The Lifestream & 2015

[Starling]

With the recent discussion I had with Mayo Master about the way mako reactors work and how that could lead to pollution in Midgar, I've been thinking a lot about how mako, materia and such function in the setting. I could probably whip up something more cohesive regarding various related aspects and then others can add to it from there. It really would be an opportunity for more community interaction in the process of creating more site content.

 

[Lex]

This is all great, if people want to contribute I like the idea of creating a thread with your personal contributions/ analysis on whatever you (universal you) fancy writing about before we talk about adding it to the site itself.

And Claymore - I know you've mentioned to me before about the way the content is laid out on the site, so please don't think I'm brushing over that. I know how badly it needs to be revamped. It might be helpful if you or someone else with ideas could map it out in some sort of graphic to show what you think is the best way to have the content laid out. And at this stage, I mean without changing the layout of the front site. I can add or change anything in the drop down menus but I'm not adding a sidebar when we're also still going to change the front page at some point. But I also don't want you or anyone else to feel gated behind a redesign either, so if you've got ideas, fire away.

 

[Starling]

Changing the way things are laid out in the drop-down menus is probably the best way to improve accessibility without changing the front page. When I look for FF related stuff on the site, I find navigating the forums easiest, though I've browsed the site's articles and other stuff every now and then.

When you say there should be a thread for personal contributions, do you mean one big thread to discuss things each person wants to contribute or everyone getting an individual thread to post their ideas in? I think some threads that have been made somewhat fit that description already, when I think about it. If we're going to post individual threads like that, we'll need to make sure they're all in the same section.

 

[Elessar]

TBF it's mostly because there's pretty much nobody going "I would really like us to move to X". This unlike back when we went from SMF to vB, when there was even a donation fundraiser organized just so that we could buy a license for it.

I think that moving to different forum software is effectively resetting the forum back to square one - or even less so, because vB was already mature and had a load of plugins and whatnot available when we got it. We (and by we I mean I) would either have to disappoint everyone and go "Sorry, this forum software doesn't support it", or invest a lot of time in learning about and developing for the thing.

TBF I'm not really motivated to work on the site much. There's also other stuff that needs to be done first (like restoring FTP access and whatnot).

vB5 is about 200 bucks.

I can chip in both monetary and manpower wise. This is my last attempt at getting an upgrade. If Shia can't motivate you, no one can.

 

[Flintlock]

Tel, I love the enthusiasm, but I believe we already have a vB5 license and have decided not to use it, because it's not an improvement on what we are currently using. There was a trial installation and it was horrendously slow.

One of the things I complained about in another thread was how fragmented the upgrade discussion has become. This is another good example: we've been over these points before, elsewhere. (I'd link you but I'm posting from my phone.) It's also why I wanted someone put in charge of comprehensively reviewing the situation and reporting to the rest of us. Maybe Yop's latest post in this thread is as close as we're going to get to that happening.

 

[Fangu]

Kind of off topic, but: Flint, you really should consider working in IT as a Test Manager, Scrum Master or a Product Owner. You have a knack for attention to process that would make any person working with detail very happy to have you.

I just felt like telling you that

 

[Flintlock]

Thanks! I'm not entirely sure that's not another way of saying I'm pedantic, but hey, I'll take it.

 

[Elessar]

Thanks Flint, for proving the point I made earlier. Wasn't kidding when I said that, that was my last attempt. This will be my last post in this thread. I'll end it with this picture...

 

[Lex]

We've had the mobile friendly discussion before too. The people who primarily used the forum on mobile said it wasn't a problem for them, which I don't understand because I think it's horrendous. The Lifestream Narrow skin might help with browsing on mobile. There's also the mobile (dev) skin (bottom left to change skin) but neither of those are ideal tbh.

 

[Fangu]

Thanks! I'm not entirely sure that's not another way of saying I'm pedantic, but hey, I'll take it.

No I wouldn't call it 'pedantism' as much as a fondness for neatness, if you know what I mean. It relates to this.

I guess I should have PM'd you this piece of kudos instead but I was on mobile so it felt easy to just chuck it in here.

 

[Cthulhu]

vB5 is about 200 bucks.

We have a VB 5 licence, see here; its performance was way worse than VB3, and whatever features there might be just aren't convincing IMO - not when the core functionality, the 90% part of functions you use (i.e. reading and writing poasts) is at least twice as slow.

I mean fuck, take my shitty shoutbox; add threads to it and you've got forum software. I don't see why vB 3, 4, 5, or the competitors made that basic part so complicated it became slow. I'd probably be guilty of it too in the end though. I'd write something myself if it didn't take a long time and wasn't a horribly competitive market, where pretty much anyone can write the basics in a couple hours.

 

[Flintlock]

Continued from the recent Facebook discussion:

I don't like "calling people out", but we do actually have a social media manager - Joe - who should be posting stuff on Facebook for us. I used to do it as well but largely stopped around the time he was appointed; it can be very tiring, especially after writing my own articles, a process that often takes hours.

The staff shakeup we conducted at the beginning of this year was supposed to delegate different responsibilities, so if I wanted to write an article, I could ask our graphics designer for graphics, I could get our editor to proof read it and think about stuff like categorisation and search engine optimisation (SEO), and I could expect our social media manager to publicise it on Twitter and Facebook at least. All of that would free up me and other content creators to actually create more content. But it just hasn't happened. I still have to do all of that (Pixel does usually share my articles on Facebook when I don't do it myself, which I appreciate) not only for my own articles, but often for others' as well.

It's always great to see people wanting to contribute to the site, but if we really want to improve things, we need people who will be reliable members of our team for a decent length of time. We need better communication between staff (some people are already good at this, to be fair) and we need to pull in the same direction. Sometimes I feel like we spend more energy critiquing each others' work than we do producing our own.

Again, I'm saying all of this from a personal perspective; Lex takes care of staffing matters on the content side, and I don't speak for him or for TLS. I think he largely agrees with what I've written here, but with other big changes in the pipeline for us, I don't know what our staff structure is going to look like in the future (I dunno if he appreciates me bringing this stuff up, lol). Some of the changes we made at the beginning of this thread didn't really work out, and need changing, but I think some others have worked (I've loved my new role as community manager) and the remaining ones could still work if we had people committed to doing them properly. Finally, I probably don't need to say this, but I don't mean any of this as a criticism of anyone in particular. I've always said that (1) real life stuff comes first and (2) nobody has an obligation to work for us, since we're not under contract and not getting paid.

 

[Lex]

I do largely agree, and I think this can serve as a bit of a role call/ "do you want to continue" for everyone on staff who feels like they might or might not want to continue, so I'd ask everyone on staff to post in this thread with your thoughts. The most important thing from now into the future with coming changes is commitment to the site - we'll go over all the roles and amend them as need be.

 

[vaderSW1]

Since we're talking about site updates and moving into the future, I just wanted to throw out a few things:

1. TLS Growth. If we want the site to grow, especially with the FFVII remake, then it is of the utmost importance to make this site a bit more user friendly. MANY people use their smartphones to access websites. The TLS forums are not mobile friendly at all. I'm not much of a technical mind so I can't really say for certain how this could be done. However, if it boils down to cost for software or a forum upgrade to do so then I propose...

2. Starting a Patreon. I've brought this up to Lex in some of our pre and post podcast discussions. If we can get enough people donating to the Patreon, then we could afford some site and forum upgrades without Yop having to dip into his own pockets to pay for it. This could also assist Yop with paying for hosting and general upkeep. I would be happy to promote the Patreon on the podcast and kind of lead the charge in that respect.

3. Site redesign. While I know TLS has its share of technical and graphical talent, I wonder if it might not be a better idea to hire an outside party to help with site redesign? The funds raised with the Patreon could help pay for this. Obviously, we would need to come to a consensus on what the site should look like and be laid out but I think the outside party could help with that by showing their ideas. I know Lex has said over and over that he doesn't want TLS to become a Wiki style site, I have to wonder why not? I know that there is a FFWikia. I use it and I love it. However, there are a few things that the FFWikia doesn't have that TLS could offer. We could allow our users to build a database of FF (and related) collectibles and video games. This would also allow TLS users to be able to track and show off their own personal collections. I don't think that there is a FF website out there that does this. It may seem like a minor, silly thing but it could actually help drive traffic to the site.

4. Search Engine Optimization. I don't really know much about how SEO works, to be honest. However, I will say this, doing a general search for Final Fantasy in Google does not bring up TLS anywhere near the top of any search. I would never have discovered this site had I not kept searching through the pages of Google's search results. I love the name of the website, but I am also a fan of FFVII. I don't think your general gaming enthusiast or even a light FF fan is going to think to search for The Lifestream in order to find a FF website. I think TLS is missing out on site hits because the SEO isn't set up right. This goes even for the podcast. Searching for Final Fantasy in the podcast category of iTunes doesn't bring up the TLS podcast. The only time I've ever gotten the TLS podcast to pop up is when searching for it by name. It's the same way when searching in Google. There's got to be a way we can up the SEO so that people can find us without having to do a lot of digging. The more traffic we get, the more possible Patreon donors we get, the more knowledge we get, and the busier TLS becomes.

 

[Flintlock]

Good points, though many of them already came up in our recent staff meeting and were posted here (which I linked to above).

With that said, I don't know if it's worth having separate threads any more. I bumped this one because the staff restructuring started here, but I don't mind if someone wants to move this discussion into the more recent thread.

 

[Joe]

Continued from the recent Facebook discussion:

I don't like "calling people out", but we do actually have a social media manager - Joe - who should be posting stuff on Facebook for us. I used to do it as well but largely stopped around the time he was appointed; it can be very tiring, especially after writing my own articles, a process that often takes hours.

Call away, that's what I'm here for As far as posting stuff on the Facebook goes, I check it on a daily basis and honestly there's no room to slide in edgeways. On a quantity basis the Facebook account is updated so frequently by Pixel alone and - while I definitely advocate more people being responsible for it - I don't want it to become over-saturated. If it became less populated then I'd be happy for myself (and anyone interested) to pick up the slack and keep it as active as it is.

As far as FB goes, the long and short of it is that Pixel keeps the page updated frequently with a variety of content. All of our front page articles get posted there and there's plenty of supplemental content between each one. If Pixel wants to slow down at all or lighten his load then I'd be happy to keep it going at the same pace. (As far as the recent question on the page's quality goes, I've not really seen as much of a problem with it as some people. Facebook is the definitive place for sharing everything from funny pictures to interesting articles. I don't think low-brow humour is unwelcome there if it gets people smiling and it isn't plastered over our official website.)

As far as Twitter goes I try to post all of our front page material there as it goes up. Sometimes that's belated as it's not always easy to determine when something new is on the front page (like a lot of the forum members, if I find myself on the front page it's because I've accidentally hit the banner ). Between those posts I try to put up discussions that are happening on the forums that would encourage others to join in (which have netted at least a couple new forum members). Other supplemental content outside of this usually amounts to retweets of related and interesting articles from other pages. Twitter isn't really the place for just posting miscellaneous imagery that's related to a page. If images did go up on the page I'd largely prefer if they came from the website itself. This is something that Facebook is without a doubt a better outlet for.

As has been mentioned before - if there's anybody that feels they want to get involved in the social media pages with sharing and posting content then do be vocal. As the community is growing (and as more remake information is released) we can only benefit from having more ears to the ground.

 

[Flintlock]

As far as posting stuff on the Facebook goes, I check it on a daily basis and honestly there's no room to slide in edgeways. On a quantity basis the Facebook account is updated so frequently by Pixel alone and - while I definitely advocate more people being responsible for it - I don't want it to become over-saturated. If it became less populated then I'd be happy for myself (and anyone interested) to pick up the slack and keep it as active as it is.

That's really interesting: we've got one person saying "I do it because nobody else does" and another saying "I would do it if someone else didn't do it so much already". This is why communication is so important. Maybe one of you could take responsibility for sharing articles and "official" stuff, while the other could be on the look out for more fun things?

As far as Twitter goes I try to post all of our front page material there as it goes up. Sometimes that's belated as it's not always easy to determine when something new is on the front page (like a lot of the forum members, if I find myself on the front page it's because I've accidentally hit the banner ).

Pro tip: get an RSS reader. Feedly is pretty good extension for Chrome and Firefox that can tell you when we publish new articles. I also use it to subscribe to all sorts of webcomics, podcasts and blogs. Our RSS feed is here.

 

[Joe]

That's really interesting: we've got one person saying "I do it because nobody else does" and another saying "I would do it if someone else didn't do it so much already". This is why communication is so important. Maybe one of you could take responsibility for sharing articles and "official" stuff, while the other could be on the look out for more fun things?

If it were a problem then it'd be something I was super vocal about but I've always liked the look of the FB page. Obviously that's come into question a little recently but I think it's everything it needs to be. I'll happily handle posting new stuff from the website, though.

Pro tip: get an RSS reader. Feedly is pretty good extension for Chrome and Firefox that can tell you when we publish new articles. I also use it to subscribe to all sorts of webcomics, podcasts and blogs. Our RSS feed is here.

Done and done. Gracias!

 

[Pixel]

It would be nice to have the facebook page for general final fantasy news, stuff that wouldnt really make an article. I dont really keep up with stuff like FF15 stuff, other than what i come across on twitter.

 

[Lex]

...communication is so important.

I can't stress this enough. Problems that have arisen whether they be misunderstandings or feeling unfairly treated are always due to lack of communication, and I'm noticing this more and more recently. Maybe it's a good idea to have a kind of "staff channel" somewhere - we could just all hang out in an IRC client and that way when we're working on something we can just post a message - it's the fastest, easiest and most lightweight way I can think of for us to just get shit done with each other.

We could go so far as to make it a requirement that a tiny IRC client is left open somewhere for all staff. I'm not saying make a secret channel, we could just use the IRC we had.

 

[Flintlock]

*downloads mIRC for the millionth time*

 

[Lex]

Well we could even do it on Facebook? Facebook is annoying because it's not lightweight but yeah I'd rather IRC.

 

[Flintlock]

IRC is cool, I just haven't used it since I got this PC.

 

[Lex]

Get on it <3

 

[Channy]

2. Starting a Patreon. I've brought this up to Lex in some of our pre and post podcast discussions. If we can get enough people donating to the Patreon, then we could afford some site and forum upgrades without Yop having to dip into his own pockets to pay for it. This could also assist Yop with paying for hosting and general upkeep. I would be happy to promote the Patreon on the podcast and kind of lead the charge in that respect.

Doesn't even have to be a Patreon, just a general donate button seen somewhere on the forum would help, I think. No shame in that.

3. Site redesign. While I know TLS has its share of technical and graphical talent, I wonder if it might not be a better idea to hire an outside party to help with site redesign? The funds raised with the Patreon could help pay for this. Obviously, we would need to come to a consensus on what the site should look like and be laid out but I think the outside party could help with that by showing their ideas.

We're redesigning the site? But it's so pretty.

I know Lex has said over and over that he doesn't want TLS to become a Wiki style site, I have to wonder why not? I know that there is a FFWikia. I use it and I love it. However, there are a few things that the FFWikia doesn't have that TLS could offer. We could allow our users to build a database of FF (and related) collectibles and video games. This would also allow TLS users to be able to track and show off their own personal collections. I don't think that there is a FF website out there that does this. It may seem like a minor, silly thing but it could actually help drive traffic to the site.

This makes me think of FCF, and I'll have to call on Joe (and Omega or Road if they still arse themselves around here).... do either of you remember way back when FCF was early and we had that self made wiki attached to the site? Seamless, fun, user friendly and engaging and applicable to anything...

4. Search Engine Optimization. I don't really know much about how SEO works, to be honest. However, I will say this, doing a general search for Final Fantasy in Google does not bring up TLS anywhere near the top of any search. I would never have discovered this site had I not kept searching through the pages of Google's search results. I love the name of the website, but I am also a fan of FFVII. I don't think your general gaming enthusiast or even a light FF fan is going to think to search for The Lifestream in order to find a FF website. I think TLS is missing out on site hits because the SEO isn't set up right. [/QUOTE]

This is true.... even searching Final Fantasy VII doesn't bring up TLS in the top searches...