Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

So there's a separate thread for reporting bugs you come across, but I thought I'd add this here too for people to note things that they loved about the old site but don't see here, or stuff that could be improved in general, or forums we just gotta have, etc. etc.

Eagle Kingdom requests will be denied with impunity

(tho i mean, if ever there was a time to try..... no! stoppit narv)

Narv's todo list

- Contact via not-just-posts [Mentions + Discord or other non-plaza contacts is the solution I think we'll be sticking with for the time being]
- OG emoticons
- Edit button for mobile users
- Unread forum icon thingies
- Lower the point threshold for ranks, what was I thinking
- Sidebar for mobile users? [I think would be more intrusive than helpful, but I'll try to make the kingdom/ranks page more accessible via other means]
- Favicon
- Add custom BBCodes
- Mentions extension
- Moriels' Super Special Smilies
- More readable Mordor text

How about a Beagle Kingdom?

most I'd consider is a Milt Stegall Kingdom

I want my ENTS back....aka pleaseeee bring Fangorn back soon??

Icons on the forum index showing which subforums have new posts would be greatly appreciated if it's not too much hassle. :) The real OG Plaza didn't have forum index icons at all, but by the time I became active they'd started using these things...

...which I could swear had a variant showing when there were new posts, but that's beyond the Wayback Machine's ken.

Flame Fried Ent - that one is actually legit, Fangorn and KD got pretty snubbed I will admit. If a few other wannabe ents can make themselves known, I would consider that critical mass

Eldy - ye that would be helpful. Added to my list

So on the mobile version of this site, the left navigation tab is either inaccessible or really difficult to access. It's not a big deal right now, but is there a way to see that left navigation tab on the mobile version of the site?

Aig: I'd be down for Lothlorien and/or Mirkwood. I dabbled in both those areas primarily.

I should be able to GM one or two things if that helps. I've never held that particular role before, but now's as good a time as any to learn.

@FFE [edit: er, Rivvy Elf.. sorry]: Yes, that was a halfhearted attempt at making the rest of the site show up ok on mobile - when it's there, it kind of takes up the whole screen and you can't see anything except the siderbar :/. I'll try to find a better compromise though, as I know it makes the kingdom/rank switching stuff harder to access.

(If that is what you're after, you can click your name in the top corner, open the User Control Panel, then click the lil hamburger menu to see all the options, and THEN you should see change kingdom / rank -- but that's real tedious I know)

@Aig: Sorry for the rookie admin move, I know I told you to post here, but that actually looks like it's probably gonna warrant its own thread. I'm pretty sure I'm able to make polls, which would be the best way to gather the numbers you seek - would you be cool with me copying your post into a separate poll thread?

Does anyone know of the Knowledge Halls are archived anywhere? I recall those to be great fun and ridiculously hard at the same time. Not an urgent request or anything, just wondering if they might still exist.

LINK TO AIG'S POLL, IN POLL FORM: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=33&p=203#p203

@Dimcairien - I suspect not, sadly.. though it's possible the questions exist in some form on the WayBack Machine?

We could endeavour to write our own Knowledge Halls...

I think Knowledge Halls would be great addition and a greatw ay to earn points,

On Kingdoms, I do feel strongly that the kingdoms were great, Regions were not. Ut spread membership too thin. I think there was much better discussion, and certainly more activity, with just 9 simple kingdoms.

The good news for you Thorin is that I lack the technical ability to even recreate the region setup, so yes we will be sticking with Kingdoms, or at least one-level-deep forums.

The bad news is that the same might apply to the Knowledge Halls - at least, connecting them to the points system I'm using would be a real challenge. But if that's something someone wants to try and tackle (whether points are involved or not), those would be super cool to bring back.

Let me know if you need anything graphic designer-y. Don’t really think there’s much but delegation is key so burn out doesn’t occur and it’s what I can do.

Any way of contacting other members without making posts?

Winddancer wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 2:56 pm Any way of contacting other members without making posts?

Not yet but if you quote someone I think you get a notification. (did you?)

Winddancer wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 2:56 pm Any way of contacting other members without making posts?

Winddy, you (accidentally?) reported my post instead of quoting it it’s the “ sign you have to click not the warning triangle. I mean, it turns out you ALSO get a notification and log of the complaint when someone reports you, so I guess it works the same way... except moderators will also have to check it out. Hahaha

Narv wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 9:13 am The good news for you Thorin is that I lack the technical ability to even recreate the region setup, so yes we will be sticking with Kingdoms, or at least one-level-deep forums.

The bad news is that the same might apply to the Knowledge Halls - at least, connecting them to the points system I'm using would be a real challenge. But if that's something someone wants to try and tackle (whether points are involved or not), those would be super cool to bring back.

I think that is something we need. More coders. Has anyone tried contacting Faldras? He was always the coding guy, after Mo left that is.

Sil wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 3:51 pm

Winddancer wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 2:56 pm Any way of contacting other members without making posts?

Winddy, you (accidentally?) reported my post instead of quoting it it’s the “ sign you have to click not the warning triangle. I mean, it turns out you ALSO get a notification and log of the complaint when someone reports you, so I guess it works the same way... except moderators will also have to check it out. Hahaha

Haha! Sorry!

May I suggest a discord server? I can open one, of course, but I figured it should be someone in an official capacity that owns the server. Alternatively, I can create one and hand over ownership at a later stage if that's preferable.

Aduchil: I second a discord server, especially as a way to contact people.

Discord has become as big a part of my online life as MSN Messenger (RIP) was back in my Plaza heyday. Group chats were a huge part of the experience for me, so I would love to have a Plaza Discord server!

Omg Aduchil! :O

Btw, prolly a stupid question, but before I start rp'ing again, figured I would ask. Will this site be backed up often? Would hate to lose more loved RP's. Still absolutely devastated that we have no access to old threads ;(

I too favor a Discord server *g*

1) I'm looking at a method for posting on people's profiles as a way to contact people, I know that's kind of a weak spot right now. Might take a bit to sort out though.

2) I don't know much about Discord but I'd support that if someone wants to set it up!

3) Hi Winddy :) and not a stupid question at all - I will definitely be backing up the database regularly, but like I said I'm planning to move everything to a long term host before too long which will mean transferring the whole DB over. We have about 100x more activity than I was expecting honestly so that's suddenly become a slightly riskier endeavour - but I would say the chances of stuff actually getting lost is quite low. Might be some serious downtime while I take everything down and hook it up on the other side tho.

4) Web developers / tech people who feel up for learning how to wrangle a bunch of nasty CSS and PHP, you are in high demand in the Narv economy right now - let me know if you'd like to be involved.

Narv, I just want to take the opportunity and thank you IMMENSELY for bringing this back on spending the time to work on this site that has meant so much to thousands of people over the years. If even this site just lasts a brief period (which I'm hoping it will last much longer!) it's already brought me tremendous joy to see so many people I had such enriching relationships with during my formative years.

I set up a discord server for those willing to join. Just keeping it very basic for now to see if there's any interest. Link to join: https://discord.gg/65WHx5f

Aduchil wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 6:47 pm I set up a discord server for those willing to join. Just keeping it very basic for now to see if there's any interest. Link to join: https://discord.gg/65WHx5f

Awesome; just joined! :mrgreen:

Thanks Narv! <3

Can we have a kitten/foo Kingdom please :mrgreen:

In all seriousness though do we have an edit icon to edit posts at all that would be useful. Also wondering if there would be any old family trees floating around anywhere or if anyone has any saved to an old PC.

Rochindil wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 8:36 pm In all seriousness though do we have an edit icon to edit posts at all that would be useful. Also wondering if there would be any old family trees floating around anywhere or if anyone has any saved to an old PC.

Narv is looking into mobile edit button, there is one when using a comp :D

Rochindil wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 8:36 pm In all seriousness though do we have an edit icon to edit posts at all that would be useful. Also wondering if there would be any old family trees floating around anywhere or if anyone has any saved to an old PC.

You may be able to view the edit icon on mobile if you rotate your screen to view it in landscape. It’s a little pencil icon.

Dwarf here adding my name to KD requests. Not necessary but would love it. Thanks!

Winddancer wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 8:43 pm

Rochindil wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 8:36 pm In all seriousness though do we have an edit icon to edit posts at all that would be useful. Also wondering if there would be any old family trees floating around anywhere or if anyone has any saved to an old PC.

Narv is looking into mobile edit button, there is one when using a comp :D

Brilliant fingers crossed I rarely log into an actual computer these days but may try layer.

Sil wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 8:45 pm

Rochindil wrote: ↑Thu May 14, 2020 8:36 pm In all seriousness though do we have an edit icon to edit posts at all that would be useful. Also wondering if there would be any old family trees floating around anywhere or if anyone has any saved to an old PC.

You may be able to view the edit icon on mobile if you rotate your screen to view it in landscape. It’s a little pencil icon.

:o Thank you Sil worked like a charm :)

I’m still in touch with Faldras....dunno if he’d be willing, really busy in RL.

I still want Fangorn back, even if I’m alone.

Doubt Faldras has time, would think he would work on the original site if he finds free time

Humble request here too. Would love to see Fangorn back, though it might mean more on your to do list, Narv.
what the.... I am a greedy monster: give us back Isengard and the dwarven kingdom, too

I really like how y'all prevented simul posts by allowing users the chance to modify their posts if someone posted before :)

@Rivvy I had no idea that existed, it's just a builtin thing on this forum software. But agreed, it's pretty handy

@Nienna/FFE I think you will both be pleased with the way the wind appears to be blowing in Aig's poll, then viewtopic.php?f=8&t=33

@Eldy favicon would be a nice touch for sure, thanks for linking the image!

@Eldy That's a real good question and probably not one that will have a good answer until a legit admin team comes together and the general culture of the site becomes a little more apparent. So... yeah I'm gonna punt that to a later date. This is a good chance for others to give their opinions on that though.

fredegar it.

Edit: Well that answers that question, swears are auto-corrected :smiley8:

Okay, for the purposes of science (and to test my British swearing skills)...

fredegar
shire
twhit twoo
Bastard
baggins
duckhead
Minge
billferny
Asshole
Prick
Crap

I endorse a culture of jocular swearing.

After a brief discussion I think we're not overly concerned about swear words in memes or things of that nature. We have been putting the "worst" words in the website's swear filter (as kindly demonstrated above) because we do want everyone to feel welcome and not too offput by language. At the moment we are primarily concerned about everyone being friendly towards (or at least tolerating) one another and not specific word choices. I think common sense also applies. If you're going to say something that will be upsetting to the vast majority of people and doesn't really add value (like providing an important different perspective), we'd really rather you not. But at the moment there isn't a hard line.

It's possible that this policy could change depending on how it plays out. We want to be family-friendly but understand that everyone has a different definition of family-friendly.