What changes to CAG would you like to see in 2007?
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Ikohn4ever
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[quote name='CocheseUGA']Is that Emma Watson?[/QUOTE]
yes it is
yes it is
CocheseUGA
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[quote name='Ikohn4ever']yes it is[/QUOTE]
That's hot.
That's hot.
i know there are less deals posted on the main page nowadays than when I first joined. I remember coming to the site and new deals everyday. It was brought up before and I believe Cheapy responded saying that the deals were being kept in the forums so non-members couldn't see them and to make the forums more active. But I rarely check the deals forums, and rely on seeing those front page deals, and really, the good deals are gonna end up on other sites as well, so why not make them on the front page. Looking at the front page now its...
CAG Cast, CAG Foreplay, Best of Sunday (which is the best thing the front page has going for it right now), Cheapy's E3, CAG Foreplay, CAG Cast, Sunday ads (again), Cheapy on Bloomberg, and so on and so forth.
CAG Cast, CAG Foreplay, Best of Sunday (which is the best thing the front page has going for it right now), Cheapy's E3, CAG Foreplay, CAG Cast, Sunday ads (again), Cheapy on Bloomberg, and so on and so forth.
Agree with both. There has definitely been a change of focus from deals and attention to the site to podcasts and videos. I know I'm in the minority here, but I couldn't care less about that stuff.
[quote name='RAMSTORIA']i know there are less deals posted on the main page nowadays than when I first joined. I remember coming to the site and new deals everyday. It was brought up before and I believe Cheapy responded saying that the deals were being kept in the forums so non-members couldn't see them and to make the forums more active. But I rarely check the deals forums, and rely on seeing those front page deals, and really, the good deals are gonna end up on other sites as well, so why not make them on the front page. Looking at the front page now its...
CAG Cast, CAG Foreplay, Best of Sunday (which is the best thing the front page has going for it right now), Cheapy's E3, CAG Foreplay, CAG Cast, Sunday ads (again), Cheapy on Bloomberg, and so on and so forth.[/QUOTE]
[quote name='GuilewasNK']Well we lost the most prominent mod on the site, the ninja smiley is still there, there was the debacle with VGC that tooks weeks to get noticed, and the CAGcast gets more attention than the actual site or suggestion forum. The site is stagnant.
That's my feedback.[/QUOTE]
[quote name='RAMSTORIA']i know there are less deals posted on the main page nowadays than when I first joined. I remember coming to the site and new deals everyday. It was brought up before and I believe Cheapy responded saying that the deals were being kept in the forums so non-members couldn't see them and to make the forums more active. But I rarely check the deals forums, and rely on seeing those front page deals, and really, the good deals are gonna end up on other sites as well, so why not make them on the front page. Looking at the front page now its...
CAG Cast, CAG Foreplay, Best of Sunday (which is the best thing the front page has going for it right now), Cheapy's E3, CAG Foreplay, CAG Cast, Sunday ads (again), Cheapy on Bloomberg, and so on and so forth.[/QUOTE]
[quote name='GuilewasNK']Well we lost the most prominent mod on the site, the ninja smiley is still there, there was the debacle with VGC that tooks weeks to get noticed, and the CAGcast gets more attention than the actual site or suggestion forum. The site is stagnant.
That's my feedback.[/QUOTE]
[quote name='Heavy Hitter']Agree with both. There has definitely been a change of focus from deals and attention to the site to podcasts and videos. I know I'm in the minority here, but I couldn't care less about that stuff.[/QUOTE]
I feel like I should stick up for myself somewhere in here and state that CAG Foreplay includes quite a few deals every week. The whole purpose of it is to let people know what is coming out and where they can get the best deal on it.
I feel like I should stick up for myself somewhere in here and state that CAG Foreplay includes quite a few deals every week. The whole purpose of it is to let people know what is coming out and where they can get the best deal on it.
Ikohn4ever
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[quote name='CocheseUGA']That's hot. [/QUOTE]
yea it is
[/QUOTE]yea it is
[quote name='shipwreck']I feel like I should stick up for myself somewhere in here and state that CAG Foreplay includes quite a few deals every week. The whole purpose of it is to let people know what is coming out and where they can get the best deal on it.[/quote]
dont get me wrong, im certainly not against the podcasts on the page, it just seems like theyre getting more emphasis than deals are lately. and i think that furthers my point about deals being buried in the page, its nice that you talk about the deals, but not everyone listens to the podcasts.
if you look at the front page archives and go back a year or two its just deal after deal after deal. its just not the case anymore.
dont get me wrong, im certainly not against the podcasts on the page, it just seems like theyre getting more emphasis than deals are lately. and i think that furthers my point about deals being buried in the page, its nice that you talk about the deals, but not everyone listens to the podcasts.
if you look at the front page archives and go back a year or two its just deal after deal after deal. its just not the case anymore.
Shipwreck, I should have made that distinction. I agree with you 100%. While I have listened to a couple of the podcasts with you and Mrs., I generally just read what you two post in the associated thread.
[quote name='shipwreck']I feel like I should stick up for myself somewhere in here and state that CAG Foreplay includes quite a few deals every week. The whole purpose of it is to let people know what is coming out and where they can get the best deal on it.[/QUOTE]
[quote name='shipwreck']I feel like I should stick up for myself somewhere in here and state that CAG Foreplay includes quite a few deals every week. The whole purpose of it is to let people know what is coming out and where they can get the best deal on it.[/QUOTE]
[quote name='RAMSTORIA']dont get me wrong, im certainly not against the podcasts on the page, it just seems like theyre getting more emphasis than deals are lately. and i think that furthers my point about deals being buried in the page, its nice that you talk about the deals, but not everyone listens to the podcasts.
if you look at the front page archives and go back a year or two its just deal after deal after deal. its just not the case anymore.[/QUOTE]
Just checking, but you know that if you hit "Continue Reading" on the Foreplay, it extends and all the new release deals are in there right?
I'll make an effort to start posting a few more deals to the front page though.
if you look at the front page archives and go back a year or two its just deal after deal after deal. its just not the case anymore.[/QUOTE]
Just checking, but you know that if you hit "Continue Reading" on the Foreplay, it extends and all the new release deals are in there right?
I'll make an effort to start posting a few more deals to the front page though.
[quote name='shipwreck']Just checking, but you know that if you hit "Continue Reading" on the Foreplay, it extends and all the new release deals are in there right?
I'll make an effort to start posting a few more deals to the front page though.[/quote]
i didnt know that, thanks for the tip!
I'll make an effort to start posting a few more deals to the front page though.[/quote]
i didnt know that, thanks for the tip!
guinaevere
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[quote name='Ikohn4ever']maybe its me, but it feels like lately cheapy has been really hands off was CAG, hoping it just runs on its own. I would like him to see him more involved, and possibly some changes that aren't just superficial.[/quote]What I'm going to say won't be popular with a lot of folks, but so be it.
I come here for the deals posted on the forums. Not for Cheapy, his podcasts or the front page which pretty much headlines the podcasts and any good deals that the community reported in the main forums. It's the average CAG on the forum who breaks the news of a great deal that I come here for. They're the ones who have kept this site worth coming back to.
Even when we had CAG exclusive deals, I can't recall ever taking advantage of one. A few dollars off, free shipping or a percentage off of full msrp (or close to it) is still not cheap enough for what I budget, considering that with a few exceptions, the games I want will drop significantly as time passes and newer games are released.
I come here for the deals posted on the forums. Not for Cheapy, his podcasts or the front page which pretty much headlines the podcasts and any good deals that the community reported in the main forums. It's the average CAG on the forum who breaks the news of a great deal that I come here for. They're the ones who have kept this site worth coming back to.
Even when we had CAG exclusive deals, I can't recall ever taking advantage of one. A few dollars off, free shipping or a percentage off of full msrp (or close to it) is still not cheap enough for what I budget, considering that with a few exceptions, the games I want will drop significantly as time passes and newer games are released.
** Feature Request **
Shopping Lists: As we browse the CAG forums we often become aware of newly clearanced items and price drops and unannounced sales. It would be nice to have a sort of notepad to record all the deals so we can print out a list. Ideally something like the Opera Browser's Notes feature. Since Opera can't render my Comcast Listings properly I'm going to use Firefox but any sort of scratch paper like feature would be welcome.
Not sure where else to put this so I'll start here and hopefully someone will read it.
Shopping Lists: As we browse the CAG forums we often become aware of newly clearanced items and price drops and unannounced sales. It would be nice to have a sort of notepad to record all the deals so we can print out a list. Ideally something like the Opera Browser's Notes feature. Since Opera can't render my Comcast Listings properly I'm going to use Firefox but any sort of scratch paper like feature would be welcome.
Not sure where else to put this so I'll start here and hopefully someone will read it.
[quote name='guinaevere']What I'm going to say won't be popular with a lot of folks, but so be it.
I come here for the deals posted on the forums...[/quote]I can dig that. I used this site for years before becoming a member. Personally I love the CAGcast, CheapyD and Wombat but if I had to choose one, the forums are no concast winner.
I come here for the deals posted on the forums...[/quote]I can dig that. I used this site for years before becoming a member. Personally I love the CAGcast, CheapyD and Wombat but if I had to choose one, the forums are no concast winner.
Blitz
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[quote name='guinaevere']What I'm going to say won't be popular with a lot of folks, but so be it.
I come here for the deals posted on the forums. Not for Cheapy, his podcasts or the front page which pretty much headlines the podcasts and any good deals that the community reported in the main forums. It's the average CAG on the forum who breaks the news of a great deal that I come here for. They're the ones who have kept this site worth coming back to.
Even when we had CAG exclusive deals, I can't recall ever taking advantage of one. A few dollars off, free shipping or a percentage off of full msrp (or close to it) is still not cheap enough for what I budget, considering that with a few exceptions, the games I want will drop significantly as time passes and newer games are released.[/QUOTE]
I couldn't agree more. No offense but I don't care what a MODs wife thinks about video games or what Cheapy had for lunch. Some like this stuff and hey glad they find something they like but not me.
I come here for the deals posted on the forums. Not for Cheapy, his podcasts or the front page which pretty much headlines the podcasts and any good deals that the community reported in the main forums. It's the average CAG on the forum who breaks the news of a great deal that I come here for. They're the ones who have kept this site worth coming back to.
Even when we had CAG exclusive deals, I can't recall ever taking advantage of one. A few dollars off, free shipping or a percentage off of full msrp (or close to it) is still not cheap enough for what I budget, considering that with a few exceptions, the games I want will drop significantly as time passes and newer games are released.[/QUOTE]
I couldn't agree more. No offense but I don't care what a MODs wife thinks about video games or what Cheapy had for lunch. Some like this stuff and hey glad they find something they like but not me.
RBM
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[quote name='guinaevere']It's the average CAG on the forum who breaks the news of a great deal that I come here for. They're the ones who have kept this site worth coming back to.[/quote]
What's worse, is that as the deals have dried out, I have felt less compulsion to share deals which I come across (not that I find many) here. It once was that I was eager to give something back to a community which had let me know about so many great deals...but as time has worn on, the focus here has drifted more to an attempted cult of personality and the site reads more like a billboard for Sunday ads.
What's worse, is that as the deals have dried out, I have felt less compulsion to share deals which I come across (not that I find many) here. It once was that I was eager to give something back to a community which had let me know about so many great deals...but as time has worn on, the focus here has drifted more to an attempted cult of personality and the site reads more like a billboard for Sunday ads.
Ikohn4ever
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[quote name='CheapyD']Well, what would you like to see on the front page then?[/QUOTE]
ehh its not just the front page.
there are some problems, but i don't think they are all fixable by you.
It seems like new deals are pretty dried up or they are YMMV, or they aren't even real deals.
the site feels real stale, i hate superficial changes, and i dont really have any good ideas for fixing up the site, i am sure others do, but the site really needs some new life breathed into it. Simple stuff like more customization for the posts, like if i want to only see deals involving Wii stuff, there should be options like that or if i dont care about other deals i should be able to block that stuff from the front page. Increasing the different video medias we can use besides like youtube would be good too.
i know this might seem crass, but it seems the only time you get involved is for self promotion stuff. I mean i liked the pizza video, but how does that help the community. I realize especially now with a family on the way you def have to capitalize on getting as much traffic as possible, but it feels like you are letting the other parts of the site slip. I think it goes back to a previous post i had where it said you are letting the site go on cruise control. Being in japan can't help trying to get deals or dealing with companies, but people have no idea if you are trying or not we just see the results or lack there of.
Plus this thread was started in 06, 07 is almost over and the only new thing i can really think of is forum specific mods, which is too soon to judge for being a success, but some of them seem to have little restraint when it comes to deleting or closing threads.
I have more thoughts, but since i'd rather not get banned, i kid i kid, I will keep them to myself for right now.
ehh its not just the front page.
there are some problems, but i don't think they are all fixable by you.
It seems like new deals are pretty dried up or they are YMMV, or they aren't even real deals.
the site feels real stale, i hate superficial changes, and i dont really have any good ideas for fixing up the site, i am sure others do, but the site really needs some new life breathed into it. Simple stuff like more customization for the posts, like if i want to only see deals involving Wii stuff, there should be options like that or if i dont care about other deals i should be able to block that stuff from the front page. Increasing the different video medias we can use besides like youtube would be good too.
i know this might seem crass, but it seems the only time you get involved is for self promotion stuff. I mean i liked the pizza video, but how does that help the community. I realize especially now with a family on the way you def have to capitalize on getting as much traffic as possible, but it feels like you are letting the other parts of the site slip. I think it goes back to a previous post i had where it said you are letting the site go on cruise control. Being in japan can't help trying to get deals or dealing with companies, but people have no idea if you are trying or not we just see the results or lack there of.
Plus this thread was started in 06, 07 is almost over and the only new thing i can really think of is forum specific mods, which is too soon to judge for being a success, but some of them seem to have little restraint when it comes to deleting or closing threads.
I have more thoughts, but since i'd rather not get banned, i kid i kid, I will keep them to myself for right now.
[quote name='Ikohn4ever']
Plus this thread was started in 06, 07 is almost over and the only new thing i can really think of is forum specific mods, which is too soon to judge for being a success, but some of them seem to have little restraint when it comes to deleting or closing threads.[/QUOTE]
There is only one forum specific mod.
Cheapy has been laggin' on that.
Plus this thread was started in 06, 07 is almost over and the only new thing i can really think of is forum specific mods, which is too soon to judge for being a success, but some of them seem to have little restraint when it comes to deleting or closing threads.[/QUOTE]
There is only one forum specific mod.
Cheapy has been laggin' on that.
Ikohn4ever
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[quote name='zewone']There is only one forum specific mod.
Cheapy has been laggin' on that.[/QUOTE]
ahh then the new full time mod have been a lil power happy.
Cheapy has been laggin' on that.
[/QUOTE]ahh then the new full time mod have been a lil power happy.
Cheapy not sure what you are looking at changing, but take alook at the add-ons http://www.vbadvanced.com/ offers. Dynamics and CPMS both are pretty good add-ons...
Losing all your subscribe threads on a 3 day ban sucks. If you interested in changing that I am willing to take a look at it. Just send me the sql script that's run when a user is banned. If its the standard vbulletin script I can download it, but finding the right version script might take some time.
FYI keep in mind PHP 4 will no longer be receiving security updates after the end of the year. I believe the current version is 5.2 something, I don't keep up with it much since I run a microsoft shop. My guess is vbulletin probably will stop supporting it in future releases as well...
Losing all your subscribe threads on a 3 day ban sucks. If you interested in changing that I am willing to take a look at it. Just send me the sql script that's run when a user is banned. If its the standard vbulletin script I can download it, but finding the right version script might take some time.
FYI keep in mind PHP 4 will no longer be receiving security updates after the end of the year. I believe the current version is 5.2 something, I don't keep up with it much since I run a microsoft shop. My guess is vbulletin probably will stop supporting it in future releases as well...
[quote name='CheapyD']Well, what would you like to see on the front page then?[/quote]
Alright, I'll bite.
Before thinking about the answer to your question, let's look at the content of the front page as it currently exists.
Categorizing the past 100 front page posts, which were made over the past 132 days (monthly breakdown):
Final breakdown:
Now, it wouldn't be unfair to assume that front page content should fall in line with the interests of your userbase. For example, if CAG's users are mostly interested in videogame deals, then most of the front page posts should in fact be about videogame deals.
With that in mind, let's take a look at what CAG is interested in. I only have the post statistics available to me, and it would be MUCH more accurate to look at forum views as opposed to posts. But, you have to make due with what you have.
Post statistics:
Now, let's compare these numbers with the numbers we obtained from the front page posts.
Front Page Posts vs. Forum Posts comparison
Again, forum percentages were obtained from total posts. It would be MUCH more accurate to compare this to forum views. For example, these statistics show that 15% of CAG posts in the VGD forum, yet there are currently 200 people viewing it out of 550 people online, meaning that 36% of users are currently viewing VGD alone (not even counting the other deal forums).
So what can we discern from these percentages?
Only half of the front page posts are related to deals, and a third of those are Sunday ads. Things have actually been improving in the past few months, and I suspect that if I pulled these statistics from the beginning of the year (or the end of 2006), that things would have looked far worse. For a site whose motto is "Cheap video games, video game sales, and video game deals for your cheap ass", this is fairly unimpressive. Imagine if only half of Engadget's posts were electronics related? There are PLENTY of decent deals in VGD that could be posted on the front page, even if they aren't a megaton clearance. Don't forget the ongoing CC/Sears/KMart clearance threads, which are constantly being updated by other CAGs. You could have weekly/monthly "Clearance Watch" front page posts, which could keep people up-to-date on what they can find in their local bargain bins. There is plenty of deal-related content that remains untapped.
Another staggering statistic, which has been mentioned by others, is the podcast statistic. 30% of front page posts are devoted to our podcasts, yet only 0.5% of the userbase seems to care about it (going solely by total forum posts, again, views may show a different story). Now, I'm not suggesting that you stop doing the CAGCast, as there are plenty of people who are avid fans. However, it does show that an improportionate amount of attention is given to the podcasts, when compared to CAG user interest. CAGCast and YMIJ are both great because they add something unique and fun to our website, but they shouldn't treated as the main focus.
So, back to your question.
[quote name='CheapyD']Well, what would you like to see on the front page then?[/quote]
Bottom line: more content in general, higher focus on deals.
It's not uncommon to hear people say "I don't even look at the front page, I only go to the forums." Why is that? Shouldn't we want to change that?
There's less than 1 front page post per day, and we're a major player on the internet now. Have you seen GoNintendo!? They consistently have over 50 posts per day. I'm not suggesting that we report general gaming news, but surely we can do better than
Alright, I'll bite.
Before thinking about the answer to your question, let's look at the content of the front page as it currently exists.
Categorizing the past 100 front page posts, which were made over the past 132 days (monthly breakdown):
Final breakdown:
Now, it wouldn't be unfair to assume that front page content should fall in line with the interests of your userbase. For example, if CAG's users are mostly interested in videogame deals, then most of the front page posts should in fact be about videogame deals.
With that in mind, let's take a look at what CAG is interested in. I only have the post statistics available to me, and it would be MUCH more accurate to look at forum views as opposed to posts. But, you have to make due with what you have.
Post statistics:
Now, let's compare these numbers with the numbers we obtained from the front page posts.
Front Page Posts vs. Forum Posts comparison
Again, forum percentages were obtained from total posts. It would be MUCH more accurate to compare this to forum views. For example, these statistics show that 15% of CAG posts in the VGD forum, yet there are currently 200 people viewing it out of 550 people online, meaning that 36% of users are currently viewing VGD alone (not even counting the other deal forums).
So what can we discern from these percentages?
Only half of the front page posts are related to deals, and a third of those are Sunday ads. Things have actually been improving in the past few months, and I suspect that if I pulled these statistics from the beginning of the year (or the end of 2006), that things would have looked far worse. For a site whose motto is "Cheap video games, video game sales, and video game deals for your cheap ass", this is fairly unimpressive. Imagine if only half of Engadget's posts were electronics related? There are PLENTY of decent deals in VGD that could be posted on the front page, even if they aren't a megaton clearance. Don't forget the ongoing CC/Sears/KMart clearance threads, which are constantly being updated by other CAGs. You could have weekly/monthly "Clearance Watch" front page posts, which could keep people up-to-date on what they can find in their local bargain bins. There is plenty of deal-related content that remains untapped.
Another staggering statistic, which has been mentioned by others, is the podcast statistic. 30% of front page posts are devoted to our podcasts, yet only 0.5% of the userbase seems to care about it (going solely by total forum posts, again, views may show a different story). Now, I'm not suggesting that you stop doing the CAGCast, as there are plenty of people who are avid fans. However, it does show that an improportionate amount of attention is given to the podcasts, when compared to CAG user interest. CAGCast and YMIJ are both great because they add something unique and fun to our website, but they shouldn't treated as the main focus.
So, back to your question.
[quote name='CheapyD']Well, what would you like to see on the front page then?[/quote]
Bottom line: more content in general, higher focus on deals.
It's not uncommon to hear people say "I don't even look at the front page, I only go to the forums." Why is that? Shouldn't we want to change that?
There's less than 1 front page post per day, and we're a major player on the internet now. Have you seen GoNintendo!? They consistently have over 50 posts per day. I'm not suggesting that we report general gaming news, but surely we can do better than
I also agree with evilmax.
My main issue right now is settling on a new Content Management System and hiring a company to do the work. The portals for vBulletin are still pretty weak compared to a full featured CMS. I am still leaning very heavily towards Drupal.
This will allow every CAG to have their own personal blog and will make it very easy to promote good articles to the front page (main blog). It will also allow us to integrate a wiki system more tightly into the CMS. There is someone working on system to tie in vBulletin and Drupal so that CAGs would not need to create seperate accounts.
I've found a few companies that I would like to hire, but they are pretty backed up.
So far I've done a pretty shitty job of organizing the redesign, but after reading through the latest posts here, I am motivated to get things going.
Clearly, I am not an A-type personality and I have been coasting on the success of CAG. I am going to get my shit together and make it happen.
My main issue right now is settling on a new Content Management System and hiring a company to do the work. The portals for vBulletin are still pretty weak compared to a full featured CMS. I am still leaning very heavily towards Drupal.
This will allow every CAG to have their own personal blog and will make it very easy to promote good articles to the front page (main blog). It will also allow us to integrate a wiki system more tightly into the CMS. There is someone working on system to tie in vBulletin and Drupal so that CAGs would not need to create seperate accounts.
I've found a few companies that I would like to hire, but they are pretty backed up.
So far I've done a pretty shitty job of organizing the redesign, but after reading through the latest posts here, I am motivated to get things going.
Clearly, I am not an A-type personality and I have been coasting on the success of CAG. I am going to get my shit together and make it happen.
Front page isn't a huge issue with me, I very rarely look over it. with the exception of the new gamequestdirect CAG exclusive deals, which is good business right there.
But I think splitting up the front page a little more would attract to the new users. When they first load up the sight seeing your bald mug getting some pizza isn't what they had in mind when they came here. But I think somehow splitting up the front page with a section just for deals, then a section for the podcasts, then another for the misc. funny stuff.
And the drupal thing doesn't really need to happen, it would freshen up the look, but I think everything is fine.
oh and bring back vbookie. ASAP.
But I think splitting up the front page a little more would attract to the new users. When they first load up the sight seeing your bald mug getting some pizza isn't what they had in mind when they came here. But I think somehow splitting up the front page with a section just for deals, then a section for the podcasts, then another for the misc. funny stuff.
And the drupal thing doesn't really need to happen, it would freshen up the look, but I think everything is fine.
oh and bring back vbookie. ASAP.
Wow, quite the post evilmax. Posting stuff to the front page is always a tricky situation because I know both Cheapy and I want CAGs to have the best chance of getting many of the deals and if we post it to the front page it is much more likely that the CAG regulars will miss out on the deals.
As for counting CAG Foreplay in the podcast category alone, I think that is a bit unfair, as its main purpose is to let people know what games are out that week and where to get the best deal on them. I think the problem there is that a lot of people don't realize that the deals of for all the games are included with the write up.
But you make a lot of good points.
As for counting CAG Foreplay in the podcast category alone, I think that is a bit unfair, as its main purpose is to let people know what games are out that week and where to get the best deal on them. I think the problem there is that a lot of people don't realize that the deals of for all the games are included with the write up.
But you make a lot of good points.
I don't shop for games as rabidly as I used to, so I enjoy the additional content like the podcasts and the YMIJ articles, pictures, and videos (getting a Flickr account was a great idea, Cheapy). I read the gaming discussion forums more than the deal forums now; that said, I used to get the GameSpy Daily/Weekly newsletter, and in that newsletter, they would occasionally feature a popular thread of the moment on their forums. I never read the GameSpy forums, but I'd occasionally click over to read the discussion linked in the newsletter. I think it would be good to occasionally (once a week or so) make a post on the front page highlighting one or two discussions going on in the gaming or even off-topic forums. If the new CMS allows for blog posts, you could highlight one or two blog posts a week instead of or in addition to forum posts.
[quote name='CheapyD']
This will allow every CAG to have their own personal blog and will make it very easy to promote good articles to the front page (main blog). It will also allow us to integrate a wiki system more tightly into the CMS. There is someone working on system to tie in vBulletin and Drupal so that CAGs would not need to create seperate accounts.
[/quote]Glad to see that's still on the docket, I recall that being an interesting early idea from this thread or another like it (at the time I think it was just generally talking about having users being able to push threads out to the front page).
This will allow every CAG to have their own personal blog and will make it very easy to promote good articles to the front page (main blog). It will also allow us to integrate a wiki system more tightly into the CMS. There is someone working on system to tie in vBulletin and Drupal so that CAGs would not need to create seperate accounts.
[/quote]Glad to see that's still on the docket, I recall that being an interesting early idea from this thread or another like it (at the time I think it was just generally talking about having users being able to push threads out to the front page).
shrike4242
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How about an upgrade to the latest version of vB, or whatever latest version of vB that doesn't break iTrader?
[quote name='Ikohn4ever']Simple stuff like more customization for the posts, like if i want to only see deals involving Wii stuff, there should be options like that or if i dont care about other deals i should be able to block that stuff from the front page. [/quote]I don't care as much with the front page but for instance fatwallet has a feature that lets you block/ignore threads that seems like it would be one easy to impliment way to allow me/us to filter out systems we don't have. I'm a nintnedo fan who will probably get a PS2 eventually but I have zero interest in PS3 news/info/threads and littlle interest in Xbox/Xbox360. User-created tags get messy, disorganized and out of control just look again at fatwallet but ignore would be a nice first step.
xmrblondex
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one thing i think you also need to analyze, evilmax, is that the VGD and Lifestyle forums have been around for a very long time. The Japan and podcast forums have been around for a relatively short amount of time. If we could go and see from the start of the podcast forum, how many posts were made, that would probably be a better representation. Needless to say, you're going in a good direction. You always have to be careful with statistics.
[quote name='xmrblondex']one thing i think you also need to analyze, evilmax, is that the VGD and Lifestyle forums have been around for a very long time. The Japan and podcast forums have been around for a relatively short amount of time. If we could go and see from the start of the podcast forum, how many posts were made, that would probably be a better representation. Needless to say, you're going in a good direction. You always have to be careful with statistics.[/quote]
Good point, but you also have to remember evilmax based everything on post counts and not page views/ total traffic. If you run the analytics I would guess the page views in Deals section would equal 80%-90% of the total site traffic with the lurkers. Unfortunately google analytics can only provide so much detailed when your working with a site driven off a db. If the original apache (assuming apache) traffic logs are saved the data could be imported into a db to run some stats on pageviews to threads to categories. Although active posting cags really drive the community from a business perspective designing the whole site around 1 segment of your customers is never a good idea.
Good point, but you also have to remember evilmax based everything on post counts and not page views/ total traffic. If you run the analytics I would guess the page views in Deals section would equal 80%-90% of the total site traffic with the lurkers. Unfortunately google analytics can only provide so much detailed when your working with a site driven off a db. If the original apache (assuming apache) traffic logs are saved the data could be imported into a db to run some stats on pageviews to threads to categories. Although active posting cags really drive the community from a business perspective designing the whole site around 1 segment of your customers is never a good idea.
[quote name='kjauburn']Good point, but you also have to remember evilmax based everything on post counts and not page views/ total traffic. If you run the analytics I would guess the page views in Deals section would equal 80%-90% of the total site traffic with the lurkers. Unfortunately google analytics can only provide so much detailed when your working with a site driven off a db. If the original apache (assuming apache) traffic logs are saved the data could be imported into a db to run some stats on pageviews to threads to categories. Although active posting cags really drive the community from a business perspective designing the whole site around 1 segment of your customers is never a good idea.[/quote]Page views should be in the DB somewhere, at least for threads, since it has a total of the page views for each thread. Would take some work and someone with access to the CAG DB, but the info should be there.
xmrblondex
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[quote name='botticus']Page views should be in the DB somewhere, at least for threads, since it has a total of the page views for each thread. Would take some work and someone with access to the CAG DB, but the info should be there.[/quote]
don't forget the deal graveyard too! I'm actually pretty interested in this. What can we do to get some data for analysis?
don't forget the deal graveyard too! I'm actually pretty interested in this. What can we do to get some data for analysis?
[quote name='xmrblondex']don't forget the deal graveyard too! I'm actually pretty interested in this. What can we do to get some data for analysis?[/quote]If I had to guess: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/member.php?u=1992
It's generally not a good idea to give anyone access to your raw data.
It's generally not a good idea to give anyone access to your raw data.
[quote name='botticus']Page views should be in the DB somewhere, at least for threads, since it has a total of the page views for each thread. Would take some work and someone with access to the CAG DB, but the info should be there.[/quote]
Good point I wasn't sure if the views on top of the threads included non-registered users. If it does then a query could be put together without to much trouble. Figure a formula ranking the thread categories and sub-categories could be easy enough to come up with. Something along the lines of...
(Percentage of Page Views by Category * 50%) + (Percentage of Post Count by Category * 20%) + (Percentage of Subscribe Threads by Category * 20%) + ((Thread Rating Average By Category * 2) * 10%) = Overall Percentage by Category
Probably could use some tooling after runing subqueries for each part of the formula. Plus with the weighting it would give active users the ability to influence the site with posts count and thread ratings. Lurkers would only influence based on views and possibly subscribe threads. Also looking back historically at all data is nice to have, but for helping to make decisions or numbers for marketing partners going back 3-6 months probably be a more accurrate perception of the community today.
With someone with a strong db skillset and knowledge of the vbulletin table structure it probably be about 3-4 hours to create the query with variables to allow for changing the ranking weight of each piece of the formula and date range.
And on that note its just a suggestion, what can I say I am a geek...
Good point I wasn't sure if the views on top of the threads included non-registered users. If it does then a query could be put together without to much trouble. Figure a formula ranking the thread categories and sub-categories could be easy enough to come up with. Something along the lines of...
(Percentage of Page Views by Category * 50%) + (Percentage of Post Count by Category * 20%) + (Percentage of Subscribe Threads by Category * 20%) + ((Thread Rating Average By Category * 2) * 10%) = Overall Percentage by Category
Probably could use some tooling after runing subqueries for each part of the formula. Plus with the weighting it would give active users the ability to influence the site with posts count and thread ratings. Lurkers would only influence based on views and possibly subscribe threads. Also looking back historically at all data is nice to have, but for helping to make decisions or numbers for marketing partners going back 3-6 months probably be a more accurrate perception of the community today.
With someone with a strong db skillset and knowledge of the vbulletin table structure it probably be about 3-4 hours to create the query with variables to allow for changing the ranking weight of each piece of the formula and date range.
And on that note its just a suggestion, what can I say I am a geek...
[quote name='kjauburn']
(Percentage of Page Views by Category * 50%) + (Percentage of Post Count by Category * 20%) + (Percentage of Subscribe Threads by Category * 20%) + ((Thread Rating Average By Category * 2) * 10%) = Overall Percentage by Category[/quote]For subscribed threads, you'd have to discount users who posted in the threads (perhaps further defined by users who posted in the threads and do not have the option set to automatically subscribe to threads they post in - otherwise it's an unfair weight).
(Percentage of Page Views by Category * 50%) + (Percentage of Post Count by Category * 20%) + (Percentage of Subscribe Threads by Category * 20%) + ((Thread Rating Average By Category * 2) * 10%) = Overall Percentage by Category[/quote]For subscribed threads, you'd have to discount users who posted in the threads (perhaps further defined by users who posted in the threads and do not have the option set to automatically subscribe to threads they post in - otherwise it's an unfair weight).
guinaevere
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Evilmax did a bang up job with those stats. There's definately a clique who enjoys the cagcasts and the YMiJ shtick, but thats a small audience and targeting that group isn't the best strategy strictly from a marketing view.
I used to hit the mainpage every day. As the headlines became more and more non-deal based and straight Sunday ads reflections, I skipped and went straight towards the deal forums.
[quote name='RBM']What's worse, is that as the deals have dried out, I have felt less compulsion to share deals which I come across (not that I find many) here. It once was that I was eager to give something back to a community which had let me know about so many great deals...but as time has worn on, the focus here has drifted more to an attempted cult of personality and the site reads more like a billboard for Sunday ads.[/quote]It happens in any community that certain personalities emerge over others. That's hard to avoid.
But do consider that deals often dry out because folks see deals but like you, just don't feel compelled to share. Which is completely your perogative, but just one of the reasons we go through dry spells on deals.
[quote name='Ikohn4ever']ahh then the new full time mod have been a lil power happy.[/quote]Seriously.
I used to hit the mainpage every day. As the headlines became more and more non-deal based and straight Sunday ads reflections, I skipped and went straight towards the deal forums.
[quote name='RBM']What's worse, is that as the deals have dried out, I have felt less compulsion to share deals which I come across (not that I find many) here. It once was that I was eager to give something back to a community which had let me know about so many great deals...but as time has worn on, the focus here has drifted more to an attempted cult of personality and the site reads more like a billboard for Sunday ads.[/quote]It happens in any community that certain personalities emerge over others. That's hard to avoid.
But do consider that deals often dry out because folks see deals but like you, just don't feel compelled to share. Which is completely your perogative, but just one of the reasons we go through dry spells on deals.
[quote name='Ikohn4ever']ahh then the new full time mod have been a lil power happy.[/quote]Seriously.
GuyWithGun
CAGiversary!
Hey, Cheapy. I meant to write this about a month ago when I realized the change, but I noticed that when I take an unnatural amount of time writing a post and the system logs me out, I no longer have to do the whole copy and paste from Word thing. It's still there when I log back in!
So, thanks for that, I don't have to worry now about losing my posts and copying and pasting and all.
So, thanks for that, I don't have to worry now about losing my posts and copying and pasting and all.
Since people are complaining about there not being enough deals and seeing your random videos on the front page, when you hire somebody to remake the front page just get them to make tabs at the top.
You could have it where theres a tab for deals, tab for podcasts, tab for your videos. Deals would be the default tab and users who want to view the videos or podcasts can click on the other tabs.
That should be pretty easy for them to do.
Also I think it'd be cool to have a vote to ban feature like they have in Socom online. If you get a certain amount of votes you get banned. Only people with X amount of posts can vote, etc.
You could have it where theres a tab for deals, tab for podcasts, tab for your videos. Deals would be the default tab and users who want to view the videos or podcasts can click on the other tabs.
That should be pretty easy for them to do.
Also I think it'd be cool to have a vote to ban feature like they have in Socom online. If you get a certain amount of votes you get banned. Only people with X amount of posts can vote, etc.
[quote name='Cracka']Also I think it'd be cool to have a vote to ban feature like they have in Socom online. If you get a certain amount of votes you get banned. Only people with X amount of posts can vote, etc.[/quote]
Not sure how I feel about this feature, but if it were implemented, I would suggest that when a user reaches a certain number of ban votes, the moderator team is notified to investigate why there are so many requests for a ban. If there's no barrier for approval, the system could be abused. Then if the moderators deem it a valid request, they would proceed accordingly.
I would also be interested in a banned user thread, as others have suggested, that only moderators would be allowed to post in (to avoid clutter). Each time a user is banned, a post could be made explaining why (or even just continually update the first post). That way, the community is not in the dark as to why someone is banned, and maybe it would exemplify to others essentially what not to do, or what types of things will result in a ban.
Not sure how I feel about this feature, but if it were implemented, I would suggest that when a user reaches a certain number of ban votes, the moderator team is notified to investigate why there are so many requests for a ban. If there's no barrier for approval, the system could be abused. Then if the moderators deem it a valid request, they would proceed accordingly.
I would also be interested in a banned user thread, as others have suggested, that only moderators would be allowed to post in (to avoid clutter). Each time a user is banned, a post could be made explaining why (or even just continually update the first post). That way, the community is not in the dark as to why someone is banned, and maybe it would exemplify to others essentially what not to do, or what types of things will result in a ban.
guinaevere
CAGiversary!
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[quote name='moiety']Not sure how I feel about this feature, but if it were implemented, I would suggest that when a user reaches a certain number of ban votes, the moderator team is notified to investigate why there are so many requests for a ban. If there's no barrier for approval, the system could be abused. Then if the moderators deem it a valid request, they would proceed accordingly.[/quote]My initial knee-jerk reaction is that a such a feature without floodgates would be a disaster. The goal is to make the site more inviting, to reach a larger target audience and bring in more traffic. There are definate groups within the cag community which would delight in shutting out other members they didn't agree with/like/whatever and it could be drastically abused.
I've always liked that idea.
I have a couple ideas.
I'd like to see a section devoted to other websites that us CAGs have (personal sites), or maybe a feature about a different CAG every once in a while.
Also, I'd love to see the deals posted on the VGD forum be required to be in a certain format, as far as the title goes. For example:
"(Store or Site) - (Item for sale) - (Price or percent off) - (applicable dates)"
Something to make it more fluent and cohesive.
One more thing: if I remember correctly, CAGs are required to wait a certain period of time before posting in the Trading Forum. If this does not already extend to the VGD page, please make it so. I'm tired of bullshit threads.
I'd like to see a section devoted to other websites that us CAGs have (personal sites), or maybe a feature about a different CAG every once in a while.
Also, I'd love to see the deals posted on the VGD forum be required to be in a certain format, as far as the title goes. For example:
"(Store or Site) - (Item for sale) - (Price or percent off) - (applicable dates)"
Something to make it more fluent and cohesive.
One more thing: if I remember correctly, CAGs are required to wait a certain period of time before posting in the Trading Forum. If this does not already extend to the VGD page, please make it so. I'm tired of bullshit threads.
[quote name='guinaevere']My initial knee-jerk reaction is that a such a feature without floodgates would be a disaster. The goal is to make the site more inviting, to reach a larger target audience and bring in more traffic. There are definate groups within the cag community which would delight in shutting out other members they didn't agree with/like/whatever and it could be drastically abused.[/quote]
Yeah if users could ban other users there could be trouble. The WLA may organize rise up and ban CheapyD, giving Wombat the Head Cheap Ass Throne.
Yeah if users could ban other users there could be trouble. The WLA may organize rise up and ban CheapyD, giving Wombat the Head Cheap Ass Throne.
[quote name='kjauburn']Yeah if users could ban other users there could be trouble. The WLA may organize rise up and ban CheapyD, giving Wombat the Head Cheap Ass Throne.[/quote]
Shh
and voting to ban i believe was my idea...i mention it wherever i see fit...obviously it would need restrictions cause it would then be chaos...
Shh
and voting to ban i believe was my idea...i mention it wherever i see fit...obviously it would need restrictions cause it would then be chaos...
Coming from someone who has been at CAG since the very very beginning (first mod, yo!)..I do like how it has progressed into a gaming community. However, I do feel that it's not really much about BEING a cheapass these days. Sure, we get a lot of good deals here and there..and getting the weekly ads are great, but they don't always mean they are deals.
Granted, back in the old days of CAG...users (myself included!) would just do a search on EBgames for games $17.99 and below and post..and they would all be posted on the front page
. Now I don't think that we need to post every deal on the main page.. but it was really nice to see our members get the spotlight on the main page. I know it still happens..but, no so much.
Personally, I think there's a huge problem with some of the people who lurk around the Deals forum. I totally understand when someone makes a blatant repost of something that's STILL on the main page..but overall, too many people get flamed because the deal isn't THAT good or some BS like that. If you know a DEAL, then post it. (As long as it's not region specific as it should go in that forum, AND as long as it's not already posted)
I know nothing can't be done about the people who feel the need to flame all these members for posting "bad deals"..but still. Maybe MODs should be more harder on THOSE people.
But overall, I'd love to see more deals posted on the main page giving credit to that cag..just like the good ol'e days
Granted, back in the old days of CAG...users (myself included!) would just do a search on EBgames for games $17.99 and below and post..and they would all be posted on the front page
. Now I don't think that we need to post every deal on the main page.. but it was really nice to see our members get the spotlight on the main page. I know it still happens..but, no so much.Personally, I think there's a huge problem with some of the people who lurk around the Deals forum. I totally understand when someone makes a blatant repost of something that's STILL on the main page..but overall, too many people get flamed because the deal isn't THAT good or some BS like that. If you know a DEAL, then post it. (As long as it's not region specific as it should go in that forum, AND as long as it's not already posted)
I know nothing can't be done about the people who feel the need to flame all these members for posting "bad deals"..but still. Maybe MODs should be more harder on THOSE people.
But overall, I'd love to see more deals posted on the main page giving credit to that cag..just like the good ol'e days
bread's done