Mer Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Can we please move on from this now? I am, I have PM'd an admin and I don't wish for this to be dragged on any longer than it already has. I have done the right thing by taking it to private message and away from the public forum, I had hoped others would do the same. It has been two days now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 Its okay to not display things publicly when it suits you? Interesting. Bleh Bleh Bleh. Bitching is so fun. Calm itb down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 To lighten the mood, here is a picture of a bouncing bear. AJ , Smidget, Phill Pritchard and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smidget Posted March 31, 2013 Report Share Posted March 31, 2013 OMG LOL! Nearly wet myself laughing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidders Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 http://thorpeparkman...k/ride/Colossus This page needs correcting. Pun totally intended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 But it still does hold the record for being the world's first 10 looping rollercoaster. Just like Dragon Khan holds the record for being the world's first 8 looping rollercoaster! Marc, JoshC. and Ryan 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sidders Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 Balls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 (edited) Well impressed that I've been on the worlds first 7 looping, 8 looping, 10 looping and 14 looping roller coasters. Take that Alvey and your "I've been to China" rubbish. Edited June 10, 2013 by Mark9 Grammar Sidders, Benin, EC! and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 Well impressed that I've been on the worlds first 7 looping, 8 looping, 10 looping and 14 looping roller coasters. Take that Alvey and you're "I've been to China" rubbish. You've still not done 400000000 Big Apples though have you? #inexperienced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olistjj Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 Amazing website that I love browsing through, would be good if you could link the website "RideSims" as it is great for nerds like me who love rollerocasters the only thing I could also suggest would be to put the new X music on as I know it has been a very hot issue with people recently (: pluk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted December 2, 2013 Report Share Posted December 2, 2013 If we could get that X music we'd certainly put it up there! One day, hopefully... Ride Sims is run by our friends at Towers Nerd, I don't think we'd link to it from here to avoid confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 I mentioned a few things to Ian and Marc at the Alton meet but in case they've been forgotten (and also to see if anyone else likes the idea) here's a few I've already spoken about and a few new ones: 'VIP', 'donator', 'contributor' option which would go towards to help pay for the sites hosting costs and showing appreciating towards all the hard work the staff do here. It gives users a different userbar (like the moderator bars) except with the other names as suggested on the bar. It could be a £1 for a month and you would have the 'VIP', 'donator' etc bar till the end of your subscription. It can be chosen to be renewed or if you don't and it expires it goes away. I also think there could be options of having a few more benefits to encourage people to part with their £1 such as coloured usernames, or seasonal specials like 'Christmas VIP'. Perhaps the option for a larger avatar (although I'm not sure if there's a restriction on this). Another benefit could be being allowed to show yourself as 'invisible' online to members or viewing a thread. Maybe you don't want people to know you're online? Promo Team - not only does this give more members a chance to have some responsibility, it will also mean the forum will generate more activity. Social media is a key thing because there are so many websites/forums who offer the same as we do. Perhaps if we had more to offer it would encourage more members to sign up? Examples such as competitions for maps or merchandise, or events such as Dara's quiz that was around not that long ago. Not that we expect you to break the bank. As well as much going on FB/Twitter etc. Do we have a YouTube? If we don't we should, considering we are Thorpe's official fansite we should upload more content based on our days out there, although we can't broadcast everything we do because photography isn't always allowed e.g. Inferno 'behind the scenes'. These links or 'icons' should be more visible on site, especially on the forum as they seem somewhat neglected. I'm not saying plaster it everywhere but a small box of 'Social Media Links' would be nice. Arcade - I'm never sure about this idea, I know people who use the forum have skype conversations where they go on group games together like monopoly. I'm sure there's a plugin for this and would encourage people to play more on site. I suppose there could be a leaderboard and maybe a 'VIP' reward (as stated above) for whoever reigns the top at the end of each month. Design - I'm not entirely sure what's going on with this, but I know what often proves popular is the ability to customise your own background. This is all based on your browsers cookies, I know you can get it with IP board as I use a forum that has one so if you don't like your current background you can adjust it to your liking. I suppose also having the option for multiple skins? So if we move on from this design to a new one, some users might not like change and they may prefer the old skin so it would be nice for the option to switch between em. Shoutbox/Chat - Personally I don't see the point in having both as they do very similar purposes. I would say the chat should stay as you have to click it to actually get there and it's good if people just want to socialise in there. The problem with having two different, but similar things is sometimes it can take away from forum activity. Also if there is just one (say Chat stays) it will ultimately make that more popular as the shoutbox would not exist. Quote/Mentions - I think it was said that mentions are actually already in place, but sometimes it's just easier to get people's attention. Also quotes would be a nice idea to add to notifications as I personally do forget when I've spoken in a topic and someone replies to me and I don't realise till later. Don't wanna come across as rude Awards/Badges - I think this idea has gone a bit dead but I suppose it could still work. Maybe rewards that you are given for doing certain things. e.g. attending your first meet. If people want to get this 'achievement' all they need to do is attend a meet. This way it'll encourage more people to come so they can boast and be recognised for attending their first meet. This could also work with posts as well or top posters who add discussion to the forum. Not trying to restrict it to anything as it could be applied to a variety of things. A 'Thorpe Park Mania' forum - Kinda what the 'extra bits' are, but because we are a 'community', I feel this would be better placed at the top. I think the option for actual sub-forum designated for new members to post threads saying they're new would be good. I know there's a thread designated for that, but this way it divulges all attention to that one person. Language Filter - I personally don't mind it when I see curse words here and there and it would be nice to have an option to turn it off but by default the language filter be turned on for those who don't like seeing crude language Resources - I don't know whether this will come under copyright and such but maybe options to DL Thorpe's soundtracks like the Colossus theme. But anything like audio I guess could fall under here. And so people don't just download and snag them for themselves it should be restricted to those who have been members for 3+ months or something like that I know that was a lot to take in, and I'm not trying to change everything about TPM but just trying to inject some ideas into to perhaps improve it. I'm not trying to bash the site as the site does a lot of good, and is in fact, very good, but just thought I'd make that clear. Marc said a lot of the traffic for the site is from the GP, how can we get the GP to sign up? sure they may browse, but in what way can we encourage them to sign up? All these ideas are what I think would be good but that's not to say they are/or may they be practical and I apologise for the real shoddy writing as I'm falling asleep writing this! Mer, Jammy3112, AJ and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 I really like a lot of those ideas Alex, but I'm not sure about the VIP one. Have an option for people to contribute to the finance-side site by all means, but I'd fear you could risk creating a tiered system when some members feels less important than others and alienate them a bit. I know it's probably only a small risk, but it's still something I'd be dubious over. Of course, up to the Team to decide that one.. One thing I've noticed is there's less 'regular' members signing; those who sign up, and stick around for a long time. I've no idea why this is, but it would be great to see the community grow all the more with more regular members so discussion can expand not only with more Thorpe stuff, but also more non-Thorpe stuff. The 'VIP' idea, in theory, could discourage people from signing up as it may come across that there's a form of hierarchy to the place (even if there's not, it could still look like that)! All the other ideas seem to be ones which would encourage new members to join up and stick around, and make the place more of a community. alexander 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Have to agree with josh on the VIP point. From my experience with southparks when their version of a VIP package for contribution to the site it was the beginning of the end. Otherwise I like all the other ideas. In regards to the TPM videos of what we get up to it has always been my intention to do them and hopefully if things go to plan there will be a youtube video coming soon of some of the snippets I've managed to find throughout the year. The big factor with videos though is the time it takes to make, plus the amount of footage that is captured on the day to make it worthwhile. That's why for the time being I've tried to ensure their is a trip report for each one that shows a lot of the day, to build up interest that appears to of worked even though getting them all set up and written and posted can take 7-10 hours per trip report! MattyMoo and alexander 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Great post Alex. I personally agree with quite a bit of it, but in one form or another I think most of those ideas have been brought up (mostly in the unseen admin area) and discounted for one reason or another before now. My personal favourite that I don't think has been suggested before is Quote/Mentions - I think it was said that mentions are actually already in place, but sometimes it's just easier to get people's attention. Also quotes would be a nice idea to add to notifications as I personally do forget when I've spoken in a topic and someone replies to me and I don't realise till later. Don't wanna come across as rude I have no idea if that is something in the system that can be 'turned on' or if it would be a lot of work to implement, but I like it a lot. As for the contributor idea I wouldn't like it to be used to access extra or exclusive content, I like everything being out there for everyone. Other than a 'contributor' user group to show the love I think the best way it could be done is if the site carried some advertising (just some subtle banners) and contributors get the site ad free instead. I don't know why we don't carry adverts in the first place, which would surly be a more direct way to cover the running costs. I think it might cause some sort of issues in how the site runs and is registered if it starts to turn a profit? I think there has been a general lack of (outwardly noticeable) progress and activity around the site recently, but then it has to be remembered that it is run as a hobby really and people are busy! There has been a fair amount done for a future update but that is always going to come second to people keeping themselves employed and getting themselves through uni so it is taking a bit longer than expected. Also, **** the swear filter. alexander 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Han30 Posted December 4, 2013 Report Share Posted December 4, 2013 Blimey Alex, you posted an essay there! - Really like your ideas and agree with most of them, just not sure how some of them would be implemented. Regarding the language filter, for me personally I swear like a trouper and don't find foul language generally, however there are some quite young members on the site so it is understandble why it is there - your idea about having the option to see offencive language is a good one. Contributor stuff - I have said before that I would happily pay to be here (yes I did bugger off for a while but needed some space) - the only problem with this is that, again, some of the younger members may not be able to do this. If it was a case of simple bank transfer (I don't have paypal) then I would happily do it (as long as it wasn't a massive amount) - Lets face it, we are members of what I think is one of the best theme park forums on the Internet. Not only that but the perks that are offered to us - this year being The Swarm photoshoot, The Stealth photoshoot, Nemesis Inferno ERT and tour of the MBV maze - when you consider that Thorpe are charging people £50 to do a lift hill walk, those of us that were chosen to walk the Inferno hill were extremely lucky. I appear to be waffling.....I think the trip reports are really good and portray the fun that is always had and hopefully they encourage people to go to meet ups. I like the idea of doing videos but it is something that would take a lot of time - I've recently got into video making but only have basic software (and a naff camera) but would be happy to (attempt) to make a vid or two if people could contribute vid clips/photos. I did a vid waaaay back after the Swarm meet which was my first attempt at vid making and it came out ok(ish) Finally:7-10 hours to sort out trip reports??! Blimey They are very popular though so your hard work doesn't go un-noticed alexander and James & Co. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 Haha I get productive at random times in the night! Yeah I do agree about the VIP thing and I realised after posting it it might not be a swell idea as with the things mentioned about 'tiers'. I do agree you should have the option to contribute though I think the main emphasis of my post was to encourage new members to sign up and stick around. And that's why I thought about the whole awards scheme, it's nice to get recognition for things you've done but then again I suppose it could also fall under the idea of 'higher tiers' and people thinking they're superior to others. Peaj I love reading the trip reports, I hate waiting for them although I appreciate how much time they must take up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Han30 Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 Yeah I don't really like the idea of their being tiers amongst the forum tbh - as for contributing, an option for that would be good but I think it should remain anonymous as to who has donated etc - this website doesn't run itself and costs money and us as members benefit from using this site. Not really sure what to suggest regarding getting new members to sign up - for me, I was a lurker for quite a while (just realised that sounds a tad creepy!) but one day decided to take the plunge and sign up. What initially kept me coming back to this site was the chat room - I was too shy to post for quite a while because I didnt and still don't have a massive amount of knowledge of the theme park industry. The chat room was a great way to get to know other members a little better and definitely helped in getting me to my first meet up. I know there are several other members who are wanting to use chat more frequently now that we are in closed season - although I chat to people online away from this site, it is always nice "talking" to like-minded people and having a laugh so I aim to start using chat again very soon - though I may well be sat in chat on my own literally typing to myself Agree with you about the trip reports - I love the storyline idea behind them and they genuinely make me laugh - and it is always nice to look back at photos of fantastic meets Waffle.....over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted December 5, 2013 Report Share Posted December 5, 2013 Tiers I feel will just cause segregation and cliques and that isn't what the forum is about I feel, sure people could contribute as it will help out admins but I don't think members should get extra perks from it. But yeah I really hope some new members sign up and stay because there have been so many that have signed up, browsed for 20 minutes maybe made 1 post and never goes on again. Also I really hope I see new faces when I go to the thorpe open meet because it will be really nice to see new faces. Tbh I was pooping my self on my first one but it was the best thing I ever did, and I don't regret it for a second. Everyone was so nice and I wish for more new members to be embraced like I was But like Han said come into the chat room and most will follow, we usually have great chats once we are up and running.! It is always nice talking to like-minded people and having a laugh so I aim to start using chat again very soon. I look forward to meeting new members hopefully and I love Peaj's trip reports they always make me laugh and I hope next years meets are as good as this years ones! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted December 31, 2013 Report Share Posted December 31, 2013 I see post likes are here now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted December 31, 2013 Report Share Posted December 31, 2013 I see post likes are here now I swear post likes have been here for months now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted December 31, 2013 Report Share Posted December 31, 2013 I swear post likes have been here for months now. Sorry I meant like notifications, I've been half asleep all day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EC! Posted December 31, 2013 Report Share Posted December 31, 2013 Ahh ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC. Posted January 1, 2014 Report Share Posted January 1, 2014 Am I right in thinking that TPM is 10 this year (or was 10 sometime late last month)? If so, will we be seeing anything special to mark that landmark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benin Posted January 1, 2014 Report Share Posted January 1, 2014 Am I right in thinking that TPM is 10 this year (or was 10 sometime late last month)? If so, will we be seeing anything special to mark that landmark? Chessington Mania of course... Sidders 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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