In case you haven’t already noticed, check out the new Activeworlds website. It’s about time eh?
48 Comments
SW Chris
on January 28, 2011 at 11:33 pm
It looks better.
GSK
on January 28, 2011 at 11:58 pm
That website is really quite worse now.
Also, I can’t vote. D:
SW Chris
on January 29, 2011 at 12:08 am
I would have gone with HTML 5 and not Flash, sure. But I think its better overall. It is still mostly the same design. The only thing that has changed is the color palette and the flash movie and the content on the index.
The piling on over the AW Forum is just beyond the pale. :\ Whoever worked on the site must feel horrible. And I bet it’s either Mike or Stacee.
Fixed. Wow why was that set to denied rights, lol.
Ferruccio
on January 29, 2011 at 2:28 am
I like the change, and I like the flow of new ideas. Too bad I can’t vote. I guess I’ll have to delete all my builds and LEAVE AW 4EVER
Absolute Monarch
on January 29, 2011 at 3:30 am
why can’t I vote?
Syntax
on January 29, 2011 at 11:05 am
The site really isn’t new… same old stuff on it. Just got a fresh coat of paint.
s e v e n s
on January 29, 2011 at 6:57 pm
worst upgrade ever must be a bloyteg brand website this
SW Comit
on January 29, 2011 at 7:08 pm
lucky wrote: worst upgrade ever must be a bloyteg brand website this
I sure wish you would stop making yourself look like an ass on the AW forums about it though :
Espilae
on January 29, 2011 at 8:49 pm
Commie wrote: I sure wish you would stop making yourself look like an ass on the AW forums about it though :
I hate the website too, but I agree with Comit. Tone it down a bit, Sevs
Absolute Monarch
on January 29, 2011 at 9:38 pm
See, what Sevs is planning is on being a turd on the forums, get himself banned, and have all his delusions about bias or martyrdom confirmed by said ban, then flaunt that fact around.
GSK
on January 30, 2011 at 12:12 am
Sevens, I thought you said you were turning over a new leaf on the forums?
s e v e n s
on January 30, 2011 at 4:13 am
GSK wrote: Sevens, I thought you said you were turning over a new leaf on the forums?
no GSK, I said I’d turn over a new leaf by not trolling freedomf and andy s. I am infuriated at what I saw (and you should know why). if I could take a virtual piss on the website I would do it instantly.
as far as toning it down, I’m right at that point where I’m about to toss the rag in like a few others have just done. lotta drama behind the scenes (which I kept out of the forums) making me not like being on aw much anymore. I’m at the point now even building in greensville doesn’t calm me anymore. The website is the icing on the drama cake and it was just now shoved in my face. I’m not a happy camper.
Absolute wrote: See, what Sevs is planning is on being a turd on the forums, get himself banned, and have all his delusions about bias or martyrdom confirmed by said ban, then flaunt that fact around.
get out of my head!
Ferruccio
on January 30, 2011 at 4:38 am
The new website has precisely as much drama in it as people will ascribe. Stop freaking out about things, and there will be no drama!
People are leaving AW because a new website is utterly horrifying? Sheesh, guys, it’s not that bad. Utterly horrible would be something akin to a blank page, or a deletion of the relevant download links to the browser itself. If people are choosing to leave because of the aesthetics of a web design, then it sounds like they’re just looking for excuses to get nods from the community when they decide to leave.
I can’t see this website redesign as anything but positive. Even if it’s a pile of nonsense, at least AWI is making the effort to change something. A yelling community and people calling it quits might just cause them to revert back to their original design and use your behavior as an excuse to never attempt a redesign in the future.
It’s because you’re holding a level-headed and mature approach to the situation. The poll’s only for the irrational folk.
Ferruccio
on January 30, 2011 at 5:09 am
Absolute wrote: It’s because you’re holding a level-headed and mature approach to the situation. The poll’s only for the irrational folk.
If I light a torch and start yelling “Kill! Kill!” will I get my foot in the door of the polling booth??
s e v e n s
on January 30, 2011 at 5:38 am
Ferruruccruio wrote: The new website has precisely as much drama in it as people will ascribe. Stop freaking out about things, and there will be no drama!
there’s a lot that has to do with me/awi on website issues. if you really want to know the scoop send me a pm or something. edit: better yet scroll down and read.
Ferruruccruio wrote:People are leaving AW because a new website is utterly horrifying? Sheesh, guys, it’s not that bad. Utterly horrible would be something akin to a blank page, or a deletion of the relevant download links to the browser itself. If people are choosing to leave because of the aesthetics of a web design, then it sounds like they’re just looking for excuses to get nods from the community when they decide to leave.
the website is not horrible, it’s rancid. the website is the icing on my drama cake, no one elses. others are leaving for similar reasons I am questioning (privately considering) but they are not just over a new cascading style sheet and some cheap tacky flash elements thrown in a garbage infested pile of throw up they call a website.
Ferruruccruio wrote:I can’t see this website redesign as anything but positive. Even if it’s a pile of nonsense, at least AWI is making the effort to change something. A yelling community and people calling it quits might just cause them to revert back to their original design and use your behavior as an excuse to never attempt a redesign in the future.
Also, I still can’t vote!
making an effort? why didn’t they make an effort when the community was willing to help and most of all for free?? I amongst a few others offered our services and got nowhere. I was willing to build a full CMS/Blog/Billing system for them, which would normally cost thousands, for free. I made a few designs and got no input from Tom, Rick, JP or Stacee on the matter other then “this is not the general direction we’re looking for” only for them to not followup with feedback as to what they wanted or even what they didn’t like or would have liked to have seen. Also, I asked for the corporate logo only to be ignored on multiple occasions via email and phone. I heard the same response from a few select others that were also designing a website for active worlds. I then tried going to the community for ideas (many thanks to Hyper Anthony most of all for his input) and then followed up with a call to AWI and again, nothing. they loved the ideas Hyper and I had but no lead/direction. So maybe my outrage over AWI deciding to do a redesign on their site now with the effin mess, heaping pile of dung of a website without even considering the community (god help us if they actually went with someone in the community that made those updates) is not so bad and a lot of us think it’s justified. after all, they are the webs most powerful 3d virtual building platform on the market yet.
I get it, Active Worlds is ran like a small mom and pop business with it’s corner store like website. They’re not trying to appeal to us or new potential clients but rather the people just entering the web for the first time that don’t know anything better and want a place to hang out and hug everyone as they sit on their – stop me from laughing my fat ass off…
Absolute Monarch
on January 30, 2011 at 5:39 am
Ferruruccruio wrote: If I light a torch and start yelling “Kill! Kill!” will I get my foot in the door of the polling booth??
the US, Canada (if you use hockey to start the riot), Ireland and anywhere there’s a brit lurking aboot.
SW Comit
on January 30, 2011 at 12:53 pm
I hate to say it sevs but you clearly don’t have a very good track record history with AWI, you even said so yourself. If I were them I wouldn’t want my website to be dependent on somebody I had that disposition with. Perhaps that’s why they didn’t take your offer.
Legion
on January 30, 2011 at 1:00 pm
AW community is clearly undergoing another schism lately. Anyone remember the fiasco where Facter put the vote before the NG about banning Eep from it?
Not that I’m saying I disapprove of the new website, of course. It’s significant that they’re finally making progress and I think they can improve further on it. My concern, though, is how some in the community is threatening to undo the delicate progress made so far by making AWI alarmed and revert the site back to original design to assuage the some clearly vocal citizens. Maybe not.
s e v e n s
on January 30, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Commie wrote: I hate to say it sevs but you clearly don’t have a very good track record history with AWI, you even said so yourself. If I were them I wouldn’t want my website to be dependent on somebody I had that disposition with. Perhaps that’s why they didn’t take your offer.
I didn’t have a track record then… your facts are off.
and they acted the same way towards others…
Goober King
on January 30, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Ferruruccruio wrote:I can’t see this website redesign as anything but positive. Even if it’s a pile of nonsense, at least AWI is making the effort to change something. A yelling community and people calling it quits might just cause them to revert back to their original design and use your behavior as an excuse to never attempt a redesign in the future.
If they were actually making an effort to change things, I would agree with you. However, regardless of how little web design experience AWI may collectively have, that new website took almost no effort to make whatsoever. They simply rearranged the front page, gave it a new CSS stylesheet, then probably spent a few hours tossing every Flash animation trick they could think of on top of some screenshots and called it a day. That’s not effort. That was “Quick! One of our clients said our website looks old, so try to make it look more like Second Life!”
This is why everyone is so pissed; because this is just another example of how the community seems to give more of a shit about seeing this company succeed than its employees do. To be honest, I hope they do change it back to the old site. At least then we’d know they were paying attention to us!
SW Chris
on January 30, 2011 at 1:52 pm
I can see it from Sevs’ point of view. He probably sunk hours into his design and now he’s feeling snubbed. His reaction isn’t so much about the site design as it is about how they ignored him. Sound about right Sevs?
s e v e n s
on January 30, 2011 at 2:18 pm
SW wrote: I can see it from Sevs’ point of view. He probably sunk hours into his design and now he’s feeling snubbed. His reaction isn’t so much about the site design as it is about how they ignored him. Sound about right Sevs?
right on the money with how I feel. the site does suck though even if I weren’t mad. but yeah, you’re right on.
SW Comit
on January 30, 2011 at 2:23 pm
btw voting should be fixed. Dunno why permissions are do wonky for this board
Ferruccio
on January 30, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Goober wrote: If they were actually making an effort to change things, I would agree with you. However, regardless of how little web design experience AWI may collectively have, that new website took almost no effort to make whatsoever. They simply rearranged the front page, gave it a new CSS stylesheet, then probably spent a few hours tossing every Flash animation trick they could think of on top of some screenshots and called it a day. That’s not effort. That was “Quick! One of our clients said our website looks old, so try to make it look more like Second Life!”
This is why everyone is so pissed; because this is just another example of how the community seems to give more of a shit about seeing this company succeed than its employees do. To be honest, I hope they do change it back to the old site. At least then we’d know they were paying attention to us!
What should have they done? What would have been the ideal situation?
s e v e n s
on January 30, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Ferruruccruio wrote: What should have they done? What would have been the ideal situation?
maybe they shouldn’t have lead us on that they wanted a website redesign from the community if they weren’t genuinely sincere about wanting it? or at least gave direction or put their input in?
Ferruccio
on January 30, 2011 at 4:48 pm
lucky wrote: maybe they shouldn’t have lead us on that they wanted a website redesign from the community if they weren’t genuinely sincere about wanting it? or at least gave direction or put their input in?
lucky wrote: maybe they shouldn’t have lead us on that they wanted a website redesign from the community if they weren’t genuinely sincere about wanting it? or at least gave direction or put their input in?
Except I don’t think AWI/Flagg ever once publicly stated they want a website redesign from the community.
Absolute Monarch
on January 30, 2011 at 5:54 pm
That’s kind of a growing theme I’ve been noticing from people all over the AW forums, the political rhetoric changes “me” to “the community”. Basically, whenever a poster suggests someone said something to the community, or the opinion of the community, they mean “me or a very small, disproportionate and unrepresentative group of people”.
s e v e n s
on January 30, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Absolute wrote: That’s kind of a growing theme I’ve been noticing from people all over the AW forums, the political rhetoric changes “me” to “the community”. Basically, whenever a poster suggests someone said something to the community, or the opinion of the community, they mean “me or a very small, disproportionate and unrepresentative group of people”.
this happens a lot in all areas of our community and I’m guilty of this myself. but in aspects of the “community” here with dealings of the aw website, there is quite a wide range of people from different groups/cliques/etc which make up the small group of designers/developers thus “the community” and reasoning behind awi leading on (in private chat/phone conversations mostly) “the community” (as in the select few developers/designers) makes for a valid point.
otherwise if we were talking about why I feel I’m targeted with numerous bans/time-outs/people-hating-on-sevens etc then claiming that awi is attacking the community(ultimately attacking me), I could understand where you’re coming from. :p
GSK wrote: Except I don’t think AWI/Flagg ever once publicly stated they want a website redesign from the community.
no, you’re probably correct. not at least I don’t think he did publicly ever once. However, he has spoken to me, jonbee, xandrake, ohioman, starheart, queen ramel and a few others (which at the moment I can’t either remember or don’t know of). Though finding out this info was before I had actually submitted my initial mockup.
Goober King
on January 30, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Ferruruccruio wrote: What should have they done? What would have been the ideal situation?
The ideal solution? Hire someone who actually knows something about modern web design. Bonus if they know about integrating social media.
Slightly less ideal solution? Contract someone to make a website and leave AWI to maintain it. This could range from a totally new site to the WordPress option GSK was talking about.
A more practical solution? Outline requirements for the website, toss out the usual trial world/cit extension carrot, and BOOM: You got yourself a contest with a ton of qualified entries. For free!
And when all else fails? Throw up the website on a test server and allow people to view it/critique it before it goes live. Just because AWI is the size of a mom & pop operation doesn’t mean it has to act like one.
Oh, and before anyone gets any ideas, I never was approached to submit website ideas, nor did I offer any to AWI, so I have no personal axe to grind here. I just think it’s atrocious how AWI continues to display such gross incompetence when it comes to marketing their product. If they have any illusions about competing with the likes of Second Life (the Wal-Mart to their corner store), then they are going to have to get serious about it.
Ferruccio
on January 30, 2011 at 8:56 pm
Are there any set standards for how a website should look, as in, basic formatting and how information is conveyed, or is it more on the artistic side of things?
I will assume that AWI doesn’t have the money for hiring a dedicated web designer, so I could see the contract option being viable. If AWI crowdsourced the website with a contest, there would have to be a caveat like “it is possible that nobody will win” just in case every website is bad. Also, because I venture to guess the AWI doesn’t have much experience in defining requirements, though I’m sure they’ve had much experience having requirements handed to them by clients.
I suppose it would have been more ideal for AWI to put their website in a separate location for review by the community before replacing it. I doubt that AWI cares much for community input, especially since they’ve only had community input in the form of “Aaaahhhh, this has changed! Something’s not working perfectly so I hate it!!” They’re not likely willing to give the community a chance to offer input based on such a skewed experience with panicked members.
I don’t think AWI has any intention of competing with SL, from what I gather :/
Hyper Anthony
on January 30, 2011 at 9:21 pm
Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll get a contest winner that looks like this: http://art.yale.edu/
Ferruccio
on January 30, 2011 at 9:50 pm
A company homepage anyone can edit!!
Goober King
on January 30, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Ferruruccruio wrote: Are there any set standards for how a website should look, as in, basic formatting and how information is conveyed, or is it more on the artistic side of things?
While the majority of people’s complaints center around the aesthetic side of things, there are also several coding standards that the site doesn’t adhere to either (not that it ever did). There are also several design techniques that are considered standard practice these days, though I don’t think they’re documented anywhere.
Ferruruccruio wrote: I suppose it would have been more ideal for AWI to put their website in a separate location for review by the community before replacing it. I doubt that AWI cares much for community input, especially since they’ve only had community input in the form of “Aaaahhhh, this has changed! Something’s not working perfectly so I hate it!!” They’re not likely willing to give the community a chance to offer input based on such a skewed experience with panicked members.
Maybe not, but when they never consult with the community to begin with, what do they expect?
Ferruruccruio wrote: I don’t think AWI has any intention of competing with SL, from what I gather :/
Then why did they try to make the website look like Second Life’s? Seriously, compare http://www.activeworlds.com to http://www.secondlife.com and tell me that’s not derivative. Where do you think the whole “dating” malarkey came from?
I suspect the corporate outlook is getting diluted by the biases of the person who redesigned the site.
Seiya
on January 31, 2011 at 12:32 am
I personally like it more than I dislike it. ~ My only gripe is they aimed it at “finding your soulmate” and dating etc. I mean if finding my soulmate means I am putting one of those “o” after my name, then just shoot me. Can you imagine ever becoming one of “those” kinda people in here? I dunno if those folk swing by SW ever, but I swear they are all high as kites with their medication. You can keep your “o”, and I will keep your medication. My 2 cents.
s e v e n s
on January 31, 2011 at 12:36 am
Yeah so I decided to use my anger and pop out another potential website design mockup. I would still love to build them a website but I am no longer willing to do it free. Anyways, content section not done yet (due to the fact I have work in the morning), so here:
I can come up with neat designs all day long if I wanted to though after this one, I am not making anymore unless asked (and with a deposit in hand lmao). Also for a nifty side note, I traced the logo lol.
Absolute Monarch
on January 31, 2011 at 12:38 am
unlucky wrote: Yeah so I decided to use my anger and pop out another potential website design mockup. I would still love to build them a website but I am no longer willing to do it free. Anyways, content section not done yet (due to the fact I have work in the morning), so here:
I can come up with neat designs all day long if I wanted to though after this one, I am not making anymore unless asked (and with a deposit in hand lmao). Also for a nifty side note, I traced the logo lol.
I had no idea that Nougats were so bitter. Always pictured them as sweet me.
s e v e n s
on January 31, 2011 at 12:53 am
Absolute wrote: I had no idea that Nougats were so bitter. Always pictured them as sweet me.
you’re thinking of ghostgats. they’re nice but really annoying. the reason they became ghostgats was because they were so bitter and now they need to make up for it somehow – stuck in limbo them…
Sweet?! Whatchyall talking about. Nougats are the worst! Vile and wicked vermin which only want to nom everything
Also that looks nice Sevs
s e v e n s
on January 31, 2011 at 1:19 am
Commie wrote: Sweet?! Whatchyall talking about. Nougats are the worst! Vile and wicked vermin which only want to nom everything
Also that looks nice Sevs
nougats are a vital source of ever vitamin and mineral one needs in their diet. we taste sweet and we’re good for you too!
Thanks Comie
Talisan
on February 1, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Goober wrote: The ideal solution? Hire someone who actually knows something about modern web design. Bonus if they know about integrating social media.
Slightly less ideal solution? Contract someone to make a website and leave AWI to maintain it. This could range from a totally new site to the WordPress option GSK was talking about.
A more practical solution? Outline requirements for the website, toss out the usual trial world/cit extension carrot, and BOOM: You got yourself a contest with a ton of qualified entries. For free!
And when all else fails? Throw up the website on a test server and allow people to view it/critique it before it goes live. Just because AWI is the size of a mom & pop operation doesn’t mean it has to act like one.
Oh, and before anyone gets any ideas, I never was approached to submit website ideas, nor did I offer any to AWI, so I have no personal axe to grind here. I just think it’s atrocious how AWI continues to display such gross incompetence when it comes to marketing their product. If they have any illusions about competing with the likes of Second Life (the Wal-Mart to their corner store), then they are going to have to get serious about it.
Martin would have created the dummy website and tested it. But then again… he’s gone.
Ferruccio
on February 1, 2011 at 10:27 pm
Wasn’t it Martin who got all huffy about owl poof supposedly being a homophobic slur?
It looks better.
That website is really quite worse now.
Also, I can’t vote. D:
I would have gone with HTML 5 and not Flash, sure. But I think its better overall. It is still mostly the same design. The only thing that has changed is the color palette and the flash movie and the content on the index.
The piling on over the AW Forum is just beyond the pale. :\ Whoever worked on the site must feel horrible. And I bet it’s either Mike or Stacee.
It’s worse.
Period.
Fixed. Wow why was that set to denied rights, lol.
I like the change, and I like the flow of new ideas. Too bad I can’t vote. I guess I’ll have to delete all my builds and LEAVE AW 4EVER
why can’t I vote?
The site really isn’t new… same old stuff on it. Just got a fresh coat of paint.
worst upgrade ever
must be a bloyteg brand website this
I sure wish you would stop making yourself look like an ass on the AW forums about it though :
I hate the website too, but I agree with Comit. Tone it down a bit, Sevs
See, what Sevs is planning is on being a turd on the forums, get himself banned, and have all his delusions about bias or martyrdom confirmed by said ban, then flaunt that fact around.
Sevens, I thought you said you were turning over a new leaf on the forums?
no GSK, I said I’d turn over a new leaf by not trolling freedomf and andy s. I am infuriated at what I saw (and you should know why). if I could take a virtual piss on the website I would do it instantly.
as far as toning it down, I’m right at that point where I’m about to toss the rag in like a few others have just done. lotta drama behind the scenes (which I kept out of the forums) making me not like being on aw much anymore. I’m at the point now even building in greensville doesn’t calm me anymore. The website is the icing on the drama cake and it was just now shoved in my face. I’m not a happy camper.
get out of my head!
The new website has precisely as much drama in it as people will ascribe. Stop freaking out about things, and there will be no drama!
People are leaving AW because a new website is utterly horrifying? Sheesh, guys, it’s not that bad. Utterly horrible would be something akin to a blank page, or a deletion of the relevant download links to the browser itself. If people are choosing to leave because of the aesthetics of a web design, then it sounds like they’re just looking for excuses to get nods from the community when they decide to leave.
I can’t see this website redesign as anything but positive. Even if it’s a pile of nonsense, at least AWI is making the effort to change something. A yelling community and people calling it quits might just cause them to revert back to their original design and use your behavior as an excuse to never attempt a redesign in the future.
Also, I still can’t vote!
It’s because you’re holding a level-headed and mature approach to the situation. The poll’s only for the irrational folk.
If I light a torch and start yelling “Kill! Kill!” will I get my foot in the door of the polling booth??
there’s a lot that has to do with me/awi on website issues. if you really want to know the scoop send me a pm or something. edit: better yet scroll down and read.
the website is not horrible, it’s rancid. the website is the icing on my drama cake, no one elses. others are leaving for similar reasons I am questioning (privately considering) but they are not just over a new cascading style sheet and some cheap tacky flash elements thrown in a garbage infested pile of throw up they call a website.
making an effort? why didn’t they make an effort when the community was willing to help and most of all for free?? I amongst a few others offered our services and got nowhere. I was willing to build a full CMS/Blog/Billing system for them, which would normally cost thousands, for free. I made a few designs and got no input from Tom, Rick, JP or Stacee on the matter other then “this is not the general direction we’re looking for” only for them to not followup with feedback as to what they wanted or even what they didn’t like or would have liked to have seen. Also, I asked for the corporate logo only to be ignored on multiple occasions via email and phone. I heard the same response from a few select others that were also designing a website for active worlds. I then tried going to the community for ideas (many thanks to Hyper Anthony most of all for his input) and then followed up with a call to AWI and again, nothing. they loved the ideas Hyper and I had but no lead/direction. So maybe my outrage over AWI deciding to do a redesign on their site now with the effin mess, heaping pile of dung of a website without even considering the community (god help us if they actually went with someone in the community that made those updates) is not so bad and a lot of us think it’s justified. after all, they are the webs most powerful 3d virtual building platform on the market yet.
I get it, Active Worlds is ran like a small mom and pop business with it’s corner store like website. They’re not trying to appeal to us or new potential clients but rather the people just entering the web for the first time that don’t know anything better and want a place to hang out and hug everyone as they sit on their – stop me from laughing my fat ass off…
That’s how it works in the US, right?
the US, Canada (if you use hockey to start the riot), Ireland and anywhere there’s a brit lurking aboot.
I hate to say it sevs but you clearly don’t have a very good track record history with AWI, you even said so yourself. If I were them I wouldn’t want my website to be dependent on somebody I had that disposition with. Perhaps that’s why they didn’t take your offer.
AW community is clearly undergoing another schism lately. Anyone remember the fiasco where Facter put the vote before the NG about banning Eep from it?
Not that I’m saying I disapprove of the new website, of course. It’s significant that they’re finally making progress and I think they can improve further on it. My concern, though, is how some in the community is threatening to undo the delicate progress made so far by making AWI alarmed and revert the site back to original design to assuage the some clearly vocal citizens. Maybe not.
I didn’t have a track record then… your facts are off.
and they acted the same way towards others…
If they were actually making an effort to change things, I would agree with you. However, regardless of how little web design experience AWI may collectively have, that new website took almost no effort to make whatsoever. They simply rearranged the front page, gave it a new CSS stylesheet, then probably spent a few hours tossing every Flash animation trick they could think of on top of some screenshots and called it a day. That’s not effort. That was “Quick! One of our clients said our website looks old, so try to make it look more like Second Life!”
This is why everyone is so pissed; because this is just another example of how the community seems to give more of a shit about seeing this company succeed than its employees do. To be honest, I hope they do change it back to the old site. At least then we’d know they were paying attention to us!
I can see it from Sevs’ point of view. He probably sunk hours into his design and now he’s feeling snubbed. His reaction isn’t so much about the site design as it is about how they ignored him. Sound about right Sevs?
right on the money with how I feel. the site does suck though even if I weren’t mad. but yeah, you’re right on.
btw voting should be fixed. Dunno why permissions are do wonky for this board
What should have they done? What would have been the ideal situation?
maybe they shouldn’t have lead us on that they wanted a website redesign from the community if they weren’t genuinely sincere about wanting it? or at least gave direction or put their input in?
That’s not what I asked.
yes it is, you asked what should have they done?
Except I don’t think AWI/Flagg ever once publicly stated they want a website redesign from the community.
That’s kind of a growing theme I’ve been noticing from people all over the AW forums, the political rhetoric changes “me” to “the community”. Basically, whenever a poster suggests someone said something to the community, or the opinion of the community, they mean “me or a very small, disproportionate and unrepresentative group of people”.
this happens a lot in all areas of our community and I’m guilty of this myself. but in aspects of the “community” here with dealings of the aw website, there is quite a wide range of people from different groups/cliques/etc which make up the small group of designers/developers thus “the community” and reasoning behind awi leading on (in private chat/phone conversations mostly) “the community” (as in the select few developers/designers) makes for a valid point.
otherwise if we were talking about why I feel I’m targeted with numerous bans/time-outs/people-hating-on-sevens etc then claiming that awi is attacking the community(ultimately attacking me), I could understand where you’re coming from. :p
no, you’re probably correct. not at least I don’t think he did publicly ever once. However, he has spoken to me, jonbee, xandrake, ohioman, starheart, queen ramel and a few others (which at the moment I can’t either remember or don’t know of). Though finding out this info was before I had actually submitted my initial mockup.
The ideal solution? Hire someone who actually knows something about modern web design. Bonus if they know about integrating social media.
Slightly less ideal solution? Contract someone to make a website and leave AWI to maintain it. This could range from a totally new site to the WordPress option GSK was talking about.
A more practical solution? Outline requirements for the website, toss out the usual trial world/cit extension carrot, and BOOM: You got yourself a contest with a ton of qualified entries. For free!
And when all else fails? Throw up the website on a test server and allow people to view it/critique it before it goes live. Just because AWI is the size of a mom & pop operation doesn’t mean it has to act like one.
Oh, and before anyone gets any ideas, I never was approached to submit website ideas, nor did I offer any to AWI, so I have no personal axe to grind here. I just think it’s atrocious how AWI continues to display such gross incompetence when it comes to marketing their product. If they have any illusions about competing with the likes of Second Life (the Wal-Mart to their corner store), then they are going to have to get serious about it.
Are there any set standards for how a website should look, as in, basic formatting and how information is conveyed, or is it more on the artistic side of things?
I will assume that AWI doesn’t have the money for hiring a dedicated web designer, so I could see the contract option being viable. If AWI crowdsourced the website with a contest, there would have to be a caveat like “it is possible that nobody will win” just in case every website is bad. Also, because I venture to guess the AWI doesn’t have much experience in defining requirements, though I’m sure they’ve had much experience having requirements handed to them by clients.
I suppose it would have been more ideal for AWI to put their website in a separate location for review by the community before replacing it. I doubt that AWI cares much for community input, especially since they’ve only had community input in the form of “Aaaahhhh, this has changed! Something’s not working perfectly so I hate it!!” They’re not likely willing to give the community a chance to offer input based on such a skewed experience with panicked members.
I don’t think AWI has any intention of competing with SL, from what I gather :/
Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll get a contest winner that looks like this: http://art.yale.edu/
A company homepage anyone can edit!!
While the majority of people’s complaints center around the aesthetic side of things, there are also several coding standards that the site doesn’t adhere to either (not that it ever did). There are also several design techniques that are considered standard practice these days, though I don’t think they’re documented anywhere.
Maybe not, but when they never consult with the community to begin with, what do they expect?
Then why did they try to make the website look like Second Life’s? Seriously, compare http://www.activeworlds.com to http://www.secondlife.com and tell me that’s not derivative. Where do you think the whole “dating” malarkey came from?
I suspect the corporate outlook is getting diluted by the biases of the person who redesigned the site.
I personally like it more than I dislike it. ~ My only gripe is they aimed it at “finding your soulmate” and dating etc. I mean if finding my soulmate means I am putting one of those “o” after my name, then just shoot me. Can you imagine ever becoming one of “those” kinda people in here? I dunno if those folk swing by SW ever, but I swear they are all high as kites with their medication. You can keep your “o”, and I will keep your medication. My 2 cents.
Yeah so I decided to use my anger and pop out another potential website design mockup. I would still love to build them a website but I am no longer willing to do it free. Anyways, content section not done yet (due to the fact I have work in the morning), so here:
I can come up with neat designs all day long if I wanted to
though after this one, I am not making anymore unless asked (and with a deposit in hand lmao). Also for a nifty side note, I traced the logo lol.
I had no idea that Nougats were so bitter. Always pictured them as sweet me.
you’re thinking of ghostgats. they’re nice but really annoying. the reason they became ghostgats was because they were so bitter and now they need to make up for it somehow – stuck in limbo them…
Sweet?! Whatchyall talking about. Nougats are the worst! Vile and wicked vermin which only want to nom everything
Also that looks nice Sevs
nougats are a vital source of ever vitamin and mineral one needs in their diet. we taste sweet and we’re good for you too!
Thanks Comie
Martin would have created the dummy website and tested it. But then again… he’s gone.
Wasn’t it Martin who got all huffy about owl poof supposedly being a homophobic slur?