Montana Matt wrote:The content submission interface wasn't ever really all that great. Going forward, we're going to move to a more modern system. I'm looking at some WYSIWYG (What You See IS What You Get) interfaces to make the submission process easier.
I was over at Dixie University's computer department discussing my ideas for a broader use of my beta, etc....(used to be Dixie College until Friday)...Keep in mind this use to be a jr college until this year...but right away they showed me "image tools" (I requested KISS terminology whilst speaking in front of me!) that do exactly that....and I was under the impression you surely were going to make that significant change....that is what climbers, kayakers, mountain bikers, alpinists, bc skiers, etc. need Matt. All along, this site has been way too complicated for new contributors...even someone like me got so use to writing pages that I could not see how important a change like that should have been until now....but I have always received feedback from users of my beta that contributing to the site was too difficult and time consuming....
To make a half step to cost me 40 hrs of work to revise every page, but did not eliminate a step in the contribution process, in fact added one in terms of guessing how images align, was a bit short sighted you have to admit. I advise you think all these items through before making changes in the future. Either go all the way to your final objective with every minute change or don't make it. I am too much of a perfectionist not to correct all my maligned pages...can't stand the beta looking like crap for x amount of time...but my trust of these kind of changes without any input from major contributors, has been challenged.
I commend all three of you for your effort. Chad and Josh not being paid a dime, that is truly "giving" first and foremost (same as putting your money where your mouth is sort of thing), so I can't complain about being forced to sit in front of my computer longer than I want. These two, no matter their intent/success, contributed way more hours than that I am sure....and I know how sincere you are about wanting to make positive changes.
If I can partner with Dixie University and give back to my community I will move on with Gearbeans.com as previously stated. I really think my vision for how to attract new members and open up the site, in comparison to what is important to the majority of your "current active members" are at odds (voting, power points, both meaningless to me).
Thanks for you time and open discussion these past two weeks. I wish you luck with the revisions. They are guaranteed to be some improvement over the stagnation that had been present. If you want to communicate with me further about any glitches in my stuff, you, Chad or Josh, do it via email....I will be checking out of the forums again. I just don't have the time to climb, fix every beta page and keep track of communications here. I would appreciate a heads up (email) on any further changes that will drastically affect my beta presentation so I can arrange for someone to go make the necessary changes to keep it presentable until I get it all moved.
Cheers