GHFDL Suggestions Thread

[Melchior Dahrk ...indomitable will might rid Morrowind of all its ills.]

GHFDL Suggestions Thread

Purpose: The purpose of this thread is to host the discussion of any and all suggestions for the Great House Fliggerty Downloads section of Fliggerty.com.

Background: This thread was created due to the discussion surrounding the desire to break the stigma that GHFDL isn't a "mainstream" alternative to dying PES or Nexus. There are rumors floating around that GHFDL 2.0 is under development, and I have high hopes for the overhaul.

In the meantime, we should promote a healthy discussion of what could be improved on the current design.

[Melchior Dahrk ...indomitable will might rid Morrowind of all its ills.]

List of Suggestions:

Front Page
Improved site news to encourage news browsing (using PES as a model)
Gallery
A gallery should be added to GHFDL
Implement a Picture of the Day (PES as reference)
Style
Brighter color scheme for ease of viewing/reading (higher contrasts)
Replace blank fill colors with pleasant background textures
Suggestions: the black background can be replace by something like this
Make the site look more modern and visually attractive
Suggestions: Add more shine and "glitter," such as reflective buttons, and smoother boxes and visuals
Buttons
Increase visibility of the download button through location and color/effects
Suggestions: Place under screenshot pane with file details (size, filename) and additional files expandable list; make button brighter (visually catching)
Mod Screenshots
Imrove screenshot location/viewing to reduce space consumption and improve ease of use
Suggestions: Nexus-like side-scrolling images; PES-like sidebar columnar order
Allow author editing
Mod Comments
If admin approval is required for comments, a visual indication is needed that the comment was submitted successfully
Mod Popularity
For sortability, mods should have an endorsement/recommendation button.
Suggestions: a "thumbs up only" system
Alternatives: a mod review system in lieu of recommendations where users can submit critique/reviews of mods (minimum character limit)
Mod Sorting
Increased mod sortability: date, downloads, views, recommendations, multiple category selection/searching, etc.
GHF Site Coherence
Make old versions of mods (overwritten by author updates) be automatically transferred to MMH unless the author opts out.
Merge THoS with GHFDL
GHFDL banner needs to be homogenized with the GHF Forum banner or needs it's own unique banner
GHFDL banner should be added to the banner scroll at the top of the forums

[Xar]

The Screenshots need to be better organized. Some kind of scrolling banner (nexus-esque?) rather than them filling up the page.
The Download button could use more prominence. As of now, it's rather dull and doesn't jump out at you.
Lighter colors. Right now, the whole site is dark and not easy on the eyes/doesn't encourage browsing.
The top "banner" needs to reflect more of an overall GHF experience.
Style. The website could stand to use some overall shine and "glitter". EG, reflectivey buttons, and smoother boxes and visuals.
Dedicated Comments. Everybody likes to feel that their mod is appreciated, and comments really do help in that area and encourage community involvement.
A rating system, though one that is supportive and can't be abused. Eg, maybe having tiers instead of 1-10 ratings. ("Needs Works" "Pretty Good" "Legendary") Etc.
A better Front page and news section that encourages browsing of the news. (Perhaps modeled after the old PES interface?)
A gallery section dedicated to screenshots and the like.
A picture of the day section on the front page, and a submission form for POTD, using pictures from said gallery Section.

That's all I've got for now.

[Leonardo]

The Screenshots need to be better organized. Some kind of scrolling banner (nexus-esque?) rather than them filling up the page.

I agree.  I assume you haven't uploaded any pictures on DC yet.  I think both TESA and AFK Mods has the same setup for the forum gallery so take a look for your self.

Lighter colors. Right now, the whole site is dark and not easy on the eyes/doesn't encourage browsing.

The colours looks good to me and I think it reflect what forum you're downloading from.

The top "banner" needs to reflect more of an overall GHF experience.

If you mean the top banner there is on GHF forum then I concur.

Dedicated Comments. Everybody likes to feel that their mod is appreciated, and comments really do help in that area and encourage community involvement.

I think most people haven't notice the comment feature yet which is strange though.  

A rating system, though one that is supportive and can't be abused. Eg, maybe having tiers instead of 1-10 ratings. ("Needs Works" "Pretty Good" "Legendary") Etc.

IIRC, a rating system on GHF Download is not likely to happen unless Fligg has changed his mind about that.

A picture of the day section on the front page, and a submission form for POTD, using pictures from said gallery Section.

If you mean what THoS has today then why not.  Good idea!  

[Drakkmore]

I think Xar wants it to be like PES used to be.
Just teasing Xar.  
I do think that all of those suggestions are good with the exception of the rating system (I hardly think modding should be a popularity contest), and I kind of like the color scheme my self so that is okay with me as it is.
But the rest totally good suggestions

[latendresse76 Avoiding Ilsa Lund]

I say no for rating but it wouldn't be bad if there was a possible recommended button that people could click if it's something that they use regular, KInda like an up vote but without the option of a down vote or like an endorsement.

Yea the buttons at GHFDL could be a bit lighter to make them stand out a bit and maybe a different color visited version so one would know if they had dl'd it. or a rolling between the MMH DL button and the GHFDL button to make it stand out and static when it's been visited.

Screens i think should be on the bottom or along the side
i would have the submitter comments at the verry bottom and the admin comments in the middle but that's me

I like the darkness of GHF DL,  I like it much better than the lightness of MMH

Edit: Sort options would be nice to as many possibilities would be grand that was one thing i liked about PES though they needed a few more options IMO

[Melchior Dahrk ...indomitable will might rid Morrowind of all its ills.]

Crap, I just screwed up and lost my comment, allow me to start over :[

I agree with many of Xar's comments, specifically:

Screenshots definitely need to be improved on: author editing, and no page hogging
The download button is not in a location that I would think to look for it. My suggestion would be putting the downloads (including an expandable additional file menu) under the screenshot pane.
The banner either needs to be a unique GHFDL banner or be a copy of the new GHF banner on the forums. Either way, there needs to be some visual consistency.
Overall, the site color scheme is fine but the visual diversity is severely lacking. Blank fill colors should be replaced with subtle textures remaining within the original color scheme; for instance, the black background on the download page could be replaced with a texture such as this one.
The comment feature SEEMS TO BE BROKEN, or else it requires admin approval for comments without giving the users any sort of indication that their post even went through. I just tested this.
I'm all for an endorsement/recommendation system. Everyone gripes about popularity contests in modding, but the bottom line is that having such a system is incredibly useful for fresh players to find mods that other players use and recommend. If they want to dig deeper into the other mods that are available, that's what the search function and categories are in place for.


And here are a couple of my own, independent comments:

Why do we have GHFDL and THoS? Two different download sites? Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Morrowind are all integrated into GHFDL, shouldn't Skyrim be too?
I've heard that 2.0 is going to integrate MMH and GHFDL more. I want to say that something I would find very cool would be if when authors update their mods, the old versions are automatically backed up on MMH (unless the author specifies that he does not wish them to be).

[latendresse76 Avoiding Ilsa Lund]

SO this is kinda a bug report....

If you click on the link "What's New?" you don't get the mods listed from newest to oldest

[Denina]

Rating systems suck because any idiot can choose a number from 1-10 and not base it on any kind of merit on the mod. I like the mod review system Toccatta and I set up at FES. That makes much more sense and allows a comprehensive "rating system" that has to consist of more than, "Well this mod conflicts with A, B or C so I'm going to give it a 1." People used to do that on PES, always ticked me right off.

So, I say no to any type of rating.

[Leonardo]

I don't think anyone have thought about it before, but I think the GHF-DL banner needs to added here so that people know that GHF do have a separate download site and not just a download forum section with attached archives in a post.

[Xar]

I'm in favor of a rating/recommend system, generally because it tends to inspire modders to do better/continue doing their best, and, as MD's stated, it helps people find mods that are liked by many. Though I don't really like the abuse a 1-10 system can bring. That's why I like tiers, or a general "Thumbs Up/Endorse" as MD suggested. Something that can only be positive and can't be abused.

I think Xar wants it to be like PES used to be.

.... Not such a bad idea actually.

[Melchior Dahrk ...indomitable will might rid Morrowind of all its ills.]

I don't think anyone have thought about it before, but I think the GHF-DL banner needs to added here so that people know that GHF do have a separate download site and not just a download forum section with attached archives in a post.

Adding this to the main list, this is a very good point.


And, in regards to the rating system, I still say no to the scaled or even tiered rating system simply because either has the potential for abuse. In a "thumbs up only" system, the recommendations serve mainly to increase the visibility of those popular mods; they don't reflect poorly on mods which lack 100 recommendations, rather, they imply that they could be the hidden jewels that us long time modders are always searching out.

I understand your concern, Denina, and I'd love to have a thoughtful review of every mod in existence. But we all know that isn't going to happen to the thousands of mods which are in existence at this time. So additional and alternative methods of differentiation need to be considered.


@Denina: I did add your mod review suggestion to the main list (I'm trying to be unbiased here); I view it as a good addition to the recommendation system, rather than an alternative though. Do you use deviantArt? They have a good system where people can make comments and leave "ratings" (through emotes) but then users can submit critiques/reviews of people's work there.

[Xar]

I'd personally like to see more integration of GHFDL and MMH. A "Time Machine" feature would be incredible. Maybe have the mod and page archived every time the mod is updated. A scroll bar could be used to "reverse time" and go back through the mod's history one update at a time. Just an idea, but it could potentially merge both of the sites. Having a "history" option on every mod page, as well as having the latest up-to-date description and files shown by default could make for some interesting results, at any rate.

Show Spoiler

The idea is that each mod has its own history. And that history is embedded into the mod's page. So for every edit or update to the mod, a new entry is saved in the history. So that if a user wants, he/she can simply move a slider to pick a history entry to view.

A Steam style "Recommend this Mod" feature would be nice too. With the ability to write a small review to go along with it, a "Recommend" system could potentially replace Thumbs Up and comments. The small reviews could be placed on the user's profile or elsewhere on the site. Maybe if we ever implemented a "Mods you may like" sidebar or something of the like, reviews could be previewed by mousing over.
A "Friend" system could also prove to be interesting. Not exactly something that could be used to cause drama, but just for keeping up with what mods friends are using and keeping up with friends' reviews of said mods.

[Leonardo]

I'm all for an endorsement/recommendation system. Everyone gripes about popularity contests in modding, but the bottom line is that having such a system is incredibly useful for fresh players to find mods that other players use and recommend. If they want to dig deeper into the other mods that are available, that's what the search function and categories are in place for.

You mean what they have on Nexus?
The only thing that I'm against that kind of system is that you cannot endorse a mod when you have already use it for quite some time and only updating it, because your download history is erased the 1th on each month for previous month unless you're a premium member.

Instead I think a recommendation/reputation system or what we have here before was the Thanks for Post system and I consider it to be more neutral.

And here are a couple of my own, independent comments:

Why do we have GHFDL and THoS? Two different download sites? Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Morrowind are all integrated into GHFDL, shouldn't Skyrim be too?
I've heard that 2.0 is going to integrate MMH and GHFDL more. I want to say that something I would find very cool would be if when authors update their mods, the old versions are automatically backed up on MMH (unless the author specifies that he does not wish them to be).

I agree.

I can't either understand why GHF-DL and THoS are still separate especially when THoS has less than 5 visitors who actually downloading a mod in a week, but I think it should be 5-10 people in every 30 minutes.  This is my point of view about THoS and I haven't downloaded a mod on THoS for months.

[Crankgorilla]

I'm enjoying using the active topics now, which was recommended when discussing the updating of the home page. So some people come in linked to the active topics and treat it as the homepage because that is where the updates and action is. I found this page which I might otherwise not have there. I think it could be interesting to have a feed on front page of active topics, that auto updates. A small section, with the last three active topics would be unique, and lead people in the right direction of downloads and recent activity. It would be especially good for people first visiting the site. And the random nature will keep the front page fresh and useful to visit. The front page must feed the visitor into the various sections, and people always like the latest news. Also, a small area which auto scrolls mods/downloads  could be interesting. Like the one already, but jazzed up a bit especially for the frontpage. The randomness then allows even the site makers wonder at what might be displayed. Would look good, even if it were simply a box in the right column.

Liking the ideas presented. It really sounds good!

[Sandman101]

I have a question about the upload page. I can't seem to paste into the Description box. I've followed the suggestion for firefox and updated the user.js file to add an exception and it still won't let me. Am I doing something wrong or is this just a feature that hasn't been fleshed out.  With my hand and arm it's painfully slow to type. So it would be helpful for me at least.

[nzdawghaus]

I've only ever uploaded to MMH, but the same thing happens there for me. What I always end up doing is Ctrl-C (copy) and then Ctrl-V (paste).

[Sandman101]

That worked. Thanks a lot. Didn't think to go old school.

[Drakkmore]

This is not a suggestion, but more of an issue.
Spirited Treasure was experiencing issues with GFHDL not letting her edit the descriptions to the files in her updates.

I am updating and this site will not let me correct my own spelling. It also will not let me upload additional screens!
-edit-

It should say Complete Package next to the newest download.
http://download.fliggerty.com/download-21-804

It should say patch for 1.2 download next to the first download that does not have a description.

I also tried fixing the issues noted in her post, but was unable to edit the descriptions too. well I should say it let me edit them, but when I hit the submit button it refreshed the page and brought up the download page with out the corrections asked for by Spirited Treasure.
Maybe this is a suggestion, as I am now suggesting that this be fixed.

Also I put this here because I was unable to locate any GHFDL issues thread like the one for MMH.

[Spirithawke]

Note: to update additional files you have to use the Submit botton off to the side of the additional download FIRST, not the one at the bottom of the page, when the entry for the additional file has been corrected, THEN use the submit button at the bottom to finalize the changes.

[Drakkmore]

Thanks Spirithawke.
Now I feel quite the dope for not seeing those buttons before.
again thanks Spirithawke.

[Leonardo]

I just wanted to say...  Cool scrolling image banner for GHF-DL.  I like it.  

[Leonardo]

I wonder if it isn't about time to change the Mod Downloads forum category its name to GHF Downloads or similar, because it looks kind of silly to see a Morrowind Mods at Great House Fliggerty Downloads forum and the rest of the download forums still have the same name.  

[Spirithawke]

Leo, I had the Morrowind Mods at Great House Fliggerty Downloads re-named (to that) to help distinguish it from the other release announcements forum we happen to have at GHF (MW -- Release Announcements sub forum)  As for the rest of the sub forums under Mod Downloads, I happen to think they are appropriately named, and their names do fall within the overall forum name of Mod Downloads, so I cannot understand why you would like to see it changed.

[Leonardo]

Leo, I had the Morrowind Mods at Great House Fliggerty Downloads re-named (to that) to help distinguish it from the other release announcements forum we happen to have at GHF (MW -- Release Announcements sub forum)  As for the rest of the sub forums under Mod Downloads, I happen to think they are appropriately named, and their names do fall within the overall forum name of Mod Downloads, so I cannot understand why you would like to see it changed.

Well it makes sense.  Although a least for me it doesn't make sense to have a MW -- Release Announcements forum and a Great House Fliggerty Morrowind Mods on two different locations especially when Fligg have his own "Fliggerty's Released Mods" forum (I understand why he have that) in the same forum category in which the MW -- Release Announcement forum exist.

To make it easier then why not have a topic prefix (just as BSF has - REL/RELz is pretty standard these days) for a "Mod Release -- Announcement" thread in the Morrowind -- Modding forum (if the mod are not hosted on GHF) and get rid of the MW -- Release Announcements forum once and for all, because it's confusing to have three forums e.g Morrowind -- Modding, MW -- Release Announcements, Morrowind Mods (in the Mods Downloads forum category) for the same purpose if you want to release a mod.

So instead of having Morrowind Mods at Great House Fliggerty Downloads as a forum name then why not re-name Mod Downloads forum category to Great House Fliggerty Downloads (not sure if that will be in CAPS or not) and have Morrowind Mods as a forum name as it was before you change it.