We Welcome Your Suggestions

[Zerin Dube]

In order to make this site as user friendly and powerful as possible, we want to make sure that we implement features that you would like to see. If you have any suggestions, please post them here. While we can't implement every single suggestion immediately, we WILL read each one. Your input is very important to us, so please feel free to share!

[Paul Hansen]

Well, just some opinions..

White text on light blues are a bit hard to see on my Powerbook 15" LCD screen. I understand the color schemes from a design viewpoint, but from a user viewpoint, they are a bit too light. Just a touch darker outline around the text itself would help.

There is no home button. I know, now, that you can click the logo mark on the top to go to the very top layer, but until you figure that out, there is no other way back.

Cheers

[Zerin Dube]

Paul, are you talking about back to the main site (http://www.automotivephoto.net) or back to the main forum page?

Well, just some opinions..

White text on light blues are a bit hard to see on my Powerbook 15" LCD screen. I understand the color schemes from a design viewpoint, but from a user viewpoint, they are a bit too light. Just a touch darker outline around the text itself would help.

There is no home button. I know, now, that you can click the logo mark on the top to go to the very top layer, but until you figure that out, there is no other way back.

Cheers

[Todd Corzett]

The colors aren't a problem on my

I like the "New Post" feature... but it would be nice to have a (maybe personalized?) intro page. I don't need to read the whole APN spiel each time I come to the site, but I don't just want to bookmark the forum page, as that would be missing a major piece of the site. Maybe have the "New Posts" in the center, and then something on the left and right?

What about avatars?

-Todd...

[Paul Hansen]

Zerin,
Back to the main site. I know people will not feel a need to go there that often, but sometimes you do.
Cheers

[Drew Phillips]

Yes, avatars would be nice.

[John Thawley]

Zerin,
Back to the main site. I know people will not feel a need to go there that often, but sometimes you do.
Cheers

Actually, there will be plenty of information on the main site.... and all the pages are accessible from the nav bar. The "welcome" page is the only page not identified, in as much as it won't change that often. Linking the logo to "home" however, has been a standard in web development since back into the mid-90's when I first started building. But, I'm sure we've got all the bases covered for visitors to access the site's content.

Appreciate the discussion.

Thaks,

JT

[Dennis Murray]

What about a classifieds section? I know there are lots of places to buy and sell photo gear on the web, but there are some specialized pieces that some folks use and may want to sell.

[Zerin Dube]

Classifieds are something that have been discussed, and are under consideration for the future :)

What about a classifieds section? I know there are lots of places to buy and sell photo gear on the web, but there are some specialized pieces that some folks use and may want to sell.

[John Thawley]

What about a classifieds section? I know there are lots of places to buy and sell photo gear on the web, but there are some specialized pieces that some folks use and may want to sell.


Dennis:

As Zerin said, we have and continue to discuss addressing that area. However, we want to be sure that it is an environment that is safe. We want to be sure it is for the benefit of our members... not opportunists who join the site just because they have something to sell. So, while we grow the site and our membership, we are researching policies and methods successfuly used by others. We want to do it right.

Thanks for the suggestion.

JT

[Dennis Murray]

Thanks John,
I completely agree there needs to be a level of trust in effect already for trade to occur. While I'm not a member there, Sportshooter's board seems to be the most trustworthy photo classified on the net. If that can be approached here...then it can be successful.

[John Thawley]

Thanks John,
I completely agree there needs to be a level of trust in effect already for trade to occur. While I'm not a member there, Sportshooter's board seems to be the most trustworthy photo classified on the net. If that can be approached here...then it can be successful.


Dennis:

Two objectives have been in place since beginning this experiment. The first was to emulate Fred Miranda's site for it's photography and discussion model, and the other was to emulate SportsShooters "professiional" directory model.

Going forward, it will be very important to build our APN Pro Member body. I believe that segment of the site will set the tone and the level of quality we want from the site. If we can grow that section, we can do a lot of things that will be of benefit to all users. But that is our challenge; we need to be Pro Member driven.

Thanks,

John

[Joel Parker]

the 'new activity' icons next to the threads and forums is barely distinguishable from the 'no new activity' icons... at least for my color blind eyes. Is there any way the contrast between these two images could be increased a little?

thanks..

[Joel Parker]

to make it more clear what I'm referring to, these two images are hard to distinguish:
http://community.automotivephoto.net/forums/images/ibulletin/statusicon/forum_new.gif
http://community.automotivephoto.net/forums/images/ibulletin/statusicon/forum_old.gif

I have to sit there and look at them for a minute or so sometimes just to tell them apart. :(

[Todd Corzett]

I have to sit there and look at them for a minute or so sometimes just to tell them apart. :(
I just use the "New Posts". It will tell you all the updates threads without having to digging through all the categories.

-Todd...

[Todd Corzett]

Any chance of getting nifty little "APN" and "APN Pro" (similar to the avatar) buttons to put on our websites (if that sort of thing is what you'd like)? Things with different colors? or that would look better than just a white square on a page with black backgrounds? I need to replace the AP one on mine with something that is active.

-Todd...

[John Thawley]

Yeah... it's on the list. :) Time, time, time.... I should have been in Utah by now. LOL

[John Jovic]

Can I suggest that the pro-directory be subdiveded into countries, eg UK, Japan, Australia, etc, etc. Or possibly to have the option to search for a photographer in a region. It's no good finding a good photog in California if the job is in Florida.

Or is that on the list already?

JJ
________
Honda CBR600RR (http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Honda_CBR600RR)

[John Thawley]

Can I suggest that the pro-directory be subdiveded into countries, eg UK, Japan, Australia, etc, etc. Or possibly to have the option to search for a photographer in a region. It's no good finding a good photog in California if the job is in Florida.

Or is that on the list already?

JJ


Well, in the vein of "accentuate the positive," I don't think it would do anyone much good to divide 15 guys up into a worldwide searchable directory. ;) Maybe when we're up to 20?

Trust me, when the need arises and the directory population warrants it, it will be searchable using a multiple of fields. But for now, I think that would be overkill.

Thanks for input.

JT

[John Jovic]

Fair point. Looking forward to seeing a hundred on the list.
JJ
________
Honda C77 (http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Honda_C77)

[Jeremy Hua]

Hey Zerin, would it be possible at all to make the default colors of the board user selectable? I know some people may prefer the cleanliness of the white, but I myself prefer dimmer colors so it's not so hard on the eyes.

And thanks for taking the time to put up a new board for us ever since AP went down...:)

[Daniel Buck]

Hey Zerin, would it be possible at all to make the default colors of the board user selectable? I know some people may prefer the cleanliness of the white, but I myself prefer dimmer colors so it's not so hard on the eyes.

And thanks for taking the time to put up a new board for us ever since AP went down...:)
I would agree with the colors, fredmiranda has a good dark scheme, with out getting so dark that bright images look to bright. But, thats what makes websites different I suppose, they can't all be the same :)

[Morgan J Segal]

Better smiles, site needs better smilies!!!! You don't even have the second most important one - the LOL smiley
Most important one is - rolleyes- but you have that LOL!

[Mark Delbrueck]

I sitll think the forum structure is a little silly. I would combine 'Critique' and 'Shooters>Location, Event, etc'

I think there should be 1 for motorsports and 1 for locatoin photography. I'd also fix the Equipment and Workflow section... does it really need 3 sub-forums? How about: Digital Darkroom or processing and then Equipment.

Again, forum talk and forum announcements could be combined as well.

Just some food for thought, overall I love this site. very professional atmosphere.

[Daniel Buck]

I sitll think the forum structure is a little silly. I would combine 'Critique' and 'Shooters>Location, Event, etc'

I think there should be 1 for motorsports and 1 for locatoin photography. I'd also fix the Equipment and Workflow section... does it really need 3 sub-forums? How about: Digital Darkroom or processing and then Equipment.

Again, forum talk and forum announcements could be combined as well.

Just some food for thought, overall I love this site. very professional atmosphere.


I think I'd be inclined to agree with all of that :)

On a side note, is it just me, or has the forum activity picked up in the past month or so? Hope it's not just me :)

[Mark Delbrueck]

Oh no, its not you... I've been checking the site daily and soaking it all in :)

Like I said above, I really love the direction of the site. I just checked over at DieselStation.com and was not only stunned at the M6 thread, but discusted. I'm glad this- "our"- environment is on a much more professional level.

[John Thawley]

I sitll think the forum structure is a little silly. I would combine 'Critique' and 'Shooters>Location, Event, etc'

I think there should be 1 for motorsports and 1 for locatoin photography. I'd also fix the Equipment and Workflow section... does it really need 3 sub-forums? How about: Digital Darkroom or processing and then Equipment.

Again, forum talk and forum announcements could be combined as well.

Just some food for thought, overall I love this site. very professional atmosphere.


Mark: First, the The Shooters boards are discussion boards... of course, photos get comments. They don't get what I would call true "cirtiques." You pick your niche, you post or view... and you make a few comments. Most people post too many images to truly critique.

I think the descriptions of the Shooters boards are acurate... and necessary.

Commerical shooting with lighting, locations etc. is a whole different world and it's typcially all "pro" work.

Event photography is probably the number one "gray" area.... but it seems to be where a lot beginners get there interest in automotive photography "piqued." It's also a pretty loose style of shooting.

Static and Beauty is where a lot of guys both pro and hobby share common interests and ideas. It's something we all like to do from time-to-time.

Of course, Motorsports speaks for itself.

So for now, I'm comfortable with those categories.

Critique is mainly for the monthly assignments OR if someone is working on a specific shot and wants genuine technical feedback. It's also for feedback on those that are getting started on the assignments. It's intended to be in-depth and technical... and a learning tool.

I have merged the "Print and Print solutions" board into the Workflow board.

I have also merged the Forum Announcements and Forum Discussion boards.

[Morgan J Segal]

Increase the PM mailbox limit, 20 messages fills up fast, I'm a real popular guy!!! :D

[Daniel Buck]

I'm a real popular guy!!! :D
I call shenanigans!

:p

[Morgan J Segal]

KeKeKeKe....

[Matt Mullarkey]

I Suggest you hand out sigma 120-300mm f2,8 lenses to all your members.