The reason I put this out there is that I have been through (several times) a change and/or addition to staff/mods/admin on other sites and forums I was a long time member of, and the new staff didn't "fit" so well with the old staff, and it caused a heck of a lot of problems and angst all the way around. 

Now, Secundi is a laid back friendly community, for the most part we are all polite, friendly, and respect each other.  In a lot of ways, I feel like Secundians are a part of my real family.  So I don't really expect there to be any problems.  But because I am a naturally born pessimist, and because I do feel such feeling about Secundi and her people, I can;t help but worry about the possibility, however small.

So that is my only thought/imput on the matter.  It is my only "concern" as it were.  Please make sure that you (the old staff still present) are comfortble with any potentual new staff.  It would break my heart to see Secundi fall apart on us all.

[Goddesss]

I dont really know how helpful I could be with programming but I am in my second semester after starting my programming major.  I am currently taking MySql, PHP, Java, and beginning web design ( Its really just HTML and CSS so I finished all of the semester work in the first week lol).

Though I dont usually talk much anymore I do quietly stalk the forums and appreciate all the work you put in.

[BabyKittenCandy]

You know my coding abilities Silv and while they arent fab I would love to have a reason to practice them and become better.