MyOtaku

[sbsp13668]

[SIZE="3"][B]About MyOtaku[/B]

MyOtaku is the old blogging system for TheOtaku; instead of Worlds, there are sites. New members can not join MyOtaku to make a site. I?m guessing that the reason for this restriction is that TheOtaku?s managers are hoping that eventually all of the old MyOtaku users will die, get lost, or switch to TheOtaku?s Worlds.

[URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_6.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_6.jpg [/IMG][/URL]
When VersionVibrant went up, MyOtaku lost some somewhat minor features. At first, MyOtaku lost the link to users? inboxes, so users were forced to go to TheOtaku to check their messages. Now, MyOtaku users have got the PM link back, but it only says that there are 0 new PMs. Also, there was a comment/reply management system that was similar to the one that?s currently on TheOtaku, but the managers never gave that back to MyOtaku. The page that displayed members? popularity based on the number of visits their sites received was never returned to MyOtaku, as well. That page would also display the usernames of new members and of members who recently updated their sites.

[URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_17.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_17.jpg [/IMG][/URL]
Another thing that MyOtaku lost was the old comment box, where avatars would appear next the user?s name, and font and colour options were available (for each comment, so you weren?t stuck with the same thing for all of your comments). When VersionVibrant was first put up, members couldn?t make paragraphs in their comments. Now, MyOtaku members have got the avatars and paragraphs back, but they still don?t have the font and colour options, or the new edit and reply features. However, the comment box on MyOtaku is still better than the comment box on TheOtaku, since users are able to move it around. Many users like to type their comments while reading the post or looking at the artwork, so they can type everything that comes to mind. The new comment boxes on TheOtaku stay in the centre of the screen and shade the rest of the page.

[URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_18.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_18.jpg [/IMG][/URL]
The guestbook on MyOtaku is much better, and signers still have font and colour options. Also, the guestbook is accessible from a member?s site, and it isn?t just another comment box; it?s a separate page on the site. Guestbooks are more for making friends and leaving comments that don?t always relate to art, so it makes more sense to have the guestbook located where its owner blogs. However, in this area the managers still haven?t given back the users? avatars that would be next to their signing, after VersionVibrant?s installment.

By taking away the somewhat minor features mentioned above, forbidding new members from blogging on MyOtaku, and not improving MyOtaku at all while making all those changes with VersionVibrant, it is obvious that TheOtaku?s managers want to get rid of MyOtaku eventually. Maybe I?m getting a bit ahead of myself there; I should start telling y?all about the ways that MyOtaku?s sites are better than TheOtaku?s Worlds, and that forcing users to use the cruddier blogging system is unfair.

[URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_26.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_26.jpg [/IMG][/URL]
To start, sites are much more customizable than Worlds. Similarly to MySpace, if you or a friend has some knowledge of HTML, you can make your site look anyway that you?d like it to look. There is a 1500 character limit to the amount of text that can be used to customize a site, but that limit can be easily bypassed (hehe). To be honest, though, I don?t think people bypassing this limit has become a major problem, since a good amount of users also like to keep their sites simple (not coming close to exceeding the limit). Here are just a few examples of sites that have been customized:
[URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_34.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_34.jpg [/IMG][/URL] [URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_22.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_22.jpg [/IMG][/URL]
[URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_33.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_33.jpg [/IMG][/URL] [URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_15.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_15.jpg [/IMG][/URL]


[URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_4.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_4.jpg [/IMG][/URL] [URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_5.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_5.jpg [/IMG][/URL] [URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_19.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_19.jpg [/IMG][/URL]
Besides having no limits on the basic appearance of a site, there also isn?t a limit on the amount of pictures, music players, or videos that can be in a post (or in the introduction section). Also, members are not restricted to embedding only YouTube videos. And the amount of posts that are displayed on the main page of a user?s site can be changed. Not to mention, the quiz results page is pretty cool, since you can show off prettyful quiz results, and the results can come from any quiz website.

[URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_30.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_30.jpg [/IMG][/URL]
MyOtaku?s way of showing updates is superior to almost every website that I know; DeviantArt is pretty much even with its inbox-like way of showing updates. MyOtaku?s update system is a list of all your friends? usernames with the dates of their last update next to them and the most recently updated are highlighted with a light blue. The new update system on TheOtaku only shows which members have recently updated and included in these recent updates are art updates as well. Since I don?t get on very often, I miss a lot of updates, so I like to go down the list of dates to find out who has updated since my last visit. Now, I have no idea how many of my friends are using Worlds or when they last updated anything, since I only see that a few of them updated in the past day or so! >.< It?s very frustrating and inconvenient. (Fun fact: MyOtaku?s update system was used for a short time on TheOtaku for art updates. I have no idea why the managers changed it.)

The best thing about MyOtaku is its friendly atmosphere, though. And I have yet to find another website with such a vast majority of nice members. Unfortunately, despite still having friendly members, the atmosphere on TheOtaku is no longer friendly. People definitely don?t comment on Worlds as much as they did on sites (possibly because of the update system problems), and sites are getting less comments than before because no new members have been coming and old members have been going. It?s getting lonely around here!

TheOtaku has become more art and profit-oriented. Well, TheOtaku was the art part of the MyOtaku/TheOtaku relationship. However, since Worlds are failing at being a good blogging system and MyOtaku has been abandoned, all that?s left is the art. Then there?s this Premium membership stuff. If TheOtaku?s staff members are getting a little tight for money, I?m sure that many members would be happy to DONATE, but restricting certain features from regular members is lousy. Where?s the love in that? Also, I thought that TheOtaku wouldn?t really need the money, since it was selling that artbook and art lessons?? So far I haven?t seen any major problems developing from the Premium membership stuff, but my experience with DeviantArt tells me that Premium memberships will probably lead to trouble in the future.

Anyways! Back to MyOtaku?s generally friendly atmosphere! ^.^ There was a way that older MyOtaku members would welcome new members and teach them how to make friends, develop good netiquette, and create snazzy sites; forgive me for not remembering the details exactly, but I remember that the teaching involved a level system in which new members who wanted to learn some stuff would start off as padawans, then become Jedi masters who have the option of becoming teachers.

Overall, the users on MyOtaku care about each other. They don?t just want subscribers and favourites; they want to become friends, so they can help each other through the hard times and share the good times. Most of the remaining MyOtaku users are still here for the friendship and the refuge from the real world. That?s what MyOtaku is: a place where everybody is the person that they want to become, thus the members have created their own perfect world to live in.

[B]Areas of Improvement[/B]

Now, I didn?t post this to point out only the great things about MyOtaku. I also wanted to point out that there are parts of MyOtaku that still need improvement, and that the managers really have no reason to abandon the better blogging system for this new one. Also, I want y?all to know that I don?t totally hate the new changes made to TheOtaku, since some good ones were still made.

[URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_11.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_11.jpg [/IMG][/URL] [URL="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/myotaku_12.jpg"][IMG] http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/sbsp13668/th_myotaku_12.jpg [/IMG][/URL]
The main problem that comes with MyOtaku is the way that sites using the basic layout get all messed up on Firefox and versions of InternetExplorer over 6. I?ve heard that this problem has something to do with the HTML formatting. But I know some people who seem to know how to get the page back to normal, using HTML formatting, so I doubt that it would be very difficult for TheOtaku?s staff members to fix.

Also, I?ve had a couple friends whose profiles have just stopped working or their accounts have been deleted for no apparent reason. A better security system would be nice for sites, as well. Perhaps an optional security system that gives members the choice to block non-members from viewing their sites.

On MyOtaku, clubs have always seemed difficult to run and participate in. However, here?s where Worlds can [I]actually[/I] be useful, if equipped with a better update system! Being able to have multiple Worlds and put them in categories is perfect for clubs; not to mention, having guest posters works well with running a clubl. Also, Worlds are good for users who want to post lots of their written artistic creations (poems, fanfics, reviews, etc.).

Gifts and the chat feature are nice, but I wish that the limit on the amount of gifts that a member could send out wasn?t so low. I have a lot of friends with a lot of birthdays! ^.^; Also, I like that more categories and a fanfiction section have been added, but I hate that the cosplay section was removed (shows how much the managers cared about TheOtaku?s cosplaying community)! But the fancomic section is the best fancomic section that I?ve seen so far.

So what I?m trying to say is that TheOtaku is a fantastic art website, but MyOtaku is a much better blog website. MyOtaku and the older members don?t deserve to be ditched like this, and all of TheOtaku?s members deserve to have the option of using the better blogging system.



Sorry for my lousy vocabulary; I hope that despite it, people are able to grasp the meaning behind the words and are willing to share their thoughts on the matter. Also, I didn?t state every way that TheOtaku could improve because this post is already far too long, and this post is meant to put focus on MyOtaku. Thanks for reading, and it would be even more appreciated if some action could be taken to remedy these issues. ^.^[/SIZE]

[Kimmeh]

[FONT="Tahoma"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Green"]I applaud you on taking the time to write out this lengthy article about a very nostalgic site. It was nice to read some feedback on something that perhaps people have began to abandon.

There were, however, just a couple things I disagreed with...

First off, I think the premium membership as it is now is completely [B]fair[/B], and people who are willing to spend money on it deserve some sort of special features. And sure, the donation idea is great, but you need to keep the fact in mind that a majority of the active users on the site are not legal adults yet, and their parents may not agree to giving some website on the internet free money.

The premium membership gives people an option, and if they're willing to spend the money then they are ultimately helping out the site. Because let's face it, running a site of this caliber is not pocket-change..

Another thing, I don't believe that [B]theOtaku[/B] is any less friendly than [B]MyOtaku[/B]. If anything it would be more friendly, and much more open to the community because of the new chat function, as well as the easier way to keep up with your comments and replies you may have gotten around the site. In the past it was almost impossible to realize who commented on what without having to go back and search for yourself.

Thanks for taking the time to write this up though; I'm sure the administrators are thankful to have such in depth feedback. :3[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Korey]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]Hmm very interesting article. Since you took the time to write in such a nice article, let me respond to several of your points.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[quote]TheOtaku’s managers are hoping that eventually all of the old MyOtaku users will die, get lost, or switch to TheOtaku’s Worlds. [/quote]

[COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]This is fundamentally untrue. MyO members are encouraged to keep their sites if they so desire and there is no mandated requirement to switch to TheOtaku's Worlds system. We want to keep as many members as we can, not shun them away like red-headed stepchildren. :p

Now, for progresses's sake, it's kind of old news to keep things the way they are. There were problems with MyOtaku as well and some of them actually stemmed from the amount of customization options that were affored to the members because of the HTML format that dominated the system. Some sites, while nifty, possessed an unessecary amount of clutter and didn't look as nice. Sometimes simplicity can be more elegant than "OMG LOOK I HAVE A MUSIC PLAYER AND PICCIES ALL OVER MY SITE, DOHOHOHO :3 "[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote]When VersionVibrant went up, MyOtaku lost some somewhat minor features. At first, MyOtaku lost the link to users’ inboxes, so users were forced to go to TheOtaku to check their messages. Now, MyOtaku users have got the PM link back, but it only says that there are 0 new PMs. Also, there was a comment/reply management system that was similar to the one that’s currently on TheOtaku, but the managers never gave that back to MyOtaku. The page that displayed members’ popularity based on the number of visits their sites received was never returned to MyOtaku, as well. That page would also display the usernames of new members and of members who recently updated their sites.[/quote]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]Now, this is something that we do want to bring towards TheOtaku. TheO as it is now is sort of a "one-stop shop". Think about it. You can check your PM inbox, have your own blog/space to customize however you wish (within parameters), availibility to see who has updated their sites or uploaded new art, e-cards, wallpaper...etc etc. The reason that all of this has been brought to theO is to make it more convient for all the members. The link to the popularity of members is on theOtaku's page , because a good percentage of members have transferred over to VV's new, more efficient design.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote]Another thing that MyOtaku lost was the old comment box, where avatars would appear next the user’s name, and font and colour options were available (for each comment, so you weren’t stuck with the same thing for all of your comments). When VersionVibrant was first put up, members couldn’t make paragraphs in their comments. Now, MyOtaku members have got the avatars and paragraphs back, but they still don’t have the font and colour options, or the new edit and reply features. However, the comment box on MyOtaku is still better than the comment box on TheOtaku, since users are able to move it around. Many users like to type their comments while reading the post or looking at the artwork, so they can type everything that comes to mind. The new comment boxes on TheOtaku stay in the centre of the screen and shade the rest of the page.[/quote]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]This is odd, because my computer displays the avatars just fine, no problems. Perhaps it is your computer? Also, theO does allow customization options for comment styles in your profile, so you can pick your font color and style instead of using the drop down menu's everytime you posted. Now all you have to do is type and click send. Easier, right?

TheO's comment box may need some tweaking, but I actually like the box the way it is. There is also an edit feature that you can use in case you have to make any modifications to your posts. So if something else does come to mind, you can edit your post and add in whatever you want.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote]The guestbook on MyOtaku is much better, and signers still have font and colour options. Also, the guestbook is accessible from a member’s site, and it isn’t just another comment box; it’s a separate page on the site. Guestbooks are more for making friends and leaving comments that don’t always relate to art, so it makes more sense to have the guestbook located where its owner blogs. However, in this area the managers still haven’t given back the users’ avatars that would be next to their signing, after VersionVibrant’s installment. [/quote]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]I have no problem with the Guestbook as it is on VV and I think that it's great that it's not another page. It makes things a lot more convient to just click on a member's site and click their guestbook and make an entry right on the page. Again, you are able to select your comment style on your profile page, so you still have an option to select the color and font of your post.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[quote]By taking away the somewhat minor features mentioned above, forbidding new members from blogging on MyOtaku, and not improving MyOtaku at all while making all those changes with VersionVibrant, it is obvious that TheOtaku’s managers want to get rid of MyOtaku eventually. Maybe I’m getting a bit ahead of myself there; I should start telling y’all about the ways that MyOtaku’s sites are better than TheOtaku’s Worlds, and that forcing users to use the cruddier blogging system is unfair. [/quote]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]No one is forbidden from blogging on their myotaku site, in fact, several users in my personal friends list update their MyOtaku quite frequently. In fact, you can even see that in your updates in your backroom on theOtaku. So, post away and others will be able to see it if they are suscribed to you.

Again, no one is forcing to use the worlds system. I actually like the design modules better than MyOtaku and it's easier to make a dazzling page without having to be a whiz at HTML coding.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[quote]MyOtaku’s way of showing updates is superior to almost every website that I know; DeviantArt is pretty much even with its inbox-like way of showing updates. MyOtaku’s update system is a list of all your friends’ usernames with the dates of their last update next to them and the most recently updated are highlighted with a light blue. The new update system on TheOtaku only shows which members have recently updated and included in these recent updates are art updates as well. Since I don’t get on very often, I miss a lot of updates, so I like to go down the list of dates to find out who has updated since my last visit. Now, I have no idea how many of my friends are using Worlds or when they last updated anything, since I only see that a few of them updated in the past day or so! >.< It’s very frustrating and inconvenient. (Fun fact: MyOtaku’s update system was used for a short time on TheOtaku for art updates. I have no idea why the managers changed it.) [/quote]

[COLOR="navy"][SIZE="1"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]The update system I think is more efficient and better than MyOtaku. When you think about it, the system on MyOtaku only shows you who updated their site. The new system shows many different things besides just the Worlds posts. You can see new Fan Art, Wallpapers, E-Cards and even MyOtaku updates. You can even filter the the search to worlds, submissions and even jump from member to member. Of course, the limitations of such a system makes it so that you can't see who has updated in the past few days if you haven't been on. It's a tough decision, for sure, but I think it ended up better in retrospect.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[quote]The best thing about MyOtaku is its friendly atmosphere, though. And I have yet to find another website with such a vast majority of nice members. Unfortunately, despite still having friendly members, the atmosphere on TheOtaku is no longer friendly. People definitely don’t comment on Worlds as much as they did on sites (possibly because of the update system problems), and sites are getting less comments than before because no new members have been coming and old members have been going. It’s getting lonely around here! [/quote]

[COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]I really can't believe that theOtaku is less friendly now than it ever was. I find that the system on theOtaku actually encourages camraderie more than ever. We expanded the site to have a community chat function, which allows you to interact with other Otakuites in real-time. What can be better right? Now you get to chat with all the oldies that you talk to on MyOtaku or theO.

Now as far as the sites getting less traffic, more specifically the worlds, it's because no can see when you update your world unless they are suscribed to you, much like your buddy list on MyOtaku. But since you recieve updates every time they contribute to the site, you can see and comment whenever. So I don't forsee that being a problem.

Concerning the declining amount of traffic on MyOtaku, I believe that's a sign of theOtaku's emerging presence as a site. People are more attracted to the "one-stop-shop" format and can do everything on one site, instead of jumping from site to site to site. So it's just a symbol of the times.[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]

[quote]TheOtaku has become more art and profit-oriented. Well, TheOtaku was the art part of the MyOtaku/TheOtaku relationship. However, since Worlds are failing at being a good blogging system and MyOtaku has been abandoned, all that’s left is the art. Then there’s this Premium membership stuff. If TheOtaku’s staff members are getting a little tight for money, I’m sure that many members would be happy to DONATE, but restricting certain features from regular members is lousy. Where’s the love in that? Also, I thought that TheOtaku wouldn’t really need the money, since it was selling that artbook and art lessons…? So far I haven’t seen any major problems developing from the Premium membership stuff, but my experience with DeviantArt tells me that Premium memberships will probably lead to trouble in the future. [/quote]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]I completely disagree. I don't think theOtaku is becoming more profit-oriented at all. Most features on the site are completely free. Aside from a few products (Art of Otaku) and the premium membership, nothing costs anything. As far as being dominated by art goes, I think theOtaku has always been art dominated. In my history with the site (over 6 years) I have always seen news, art, cosplays (RIP), and things of a more artsy nature. That really hasn't changed with Version Vibrant launching.

Premium memberships have been a part of many sites and the premium members have had the luxury to more features than those who are not premium members. You mentioned Deviantart as an example, however, as you may well know, Deviantart has had some problems with trolling, flaming and overall problems with their member base. TheOtaku has mostly free features and in my opinion has a better staff than Deviantart does. We work really hard to keep the quality of the site up. As far as donations or paying money towards Art of Otaku goes, that is not really trying to garner money for the site. Art of Otaku is a product that theOtaku offers and you are not obligated to buy it, nor are you obligated to buy premium membership. I am not a premium member on theOtaku and I enjoy myself thoroughly on the site.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote]Anyways! Back to MyOtaku’s generally friendly atmosphere! ^.^ There was a way that older MyOtaku members would welcome new members and teach them how to make friends, develop good netiquette, and create snazzy sites; forgive me for not remembering the details exactly, but I remember that the teaching involved a level system in which new members who wanted to learn some stuff would start off as padawans, then become Jedi masters who have the option of becoming teachers.

Overall, the users on MyOtaku care about each other. They don’t just want subscribers and favourites; they want to become friends, so they can help each other through the hard times and share the good times. Most of the remaining MyOtaku users are still here for the friendship and the refuge from the real world. That’s what MyOtaku is: a place where everybody is the person that they want to become, thus the members have created their own perfect world to live in. [/quote]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="Navy"]Now I may not have seen this on Myotaku because I learned almost everything myself, but I do see things of this nature on theOtaku as well. In fact you can introduce yourself on theOtaku and have people comment back to you, including all of the older members. In fact, if anyone actually approaches me that needs help, I'm more than willing to do so, as are most members. However, it's not really our "job" to do so. It was just a nice thing that older members did.

I'm not sure what you mean about theOtaku members not caring for each other. I've had a great deal of friends on theOtaku and have made many more through the chat function. So, it's a case by case basis, I suppose.

But I have to disagree with you about the suscribers and favorites on myOtaku. I had many members on my site that would not update or even comment on my posts or work, so I was just a statistic to them. It happens with social networking sites, as you may know. But I feel that theOtaku can be a refuge and place of freindship, it's just how you view the world.

Again, thank you for the detailed response. It's nice to recieve feedback like this.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Without getting into the detail of the OP (there are plenty of general points I agree with, as well as many I don't), I just want to point one thing out.

Before Version Vibrant was on the table, I was talking with Adam about doing a new version of myOtaku. In fact, we had a design ready to go.

The problem was that myOtaku wasn't built to be expanded as needed. Also if we'd done a major upgrade, we would have destroyed a [i]lot[/i] of content - especially people's custom pages.

Although I was really opposed to the idea of splitting the userbase between myOtaku and theOtaku, it was necessary to build an entirely new site, because it wasn't physically possible to do what we had to do with myOtaku.[/font]

[Allamorph]

[FONT=Arial]Remember, kids, before you go start assuming everything has turned against you and abandoned what you love, talk to the guy at the top first. Often, the Why of a situation will help you understand the necessity of the What.[/FONT]

[sbsp13668]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]This is fundamentally untrue. MyO members are encouraged to keep their sites if they so desire and there is no mandated requirement to switch to TheOtaku's Worlds system.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Since MyOtaku isn?t getting any new members, MyOtaku is becoming less and less active. Eventually MyOtaku members are going to get lonely, since there?ll be less posts and comments made (if that?s not already the case, because it?s starting to get rather dead around there). It may not be a requirement to switch, but in the lonely end, is there really a choice for those remaining? [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]Now, this is something that we do want to bring towards TheOtaku. TheO as it is now is sort of a "one-stop shop". Think about it. You can check your PM inbox, have your own blog/space to customize however you wish (within parameters), availibility to see who has updated their sites or uploaded new art, e-cards, wallpaper...etc etc. The reason that all of this has been brought to theO is to make it more convient for all the members. The link to the popularity of members is on theOtaku's page , because a good percentage of members have transferred over to VV's new, more efficient design. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]I don?t have a problem with my inbox being on TheOtaku. It?s just that if I?ve only been on MyOtaku and I wanna know if I?ve received any new messages, the link on MyOtaku to my inbox only tells me that I have ?0 new messages.? I know it?s only 1 click to find out, but it?s still slightly irritating. As for the popularity page that used to be on MyOtaku, the reason that most MyOtaku users miss it is that it was a good way to meet new members (this is rendered obsolete due to the loss of new members on MyOtaku, though). However, it would be nice to know who still updates their sites with this page, since there aren?t as many MyOtaku users left.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]This is odd, because my computer displays the avatars just fine, no problems. Perhaps it is your computer? Also, theO does allow customization options for comment styles in your profile, so you can pick your font color and style instead of using the drop down menu's everytime you posted. Now all you have to do is type and click send. Easier, right? [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]I can still see the avatars in the comment box, but avatars can?t be seen any more in guestbooks that follow the basic layout for MyOtaku sites; I know that members can always customize their guestbooks to see the avatars, but it?s just another minor inconvenience. The drop down menu for every comment was good for members who like to use different colours in each of comment, but there are other members who prefer to have one colour for all comments. An option for a single colour or the choice of different colours for each comment should be offered to be fair. Also, for the different colour per comment members, having to go to the profile page every time they want to comment with a different colour is less easy. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]There is also an edit feature that you can use in case you have to make any modifications to your posts. So if something else does come to mind, you can edit your post and add in whatever you want. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Members of MyOtaku would like this feature, as well, and the old colour-rific comment box back. XD [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]I have no problem with the Guestbook as it is on VV and I think that it's great that it's not another page. It makes things a lot more convient to just click on a member's site and click their guestbook and make an entry right on the page.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]The guestbook on MyOtaku is better for that reason; you?re on a user?s site, then you click the guestbook link, and type your signing. With the guestbook on TheOtaku you?re on a member?s World, then you have to click to go to their profile, then open the guestbook comment box, and type your signing (=more clicks). Also, if you want to visit more pages on a user?s site (portfolio, quiz results, friends of the user?s sites, and any customized pages), the other pages are only 1 click away. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]No one is forbidden from blogging on their myotaku site, in fact, several users in my personal friends list update their MyOtaku quite frequently. In fact, you can even see that in your updates in your backroom on theOtaku. So, post away and others will be able to see it if they are suscribed to you.

Again, no one is forcing to use the worlds system. I actually like the design modules better than MyOtaku and it's easier to make a dazzling page without having to be a whiz at HTML coding.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]New members aren?t able to update their profiles on MyOtaku, so they?re stuck with the plain, white and grey, basic design. I don?t know if new members are able to post or comment on MyOtaku posts, but most new members would probably want to have at least some colour or a picture or two in their blog introduction section (hello, Worlds).

As for being a whiz at HTML coding, there was that old system of teaching new user?s with the Jedi Knight system. I love the way that it?s Star Wars! Haha! ^.^ Also, some members design layouts for sites, and they are willing to share those layouts. Of course, many users are also willing to answer the questions of members who don?t know about HTML coding. It?s not very difficult to find out the secrets of HTML coding, and considering the many different ways to customize a site using HTML coding, investing some time into it is worth it.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]The update system I think is more efficient and better than MyOtaku. When you think about it, the system on MyOtaku only shows you who updated their site. The new system shows many different things besides just the Worlds posts. You can see new Fan Art, Wallpapers, E-Cards and even MyOtaku updates.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"](See the Fun Fact thingy) TheOtaku used to have an update system just for members? portfolios that was the same as the update system on MyOtaku for a short while (this was a time before Worlds, by the way). It allowed you to see when a member last updated their portfolio and had recent updates highlighted with orange, so you wouldn?t miss any older updates, like we do now.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]Now as far as the sites getting less traffic, more specifically the worlds, it's because no can see when you update your world unless they are suscribed to you, much like your buddy list on MyOtaku. But since you recieve updates every time they contribute to the site, you can see and comment whenever. So I don't forsee that being a problem.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Less comments on Worlds isn?t a problem because of a lack of subscribers. The problem is caused by the fact that members who are busy, like me, and can?t be on TheOtaku/MyOtaku all the time and/or are subscribed to a lot of people can?t view older updates, since only a few recent updates are shown with VersionVibrant?s update system. So we busy/subscriber-happy folk don?t know who to comment on, since we don?t know if anything new to comment on has been made. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]?You mentioned Deviantart as an example, however, as you may well know, Deviantart has had some problems with trolling, flaming and overall problems with their member base. TheOtaku has mostly free features and in my opinion has a better staff than Deviantart does. We work really hard to keep the quality of the site up. As far as donations or paying money towards Art of Otaku goes, that is not really trying to garner money for the site. Art of Otaku is a product that theOtaku offers and you are not obligated to buy it, nor are you obligated to buy premium membership. I am not a premium member on theOtaku and I enjoy myself thoroughly on the site.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]So far I haven?t seen any major problems emerging from the Premium membership stuff, and I imagine that the reason that problems haven?t emerged is due to the superior staff here. ^.^ I didn?t know that Art of Otaku didn?t provide any money for TheOtaku?s maintenance, but aren?t online lessons offered, as well?? In that case, TheOtaku should be paid some money in offering online lessons, since TheOtaku is the website that?s hosting/providing the lessons (and of course the rest of the money would go to the artist providing the lessons, if they requested pay). [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Kimmeh'][FONT="Tahoma"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Green"]First off, I think the premium membership as it is now is completely [B]fair[/B], and people who are willing to spend money on it deserve some sort of special features. And sure, the donation idea is great, but you need to keep the fact in mind that a majority of the active users on the site are not legal adults yet, and their parents may not agree to giving some website on the internet free money.

The premium membership gives people an option, and if they're willing to spend the money then they are ultimately helping out the site. Because let's face it, running a site of this caliber is not pocket-change..[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Well, I don?t think that most parents would let their kid buy a Premium membership just so their kid can have a cupcake next to their username. XD I can see some parents letting their kids buy the Premium membership for the Art of Otaku book, but I think you can buy that separately? [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]Now, for progresses's sake, it's kind of old news to keep things the way they are. There were problems with MyOtaku as well and some of them actually stemmed from the amount of customization options that were affored to the members because of the HTML format that dominated the system. Some sites, while nifty, possessed an unessecary amount of clutter and didn't look as nice. Sometimes simplicity can be more elegant than "OMG LOOK I HAVE A MUSIC PLAYER AND PICCIES ALL OVER MY SITE, DOHOHOHO :3 "[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]After reading Kimmeh?s reply, then this reply, I got thinking. :P Since Art of Otaku doesn?t make much of an impact on the costs of running TheOtaku/MyOtaku, why don?t Premium members get the option of creating a customizable site on MyOtaku? At least that way Premium members are paying for whatever additional costs they?ll make if they decide to make a cluttered site. Also, old members of MyOtaku should be allowed to keep their sites without becoming Premium members, since the older members have been sorta forgotten about/abandoned here. Lastly, experienced members of TheOtaku who are newer, like newer Otaku Legends or something, can be allowed to make sites due to their involvement in the TheOtaku/MyOtaku community (thus earning the option, and promoting involvement); more experienced members would know better than to create clutter sites, as well. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][COLOR="navy"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"]I really can't believe that theOtaku is less friendly now than it ever was. I find that the system on theOtaku actually encourages camraderie more than ever. We expanded the site to have a community chat function, which allows you to interact with other Otakuites in real-time. What can be better right? Now you get to chat with all the oldies that you talk to on MyOtaku or theO.

?

I'm not sure what you mean about theOtaku members not caring for each other. I've had a great deal of friends on theOtaku and have made many more through the chat function. So, it's a case by case basis, I suppose.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[quote name='Kimmeh'][FONT="Tahoma"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Green"]Another thing, I don't believe that [B]theOtaku[/B] is any less friendly than [B]MyOtaku[/B]. If anything it would be more friendly, and much more open to the community because of the new chat function, as well as the easier way to keep up with your comments and replies you may have gotten around the site. In the past it was almost impossible to realize who commented on what without having to go back and search for yourself.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]I?m sorry, but that?s not what I meant! T.T TheOtaku members are just as nice as MyOtaku members. What I was trying to say is that TheOtaku has lost its friendly [I]atmosphere[/I], since members aren?t commenting on Worlds as much as they did on sites (not their fault, as stated above), and it?s an art website, making the website less personal than MyOtaku (the blogging website). Also, I wasn?t trying to say that TheOtaku members are less caring than MyOtaku users; I was trying to point out that there isn?t a difference between bloggers on TheOtaku and bloggers on MyOtaku, since MyOtaku users are just as caring and friendly as the members of TheOtaku. Sorry about my poor communication skills. ^.^;

Also, I really like the chat system too, and I don?t mind that it?s on TheOtaku. It wouldn?t work on MyOtaku unless it had a separate page in the backroom, but it?s better suited for TheOtaku or OtakuBoards. As for the comment management system, MyOtaku had a comment management system for a short while; I?m pretty sure that it included replies, as well.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='James'][font=franklin gothic medium]Before Version Vibrant was on the table, I was talking with Adam about doing a new version of myOtaku. In fact, we had a design ready to go.

The problem was that myOtaku wasn't built to be expanded as needed. Also if we'd done a major upgrade, we would have destroyed a [i]lot[/i] of content - especially people's custom pages.

Although I was really opposed to the idea of splitting the userbase between myOtaku and theOtaku, it was necessary to build an entirely new site, because it wasn't physically possible to do what we had to do with myOtaku.[/font][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Well, MyOtaku lost some of its old features, so putting those back to normal shouldn?t destroy any content. Fixing the problem with the basic layout for Firefox and the new InternetExplorer shouldn?t be too difficult either; I think it has something to do with sizing and placement, and other members with customized sites have been able to get their sites to work with the new browsers. It?s good to know that updates for MyOtaku were considered at one time, though. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]Remember, kids, before you go start assuming everything has turned against you and abandoned what you love, talk to the guy at the top first. Often, the Why of a situation will help you understand the necessity of the What.[/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]The last time I contacted Adam about the lack of attention that MyOtaku was receiving and the loss of those few features, he only restored the comment box and the PM link to what it is now. However, he was busier last year with the final touch-ups of VersionVibrant, and he may have forgotten later. So I shall e-mail him the link to this thread. ^.^;

Also, I didn?t want to go straight to Adam, since I wanted to find out some other members? views on the subject. So thank you for everyone?s responses on this so far, and I encourage more members to offer their views, as well! :catgirl:


P.S. I'm sorry that this is such a long reply, and that it's late (I'm busy). [/SIZE][/FONT]

[Korey]

[SIZE=1][FONT= "Franklin Gothic Medium"][Color="Navy"] I still don't comprehend how te atmosphere has changed since VV has dropped. I still think theO is very friendly. People are people, no matter what category you place them in.

But I think you are making some generalizations based upon isolated instances. For example, you mentioned people get busy and don't update or comment because of that. This holds just as true for MyO.

Concerning the guestbook, look at it this way: You go to my site. You see my info. You can sign into my GB, press escape and still be on my site. The GB on myO took you to a different part of the site. You'd have to do more clicking to get back.

Premium members get much more than a free copy of Art of Otaku. I don't know all of the specifics but they do get nice perks. But coming back to the more restrictive Worlds customization options, I still stand firm in saying that "less is more." Myspace has the problem of being too customize-able. Thus, layouts get way too cluttered. Same with MyO's system. It was too customize-able. The beauty of the Worlds system is its simplicity. [/Color][/FONT][/SIZE]

[sbsp13668]

[quote name='Korey'][SIZE=1][FONT= "Franklin Gothic Medium"][Color="Navy"] I still don't comprehend how te atmosphere has changed since VV has dropped. I still think theO is very friendly. People are people, no matter what category you place them in.

But I think you are making some generalizations based upon isolated instances. For example, you mentioned people get busy and don't update or comment because of that. This holds just as true for MyO.

Concerning the guestbook, look at it this way: You go to my site. You see my info. You can sign into my GB, press escape and still be on my site. The GB on myO took you to a different part of the site. You'd have to do more clicking to get back.[/Color][/FONT][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]The atmosphere has changed because you are unable to hear as much from the nice members on TheOtaku; I have nothing against any of the members on TheOtaku and MyOtaku. The main reason that I'm still on TheOtaku/MyOtaku is for the company of these people.

Well, the update system probably isn't the only reason for less comments on Worlds. I'm sure that there people who just don't like reading and commenting, but I think only a minority of the active members on TheOtaku are like that, since most of the members are nice, caring people.

Are you talking about when you're in a person's portfolio to sign their guestbook? I'm talking about being on a person's World, then going to sign their guestbook to comment about their World's features or something else about their blog. And I already mentioned before that I think guestbooks are better suited for a member's place of blogging, so signers can comment on more personal aspects and make friends, rather than comment on art (but you can comment on art if you want to; it just seems more suitable to comment in an artwork's comment box, not the guestbook). Unless there's a link to the guestbook on Worlds that I don't know about...?[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Korey]

[FONT= "Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE=1][Color="Navy"] Little Diddy on worlds:

They're not used specifically for blogging. You can use them however. I have multiple worlds that I use for various functions. In fact, I'd say the Worlds are a separate entity from the Portfolio. Thus, the GB is on the portfolio, where you first go when you visit a member.

Art work does have separate comment boxes for each piece when you click the link for them. However, most members sign GB's with "OMG IWUV UR ART!" , so it can be a tad bit confusing.

Make sense?[/Color][/SIZE][/FONT]

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='sbsp13668'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]The atmosphere has changed because you are unable to hear as much from the nice members on TheOtaku; I have nothing against any of the members on TheOtaku and MyOtaku. The main reason that I'm still on TheOtaku/MyOtaku is for the company of these people. [/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Personally, I have to disagree with this point. Though I was a very frequent user of MyO before VV and I did get feedback on my blogging from plenty of pleasant and interesting individuals, I have actually noticed a huge upsurge in communication between myself and other members since switching to the World system. Granted, it might be because I spend a lot of time casually conversing with my friends on the Chat system and in general make a better effort to get to know other people and make myself known now, but I consider it a lot easier to communicate through the Worlds. The ability to have multiple worlds dedicated to whatever you want is a great way to get known, as you can make one essentially a shrine to whatever you want and showcase it for all to see. On top of that, the Guest Poster function allows you to better collaborate with friends and share your likes and dislikes with each other.

tl;dr: The Worlds can seem limited compared to MyO's functionality, but there's plenty of stuff you can use them for that MyO can't do, too. Personally I prefer the World format, but to each their own.[/FONT]

[Allamorph]

[quote name='sbsp13668][FONT="Comic Sans MS"']The last time I contacted Adam about the lack of attention that MyOtaku was receiving and the loss of those few features, he only restored the comment box and the PM link to what it is now. However, he was busier last year with the final touch-ups of VersionVibrant, and he may have forgotten later. So I shall e-mail him the link to this thread. ^.^;[/FONT][/quote]
[FONT=Arial]But have you tried working [I]with[/I] him?

The reason the comment box on MyOtaku got fixed after the VV switch was because [COLOR="DarkRed"]Desbreko[/COLOR] saw the need for a better comment box (let's face it, it got hit pretty bad) and wrote the code for it himself, [I]then[/I] presented it to Adam.

Adam is actually rather busy with stuff (mostly involved with running the site), so people who step up and give specific ideas, and even moreso specific solutions to the ideas, will more than likely get listened to. For instance, in the first few weeks of the VV switch I noticed that background images for Worlds were either left-aligned or right-aligned, which made for clunky image breaks in certain resolutions depending on the size of the image, and it occurred to me that being able to center the image would help minimise that clunkiness. I suggested it to him, and the option was added in less than a day.

It's all well and good to say that there needs to be a return (of at least attention if nothing else) to MyOtaku, but what initiative have [I]you[/I] taken on fixing the issues, aside from talking about it?[/FONT]

[SunfallE]

[FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]You’ll have to forgive me if I miss some of your points since the initial post and responses are on the long side. I know some of this has been answered already, but bear with me if you don’t mind.[quote name='sbsp13668][FONT="Arial"'] New members can not join MyOtaku to make a site. I’m guessing that the reason for this restriction is that TheOtaku’s managers are hoping that eventually all of the old MyOtaku users will die, get lost, or switch to TheOtaku’s Worlds.[/FONT][/quote]I sincerely hope you are joking. Mainly because, why in the world would we want any user to die? x_X Or to get lost for that matter? myOtaku holds a lot of fond memories for people so instead of getting rid of it (which is what often happens when upgrades happen), Adam chose to keep it around for those who joined initially.

Also, new members can’t make a myOtaku page, but they can log in with their theOtaku account and password in order to comment on members pages. So they do have limited access to the older site. [quote name='sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"]The new comment boxes on TheOtaku stay in the centre of the screen and shade the rest of the page.[/FONT][/quote]You do realize that it is a simple matter to type something up in say word or notepad, which is similar to how people would simply move their comment box over to the side, and then simply copy and paste once you are done? It’s not a fix all, but you can get around it being in the way of the post. [quote=sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"']I should start telling y’all about the ways that MyOtaku’s sites are better than TheOtaku’s Worlds, and that forcing users to use the cruddier blogging system is unfair.[/FONT][/quote]This is obviously going to come down to personal preference really. I like worlds better and anyone who was around before the change can use both, so no one is being forced to use one over the other.

New members who joined after the change were provided with Worlds. How is that unfair? Since they can’t access the older blogging, they were given a new one with features myOtaku lacked to make up for what did not transfer over. As a member of staff, I’ve seen the positives and negatives of both means of blogging. So going down the path of one is better than the other, falls flat pretty fast.[quote name='sbsp13668][FONT="Arial"'] To start, sites are much more customizable than Worlds. Similarly to MySpace, if you or a friend has some knowledge of HTML, you can make your site look anyway that you’d like it to look. There is a 1500 character limit to the amount of text that can be used to customize a site, but that limit can be easily bypassed (hehe). To be honest, though, I don’t think people bypassing this limit has become a major problem, since a good amount of users also like to keep their sites simple (not coming close to exceeding the limit). Here are just a few examples of sites that have been customized:[/FONT][/quote]And this is where your argument falls apart a bit. The ability for people to bypass it via customization, lead to numerous issues with people breaking their page and making it unusable. Plus, every time an upgrade was done, it would break these sites that were essentially ‘hacked’.

You’re assuming that people were reasonable and knew what they were doing. It is an easy assumption to make when a member, unlike staff, is not required to deal with the complaints and help people fix the damage that they did by ‘hacking’ their pages.

One of the advantage of the new system is the lack of ‘hacking/customizing’ since in that respect, it means that upgrades are easier to apply and don’t destroy people’s pages anymore.

You’re complaints about number of images and videos allowed falls flat as well. All of these are things that eventually can be upgraded to include more and in fact already have from what was allowed when the new version launched. The same goes for updates. What we have now, can consistently be upgraded to make keeping track of your friends, their submissions and their activities, easier. I already requested a filter and increase in the number of updates showing, and Adam implemented it.[quote name='sbsp13668][FONT="Arial"'] TheOtaku has become more art and profit-oriented.[/FONT][/quote]If that were really true, it wouldn’t be a free site. Do a little research into what it takes to run a site the size of theOtaku. Also, it was already covered, but theOtaku has always been about art so in that respect, nothing has changed. [quote=sbsp13668][FONT="Arial"] But I know some people who seem to know how to get the page back to normal, using HTML formatting, so I doubt that it would be very difficult for TheOtaku’s staff members to fix.

Also, I’ve had a couple friends whose profiles have just stopped working or their accounts have been deleted for no apparent reason. A better security system would be nice for sites, as well. Perhaps an optional security system that gives members the choice to block non-members from viewing their sites.[/FONT][/quote]It’s not as simple as you think. Someone who is an admin, has to go in and literally strip all of the code from the page out. It’s time consuming and tedious to constantly need to go in and fix pages for people.

The security system you wish was incorporated with Worlds. You can set your privacy setting so only members can see your page, or only your friends you’ve subscribed to. You can even set a world where only you can see it. So you’re asking for something that we already have. [quote name='sbsp13668][FONT="Arial"] but I hate that the cosplay section was removed (shows how much the managers cared about TheOtaku’s cosplaying community)![/FONT][/quote]It has nothing to do with like or dislike but rather priority. Since the launch of Version Vibrant, the fan words (articles) and news have been restored. We still have all of the cosplay data stored and the plan is to eventually work it back in. [quote=sbsp13668][FONT="Arial"'] So what I’m trying to say is that TheOtaku is a fantastic art website, but MyOtaku is a much better blog website. MyOtaku and the older members don’t deserve to be ditched like this, and all of TheOtaku’s members deserve to have the option of using the better blogging system.[/FONT][/quote]No one was ditched. And as much fun as myOtaku was, it is not the better blogging site, at least not in terms of potential upgrades and growth. As James said:

[B]“The problem was that myOtaku wasn't built to be expanded as needed.”[/B]

Plain and simple really. It wasn’t that Adam didn’t want to upgrade and make myOtaku more fancy and such, it was that he literally couldn’t.

Bottom line, you’re barking up the wrong tree when it comes to improvements. If something can be done for myOtaku, it is. Like the comment box and pm link, however other things like new members being able to blog, aren’t going to happen. I take each and every suggestion brought forth and present it to Adam at our weekly staff meetings. If it can be done with the older system, he does it, if it’s not that simple, he does not.

On the flip side, like Allamorph just pointed out, a lot of suggestions for Version Vibrant end up being implemented because unlike myOtaku, it[I] is[/I] designed for expansion. A lot of the things you want, have a much better chance of happening for theOtaku and Worlds. There are a lot of features that myOtaku couldn’t support that Worlds and the new theOtaku can. Which is why it was created in the first place. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[Desbreko]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]The reason the comment box on MyOtaku got fixed after the VV switch was because [COLOR="DarkRed"]Desbreko[/COLOR] saw the need for a better comment box (let's face it, it got hit pretty bad) and wrote the code for it himself, [I]then[/I] presented it to Adam.[/FONT][/QUOTE][color=#4B0082]Actually, I only coded the comment box design because I was bored. Adam had said about a month earlier on his myO page that if anyone sent him a better design, he'd use it, and not one person had contacted him about it. Everyone was whining in his comments about the old design getting scrapped (which was unavoidable because it was tied to the old version of theO, by the way), yet no one was willing to put in any effort to make it better. So I thought, "Hey, I could do that," and banged out the current design in a few hours.[/color]

[Allamorph]

[quote name='Desbreko][color=#4B0082']Actually, I only coded the comment box design because I was bored.[/color][/quote]
[FONT=Arial]Your point? :p

All I said was you saw the need, which is a pretty broad coverall. Point is, you didn't have to do it. You decided to do it because no one else was doing it, and so it got done. You didn't join in the wailing at [COLOR="DarkRed"]Adam[/COLOR], you took the initiative, bored as you may have been.[/FONT]

[sbsp13668]

[quote name='Ace'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]?The ability to have multiple worlds dedicated to whatever you want is a great way to get known, as you can make one essentially a shrine to whatever you want and showcase it for all to see. On top of that, the Guest Poster function allows you to better collaborate with friends and share your likes and dislikes with each other.

tl;dr: The Worlds can seem limited compared to MyO's functionality, but there's plenty of stuff you can use them for that MyO can't do, too. Personally I prefer the World format, but to each their own.[/FONT][/QUOTE]

[quote name='Korey'][FONT= "Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE=1][Color="Navy"] Little Diddy on worlds:

They're not used specifically for blogging. You can use them however. I have multiple worlds that I use for various functions. In fact, I'd say the Worlds are a separate entity from the Portfolio. Thus, the GB is on the portfolio, where you first go when you visit a member.

Art work does have separate comment boxes for each piece when you click the link for them. However, most members sign GB's with "OMG IWUV UR ART!" , so it can be a tad bit confusing.

Make sense?[/Color][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]I like being able to have multiple Worlds, since it is good for making shrines, clubs, and other fandom and art related things. The guest poster function is perfect for those things, as well.

Since most of the users that I know dislike getting guestbook signings such as "OMG IWUV UR ART!", having the guestbook located where a member blogs slightly discourages those types of signings. I know that some users on MyOtaku used to sign guestbooks like that, but having the guestbook located right in a member?s portfolio doesn?t discourage such signings at all. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Ace'][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Personally, I have to disagree with this point. Though I was a very frequent user of MyO before VV and I did get feedback on my blogging from plenty of pleasant and interesting individuals, I have actually noticed a huge upsurge in communication between myself and other members since switching to the World system. Granted, it might be because I spend a lot of time casually conversing with my friends on the Chat system and in general make a better effort to get to know other people and make myself known now, but I consider it a lot easier to communicate through the Worlds. ?[/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Most, if not all, of my friends are experiencing a decrease in the amount of comments that they get on Worlds compared to what they had on MyOtaku, even my friends who are popular are receiving less comments. The popular members on MyOtaku would receive 40+ comments on a post without replies from the member who posted. Now, with my friends who are popular on TheOtaku they get 40+ comments with their replies included, and usually it?s a lot of individual replies, so it?s a somewhat significant difference. However, it?s good to hear that this isn?t the case with everybody! ^.^ However, I think that something should still be done to help out those who are experiencing this problem, and I think that fixing the update system might help. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]But have you tried working [I]with[/I] him?

The reason the comment box on MyOtaku got fixed after the VV switch was because [COLOR="DarkRed"]Desbreko[/COLOR] saw the need for a better comment box (let's face it, it got hit pretty bad) and wrote the code for it himself, [I]then[/I] presented it to Adam.

Adam is actually rather busy with stuff (mostly involved with running the site), so people who step up and give specific ideas, and even moreso specific solutions to the ideas, will more than likely get listened to. For instance, in the first few weeks of the VV switch I noticed that background images for Worlds were either left-aligned or right-aligned, which made for clunky image breaks in certain resolutions depending on the size of the image, and it occurred to me that being able to center the image would help minimise that clunkiness. I suggested it to him, and the option was added in less than a day.

It's all well and good to say that there needs to be a return (of at least attention if nothing else) to MyOtaku, but what initiative have [I]you[/I] taken on fixing the issues, aside from talking about it?[/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]I?m grateful to Desbreko for fixing the old comment box, because it really was terrible at the time, when you couldn?t even make paragraphs. XD

Well, since you asked, here is my e-mail from last year addressing the issues that had started coming up with VersionVibrant. Please note that this was about a [I]year[/I] ago, so VersionVibrant was completing its final stages and I hadn?t began to address all of the issues or the issues that have begun to appear now. Also, at the time I was pretty convinced that DeviantArt?s update system was better, but now that I have 900+ deviations from the people who I?m watching to still comment on, so I think that MyOtaku definitely has the superior update system. O.O [/SIZE][/FONT]

?Hiyas! *^.^*‏
From: Theresa Plumb (spongebob_squarepants13668@hotmail.com)

Sent: April 12, 2008 10:06:54 PM
To: [email]adam@theotaku.com[/email]


there are 2 captain jacks!?

^ ignore that, it's just a silly thing that pops up in my e-mails ^.^;

Anyways! This is sbsp13668 from TheOtaku/MyOaku/OtakuBoards! *^.^*

I'm sorta responding to your reply on OtakuBoards to my post expressing my concern about MyOtaku and the changes that have been happening around here. Here's the link to the post, if you don't remember (sorry it took me forever to resond ^.^;):
[url]http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=58909[/url]

I don't want you to get the impression that I hate all the changes you've made and the effort you've put into these changes, because some of them are really great and I'm sure there are even better ones in store for the future! *^.^* Well, onto what I wanted to talk to you about! XD

Hehe, I hope this feedback isn't too inconvenient for you... especially if you've already heard it before. ^.^; Well, the major things that need to be fixed I think are the memberlist for MyOtaku and the subscription feature on TheOtaku. Overall a few changes to MyOtaku would be greatly appreciated, even if you plan on saving them for after all the changes on TheOtaku. ^.^
Alright, a memberlist for MyOtaku might not work out entirely, since new members are going to TheOtaku anyways. But a few links from MyOtaku to the new members' portfolios on TheOtaku would still be handy to have and it would kill that rumour going around that MyOtakuites are mean and anti-social people.

Subscriptions, this was mostly mentioned in that post on OtakuBoards, but I have a few suggestions on how you could try to design it. Since the subscription list limits the updates a member can view, a system that works like an inbox for updates I think would be best. An example of this system would be DeviantArt's; it has 2 separate "inboxes" one for artwork and the other for blogs, replies, and news letters. The downside of this system is that if you go away for a long time you can get overwhelmed with updates. ^.^; So if you have some better ideas go for them ^.~ If DeviantArt's subscription system is to difficult to create, you could temporarily put the system back to the Artist Tracking one with the highlighted usernames and dates of the last update they did...

Lastly, I was wondering if you could tell me what you plan on changing in the future with TheOtaku and MyOtaku because many members are quite curious and MyOtakuites are worried that there may not be a MyOtaku in the future. Please?
Also, I don't have much experience in making websites (certainly nowhere near as much as you do), but if you want any help with adding the changes to TheOtaku and MyOtaku you can always ask me for help ^.^ I'm busy a lot of the time, but if I get any free time I certainly would want to help! Afterall, I love these sites! *^.^*

Well, I've sent you an PM with basically all the same information, so I hope that doesn't make any inconveniences for you either ^.^; Good Luck with improving the sites! I hope you're having a good weekend and I hope you're not feeling sick any more too (your most recent post in your World said you were sick, so get well). I suggest getting lots of sleep, TheOtaku can wait! ^.^ See Yas! *^.^*?

[SIZE="3"]tl; dr To: Adam I don?t hate all of recent changes made to TheOtaku. The new update system doesn?t work well for me; something similar to DeviantArt, or restoring it to the old MyOtaku update system or Art Tracking system would be nice. Returning to inbox link on MyOtaku, and fixing the broken link to portfolios would be nice. Some members and I have been worried that MyOtaku is going to be shut down for good?? I know that you?re busy, so if you want any help handling stuff on MyOtaku, I?m willing to help in anyway that I can, despite my limited capabilities. From: sbsp13668[/SIZE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]So yesh, I volunteered to help. I still have limited capabilities, but I?d be willing to find some people who might have experience and are willing to help too. There were details about things that needed improvement in a few areas of the website. As a result, a link to members? inboxes was made and I think the portfolio link was fixed on sites (it was broken for a while). However, the update system still causes problems for me. Adam was busy at the time, though, so hopefully he has time to make some bigger changes, now. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]You?ll have to forgive me if I miss some of your points since the initial post and responses are on the long side. I know some of this has been answered already, but bear with me if you don?t mind.I sincerely hope you are joking. Mainly because, why in the world would we want any user to die? x_X Or to get lost for that matter? myOtaku holds a lot of fond memories for people so instead of getting rid of it (which is what often happens when upgrades happen), Adam chose to keep it around for those who joined initially.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Ahhh? I?m sorry; again, I suffer from poor communication skills. What I meant to say is that it seems like the managers are hoping that MyOtaku will eventually become inactive due to older users dying off, leaving the website altogether (getting lost), or by switching to TheOtaku. I meant dying off, getting lost, and switching to TheOtaku as ways of leaving MyOtaku, thus decreasing activity on MyOtaku. ? I don?t think that the managers are sadistic and/or serial killers. :animeswea Hehe?[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Also, new members can?t make a myOtaku page, but they can log in with their theOtaku account and password in order to comment on members pages. So they do have limited access to the older site. You do realize that it is a simple matter to type something up in say word or notepad, which is similar to how people would simply move their comment box over to the side, and then simply copy and paste once you are done? It?s not a fix all, but you can get around it being in the way of the post.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]I doubt that a lot of members would want to comment on sites, if they aren?t able to make and post on their own, though, not unless a friend of theirs tended to blog more on MyOtaku; are they still able to add friends on MyOtaku and use the update system, by the way? Wordpad has replaced the comment box for me, but I don?t like having to go to the Start menu of my computer just to make a decent comment. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]You?re complaints about number of images and videos allowed falls flat as well. All of these are things that eventually can be upgraded to include more and in fact already have from what was allowed when the new version launched. The same goes for updates. What we have now, can consistently be upgraded to make keeping track of your friends, their submissions and their activities, easier. I already requested a filter and increase in the number of updates showing, and Adam implemented it. ? Also, it was already covered, but theOtaku has always been about art so in that respect, nothing has changed. ?[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]The number of pictures allowed in the introduction section and the posts of a World has increased since VersionVibrant was first set up. However, there?s still a limit. Often I find myself a few pictures over the limit from fanart thumbnails, and other features. I don?t have this problem in MyOtaku?s post because it allows an unlimited amount of pictures and videos.

As I stated before, the update system only shows a member the most recent updates per category, and if that member is away for some time, they miss any older updates. Simply increasing the number of updates that appear doesn?t help people who go away for longer periods of time; some people have busy lives outside of the internet, so it can?t be help.

Also, I have no problems with TheOtaku being art-oriented (maybe I wasn?t very clear about that earlier, sorry). TheOtaku was the art part of the TheOtaku/MyOtaku relationship, and that?s really nice, since a lot of anime fans are artists. And TheOtaku is a great anime art website.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]?We still have all of the cosplay data stored and the plan is to eventually work it back in. ?[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Well, that?s good to hear, but why isn?t this more well-known by other members? I know people who have left TheOtaku/MyOtaku because of the cosplay section being dropped with no sign of returning. T.T[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]New members who joined after the change were provided with Worlds. How is that unfair? Since they can?t access the older blogging, they were given a new one with features myOtaku lacked to make up for what did not transfer over. As a member of staff, I?ve seen the positives and negatives of both means of blogging. So going down the path of one is better than the other, falls flat pretty fast. ?[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Well, since you seem to be saying that whether a member likes MyOtaku over TheOtaku is a matter of opinion, isn?t it more fair to provide members with the option of choosing where they?d like to blog based on this opinion? New members used to be able to blog on MyOtaku, and somehow the changes on VersionVibrant made it so that new members can no longer blog on MyOtaku?? Would it require too much work to provide these new members with a way of making sites and blogging on MyOtaku? For members who are away for long periods of time or have subscribed to a lot of people MyOtaku is the ideal place to blog. Since such members exist on MyOtaku, it seems unfair to make them use the more difficult blogging system.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]The security system you wish was incorporated with Worlds. You can set your privacy setting so only members can see your page, or only your friends you?ve subscribed to. You can even set a world where only you can see it. ?[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Oops! I forgot that we had that for Worlds; I haven?t modified my World in ages. I?ll tell my friend on MyOtaku who wanted a better security system that there?s one for Worlds. ^.^ Thanks! If it?s possible to get one for MyOtaku, that would be great, but that leads me to my next point? [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]?The ability for people to bypass it via customization, lead to numerous issues with people breaking their page and making it unusable. Plus, every time an upgrade was done, it would break these sites that were essentially ?hacked?.

You?re assuming that people were reasonable and knew what they were doing. It is an easy assumption to make when a member, unlike staff, is not required to deal with the complaints and help people fix the damage that they did by ?hacking? their pages.

?

Plain and simple really. It wasn?t that Adam didn?t want to upgrade and make myOtaku more fancy and such, it was that he literally couldn?t.

?Like the comment box and pm link, however other things like new members being able to blog, aren?t going to happen. ?

On the flip side, like Allamorph just pointed out, a lot of suggestions for Version Vibrant end up being implemented because unlike myOtaku, it[I] is[/I] designed for expansion. A lot of the things you want, have a much better chance of happening for theOtaku and Worlds. There are a lot of features that myOtaku couldn?t support that Worlds and the new theOtaku can. Which is why it was created in the first place.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]In that case, then why not make TheOtaku into MyOtaku, but with the benefits of both systems? It makes sense to combine the benefits onto the website that is easier to change/upgrade, so why hasn?t that been done yet? The main reasons that I don?t prefer Worlds for blogging are the problems with the update system, the comment boxes, and the limitations. If changes were made on TheOtaku that fixed these problems, I would consider switching to using my Worlds. However, since the update system hasn?t been going towards the way that it is on MyOtaku, comment boxes haven?t been made movable, and the restrictions are still too much for other users and I, I am sticking up for the old blogging system. (< I am sorry for the amount of commas used in that sentence. O.O I hope it?s not too difficult to read.)


Sorry again for the late response; I?ve been entertaining guests. ^.^; I?m e-mailing Adam as soon as I can after this, so please don?t associate me with someone who wants to wail without knowing anything. Also, I?m sorry about the length; I didn?t expect so many replies, but I am grateful to get them! ^.^
[/SIZE][/FONT]

[Korey]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="Navy"][quote=sbsp] I like being able to have multiple Worlds, since it is good for making shrines, clubs, and other fandom and art related things. The guest poster function is perfect for those things, as well.

Since most of the users that I know dislike getting guestbook signings such as "OMG IWUV UR ART!", having the guestbook located where a member blogs slightly discourages those types of signings. I know that some users on MyOtaku used to sign guestbooks like that, but having the guestbook located right in a member?s portfolio doesn?t discourage such signings at all. [/quote]

People are free to sign as they want. While it's annoying, having the GB located on a World doesn't make any sort of web design sense. You can delete a world. And it doesn't stop people from saying "HAY I LIEK UR AVI AND ARTZ. BE MY FRIEND PLZ"

[quote]Most, if not all, of my friends are experiencing a decrease in the amount of comments that they get on Worlds compared to what they had on MyOtaku, even my friends who are popular are receiving less comments. The popular members on MyOtaku would receive 40+ comments on a post without replies from the member who posted. Now, with my friends who are popular on TheOtaku they get 40+ comments with their replies included, and usually it?s a lot of individual replies, so it?s a somewhat significant difference. However, it?s good to hear that this isn?t the case with everybody! ^.^ However, I think that something should still be done to help out those who are experiencing this problem, and I think that fixing the update system might help. [/quote]

This is really a case by case basis, like you had mentioned. But the amount of comments can't be attributed to any single factor. It can be put on a lot of things. You can't single out the update system as the sole culprit.

[quote]Ahhh? I?m sorry; again, I suffer from poor communication skills. What I meant to say is that it seems like the managers are hoping that MyOtaku will eventually become inactive due to older users dying off, leaving the website altogether (getting lost), or by switching to TheOtaku. I meant dying off, getting lost, and switching to TheOtaku as ways of leaving MyOtaku, thus decreasing activity on MyOtaku. ? I don?t think that the managers are sadistic and/or serial killers. Hehe?[/quote]

Again, you miss the point. We don't want people to stop using MyO.

[quote]The number of pictures allowed in the introduction section and the posts of a World has increased since VersionVibrant was first set up. However, there?s still a limit. Often I find myself a few pictures over the limit from fanart thumbnails, and other features. I don?t have this problem in MyOtaku?s post because it allows an unlimited amount of pictures and videos. [/quote]

Like Beth said, there's limits for a reason. If Adam wantonly decides to upgrade TheO, your site could get destroyed because of all the coding on your site. Then you have a basic or broken site. That would suck, huh? So that's why there are limits.

[quote]As I stated before, the update system only shows a member the most recent updates per category, and if that member is away for some time, they miss any older updates. Simply increasing the number of updates that appear doesn?t help people who go away for longer periods of time; some people have busy lives outside of the internet, so it can?t be help. [/quote]

That's the thing about posting on sites that allow you to view older posts by simply going to a member's site. Even with MyO's system, members who updated frequently would only have their most recent entries in their system. But that's the problem with missing things on the web these days, you're gone, you miss a lot of things.

People have lives ( I do too), but missing out on things because you're gone is a simple click away. View someone's most recent works on their portfolio. That's what it's there for.

[quote]Well, since you seem to be saying that whether a member likes MyOtaku over TheOtaku is a matter of opinion, isn?t it more fair to provide members with the option of choosing where they?d like to blog based on this opinion? New members used to be able to blog on MyOtaku, and somehow the changes on VersionVibrant made it so that new members can no longer blog on MyOtaku?? Would it require too much work to provide these new members with a way of making sites and blogging on MyOtaku? For members who are away for long periods of time or have subscribed to a lot of people MyOtaku is the ideal place to blog. Since such members exist on MyOtaku, it seems unfair to make them use the more difficult blogging system.[/quote]

This [b]is[/b] a matter of opinion. This is really a he said/ she said sort of thing. You think the MyO system is better, I personally prefer the worlds system. But the newer members don't know about myOtaku when they first join. Plus, you can customize your worlds easily and rather quickly, without having to know ANYTHING about HTML coding. So a new member can just hop right in. It was this way on MyOtaku too. However it's a matter of opinion. If you can create a blog, make a shrine, upload art, wallpapers, and all of that on one site, what's the point of moving your blog to a separate site.

You make some real solid points, but I think that at this point having to do work on myOtaku is a step [b]backwards[/b] instead of one forwards. If people really want myO back, they would be posting and PM'ing like crazy. But I haven't seen anything of that nature. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[SunfallE]

[FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"][quote name='sbsp13668][FONT="Arial"']I doubt that a lot of members would want to comment on sites, if they aren?t able to make and post on their own, though, not unless a friend of theirs tended to blog more on MyOtaku; are they still able to add friends on MyOtaku and use the update system, by the way? Wordpad has replaced the comment box for me, but I don?t like having to go to the Start menu of my computer just to make a decent comment.[/FONT][/quote]I know some that do and aren?t at all bothered by not being able to use both. The biggest issues is that many people don?t realize that they can. They can add friends at myOtaku, however, it?s not necessary, if they subscribe to their theO profile, then they get an update in their backroom anytime a member posts on myO. I have friends who use both and I see their myO updates along with their world ones.

Also, as I said, using wordpad is simply a means to get around the way comment boxes currently work. I have suggested making it detachable, but since our new comment boxes offer a lot of features, it?s something that either can?t be done, or needs more programming to make it possible.

Right now the priority is on getting our report function back for it, for moderation purposes. Once that happens, we?ll probably look into upgrading other aspects of the comment boxes for theO.[quote name='sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"]The number of pictures allowed in the introduction section and the posts of a World has increased since VersionVibrant was first set up. However, there?s still a limit. Often I find myself a few pictures over the limit from fanart thumbnails, and other features. I don?t have this problem in MyOtaku?s post because it allows an unlimited amount of pictures and videos.[/FONT][/quote]The point I was making, was that this is something that can be changed. It?s not permanent. When you have a new system go up, it?s best to start on the conservative side and slowly expand and work out the kinks as you go along. I?ve already got the suggestion of increasing the amount of images and videos per post on the list for future upgrades. [quote=sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"]As I stated before, the update system only shows a member the most recent updates per category, and if that member is away for some time, they miss any older updates. Simply increasing the number of updates that appear doesn?t help people who go away for longer periods of time; some people have busy lives outside of the internet, so it can?t be help.[/FONT][/quote]If people are gone for weeks at a time, then even the older highlight system was no good, since it was only for 24 hours. Still it comes back to the same thing I was stating, this is something that can be improved on, for theOtaku. It too is on my list of suggestions for the site. [quote=sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"]Well, that?s good to hear, but why isn?t this more well-known by other members? I know people who have left TheOtaku/MyOtaku because of the cosplay section being dropped with no sign of returning. T.T[/FONT][/quote]Perhaps they don?t follow the updates and FAQ? This was covered almost immediately after Version Vibrant launched. [URL="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/faq/view/169/what_happened_to_the_cosplay_site%3F/"][U]What Happened to the Cosplay Site?[/U][/URL] It?s really a good idea to check the FAQ and updates that Adam puts out since they often have the answer to questions members might have. [quote=sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"']Well, since you seem to be saying that whether a member likes MyOtaku over TheOtaku is a matter of opinion, isn?t it more fair to provide members with the option of choosing where they?d like to blog based on this opinion? New members used to be able to blog on MyOtaku, and somehow the changes on VersionVibrant made it so that new members can no longer blog on MyOtaku?? Would it require too much work to provide these new members with a way of making sites and blogging on MyOtaku? For members who are away for long periods of time or have subscribed to a lot of people MyOtaku is the ideal place to blog. Since such members exist on MyOtaku, it seems unfair to make them use the more difficult blogging system.[/FONT][/quote]This is where I start to feel like people don?t pay attention to what management says or takes the time to explain. What part of James? reply did you not understand? Let me outline it for you:

[I]The problem was that [B][U]myOtaku wasn't built to be expanded as needed[/U][/B]. Also if we'd done a major upgrade, we would have destroyed a lot of content - especially people's custom pages.

Although I was really opposed to the idea of splitting the userbase between myOtaku and theOtaku, [I][B][U]it was necessary to build an entirely new site, because it wasn't physically possible to do what we had to do with myOtaku.[/U][/B][/I][/I]

It is not physically possible to grant this request or suggestion. The new platform was built because myOtaku had reached the limit of what could be done with it. I can?t be any plainer than that. I?m not even going to bother to answer the rest of your post since again, myOtaku is not designed to expand in that manner.

I will however, continue keeping the suggestions for future improvements for theOtaku and Worlds. Those are things that can happen in the future, where the others will not. Like the limitations on images and videos and the comment boxes and update system.

We are definitely open to suggestions for improvements, however, just keep in mind that most, if not all, requests for myOtaku improvements won't be possible. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[Horendithas]

[FONT="Arial"][COLOR="Indigo"]I'm not going to bother to cover most of what was said since I'd only be repeating what SunfallE and the others have already answered. However, in regards to this:[quote name='sbsp13668][FONT="Arial"]Since most of the users that I know dislike getting guestbook signings such as "OMG IWUV UR ART!", having the guestbook located where a member blogs slightly discourages those types of signings. I know that some users on MyOtaku used to sign guestbooks like that, but having the guestbook located right in a member?s portfolio doesn?t discourage such signings at all.[/FONT'] [/quote]Short of changing to a system were you have to approve all of the comments that go on your guestbook or make it where it's only open to friends, as in people you have subbed to... no matter [I]where[/I] you place it, you [I]will[/I] get signatures like that. Without fail. The easiest solution is to either ignore it or delete any comments that truly annoy you.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Japan]

MyOtaku, at it's time of popularity, was fun and exciting. However, over the years it got rather annoying. Popularity contests, pink font on a bright orange background with flashy sparkly .GIFs and a lot of them...broken pages, overdone complex pages...MyOtaku got out of hand. One thing you will learn if you ever study web design. Simplicity is key.

I really support VV mainly because it gathered all of the users to two sites rather than three. Like some people said, VV is a one-stop shop. TheOtaku has always been an art/anime site since it's creation. That's less time rather than go here for this, go here for that...

Premium membership does more than give you a cupcake beside your name. It allows you to have-

Premium Benefit List:

* Browse theOtaku.com with a streamlined, 100% ad-free design
* View 32 thumbnails per page on every section
* Have a cupcake next to your name on every comment and PM
* Save signatures for comments and PMs
* See who's online--both members and friends
* Submit one extra fan work per site per day
* Send two extra gifts per month and have access to all gifts
* Create five extra worlds
* Embed up to seven images per world post
* RightStuf Got Anime? Free Membership Code
* AnimeNation 10% Off
* Anime Pulse: 1 Extra Premium Month
* Moon Costumes 5% Off
* Artpreneurship Free Download: Learn the ins and outs of business for the creative mind

I was upset over the cosplay section being removed so that is why I made this world. [URL="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/cosplayrealm"]Cosplayer's Realm[/URL] Which is doing rather well considering.

I like how the update notification system is for VV. It gives detailed lists and also tells me who posted it. So if I do not feel like looking at a certain post because I do not care for bleach fanfiction. I can avoid that post without wasting the time of clicking and seeing what the post is about.

I find TheO friendlier. I've met so many great friends at TheO's chat and even discovered the greatness known as MST3K. It's just nice feeling to not have to worry where you stand in rankings and there's more to just comments to your art and posts.

[sbsp13668]

[quote name='Korey'][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="Navy"]People are free to sign as they want. While it's annoying, having the GB located on a World doesn't make any sort of web design sense. You can delete a world. And it doesn't stop people from saying "HAY I LIEK UR AVI AND ARTZ. BE MY FRIEND PLZ"[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[quote name='Indi'][FONT="Arial"][COLOR="Indigo"]However, in regards to this:Short of changing to a system were you have to approve all of the comments that go on your guestbook or make it where it's only open to friends, as in people you have subbed to... no matter [I]where[/I] you place it, you [I]will[/I] get signatures like that. Without fail. The easiest solution is to either ignore it or delete any comments that truly annoy you.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]If a member doesn?t have any Worlds, but has a guestbook in their portfolio, then the majority of their signings will probably be "HAY I LIEK UR AVI AND ARTZ. BE MY FRIEND PLZ". Although putting the guestbook in Worlds doesn?t stop those kind of signings, it might decrease them (and that?s worth a try, right?). Also, for esthetics purposes I would want my guestbook to be located in my Worlds, since that would be keeping the more social/personal functions together; keeping like and like together, as a sort of organizational thing. (< my vocabulary died).

I agree that having a system that involved approving of all signings/comments, or restricting signings to subscribers wouldn?t be very useful; that?s why I like how the guestbooks are more similar to the way that members can post comments. TheOtaku/MyOtaku?s guestbooks are better in that way. ^.^ [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="Navy"]This is really a case by case basis, like you had mentioned. But the amount of comments can't be attributed to any single factor. It can be put on a lot of things. You can't single out the update system as the sole culprit.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]I?ve never said that it was the only reason for the decrease in activity, but it certainly is one factor. Also, it?s one of the factors that can be changed, so it?s one worth discussing.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="Navy"]That's the thing about posting on sites that allow you to view older posts by simply going to a member's site. Even with MyO's system, members who updated frequently would only have their most recent entries in their system. But that's the problem with missing things on the web these days, you're gone, you miss a lot of things.

People have lives ( I do too), but missing out on things because you're gone is a simple click away. View someone's most recent works on their portfolio. That's what it's there for.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]I know some that do and aren?t at all bothered by not being able to use both. The biggest issues is that many people don?t realize that they can. They can add friends at myOtaku, however, it?s not necessary, if they subscribe to their theO profile, then they get an update in their backroom anytime a member posts on myO. I have friends who use both and I see their myO updates along with their world ones.

? If people are gone for weeks at a time, then even the older highlight system was no good, since it was only for 24 hours. ?[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[quote name='Japan_86']I like how the update notification system is for VV. It gives detailed lists and also tells me who posted it. So if I do not feel like looking at a certain post because I do not care for bleach fanfiction. I can avoid that post without wasting the time of clicking and seeing what the post is about.[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]You can still see older posts on MyOtaku; they?d just be in the archives section, and it?s the same with TheOtaku, but instead of going to the archives you go to the next page. Also, I prefer to comment on the newest post, since commenting on the older posts might not be as useful to the member who wrote them. If I have to look for an older post on a user?s site, I find it just as difficult sifting through pages of posts on Worlds as it is on sites. However, I do enjoy the tag-making abilities on Worlds, but since most users don?t use them, it?s still tedious searching the pages.

As for visiting portfolios to find out if I?ve missed an update, that?s way too much work for me. XD I?m subscribed to a lot of people for their art and their blogs, so having to check each portfolio and comment on the updates would take forever. @.@

I know that MyOtaku updates show up on TheOtaku?s update system as well, but whether they do or not still doesn?t matter to members who are busy and can?t see when all their subscribers/friends last updated. Even though the username only stays highlighted for 24 hours, the time of their last update is recorded next to their username. So I like to check the updates that occurred usually since my last visit, and I?m not missing anything in terms of their blog on MyOtaku.

It is nice that TheOtaku?s update system tells a member the categories and art sections that the members they?ve subscribed to have submitted in. So a combination of the update systems would still be great, like a more specific version of MyOtaku?s update system.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="Navy"]This [b]is[/b] a matter of opinion. This is really a he said/ she said sort of thing. You think the MyO system is better, I personally prefer the worlds system. But the newer members don't know about myOtaku when they first join. Plus, you can customize your worlds easily and rather quickly, without having to know ANYTHING about HTML coding. So a new member can just hop right in. It was this way on MyOtaku too. However it's a matter of opinion. If you can create a blog, make a shrine, upload art, wallpapers, and all of that on one site, what's the point of moving your blog to a separate site.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[quote name='Japan_86']I really support VV mainly because it gathered all of the users to two sites rather than three. Like some people said, VV is a one-stop shop. TheOtaku has always been an art/anime site since it's creation. That's less time rather than go here for this, go here for that...[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Another thing that I don?t like is that sort of ?what they don?t know can?t hurt ?em? way of treating new members when it comes to MyOtaku (as in public acknowledgement of MyOtaku has been lacking since VersionVibrant was set up, so new members don?t know much about the other blogging system). I think it would be fair to provide them with the option of making a site maybe with the Premium membership.

I agree that HTML coding is harder to use, but I don?t like the restrictions of the current coding on TheOtaku. Most members don?t mind the idea of making TheOtaku into a one-stop shop. However, the reason that some people still prefer to use MyOtaku is for its benefits over Worlds. If Worlds were improved so that they would be more like MyOtaku, then some of those people would probably switch to Worlds. (I?ll say more about all this later in the reply, though).[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Japan_86']Premium membership does more than give you a cupcake beside your name. It allows you to have-

Premium Benefit List:

* Browse theOtaku.com with a streamlined, 100% ad-free design
* View 32 thumbnails per page on every section
* Have a cupcake next to your name on every comment and PM
* Save signatures for comments and PMs
* See who's online--both members and friends
* Submit one extra fan work per site per day
* Send two extra gifts per month and have access to all gifts
* Create five extra worlds
* Embed up to seven images per world post
* RightStuf Got Anime? Free Membership Code
* AnimeNation 10% Off
* Anime Pulse: 1 Extra Premium Month
* Moon Costumes 5% Off
* Artpreneurship Free Download: Learn the ins and outs of business for the creative mind[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Yesh, I?m aware that the Premium membership doesn?t only offer the inedible cupcake. XD What I was getting at is that I think the Premium membership should offer more, since members were able to get more in the past for free through MyOtaku. Also, if more perks were offered, more people would be tempted to buy the Premium membership.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]
Right now the priority is on getting our report function back for it, for moderation purposes. Once that happens, we?ll probably look into upgrading other aspects of the comment boxes for theO. ? When you have a new system go up, it?s best to start on the conservative side and slowly expand and work out the kinks as you go along. I?ve already got the suggestion of increasing the amount of images and videos per post on the list for future upgrades. ?[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]I agree that the report function is important to have back, but I think that other important upgrades should follow this one. After the report function is back, the update system should follow, then the amount of videos and pictures, and new comment boxes (if TheOtaku won?t be made more customizable). Making a new update system must be difficult, but not working on the problems with the system isn?t making a difference. The new update system is a major inconvenience for busier members, as I?ve said before.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Japan_86']I was upset over the cosplay section being removed so that is why I made this world. [URL="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/cosplayrealm"]Cosplayer's Realm[/URL] Which is doing rather well considering.[/QUOTE]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Perhaps they don?t follow the updates and FAQ? This was covered almost immediately after Version Vibrant launched. [URL="http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/faq/view/169/what_happened_to_the_cosplay_site%3F/"][U]What Happened to the Cosplay Site?[/U][/URL] It?s really a good idea to check the FAQ and updates that Adam puts out since they often have the answer to questions members might have. This is where I start to feel like people don?t pay attention to what management says or takes the time to explain.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Your World seems like a good temporary solution for the lack of the cosplay section. ^.^ I?ll pass it on to my remaining, cosplaying friends (if there are any remaining; a lot of them left).

I don?t think it?s that people don?t pay attention to the managers. In TheOtaku?s old news section, the managers would post about the upgrades that TheOtaku was receiving, as well. However, the news section no longer seems to post about upgrades, and if it does, I?ve never seen one of these posts on TheOtaku?s homepage. When VersionVibrant was first being set up, I remember a news post being made on the homepage about its installment, but I don?t remember that post addressing the issues that might come up (I?ll try to look it up, though, because I can?t remember [I]all[/I] of that post). Most of my cosplaying friends left not long after the cosplay section was removed. Also, the FAQ link is a tiny one at the bottom of the homepage; more helpful websites tend to put the FAQ at the top of the homepage with more noticeable/normal font.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Japan_86']However, over the years it got rather annoying. Popularity contests, pink font on a bright orange background with flashy sparkly .GIFs and a lot of them...broken pages, overdone complex pages...MyOtaku got out of hand.[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]I didn?t think that MyOtaku ever went overboard with the popularity system. I mean, occasionally somebody would post how many views their site had received, but it never got annoying like it is on DeviantArt with the kiribans? I hate kiribans. >.< The popularity system on MyOtaku was more fun, but again that might just have been because the members on MyOtaku are better than those on DeviantArt. ^.^; As for the overly flashy, annoying sites, most of them seem to be gone now. So a way of letting Premium members or more experienced new members make sites can prevent the creation of those sites and add to the MyOtaku community. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='SunfallE'][FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]What part of James? reply did you not understand? Let me outline it for you:

[I]The problem was that [B][U]myOtaku wasn't built to be expanded as needed[/U][/B]. Also if we'd done a major upgrade, we would have destroyed a lot of content - especially people's custom pages.

Although I was really opposed to the idea of splitting the userbase between myOtaku and theOtaku, [I][B][U]it was necessary to build an entirely new site, because it wasn't physically possible to do what we had to do with myOtaku.[/U][/B][/I][/I]

It is not physically possible to grant this request or suggestion. The new platform was built because myOtaku had reached the limit of what could be done with it. I can?t be any plainer than that. I?m not even going to bother to answer the rest of your post since again, myOtaku is not designed to expand in that manner.[/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]If I am misunderstanding something that you?ve said, it is because I have never been involved in running a website. I am just a normal person, like most other members on TheOtaku/MyOtaku. If it is [B]utterly impossible[/B] to upgrade MyOtaku in any way, then just say so. However, I?ve been under the impression that at least minor changes can be made to MyOtaku, since the PM link and comment box were fixed. [I]You[/I] could try being a little more understanding.

Also, if it?s impossible to get new members access to MyOtaku, then the stuff that I mentioned about trying to get Premium members and experienced members access and such can be ignored. However, if it?s [I]rather difficult[/I] to give new members access to MyOtaku, then I think the effort put into providing this access is worth it, since it?s only fair to provide the new members with the option; and I?m still willing to help in anyway that I can. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote name='Korey'][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="Navy"]?If people really want myO back, they would be posting and PM'ing like crazy. But I haven't seen anything of that nature.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="3"]Well, a lot of the members on MyOtaku are busy (we?re getting older, so our lives are getting more hectic), and that?s one of the reasons that they prefer to blog on MyOtaku. Also, MyOtaku is becoming more inactive. However, most of my friends briefly mention an inconvenience that they?re experiencing with TheOtaku/MyOtaku in their blogs (and it takes more time to write out a PM or e-mail).

There is a club for members who aren?t happy with all of the changes made with VersionVibrant called the VersionVibrant Resistance Corps ([URL="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/darkeangel/MyOVVRCBADGE.png"]VVRC[/URL]). However, the founder of the club is very busy with his job at the moment. :animeswea



[COLOR="Green"]P.S. It might be a while until my next reply. It might be tomorrow, but it might be a week or two later, since I?m going to be very busy after this weekend. So don?t think poorly of me for replying too late. ^.^;[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Korey]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]I'm all for changing things that need to be changed, but as so many people have mentioned before, MyOtaku will most likely not see any sort of renovation anytime soon, or ever. We all understand your points of view and you have repeated them several times. All of the logical reasons we point out are immediately rebutted by your personal opinions on why things should revolve around your personal convience instead of what may be good for the member base of theOtaku.

Saying that people are busy and have lives is really no excuse as to why there isn't any PMs headed Adam's way for MyOtaku. I'm 20 years old, go to school, have a GF, and I work 2 jobs. Yet, I find time for this site. So if this is seriously an issue that needs to be adressed, you would round up your posse and make your voices heard.

Now to break it down:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote]If a member doesn?t have any Worlds, but has a guestbook in their portfolio, then the majority of their signings will probably be "HAY I LIEK UR AVI AND ARTZ. BE MY FRIEND PLZ". Although putting the guestbook in Worlds doesn?t stop those kind of signings, it might decrease them (and that?s worth a try, right?). Also, for esthetics purposes I would want my guestbook to be located in my Worlds, since that would be keeping the more social/personal functions together; keeping like and like together, as a sort of organizational thing. (< my vocabulary died). [/quote]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]Like I said, nothing you can do about that. Delete them if it bothers you so much. But having it on the portfolio makes more sense. It has nothing to do with any sort of social aspect. Someone can sign your GB on MyOtaku with "HAY BE MY FRIEND PLZ". [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[quote]I?ve never said that it was the only reason for the decrease in activity, but it certainly is one factor. Also, it?s one of the factors that can be changed, so it?s one worth discussing.[/quote]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]I really fail to see how a lack of comments can be connected to anything qualitatively. If anything, that is just a number ( a quantitative result). It doesn't mean people aren't active, or that they don't care or any of that nonsense. It can't be attributed to the design of a site either. It's easy to leave a comment, the link is in plain sight. So...blame the people for not posting, not the system.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote]As for visiting portfolios to find out if I?ve missed an update, that?s way too much work for me. XD I?m subscribed to a lot of people for their art and their blogs, so having to check each portfolio and comment on the updates would take forever. [/quote]

[FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]Again, this is a reason why I hate to drag out arguments when someone is using their biased opinions on things that need change. If you're too lazy to check on people's profiles, then don't try to dispute a system that works just fine. If you cared to visit people's profiles to check on them, you would. Don't blame theOtaku's system for that.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[quote]Most members don?t mind the idea of making TheOtaku into a one-stop shop. However, the reason that some people still prefer to use MyOtaku is for its benefits over Worlds. If Worlds were improved so that they would be more like MyOtaku, then some of those people would probably switch to Worlds.[/quote]

[SIZE="1"][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][COLOR="Navy"]See that's the thing. It's a person by person, [B][I][U]PERSONAL PREFERENCE[/U][/I][/B], sort of thing. That doesn't mean change needs to happen just because a few people don't like the design. What would happen if we changed it and the people who liked the worlds design said "hey wtf are you doing? change it back!". We can't appease everyone, but the opinions on the Worlds system has been relatively positive for the most part.

Like SunfallE said, the limits of MyOtaku have been reached. It is not utterly impossible to make renovations or do new things, but like I mentioned before, it is a step backwards in the process. Why would you want to take steps back as a network to appease the few who don't like the new changes instead of helping the majority of those and improve on what you do have right now?

I've been really patient and read your posts, but the fact of the matter is that MyOtaku [B][I][U]WILL NOT (<---------) [/U][/I][/B]be recieving any sort of changes at this time. So instead of arguing moot points over and over and over again, please try to understand [B][I][U]WHY[/U][/I][/B] things are the way they are.[/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

[Sangome]

[QUOTE]However, the news section no longer seems to post about upgrades, and if it does, I’ve never seen one of these posts on TheOtaku’s homepage. [/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"]The news[I] category[/I] itself may not, but if you look right down below it, there's a little column entitled [B]Official Updates[/B]. And if you're subscribed to Adam, you get a direct feed of updates, since the Official theOtaku.com World is one of his own.

[QUOTE]As for visiting portfolios to find out if I’ve missed an update, that’s way too much work for me. XD I’m subscribed to a lot of people for their art and their blogs, so having to check each portfolio and comment on the updates would take forever. @.@ [/QUOTE]

Not to sound rude, but that's quite honestly [I]your[/I] problem for being subbed to a lot of people. :p I understand you want to follow people, but it's not the site's fault for that. And besides, there's already an option to sort by Worlds and Art, and as Beth [SunfallE] said, Adam is always open to suggestions.

Now, as for MyOtaku. I am going to liken this to the best way I know possible, the video game industry. Every few years, a new console comes out from the big trio of companies, further expanding on their previous systems. This usually consists of internal stuff such as power, processing, and, of course, grahpical prowess. External, you have size, weight, and look. And then you have all the stuff like internet and downloading capabilities, games produced, the list goes on.

How is this relevant? Thoughts aside about what people may claim about Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo, if they kept producing the same kind of system every few years, people would eventually complain and get tired of it. It would be like if we never got out of the graphics that Final Fantasy VII or Super Mario 64 had. People would complain that it was dated, and that we need to strive forward. The same applies for MyOtaku -- if we kept with that old, dated blogging system, people would whine and complain about us being steps behind the other big blogging sites.

And then we have the old school hardcore types, who get upset because we [I]are[/I] moving forward, and insist on clinging to their old systems of lore. While there's nothing inherently wrong with that, it doesn't make any sense to stay with old stuff and not move forward [unless it's money, but that's an entirely different argument], when we have the capabilities to do so. Which is why MyO is the old version, and Worlds is the new.

Finally, to satisfy the old schoolers [and the nostalgic types] that lack the old games/game systems or just want a fresher experience, as well as the current generation, the triad of home consoles each offer a downloading service, in which you can obtain a myriad of older games. The Wii has the Virtual Console, the 360 has Xbox Live Arcade contained within the Xbox Live Marketplace, and Sony has the Playstation Network. That way, people can enjoy the games of the old days. Likewise, even though newer members cannot create one, Adam rather graciously [I]kept[/I] MyOtaku for the old schoolers, to keep posting in, or just use as an archive.

As for updates...while some games may be re-released in some form, it wouldn't make sense for Sony to suddenly start releasing PS1 games in physical form. Same goes for Microsoft or Nintendo's old systems. You can re-release, but releasing physical copies for systems long out of production makes no sense at all, really.

tl;dr -- moving forward

super late edit: Also, this debate of yours seems a weeeeeeee bit out of left field, especially considering most of the MyO/World drama was well over a year ago. Just sayin'.[/SIZE]

[Allamorph]

[quote name='sbsp13668][FONT="Comic Sans MS"']Although putting the guestbook in Worlds doesn’t stop those kind of signings, it might decrease them (and that’s worth a try, right?). [/FONT][/quote]
[FONT="Arial"]If the Guestbook were located "in Worlds", then the member would first have to create a world to have a Guestbook period. For members who don't wish to use the World system, that totally eliminates them from the social picture you're trying to establish.

From my standpoint (having spent two years browsing TheOtaku before the VV shift and [U]still[/U] considering MyO as part of TheO), the Guestbook design was a clunky and extremely redundant page. The first time I opened one I actually expected what is now in use as the Guestbook, and I was surprised and rather irritated to find what I saw to be a slovenly cluttering of random, rather pointless messages with little to no purpose set on a background that all too often was a tiled repeat of an image less than 300 pixels in size both ways. I "signed" (read "commented on") one person's Guestbook then because I went to school with her and she was responsible for introducing me to the site, and after that stayed away.

I still find Guestbooks a bit unnecessary (and I also find it peculiar how new signatures show up initially as new comments, making you think you got some feedback on a recent posting), but the advantage I see with them now is that what was before slovenly is now neat and contained, and I no longer have to vie with the background image to make out half the fonts.

In that light, complete and total customisation ability led to very shoddy workmanship. And it was never totally able to work right because no one could build a background image that didn't contest in some way with someone's font color.

Also you seem to be attempting to view the Worlds as a separate part of the site. Worlds are actually rather integrated, as any fanfiction submitted are submitted [I]though[/I] them straight to the approval section, and then that post is used as the base for the actual Fan Word itself.

Additionally, Worlds are not limited to one per person, as the blogging system of MyO was. If a member wanted to have a separate place for their fiction as opposed to their normal musings, they were forced to create an entirely new account; now members are offered upwards of three (depending on status; I am not sure what the specific caps are for regular/premium) to format as they will, and I have seen numerous Worlds dedicated solely to basic Japanese instruction, art/writing collaboration projects, group planning/event scheduling, general news, and total random posts. MyOtaku simply could not function in this manner without hordes of accounts for each member and a load of unnecessary password sharing.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]I’ve never said that it was the only reason for the decrease in activity, but it certainly is one factor. Also, it’s one of the factors that can be changed, so it’s one worth discussing.[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
Then surely you are able to listen to the other side's standpoint on the issue, since it is after all a discussion, and discussion of only one angle of an issue is hardly fair to the issue itself.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]You can still see older posts on MyOtaku; they’d just be in the archives section, and it’s the same with TheOtaku, but instead of going to the archives you go to the next page.[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
This here is another section where you and I are at complete odds. I intensely disliked the Archives section, as I found it redundant to have to load a completely new page just to be able to see the option to cycle backwards in posts, which is what the "Archives >>" button amounted to. Also, the Worlds show a standard five posts per page, whereas MyOtaku was extremely variable, sometimes showing three posts per page and sometimes only showing one.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]Also, I prefer to comment on the newest post, since commenting on the older posts might not be as useful to the member who wrote them.[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
Feedback is feedback, and odds are if the feedback is no longer useful to the member then that member will probably ignore it. However, I am not willing to say "then I won't waste my time if I might be ignored" given the chance that something I say might click with the member and they suddenly find a new viewpoint on a situation.

Then again, this is how I work with fiction commentary. General daily-life journal posts are often bypassed unless I feel something singularly noteworthy.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]If I have to look for an older post on a user’s site, I find it just as difficult sifting through pages of posts on Worlds as it is on sites[/I].[/FONT][/QUOTE]
Then this statement doesn't matter. =D

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]However, I do enjoy the tag-making abilities on Worlds, but since most users don’t use them, it’s still tedious searching the pages.[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
"Most users don't use them" is a statement declared as fact. I am not familiar with this fact, so I need proof. At least a general and well-sampled survey would do. But one cannot make statements like this simply by saying "I've talked to people" as one's proof, especially with upwards of ten thousand users on the site just judging off of World count alone.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]As for visiting portfolios to find out if I’ve missed an update, that’s way too much work for me. XD I’m subscribed to a lot of people for their art and their blogs, so having to check each portfolio and comment on the updates would take forever. @.@ [/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
This statement is not an argument about MyOtaku at all. It is merely a concession of lack of will. Just because you do not wish to check updates does not mean others do not. I know members who go out of their way to check what they've missed, and who apologise if the list is too long, especially if it runs a couple of months for an absence. I also know members who don't bother if the update list goes on past the cutoff. It runs both ways.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]Even though the username only stays highlighted for 24 hours, the time of their last update is recorded next to their username. [/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
This is actually a viable point, and one I agree on as well. I may spend some head time on it here soon, to see how to incorporate a general "Member last updated _____" page to the Backroom in addition (or in replacement of) the current short list.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]Another thing that I don’t like is that sort of “what they don’t know can’t hurt ‘em” way of treating new members when it comes to MyOtaku (as in public acknowledgement of MyOtaku has been lacking since VersionVibrant was set up, so new members don’t know much about the other blogging system). I think it would be fair to provide them with the option of making a site maybe with the Premium membership. [/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
With the constant reminders of how MyOtaku at its core was ill-equipped to grow beyond it's state [I]before[/I] the VV shift, I fail to see what benefit this would give members.

Using MyOtaku as a premium membership concept is also unreasonably unfair, as it eliminates a good majority of the userbase from joining in with friends.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]I agree that HTML coding is harder to use, but I don’t like the restrictions of the current coding on TheOtaku.[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
This comes down to personal preference. Some people enjoyed [I]and were good at[/I] HTML customisation of MyOtaku pages. Member [COLOR="DarkRed"]somegirl[/COLOR] comes to mind; she actually asked me for reactions visually on her MyO setup earlier this Spring.

But the majority of the members do not understand the procedures and syntax, and were under the constant risk of unwittingly breaking their site, which (as has been repeatedly stated) [U]required[/U] [U]administrator[/U] [U]access[/U] to undo the damage.

Don't think about this in terms of members per day, because that leads to the false impression that it is a quick and easy thing to take care of. Think about it [I]in total[/I], and keep in mind that the very concept of hacking the code box to get around the character limit most likely didn't aid the process of data recovery.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]However, the reason that some people still prefer to use MyOtaku is for its benefits over Worlds.[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
First, the reason people still prefer to use MyOtaku is a) nostalgia and b) it's familiar territory. And b) is very closely tied to a).

Second. The benefits. Name them.

And by that I mean list for us the services and uses MyOtaku can perform which Worlds cannot. I do not mean list why one might prefer the former to the latter, which is largely what you have done so far.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]If Worlds were improved so that they would be more like MyOtaku, then some of those people would probably switch to Worlds.[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
This act requires significant retrogression on the part of the Worlds currently. In order to "improve them" to be more like MyOtaku, we must deteriorate them and strip away several of their uses, including group collaboration and Fan Word potential.

If Worlds were improved so that they would be more like MyOtaku, then some of those people would probably switch to Worlds.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]Making a new update system must be difficult, but not working on the problems with the system isn’t making a difference. [/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
That is a ballsy statement to assume true, my friend.

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]The new update system is a major inconvenience for busier members, as I’ve said before.[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
As in, the ones with jobs? As in, [COLOR="DarkRed"]SunfallE[/COLOR] and [COLOR="DarkRed"]Indi[/COLOR] and [COLOR="DarkRed"]Axel Alloy[/COLOR]?

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]In TheOtaku’s old news section, the managers would post about the upgrades that TheOtaku was receiving, as well. However, the news section no longer seems to post about upgrades, and if it does, I’ve never seen one of these posts on TheOtaku’s homepage.[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[URL="http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z158/Allamorph/Misc/shots/frontpage.jpg"][COLOR="Blue"]Scroll Down[/COLOR][/URL].

[QUOTE][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I]As for the overly flashy, annoying sites, most of them seem to be gone now.[/I][/FONT][/QUOTE]
That is because most of the members who created them are either now using Worlds which are not set up to be broken, or simply using the site to post fan art and jump in the Chatroom. It doesn't mean that they're gone. Odds are good that if MyO was reintroduced and the Worlds were scrapped, the same problem would crop back up.

[QUOTE][I][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Also, the FAQ link is a tiny one at the bottom of the homepage; more helpful websites tend to put the FAQ at the top of the homepage with more noticeable/normal font.[/FONT][/I][/QUOTE]
Like the ones where you apply for jobs.

No, wait, those are also on the bottom. Seems to be a pretty standard place to have to look.

[QUOTE][I][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]If I am misunderstanding something that you’ve said, it is because I have never been involved in running a website. I am just a normal person, like most other members on TheOtaku/MyOtaku. If it is [B]utterly impossible[/B] to upgrade MyOtaku in any way, then just say so. However, I’ve been under the impression that at least minor changes can be made to MyOtaku, since the PM link and comment box were fixed. [I]You[/I] could try being a little more understanding.[/FONT][/I][/QUOTE]
Watch your tone.

It has been rather obvious to the rest of us that you have limited experience in running a website. We understand all too well. (Especially those, like myself, who also have no experience running a website. But that doesn't excuse me from doing my homework.)

Also, [COLOR="DarkRed"]James[/COLOR] specifically said it was impossible to move MyOtaku to the point where it needed to be. It was capped out. All the patches that could have been made were made. Time for the sequel, the new system, the next level.

And heck, I still love the N64, despite having played whatever GNC and Wii games I could get my hands on. No one is saying MyOtaku sucks compared to Worlds. We're saying MyOtaku [I]maxed out[/I].

[QUOTE][I][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Well, a lot of the members on MyOtaku are busy (we’re getting older, so our lives are getting more hectic), and that’s one of the reasons that they prefer to blog on MyOtaku.[/FONT][/I][/QUOTE]
The rest of us are aging just the same, my friend. I was a freshman in college when I joined TheO, and now I'm entering my fourth year, including one change of major. [COLOR="DarkRed"]Rachmaninoff[/COLOR] teaches cello lessons at the University of Utah while striving for his doctorate. [COLOR="DarkRed"]Dagger[/COLOR], [COLOR="DarkRed"]Nightbeck[/COLOR] and others have made extended trips to Japan. They still come regularly.

And they prefer Worlds.

Again, it runs both ways. You can't use a limited group of people as total proof.

[QUOTE][I][FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Also, MyOtaku is becoming more inactive. [/FONT][/I][/QUOTE]
This is because a) a great number of members has shifted to the Worlds system, b) a good part of those remaining behind left because of internal drama for which they themselves were responsible, and c) apparently people are busy with jobs.

Hmm.

[QUOTE][I][FONT="Comic Sans MS"](and it takes more time to write out a PM or e-mail)[/FONT][/I][/QUOTE]
No, it does not. It [I]does[/I], however, take clearer thoughts.



I hesitated to get seriously involved in this discussion so far because I assumed that my commentary wasn't needed; that the comments of my associates would be actually heard and taken in instead of brushed off as irrelevant, as you seem to be doing. I also assumed for a while that you were going to attempt to actually provide a legitimate discussion of the issue, instead of what I have seen thus far.

And from what I have seen, I believe your core argument to be not so much that MyOtaku is [I]better[/I] in any way, but that it was the old system and the old system is the best system regardless of any improvements made to the new system and with no concessions made for a infant system being nurtured and developed. What I have seen is that those who dislike Version Vibrant do so on principle, and I am reminded constantly of the clique of ancient, blue-haired Southern Baptist pew-denters who raise a fit any time a deviation is made from "the way things are done".

And I don't mean to sound angry or callous by that. What I am is direct, and at present I have seen you offer very little 'proof' that Version Vibrant is inferior and MyOtaku is superior. (Personally I don't believe either is superior. I believe the Worlds system is more versatile. Difference.) I have seen you offer personal preference after personal preference and—"time last updated" suggestion aside—even less in the way of actual viable solutions.

You did show me the message you sent to Adam, but aside from a very cursory mention of concepts there was nothing solid there, aside from a (rather bold, I must say) admonition to make the Update system more like deviantArt, which I imagine must have done wonders for getting Adam to want to listen to you, especially since you failed to really provide a vision or much specifics.

I have no doubt that your intentions are good. What I doubt is your level of commitment. Are you content to merely be a part of this 'resistance group' which so far has proven about as effective as the crew of the Sea Shepherd in [I]Whale Wars[/I], or are you willing to take the initiative and try to find a [I]solid solution[/I] that can be actually implemented, and so become a champion of your friends?


Lastly, your font size and format are murder on the eyes. If you drop it down to size 2 it'd be a lot better for all involved.

[quote name='Korey][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="navy"]I've been really patient and read your posts, but the fact of the matter is that MyOtaku [B][I][U]WILL NOT (<---------) [/U][/I][/B]be recieving any sort of changes at this time..[/COLOR][/FONT'][/SIZE][/quote]
Easy there, John Law. That ain't our call to make.[/FONT]

[SunfallE]

[FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Since many people already responded, I?m only going to cover certain points.[quote name='sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"]If a member doesn?t have any Worlds, but has a guestbook in their portfolio, then the majority of their signings will probably be "HAY I LIEK UR AVI AND ARTZ. BE MY FRIEND PLZ". Although putting the guestbook in Worlds doesn?t stop those kind of signings, it might decrease them (and that?s worth a try, right?). Also, for esthetics purposes I would want my guestbook to be located in my Worlds, since that would be keeping the more social/personal functions together; keeping like and like together, as a sort of organizational thing. (< my vocabulary died).[/FONT][/quote]And signatures like that are a problem because?? This is the Internet. Like the others said, you will get signatures like that. If you don?t like it, you delete it, easy solution really. And since people have to create worlds, it?s impractical to have no guestbook at all until they do. I honestly see this as a non-issue. [quote=sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"']I know that MyOtaku updates show up on TheOtaku?s update system as well, but whether they do or not still doesn?t matter to members who are busy and can?t see when all their subscribers/friends last updated. Even though the username only stays highlighted for 24 hours, the time of their last update is recorded next to their username.[/FONT][/quote]I?ve already said that further upgrades for theOtaku?s system is possible, but it feels like you?re not listening to what I?m saying. [quote=sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"]Another thing that I don?t like is that sort of ?what they don?t know can?t hurt ?em? way of treating new members when it comes to MyOtaku (as in public acknowledgement of MyOtaku has been lacking since VersionVibrant was set up, so new members don?t know much about the other blogging system). I think it would be fair to provide them with the option of making a site maybe with the Premium membership.

I agree that HTML coding is harder to use, but I don?t like the restrictions of the current coding on TheOtaku. Most members don?t mind the idea of making TheOtaku into a one-stop shop. However, the reason that some people still prefer to use MyOtaku is for its benefits over Worlds. If Worlds were improved so that they would be more like MyOtaku, then some of those people would probably switch to Worlds. (I?ll say more about all this later in the reply, though).[/FONT][/quote]MyOtaku is not getting public acknowledgment because it is not what people are signing up for. They don?t need to know about it because they aren?t going to be using it. This request was already researched, by Adam, to see if it would be possible to make it where new members could post at myOtaku. It is not possible because like we?ve been telling you, myOtaku reached the point where it couldn?t expand anymore.

Creating Version Vibrant, which is capable of supporting the features people wanted, meant that other than people?s blogs, everything was shifted over. Once that happened, the connections to myOtaku were removed, it was necessary. And since it is the older system, it is, in many ways, not compatible with the new one. So it?s not something we can offer them. [quote name='sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"']I agree that the report function is important to have back, but I think that other important upgrades should follow this one. After the report function is back, the update system should follow, then the amount of videos and pictures, and new comment boxes (if TheOtaku won?t be made more customizable). Making a new update system must be difficult, but not working on the problems with the system isn?t making a difference. The new update system is a major inconvenience for busier members, as I?ve said before.[/FONT][/quote]Did I just not say that they are on the list of things to be done? How does that equal ?not working? on the problem? The update system has already received two upgrades since Version Vibrant launched; it is still open to more. Perhaps the problem is you want to see it happen immediately when consistently adding new stuff and upgrading, takes time.

So saying we?re not working on the problem is really you[I][U] not paying attention[/U][/I] and ignoring what has already been done to improve the system since it was launched. [quote name='sbsp13668][FONT="Arial"] I don?t think it?s that people don?t pay attention to the managers. In TheOtaku?s old news section, the managers would post about the upgrades that TheOtaku was receiving, as well. However, the news section no longer seems to post about upgrades, and if it does, I?ve never seen one of these posts on TheOtaku?s homepage[/FONT].[/quote]Allamorph already provided a link to where the updates have been from the very beginning, on the front page of theOtaku. News is completely separate from updates and site features like the podcast and caption battle. [quote=sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"]Also, the FAQ link is a tiny one at the bottom of the homepage; more helpful websites tend to put the FAQ at the top of the homepage with more noticeable/normal font.[/FONT][/quote]And lots of sites have the FAQ link on the bottom of their page. It?s a given that if it?s not at the top, then it will most likely be along the bottom. [quote=sbsp13668] [FONT="Arial"]If I am misunderstanding something that you?ve said, it is because I have never been involved in running a website. I am just a normal person, like most other members on TheOtaku/MyOtaku. If it is utterly impossible to upgrade MyOtaku in any way, then just say so. However, I?ve been under the impression that at least minor changes can be made to MyOtaku, since the PM link and comment box were fixed. You could try being a little more understanding.[/FONT][/quote]I have already said that other than minor tweaks, myOtaku is not capable of expanding. Most of what you are asking for are not minor tweaks. You could try to actually[I][U] pay attention better[/U][/I], instead of getting slightly snarky over my explaining to you, more than once, why it?s not going to be possible to tie myOtaku back into theOtaku for all members. [quote=sbsp13668][FONT="Arial"'] Also, if it?s impossible to get new members access to MyOtaku, then the stuff that I mentioned about trying to get Premium members and experienced members access and such can be ignored. However, if it?s rather difficult to give new members access to MyOtaku, then I think the effort put into providing this access is worth it, since it?s only fair to provide the new members with the option; and I?m still willing to help in anyway that I can.[/FONT][/quote]Yes, it is not possible. And even if it was, why should anyone have to provide something just because you want it? TheOtaku already provides quite a few free services for all members. No matter what Adam does, he can?t make everyone happy.

Again, the problem with myOtaku is it was not designed to expand, attempting to go backwards and tying it in, would break most of those features that Worlds can support. Why would anyone running a site, attempt to go backwards, to something that isn?t capable of supporting the features people want in the first place? It?s a complete and total waste of time.

Think of it like Sangome?s game analogy she provided. The stuff that people want, either won?t run with myOtaku, or if you force it, will run with issues that constantly cause it to crash. So Adam did what a lot of places do, he created a new version that could support all of the features people want. To integrate things like we have now, to myOtaku, would essentially kill it since it can?t support it. It would be like trying to stuff a PS3 game in an old PS1 player. It won?t work. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Without getting into the specifics at this stage, I do want to say that we acknowledge there are multiple ways theOtaku.com needs to improve. I can tell you that I have a pretty long wishlist at this point, not only in terms of bringing Worlds into party with myOtaku but also to push it further.

But there are a few general problems. First, there's the time factor - performing any major revision to theOtaku is a massive (and often costly) exercise. I know that Adam is principally focused on his game at the moment and unfortunately his focus can't be everywhere at once.

And secondly, in relation to myOtaku, it's true that it is physically impossible for us to perform all of the major/necessary upgrades to the site. The foundation design was never meant to be expanded as far as it has been so far, even.

If we try to throw more and more things on top of that, it will end up being ridiculously messy - you add one item and then another breaks because the two are incompatible. The design isn't built for the necessary growth.

So although I think it's 100% fair to acknowledge that theOtaku's Worlds system still has a long way to go, there are limits to what can be achieved at this point. All we can do is put forward suggestions and keep trying to improve the system.

I'm not sure when more changes/upgrades will be done to theO, but I would suggest that the big ticket stuff just won't be happening while Adam's game is under development.[/font]