Bells and whistles. Do we need them?

Does Segue need the bells and whistles that have no real function?

  • Absolutely – I’ll feel inadequate unless my name’s in lights
  • I have no opinion one way or the other.
  • Not at all – they’re a waste of time and bandwidth.

0 voters

Just wondering what people think about the guanxi, avatars, coloured names, etc. I for one much prefer a simple, uncluttered look and feel, and it seems there’s some agreement to this.
I don’t know whether its these additions that caused Segue to melt last week, but it seems to me that the site slowed considerably with the addition of the “shop” and I question the need for it.

Hey, great, I was about to suggest setting up a poll but then refrained because I thought after being away for so long, I might simply look too poll-starved for you folks :?

I want to keep my avatar, please :frowning:

Apart from that, I don’t really care about guanxi, colours, name changes etc. I like some features like the stats, and I often just refresh the “new posts since last visit” but probably could live without that. I still think it makes sense to have some distinction between newbies and old-timers (and me somewhere in the lower middle - i’ll have my first anniversary soon!), be it by pointing out the number of posts, giving rank names or something else. But my main interest in Segue are definitely the posts and not some frills like a guanxi bank, so I’d say skip whatever slows Segue down too much.

Iris

Right, Iris, but I specifically limited the poll to "those doo-dads that serve no purpose – I’m not talking about the stats (although they’re of no interest to me personally) or the IMO very useful functions such as “posts since last visit,” etc.

I also don’t have a problem with avatars (although they’re not necessary either).

No, I’d just like to see an end to whatever is slowing the site down – so much so that you couldn’t even login for a while at times. Seemed to me that it only started happening when all these coloured names, the guanxi shop, etc. made an appearance.

I liked Wolf’s “Barbiesegue” jibe.

Take them away but don’t touch my avatar!

Edited in support to Wolf’s post … :wink: … though I do reserve the right to change it.
At least when I grow up …

Less is more. I quite like the minimalist Segue.

I think that it is only a question of possibilities. If there is space to run everything, then I want everything. If not, then I will do without some things. I do, however, think that avatars are something that must be retained. These are part and parcel of all forums, basically, and they add something to the nuance of the posters (although I disaprove of people changing their avatars frequently).

I wonder, as an open question, how deeply the archives ought to be. Much of the material saved is of little or no value and just takes up space (and gets dusty :slight_smile:. Do we need to have chit-chat backed up for all eternity? Do we need a concrete reference that ABCboy-24 was a knucklehead?
I’d advocate keeping the very interesting stuff (subjective, yes) and the practical material, the rest goes into the delete forever basket.

The question, and options seem to narrow. My answer doesn’t fit any of the choices.

Do we NEED the bells and whistles?

Of course not, but I like them and think we should keep them as long as it doesn’t destabilise or slow down the system to a noticeable extent. Functionality first, then you can spruce up the form, but not to the extent where it is form over functionality.

Guanxi and a shop does create little goals that create a bit more interest. It’s also nice to be able to thank someone with a little more than words, or try and get more response with a “10 guanxi for anyone who can tell me…”. The bank seems a little pointless though. Avatars a really useful to help remember people in the absence of a face to attach to the name, so I agree with Wolf that it would be better if you couldn’t change them easily, but it’s something we should definitely try and retain.

Bottom line. If it fucks with the system, ditch it. If it doesn’t, why not keep it?

Brian

Sorry if I change my avatar too often for you, wolf…I am just trying to carve out a niche while shaking up my profile so it’s a little more interesting for y’all. I am a little sad too see guanxi go since it was a nice way of rewarding those who really contributed to this website community, but I can deal with it if it means I don’t have to put up with the twits on tealit.com anymore. I can only flame for so long, but it was such a release to let myself be absorbed into the mindless bantering that goes on there while I tried to get my Taiwan forum fix. But segue, I think Prince sang it best when he said, “Nothing compares 2 U”.

My suggestion of the day:
How about dumping people who have been inactive for a certain amount of time. I have gone through the names of people who have zero posts and have been members for longer than I have while I was doing my guanxi philanthropy thing. Can you shake these people off and use the space being taken up with their info to optimize this site further?

I don’t miss the name lighting, but I do miss my G Money Orda title. Especially since I have to go back to being a peasant. Hmph…from G Money Orda to a Peasant…life just ain’t fair.

I think that’s what we call a rhetorical question. Doesn’t the expression “bells & whistles” refer to non-essential features? And if they’re non-essential, then we of course don’t need them, right?

I like some of our non-essential features, such as avatars. Colourations, on the other hand, are not important to me at all. I would like to see a “poster-rating” system similar to what we had at OrIeNtEd.org, but maybe with more flexibility - I recall that it was not possible to change your rating of other people even if your estimation of them had changed.

Okay, now I’m pissed off. I submitted a FULL PAGE of Guanxi FAQs to Gus by e-mail, and now you’re talking about changing the rules? I WANT MY GUANXI!!! BTW, did you get it, Gus? I tried to submit it via the Segue thread, but apparently the system crashed between the time I started typing and the time I hit “submit.”

Seriously, though, I do like the Guanxi system, and the little bells and whistles make it a bit more fun, but I could live without them. The colors and bolding are worthless, IMHO, but I like the ability to choose your own title.

In any case, I’d like to see some sort of rating system even if it’s a simple star system like we had on Oriented.org.

I seriously don’t like any items that alter people’s motives to make posts. It takes me so long to read through so many useless posts and forces me to make useless posts to buy my Avatar.

I agree, Ali. The things that I liked: avatars, rating posts and topics (but not people), private messaging, and signatures are all I need for posting here. It’s nice to know who’s online in case you want to send a message and it’s nice to see who has been on in the last 24 hours, but these are things without which I can live (ugh, that sounds ugly, doesn’t it?).
I can’t, however, live withut my avatar(s) and signature(s) and my private messages. And personalizing your title was pretty nice too, but that’s because I’m still not too keen on this “peasant” and “triad member” stuff.

The bank, the guanxi, the glowing names, and the other stuff was just like adding whipped cream to Haagen Das…it’s nice, but without the extra fluff, it’s still very good.

I said that I couldn’t live without my name being in lights, but I never even considered wasting my guanxi on that stuff. Well, okay, once, but that was before I saw what people’s names looked like with it.

Gus, can you list the new rankings and titles, please…I’ve noticed some of the posters have the distinct honor of becoming psycho xiaojies while I still remain a lowly peasant.

Other than that, I’ll see some of y’all in a few hours.

You’ll always be a psycho xiaojie to me :stuck_out_tongue:

I do like guanxi and everything that goes with it, you don’t think I post for your pleasure do you ? It gives you something to work towards, to look forward to, even though it shows I have a long way to go… As for mass posting to get Guanxi, I seem to get a lot more from being a good egg, or trying to look desperate and getting it through pity than by just posting, but that’s just me.

Avatars are nice, the rest is fluff. Since everything went to hell around the time the shop was added, it makes sense to roll back to the last known good setup.

[quote]My suggestion of the day:
How about dumping people who have been inactive for a certain amount of time? [/quote]
I suggested this over a year ago.
…I laughed at your avatar, ImaniOU, and I think that changing them is OK, but over time you do get to sort of associate someone with their avatar, and you can scroll to them easier than trying to identify names.
Maybe it’s time for me to change?

Life is hard, then you die.

I like any system on Segue.

We are the people that make Segue what it is, not all the extra features. We all bring our personalities to the forum (multiple personalities in my case). We are the ones that give Segue a flavor all of it’s own.

I think that the purpose of Segue can be met without all the extras. I do like the extras but if there isn’t enough space then I say loose anything that we don’t need - except the avitars - I like the avitars.

I wonder about getting rid of the posts that are of no use though - who decides what is no longer useful. I use Segue as an information resource and a great place to network.

All in all it’s the members that make Segue - The members that are most notable in my opinion - well ones that are easy to remember and add something of value to the site are…
Wolf
Tigerman
Mother T
Mr He.
Alleycat
Sir Donald Bradman
Gus
Miltownkid
ImaniOU
Hartzel - a busy man - not many posts - but useful
Sandman
Hexuan
Juba
Iron Lady
chainsmoker - good for a laugh
Monkey
and Rascal
There are plenty more but I don’t want to take up too much space

I am all for deleting inactive members though - clean things up a bit - take out the trash - and get back to business

I like the current avatar of Segue. but yes delete the inactive members, save space and bandwidth.

I like the board as it is at the moment. Very minimalist in its styling and functions, but it seems to do everything you need.

I find having a forum-based “currency” like Guanxi very useful. Jeff’s FAQ is a case in point. When I posted my request for someone to author something for the website, I was hoping (hoping!) that it would be done before I got back to Taiwan 2 weeks later. Jeff sent it in within hours of my post.

This doesn’t mean that the Guanxi incentive got it done. But I believe the offer got it done faster.

Segue is not in a position to offer much more to volunteers than recognition. Plus, this website has no aspirations to generate sales to cover expenses. So it may never be in the position to offer more.

I’ve been hearing from concerned members ideas on how we can avoid these crashes in the future. Thank you for them – and please keep them coming (gus@segue.com.tw).

Now, not all the modifications are coming back. But most of them have a useful purpose, IMHO.

I like the avatars… I’m not much good at remembering names.

I don’t care about any of the other stuff.