Ok guys. I've given thought to all of your points, and here are my ideas on a few of those. Please keep the suggestions rolling in, and any feedback on my ideas is welcome.
hugosilva wrote:
Competitions
*Are there too many or too few?
comps are good, i do feel there should be more well structured battles , like themed battles (like a single battle, not rounds)
So you think we should have more competitions that are like the ASC themes/bases, but are individual competitions (and not a multi-round competition)?
I quite like this idea, and will elaborate more on it further down...
hugosilva wrote:
*Would you like to see Flash Comps return?
i like flash comps, iet the like method winner selection is a no no for me, and we all know why, those likes not allways represent what chop is best, its just an ammount defined by how many people seen the pictures, some artist have a lot of likes on theyr pages, so it would be a matter of sharing the photo, and comp won, flash comps on a defined juri (like asc bpc) would be perfect and fun.
Yes, there is definitely an issue with the way the voting happens. There were three main reasons why we chose to do voting via Facebook likes and not forum member voting...
1. The results can be published very soon after the deadline (as likes gather much faster than votes). This means there is a very fast turn around between the submitting of a chop and the release of the results (which is appropriate for a "flash" comp).
2. Getting people to vote by liking = more likes = more people seeing Autemo's content. It's a good way of spreading what Autemo does publicly (and allowing people to see the work we do in real time)
3. By allowing the general public to vote, it really allows our fans to interact with Autemo. It distinguishes Autemo from other car pages that only seem to fish for likes on photos (StanceNation, 7tune, etc.).
Obviously when someone shares their own image and gets their friends to like it (or their fans on their own page to like it) that's unfair to those who have fewer friends/followers or to those who don't want to look like needy annoying Facebook users to their friends.
So although I don't want to lose the benefits that using Facebook for voting has, I understand the issue you have with it.
Here's my suggestion: We have two winner categories. One could be the "Public favourite" and the other the "Judges' Favourite". Voting for the Judges' Favourite could be done in the Autemo forums and last only 24 hours - all members allowed to vote - and voting for the "Public Favourite" is simply the most liked picture in 24 hours on Facebook (as per usual).
hugosilva wrote:
*Site Updates
*What other features would you like to see on the forum?
uhhhmmmm, at the end of the day i think the most simple the forum is the better, we dont wan distractions to the main meaning of the forum (viewing chops, and commenting) the chat is good tough, in my oppinion the best add to the forum would be the Ezines, and i was thinking on a front page with the week picks, or chops of the week, this will make members more active trying to get in that page more often. i seen this ages ago on
dpstudio.net, and on monstermonster i think, the older choppers on here might remember
Good ideas here. I'm thinking I could get Mark to modify the chop reel to be a showcase of the best chops of the week in each forum. All that would be needed is a little label above each image telling which chop is from which forum. It shouldn't require much effort to code up and I think it would really help motivate the up and coming choppers in the lower level forums to give them something realistic to aim for.
Construct wrote:
Competitions
- Are the rounds too long or too short?
Rounds are neither too long or too short. I think requiring people to perform round after round is what's killing activity towards the end. This could either be solved by;
- making the competitions shorter,
- adding a balancing system (i.e. worst 2 scores of the competition are crossed off, this would also apply to rounds not entered), so people dont feel the competition is pointless after missing a round
- having multiple competitions run parallel to eachother with longer deadlines. i.e. 3 competitions running simultaneously; i.e. Competition1Round1 duration months 1-2, C2R1 months 2-3, C3R1 months 3-4, C1R2 4-5 and so on.
Excellent point. I do agree that it's the tournament style competitions that seem to be the issue (WTB, ASC, BPC) although it does effect the Autemo Champs to an extent.
Perhaps we need to scale down the ASC/BPC next year or get rid of it altogether. Although it's a good idea and I think if people really embraced it, it could be a really good competition, people simply don't have the time to commit to a competition of its length.
In line with what Hugo suggested before and what Zyko has as well, I'm thinking we could modify the Autemo Champs to somehow take on the intent of the ASC/BPC. You'll see what I mean, just let me explain...
Idea for Autemo Championships 2013 onwards:
- 12 rounds lasting exactly 1 month. Base released on the 1st day of the month and entries due on the last. Voting lasts for 2 weeks.
- There are two types of Rounds.
Simple, classical and easy chop bases (like this round of the Autemo Champs) and much more
Complex themes like those of this year's WTB & ASC.
- There are 6
Simple rounds, and 6
Complex rounds per year. These alternate each month (Rd 1: Simple, Rd 2: Complex, Rd 3: Simple, Rd 4: Complex, etc.).
- The winner of the Autemo Championships at the end of the year is the chopper with the highest average points tally for their best 6 rounds. These rounds can be either Simple or Complex, but the catch is that the winner must have competed in at least 3 Simple & 3 Complex rounds.
- There will be other prizes/awards (highest season points tally, highest average points per round, complex comp winner, simple comp winner, etc.) but the main prize will be as specified above.
I think this type of competition could be bit more enticing and interesting for all levels of choppers, as well as more transparent since people will know what to expect each round (rather than the base being pulled from a hat). It's basically the ASC & BPC rolled into one, without the tournament format. I think this format will also favour (and perhaps entice) people who enter the complex monthly competitions as these will likely be fewer competitors = more points up for grabs (if 10 people enter a complex week, last place gets the same number of points as 10th place in a simple week where 40 people enter).
Construct wrote:
Social Media
- Do you think we should be more active on Facebook?
This is going to come as a surprise from me, but yes. But I think it should be different activity. Autemo and chopping as a whole is incredibly dependent on the community. Feedback from their peers is often as important as the satisfaction choppers get from simply completing their work. Up to now the facebook page has been used as a chop reel, much like the one on top of this page. But when you display the goods on facebook, there's no longer a need for anyone to visit the forums. The strategy behind facebook should be "Hey guys, look at what we can do, wouldnt you like to visit the community, get some actual insight in the process and get involved?", funneling people towards the forums and generate some commitment.
Secondly just being out there just makes the Autemo facebook page one of too many. You need to be shameless, plug Autemo and 'tag' pictures or whatever you call it from news outlets, car events and whatnot. "Oh this tuner is looking to develop a kit for this GT-R? Look at how much more awesome we are at this."
Yep. This kinda relates to my strategy behind Flash Comps as explained above.
Some really good ideas here though. Will definitely take them on board.
Construct wrote:
Site Updates
- Does the thread voting system need to be reformed/removed?
Needs to go in its current form. I get that not everyone feels like commenting, especially if they end up repeating the feedback someone else already gave. Let them rate, but let them rate criteria such as originality, quality of work, presentation.
I like the idea of criteria and it's something I've thought about before. Letting people vote without commenting might actually work if it's done this way.
I also agree with other's suggestions about reducing the voting to out of 5, rather than 10. However I think a simple like/dislike button isn't enough to get a fair rating of a chop (especially if we only have 3-4 people voting in a thread).
Construct wrote:
- What other features would you like to see on the forum?
I have no idea whether this is even possible in the current architecture. I would like to be able to add/draw marks with notes attached directly on the chops. Much like a professor who grades your work in a Word document does this. Think derpbook copied this too for their tagging system.
Great suggestion. Facebook style click tagging of photos, then simply typing in the box what the errors are in that location would be a great addition. I think it would require a lot of effort from Mark though.
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