dane
Member
- Joined
- 3/12/02
- Messages
- 3,876
- Reaction score
- 465
Ok...I have been inspired to spend some time on the AHB site to try and make things better for you guys and to make the community grow (I even went over to ESB yesterday to pick up some ingredients for a new brew....the perfect thing to get back into things.)
Just an update on what is happening.
Atm I am testing a new chat system - at this stage I am heading for a web-based chat system that uses an IRC backend. For those that dont know IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a network design especially for chatting. You can use a specific IRC client (ie. Mirc) or you will be able to use the web-based chat system which 'tunnels' into the IRC network. Previous pure web-based chat systems have been to slow and I think this is really the best solution.
Please let me know if you have any other ideas regarding this or if you have seen a specific site that has a good FAST chat system that works well. I think a live style of chat system is better than a web-based message board system...again comments welcome.
Regarding the other sections on the forum.....the links section can be brought online pretty much straight away so I will get that added ASAP (I'm sure I have a backup of the lank web-links module so I will restore that and then verify links). Forum members who own brew shops are encourgaed to enter their details to promote their business. Regarding this I would also like to put together a list of current forum members who are retailers as I have some ideas that could benifit everyone
The gallery can also be put online pretty soon, however is it something that you guys think will be used or is needed? I know we did have it running previously but it wasn't really used. With the ability to be able to link as well as upload pics in threads I'mnot sure if there is a need for a specific gallery. Thoughts?
There has been a lot of talk about AHB Gear and Merchandise (thanks to Doc for bringing it up once more). I know this was talked about way back almost when the site started and I think now that we have a 400 or so strong member base it is time to get this organised. I have been getting some quotes and looking at some samples this week so stay tuned for that. ATM Polos & Hats are being looked into but I'm sure this will grow into beer glasses, bottle openers, beer runners, fridge magnets etc.
I will be working on a new front page layout. ATM if you go to http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com is just redirects you to the forums. I would like to have a front page - that will still list recent posts and current users online, PM's etc, but also like to have a recipe of the month and review section. Pr1me suggested getting some of our more knowledgable brewers to write some colums or reviews which I think is a great idea.
What ideas do you guys have, content wise, to include on the portal. I want it to be clean and simple but have interesting content. I know people mainly use the forums but it would be nice if everyone still went to the front page to check stuff out rather than going straight into the forums. Let me know your thoughts on the front page and the portal (it will be custom made so I am pretty flexable). Any comments from either a design/layout point of view or a content/information point of view. I have been getting a lot of feeback from members saying how much they enjoy the site and how knowledgable some of our members are so it would be nice to be able to make use of that.
Regarding the recipe DB, this is probably the biggest job to do and at this stage the most difficult (also the most sought after
). I'm a code hacker, rather than a programmer so this will be tough. I have come across some reciepe systems that I probably can customise but it would be great if it could interact with the forums/front page etc, so I am still looking into this.
I hope this puts everyone in the picture and I am looking forward on getting things going.
Stay tuned!!
Edit: Fixed spelling/wording etc
Just an update on what is happening.
Atm I am testing a new chat system - at this stage I am heading for a web-based chat system that uses an IRC backend. For those that dont know IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a network design especially for chatting. You can use a specific IRC client (ie. Mirc) or you will be able to use the web-based chat system which 'tunnels' into the IRC network. Previous pure web-based chat systems have been to slow and I think this is really the best solution.
Please let me know if you have any other ideas regarding this or if you have seen a specific site that has a good FAST chat system that works well. I think a live style of chat system is better than a web-based message board system...again comments welcome.
Regarding the other sections on the forum.....the links section can be brought online pretty much straight away so I will get that added ASAP (I'm sure I have a backup of the lank web-links module so I will restore that and then verify links). Forum members who own brew shops are encourgaed to enter their details to promote their business. Regarding this I would also like to put together a list of current forum members who are retailers as I have some ideas that could benifit everyone
The gallery can also be put online pretty soon, however is it something that you guys think will be used or is needed? I know we did have it running previously but it wasn't really used. With the ability to be able to link as well as upload pics in threads I'mnot sure if there is a need for a specific gallery. Thoughts?
There has been a lot of talk about AHB Gear and Merchandise (thanks to Doc for bringing it up once more). I know this was talked about way back almost when the site started and I think now that we have a 400 or so strong member base it is time to get this organised. I have been getting some quotes and looking at some samples this week so stay tuned for that. ATM Polos & Hats are being looked into but I'm sure this will grow into beer glasses, bottle openers, beer runners, fridge magnets etc.
I will be working on a new front page layout. ATM if you go to http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com is just redirects you to the forums. I would like to have a front page - that will still list recent posts and current users online, PM's etc, but also like to have a recipe of the month and review section. Pr1me suggested getting some of our more knowledgable brewers to write some colums or reviews which I think is a great idea.
What ideas do you guys have, content wise, to include on the portal. I want it to be clean and simple but have interesting content. I know people mainly use the forums but it would be nice if everyone still went to the front page to check stuff out rather than going straight into the forums. Let me know your thoughts on the front page and the portal (it will be custom made so I am pretty flexable). Any comments from either a design/layout point of view or a content/information point of view. I have been getting a lot of feeback from members saying how much they enjoy the site and how knowledgable some of our members are so it would be nice to be able to make use of that.
Regarding the recipe DB, this is probably the biggest job to do and at this stage the most difficult (also the most sought after
I hope this puts everyone in the picture and I am looking forward on getting things going.
Stay tuned!!
Edit: Fixed spelling/wording etc