Its been almost two months since we fully relaunched Customize.org and it is due time for a status update.
The reaction to EVO has been fantastic. Traffic is at an all time high and continues to increase. Not only are more people using the site, they are spending much longer on it. We have seen a lot of old faces come back, and just as importantly, we are seeing new users becoming regulars. And of course, all of this wouldn't be possible without our loyal core users, so thank you!
Even though the overall traffic is increasing, what really matters to the health of the community is increasing members. Over the coming weeks, we will be making an effort to encourage lurkers to join and participate in the community.
One of these methods is increased advertisements for guests. deviantArt does this ("sign up and don't see these ads") and it works quite well. We have started to add a second banner to certain pages. Rest assured, we will not increase the number of ads for our members.
The wiki will play a huge role in making it easier for new users to understand what this hobby of ours is all about. Please don't be scared to contribute! If everyone pitches in, it will be the most complete customization resource on the web!
Now that the wiki is up, and our advertising and hosting are under control, Steve and I will be focussed on agile development. This means smaller, more frequent updates: fixing bugs, tweaking the interface, increasing performance, and adding new functionality.
We will try and be as open as possible, and to give more updates like this one. Our TODO list is huge, so our priorities are largely determined by all of you.
So, lets keep the conversation going. What are your thoughts on the first 57 days, and what would you like to see happen over the next few weeks?
For me, the site has become more tolerant and almost everyone seems to be more respectful of each other and their works. I did have my doubts very early on but those layers of doubt are peeling away each week.
It's great to see the focus on craftsmanship instead of dramatic bickering. Props to you guys Mark/Steve for creating the new site and much respect to all the great artists/skinners/screenshot subbers of the community. The site is once again pleasing to browse. :)
I'm likeing the site. The new notes are a beauty to use. I miss a general forum section, but the groups work fine. We needed some kind of separation badly, I must admit. The new profile controls and user pages are finaly up to date (better even).
Custo is awesome, I'd like to thank you and revird for that.
I have two minor requests though.
A better way to deal with wallpacks, like have its original names or a .zip alternative and a way to suggest for feature major works like j3's new pack, since it has more than 3 walls, it could be featured alone.
Hm, I thought I spent a while on here way back when I was all active -- before the comeback. But yeah, with all the fancy new features, it is easy to spend a lot of time on here.
I'd have to say this is the best website on the whole internet! ;)
On the todo list currently I'm not sure what I personally would choose as priorities. I'd have to give that some thought.
Congrats lamplighter & revird for this wonderful site. What I think is missing are the search bar and a forum tracker ("what this topic" or something, so you get notified when someone replies).
yeh this is SO many times better than the old custo even with the missin features (search etc). Looking forward to seeing the ability for different skins/themes of the site. And I'm excited about the wiki, because with the skills here it might become a little bit of the hacking / customizing centre to help everyone along a bit like what was on WinT's site.
the new site has a much more community feel than it did in the past. I love what you guys did with it, and am looking forward to the next improvements!
It's quite amusing. A bit more spartan, but definitely an improvement over previous incarnations.
One minor obstacle I've encountered is that you have to subscribe to a group before you can comment on a thread. I don't see the point in this, as this mandatory extra "signup" actually raises the threshold to participating. It hinders the flow, so to speak.
Has it really only been 57 days? Goodness, it seems like so much longer. I suppose that's a testament to the overwhelming sense of familiarity the site is already breeding. Although it's been in existence (in this state) less than two months, it already seems as though I've been using it forever. It does seem as though the persistent in-house squabbles and immaturity has gone by the wayside, and I thank heavens for that. All in all, I'd say you've done an outstanding job on this, and frankly, I can't imagine a better way for this to have gone.
As for the requests ... I guess I'll just champion that which has already been mentioned, both by myself and others: a return of the search, which is inevitable; submission comment notification; and comment editing.
I would also like to see the ability to post in threads in groups you are not a member of. The logic behind requiring a poster to be a member is solid, but in practice, it seems kind of superfluous. I suppose there's no reason to avoid joining any group that has a topic one might be interested in posting in, but it'd just be a nice little thing to be able to do.
as has been stated: the site has improved a lot. it feels fresher, it's wonderful to see old faces popping up here and there, and it seems like participation is up. for my part, i know i'm more engaged than i was a year ago.
things i'd like to see (other than those already mentioned): what the preferences section is going to be, and user submitted site skins.
yeh at first i didn't mind having to join groups to post, but now there are new groups popping up all the time, and I think I'll comment ... and then realize I'm not a member of that group, and just think I'll do it later. I'm the lazy type ;)
A thought, if we were to keep the having to join a group to comment thing. When we click "Join This Group" it actually immediately joins us. Not just takes us to the front page to click join, and then have to go to the topic to comment. Ya know?
I think a suitable solution to the 'join this group' issue could be something like being able to comment on any thread in any group, but doing so would sign you up for the respective group, if you weren't already. this would create almost a log of where you'd posted. i dont know, i literally just thought of that, but it could work.
Perhaps it could be set up so that you can post in a topic regardless of whether or not you are a member of the group in question, but require membership in order to start a new topic?
vsm: yeah that would be nice, i'm not sure how easy it is to do at the moment, i remember looking into it before and it wasn't straightforward. But it's def something we'll have in the preferences section when its up :)
