Hey guys,
Good
thread - thanks AI for posting the question. Yes, I've been moving several boards in the last few days in a rationalisation programme. The idea is that usability needed improving; some usergroups were disadvantaged (especially new members and visitors); and there were logic issues as some boards needed relocating to discrete sections for clarity.
All this was simply caused by the rapid expansion of the site, although explosion might be a better term. So we'll keep tuning and tweaking until things look smooth, then we can start on the other big plans!
Forum layout is my responsibility so I need to explain the Supplier forums ordering.
Firstly, this is a hot topic - meaning that whatever you decide, there will always be a bunch of people who complain (often bitterly). There is no single way to set the ordering that will please everyone; whatever we do, there will be a group of users who will complain. No doubt their complaints are justified but I just need to point out there is no way to make everyone happy.
The factors are:
- The top positions are definitely of better commercial value.
- Our 'oldest' suppliers (who are also our longest-serving supporters) should have some advantage over newcomers.
- Usability for members means that alphabetical ordering is best, or at least that the order should stay the same once set.
And here are the issues with any given ordering method:
1. Alphabetical order
This seems a logical method. It has the benefit of best usability for members. However the negatives are that a newly-promoted supplier can jump right to the top of the tree, if they have an A or even better a number as the initial character in their name. It also gives a benefit to businesses that set up or even change their trading name to ridiculously false versions like AceAardvark-Ecigs, A1smokes or 123eliquids. This starts off a silly name competition, and then acceptable business names such as Wichita
eliquid or ZiMoshi are penalised. This is simply not acceptable and unfortunately the negatives outweigh the benefit.
2. Random order, rotated monthly
This is a relatively fair system, but has overwhelming usability negatives for members. If the order is changed monthly, members would be permanently confused.
3. In order of seniority
This has the benefit of commercial advantage for senior suppliers. New suppliers come in at the bottom and gradually move up. The ordering is set, and once you are familiar with it, should not be too difficult to handle. It avoids the silly name contest and the possibility that newcomers who choose a 'yellow pages' business name can shoot right to the top.
So on balance our choice is that the ordering stays as it is, with the longest-serving suppliers at the top. I should also point out that this assists customers because if you want to know who has been around the longest, and therefore might be a reliable bet for your custom, then the top of the list suppliers could be a safer choice - if you think that way. It's just a possibility that may help you decide. Of course, newer suppliers might try harder to please you, or have new ideas / new products. The decision is yours, at least we have given you the choice. With alphabetic or random positions, you wouldn't know who has been in business the longest.
Another factor that may influence me, and also has an impact for you, is that one of my jobs is to balance the supplier-member equation successfully. This is a complex juggling act and again has the potential to create complaints from just about everyone. In essence, there are two groups of site users: the members and the suppliers. Our duty is mainly to the members but the suppliers provide a valuable service, which is one of the reasons members come here. Also of course, the suppliers pay for the running of the site. This is an important factor as running costs are not peanuts, due to the high traffic, the dedicated server / bandwidth / load-balancing costs, the tech staff we need to employ, and the sheer number of hours work it takes to run a site like this, which is very complex.
In other words we try to please everyone. Each group pushes the boundaries whenever they can, and puts more pressure on us. The suppliers are coming under more pressure financially as prices drop and more competitors come into the market. Consequently they sometimes misbehave here, in order to get one up on the competition. The commercial spam and 'misbehaviour' levels here are rising all the time. We have various ways to handle this and try to protect the community. Miscreants get an ascending level of punishments for their offences. One of the punishments available to us is to move the supplier's forum down to the bottom of the list.
We need all the measures possible, as the pressure on suppliers increases and therefore the pressure they put on us. Some cannot see sense and need a firm hand to control them. Like any group taken at random from the population, the majority are sensible people but some will resort to shortcuts, and one or two have 'personal issues'. This is simply a normal state of affairs, it is unrealistic to expect a smooth road. But you should see the issues we get with some of the members...
We will be introducing new areas on the site, with new material and completely different content that should prove very popular with members. To keep the balance, we'll have new facilities for suppliers as well.
I hope that's given you an insight into the general picture.
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Note: how to find a known Supplier fast
If you know the name of the Supplier, or a good portion of the name, you can actually find it faster than by scrolling down through an alphabetical list. Here's how:
www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/forum-how-tos/56188-how-find-suppliers-forum.html
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TV -- Has gotten to be a monstrosity, hasn't it?
Right on. The site has just exploded and for a time it may have exceeded the capability of admin staff to manage it smoothly. That time is over and we are moving ahead now. Look at the scale of it: the largest ecigarette site in the world; 180,000 pages; 1.5 million posts / items in the sitemap; hundreds of individual forums; dozens of different usergroups or micro-communities; the central global point for PV regulation issues and news; about 500 suppliers registered here, and that number could easily multiply by ten in the next couple of years unless we decide to cap it; 80 suppliers' dedicated forums, with a long waiting list; intense spam attacks from suppliers who have been rejected in order to protect the community; and the list goes on. So TV you are right - it's a big beast, and the challenge is to run it smoothly.
Beckah -- I would like to see the suppliers categorized by shipping location so we could estimate how long it will take to get the merchandise.
Beckah you are dead right there. This is one of the first things I noticed when I started here, and to be honest I never got around to fixing a solution. Thinking about this again now, what we need is a page of Registered Suppliers with their location /shipping areas. This should fix it - what do you think?
Chris
ECF Site Manager
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