Show Me What You Want.

[rickstef]

Hey All,

After a small break, vacations and the like, Jason and I are back with renewed energy, and seeing that we are approaching the Autumn season, a time for change, we would like to ask you, the members, what else you might want to have here at Papermodelers.com.

New addons, features, kicks in the rear end for forgetting promised features.

Let us know, we have been looking at other features, we know about the reference links suggestion, this is one of my big likes too.

But what else do you want, is there something you have seen on another forum you frequent, that you really wish we had?
Let us know....

Jason and I thrive on information, particularly information to make this forum one of the best.

As the saying goes, "I am from Missouri, Show Me."

Rick

[Johnny]

I really agree about the reference link library.We all have different sites we use for references to our builds,so lets collect them!!

[rowiac]

"I am from Missouri, Show Me."

Rick

Rick,
I thought you were from the Netherlands. :)

A real Parts Bin and/or Reference File area, like we had on the other forum a few software generations ago would be nice. Posting files as attachments into threads isn't as convenient nor as searchable as a separate file area.

Roger

[rlwhitt]

How about the option to post photos in line but have them show full size? I think this is the first vBulletin site I've seen that does the thumbnail thing with them. Is it optional or do you just have to have it one way or the other? I know some like thumbnails, but others may not. The ideal would be for each viewing user to be a able to set their preference one way or the other but I bet that's not possible.

Thanks!

[rickstef]

Roger, Smarty Pants, actually, i am was born here in the States, Kentucky, but my heritage is Dutch, and the parental units are Dutch, which in turn makes me Dutch, in the eyes of the Dutch Government.

We are working on the Parts bin, doing some offline testing(at least Jason is)

Rick, actually the new version of CM does do that in the attachment part of the post, but we can look into that functionality.

Rick

[shrike]

I never thought I'd say this, but I kinda miss some of the front page ads, just as reminders of what vendors are out there.

[rickstef]

I never thought I'd say this, but I kinda miss some of the front page ads, just as reminders of what vendors are out there.

Problem with that here is, that Jason runs The Hobby Factory, and it is a small thing called competition.

Rick

[dansls1]

Problem with that here is, that Jason runs The Hobby Factory, and it is a small thing called competition.

Rick

Perhaps advertising from the publishers who sell models at The Hobby Factory to hawk their new releases and such ;)

[rickstef]

Kinda like the billboards you see around soccer pitches or race tracks?

[rickstef]

Throwing out one of my interests, is RSS, there are times where I don't have the time or energy to spend reading every post, but with RSS i know I can show some of the threads that interest me, I have other RSS feeds on my iGoogle homepage, Racing, Weather, Pro Sports, and the like.

I would like this feature.

Rick

[Jason]

Good Suggestion Rick.

RSS feeds have been enabled. If anyone would like to add the RSS feed, here is some information on enabling them (borrowed from the FAQ).
The feeds are currently provided in two formats, RSS and RSS v2. The differences are as follows:
RSS 0.91 - This feed is based on a standard written by netscape and provides a link and the title of the thread.
http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/external.php?type=rss
RSS 2.0 - This feed contains title, author, date and the contents of the first post of the thread.
http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/external.php?type=rss2To add this to MyYahoo click here (http://e.my.yahoo.com/config/promo_content?.module=ycontent&.url=http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/external.php?type=rss2).
The forums to which this applies can also be limited to specific guest viewable forums by adding another parameter to the URL containing the forumids as follows:
http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/external.php?type=rss2&forumids=123

If you would like the content to be generated for multiple forums you can separate the forumids by commas.

I will look for a simple one click way to add the RSS to your readers, but it might not be till later today.

Jason

[Fozzy The Bear]

We are working on the Parts bin, doing some offline testing(at least Jason is)

WOOHOOO!!! PARTS BIN, PARTS BIN, PARTS BIN!!!! Although can we call it something other than that?? Only becuase that is really part of the old CM. Perhaps "File Area" or "Members Files" or "Model Downloads" or something else??

Will it have a storage capcity to cope with larger model files?? Because attachement size in posts is really nowhere near big enough for complex models.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Jason]

Might have to open a new thread to pick a name for the area. So if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

As to the file sizes, I am hoping to be able to deal with files of all sizes, but it should not be a problem to upload larger files.

Jason

ps. We are also looking to creating an separate article section for model / build reviews. Just so you know.

[rickstef]

WOOHOOO!!! PARTS BIN, PARTS BIN, PARTS BIN!!!! Although can we call it something other than that??
Yes we can, what are your suggestions?

Only becuase that is really part of the old CM. Perhaps "File Area" or "Members Files" or "Model Downloads" or something else?? I agree, something else, preferably catchy

Will it have a storage capcity to cope with larger model files?? Because attachement size in posts is really nowhere near big enough for complex models.
Yes it will, i think, Jason can speak to that better than I can, but yes, there will be none of the limitations that we experienced uploading files as attachments, here and other places.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
You are welcome

Rick

[Jason]

How about the option to post photos in line but have them show full size? I think this is the first vBulletin site I've seen that does the thumbnail thing with them. Is it optional or do you just have to have it one way or the other? I know some like thumbnails, but others may not. The ideal would be for each viewing user to be a able to set their preference one way or the other but I bet that's not possible.

Thanks!

It all depends on how you insert the images. If you upload the pictures the thread will show the thumbnails, but if you link the images from your gallery you pictures will be shown inline. Plus you will have the images in your gallery for all to see.

Jason

[Jason]

Problem with that here is, that Jason runs The Hobby Factory, and it is a small thing called competition.

Competition can be a good thing. When I setup the forum, I wanted to distance the forum from my store since I did not want people to get the wrong idea. I have avoided posting about my store, but have been tossing around the idea of creating a private sub-forum where store owners could post similar to the one for designers, since there are many topics we have in common. Software, taxes, suppliers, etc. As to having ads on the front page at this point I could lean either way, so I might open it up for the membership to decide. As long as the ads did not over power the main page It would help the forum raise money to cover the hosting, software costs and improvements.

Jason

[Phil]

How about, FREE BEER! (oops, forgot I quit! LOL)
Seriously though, as far as the model upload section...how about;
the Kit box, or the kit bag...kit and kaboodle?(LOL)...bag-o-tricks...the toybox...model central...or simply, free downloads!
Don't care what you call it, as long as it is different from the other forums.

P.S. do you guys want me to put my toys there? If I do, I promise to leave them there. But ONLY if you want them, I could care less one way or the other...there are LOTS more coming.

[Golden Bear]

Yeah, free beer would be the bomb!

I understand the whole thumbnails, etc. thing, but for me it is still a big minus for this site that I need to click on pictures - and have them pop up covering the thread/posts - instead of seeing glorious big pictures. I'm willing, I guess, to take that hit so that our friends in China and such can participate over their phone lines. Still, it would be nice to have an option in my personal setup that triggers them all to be big. Oh, I really don't like using ImageShack - I prefer to dump right here.

I would like to be able to unsubscribe to a thread by right clicking (or clicking a button) without going into my personal setup stuff.

I really enjoy not having ads everywhere... although the ads that lead to the notable vendors is useful too.



Carl

[Fozzy The Bear]

Competition can be a good thing. When I setup the forum, I wanted to distance the forum from my store since I did not want people to get the wrong idea.

I wouldn't see it as a problem.... I don't see any reason why you shouldn't advertise your store on here Jason. It's a separate commercial entity. You're entitled to make a living, just like anybody else.


As long as the ads did not over power the main page It would help the forum raise money to cover the hosting, software costs and improvements.

There is absolutely no reason why the site should not have a commercial element, specifically to raise money for the benefit of the site itself. I wouldn't want to see it turn into a commercial endeavor like the other place did. Because that didn't benefit its members. But no reason why the site should not raise funds that benefit everybody.

If the spin off is that your independent store gets promotion, then you very much deserve it for creating this place anyway.


P.S. do you guys want me to put my toys there?

Yes Phil..... I'd love to see your toys there!

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[shrike]

I know about Jason's store, so I was hesitant to mention the ads, and like Carl I wouldn't want them to take over or be intrusive, but given the lack of any print magazines or similar outlets, I was thinking of it more as a service to the hobbyist first.
Most of my life has been spent in obscure pursuits, so when I've found kindred spirits, or places to take my money for goodies I've always seen it as a good thing<G>

[popala]

Kudos to Rick for mentioning RSS and to Jason for enabling it :)

[Jason]

I would like to be able to unsubscribe to a thread by right clicking (or clicking a button) without going into my personal setup stuff.

You can also unsubscribe from a thread which you are reading. I find this feature handy since if I want to unsubscribe, I just click on the link in the email I received, then just click the "unsubscribe from this thread" which is under the "Thread Tools" link. You can also use the "Thread tools" to subscribe to a thread you want to follow. Hear is a picture in case my explanation sucked. :)

Jason

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/images/other/unsubscribe_from_thread.jpg

[rickstef]

in a sheer moment of lucidity, I came up with a name for the downloads section.

Paper Models Exchange, PMX for short

this is similar to the PX, Post Exchange on military bases.

Rick

[Ashrunner]

Regarding the Parts Bin...I would like to suggest a new name for that section when it appears.

How about calling it the Supply Depot?

[cgutzmer]

I like the PMX better myself - Supply Depot is also very good but might not be as obvious. Plus PMX hearkens back to my navy days :)
Chris

[Jason]

While we decide on a name, I have setup the section with the default name. The section is available from the tabs at the top. Now back to work on the model review archive. :)

Jason

[Fozzy The Bear]

While we decide on a name, I have setup the section with the default name. The section is available from the tabs at the top. Now back to work on the model review archive. :)
Jason

Just one question Jason... I assume by the phrase "Warning, Uploading copyright protected material is prohibited" you mean, Uploading Copyight Protected Material that you don't own the copyright to?

For example uploading a model by GPM is prohibited, but Uploading a model that we designed ourselves but on which the person who designs and uploads it reserves their own copyright, is OK ??

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[rickstef]

yes, anything we(you, me, Big Bird) do not have permission to upload or share, can not go up there.

Those designers who want to share a model with us, are encouraged to make use of this feature.

Rick

[Fozzy The Bear]

yes, anything we(you, me, Big Bird) do not have permission to upload or share, can not go up there.

Those designers who want to share a model with us, are encouraged to make use of this feature.

Rick

Great!! The first three Alpha Release sheets for Stourbridge Lion will be going up straight away then :)

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Ashrunner]

How about a calendar function which will allow a person to click on a date and see all the posts made on that day?

[Jason]

How about a calendar function which will allow a person to click on a date and see all the posts made on that day?

I have seen that around, and will add it to the list. Once I come across it you can bet it will be setup. Thanks for asking.

Jason

[Padre]

How about a way that the upload function automatically resizes the photos so we don't have to. I think some of the European forms have that function, or they seem to resize when I upload to them.

[DrBill]

Rick and Jason: Suggest you also include kit info with the picture of the week (publisher, publication number, etc.). It would help if we wanted to try and duplicate that kind of work :-)

[Jason]

Sounds good. I will see what I can do with the next POTWish. :)

Jason