Do any of you have any ideas to make GS better without costing money?. I will start this off. This website is to easy to join to start. There needs to be a profile approval to stop some of the idiots joining here like nunya biznus or Ryda bike. It cannot be that hard plus it would keep the spam out. There are also some pathetic profiles here to that have no need to be here. One I found here just has a name! That is it , they live no where and list no interests it is basically blank. Keeping those people out with a profile approval will also stop the home page from getting glogged up with members that join never to return. I think some are just kids messing about or big fat bored men with no life .

 

Julia.

Hi Julia, good post. I do think that you should have to fill in a minimum percentage of the profile, not a photo though to start with as most people (like me) are nervous to start with and that may frighten some people off. But, sure, general information like on most sites which have an asterisk saying "required field" etc.
Also, in the basic members forum, as no subscription has been paid I think there should be some sort of "use it or lose it" kind of thing...let's face it, if you haven't been active for six months then I think an e-mail should be sent saying words to the effect of "we notice your account has been inactive for etc etc" you get my gist!
That may help in two ways. Firstly it may encourage some of the more "lazy" members to get active and actually contribute and, secondly, if they don't then we can assume they are former members and close their profile which would keep the database much tidier.
If I think of anything else Julia I will let you know.
Take care, Linda xx
This post was edited by Linda T at September 14, 2014 6:10 AM BST

I think I may have been more than six months between signing up and contributing.

Having said that, I think the general idea has merit and should be discussed.

What I would like to see, in order to encourage more interest, is to offer the ability to opt into a weekly or monthly email that highlights some of the more interesting posts during that time period.

Sami

I think most members must notice the amount of people that join this website in just a week. Putting Ryda Bike to one side before her sister Onya joins they never return , well maybe 1 out 100 do.

Rosie has her welcome new members forum and does a good job but her time would be better used approving the profile because she is welcoming people she may aswell be saying goodbye to.

I read the forums a lot not logged in and we have thousands of members here who have not logged in for years , they could be dead for all we know.

I did ask Katie a while back if it costs money to hang on to members who do not use the site. I thought mass data storage could be costing her money but she said it is not the case. I think if any member that does not log in at least once in every 3 months should just be deleted , high member numbers may look good on paper but they are a waste of space.

Nunya Biznus! Members were actually saying "Welcome Nunya" The profile about me part said: Nunya Biznus , well Nunya has gone now to do biznus somewhere else. Image is not the most important part Linda I agree but a minimum of at least 4 lines surely is not to much to ask in the about me section. If any person cannot think of 4 lines to say about themselves they must be very dim in my opinion . How can a person not have any interests? I bet they are a bundle of laughs at a party . Rosie Foster! Oh we miss you Profile states: hi i am trans! That is it but , we know whoever it is is not trans , well only transparent.

Katie started a topic similar this more about site features in the full members forum but it gets very little attention , I think most members don't even know it is there.

Sami. Members and non members can see hottest and latest topics and although your idea has some merit sending an email all registered members do have the option to have email alerts on watched topics but they still do not log back in. I don't think a kick up the arse would work! A kick out the door email may do though.

 

Take care , Julia x

This post was edited by Former Member at September 14, 2014 10:15 AM BST

Hi, just had another idea!
I myself use an I-pad mostly for g.s.
It's not very I-pad friendly, for instance, the only photos I can upload are profile photos, I can't get on g.s. chatt at all unless I'm on my p.c. which isn't private enough for me.
I would love to be on g.s. chat a lot more.
So ,you see I find using g.s. on my I-pad "challenging"
I think that if there was a way to make g.s. more user friendly on personal devices (because, let's face it, were not all out) and, for some it's just not an option to sit there on g.s. on the main p.c. for privacy reasons, which is probably why we don't see some members as often as we would otherwise.
Love, Linda xxx
This post was edited by Linda T at September 14, 2014 3:38 PM BST

I really think the idea of getting lumber jacks in to remove the dead wood is a great idea.  Start at a stream and work into the river.  Unattended, this could end up in a log jam,( my poor attempt at creating an analogy).

I realize a lot of people are really lurkers, I myself spend a lot of time just reading posts and responses.  If I have nothing that I feel is in any way contributing to the conversation, I keep my fingers quiet.

There has to be some way to get a broom in and sweep the place after a decent length of time.  There must be someone, somewhere, able to set up a program like that. I don't have the ability, nor do any of the people I know, so I just narrowed the field down by a dozen.

 

Bobbi

This post was edited by Bobbi gruetter at September 14, 2014 3:38 PM BST

If any of you go to the elite members forum there is a sticky topic there that Katie posted about ideas for new site features , please take a look and offer up any ideas.

I started this because it is not so much about features , its more about just making it better. One big clean up would be of massive help. Forum topics have been started here years and years ago by registered members who never log in. Some of those topics could be removed from the system because any response is pointless if the poster is no longer interested in being a member.

 

Linda. Although your iPad will not allow you to do certian things here and , I do realise it is not ideal for you and maybe some others for the sake of the site it is best it stays that way and here is the reason. iPads and other mobile devices run on a Wi Fi signal , a mobile/cell phone uses the sim card.

If you or anyone is at home it is using your service provided via your main PCs hub. That hub has its own unique IP address so you can be traced . If anyone takes their mobile device out of their home it needs a signal to work , that can be via a sim card or someone elses Wi Fi code. My guess is most of the members that join here weekly are useing mobile devices meaning they cannot be traced and they know it. Anyone should also be aware that connecting to this site and uploading anything from a mobile device you "just could" be uploading it to the person at the side , front or behind you.

 

This and other websites need the ability to block members. On mobile devces it makes it virtually impossible because all any site will be doing is blocking where the signal came from and not the member , as an example on a train! A block member will just block the IP address of the train it origanated from not the device . A mobile/cell phone block will block the IP address of the sim card from the supplier , which means a change of sim card the block is then useless. Thankfully blocking members is not needed that often but if you had seen the Ms Pea Green saga you would see it is needed.

So for the sake and security of the website things need to stay the way they are in that department . It most likely is bored people and maybe even children that are causing the problem useing mobile devices joining here weekly never to be seen again simply because there is no profile approval in place here , it is to easy to do . If it were made harder then they would get bored attempting to join , therefore meaning only genuine people will wait for a profile to be approved.

 

Take care , Julia x

This post was edited by Former Member at September 14, 2014 3:48 PM BST

Ok, I have to put my technical hat on, since I am a web developer by profession. Hopefully the lingo I am about to use won't be too confusing.

I get the impression this site is largely built upon a canned package of software that has been written by someone outside of Gender Society. Such software has the ability to be tweaked here and there, but the majority cannot without some potential downsides.

I can't think of a perfect analogy, but I will try. Let's imagine ordering a new car from the factory. You look at the menu of available options and place the order. Eventually the new car arrives as ordered.

Right away you decide to embellish the interior. There isn't enough pink, so you buy some pink fuzzy dice to hang from the mirror.

Later in the year the manufacturer issues a recall to fix the exhaust system. The fuzzy dice didn't affect the basic functionality of the car, so the dealership is able to make the repair without a problem.

Later you decide the car doesn't accelerate fast enough. Since you are handy with cars, you decide to take it upon yourself to replace the engine with one that is more powerful. It takes some realignment of the transmission to do it, but you succeed with the operation. You go, girl!

Unfortunately, the manufacturer issues another recall, this time on the transmission. You take it to the dealership, and you can't get the work done because of the extensive modification you made.

How does this apply to this site? Assuming the site is a canned package manufactured by someone else, each proposed change must be evaluated as to whether it is minor, as is the case with the fuzzy dice, or extensive, as is the case of the engine replacement. If it is extensive, that is going to make it much more difficult to apply future updates to the software package.

With this in mind, my experience with making web-based software work well on mobile devices is that it is going to lean toward being like a engine replacement, not a new pair of pink fuzzy dice. This is because of two main issues: rearrangement of the page and software incompatibilities.

Rearrangement is necessary in order to get the information to fit onto a much smaller screen. There are several ways to do this. One common method is to completely rewrite the site with mobile in mind. You have probably been on such site. If we were to do it, the address of the site would be something like m.gendersociety.com. This would take a lot of time and effort, probably much more than is available.

Another method is something called adaptive web design. This makes extensive use of something called cascading style sheets (CSS). It is not easy to do but is less disruptive than a complete rewrite. However it is still of the magnitude of an engine change, because new versions of the software will not be integrated easily.

Next is the topic of software compatibility. Although our phones are actually small computers, the general public doesn't see them that way. They are just supposed to work when they are turned on. People would freak if they got the Windows "blue screen of death".

In order to make phones extremely reliable, compromises had to be made. For example, we want zero possibly to have a virus infect our phone. To do this, we can't have software such as Flash, a commonly used platform for performing file uploads. Other software that is okay just doesn't work right. It is a real mess that can be fixed by finding technology that does work - not an easy task.

So although myself and others have difficulties with the site on mobile devices, I can't see that being resolved any time soon.

As far as requiring more information during the signup process, my hunch is that this is something that may be considerably easier to do. I also wouldn't be surprised if the existing software has the built-in capability to force a moderator to prescreen before the membership is active. This is something Katie can probably determine.

My earlier idea about the weekly or monthly email has a key difference from marking a forum for notifications. The target audience for the later are people who are already actively involved with the forums. My idea is targeted to those who are not actively involved in order to help them become more involved in the future. I think that idea still has merit.

Finally, the discussion about culling the member list. I believe the main concern is the number of spammers. Adequate pre-screening should reduce this problem. Cancelling inactive members only makes the server have just a little more free space - and I do mean just a little. I am not sure there would be much payoff there, although there would be some.

Love, Sami

Nice headache there Sami  You are right though. Screening knew members only takes or should take just one person or maybe two. I cannot see it needing any software change. Culling of members? It does need to be done if they have no interest here. Mobile devices are what is causing the current amount of members to join to then fall into a hole never to be seen again. Train and bus journeys ect get boring so people play with devices , on some if you start to put in Transport it starts to come up with suggestions before you reach "Port" So therefore Transport turns into Transgender as it is preempting what you want. So then some bored idiot thinks I will take a look at that but have no real interest or need to look but , curiosity gets the better of them. They look at the time and think I have an hour or two to play so they join just to get in out of curiosity , nothing more. And your email idea does hold merit aimed at the correct members. It would attract them back if they have just lost interest.

 

Thanks for the headache but it makes sense , not sure about the pink fluffy dice!! Can you still buy them? .

 

Take care , Julia x

This post was edited by Former Member at September 14, 2014 6:14 PM BST

One thing I would like to see is the videos on the home page moved into just the column on the side as at times the page is just full of videos. Most rarely get viewed so moving them to one side will leave space for other items.

 

Julia.