recommend stuff - by din on 00:03 23 Jan 2005
We had the recent thread to recommend books, and I recall at least one from before (one maybe all the wayback on the uB) and I got to thinking about making a little members only recommended list of books and other media.
I have a few decent ideas on how to set everything up. A book, anime, movie, etc would be recommended and maybe reviewed. Other members could then rate and/or comment on it. Each member's own list could be viewed, so if everybody wants to see just the books that Brad recommends they could easily get a list.
Each will go in a very broad category SF, Fantasy, Horror etc. and each item will have a list of standardized sub-genres associated with it. An example would be one of the World of Greyhawk novels would be "fantasy, RPG-based" or something like that.
My original concept was books only, but Brad suggested to me that I should include movies, and I thought from the wide nature of the board i'd include music, comics and RPGs also.
What I thought would set this apart from happenstance searching through amazon is that the listings will be exclusively from posting members here (if you guys are willing). Most retailers put the best-sellers/newest titles up front I plan on putting the best books up front or sort them randomly.
those are my core thoughts for now. Anybody have any suggestions ?
We had the recent thread to recommend books, and I recall at least one from before (one maybe all the wayback on the uB) and I got to thinking about making a little members only recommended list of books and other media.
I have a few decent ideas on how to set everything up. A book, anime, movie, etc would be recommended and maybe reviewed. Other members could then rate and/or comment on it. Each member's own list could be viewed, so if everybody wants to see just the books that Brad recommends they could easily get a list.
Each will go in a very broad category SF, Fantasy, Horror etc. and each item will have a list of standardized sub-genres associated with it. An example would be one of the World of Greyhawk novels would be "fantasy, RPG-based" or something like that.
My original concept was books only, but Brad suggested to me that I should include movies, and I thought from the wide nature of the board i'd include music, comics and RPGs also.
What I thought would set this apart from happenstance searching through amazon is that the listings will be exclusively from posting members here (if you guys are willing). Most retailers put the best-sellers/newest titles up front I plan on putting the best books up front or sort them randomly.
those are my core thoughts for now. Anybody have any suggestions ?
recommend stuff - by Brad on 11:04 23 Jan 2005
So this would be sort of like the comments on Amazon but written by members here at Unified?
So this would be sort of like the comments on Amazon but written by members here at Unified?
recommend stuff - by din on 11:22 23 Jan 2005
Yes, The psuedo threaded reviews at amazon took some tips from BBs anyways, i figure to go around again. The amazon ones are very usefull, but you can usally only find what you already know what your looking for
I was thinking of something where drilling down to a particular type of story would be easy by mixing and matching sub-genres.
And everything in it would be something the community here, or a member here can recommend as being decent, then others can add their two-cents.
Yes, The psuedo threaded reviews at amazon took some tips from BBs anyways, i figure to go around again. The amazon ones are very usefull, but you can usally only find what you already know what your looking for
I was thinking of something where drilling down to a particular type of story would be easy by mixing and matching sub-genres. And everything in it would be something the community here, or a member here can recommend as being decent, then others can add their two-cents.
recommend stuff - by Brad on 11:37 23 Jan 2005
It will be a lot easier for people to find recommendations/comments about books and movies later on that than in a forum. After about 30 days of inactivity a thread on the forum is no longer shown by default. This way a book comment is more findable.
This would be real good for browsing - like when you feel in the mood for a horror book but arn't sure what is good.
Now this would be very cool. I know there are books (and pen and paper RPG's) that Ari and Kainja have recommended long ago, but I don't remember the title or author - only that one of those two recommended a book that sounded neat. To be able to isolate it to one member would be very helpful.
It will be a lot easier for people to find recommendations/comments about books and movies later on that than in a forum. After about 30 days of inactivity a thread on the forum is no longer shown by default. This way a book comment is more findable.
| Quote |
| I was thinking of something where drilling down to a particular type of story would be easy by mixing and matching sub-genres. |
This would be real good for browsing - like when you feel in the mood for a horror book but arn't sure what is good.
| Quote |
| Each member's own list could be viewed, so if everybody wants to see just the books that Brad recommends they could easily get a list. |
Now this would be very cool. I know there are books (and pen and paper RPG's) that Ari and Kainja have recommended long ago, but I don't remember the title or author - only that one of those two recommended a book that sounded neat. To be able to isolate it to one member would be very helpful.
recommend stuff - by NoonChild on 06:14 24 Jan 2005
This sound very good to me. I would certainly contribute my opinions, but I have no practical advise about setting it up.
This sound very good to me. I would certainly contribute my opinions, but I have no practical advise about setting it up.
recommend stuff - by Arislyn on 12:29 24 Jan 2005
That does sound like a great idea! Heck, this is already the place where I turn when I'm looking for reading recommendations. I know the people here are well-read and enjoy many of the same writing styles that I do. I'd love to be able to just "click and go" when it comes time to pick out my next book purchase.
Edit: I am far too distracted to try and write a coherent sentence today...
That does sound like a great idea! Heck, this is already the place where I turn when I'm looking for reading recommendations. I know the people here are well-read and enjoy many of the same writing styles that I do. I'd love to be able to just "click and go" when it comes time to pick out my next book purchase.
Edit: I am far too distracted to try and write a coherent sentence today...
recommend stuff - by Haruchai on 14:17 24 Jan 2005
Sounds good to me, and I'd be willing to contribute.
Sounds good to me, and I'd be willing to contribute.
recommend stuff - by Brad on 14:33 24 Jan 2005
I often find the comments at places like Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Netflix really helpful they often help me decide when I'm sitting on the fence.
This is not to take away from the forums, we will all be able to double post, start a thread about a book and also copy paste that post to this Recommendation thingy. That should make recommendations easier to find after a year.
I often find the comments at places like Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Netflix really helpful they often help me decide when I'm sitting on the fence.
This is not to take away from the forums, we will all be able to double post, start a thread about a book and also copy paste that post to this Recommendation thingy. That should make recommendations easier to find after a year.
recommend stuff - by din on 16:15 24 Jan 2005
That sounds pretty good, I appreciate the positive response one aim is to make the whole process as painless as possible. .. I installed the database and the bare program Sunday and have a page of notes on the programming and information I'll need to start the next step.
Brad brings up an important subject, I do not want to dilute anything going on here or make it more difficult for anybody.
We can double post. I was thinking also to allow linking in the comments. so if there was a thread on unified we can just link right to it from the recommend direcory. or even go so far as linking into the unified search feature for the recommended topics title or something like that. So when recommending The Black Company there would be a link to search Unified for that title.
I should have something worth looking at in a few days.
That sounds pretty good, I appreciate the positive response one aim is to make the whole process as painless as possible. .. I installed the database and the bare program Sunday and have a page of notes on the programming and information I'll need to start the next step.
Brad brings up an important subject, I do not want to dilute anything going on here or make it more difficult for anybody.
We can double post. I was thinking also to allow linking in the comments. so if there was a thread on unified we can just link right to it from the recommend direcory. or even go so far as linking into the unified search feature for the recommended topics title or something like that. So when recommending The Black Company there would be a link to search Unified for that title.
I should have something worth looking at in a few days.
recommend stuff - by holsfisher on 17:34 24 Jan 2005
That sounds really cool, recommendations are much more valuable if you have an idea of who they're coming from, and people who post here all have some kind of linked interests. I find the comments on Amazon useful, but at the same time, I sometimes think it would be easier to decide if the comments are valuable if you knew what else the person has read. Plus, everyone likes to air their opinions, especially about the books/games etc that they love!!
That sounds really cool, recommendations are much more valuable if you have an idea of who they're coming from, and people who post here all have some kind of linked interests. I find the comments on Amazon useful, but at the same time, I sometimes think it would be easier to decide if the comments are valuable if you knew what else the person has read. Plus, everyone likes to air their opinions, especially about the books/games etc that they love!!
recommend stuff - by din on 21:46 30 Jan 2005
I'd like to update everybody. I got the program pushed back a little, we had some family things come up here that ate several days of our time and will do so again this coming week. It is nothing out of hand and everybody here is fine. Except for the fact that Melanie and I developed heart conditions on a very harrowing four hours driving through a small snowstorm.
I'd like to update everybody. I got the program pushed back a little, we had some family things come up here that ate several days of our time and will do so again this coming week. It is nothing out of hand and everybody here is fine. Except for the fact that Melanie and I developed heart conditions on a very harrowing four hours driving through a small snowstorm.
recommend stuff - by din on 22:49 11 Feb 2005
I'm about ready to fire this up. Over the weekend I'll be working on the templates and some of the custom programming to get some of the features I want.
One of them is the automatic keyword search. When i new title is submitted there will be a group of premade checkboxes to tick which will very genericly describe the title.
I lifted a few from the SD interactive fiction site. I'm sticking with 3 main categories of SF, Horror, and Fantasy so these will be in addition to those . "Humor, Poetry, Parody, Angst, Supernatural, Suspense, Mythos, Romance, Sword and Planet, Lost Worlds, Cyberpunk" I also have a longer list of items that MH gave me a while ago when I was trying to find the time to revamp or create a new RPG directory.
I'd like to get as many sub-genre/keyword ideas as possible so if anybody has any suggestions I'll cross index all the different ones that I have here and sort of get an idea.
I'm about ready to fire this up. Over the weekend I'll be working on the templates and some of the custom programming to get some of the features I want.
One of them is the automatic keyword search. When i new title is submitted there will be a group of premade checkboxes to tick which will very genericly describe the title.
I lifted a few from the SD interactive fiction site. I'm sticking with 3 main categories of SF, Horror, and Fantasy so these will be in addition to those . "Humor, Poetry, Parody, Angst, Supernatural, Suspense, Mythos, Romance, Sword and Planet, Lost Worlds, Cyberpunk" I also have a longer list of items that MH gave me a while ago when I was trying to find the time to revamp or create a new RPG directory.
I'd like to get as many sub-genre/keyword ideas as possible so if anybody has any suggestions I'll cross index all the different ones that I have here and sort of get an idea.
recommend stuff - by Brad on 06:12 12 Feb 2005
Will there be a seperate top level category for pen and paper role playing games or will they be integrated into the genres?
Also Dark Fantasy would be a good one.
Will there be a seperate top level category for pen and paper role playing games or will they be integrated into the genres?
Also Dark Fantasy would be a good one.
recommend stuff - by din on 06:44 12 Feb 2005
as it stands now, there won't be. I'll either have a place to designate that in the 'media' slot or in the subgenre list. I don't want to get too bound up in a convoluted category structure until more of the search functionality is in place.
| Quote |
| Will there be a seperate top level category for pen and paper role playing games or will they be integrated into the genres? |
as it stands now, there won't be. I'll either have a place to designate that in the 'media' slot or in the subgenre list. I don't want to get too bound up in a convoluted category structure until more of the search functionality is in place.
recommend stuff - by din on 21:06 08 Mar 2005
I'm about ready to start having things broken and there to be confusion and misunderstanding, so I'm inviting everybody to the recommend stuff thingy.
There are soe minor things I'm going to work on tonight and in the morning. If you want to sign up and give it a whirl you may. There are a few things I havn't written explanations for yet. If your not sure about anything just skip it everything can be updated later.
And, it seems it needs a name. 'recommend stuff thingy' may not be suitable for long term use
Any confusions, delusions or misunderstandings can be posted here and I'll do what I can to smooth the way.
A reminder , if you sign up use the same email addy you have in your profile here to make it easier to approve new memberships. Only unified members with at least 10 posts can join. :P
I'm about ready to start having things broken and there to be confusion and misunderstanding, so I'm inviting everybody to the recommend stuff thingy.
There are soe minor things I'm going to work on tonight and in the morning. If you want to sign up and give it a whirl you may. There are a few things I havn't written explanations for yet. If your not sure about anything just skip it
everything can be updated later.And, it seems it needs a name. 'recommend stuff thingy' may not be suitable for long term use
Any confusions, delusions or misunderstandings can be posted here and I'll do what I can to smooth the way.
A reminder , if you sign up use the same email addy you have in your profile here to make it easier to approve new memberships. Only unified members with at least 10 posts can join. :P
recommend stuff - by Brad on 07:58 09 Mar 2005
Heh, I tried to add a DVD but there are no links to find it in Amazon etc. on the detail page. I probably should have done a book. Will try that aftr breakfast.
I noticed a form for ISBN numbers. Is that only for ISBN's or should ASIN numbers go in there too?
Also I did put in a link to a pre existing discussion on the movie here at Unified but i did not see that appear in the listings?
Heh, I tried to add a DVD but there are no links to find it in Amazon etc. on the detail page. I probably should have done a book. Will try that aftr breakfast.
I noticed a form for ISBN numbers. Is that only for ISBN's or should ASIN numbers go in there too?
Also I did put in a link to a pre existing discussion on the movie here at Unified but i did not see that appear in the listings?
recommend stuff - by Brad on 09:30 09 Mar 2005
Another glitch I see, i searched for ghost but it returns no results even though it says there was one match.
Another glitch I see, i searched for ghost but it returns no results even though it says there was one match.
recommend stuff - by NoonChild on 11:37 09 Mar 2005
This looks like it is gonna be great! Im so impressed with you computer whizz kids!!
This looks like it is gonna be great! Im so impressed with you computer whizz kids!!
recommend stuff - by din on 22:20 09 Mar 2005
Search Results -> I changed the template names for the categories and didn't get to do it for the SERPs .. so it thinks it is showing you something but really doesn't know how.
ISBN and ASIN .. for print media and maybe digital books the ASIN and ISBN will be the same .. If there is an easy ASIN avaiable for a other media (dvd, etc) it can be added there, i guess, but the search feature will be pretty tight hitting the title and media and sometimes the ASIN is a pain to get, and won't really matter to non-amazon links. I don't want us all to be running to amazon everytime we want to write up something.
Thanks NC ! The base script that runs the thing is very versitile and feature rich, it is often more difficult to decide what I don't want it to do than figuring how I want it to do things. If that makes sense. I've been using it for years, following the new script upgrade paths through all sorts of changes. I'm handy at solving problems with it. I did some custom programming in there. There are some features that I'm still half puzzling at and I'm always open to discussing new ones.
| Quote (Brad @ Mar. 09 2005,06:30) |
| Another glitch I see, i searched for ghost but it returns no results even though it says there was one match. -- I noticed a form for ISBN numbers. Is that only for ISBN's or should ASIN numbers go in there too? Also I did put in a link to a pre existing discussion on the movie here at Unified but i did not see that appear in the listings? |
Search Results -> I changed the template names for the categories and didn't get to do it for the SERPs .. so it thinks it is showing you something but really doesn't know how.
ISBN and ASIN .. for print media and maybe digital books the ASIN and ISBN will be the same .. If there is an easy ASIN avaiable for a other media (dvd, etc) it can be added there, i guess, but the search feature will be pretty tight hitting the title and media and sometimes the ASIN is a pain to get, and won't really matter to non-amazon links. I don't want us all to be running to amazon everytime we want to write up something.
Thanks NC ! The base script that runs the thing is very versitile and feature rich, it is often more difficult to decide what I don't want it to do than figuring how I want it to do things. If that makes sense. I've been using it for years, following the new script upgrade paths through all sorts of changes. I'm handy at solving problems with it. I did some custom programming in there. There are some features that I'm still half puzzling at and I'm always open to discussing new ones.
recommend stuff - by Brad on 14:29 10 Mar 2005
din I really like this. I think it is a winner.
I'd like to point out to everyone that Reviews don't stop just with the first listing. You can see were each listing has a link to "Reviews". So it is a bit like Amazon, other people can write followon comments or reviews fro each book or DVD. Example
I really like that aspect and that it is tied to Unified members. So, for example, as Ari recommends a book or RPG I can come along later and add my own review about it.
din I really like this. I think it is a winner.
I'd like to point out to everyone that Reviews don't stop just with the first listing. You can see were each listing has a link to "Reviews". So it is a bit like Amazon, other people can write followon comments or reviews fro each book or DVD. Example
I really like that aspect and that it is tied to Unified members. So, for example, as Ari recommends a book or RPG I can come along later and add my own review about it.
recommend stuff - by din on 15:22 10 Mar 2005
This is a good feature, but backed by Unified it gets bumped up a bit, the review/comments at the recommend script can't really hold a threaded discussion. So I'll advise to keep those comments strictly on the product and not on previous reviews and the original posting, if the previous reviews missed something be all means at it in, but it is not a discussion thread. that is what we'll do here.
| Quote |
| I'd like to point out to everyone that Reviews don't stop just with the first listing. You can see were each listing has a link to "Reviews". So it is a bit like Amazon, other people can write followon comments or reviews fro each book or DVD. |
This is a good feature, but backed by Unified it gets bumped up a bit, the review/comments at the recommend script can't really hold a threaded discussion. So I'll advise to keep those comments strictly on the product and not on previous reviews and the original posting, if the previous reviews missed something be all means at it in, but it is not a discussion thread. that is what we'll do here.
recommend stuff - by din on 09:53 14 Mar 2005
I have a few updates..
I added in the member information 'media_bio' which is intended for the member to talk about what sort of things they like to watch/read. It will help the random surfer key into a member with similar tastes.
Added amazon UK to the 'details' page links, clicking on the product link in the directory goes to a 'details' page which has more information. (even more once I get the formatting rearranged). Also added DVD to the purchase links. there will be more, I had to spend some time on that program to make it easier to update.
http://www.fantasyherald.com/mend/
I have a few updates..
I added in the member information 'media_bio' which is intended for the member to talk about what sort of things they like to watch/read. It will help the random surfer key into a member with similar tastes.
Added amazon UK to the 'details' page links, clicking on the product link in the directory goes to a 'details' page which has more information. (even more once I get the formatting rearranged). Also added DVD to the purchase links. there will be more, I had to spend some time on that program to make it easier to update.
http://www.fantasyherald.com/mend/
recommend stuff - by Brad on 09:44 15 Mar 2005
I've started adding some books and movies. I think din would like to have a couple of dozen listed before official launch, so if you have just finished up a good book or movie perhaps you would register and post one or two?
That way you can ask questions if something is not clear and we can pester din. *evil laughter*
I've started adding some books and movies. I think din would like to have a couple of dozen listed before official launch, so if you have just finished up a good book or movie perhaps you would register and post one or two?
That way you can ask questions if something is not clear and we can pester din. *evil laughter*
recommend stuff - by NoonChild on 11:20 17 Mar 2005
I registered for this and got my confirmation email and even wrote a review/link thingy. Now (Thursday 17th) it tells me I am not allowed to view any parts of the site!! How odd...what is going on?
I registered for this and got my confirmation email and even wrote a review/link thingy. Now (Thursday 17th) it tells me I am not allowed to view any parts of the site!! How odd...what is going on?
recommend stuff - by din on 15:28 17 Mar 2005
oops
if you say 'oops', it proves it is an accident.
I got your review submission .. and i had thought that i had set the members to be able to have their submission go through without my having to review them .. so I went back through to reset the permissions and I suppose the specifics of the member usergroup got reset. It seems somebody /maybe/ myself accidentally deleted the name 'member' from the usergroup setting so all the usergroup settings for the 'member' usergroup got scratched .. everything is reset to what it should be now.. sorry for the trouble and thanks for letting me know !
oops
if you say 'oops', it proves it is an accident.
I got your review submission .. and i had thought that i had set the members to be able to have their submission go through without my having to review them .. so I went back through to reset the permissions and I suppose the specifics of the member usergroup got reset. It seems somebody /maybe/ myself accidentally deleted the name 'member' from the usergroup setting so all the usergroup settings for the 'member' usergroup got scratched .. everything is reset to what it should be now.. sorry for the trouble and thanks for letting me know !
recommend stuff - by NoonChild on 07:01 18 Mar 2005
Do I need to re-register? 'cos its still telling me the same thing and reverting me back to the log in page.
Do I need to re-register? 'cos its still telling me the same thing and reverting me back to the log in page.
recommend stuff - by din on 07:15 18 Mar 2005
no your information is still there .. Something odd is going on; which we will call 'The Curse of NoonChild' .. the member usergroup keeps wonking out. It still has your membership info but doesn't know what your allowed to do. I'll have something up for you soon. It will be affecting all members.
--
I have it fixed again. I fixed it a little /more/ this time so hopefully it will stick .. I have 4 other directories with this same software and never had this problem before.
no your information is still there .. Something odd is going on; which we will call 'The Curse of NoonChild' .. the member usergroup keeps wonking out. It still has your membership info but doesn't know what your allowed to do. I'll have something up for you soon. It will be affecting all members.
--
I have it fixed again. I fixed it a little /more/ this time so hopefully it will stick .. I have 4 other directories with this same software and never had this problem before.
recommend stuff - by NoonChild on 09:50 18 Mar 2005
Sorry...technology doesn't like me. It's genetic. My dad has the same problem. He is a Uni Lecturer and used to use the comp rooms there to catch up on email and stuff, but before long his screen would start to flick to the screen saver picture for longer and longer amounts of time. Then when his screen was completely frozen the computer next to him would start doing the same. Cue my dad trying casually to leave the room before anyone noticed.
Sorry...technology doesn't like me. It's genetic. My dad has the same problem. He is a Uni Lecturer and used to use the comp rooms there to catch up on email and stuff, but before long his screen would start to flick to the screen saver picture for longer and longer amounts of time. Then when his screen was completely frozen the computer next to him would start doing the same. Cue my dad trying casually to leave the room before anyone noticed.
recommend stuff - by NoonChild on 11:05 22 Mar 2005
So far I have only used the link on page 2 of this thread to reach this database. Is there going to be an official link from this page when it is all set up?
So far I have only used the link on page 2 of this thread to reach this database. Is there going to be an official link from this page when it is all set up?
recommend stuff - by Brad on 13:38 22 Mar 2005
Eventually they will be fully linked back and forth. Right now is sort of a testing phase. din ads some features and then we test them and make sure they are not too buggy.
Eventually they will be fully linked back and forth. Right now is sort of a testing phase. din ads some features and then we test them and make sure they are not too buggy.
recommend stuff - by din on 14:40 22 Mar 2005
'the plan' is that i'll be helping set up the new forums script for the next couple of days .. after we move there the I'm going to try and intergrate the two programs, moving the recommend to SD. it will be the same programs and use the same database (I'll migrate what we recommend there in the interim) except that it will share the member database with the new forums (in theory) so there won't be any need to sign up for both. I can still fix and take suggestions on recommend and I'm really excited about fleshing it out.
'the plan' is that i'll be helping set up the new forums script for the next couple of days .. after we move there the I'm going to try and intergrate the two programs, moving the recommend to SD. it will be the same programs and use the same database (I'll migrate what we recommend there in the interim) except that it will share the member database with the new forums (in theory) so there won't be any need to sign up for both. I can still fix and take suggestions on recommend and I'm really excited about fleshing it out.