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Frogger on 09 March 2016
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Machina said:
TruckOSaurus said:

The badge system works with a page I can access to hand out all the new badges. So it's not automatic, I've just launced that page so new badges will be handed out now.

SuperNova's only received one badge since the update - is something going wrong somewhere?

Spedfrom said:
As far as I see it, two things need to happen: Brett needs to teach Machina how to do HW mumbers and he needs to give Truck full access to the site. This way Truck would sort out all the database, site code and adjustment numbers bugs which would lead to Machina uploading his SW and HW numbers and updating them as necessary in a timely fashion.

In summary, Brett must recognise his diminished interest in this project and pass it on to the people that want to continue and improve it.

+111111111111111111111111111

spemanig said:

Several posts

Yes, ioi = Brett.

Regarding the front page (standard version of the site - for the mobile version I'm happy to let Trucks do what he thinks best and just offer suggestions once I see the plan), I fully agree that the main focus should be on articles and the numbers, but I disagree with you on the forum hot topics.

I think it's important to have those on the front page. We did, at one point, not have a dedicated forum section at the top of the front page and it really killed off activity in the forums. The community is one of the best things about VGC and removing hot topics from the front page would really harm it. I think you may be under-estimating the amount of people that do come to the forums via the front page, even those who don't actually post (or aren't even members).

Brett has few hard and fast rules for the front page - we can change it up as we like for the most part, which is how come we added the Latest Articles section below the sales quite recently - but there are a few:

- The designated ad spaces can't be moved.
- The sales section in the middle can't be altered.
- Forum hot topics must be prominently displayed.

I would add an extra one to that for myself - that written content must also be given prominence on the front page. This is an important one for me because I know the amount of time and effort that goes into that content and want the writers to be rewarded as much as possible for that both in terms of views their articles generate and the amount of comments and discussion that goes on in them.

And so once you accept all of those it becomes hard to see how the front page could actually be improved, but I'm definitely open to suggestions

The sales section in the middle can't be altered at all? Because that really makes it difficult to change anything. It's easy enough working around everything else in the layout, so that forums still get features prominently, but that really can't happen if the static numbers can't get relocated.

What I was thinking, given those restrictions, is to have everything split sort of the way it is now in "thirds," only have the left two thirds be one big IGN-like header. The header would fill up most of the page when first loaded, and have the first featured article, with the Global Hardware Sales next to it. Underneath those two would be the Weekly Software Charts, Weekly Hardware Chart, and Latest Chart Update all next to each other in a row and still part of that header.

Under that would be a spot for adds or something, and then just articles from most recent down. This way, the Forum Hot topics are still featured prominently, the sales numbers get the majority of the focus as soon as you load the page, and the First thing you're made to look at is a featured article, which entices you to scroll down to read the rest. So the first two thirds is one solid column of articles, and the right third is a second column for the forum hot topics. The big header at the top works to immediately inform you of the most recent sales numbers, as well as any featured articles.

All of which cannot happen if the sales stay in the middle. I think that's a worse flaw of the layout than the forums being represented, because at least the latter is movable.