Topic of the Month - February: Where Is Everyone?

[homegirl]

Inspired by a recent post from one of our members, February's Topic of the Month asks: Where is Everyone?

Some of us have noticed that there has been a slight decline in recent activity here at Zpeakerbox. Have academic commitments taken over? Has the complexity of the new ZB layout scared members away? Or is it something else? Tell us what you think and don't forget to take part in the corresponding poll!

Homegirl writes:

"I feel that we have reduced surfing on zpeakerbox...
personally i feel that i have stopped comin on zpeakerbox because it has become too complicated for me....
ever since we did the upgrade to the site i noticed that i dont come on often as often..

what is your reason?
if you dont come on here as often as before.....why is it?"

[narius]

Oh this shall be interesting.

[mack]

the honest truth is that the layout of this website totally sux- and narius i hope you are open to constructive critisism- i really miss my yellow theme----- i think the themes represented individuality where ppl were allowed to modify the look of zb to their own tastes- i personally dont like the blue colour and the difficult layout. but cheers on the site! you have done more for parsi youth than u know!

[shahvir]

bring back sunset!
bringgggggg itttt baacccck!
i just can't post the way i used to without that cheery yellow theme. :(

[shirin]

i personally feed off other people, if they are on . . . i feel like coming on . . .and since things have really quieted down i feel like no one's around to really participate in the forums . . . to be honest, i never participated that much in the first place, but enjoyed reading the posts. . . also, i wasn't that familiar with the old site . . . but this new one isn't THAT complicated, is it?

anyhow, school takes up too much time, crazy profs giving us WAY too much work . . . the joys of grad school.

happy v-day everybody,

shirin

[faramerz]

Not that i came much or contributed much before .. a few reasons i dont come as often as i did..
no1 is online when i am ..
the number of forums / topics have reduced.. most of them dont even apply to any1 outside canada.
which brings me to my next point .. i think zpbox needs more participating ppl from india / pakistan & other areas.

im sure a lot of effort has gone into building this site .. i dont see anything wrong with the new look .. i think it looks professional (for those of us using it at work) ..
i think all it needs a little more promotion ..

[shahvir]

go promote it them framerz, tell all your friends and tell them to sign on. :)
that's what i did.

[Jimmy]

I think its a chain reaction.. new looks drove a lot of people away, and the people who it didnt drive away got driven away by the people who drove away, since they were away.

Get it?


I do think that facebook is sucking people in too but im not one to forget about my roots on zb :) Also the lack of smileys lol

[Jimmy]

what an awesome 700th post :)

[homegirl]

I think its a chain reaction.. new looks drove a lot of people away, and the people who it didnt drive away got driven away by the people who drove away, since they were away.

Get it?


I do think that facebook is sucking people in too but im not one to forget about my roots on zb :) Also the lack of smileys lol

yeah i hear you! it makes sense!!
and i miss the drama!!! i want all that back and the smileys!!!

[mack]

i think ppl are tired of the bs drama on here- hence i dont like coming on that much.
yeah i hear you! it makes sense!!
and i miss the drama!!! i want all that back and the smileys!!!

[faramerz]

go promote it them framerz, tell all your friends and tell them to sign on. :)
that's what i did.
so did they sing on ? :)
whatd they think after signing on .. ?

[Roopkirani]

i think ppl are tired of the bs drama on here- hence i dont like coming on that much.

What drama? There hasn't been a peep for months!

[Roopkirani]

You know, Facebook has the exact same colours as Zpeakerbox. I don't hear anyone complaining about how dull Facebook is.

[mack]

everybody moved to crappy facebook :P

What drama? There hasn't been a peep for months!

[ana]

You know, Facebook has the exact same colours as Zpeakerbox. I don't hear anyone complaining about how dull Facebook is.


I echo that.

[Jimmy]

I think Zpeaker box is getting its groove back :) ...I think it was because of that serious discussion topic. Aint nothing like a little masala to get the place hoppin!

[Jimmy]

I tried recruiting people from FB here to ZB. but coming from me that probably did more hurt than good :P

[sanaya83]

Personally I feel to some extent I don't/didn't have the initiative to start a new thread or discussion and no one had put up anything interesting..Most of the ZB people I'm close to I already can chat with on msn or google talk so there wasnt much need to log on to the site...And yeah with work it was just a couple of minutes online..

I do miss the sunset theme..This one isnt all that user friendly but you can make your way around

[mack]

Listen to the people narius- thats 3 including me wanting the sunset theme back;)

[SiaDawg]

I think everyone's been super busy with their life and everyone's looking for an excuse to justify their reason for not coming on Zpeakerbox.

First of all, I believe Sunset theme was for the old phpNuke site that had a lot of problem and was being hacked all the time. Remember when the site used to go down for a week or so. That's why Narius decided to purchase this site from his own money so that it's more secure. I believe, that theme from the other site, just can't be transferred over to this site. they're different codes. There might be other themes available for this site, BUT hacking always starts with other themes. This site is pretty secure now, but other themes that regular people write for these sites aren't secure. And that's how sites get hacked. A lot of bulletin sites like these to be safe, only use the original theme.

Secondly, if your problem really is the fact that the site is hard to use, you haven't given it a chance. It's a known fact that people get used to something and they resist change. I've been taught that over and over in my computer classes. If Shahvir, and Mack say they like the sunset theme, that's fine. but that doesn't stop them from coming to this site. This site once you get used to it, if you keep coming on it a few times, you realize that it's not all that bad. you can still do a lot on it. It's not really that hard to use. but obviously it'll take a few tries to get used to it.

I personally haven't been on this site for the last 2 weeks, cuz I've been way too busy at work and with the classes I'm taking. I think everyone else has a different reason for not coming on here as much as they used to. And that reason is not the new site. Maybe it's the other ppl, or the comments and so on.


Ok, I just got back from my class and it's 10:30pm, so half of the stuff I just said might not make any sense. But I hope you all get what I'm trying to say. And I didn't mean to offend anyone if I did that. Plus I only read the first half of the replies to this topic, perhaps I missed something.

Take care all,
the one and only real Dawg on this site :)

[Jimmy]

I agree the looks and feel of a site shouldnt deterr usage that much most of the functionality is the same. I think people are afraid of change or dont want to be botherd with learning something new. As SD said if you give it a shot, its really not that bad.

[narius]

*standing ovation for Siavash* ;)

Siavash, pretty much hit it on the nail, but I might as well say it myself.

I loved Sunset also, among other themes. I loved the old site also. However, it was not secure at all. Not even close to being a secure site. It got hacked all the time, and therefore I was spending more time trying to keep it up, than anything else.

So I figured, I might as well shell out for a proper, and robust website system. This is the best choice. With the old website, making and changing themes, was a sinch. Simply change one file, and you're all set. With this website, it's so complex in that they have 100 page manuals on how to do it. I certainly don't have the time to sit down and read 100 pages, and THEN tinker around with the website, just to change the colors a bit.

Sure I can buy the themes, but if I buy it, I don't know how secure it is, nor will it ever be exactly how I wanted it. And you know what? Even if we did get Sunset back, miraculously, that still wouldn't be enough! Then I'd get complaints that it's too bright. I got the SAME complaints when we had the other site, so I don't see the point, cause in the end it'll never be perfect to a big group of people. There's always going to be something to say.

This site is not hard to use. It's easier to use in my opinion. It's got a lot more features, yes, but it's the same design and structure as the old website. I made it a point to not change around ZB TOO much with the new update. I bought extra software so that it would function as much like the old ZB as the new one. What are the differences? And don't say colours!

If colours are your big problem, then I don't know. Cause as already pointed out, Facebook has the EXACT same colour scheme, but no one has a problem there. This colour scheme is perfect in my eyes, in that it's neutral. It's not completely black and white (although that's my preference) and yet it's not outlandishly bright or too high contrast. It can be viewed at school or work without raising too much concern (it blends nicely with all the other vbulletin sites using default skins) but yet it still has it's unique touch.

I can understand that people don't come on the site because they are busy, or have other things to do. Trust me, I understand that. But don't take it out on me or how the site is, cause we've all spent a lot of time trying to suit it to your needs, but there is a limit to what we can do.

[Jimmy]

Narius,

Since I hail from a technical background I know how time intensive it is to adminsiter and keep up a website. Narius what you and the others have built is great. You guys do an outstanding job and I dont think people realize it as often as they should but ZB is here due to all of your hard work, time, and money. Dont mind peoples whineing, they will get used to it :) Change comes eventually people, you arent all still using DOS or Win 3.1 are you? (ok half of you probably dont remember/ arent as big of a dork as me to get that but still..)

I still honestly think that if the people who didnt care about the color started posting more (i have been trying) that the people who do care about the color would come back and get used to it eventually.

Lastly im DYEING to know who the hell was hacking ZB? and what were their motives for doing so? Either way i agree with narius the site has got to be secure, otherwise its no fun for everyone.

[narius]

Narius,

Since I hail from a technical background I know how time intensive it is to adminsiter and keep up a website. Narius what you and the others have built is great. You guys do an outstanding job and I dont think people realize it as often as they should but ZB is here due to all of your hard work, time, and money. Dont mind peoples whineing, they will get used to it :) Change comes eventually people, you arent all still using DOS or Win 3.1 are you? (ok half of you probably dont remember/ arent as big of a dork as me to get that but still..)


Yes, I noticed that Compsci degree. Kudos!


I still honestly think that if the people who didnt care about the color started posting more (i have been trying) that the people who do care about the color would come back and get used to it eventually.


I just don't see that as a valid excuse. I just don't see how the colour of a website could cause someone to stop going to it. Especially since it's not a high contrast, or annoying colour scheme. It's such a neutral thing, aimed at being pleasing to the eyes. I dunno, if someone is saying that they don't come to the website anymore because of the colour, I don't think they're coming to the site for the right reasons.


Lastly im DYEING to know who the hell was hacking ZB? and what were their motives for doing so? Either way i agree with narius the site has got to be secure, otherwise its no fun for everyone.

A lot of it was random scripts. PhpNuke had a lot of known and widely publicized holes in it's core. People would create a script, that would troll the internet looking for vulnerable websites. Once your site was attacked, it's added to a database, and constantly attacked from there on. That was most likely what occured during the last bit. It was the biggest reason why I moved on to this site.

My choices were slim. It was either upgrade the website, losing all the customizations I had made in the years before, pretty much starting clean. OR I could invest in a more secure content management system, like vBulletin, and put the same effort in restoring as much as I could from the old website onto vBulletin. Porting over stuff is a pain in the ass, but it went relatively well I must say.

Oh, and yes, Siavash did hack the site I believe. But that was more to prove a point, than malicious reasons. Atleast, I think so. ;)

[Jimmy]

Actually it was a compeng degree so it was the worst of the cs and ee worlds :P .. but anyway...

Honestly I think people are complaining about the color to be funny.

You are right, if you left it the old way people would have left because the site would have been down all the time from hacks. So of course you did the right thing.

ZB has a lot of features that FB doesnt and I think people will realize that in time. Every site has their up and down trends, no biggie.

[Parizad]

okay so there are valid concerns and counter-points made about colour.

what are some other reasons for the lack of participation on the website? our numbers keep going up but there has to be something more.

actually I would like to hear from all of our previously regular members about this issue. if you wish to express your opinion privately, you can submit the feedback to us on our contact page: http://www.zpeakerbox.narius.net/vb/sendmessage.php I believe you don't have to even put your real name or email address in (correct me if I'm wrong, Narius?)

we want to improve the quality of this website. any and all concerns or criticisms are welcome.

[shahvir]

so no sunset?
and once again narius, thanks.

[Rox]

Listen to the people narius- thats 3 including me wanting the sunset theme back;)

What's the sunset theme? Where have I been? Technology is weird.

[Rox]

I don't get all this colour concern. I'm the most non tech. person ever (just ask Shahvir and Parizad), and even I don't really feel like colour has been an issue. That even sounds weird to be saying (errr, typing) it out loud.

People being busy? Sure. In spurts. I wouldn't attribute the quiet participation solely to that reason, though.

In the beginning, I admit, it was an adjustment to understand how to use the site. But now, pshaw. Piece of cake. Granted, I probably don't use all the features available, but I have my normal "click, click..." routine to keep updated quite frequently (daily, actually...my frequency has not changed).

Not sure why the actual 'discussion' has declined. See, I wasn't much of a new thread poster anyway. I was more of a 'reply to thread' poster. I still do that when it calls for it. I think we should all just simply post up any and everything that looks interesting, questioning, curious, important, funny, unusual, etc., etc. A site is only as good as its participants (and steadfast admins. Thanks to you guys, especially). Knowing our group, we're bound to find debate in one of them.

[SiaDawg]

Personally, other than being busy with work, I don't go on the site anymore because there aren't that many new pictures posted on there. I never really was all into thr forums section, so I still don't care about that section much. Everyday, I check to see if there are any new pics up, and when I see there's nothing on, I don't even bother signing in and I leave it till the next day. so I guess what I'm trying to say is POST your pictures on the site and people like me will come and visit more often.

I posted pictures of my birthday 6 months ago. with 28 uploaded pictures, I'm still #1 in the list. before people used to have a lot more pictures, didn't they?

Also, I don't mean any disrespect, but the last few pictures uploaded are all from people I don't know. so I don't go on the site to see the pics or comment on them. We need more pictures posted from vancouver people, and I promise everyone from vancouver is gonna come online to check them out. where are bday pics from Havovie's, Mehernaz's, Farhad's and so on?

[Parizad]

yeah but this site isn't about people in Vancouver only Siavash...

[narius]

Yea, it's about Nova Scotian's too.

[shahvir]

umm torontonians?

[Roopkirani]

For what it is worth, I'm glad to see that:

I do come on often...therefore this does not apply to me!

is the leading response in the poll!

[Roopkirani]

What's the sunset theme?

Rox, the sunset theme was the name that was given to one of the older themes that had bright orange and yellow colours. It was the default theme for a while until we decided to change the look of Zpeakerbox. Members still had the option of customizing their account so that it used Sunset all of the time, though.

[SiaDawg]

yeah but this site isn't about people in Vancouver only Siavash...

I didn't say it is. I said PERSONALLY, I don't come on, because there are not many pictures posted by Vancouverites. Other than that, I barely know a few peopl from TO, Ottawa, End Of Canada (NS) and most importantly Boston :D. So when there are pics from the peopl I know, then I come on.

And as much as this site isn't about people from Vancouver, but I'd say more than half of the members are from Vancouver and if there are more pictures from people from Vancouver, then we will see a lot of people signing on to check out the pics.

[SiaDawg]

For what it is worth, I'm glad to see that:

I do come on often...therefore this does not apply to me!

is the leading response in the poll!


that's right, because the people who read this and reply to it are the ones that have no problems with the site and come online often :D

The members we've lost aren't here to vote in the poll

[Roopkirani]

And as much as this site isn't about people from Vancouver, but I'd say more than half of the members are from Vancouver and if there are more pictures from people from Vancouver, then we will see a lot of people signing on to check out the pics.

Well, then, you better get crackin' and post some pictures!

[Jimmy]

PS if you are looking for the shout box is on the bottom! :)

[Jennifer]

just bring the old zb back, i dont like the way the forum is, the gallery is....

[Roopkirani]

OMG. Someone please do something before the vein in my head pops.

[Parizad]

where's the pin? I'll pop it myself

[shahvir]

wow sharon sounds like she has some real anger management issues she has to deal with.

[Jimmy]

one thing that i just thought of today, though i dont remember the time line exactly .. i remember ZB being down fror about a month+ Did our number of posts/hits diminish after that? Do you guys thing that had anything to do wtih it? I think perhaps people found facebook or other things or got really busy and replaced ZB time with something else and never came back. I really think it doesnt have to do with the colors at all just a shift in peoples schedulles/interests maybe?

[zubinmistry]

one thing that i just thought of today, though i dont remember the time line exactly .. i remember ZB being down fror about a month+ Did our number of posts/hits diminish after that? Do you guys thing that had anything to do wtih it? I think perhaps people found facebook or other things or got really busy and replaced ZB time with something else and never came back. I really think it doesnt have to do with the colors at all just a shift in peoples schedulles/interests maybe?


Jimmy You are Spot ON!

Seems we will have to continue with the Feb-topic Of The Month. No improvements yet.

Let me repeat: Where is Everyone?

[Jimmy]

Narius, go into all the previous members computers and automatically redirect their browsers to ZB no matter what they type in. or better yet, filter out all web content except zb lol that will teach them :P

[Parizad]

hahaha yeah as if narius doesn't have other important things to do

[faredoon]

Folks, don't worry, here's the old one:
http://web.archive.org/web/20041022054233/www.zpeakerbox.narius.net/nuke/

See it and weep.

:)

[Roopkirani]

Wow!

[zoroangel]

Folks, don't worry, here's the old one:
http://web.archive.org/web/20041022054233/www.zpeakerbox.narius.net/nuke/

See it and weep.

:)

Definately, brought back old memories. Yes, now I really do miss the sunset theme.....and the old ZB........

[Jimmy]

hey we can all just log in there and use that! hahaha too bad your precious sunset goes away as soon as you click on anything lol

[Smiley]

This one is old now. :)

[Roopkirani]

Sure, Shiraz. Suggest some ideas.

[Smiley]

Sure, Shiraz. Suggest some ideas.

Topic of the Month - The Zoroastrian Youth of today have it easier than 20 years ago.

[Jimmy]

Since everyone complained about the format, now that facebook changed theirs i expect to see everyone back to ZB.. :D

[metallicat]

facebook made theirs better, not worse :P

[Jimmy]

I have to disagree with you on that one... its not intuative at all. everything is scattered whereas before it was consolidated.

[Roopkirani]

Facebook it is a little scattered, but not difficult to get used to. Just as Zpeakerbox may seem complicated, it isn't difficult to get used to.

We just need a little bit of controversy, harmless taunting (say, in a Hockey thread for instance) and some dedicated users, and we'll be back on track :)

[narius]

Meh, I happen to like the new Facebook. But that's just me. ;)

[Jamsheer]

Meh, I happen to like the new Facebook. But that's just me. ;)


Not just you, mate, I like it too! But then I like the new ZBox too, as opposed to evidently quite a lot of other people who no longer appear here, so what do I know?

[Jimmy]

dammnit people why do you have to be so agreeable ...i was trying to start a ruccus. lol

[metallicat]

We just need a little bit of controversy, harmless taunting (say, in a Hockey thread for instance) and some dedicated users, and we'll be back on track :)

well you know im always up for that, too bad it doesnt usually work out. Plus, what are gonna say to leafs fans who have already been golfing for a week :P

[Roopkirani]

Note: All previous hockey discussion has been transferred to the Diet (Light) Discussion forum in a separate thread.