I've created this particular thread to get some input from our members on what road BetaArchive should take in the future. Obviously a lot of members has different ideas so let's hear them. Of course not all ideas will be accepted or even considered, but that's not the point, the point is simply to get all your ideas in the open, Perhaps you'll stumble into something interesting that may the rest of us think about it in new ways.

I'll keep this thread open and visible as long as there's no flaming, insults or arguments, everyone is entitled to a proper opinion. We don't want to know about what went wrong in the past, we're only interested in what we can do right in the future. We don't want any advertising or anything of the sort here. So, think about it and give us some good ideas. I welcome a proper discussion here. It can be about rules, features, changes to the forum or anything that may improve your stay here as well as the well being of the community.

So let's hear it.

I feel that we should make use of stuff like the Wiki and Photo Gallery more. The site seems to be centered around the forum, however I never paid attention to the Wiki for the longest time because no one ever talked about it, even though there is stuff on it.

There are too many VIPs, and VIP members aren't really VIP anymore...but Andy had already said that the admins are working on a new system...sooo...

Anyway...the wiki is dead, what I think we need is more contributors, but there isn't really enough interest in the wiki as far as I can see....

Absolutely agreed 100%. Perhaps there should be some way to give specific members access to editing the Photo Gallery? Like a Photo Gallery Helper group that allows users (after being invited) to contribute to the photo gallery...I would REALLY like that, because I would gladly expand the Photo Gallery with Mac-related stuff

This is probably going to sound ridiculous and non-helpful to some of you, but I would like to see a new site theme. Maybe it's just me, but I really hate the blue. A bit darker, like black, or minimalist white.
Also, revive the Wiki. I just registered here, but I've been viewing this site for some time, and the Wiki needs help.

update the layout.... it looks dated by 2011 standards. but besides that A++ would post again keep at it merpjy! love you andy! 8D

I personally find the layout just fine. It's very modern, but we all have different opinions.

I wonder if we could have some update and upgrade in the image uploader. As we can see, it's not been updated since Dec 25th last year. So is it possible to update pictures members uploaded automatically?

oh multiple uploads maybe!

Don't we already have that?

could have just looked... but no

I suggest we start gearing towards some hands on ideas to encourage beta discussion instead of pointless waste. I would also like to see some standards in grammar among users, you know, basic punctuation etc. The whole 10/30/50/100 posts thing seems a bit of a bad idea to me to rate a new member. It just encourages them to spam (and a lot of us were/are guilty of that) pointless posts. Some sort of test should be implemented that tests them on the rules and definitely internet etiquette; Google/Bing/ThatJokeOfASearchEngineYahoo before you post, be sure to use the search.php function, etc. The amount of pointless topics even from advanced members and higher puts me off BetaArchive. I remember, I used to read this forum in '08 on a regular basis until I joined in late '09. Proper discussion, good old fashioned topical threads. From 2011ish, the magic I used to see in BetaArchive had disappeared. The conversation is nothing like it used to be. We can't force conversation, yes, but we can encourage it. As I said some sort of hands on ideas should be thought of.
A pet hate of mine are some of the people taking betas and "RTMing" them. They defeat the purpose of beta testing in my eyes. I have no problems with custom operating systems, so long as people have actually put effort in.
I agree with Patrick here, VIPs are no longer exclusive really. I think an invite only group would be better, where either a single VIP member can invite someone or a group poll can be made. There's also nothing to keep the VIP members happy apart from emotional roller-coaster threads and a sort-of private discussion with mainly intelligent people.
People asking silly questions when the answers can be found with a search engine, again pointless posts.
People that can't distinguish the differences between forum sections need to learn the differences, maybe better description can help here.
Maybe what we really need to do is a video similar to XDA's for noobs as soon as they join BA.
Also, I think the whole Admins VS SuperTools thing needs to stop. I remember a rather innocent SuperTools joke thread that was removed and I didn't see any need to in my eyes. It was not offending any active users whatsoever. Of course there have been a couple of questionable threads but still. Some people need to learn what a joke is.
^This is why I am not the active user I once was.

Hmm, I still love the site how it is, but personally it would be cool to have a new BA logo in the top left, not really a "improvement" but it would be nice to give it a shot c:

I realize it's a common source of donations for server upkeep, but I feel that the VIP status is cheapened by people who PAY for it. Every time I see someone with less than 100 posts and a blue name I die a little inside.

A great point this, that I forgot to mention myself. This gentleman should be congratulated for bringing this up.

It's a fast and easy way to keep the site up, it does require a lot of money you know. but yes I agree.

I too agree with a site layout/style change. There's nothing wrong with the current one, I just feel a new one would be more refreshing.

Yeah, a style change would be nice. I thinkwe should start preparing for BA v3though.

Hide post count;
Revise home page coding to only include forums posts related to Betas;

the only issues i have are with the wiki , currently its full of all builds any tom [censored] and harry mentions , personally i think it should be for builds that ba has in the ftp only

Here are some ideas:

1. Get BetaArchive a "beta blog". Admins can put there some info's of Windows, Mac and Linux betas.

Example:
- "Windows Longhorn Build 5098 exclusive leaked pics" was posted by Someguy2. Then an Admin saw the post then puts it on the blog but the words are fixed and stuff like that.

But we need blog admins.

2. Clean every bronies users by making a separate site for bronies beta collectors.

Example:
Bronies.BetaArchive.com

This way people won't get annoyed about them (like me).

But of course:
Same subject, same rules but with a different theme.

3. Get rid of inactive users:

Users (all even Moderators) who are inactive for 1 Quarter (3 Months) will be removed from the database

If you have complaints or complements, PM me.

I say no to brony beta collectors.

A Blog isn't a terrible idea. It could certainly work, though it'd be another system that'd need maintaining and integrating into the forum.

No to bronies. It's completely irrelevent to betas. It splits the forum and if we give one group their own section, how long will it be til other groups demand their own section? BA will just end up a group of entirely separate communities linked only by a common FTP.

BA does get a regular-ish cleanup of inactive users. I don't believe VIPs upwards have ever been cleaned, and that's probably for the best - it's a bit much to expect donators to then have to redonate just to get access again. 3 months is a pretty short time as well. There's plenty of legitimate reasons for inactivity over three months.

I agree with the blog. The thing is that for the public, BA has no other face than the community at this point.
Having a public "face" with moderated quality content would be really good.

There could also be feature/os/game specific articles or analysis on some certain aspects of development.
Personally I am always interested in the evolution of things.
Think about documenting the process of how start menu evolved in to what it is now instead of just throwing random builds and dates.
More about "At this point you had features X Y but Z was still heavily broken.. They quickly revamped X in just a few weeks but it took them three months to finally nail Y's final look and feel while Z was finally dropped a month later.".. Of course with interesting facts and not just listing quickly, you get the point

For games especially there is so much potential when comparing early alpha builds to later ones and figuring out what was changed. Unreal/HL2/Stalker/Duke3D/Doom are good candidates that quickly come in to mind.

Every article could also contain the discussion part and maybe even do something crazy like announcing the next article and people can submit what they know, would be a really cool way to collectively gather information on a specific thing, good way to include things that one might otherwise miss.
Preferably these things should be something that one can download trough the FTP and the article could contain quick guides on how to get it running.
Most importantly! Pictures and videos.

This would create topics that are specific to that, Now the Duke3D article would serve as a huge official resource on that matter, no more searching trough forums and goings trough dead threads to get what you need to get it running or not wanting to comment because afraid of necrobumping.

The frequency of articles doesn't have to be high, it could be padded with updates regarding the releases and other news.

Stricter rules, less non-beta stuff, more phpBB and ftpd mods.