Am I Doing a Good Job?

Excellent Job ..

(F) (F) for both of you =D ..

F?

Except for the microscopic quick reply box, you're doing fine. :P

But seriously, you are doing a very good job. Just look at the popularity of DaniWeb? Would 309,010 threads exist if you were doing a bad job? Davey has also been doing a good job, although it's sometimes hard to see directly the work he contributes to.

One thing that I especially like about DaniWeb is the fact that the software is constantly being updated and tweaked. Often software bugs in other forums can be present for months without being fixed. DaniWeb also values community's feedback, which is another reason why DaniWeb is my primary message board I visit right now.

Thank you for the feedback, joeprogrammer. However, in your post you compared DaniWeb to other forums you visit. May I ask what forums those are and what drew you to them - what do they offer that we don't? :) Just trying to pick your brain!

Thank you for the feedback, joeprogrammer. However, in your post you compared DaniWeb to other forums you visit. May I ask what forums those are and what drew you to them - what do they offer that we don't? :) Just trying to pick your brain!

Funny you should ask. A lot of the forum is the community - and that's a huge contributing factor to which forums I visit.

I used to visit CBoard quite frequently. And I still do, although not as much. How might I describe it... it's quite hardcore. It covers C/C++ far more than it could ever be covered here at DaniWeb. The downside is that because the members are so hardcore, there's a ton of sinister and sarcastic posts. Boy, if you don't know what you're doing, you could easily be mocked and insulted... (might I mention Quzah for those of you CBoarders)

What basically made me stray away from CBoard was the fact that I felt I wasn't helping terribly much in the community. Experts seemed to answer all the posts, and I never felt like I got a chance to respond. I ended up mostly posting in the General Discussions board, where I lost any reputation I still had at that point. :p Nevertheless, I still visit CBoard when I have the time.

Other boards that I've visited include DevShed and GIDForums. DevShed has WAY too many ads on it, which although can be blocked give me a bad feeling about the way the site is run... and GIDForums seems a little too beginnerish for me.

The amazing thing is that once you start visiting other boards, you begin to see the same members more and more. It's really cool because the programming community you know and love isn't just confined to one site, it's actually all over the internet.

Another reason I like DaniWeb is that it covers a wide range of topics in less detail, which kind of suits my knowledge of tech. I don't truly specialize in anything, so the threads are at the right knowledge level for me to not only help others, but also for me to learn more.

Thank you for your comments. It's really interesting to see how there are some people here who swear by CProgramming and want DaniWeb to head more in that direction, and then there are people like you who want DaniWeb to head in the opposite direction. It just goes to show how hard it is to try to please everyone ... but I can try :)

I agree that DevShed does have too many ads, but then when I actually take the time to count them, I realize DaniWeb is pretty much on par with them, so that really disturbs me.

It's not just numbers of ads, it is placement. Which is where you pull ahead of the pack, Dani. Your ad placement is such that it feels like there are less of them.

I agree with Davey, the site is clear and looks clean.
I started out with GIDforums and some Dutch forums but sticked with Daniweb because of the 'community feeling'. It's always good when you can get into a discussion without being shot down for not agreeing with everyone else.
Second: I liked the colorscheme. Nowadays it has changed a little (..) but it's something different then blue-grey-white.
Third: I too like the fact that I can give feedback on Daniweb or upgrades etc.

The fact that I'm not around very much lately is due to my personal life and you probably won't see much of me here in the upcoming few month. But after that I'll be back @ Daniweb

Niek

Thank you for your feedback, Niek :) It's important to me to get a sense of what drew each person here and what is keeping them here, because this way I know what elements of the site the community values most, what to focus on, and where our strengths and weaknesses are.

Hello:

I first joined this site some months ago only seeking some basic help with a Python coding problem, but soon I became more, deeply interested after perusing the forums and seeing the sheer volume of quality posts in regards to so many tech areas. I am now dependent on Daniweb, not so much for tech help only, but the social climate is generally supportive, polite, and positive :) This is so incredibly important to any forum of any type.

As to both your jobs for Daniweb:

- Dani: the amount of work and care you put into your site\business is very impressive and it inspires me greatly as a programmer to keep perfecting my work and putting extreme amounts of time into what I do. You and I live in close proximity to one another and I see that we are both often up VERY late at night (or should I say very early mornings)on Daniweb; I assume you are tweaking the site-- that is dedicated and your site reflects this! (I, though, at this same hour am usually slacking off in Geek's Lounge LOL .)

Davey: from the little interaction I've had with Davey I note:

-Totally professional demeanor and interaction with members and member issues; he is friendly, funny, polite, succinct, creative, light-hearted (when appropriate), and a problem solver.

-Davey appears to strive for quality, not just filler material to poof up the site. In this sense he is a proper editor\publisher.

Cheers to both of you! Keep up the hard work. You are inspiring the Tech world, providing a place for continuing self-education, hosting a site for some of us asocial nerds to actually have social interaction, while building a legacy that will be appreciated and remembered for years to come.

MattyD

**Note: This post typed entirely in the NEW Quick Reply box ;)

Aww, thanks!

Xcellent job!!!!!!!!!

I'll quote Bill and Ted:" Eeeexcellent!"

P.S. (F) is a Flower symbol.

Hey guys :) While I absolutely love all of the wonderful comments, what I'm actually looking for here is some good ole feedback. Please don't be shy! What are DaniWeb's faults? What leaves room for improvement? What do I need to work on? Thanks!

*one loooong inhale*

- notifications....Are we still celebrating something (greeting card)? + that purple color bleeds all over my hotmail (not yahoo).

- how about subscription on the blog entries? I'd like to be notified when someone else comments on the blog that I've commented.

...I'm out.

i like daniwb. its the only forum i have made more than about 10 posts on. its good looking, easy to navigate, friendly, clean and active

Chaky: As of a couple of days ago, all emails now have a white background and shouldn't affect your webmail pages.

Sorry, didn't know. I'm still to revert my email to the hotmail account. Yahoo one... didn't even look 'till today.

Edit: Reverted successfully.

You do an excellent job of keeping the forum moving. Meaning, you never say "ok, now this is good enough". Always tweaking, always testing. That's good, even if it causes some ruffled feathers now and then.

Davey doesn't really need me to tell him he's a great writer and doing very well with the blogs. He's a professional tech writer so a professional, high-quality job is expected. I'll say it anyway: the featured blogs on Daniweb are excellent.

Now the feedback/critiques:

You still haven't found the magic formula for promoting member blogs. Maybe there isn't one? Not every member has interesting things to say. However, the recent revamp of the blog home page is a step in the right direction. I think the page is a bit busy with the 3-column layout. I would prefer to see a 2-column, even if the tag cloud has to be sacrificed. I'm not sure what good a tag cloud does for a blog reader. Presumably the words of interest to me are in the blog, right? Echo my comments on the tag cloud, wherever it rears up. Useless, I think, and wasted space. I've been enduring it; since you're always tweaking the layout, I've hoped it would just disappear one day.

Quick Reply. While I don't like it, it's hard to be too upset, since the change was made in response to other criticism about ad placement. It's a good compromise and if I'm not loving it, I can adjust to it. Here's the objection for your consideration: It is a bit difficult for members like me, who like to review the entire thread while they reply. If I click Advanced Reply, I can't see the thread. So yeah, it feels a bit too constricting. File the new Quick Reply under "not sure about it".

While this is a community, where members are encouraged to answer questions (rather than only moderators), I think you need to continue to recruit highly knowledgable moderators. I perceive a lack in the Web Development sections. You need to find a hard-core web coder, someone into tracking and testing all the latest W3C recommendations, for example.

I've said enough about IntelliTXT. Scratch that: I've said too much, to the point of becoming a nuisance. File it under "I'm only human", and felt bitter and betrayed. So no more from me on that topic, except to say I hope you will reconsider, at some point, an opt-out, as it is still very uncomfortable for me to post anything here.

I profoundly don't care about color schemes, as long as navigation is clear and easy (which it is).

Lastly: with all the changes in the moderation staff, you now have a "nicer" Daniweb. Is that a bad thing? Nooo, not exactly. But this is a professional technical discussion community. Programmers in particular are often arrogant, moody, driven, but highly intelligent people. I think it would be a mistake to attempt to dampen that too much. An atmosphere of lively debate and heated conversations among smart, opinionated people makes for a vibrant community. I hope as the site and staff continues to evolve, you manage to hang on to people like that, even if they personally drive you nuts.

Take this thread in a case in point. All lovey-lovey... you're having to BEG for real feedback!

While I absolutely love all of the wonderful comments, what I'm actually looking for here is some good ole feedback. Please don't be shy! What are DaniWeb's faults? What leaves room for improvement? What do I need to work on?

Just wait until Dave Sinkula posts on this thread; I can nearly guarantee that what he posts won't be all gushy comments...

All lovey-lovey... you're having to BEG for real feedback!

Well, I exclude myself from this generalization (althought the thread could be perceived that way, overall, I guess).

Personally I have to work hard not to be HYPER-critical about just every topic in life LOL (not just a website) :lol:. I think I am doing better with this, choosing my battles, as it were.

My comments in this thread are as is, that is, I am simply being honest. Believe me, when I see something to critique\flame I will:

• Think twice
• Then, if appropriate, let it rip in hopefully a constructive manner.

++ regarding the "niceness" of Daniweb: it is quite nice and everyone is generally polite and considerate, but, not naming names, there are a few moderators (see: 1-2) that are far beyond abrasive and are highly anti-social (not asocial), apparently hostile, and honestly bitter to deal with. I have no Earthly clue how and why they are still active and seemingly favored (see: they walk on water? Please :-|:rolleyes: ). Personally, I would have cut them after the second warning (if I indeed even had that much patience with them). These mods know who they are.

MattyD

on the subject of ads. it apppears one of them is borken as it obscures the posts (this has only happened once, screenshot enclosed)

I will forward that screenshot to my ad rep, thanks.

I have no Earthly clue how and why they are still active and seemingly favored (see: they walk on water? Please )

Well I think it's worth saying here that mods are not chosen for their chariasmatic abilities, but rather their abilty to devote time to answering and policing threads.

Dani: As you know, I'm a big fan of this site :)
But you asked for criticism:

1) In my opnion, too many threads go unanswerd (Gadgets & Gizmos forum comes to mind). I think what is needed are more dedicated true techies, those that answer all the help questions, whether theyre easy or extremtly difficult.

2) I second that about blogs. While I don't have one, I bet it's super annoying not having a notificiation when a comment is made on the blog.

3) If I think of something else, I'll be sure to mention it. :)

Well I think it's worth saying here that mods are not chosen for their chariasmatic abilities, but rather their abilty to devote time to answering and policing threads.

Ah, well, that completely explains it then. :confused::rolleyes:

can we please have the ability to add attacthments (particuarly thumbnails) to blogs?

>but, not naming names
Examples are good for striking a point home to those who haven't experienced what you're talking about. Not naming names is a silly way to make yourself look nice when you complain about other people.

>I have no Earthly clue how and why they are still active and seemingly favored
Clearly they have some redeeming qualities that you haven't noticed or are incapable of recognizing.

>Personally, I would have cut them after the second warning
If you have specific grievances, sitting on them just makes you bitter. Nothing will happen if you don't voice your complaints in such a way that the problem can be dealt with (ex. reporting the people in question). Whining about people who "know who they are" is completely unproductive.

but, not naming names. Examples are good for striking a point home to those who haven't experienced what you're talking about. Not naming names is a silly way to make yourself look nice when you complain about other people.

I do not feel it is silly to not name names; I feel it is the least I can do at this point to provide a sense of confidentiality while acknowleding the situation. The fact is, in general, we all (including myself) have personality defects and I am trying to bring the topic to the surface and initiate thoughts about this, not crucify this individual(s). As to "making" myself appear "nice"--you do not know me at all :-|; I really dislike false intentions and appearances. My intention was never to build myself up by slandering others.

>I have no Earthly clue how and why they are still active and seemingly favored Clearly they have some redeeming qualities that you haven't noticed or are incapable of recognizing.

In reference to these moderators cited: of course I realize they have some redeeming qualities, thus, I do not call them out by name-- that is not my job. They may be (or at least think they are) very highly technically-endowed but, personally, that seems to me to be half of the requirement for someone who deals with people, problem-solving, and site development for a forum that is purely people-driven. We could all come here and remain anonymous not unlike a spidering program who's only goal is to collect information; Many of us also come here for a social outlet and network-building, not just to solve our C++ issues (although, the technical side and offerings are the initial draw).

>Personally, I would have cut them after the second warning
If you have specific grievances, sitting on them just makes you bitter. Nothing will happen if you don't voice your complaints in such a way that the problem can be dealt with (ex. reporting the people in question). Whining about people who "know who they are" is completely unproductive.

You are right about this, I think. To be honest, though, I try to avoid direct interface with Admin outside of technical\programming issues(assistance) as I feel, unfortunately, that it will only be a waste of my time to do so. Whining? You sometimes come close to being one of these people I avoid due to your human interactivity skills (or lack of) :eek:;) (I will just chalk it up to sarcasm, though :p:lol: a trait so treasured these days)

Thanks for your reply.

Regards,
MattyD

Before we lose sight of the purpose of this thread, I am going to step in and comment on all of the excellent feedback I've received so far:

> You still haven't found the magic formula for promoting member blogs.
Us folks are talking behind the scenes in the Staff Writers forum trying to come up with different ways to entice members to start blogging. Whether or not it's the magic formula has yet to be seen, but this issue is one of the reasons that I'm constantly tweaking the blogs section and comparing it to other industry blogs out there.

> I think you need to continue to recruit highly knowledgable moderators.
While I currently have a couple of people in mind, and have had conversations regarding potential mods with John and Davey, I am actually holding off on bringing in new people right this moment. We've just undergone a crazy number of changes, both inside and out, over the past few weeks and months, and I want to focus on letting things settle for a little bit and geting people comfortable with everything that's changed so far. We're always going to experience growing pains no matter what but I think it's always important after a very big change to just sit back and let the dust settle. As many of you guys know, many new moderators have been brought in just recently and many mods who have been with us for a long time stepped down. Therefore, let's all get acquainted again and make sure the new mod team has focus and is working well together before introducing new blood so quickly.

> there are a few moderators (see: 1-2) that are far beyond abrasive and are highly anti-social (not asocial), apparently hostile, and honestly bitter to deal with
Just as tgreer mentioned, a lot of it comes with the territory of being a techie. For example, he even commented, "An atmosphere of lively debate and heated conversations among smart, opinionated people makes for a vibrant community." I am in full agreement. On the other hand, what is very important to me is that any heated debates and discussions on the forums is not taken so personally by a moderator that they use their mod power against anyone over it. How a mod interacts with members he/she has come to know and befriend within the community should be separated from how that same mod goes about moderating posts and threads. I believe this is what makes for an excellent moderator. One of the main changes implemented recently is the new set of forum rules which leaves nearly no room for subjectiveness on the part of moderation decisions. All mods handle all situations the exact same way when it comes to when to give infractions, when to ban, and so forth. This way all members know exactly what is expected of them and moderators don't all apply their own feelings to moderation situations.

> Well I think it's worth saying here that mods are not chosen for their chariasmatic abilities, but rather their abilty to devote time to answering and policing threads.
This actually isn't entirely true. A lot of thought goes into each moderator aside from whether they have the time, willingness, and tech saavy. Moderators must also be mature, able to work well in a team environment, able to follow instruction and direction, and able to put aside their personal feelings when moderating to do what's best for the community. There is no application form to be a moderator - it is an invite-only process. Tech saavy members who have not been invited onto the moderation team but do want to contribute are more than encouraged to help answering other members' questions. Date I say that the only difference between a regular, contributing member and a moderator is the job of policing the forums and helping to eradicate spam, misfiled posts and threads, and problematic users (for which I am very thankful to each and every moderator for doing).

> While I don't have one, I bet it's super annoying not having a notificiation when a comment is made on the blog.
While there is no notification system in place, it is possible to sort all blog entries by the last time a comment was made within them, sort blog entries within a particular category by the last time a comment was made, and sort blog entries written by a particular blogger by the last time a comment was made. Features that have currently been introduced into the blogs recently include this level of sortability and printable versions of entries. The ability to add attachments and a notification system are definite plans. However, since I code all of DaniWeb myself, in addition to handling the business, advertising and promotion aspects, I must pick and choose my projects wisely due to lack of time. A main concern right now is whether it is actually worth it to devote so much precious programming time to a feature which isn't growing as much or as fast as any of us would like, and whether coding in these features would be enough to make a significant impact to that. In that sense it's only worth it if there is going to be some type of return on the time invested. Something else that needs to be considered is whether or not it would actually be more logical in the long term to rewrite the blogs script to be a hacked forum, much the same way the tutorials, white papers, and job offers section are all regular forums with a different skin. While it would take a significant amount of time at first, I need to decide whether it's worth it to keep coding in new features into my own scripts that are already available within the vBulletin forum system, or if it's too much like reinventing the wheel.

Hopefully I've given you guys a glipse into the direction that I would like to be headed with DaniWeb.