Hey everyone!

First of all, I apologize it took so long to process the results. Between being busy with my own life, being busy with other adminly things, and having to manually go through the data one by one it took me longer than I wanted to. Guess that's one lesson for me; I'll need to organize this survey better at the end of this year to make it easier both for your guys and us as well! I've been told Surveymonkey is a good choice, but is anyone has any input on that matter, please share with us!

And now to the results. I got a total of 21 surveys from the memberbase (staff included), although one of the participants requested their survey not to be included in the results. (That's why you can see one of the lines blanked out in the image below.) I had to paraphrase some of the answers so I could fit them in the Excel cells, but I'll be quoting some of the comments further down below to which the staff will answer to. Also, two people provided a simple feedback comment instead of filling the survey, so I didn't count them towards the count total, but I still want to thank them for their comments!

Also, to clear things up, these surveys were filled in during January-early February, so some of the comments and concerns may be outdated or resolved by this point.

Well, here's the table. Click to enlarge.



The survey also asked what do you think about the idea of having a main site and a wiki. A main site will be definitely planned, as we only have a forum right now. The wiki idea got some mixed results, due to the existence of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Wikia. We could revisit the wiki issue later on when we have established a main site and stuff.

I gotta say though, it seems a lot of people seem to be interested in podcasts, although that was only an example and not specifically asking you guys wanted a podcast. Still, if there's demand for it, we could arrange them sometime in the future. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/NAC_Smiley_Pack_Default/cm.gif" alt="" title="Cookie Monster" /><!-- s -->

Anyway, here are the results on the questions regarding the main site and the wiki. Click to enlarge.



And on to the comments! They'll be quoted without names because it's the comments that matter, and I wouldn't want anyone to start a witch hunt in case anyone's opinion may seem unpopular. That's not the point here. There were no troll responses of any sort, and I appreciate the honesty and the feedback from everyone!

Once again, thanks for all the feedback! Hopefully we can repeat the survey at the end of this year in a more efficient manner.

Furthermore, if anyone has any comments and concerns, do say it! Also, if you addressed a concern but don't see it below and would like an answer to that, do let us know about that too!

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Right, let's go through the comments I can provide an answer to, however few those may be. XD# Gonna number them for easier reference

Arynis Wrote:-----------------------------------------------------

1 Wrote:Maybe condense the Media section a bit? I'm saying this because out of the 3 subforums, the television section hardly gets activity compared to the anime and video games ones, so, it would probably be better if the stuff there went to the 'main' area, where books and music would go.

2 Wrote:But please please please, if you're going to post [the main site] in English, get a native speaker or someone who speaks the language fluently to look it over. I love Janime and I respect all that she did, but some of the weird grammar on the main page was a little difficult to decipher. I can't be the only one that noticed, and I'm assuming no one said anything out of politeness, but it stayed on there for years without ever being corrected. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but it would make things easier for everyone, ESLers included, to find what they're looking for.

3 Wrote:I've heard some people complain about Zexal hate on here offsite. IDK if they're just being overly sensitive or if I've missed something or if they don't realize most of the comments here are just poking fun or what, but maybe y'all should look into that? *shrugs*

4 Wrote:I don't know a damn thing about the staff. I hardly even pay attention to if someone is a member of them.

5 Wrote:if not the chatboard at the top of the forum, or make the IRC visible/put somewhere a link/tab for it.

6 Wrote:The only thing I can really what added is like a Tokusatsu section (Super Sentai/PR, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, etc.), but other than that, nothing.

7 Wrote:Instead of more forums, imo, perhaps move some of the sub-forums (ygoproject&analysis,anime/game,etc..) into its own main forum for visibility, or remove/merge inactive forums..? For instance, the Anime and Game sub-forums both have a ton of posts, while their top-level forum is almost empty.

8 Wrote:Slightly unrelated, but 100 posts makes it hard for uploaders without much to say to contribute to the files! I want to upload files, but the fact I have so little to say means I can't get to the 100 posts without spamming!

1:
I'd have to agree here. One, open, busy section is better than a more specific, desolate one. TV could probably just fit under the main Media forum, while the better populated Anime/Manga and Video Game forums can remain as subforums.

2:
Rest assured, all the staff have an excellent command of English, and I would personally try to make sure that anyone appointed to update any of our social media had a clear and competent command of the English language.

3:
From what I've seen, this has certainly improved somewhat. We took some action to cut down the bashing, and then ZeXal was nice enough to help by getting decent. XD# But if this is still an issue, please let us know.

4:
There is/was a plan to get info about the staff out to the forum was a whole, but it seems to have got delayed somewhere. I shall try my best to chase it up though.

5:
I think we've done a little better at popularising the IRC, but there was the whole 'Dear god, don't let Alper in the IRC' worry, which doesn't seem to be going away any time soon. But the link to the IRC has certainly been put around a little more.

6:
Really don't think this is needed. A subject doesn't need it's own forum to exist. By all means make a thread for your favourite Tokusatsu series in the Media and/or Fanclub section, but until there's evidence of a substantial fanbase with a real desire to discuss it on the forum, I don't think it requires its own section.

7:
Might be an idea. It's one of the things we can consider where we have a traffic misbalance.

8:
And this issue has been dealt with now, due to the recent changed to the DL forum policy. So, yay for that!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D1cap6yETA[/youtube]
We actually have information sorted and a plan ahead for a website and/or Wiki.

Quote:Maybe condense the Media section a bit? I'm saying this because out of the 3 subforums, the television section hardly gets activity compared to the anime and video games ones, so, it would probably be better if the stuff there went to the 'main' area, where books and music would go.

This seems a reasonable request.

Quote:Bring back the shoutbox plz.

Could someone explain why we should have a Shoutbox. Honestly, I'd be more interested in integrating IRC with the forum/site.

Quote:Is there a way to have profile pages like Janime had? I know I am numb to website designs and set up but I kind of liked how you had your own individual page that members could drop in and leave you a message from time to time.

Would probably require extensive modding, which requires us to actually get a Tech Admin to help if Shadow is extensively busy. <.<;

Quote:But please please please, if you're going to post [the main site] in English, get a native speaker or someone who speaks the language fluently to look it over. I love Janime and I respect all that she did, but some of the weird grammar on the main page was a little difficult to decipher. I can't be the only one that noticed, and I'm assuming no one said anything out of politeness, but it stayed on there for years without ever being corrected. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but it would make things easier for everyone, ESLers included, to find what they're looking for.

I agree with their person and their position here. Janime was great but her English was kind of "lolwut" tier. Let's get someone to do that.

Quote:Can we have a few tagging buttons in the quick replay window ? You know bold, italics, img, url, and these most used ones.

I'd like to know this as myself. We’ll set up a committee to discuss and interact.

Quote:I think the design is the biggest needed change. I've wanted there to be an ability to see the most recent topic people post in without having to go to the section. As I said before, I don't normally have the impulse to check other sections. I can quickly lose interest in a section and by the time I head back an interesting topic is dead. The sections people rarely look at, but have some interest in, can easily benefit from being shown. If people actually notice a change relevant to their interests, they'll be more likely to check.

Did this, but we chiefly need a Tech Admin to help on the matter, to be honest. Since updating phpBB borked this setting.

Quote:I don't know a damn thing about the staff. I hardly even pay attention to if someone is a member of them.

Oh dear. That's not good.

Quote:if not the chatboard at the top of the forum, or make the IRC visible/put somewhere a link/tab for it.

We should put in a link to IRC. This I approve of.

Quote:I think it would be good to have a site that recollects all kind of curiosities about the show/card game with a little of the show info where theres needed.

Could someone expound on this?

Quote:And if you can make commands for bold, underline and italic that would be great

Wut.

Quote:It should be fine that the forum header be the banner and not that eagle thing and the title with the slogan below it.
I think it could be better if the forum banner had the slogan.

I think Shadow as trying to do that, but Real Life hit him like a semi-truck.

Quote:The only thing I can really what added is like a Tokusatsu section (Super Sentai/PR, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, etc.), but other than that, nothing.

Is there actually enough interest for this? I know we have people who like it, but is there enough interest?

Quote:Instead of more forums, imo, perhaps move some of the sub-forums (ygoproject&analysis,anime/game,etc..) into its own main forum for visibility, or remove/merge inactive forums..? For instance, the Anime and Game sub-forums both have a ton of posts, while their top-level forum is almost empty.

The top level forum being empty was intentional.

Quote:No preference for A,B and C, since Yugioh Wikia already has extensive info on both the card game and anime. Perhaps anime-focused wiki organizing scripts, screens and such, and the yugioh sub-culture?- merchandise,2ch,Scrap-iron News,nicodouga,pixiv etc..

I think at least a more script heavy wiki might be useful. If the Wikia supports the cards, let us support the diaogue.

Quote:I liked being able to share some private video links on JA without fear of it indexed by google, but such is the price of an open forum. (´・ω・`)

Wut @ Fears of Indexing.

Quote:The forums are very good. If I had to suggest something, I think it'd be interesting to have an option where you can add your own smily, instead of having to upload the image and adding here suing the BBCode. You know, like in the Messenger. But I'm not sure if it exists her or not . If yes, ignore this please.

We can do that. It just has to be uploaded in a packet. Which requires a more available/active Tech Admin able to handle it.

To keep the OP uncluttered, I'll reply to the comments in a separate post.

Quote:Phpbb is quite easy to handle, despite having difficulties at first. It's a bit bare bones, but it covers most of our needs. I like it. Difficulty wise, it's more about some features I liked in vBulletin but are missing in phpbb.

Some of the differences can be dealt with with the help of mods, while others are just the way the forum software is, or may require technical knowledge and changes in the code. Regarding the mods though, some of them we could use may be outdated, and thus conflict with the code, which is the reason we would not use them, no matter how attractive the mod's feature is. Stability takes priority where possible.

Quote:Maybe condense the Media section a bit? I'm saying this because out of the 3 subforums, the television section hardly gets activity compared to the anime and video games ones, so, it would probably be better if the stuff there went to the 'main' area, where books and music would go.

Considering that someone suggested a Tokusatsu section, maybe the discussion of such series could go in the TV/Film section? That would be an idea to increase the point of that subforum.

Quote:Bring back the shoutbox plz.

There's a mod for that, but it appears somewhat outdated. It would require testing in any case and checks for conflicts. We'd also need to see how much demand there is for a shoutbox, otherwise we'll try to pimp our IRC channel, which isn't difficult to use and doesn't differ much from a shoutbox, apart from terms of visibility/placement. Especially now that there are plenty of IRC clients which makes it much easier to connect to our chatroom, so there's no need to bother with setting up connection shenanigans and what have you.

Quote:Is there a way to have profile pages like Janime had? I know I am numb to website designs and set up but I kind of liked how you had your own individual page that members could drop in and leave you a message from time to time.

Two mods exist for this:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/simple_profile_comments/">http://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/s ... _comments/</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/profile_guestbook_2/">http://www.phpbb.com/customise/db/mod/p ... estbook_2/</a><!-- m -->

Both of them are somewhat outdated, but I could see what can I do with them on my test forum. But we'd also need to see if there's a huge demand for this feature, although visitor messages were a quick way to communicate with people on vBulletin.

Quote:But please please please, if you're going to post [the main site] in English, get a native speaker or someone who speaks the language fluently to look it over. I love Janime and I respect all that she did, but some of the weird grammar on the main page was a little difficult to decipher. I can't be the only one that noticed, and I'm assuming no one said anything out of politeness, but it stayed on there for years without ever being corrected. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but it would make things easier for everyone, ESLers included, to find what they're looking for.

That can be done, once we get to actually setting the main site up.

Quote:I've heard some people complain about Zexal hate on here offsite. IDK if they're just being overly sensitive or if I've missed something or if they don't realize most of the comments here are just poking fun or what, but maybe y'all should look into that? *shrugs*

Admittedly I don't pay much attention to the Zexal section, but it's been noted that the situation has improved somewhat. We also implemented the venting thread specifically for criticism and whatnot.

Still, if there are still any issues or concerns on this matter, do let us know so we can see what we can do.

Quote:Can we have a few tagging buttons in the quick replay window ? You know bold, italics, img, url, and these most used ones.

This can be solved with a mod.

Quote:I think the design is the biggest needed change. I've wanted there to be an ability to see the most recent topic people post in without having to go to the section. As I said before, I don't normally have the impulse to check other sections. I can quickly lose interest in a section and by the time I head back an interesting topic is dead. The sections people rarely look at, but have some interest in, can easily benefit from being shown. If people actually notice a change relevant to their interests, they'll be more likely to check.

This issue has been formerly solved with a mod before, unfortunately the mod settings went poof when the forum was updated. The latest topic mod works without problems for 3.0.10 (I've checked this on my test forum), but we'd need to get a hold of our SysAdmin for that first.

Quote:I don't know a damn thing about the staff. I hardly even pay attention to if someone is a member of them.

We wouldn't want to be seen as ghosts or the members to be completely unaware. We've been planning to arrange a staff profile in case anyone wanted to learn more about us, as evidenced by my signature.

The easiest way to recognize us is by our bold and colored names. Blue is for Moderator, green is for Global Moderator (Super Moderator), red is for Administrator.

Quote:if not the chatboard at the top of the forum, or make the IRC visible/put somewhere a link/tab for it.

It could be possible to modify the forum's CSS/code to include a link to our IRC channel, but that'd require coding knowledge. And our SysAdmin.

Quote:I think it would be good to have a site that recollects all kind of curiosities about the show/card game with a little of the show info where theres needed.

I'm not sure what was exactly meant by this. Do you mean trivia info? Easter Eggs? Explanations of various plot points by the staff? (think Katsumi Ono tweets)

Quote:And if you can make commands for bold, underline and italic that would be great

That's already in the reply window, right above the field you type your post in. B is for bold, i is for italic, u is for underline.

If you mean the Quick Reply, see above, it can be solved with a mod.

Quote:It should be fine that the forum header be the banner and not that eagle thing and the title with the slogan below it.
I think it could be better if the forum banner had the slogan.

This was scheduled for a fix, but then the forum update happened and our SysAdmin is hard to get a hold of as of late, unfortunately. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/NAC_Smiley_Pack_Default/sad.gif" alt="" title="Sad" /><!-- s -->

Quote:And maybe a different skin for the main site, since the advantage this forum has is that its public, so when I don't have anything to say, am busy... I don't log in, but this style just make it a bit unconfortable, not exactly the colors since theres a lot of forums that have a default style colors bright, its more the way the avatars are placed in the right side (but maybe its just me and how almost all the forums have the avatar in the left side). I also prefer small boxes like the Rainbow Skin that Im currently using.

Well, the forum isn't exactly public anymore, although there have been plans to spice up the default skins so they'd be themed similarly to the Ark Cradle while keeping the default skins' looks and structure. In any case, you can always change to a darker skin once you're a member.

Personally I like the avatars being shown on the right, but ultimately this is a matter of taste and preference.

Quote:The only thing I can really what added is like a Tokusatsu section (Super Sentai/PR, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, etc.), but other than that, nothing.

It might be a better idea to just make your own thread about Tokusatsu, like CedarMill suggested. Or as I said above, you could try posting in the TV/Film section.

Quote:Instead of more forums, imo, perhaps move some of the sub-forums (ygoproject&analysis,anime/game,etc..) into its own main forum for visibility, or remove/merge inactive forums..? For instance, the Anime and Game sub-forums both have a ton of posts, while their top-level forum is almost empty.

That could be an idea, yes. The Analysis Forum has been made into its own section already, although we'd need to see how would people like it to be, so we could organize the forum in a manner that appeals to the majority.

Quote:No preference for A,B and C, since Yugioh Wikia already has extensive info on both the card game and anime. Perhaps anime-focused wiki organizing scripts, screens and such, and the yugioh sub-culture?- merchandise,2ch,Scrap-iron News,nicodouga,pixiv etc..

That's an interesting idea, but I feel that would require people who know Japanese to document such information properly, like about 2ch culture. There are a few script wikis out there (albeit in Japanese), as well as wikis for staff information (also in Japanese).

Quote:Maybe trimming the banner by about 30px, since it causes a horizontal scroll bar on a 1024x768 resolution screen. :p

Can be done.

Quote:And I really liked the spoiler tag from JA, there was an option to add a short summary to the spoiler and the ability to be nested..

We'd need to check the BBCode settings if that can be done for the spoiler tag code. I'm not sure what you mean by nested, however. Are you referring to how specific forums could be collapsed? (e.g., condense the Off Topic section so it stretches your forum index less)

Quote:I liked being able to share some private video links on JA without fear of it indexed by google, but such is the price of an open forum. (´・ω・`)

The forum is members only now, so hopefully that makes people feel more secure in that matter.

Quote:Slightly unrelated, but 100 posts makes it hard for uploaders without much to say to contribute to the files! I want to upload files, but the fact I have so little to say means I can't get to the 100 posts without spamming!

The Download Forum issue has been resolved since, any registered member can see the section and post in there as well. Remember, we can't fully restore the Download Forum without everyone's help!

Quote:The forums are very good. If I had to suggest something, I think it'd be interesting to have an option where you can add your own smily, instead of having to upload the image and adding here suing the BBCode. You know, like in the Messenger. But I'm not sure if it exists her or not <!-- s:| --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/NAC_Smiley_Pack_Default/mellow.gif" alt=":|" title="Blank" /><!-- s:| -->. If yes, ignore this please.

Unfortunately you can't do that, the only thing you can do is suggest smileys in the Support section's respective topic.

Quote:Also, in the side of each member's name or whatever, it should say his/her rank in the forums (member, mod, admin...) and the posts should be numbered, so we can reefer to a post just by citing its number.

The former can be done with the Admin Control Panel settings quite easily. The latter I'm not sure about.

Quote:I think the option of changing the colour of the forum would be a nice feature. Allows a bit more customization.

That can't be done, you can only change to a different forum skin in your User Control Panel.

i herd u like staff comments. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/NAC_Smiley_Pack_Default/awe.gif" alt="" title="Awesome" /><!-- s -->
I so did that wrong...

Quote:Phpbb is quite easy to handle, despite having difficulties at first. It's a bit bare bones, but it covers most of our needs. I like it. Difficulty wise, it's more about some features I liked in vBulletin but are missing in phpbb.

As mentioned, there are several mods, and those that may be a tad outdated, can always be tested to make sure they work with the current version of phpbb.
Though, while only Shadowfang has the most knowledge on modifications, we're working on having others staff members being able to handle them as well.

Quote:Maybe condense the Media section a bit? I'm saying this because out of the 3 subforums, the television section hardly gets activity compared to the anime and video games ones, so, it would probably be better if the stuff there went to the 'main' area, where books and music would go.

Quote:The only thing I can really what added is like a Tokusatsu section (Super Sentai/PR, Kamen Rider, Ultraman, etc.), but other than that, nothing.

To answer those at once, the latter could work if there's more interest to warrant a section. If not, then a thread would probably be the best idea for it. As for the TV area, if the activity remains as such, it would probably be a good idea to merge it with the main media area. With the option of trying it again if activity in the lower improves.

Quote:But please please please, if you're going to post [the main site] in English, get a native speaker or someone who speaks the language fluently to look it over. I love Janime and I respect all that she did, but some of the weird grammar on the main page was a little difficult to decipher. I can't be the only one that noticed, and I'm assuming no one said anything out of politeness, but it stayed on there for years without ever being corrected. I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but it would make things easier for everyone, ESLers included, to find what they're looking for.

Well considering how most of the staff can write English rather well, that shouldn't be much a problem here.

Quote:I've heard some people complain about Zexal hate on here offsite. IDK if they're just being overly sensitive or if I've missed something or if they don't realize most of the comments here are just poking fun or what, but maybe y'all should look into that? *shrugs*

Like the others, I don't see it that much, but I also tend not to keep up with Zexal, I don't really see much bashing in the section. I do see the occasional wall of text. Perhaps some people feel intimidated by them? Regardless, if the situation is bad, just let the staff know, and we'll do our best and look into it. For the record, I'm not following ZeXal because if dislike of the series, but due to other reasons. Mostly for not using torrents, and subs not being uploaded (but, with the whole copyright thing going on video streaming sides, I can see why).

Quote:Can we have a few tagging buttons in the quick replay window ? You know bold, italics, img, url, and these most used ones.

Like Arynis, there is a mod, which she confirmed works with our version of php, so it's a matter of time before its added.

Quote:I don't know a damn thing about the staff. I hardly even pay attention to if someone is a member of them.

That's not good. D:
For the most part, you can by the colors of the usernames, but we now added ranks to them, so hopefully, it would be easier to tell who's who.

Quote:I think it would be good to have a site that recollects all kind of curiosities about the show/card game with a little of the show info where theres needed.

I'm also thinking this means Easter eggs and trivia...
Still, we'll look into it.

Quote:Maybe trimming the banner by about 30px, since it causes a horizontal scroll bar on a 1024x768 resolution screen. :p

At least I know I'm not the only one stuck with that resolution. xD
It could definitely be done.

Quote:I liked being able to share some private video links on JA without fear of it indexed by google, but such is the price of an open forum. (´・ω・`)

Outside the first forum (The Bureaucracy), all forums are now visible to registered users, so, you have no worries there.

Quote:Slightly unrelated, but 100 posts makes it hard for uploaders without much to say to contribute to the files! I want to upload files, but the fact I have so little to say means I can't get to the 100 posts without spamming!

With the changes in the requirements, is has been fixed.

Quote:Also, in the side of each member's name or whatever, it should say his/her rank in the forums (member, mod, admin...) and the posts should be numbered, so we can reefer to a post just by citing its number.

Ranks are doable, and as been implemented more staff (we'll see if we should add them for members), as for the latter, we're not sure if that's doable.
We'll see what we can do though.

Quote:I think the option of changing the colour of the forum would be a nice feature. Allows a bit more customization.

Unfortunately, that's doesn't seem to bepossible. The most we could do is add a few more skins in the meantime.