Forum Updates in 2011!

[DoA Mod Squad]

The moderators are always looking for ways to improve the forum for you! We have number of improvements planned for early 2011 (and some that we have implemented already)!

This is a short summary only - more detailed information when these features are updated!

Ask the Moderators Subforum - Implemented!
We will be repurposing the Forum FAQs subforum to a one-on-one Q&A subforum. Only you and the moderators will be able to see your posts and threads within this subforum. By posting in this subforum, you will be guaranteed to have your post seen and responded to by an active moderator. We will be encouraging posting there rather than PMing an individual moderator.

Automatic PM on Moderation - Implemented!
The forum will send you an automatic PM whenever one of your posts or threads is deleted, closed, moved, or merged. In the case of deletions, the PM will contain a moderator's note giving the reason for deletion.

Newbieland - Implemented!
We will be beta-testing a new subforum where senior members will be able to assist new members with basic doll ownership and community-related questions. In addition, we will gradually add several "Getting Started" threads to help newbies learn the forum and answer common doll-buying questions.

Dealer Registration - Implemented!
In January, DoA will begin a dealer registration project that will require all dealers, distributors, and company reps to identify themselves on the forum. "Company Rep" will appear under the username and the company's feedback thread will be linked to the dealer's profile. This will also give the moderators alternatives for flagging shops that are involved in problematic business transactions.

There is no cost to dealers to register, though paid upgrades will be available in the future.

Marketplace-Swaps - Implemented!
Swaps will have their own subforum under the Marketplaces. Swaps are essentially trading transactions, so we hope to cut down on swaplifting by both creating access requirements and allowing Marketplace feedback.

Marketplace – Offsite Shopping
This new section of the marketplace will have two parts: "Offsite Artisans" and "Dealer Mall." Offsite Artisans will be for individual members who have off-site Etsy shops or artisan websites selling doll clothes or accessories. The Dealer Mall will be for companies, dealers, and distributors to promote their products, announce restocks, and interact with customers. The Dealer Mall is part of the planned Dealer Upgrade that will be offered after we have completed the first steps of the dealer registration project.

Workshop Changes
We will be reworking the Workshop subforums and making them a bigger part of the forum. Customization is a big, important part of the hobby and we want the forum to reflect that.

In addition, we have added information to the top of many subforums that gives basic description and links to relevant rules and helpers. It may seem a little bit "loud" right now, but within a few days it will just become part of the forum layout.

We will also be doing some housekeeping by rearranging some subforums and merging others.

We look forward to an awesome new year with everyone!

[lisadragon]

Wow, lots of exciting things to look forward to! I'm especially keen on the Workshop - there are things such as eye making, scenery making/setup that doesn't really fit anywhere.. I also love reading more on sewing projects and q&a's on sewing/wig making/patterns etc..

Thank you so much!

[Galileo]

Sounds exciting! Just a quick question, will the mods be creating all relevant 2011 threads? or can users create on their own if needed? eg. New doll 2011 under incoming dolls, 2011 company feedback threads, etc

[northern_raven]

We have blogs now? Will there be an announcement?

[pepperonipizza]

We have blogs now? Will there be an announcement?

I'm trying to figure out the blogs too. I haven't found anywhere discussing them, but I would like to know more about this feature.

[armeleia]

Blogs are a feature of vBulletin Suite that we are not currently utilizing. We may enable them in the future for specific purposes, but if so it won't be for awhile.

[russellbaby]

I heard that "The Joint" is now part of DOA. How do I access it?

[Praesagium]

I heard that "The Joint" is now part of DOA. How do I access it?

You'll need to register a separate account to access The Joint.

[pepperonipizza]

Blogs are a feature of vBulletin Suite that we are not currently utilizing. We may enable them in the future for specific purposes, but if so it won't be for awhile.

Thanks for explaining that to me. I understand better now.

[armeleia]

Russelbaby, the Joint is hosted on DoA's server but isn't otherwise affiliated with DoA. More information is here:
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/sh...osts-The-Joint

[hobbywhelmed]

I notice there's been another subtle change in the forum functioning - new style for the reply boxes, for example. Noticed the big thing (for me anyway) in that when replying to a PM, the previous text is by default added as a quote in the reply box! Was a pet peeve of mine that too many people you were engaged in transactions with weren't recaping the needed info when replying, since there were two reply buttons and they rarely used the one that included the previous text. Yay for this change!

I also noticed (while typing this) that a little yellow "Auto-Saved" rectangle comes up periodically and then disappears. Does that mean that if there's an outage of some kind, this text will reappear if you return to this page, or is it for if you go back to check something and return to this page? I'm not sure why it's showing up!

[AirimirOfGondor]

I think automatically quoting the previous message will take some getting used to for me.
I keep messages until whatever they are concerning (a transaction, commission, query about something, anything) until everything it involves isn't needed anymore. I generally don't ever quote the PMs I get.
At the moment, I find it kind of annoying that there's automatically a quote. I guess I'll get used to it, but at the moment, I don't think it's necessary.

[Enki]

-- Has posted question elsewhere --