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Joined: June 22, 2004
Posts: 792
Location: Miami Beach, Florida, USA
Posted:
Feb 09, 2006 - 11:55 AM
Post subject: The purpose of this forum and a few guidelines
Welcome all.
The purpose of this forum is twofold. One reason is to provide a means for you to show off your MDPro site. It is not meant to demonstrate that you got MDPro installed and running. We make it so easy that getting a successful installation is nothing to boast about. This forum is especially meant for those site administrators who have done something different with their sites, whether it is a custom theme, custom icons and other graphics, unusual modules, or something that sets your site apart from all the rest, including full multi-language usage.
The other reason behind this forum is to ask for suggestions on making your site better by asking people to critique it. Some people will spot details that others miss and having different people looking at a site can only help make it better when they offer constructive advice. It also helps to get feedback from newcomers and the experienced alike. They often have different perspectives.
Be sure to add a link to your site in our Links section, something those with less noteworthy sites can do as well. A link to the proper section is here for your convenience.
Now for the guidelines specific to this forum:
Don't show us that you got MDPro installed and present a standard, ordinary site. Do some work on your site first and make it distinctive. Add content. Customize it. Do something different than the rest.
Add a URL to your site inside the message, not in the subject line. It is only a functioning link if it is inside the message body. Please make it as easy as possible for people to visit your site.
Mention something in the subject line to distinguish your post and site from others. Perhaps it is the nature of your site, such a "My site about skydiving" or "My Flash site about politics".
When you are critiquing a site, please be specific. Saying you like it or don't isn't helpful. Saying why you like it or don't, and giving details, is helpful.
Separate your personal preferences as much as possible in your evaluations or state them as such. For example, I don't care for the all too common use of gray in themes. I've given evaluations where I said that I did not care for a theme or graphics because they were gray and I added that it was a personal distaste of mine.
If you are presenting your site to be reviewed, please let us know if there is anything in particular you want help on. Also, please disable your ego. You might feel great pride in a particular accomplishment or effort but someone else may be what seems to you as brutal in their assessment. They are only trying to help you and you'll learn more if you leave your ego out of the equation and listen to what they are saying. Remember that we can often learn most from our harshest critics. If we can please them, we can please most anybody.
That's it. Let's see those works of art and labors of love (labors for money are alright too).
My personal preferences and information on my style of critiquing (because it's important to know the preferences of the reviewer in evaluating any review and stating mine here will save me from repetition in individual reviews) .
I've already mentioned that I don't care much for the use of gray. That is a personal distaste of mine. I may not say it on every occasion when I see gray as I've said it here and you all hopefully will have read it before you post your site or read my critique of it (assuming I do critique it).
I notice grammatical errors and I am very precise in my choice of words. I don't believe in exaggeration (unless perhaps it is meant to be humorous) and other hyperbole. I believe in accuracy and precision in terminology. It makes for clear communication and representation. I generally avoid slang and some abbreviations as both can impede effective communication.
I have an eye for detail. That and my penchant for proper grammar and terminology serve me well with MDPro and in noticing flaws on sites.
I like the use of humor and personalization. I think they help set sites apart from others and can be important in making visitors enjoy their perusal of your site and make them to want to return to it.
I write plainly, directly, matter-of factly and without sarcasm. Sarcasm is an indirect way of expressing displeasure and I rarely use it. I speak directly. If I'm displeased, i will state it overtly if at all. My matter-of fact way of communicating has sometimes been mistaken for arrogance or sarcasm, but that is the fault of the reader (drat those egos). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is everything else. Please don't read anything into anything I write that isn't made explicit, except for humor. You are welcome to read humor into anything I write. I rarely use emoticons as I figure you either get the humor or you don't. If you don't, go to a doctor and have the doctor check your funny bone. Have both of them checked in fact. You have one in each arm (assuming you have arms. They are called the humerus.
I'll help when I can but I won't do your work for you. If you have a few spelling, typographical or other grammatical errors, I may point them out and suggest corrections. If you have a lot of them, you need to proofread your site and become acquainted with dictionary.com. I won't do it for you and you need to take greater care in proofreading.
I'll only help to the extent that you are willing to learn and want help (and listen). I used to lose my patience and even my temper a bit with people who asked questions and didn't really listen to the response as they were just wasting my time. I don't lose either anymore but I do cut off communication rather than waste any more time on them.
I don't expect that to happen here though. I'll recount a story from a few years back on the forum of another CMS. You can skip this if you like. Someone asked for a critique of his site with regards to SEO (search engine optimization if you didn't know). It was difficult as his site was unfocused and really terrible in regards to SEO, lacking even the most basic components to place with search engines. It was clear he hadn't done his homework on the subject.
I helped him and it was clear from the start that his ego was in the way. Initially, he wasn't listening well and was trying to defend his site. I don't coddle fragile egos (or any others) and my responses to him could have been considered harsh, perhaps even brutal, and desevedly so. He stuck with it though and began to listen and make appropriate changes. His ego began deflating like a balloon whose end you let loose and it goes whizzing around the room.
With his ego dispatched with, he could be helped and we began fine tuning the changes he had made. The discussion was no longer harsh by then. We arrived at the point where I could help no more and anything left to do was up to him following instructions.
I developed a respect for him for putting his ego out of the way, though not at the start. He really wanted to learn and his change in attitude reflected that strong desire. Were it not for that, I would have just ended my efforts to help him.
He later demonstrated that he truly had learned when he gave good advice on the same subject to someone else seeking assistance.
_________________ See CMS Refinement a cooperative concept for CMS module development and refinement for MDPro. Share your feature suggestions (and money) and help make better and needed modules.
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