[Suggestion] Multiple

[lahonda_99]

These suggestions range from super easy to difficult to implement, but all are made with efficiency and ease-of-use in mind. Web admin: please take my suggestions seriously, but, of course, the final say goes to your team. There are multiple variables that I may be ignorant of or have assumed wrongly. From the first time I viewed this site about a month ago I have been convinced that this is the comic database I am going to throw my time into.

The list made in one hour:

The "Home" link at the end of the top navigation bar can be removed as it is redundant with the comicbookdb.com logo linking to the same place.

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Change the "NEW! Mobile ComicBookDB.com" link in the navigation bar to "Mobile Access."

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Remove the "Blog" link in the navigation bar. It is not updated and should be fully replaced by the twitter page recently opened.

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The following dynamic lists are created on each page generated. Reduce SQL queries by removing them or placing them within the front page with the Last 15 Issues, TPBs/HCs, Issue Reviews and Favorite Creators lists so that they are only generated upon user request.

Code: Select all

Last 10 titles added
Last 10 creators added
Last 10 characters added

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The SQL query required to list any of the following lists is immense and stalls the server:
Missing Entries>(Missing Covers/Large Cover Images/All Creators/Characters)>All

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Firefox add-on:
To search a specific attribute, such as title, the drop-down box must be opened and title selected. The box does not keep the chosen attribute selected so if I have three titles to search for I must open the drop-down box three times to select title.

SQL queries are multiplied by making the default search "Entire Site" the server must search through multiple rows instead of just one.

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Links in the comic entry:

Place the "Add a batch of issues from this title to your collection" link directly under the top-left "My Collection" link in small font and renamed "Add a batch"

Place the "Add a batch of issues from this title to your wishlist" link directly under the top-left "My Wishlist" link in small font and renamed "Add a batch"

Place the "Add this title to your pull list" link directly under the top-left "My Pull List" link in small font and renamed "Add to Pull List"

OR BETTER YET: Instead of cluttering the top-left user pane with more words place small + symbols next to My Collection, My Wishlist and My Pull List each linking to adding batches of issues to collection, wishlist or pull list, respectively.

In the comic issue entry also move the two "Add this issue to your collection" and "Add this issue to your wishlist" links to the top-left user pane as + symbols.

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Issue variations and Cover Gallery:
Right now the cover gallery limits to displaying four columns only. Reduce the padding between cells and squeeze in a fifth row.

The issue number does not stand out enough. Bold it and replace the '#' with 'Issue '

Cover variants are not specified or discernible from each other. Add the variant information included in the issue index next to the issue number. For example, instead of '#1' and '#1' print bold 'Issue 1' and 'Issue 1 (Peterson cover)'. This would move the issue number from its centered position for cover variants so it also has a down-side, but variants would be easier to discern.

Variant issues are, mostly, identical to each other in every aspect other than cover. For each variant cover a new entry is made. This is a big waste. Consider having only one entry per issue and the cover variant images stacked in a vertical column where the cover is shown now. Removing variant entries will be a large coding change, but would significantly reduce the database size.

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Continuity:
Add a drop-down selection in the Problem Report specifically for adding continuity. This will help moderators wading through the heap of problems reported. I suggest an entry titled "This series is part of a continuity."

Add a paragraph in the Help>FAQ - Issues page for continuity.

Q: How do I add series continuity?
A: Click the "Report a problem regarding this title" link at the bottom of the series page and select "This series is part of a continuity" from the drop-down box. Required information is the linking series (Name/Year/Issue #).

Example: Issue #1 of this series is continued from (Phantom: Ghost Who Walks/1989/Issue #15).

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Change the current continuity notes format. It is confusing especially to new users.
It is currently:

Title Continuity:
Superman (1939) #423 continues to The Adventures of Superman (1987) #424
Superman (1939) #650 continues from The Adventures of Superman (1987) #649

Change it to one of the following with the current series being viewed in bold and all titles in the continuity listed, not just the immediately previous and following series:

Title Continuity:
Superman (1939) #1-423 > The Adventures of Superman (1987) #424-649 > Superman (1939) #650-ONGOING

Title Continuity:
Superman (1939) #1-423
The Adventures of Superman (1987) #424-649
Superman (1939) #650-ONGOING

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Create a simple if/else php script that will not display the "Multiple Stories in this Issue" table unless there have been stories added. Place the "Add a story to this issue" link to the Toolbox pane.

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Remove the "Suggest a podcast for this issue" link in the Toolbox pane and instead just create a forum thread for suggestions.

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In the comic issue entry page there are multiple links that can be replaced with simple + gifs or by making the section title the link itself. This is especially important when skimming the entry because the sentence "Add/remove story arcs to this issue" is usually longer than the actual title of the story arc listed below it.

Code: Select all

Add/remove story arcs to this issue
Add/remove characters to this issue
Add/remove groups to this issue
Add your review

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In the comic issue entry page place the credits (writer, penciller, inker, etcetera...) into its own div/table matching the css style of the ratings div/table and remove the carriage returns between the entries. So instead of:

Writer(s):
Marc Guggenheim

Penciller(s):
Yanick Paquette

You will show:

Writer(s):
Marc Guggenheim
Penciller(s):
Yanick Paquette

The bold title is distinct enough to separate the entries and vertical space will be saved. Between the new credits table and the far-right ratings/toolbox column create another div/table and move into it the publisher, cover price, cover date and format. This will save vertical space, making a more squat entry to prevent too much scrolling down.

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Most users realize that the "Search for '*' on eBay" link generates revenue, but it is too conspicuously placed in the middle of the page. Place it out of the way below the Reviews section. The ebay link is also automatically present in creators/publishers/story arcs and other entry pages where it does not belong.

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Place the "Prev Issue" and "Next Issue" links above the ratings box in the top-right or in the new middle div. Previous left-aligned and Next right-aligned, both also twice as big as they are now.

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Take the sentences from the Privacy Policy php and place it into the Terms and Conditions with an anchor. So that the new link at the bottom will be

Code: Select all

<a href="http://comicbookdb.com/terms.php#privacy>Privacy Policy</a>

This will remove an unneeded script from the server.

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The Other Comic-Related Media Movies and Video Games links are empty. Remove them or add an avenue for users to add entries. I suggest removal since imdb.com currently catalogs the same information.

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It is possible to make use of bold, italicized text and links in issue notes, add an entry in the FAQ page with the codes for reference.

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To combat spammers and rule breakers:
Add a link to report an issue as a rule breaker in the user profiles. The link should go to a form allowing an explanation. Once a report is filed it should be listed on the user profile with a thumbs up/down next to it so that other users can agree/disagree with the report. Moderators should the ability to rule and remove reports and to add warnings to accounts. Accounts with warnings have restrictions. Suggestions for restrictions include: can not edit titles, can not add new issues for specified amount of time.

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A hastily put together example of the page layout I recommend. Not included are the Synopsis, Groups, Characters and Reviews sections shown as links. A second cover is included to show how a variant cover would stack vertically instead of creating its own issue entry. Click for the full version.

[übernot]

lahonda_99: Wow, that is some great analysis! I have to say that I would be interested to see some of these changes make it to the application.

I would like to see the suggestions to increase the viewing space by creating menus out of some of the options. I think that could go a long way into increasing the visible appeal. Your sample layout is interesting. I like the variant cover view--maybe this could be done inside its own pane with a scroll if necessary for several covers. Maybe the Prev/Next buttons could go on the left/right of the Issue name up top, with the characters and groups under the Story Arcs in one column in the middle. I look forward to read what others think.

I would hope that the administrators have thought about reducing the database size by slimming down the storage for variants by only storing the necessary repeated fields. I have been doing a bit of work in the area of scanning variants that currently have no images and I have some thoughts on that front as well. I apologize if these topics have come up previously, but now seems like a good time to air them again.

1. I wish there was a standard naming convention or perhaps a textbox to type in a number for a printing (such as second, third, etc.). I understand that a simple numeric drop down won't work thanks to books like the "Umpteenth" printing of Kick Ass #1, but it would be nice to have this visible in a clean, standard way.

2. Along this thought, a standard naming convention for known styles of variants would also be helpful. Marvel has been putting out variants with a particular theme in the past few years (Zombie, Wolverine Art Appreciation, Decade, 70th Anniversary Frame, etc.).

3. Direct editions versus newsstand. I've seen some attempts by users to add these distinctions. Iron Man (1968) comes to mind. Perhaps there could be another field offered that the user checks to indicate whether they own the Direct edition or Newsstand when adding the issue to their collection. This will get a bit tricky with later reprints where the UPC box is either crossed out, blacked out, or replaced with another logo, but the main cover image has not changed. I know that we don't like seeing the "+" symbol next to issues where this is the only difference. It would be nice for users to be sure whether they have the direct edition or newsstand, and unless we want to save a separate image of the UPC/logo box for reference, I don't know how best to do this.

I'd have similar trouble for price variants.

4. There needs to be a way to assign an order to variants, or at the very least, make sure that the "regular" issue is always the first issue that is shown after you click on an issue number in the list of issues under a title, and clicking Prev on that Issue detail page would go to the (last variant of) the previous issue number. There are many times when clicking on an issue number that there will be variants both Previous and Next in the sequential list. I always find myself "sneaking up" on the issue I want by clicking on the previous issue number and clicking Next until I find the variant I want of the subsequent issue number.

5. Allow for larger images with wraparound, flipbook, or gatefold covers. I can appreciate the space limitations necessary to reduce the database size and to prevent users from taking advantage of saving larger files, but I'd really like to be able to save larger, better resolution images for issues that have more cover than just a standard front cover. Maybe flipbooks could have both a front and back cover saved separately? I still don't know how you could police the submission of wraparounds or gatefolds where the user honestly tries to provide the entire cover in one image.

6. At some point I hope to help with missing large images, so any way to reduce the size of this query while still being useful for those trying to help would be a good improvement.

I have entered some 17,000 comics into my collection since starting on this site a few months ago, and I can really appreciate what this site offers and how much work it must be to maintain and upgrade. Thanks for a great site, and I hope to see others comments on lahonda_99's suggestions.

[lahonda_99]

I don't want to clutter this thread with too many small posts, but übernot brought up something that has been bothering me. Currently images are following this format:

Thumbnails: Exactly 100px width
Large images: < 100KB

I've been uploading a lot of covers and have had to play with the width and JPG quality a LOT in order to keep large covers with a width of at least 750px and under 100KB.

The size standards make sense since web crawlers/spiders can rip all of the content and large images will equal massive bandwidth usage due to those rule breakers. However, even just a raise in the cap a measly 50KB would help us with keeping the covers good quality.

Flip-around covers are not supported well since their thumbnails must also be 100px width. I do not see a way around this since doubling the width requirement for flip-around covers would stretch the issue page a bit.

Let me be clear, in my original post I wrote a lot about reducing the SQL database size. That is because every query to the database takes CPU time, more queries equals slower page loads for everyone. However, increasing cover image size would not have a noticeable impact on page load since file transfer of a large image uses a lot less CPU time than SQL calculations. It would, though, increase bandwidth usage.

Thank you übernot for your excellent insights.

[Indy]

3. Direct editions versus newsstand. I've seen some attempts by users to add these distinctions. Iron Man (1968) comes to mind. Perhaps there could be another field offered that the user checks to indicate whether they own the Direct edition or Newsstand when adding the issue to their collection. This will get a bit tricky with later reprints where the UPC box is either crossed out, blacked out, or replaced with another logo, but the main cover image has not changed. I know that we don't like seeing the "+" symbol next to issues where this is the only difference. It would be nice for users to be sure whether they have the direct edition or newsstand, and unless we want to save a separate image of the UPC/logo box for reference, I don't know how best to do this.

I read the entire topic, and agree that much of it would be good, but I have no other comments on it, except for this one.

I am probably the reason for a lot of the Iron Man (1968) direct editions being added. Also in a few other series. When I accidentally buy a copy of one of those comics, and it happens to look slightly different (UPC vs small picture) I like to keep it out of my accidental doubles pile by considering it two different covers of the same issue. There are probably some inconsistencies between what I have named them because it usually happens only a few at a time and pretty far inbetween those times, so I can't remember what I did before. I'm not sure which should be considered the regular cover and which the variant anyways. Usually I leave whichever one is already there as the regular cover, and then add a variant of the opposite. So some have the newsstand as the regular and direct as the variant, and some are the opposite. There was even one Iron Man issue that had two different direct editions along with a newsstand edition, can't remember what I did for that one.

But yeah, I'd like to know what to do about those. I have probably put some UXM and F4 in their like that also.

[spid]

It is good that you took the time to detail your suggestions. It looks like you put some thought into those suggestions, and I am sure it came from a good place. The thing you have to consider is the programming "team" is one guy Chris. So there are some things that have been on the to do list, but they have to be prioritized. Of course Chris has to find free time in his own life to do them.

Here are a couple of things I noticed from your list.

1. The image quality/size link does not really seem to be that much of an issue. There are a couple of threads on the forum that detail how to get a quality image under 100kb fairly easily. I never have issue with the size limit.

2. Direct Edition Vs. Newstand: Right now there is $1.00 difference on some Newstand version of comics. So there maybe a reason to add the Newstand edition as a variant in some cases.

3. Suggest a podcast for this issue: I think this really adds some depth to each issue, and while it may not show up immediately it still is helpful to the site.

[Chris]

Wow, there are a lot of great ideas in here I've already implemented one (removing the 'All' link in Missing Reports pages, I'd thought I'd already gotten rid of all of those) and will definitely be going back to these suggestions as time permits.

Bear in mind that the priorities for development are:

1. Eliminating events which cause the database to hang.

2. Making improvements which reduce work for admins (as an example, I addressed roughly 400 problem reports this past weekend)

3. UI improvements - mainly I want to clean up some of the layout in which we have lots of random text links laying about. They should be turned into buttons or grouped together properly.

If anyone is interested in ways that they can pitch in to improve the site, we can always use more help writing content for the Help section.

[übernot]

Going back to special allowances for more-than-front covers:

With a determined cry of "Have at thee!" I challenged the gatefold cover to Thor #604. While I am reasonably pleased with my outcome given the size limitations on the image files, what a shame it is that this beautiful cover could not be uploaded with greater detail.

I agree with a post Chris had on this topic way before I ever showed up on this forum in regards to the thumbnail being a smaller copy of the larger cover image, I just hate the way this issue page looks. What if the page were rearranged somehow when the width of the image exceeds the height? Have the creators' names be placed underneath the larger stretched out "thumbnail".

Maybe the validation method is the width-to-height ratio? The greater this is, the more leeway available to image size uploads? Adding extra white space to the width would seem silly, and turning a book sideways to cheat wouldn't be much better, so maybe it could work.

OK, I'm done whining about this. At least, until I come across a foldout poster cover with 9 panels. Or maybe an origami cover that is meant to be three-dimensional. Yeah, see? Now what are we going to do?

[luckymustard]

3-dimensional holographic displays on our desks, instead of 2-d monitors?