A forum survey

[wolferacing]

Hello!

Thank you for taking the time to visit this topic. I am curious about a few things relating to you, the family of the Frets on Fire Fan Forum, as well as the forum itself. Over the years music games have declined in interest but we have still managed to live on and continue to support the games we love. This without a doubt is something to be proud of. To celebrate our continued success as a community I would like everyone to engage in a survey of sorts.

Forum themes

What theme do you currently use?
Why do you use this theme over the others?
If you could pick 3(or more) unique items out of each theme you have used previously and combine them, what would they be?
What is your vision of the ideal theme for this forum?

Forum features

What is your favorite forum feature?
What is your least favorite?
Do you feel like a certain feature is missing? What is it and how would it benefit the forum?

General forum content

What content do you find yourself visiting the most? (songs, themes, general topic chatter, ect)
What would you like to see more of? (or less of)
Do you feel the song section of the forum is currently organized, semi organized, or messy?
How could the tune posting section be improved?
Do you think a collection of high quality, full difficulty, separated stem audio(when possible), 100% legal custom songs would be a good idea?

Other

Is there anything I have missed that you would like to discuss?

Below is a template reply you can use to keep things organized. Just copy/paste the text into your reply box and replace the *answer* sections with your own answers.

Code: Select all

[b][u]Forum themes[/u][/b]

[quote]What theme do you currently use?[/quote]
*ANSWER*
[quote]Why do you use this theme over the others?[/quote]
*ANSWER*
[quote]If you could pick 3(or more) unique items out of each theme you have used previously and combine them, what would they be?[/quote]
*ANSWER*
[quote]What is your vision of the ideal theme for this forum?[/quote]
*ANSWER*

[b][u]Forum features[/u][/b]

[quote]What is your favorite forum feature?[/quote]
*ANSWER*
[quote]What is your least favorite?[/quote]
*ANSWER*
[quote]Do you feel like a certain feature is missing? What is it and how would it benefit the forum?[/quote]
*ANSWER*

[b][u]General forum content[/u][/b]

[quote]What content do you find yourself visiting the most? (songs, themes, general topic chatter, ect)[/quote]
*ANSWER*
[quote]What would you like to see more of? (or less of)[/quote]
*ANSWER*
[quote]Do you feel the song section of the forum is currently organized, semi organized, or messy?[/quote]
*ANSWER*
[quote][quote]How could the tune posting section be improved?[/quote]
*ANSWER*
[quote]Do you think a collection of high quality, full difficulty, separated stem audio(when possible), 100% legal custom songs would be a good idea?[/quote]
*ANSWER*

[b][u]Other[/u][/b]

[quote]Is there anything I have missed that you would like to discuss?[/quote]
*ANSWER*


Thank you in advance for taking the time to participate. You can answer as little or as many questions as you'd like. I look forward to reading your responses!

Edit (nwru): Admins are watching this topic. We'd love to hear your feedback!

[Rush95]

Here's my answers to some of the questions asked. Well, most of them actually.

Forum themes

What theme do you currently use?

I use the default theme for the forum.

Why do you use this theme over the others?

It looks nice, and i didn't much care for the alternative choices

If you could pick 3(or more) unique items out of each theme you have used previously and combine them, what would they be?

It's been awhile since I have seen the alternatives, so I can't answer that.

What is your vision of the ideal theme for this forum?

I feel that the forum is fine the way it is. Easy to navigate, and doesn't hurt my eyes.


General forum content

What content do you find yourself visiting the most? (songs, themes, general topic chatter, ect)

I tend to visit Tune Posting or W.I.P. exclusively.

What would you like to see more of? (or less of)

I'd like to see more collaborative projects on here. For example, maybe someone charts drums, then other people add guitar, bass, and keys.

Do you feel the song section of the forum is currently organized, semi organized, or messy?

Song posting looks fine to me, though I'd like someone to completely revamp the song listings on the wiki. Tons of dead links and/or links which lead to fishy sites now.

How could the tune posting section be improved?

Refer to the question above.

Do you think a collection of high quality, full difficulty, separated stem audio(when possible), 100% legal custom songs would be a good idea?

I think that is a fantastic idea! who knows, maybe we as a forum can reach out to artists who'd look at this as a form of fan-art, similar to the way Capcom treats their IP's in M.U.G.E.N.

Other

Is there anything I have missed that you would like to discuss?

Nothing I can think of.

[amak11]

Forum themes

What theme do you currently use?

I personally prefer the default style.

Why do you use this theme over the others?

Easy on the eyes

If you could pick 3(or more) unique items out of each theme you have used previously and combine them, what would they be?

I wouldn't mind a alternate default with the user items on the left (avatar, etc).

What is your vision of the ideal theme for this forum?

Anything the light touches... err well default is fine for me. Simple and works

Forum features

What is your favorite forum feature?

Definitely the Karma system and user titles

What is your least favorite?

Trolls?

Do you feel like a certain feature is missing? What is it and how would it benefit the forum?

Well additional platform tags in the user profile (steam, origin, uplay, etc) and maybe a way to indicate to users that they have those platforms in the avatar box. I feel the benefits of it are minor, but it would be a good aesthetic.

General forum content

What content do you find yourself visiting the most? (songs, themes, general topic chatter, ect)

off-topic

What would you like to see more of? (or less of)

Less Off-topic posting

Do you feel the song section of the forum is currently organized, semi organized, or messy?

It's very messy

How could the tune posting section be improved?

Posting rules?

Do you think a collection of high quality, full difficulty, separated stem audio(when possible), 100% legal custom songs would be a good idea?

*ANSWER*

Other

Is there anything I have missed that you would like to discuss?

If there is anything I want to discuss, i'll likely pop on the IRC and talk there. Otherwise i'll pop on there as usual :)

[FrOoGle]

Forum themes

What theme do you currently use?

Right now i'm using the default theme

Why do you use this theme over the others?

can't really answer that since I do use all the themes :P

If you could pick 3(or more) unique items out of each theme you have used previously and combine them, what would they be?

The bump button for posts. I know that's just one, but at the moment that's the only thing I can think of.

What is your vision of the ideal theme for this forum?

anything that isn't messy or unorganized.

Forum features

What is your favorite forum feature?

the karma feature, most definitely

What is your least favorite?

the negative karma feature. JK! xD. honestly though, I can't really think of anything at the moment.

Do you feel like a certain feature is missing? What is it and how would it benefit the forum?

I'd like to see an active charters thingy. kinda like a wiki of people that still chart songs.

General forum content

What content do you find yourself visiting the most? (songs, themes, general topic chatter, ect)

Tune Posting, Tune Requests and W.I.P

What would you like to see more of? (or less of)

I'd like to see less unnecessary bumpings of 100 year old threads, and more charters!

Do you feel the song section of the forum is currently organized, semi organized, or messy?

It's a little bit messy.

How could the tune posting section be improved?

in my opinion there should be a subforum for official charts, and another one for user created customs.

Do you think a collection of high quality, full difficulty, separated stem audio(when possible), 100% legal custom songs would be a good idea?

Most definitely. I certainly wouldn't mind those at all!

Other

Is there anything I have missed that you would like to discuss?

nope.

[Randomex]

I don't talk much, just look around for songs, but there should be lists made of active fretters
and fretters whose songs can still be downloaded.

[Rush95]

...but there should be lists made of active fretters
and fretters whose songs can still be downloaded.

I second this. The wiki has a bunch of dead links, and for people who are now just getting into FoFiX and Phase Shift, that might be discouraging. They might think "Welp, the communities' dead, why should I stick around?" Having a library of charts newcomers can access easily has a higher chance of keeping them around, and even getting them to contribute to our community as well. Plus, alot of those links need to be cleaned out. I've had at least one lead to a fishy site (Can't remember what song, but it was a System of a Down song for sure.)

[narutostarwars123456]

My Responses

Forum themes

What theme do you currently use?

the MegaLight themes that come with FoFiX automatically. Only to check if my charts are functioning.

Forum features

What is your favorite forum feature?

Private Messaging. Also, the View your posts link, can easily check if any threads I have visited have new replies.

What is your least favorite?

Though the polls are awesome features, they're very finicky and hard to reuse.

General forum content

What content do you find yourself visiting the most? (songs, themes, general topic chatter, ect)

Tune Posting and WIP. Usually to check what other charters are up to and my own threads.

Do you feel the song section of the forum is currently organized, semi organized, or messy?

Depends on your definition of organized. I find it troubling that people post "new charts" of songs that have already been charted, either because no one knows they exist or dead links. (Quality seems to be debatable with some as well). There's still quite a few threads that are nothing more than a "I'm posting this one chart". I don't want to force everyone to have their own kind of organized thread, but it wouldn't be a bad idea either.

How could the tune posting section be improved?

Maybe make a repository of songs and stuff then notify charters if their links are dead. But of course, someone would have to maintain it.

Do you think a collection of high quality, full difficulty, separated stem audio(when possible), 100% legal custom songs would be a good idea?

It's an okay idea, but don't put too much emphasis on it. If we get more people begging for that kind of stuff, then we'd basically become no different than a C3 for FOF. I personally consider FoF still to be separate from that. If they are customs that are LEGAL as you define them, as-in the original artist is okay with that, then sure, by all means.

[Metallicaholic666]

Pretty late to the party but here's my 2 cents

Forum themes

What theme do you currently use?

Dark Fire

Why do you use this theme over the others?

Been using it since the ol 'Crushedsoul' days, love the look and functionality of the theme.

If you could pick 3(or more) unique items out of each theme you have used previously and combine them, what would they be?

Don't think it'd really matter, Dark Fire is pretty much the only theme besides the default that I liked.

What is your vision of the ideal theme for this forum?

Dark Fire

Forum features

What is your favorite forum feature?

All of the BBCode additions like using photos as spoilers, etc

What is your least favorite?

Karma

Do you feel like a certain feature is missing? What is it and how would it benefit the forum?

Maybe like a Thank You option for mod and song threads, similar to what would be found on XDA or other android phone dev forums.

General forum content

What content do you find yourself visiting the most? (songs, themes, general topic chatter, ect)

Off Topic and W.I.P (wishing for a theme revival)

What would you like to see more of? (or less of)

Game development. (maybe not 4.0 or anything, just theming.)

Do you feel the song section of the forum is currently organized, semi organized, or messy?

Messy.

How could the tune posting section be improved?

Clean up the dead links, reup some if the files are still available, and a constantly edited and updated list of the songs that are still available.

Do you think a collection of high quality, full difficulty, separated stem audio(when possible), 100% legal custom songs would be a good idea?

Yes, and I think some low quality ones would be cool too (gotta have dat grind)

Other

Is there anything I have missed that you would like to discuss?

yeah how do we make this forum active again?

[FrOoGle]

Do you feel like a certain feature is missing? What is it and how would it benefit the forum?

Maybe like a Thank You option for mod and song threads, similar to what would be found on XDA or other android phone dev forums.

I would actually, really like this feature. something along the lines of this should have been on the forums to begin with. imo.

[wolferacing]

Thank you all for your participation!

Here is a basic summary of what I have gathered based on your answers.

Forum themes

- Dark Fire and the default themes are the most liked
- Avatars are liked on the left of the screen

Forum features

- Karma is a favorite
- A thank you option is requested
- More support of platform tags are welcomed
- Polls could be improved

General forum content

- Tune posting, W.I.P. and Off topic are visited the most
- Dead links are an issue
- Tune posting seems to be on the messy side

-------------------------------------

If you haven't participated yet and would like to please do! This post is by no means a closure to the survey. As a sort of follow-up question, how do you feel would be the best way to fix the dead link issue within the Tune Posting area?

[m1999]

As a sort of follow-up question, how do you feel would be the best way to fix the dead link issue within the Tune Posting area?

As far as I have seen, some other forums solved it by implementing a "Report dead link" button. Maybe if enough people voted for it being a dead link, it could be automatically moved into a different section (Tune Archive or something like that?)
However, there could be an issue of potential abuse, so it would need some kind of moderator approval (or maybe a separate rank just for archiving)

EDIT: also the survey

Forum themes

What theme do you currently use?

I use the default one.

Why do you use this theme over the others?

Too lazy to change it, to be honest.

If you could pick 3(or more) unique items out of each theme you have used previously and combine them, what would they be?

Can't really answer that because I haven't looked at the other themes. Sorry

What is your vision of the ideal theme for this forum?

The default theme is perfect imo.
was using dark fire all along, forgot I had changed it

Forum features

What is your favorite forum feature?

the "View unread posts"-link (can that be considered a feature? :D it's just pretty much what I use the most)

What is your least favorite?

Karma (because i've seen a bit of abuse on that, particularly in bluzer's threads)

Do you feel like a certain feature is missing? What is it and how would it benefit the forum?

As others already stated, a "Thank you" button would be really nice.

General forum content

What content do you find yourself visiting the most? (songs, themes, general topic chatter, ect)

Tune Posting.

What would you like to see more of? (or less of)

Less useless posts (people just quoting the OP without anything else for example)

Do you feel the song section of the forum is currently organized, semi organized, or messy?

Pretty messy

How could the tune posting section be improved?

It would need a clean-up (as in archiving dead links) and what would be really handy (but also a bit of work) would be a kind of song-database that works with MD5 hashes or something where people can re-upload dead links without the need of mods checking every single reupload for legitimacy

Do you think a collection of high quality, full difficulty, separated stem audio(when possible), 100% legal custom songs would be a good idea?

Would definitely be a cool thing to have.

Other

Is there anything I have missed that you would like to discuss?

Not really, you got pretty much everything covered here.

[Metallicaholic666]

One other thing that id like to bring up is the fact that about half of the mods/moderators haven't even logged in since mid 2013 and some even earlier than that.
I wouldn't necessarily say that they should be removed because they're some true legacy people for this game. Very, Very respected people, but maybe scout out a new one again that's still relatively active. Especially since more users than mods are taking the initiative to see what can be done for the future of this forum as well as the future of Frets on Fire, FoFiX, and all the other related rhythm games that have stemmed from them.

[Comfort_Eagle]

delete

[Maupy2]

I agree with you, except with the ban on re-fretting songs that have been released on older pre-full-band games. Let people do whatever they like.

[wolferacing]

One other thing that id like to bring up is the fact that about half of the mods/moderators haven't even logged in since mid 2013 and some even earlier than that.
I wouldn't necessarily say that they should be removed because they're some true legacy people for this game. Very, Very respected people, but maybe scout out a new one again that's still relatively active.

Generally I agree, if anything just to remove some work load of the admins. They say if you overwork a nwru it combusts and millions of tiny nwru parts scatter across the forum.

One massive database for all commercially-released songs. This would have features listed with compatibility tables for stock FoF, FoFiX, and Phase Shift, and permanent DL links. (I realize that constant re-uploading is a huge challenge.)

As ideal as that sounds, it would come with hazards. Anything that looks like official forum support of commercial product will bring unwanted attention to the forum. There is almost a "blind-eye" approach when it comes to these sort of songs. I would much rather have the focus spent on original content organization. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but it has it's dangers.

A separate, huge update of the wiki with all individually fretted songs that still "exist" (are live and not ancient/abandoned). There are songs made around the very first release of FoF ~8 years ago that are long gone; they don't to need to be kept up. Stuff like winniez's conversions, the original GH rips, and other notable ones would be rounded up if possible and reuploaded. If they can't, and the fretter isn't active, their threads/posts would be deleted.

Yes, the wiki needs a purge. There were a few dedicated users that have done this in the past. Basically if one user grabbed a letter and cleaned it up, this would be a much faster process. I have a plan for this, but I will discuss it with the admins before I actually attempt to make it happen. The part about actual thread deletion however I disagree with. Removing FoF history, no matter how small, is frowned upon by me. My plan would create a less drastic change.

A ban on re-fretting songs that have already been released on older, pre-full-band games. No one needs to hear another version of One, Ace of Spades, or the like. Same goes for customs that already have too many versions out there (lots of Metallica, Disturbed, etc.)

When you start to ban things, people get discouraged. Sure no one may need another version of the songs you listed but that doesn't mean someone shouldn't be allowed to make one. It's not like anyone is being forced to download the new version or anything.

A splash screen upon a user's first visit to the Tune Request forum (or better yet, upon sign-up) with a condensed version of the stickies on it (link to the wiki, then the Search page, then the warning to not request commercial game rips–as well as a link to that database mentioned earlier).

I'd like to see a more advanced attempt of the same idea be put to use. This however would require nwru's database to be completed. Ideally there would be a tune request database. If a song was requested already you could add a +1 to it. If you request a song already authored it would link you to the thread. When a request is fulfilled everyone who requested it would get notified and the request would be removed. This is a bit of a pipe dream though.

Keep the suggestions coming! Discussion is a fast track to progress.