Forum suggestions

[codestation]

I am seeing lately some posts in offtopic with suggestions to the forums, since offtopic isn't a good place to put these (because is a high traffic subforum, and a lot of these threads are pushed to the back pages and forgotten) i suggested to the rest of the mods to open a feedback subforum where users can show their concerns and suggestions about /talk. Since we don't know when/if this gonna be implemented then i suggest that an user could open or recycle one of these suggestion threads and maintain the current list of suggestions and status, and have a place to discuss about those without fear that their opinions can be lost in this sea of offtopicness (i will sticky the topic if is good enough).

Current suggestions:

• Tapatalk integration: Forum plugin to access the forums on mobile devices with the use of an app instead of a browser (Android, iPhone, Blackberry).
  - Pro: Ease of usage for those who access /talk from mobile devices.
  - Aganist: /talk has already a mobile version (need confirmation on this).
  - Implementation problems: -
  - Adittional information: http://tapatalk.com/
  - Discussion topic: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10237
  - Status: on discussion with admin
• Add to Edit Post a "reason for" box: Only available for mods, suggested to be available for normal users.
  - Pro: Gives more importance to give a reason for editing the post, doesn't get caught in forum quotes.
  - Aganist: just use "EDIT: I edited this post for blablabla..." and some bbcode to make it pretty.
  - Implementation problems: An user could overwrite the edit reason that a mod put it in their post, breaking mod notices. (seems like they can do it anyway by just editing their post).
  - Discussion topic: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10248
  - Status: -
• Gravatar support: Ability to optionally fetch the avatar directly from gravatar.com,
  -Pro: The user can sync their avatar with other services in a centralized place.
  - Aganist: -
  - Implementation problems: -
  - Workaround: useyour gravatar url and append "?s=100&foo=bar.png" to it, so you can use it in this forum. (Now Distract-o-matic compatible)
  - Status: -
• Fix image ( [ img] tag ) resizing: If a user view a posted image (or if the user is using a small resolution), the image gets cut at the right so one can't see the complete image and is forced to open it in a new window.
  - Pro: Does fix the image layout problems.
  - Aganist: -
  - Implementation problems: -
  - Adittional information: One plugin that seems to do the job: http://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/reimg_image_resizer/
  - Status: -
• Chatroom: IRC/Jabber/etc channel where users from /talk (not limited) can chat with each other in real time (dunno about a better description).
  - Pro: -
  - Aganist: Just use #pspcommunity@freenode
  - Implementation problems: Since this doesn't belong directly to the forums, there is a possible lack of interest/manpower/time of the mod team to moderate another place in addition to the forums.
  - Adittional information: An alternative has been offered (#pspcommunity@freenode) but users seems to complain that isn't friendly enough and/or have "lactose intolerant" problems
  - Discussion topic: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1390
  - Status: on discussion
• Avoid double posting: If the user tries to make a post after their previous post, it could be merged with their previous post or deny the post until X days has been passed (in the last case the user is forced to edit their last post).
  - Pro: prevents unnecessary topic bumps and some posting flood.
  - Aganist: -
  - Adittional information: looking for good implementations.
  - Status: -
• User Introduction Subforum: An Off-Topic Sub-Forum dedicated for users to introduce themselves to the /talk community.
  - Pro: Organizes introductions in one place, encourages userbase interaction, not lost amongst the varied Off-Topic Topics
  - Against: Can post in Off-Topic as usual
  - Additional Information: Sticky in Off-Topic created as alternative to full Sub-Forum (found here)
  - Discussion Thread: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=10755
  - Status: -
• Maximum User Avatar size Increase to 120 or 150 px: Explains itself. (Try the workaround alternative: Distract-o-matic)
  

  Spoiler

  - Pro: More variety in images choice, less image concept loss from downscaling, /talk no longer hosts images locally
  - Against: Less topic space for users on low resolutions, handheld devices may have more trouble using the site,
  - Additional Information:
  - Discussion Thread:
  - Status: - Denied

Approved suggestions:

Implemented suggestions:

Denied suggestions:
-Maximum User Avatar size Increase to 120 or 150 px

Note: I am still not sure if i should move the relevant posts from those suggestions to this topic ad/or make it possible for users to post. For now i will leave it as a tracker. I will discuss this with the rest of the mod team.

Note: these points are mere suggestions and nothing else. The admin is the only who can decide at the end is these are going to be implemented or discarded. Even if any suggestion is given a OK, that doesn't mean that is gonna be implemented right away or soon since there is no deadline.