Thread to make tivs.ca better

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neksus

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I know this isn't a deal discussion, but there isn't another Canadian board that I'm aware of so I'm reaching out to you guys here.

Alright, here's the deal:
I've currently gotten the user registration/login/ pages done, suggesting prices has been integrated, users can now add games to "their collection" (which can then be sorted to utilize tivs at the three places, as well as which promotions you could currently use), but here's my dilemma:
If I set it up and release it now, implementing a forum down the road would be a serious hassle. Would anybody here actually use another forum? Should I set up the forum and use it's registration feature to sign up members? Modifying the existing structure wouldn't be too bad as I'd go with phpBB, and would be able to hack it every which way (php ftw!). It's starting to take up at least an hour of my time everyday simply updating all the prices gathered from here and rfd, which is great for what it's worth as it's helping out, but that's alot of time that adds up.

Also, if you have any question with regards to what else I plan on doing, suggestions on what you think I should do, etc, this is the place to talk about it. It's in my best interests to get this fully functional sooner than later (see the time issue above :razz:), so any feedback on the forum as a go or not would be useful. In the meantime I may just get it set up anyway, before moving along with integrating the current databases.

That said, please no iPhone questions yet! The main site is the primary concern as of now, and the iPhone site (app?) will come in time. Also, some douche decided to start another website on rfd...wouldn't bother me so much if he didn't bash mine, say his was better (when he has like 15 ps3 games at eb only) and jacked my up/down arrows anyway (lol), so I'd like to get this thing going ahead. Also, I'll probably need a few testers (by the end of the month most definitely) so post if you're interested. Also, would anybody be interested in moderation status for the price index? Your job would basically include approving submitted values uploaded by other users. Shouldn't take longer than a few minutes every now and then - I'm looking to ideally get 5 or 6 so the lists don't build up (an approve all button couldn't hurt, either ;)). Of course this wouldn't be granted without my own personal approval, but I'm hoping it won't all just be people wanting to wreck the database that apply lol
 
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http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=78
There's the "shopping discussion" forum, probably a better place to post it, but I'm sure it will be moved eventually.

Anywho, sounds like a lot of work is getting put into tivs.ca, should really help alleviate constant checking and re-checking of TIVs. Personally, I would definitely use a forum for it, and I'd bookmark it right on the top of my Firefox page. What would the forum actually offer though? Just different TIVs that people discover? There are a couple threads running on CAG and RFD that serve that function, but I'm sure it would be easier for you just to check the TIV forum and update it that way. Alternatively, CAG members who peruse CAG and RFD could keep up to date on those threads and update the TIV forum accordingly. Best of luck, regardless.
 
I was thinking of perhaps making a game deals section as well, as there doesn't really seem to be any strictly Canadian ones (aside from forums)...it just depends how far away from tivs the site is willing to wander.
 
I'm not sure I would use the forum. Nearly anything that would be said there could be said here, so it's just diluting the user base. And the whole point of having the user submission thing is to get away from people posting prices in a forum for you to enter yourself. =)
 
i wouldn't bother doing a whole whack of things that need a staff of moderators to update: forums need trolls removed and bans given, plus separating the real TIVs from fake, moderating the deals section, updating deals section, etc.

the best sites in the world, do one thing and do it well.
don't spread yourself too thin or the douches will just create more copies of your hard work.
 
[quote name='j940651']i wouldn't bother doing a whole whack of things that need a staff of moderators to update: forums need trolls removed and bans given, plus separating the real TIVs from fake, moderating the deals section, updating deals section, etc.

the best sites in the world, do one thing and do it well.
don't spread yourself too thin or the douches will just create more copies of your hard work.[/quote]

The moderators are for the prices, not the (theoretical) forum.
 
[quote name='halcyon1234']I'm not sure I would use the forum. Nearly anything that would be said there could be said here, so it's just diluting the user base. And the whole point of having the user submission thing is to get away from people posting prices in a forum for you to enter yourself. =)[/quote]

That's kinda what I was thinking. I don't really have a reason for a forum, nor really look forward to the thought of nurturing another one =/
 
you actually named the thread "thread to make tivs.ca better" instead of "Tivs.ca Feedback"

brb going to make a "i saw a game for 8.99 at eb today"

i like the site though, works fine when im in doubt, remove the entries that are from 07 if you haven't yet
 
I'd vote against a forum.. like others have said, CAG (and RFD) work fine.

I'd also be willing to help moderate the prices and post new ones from the boards if necessary. I spent a lot of time doing that for the scribble wiki so it's nothing new.
 
Now all you'd have to do is click Approve/Reject :)
I'm making the users bear the load of inputting prices...even then, they'll just click the game, input the price, then select the date from the drop down, with the default being the current day. I want the process simple enough to not deter people from posting.
 
[quote name='neksus']Now all you'd have to do is click Approve/Reject :)
I'm making the users bear the load of inputting prices...even then, they'll just click the game, input the price, then select the date from the drop down, with the default being the current day. I want the process simple enough to not deter people from posting.[/quote]

You might want to give the price mods some extra tools when they do their mods, such as:

Current tiv of the game
A list of all other submitted tivs for the same game
The current tiv for the same game
The "reputation" of the user submitting the tiv

If I'm a mod:

GTA4 ebgames Feb 3, 2009 - $34 (+) (-)
(Next)
Isn't as useful as

GTA4: Current tiv $15 (as of Jan 12, 2009)
6-month tiv trend: Going down
No known tiv specials for this game

GTA4 ebgames Feb 3, 2009 - $12 (+) (-) GoodUser (50)
GTA4 ebgames Feb 3, 2009 - $12 (+) (-) NiceUser (50)
GTA4 ebgames Feb 3, 2009 - $34 (+) (-) HDKen (2)

---

Far Cry 2 XBox: Current tiv $20 (as of Jan 1, 2009)
6-month tiv trend: Going down
Unconfirmed special: $37 TIV at EB (Confirm)

GTA4 ebgames Feb 3, 2009 - $37 (+) (-) GoodUser (50)
GTA4 ebgames Feb 3, 2009 - $37 (+) (-) NiceUser (50)
GTA4 ebgames Feb 3, 2009 - $20 (+) (-) EB_Hates_HDKen (2)

---

At a glance, I should get a pretty good snapshot of if the values are valid or not, based on how much the game is worth, if it's increasing or decreasing in tiv, etc. By linking time-sensitive "specials", you can help mods know that $37 for Far Cry 2 isn't bs, it's true. (Of course, the tiv should go "stale" once the special expires...)
 
They'll have access to most of the information from the database, including the past few tivs (only the previous 3 are stored - I keep toying with the idea of saving all of them and then graphing it but it's not really that important...who cares? lol).

Also, mass updating would not work for titles that cross the $8 line or titles with fluctuation values of $10 or more. This ensures that they all get a second glance :)

The user that submitted it is going to be a big part, but I'm not sure what kind of rating system to implement. I was thinking that simply every time a user gets rejected they get a -1 that only the mods can see, and otherwise the points/credits will accumulate as normal.
 
Put a FAQ on there. No one reads it anyway (look at the noobs on RFD: hurr does BBV give tax-free credit, do they take RP games with the sticker, duh is Edge card a gift card or not, uhhh what's the return policy at EB/etc.) but you can just point the noobs toward it. Only reason why RFD gets 100+ posts is because half of them are questions that repeat themselves and the other half are "is this deal still on? I checked the store today and it scanned at regular (because the sale hasn't started/ended already). What's the TIV of a game that was posted on the last page? etc. etc."
 
I was going to do a current promotions thing, so doing that would definitely be a good idea. I always forget about those questions because I see them all the time!
 
[quote name='neksus']They'll have access to most of the information from the database, including the past few tivs (only the previous 3 are stored - I keep toying with the idea of saving all of them and then graphing it but it's not really that important...who cares? lol).[/quote]

I guess I meant that they should be able to see every single "pending" tiv that's been submitted for the game. If one person submits $37 for FC2, it might be suspicious. But if lots of people submit it, then maybe that's a sign that the price actually has skyrocketed, and they shouldn't reject it out of hand.

The user that submitted it is going to be a big part, but I'm not sure what kind of rating system to implement. I was thinking that simply every time a user gets rejected they get a -1 that only the mods can see, and otherwise the points/credits will accumulate as normal.
Click to expand...

Give the mod 3 options: Accept, Reject, Discard.

Accept gives them +1 (good tiv)
Reject gives them -1 (bad tiv)
Discard gives them +0 (maybe it was a typo, or off by $1-- inaccurate, but not malicious).

People start at, say 0. If they fall below -5, they cannot enter tivs anymore (lock account, reject IP, whatever). They can raise to a maximum of +10. +11 is moderator level where submitted prices are automatically accepted upon submission (hence why a user can't reach that level until they're specifically promoted).

You might want to give them mods a "batch accept":

GTA4 - PS3 - EB - $12 - GoodUser (+)(0)(-)
GTA4 - PS3 - EB - $12 - NiceUser (+)(0)(-)
GTA4 - PS3 - EB - $25 - BadUser (+)(0)(-)
GTA4 - PS3 - EB - $13 - OopsUser (+)(0)(-)

Batch accept all TIV for "GTA4 - PS3 - EB" with tiv [ ] (submit)

The mod can type in $12. Everyone who said $12 gets a +. Anyone who was off by 10% (?) gets a 0. Everyone else gets a -. If there's 20 submitted tivs for one game, it makes it easier for the mods.
 
Forum is a bad idea.

I understand that you don't want to talk about the iPhone issue (because something is in the works?), but in the meantime can you at least NOT have it redirect to the "mobile" version.
 
[quote name='GameDeals.ca']Forum is a bad idea.

I understand that you don't want to talk about the iPhone issue (because something is in the works?), but in the meantime can you at least NOT have it redirect to the "mobile" version.[/quote]

Out of curiosity, can you spoof the browser user agent on the iPhone? Set it to a non-mobile browser, so things won't redirect you?

(Not suggesting this as a "suck it up" solution, just curious =) )
 
[quote name='halcyon1234']Out of curiosity, can you spoof the browser user agent on the iPhone? Set it to a non-mobile browser, so things won't redirect you?

(Not suggesting this as a "suck it up" solution, just curious =) )[/quote]

Yes, but it requires jailbreaking.
 
[quote name='halcyon1234']Out of curiosity, can you spoof the browser user agent on the iPhone?[/QUOTE]Not easily.

and yeah, forget about the forum. That's a whole different can-of-worms you don't want to get into.
 
I'm not sure if this is addressed when you mentioned the iphone ite bit earlier, but here it goes anyway just in case.

I tried to use the site on my PSP a few days ago and could only access the mobile version. Including PSP and DS game prices there as well along with the 360/ps3/wii TIV's would be a great help since they all qualify for those trade 3 deals at EB as well. Flea markets around here are usually full of games fo rthose 2 systems.
 
I'd like to see the full version on the iPhone as well, no redirection.

I'd also be able to give you a hand with testing or technical help. Feel free to ask anything.
 
I agree with most folks that I wouldn't use a forum. I do love tivs.ca and a big thanks for putting that sucker together in its current form.
I would love to be able to add my own tivs as I check them often - and user additions (especially if they are largely by the mostly great canadian cags) could make the site even cooler.
 
Oh SHITCHRIST. I forgot to send you the notes I had for you for tivs.ca, I'll get to sending that a bit, gotta clean it up to make it presentable first. Expect it tomorrow.
 
Alright, I *think* I programmed the mobile site correctly. I can't test it because the browser on my phone can't handle the page - anybody kind enough to tell me if the new "switch to full site" link works?
 
No problem guys. Half the pms I get were requests for better mobile versions for people with good phones, so this should halt most of em :razz:
 
So there's another site that's popped up...
icantradegames.com
Anybody like any of the things he's got up? lol this guy started with design instead of content, and has been doing the same thing since when I started tivs.ca, according to someone on rfd...
I still have a few things programmed he hasn't done yet, so I'd rather keep them a secret until I finalize it and release it :)

Alright guys, dream big - I gotta make tivs.ca the best :razz:
 
Ah gotcha. ebtiv.com shouldn't be much of a problem...
The other one has a team of people ^o) ...apparently. If it's a team they sure drag their asses. Most of the choices they've made are contrary to what I initially thought was the best course of action, but many people seem to be buying it - which is weird, as I assumed most gamers weren't idiots. I thought the graph was novel at first, but when you think about it, quite useless - the supply/demand curve is always going to have a decreasing co-efficient for game titles and the graphs will ultimately all resemble the same figure, just stretched over varying lengths of time. Anybody else like the graph idea? Or is it simply novel and there for aesthetic purposes? Gonna be a while still until they have 2000+ entries, I suppose, but with a team data input wouldn't be so bad...
 
The graphs are totally irrelevant, for obvious reasons. Knowing what a game's TIV was is useful to... nobody. icantradegames.com looks nice and all, but such elaborate site design is pointless. With neksus' site, you can check the TIVs within a matter of seconds. Adding more navigation hassles, like this newfound competition is doing, is just unintuitive.
 
Thanks for confirming my initial conclusions. I still intend on developing the site, having the current view available only to people who register, but in the meantime I thought the content was infinitely more important than the way in which it was displayed.
 
Registration will be free.
Points that are used to purchase things can in turn be purchased or gain through contributing to the site.
All features will always be available for the cost of 1 tiv posted to the site a day (although more points can be gained for games with old/no tivs) on an annual basis. If you don't want all features, you don't need to contribute as much. If you're too lazy, you gotta cough up some money, which also won't be much (currently thinking that 100% cost and no contribution would be $.25 a week)...bandwidth and hosting adds up though :)
 
That depends on if I decide to launch it before or after I design a site to put it in. Everything is coded right now, all I have to do is code the css and give it a facelift =/
 
^ sounds like only you can do it :p

question, if its done by point system, if you put in a TIV value, you get points right?

so what if somebody puts in a TIV that is obviously known by everybody? EX- COD4 -35 dollars.

and so on. they will get the points right>?

EDIT: you wont accept the TIV by them if it's already confirmed? by someone else?
 
Hrm, a thought:

I think that if multiple people submit an update (a new price), they'd all get credit for it until that new price goes "live".

If a price goes stale, the first few people to "confirm" the price is still valid should get a point.



[quote name='Bencherstyle']^ sounds like only you can do it :p

question, if its done by point system, if you put in a TIV value, you get points right?

so what if somebody puts in a TIV that is obviously known by everybody? EX- COD4 -35 dollars.

and so on. they will get the points right>?

EDIT: you wont accept the TIV by them if it's already confirmed? by someone else?[/quote]
 
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