AoPS2.0

by rrusczyk, Nov 18, 2008, 7:30 PM

We're thinking about (finally) rebuilding the site, both for cosmetic reasons and for increased functionality. A lot more tools have been developed for the internet since AoPS first started -- which of these should we integrate into our site? Are there new ideas out there that we should be considering?

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Having the "report a post" function so that users can directly report posts to mods?

Or giving mods the ability to [temporarily] ban other users?

Or perhaps a chatroom?

by n0vad3m0n, Nov 18, 2008, 9:02 PM

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This probably goes without saying, but go for functionality without overloading on java script and stuff you don't really need. A lot of "professional" sites, especially news, have this problem.

by MellowMelon, Nov 18, 2008, 10:17 PM

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Mellow-> can you give me some examples of what to avoid? And what functionality you'd like to see added...

Also, think BIG -- we're considering more than just tweaking the Forum here.

by rrusczyk, Nov 18, 2008, 10:53 PM

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How about changing the Terms of Service so that posting a paper on AoPS doesn't involve giving up any rights to it other than distribution from AoPS?

The only ToS I know of give AoPS the right to modify, distribute, republish, ... anything posted on AoPS. I understand why on the Forum, Wiki, and Classroom, but the gallery and the blogs and the resources? I don't understand why the same modification/republication applies there.

by solafidefarms, Nov 19, 2008, 3:07 PM

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I have no problem with your current version, it is fast enough. Just make sure, no matter what you do, do not sacrifice performance speed for fancy graphic features.

by shtsxc12, Nov 19, 2008, 5:38 PM

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A filter for blog shouts that detects if someone types the same thing repeatedly.

Yes, I know this has already been posted in the Suggestions forum, but I don't think it has been implemented yet.

by dysfunctionalequations, Nov 19, 2008, 10:59 PM

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I would love for there to be a "quick latex guide" i mean you can select little modular equations and fill them in with numbers or variables. Sorta like GeoGebra.

by Poincare, Nov 20, 2008, 1:25 AM

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I switched to the Mathlinks skin some time ago because it seemed faster and it seemed like there was more space devoted to the screen's principal content. (Actually, I just checked with one particular page, and it took about equally long on both sites. But the Mathlinks one seemed shorter. That's interesting. Maybe it was shorter in the past.)

I agree with requests not to make the site too cluttered. Some people still get to this site through slow internet connections, and through such connections the new post rating system alone makes the site take a while to load. On my internet connection, I think that this script multiplies the time it takes a page to load by at least about 3/2, and maybe as much as 3. Just now it took about 30 seconds to load a pretty typical forum page through my dialup connection. That's a while to be waiting. It's also a little annoying that while the script is loading, it prevents the page from scrolling, so I can't read very much of a forum page as it's loading. Some weak wireless connections I use also seem nearly as slow.

by Boy Soprano II, Nov 20, 2008, 4:27 AM

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What we're thinking is to make the site more highly customizable -- so those of you on slower internet connections can strip out anything that makes a page load slowly. (That said, we're expecting to make the base pages simpler, which should also help in this regard.)

by rrusczyk, Nov 20, 2008, 1:34 PM

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MellowMelon, I have already taken steps to ensure the Javascript doesn't alter the main content, and if we will use anything really big, it will be loaded via Ajax, so you won't "feel" it.

In plus all my new stuff is designed such that it degrades gracefully, i.e. works without javascript enabled, which is the way we will continue to do stuff.

by Valentin Vornicu, Nov 21, 2008, 7:23 AM

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I also prefer a site that is really fast over a site that looks cool. On the other hand, if the effects on the performance is not significant, then I'd rather have the cooler looking site. I am not a site-developer or anything, but I really like the look and feel of Silverlight (silverlight.net). From what I understand, its kinda like Flash. Incorporating Flash would also help make the website look more sleek, but from the examples I've seen, Silverlight looks better. Also, you can make a *lite* site for people with dial-up, or slow internet connections, that is very basic and without script...etc.

P.S.: I think that the "Forum" look of the site should be redone because frankly....not everything is a forum!

by modx07, Nov 22, 2008, 4:34 PM

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Agreed on not everything being a Forum. What else should we be doing?

by rrusczyk, Nov 22, 2008, 5:21 PM

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About the customizability for the purposes of speed... extend that to blogs, please...

Your blog is one of the slower ones for me. It takes a couple seconds to scroll from the top to the bottom.

Oh, also, can there be something that will allow a user to block him/herself out of AoPS for... say, 15 minutes? That would help a lot.

by leoxnlin, Nov 24, 2008, 12:54 AM

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Now why would we want to do that

by rrusczyk, Nov 24, 2008, 1:28 AM

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i've been working on a javascript latex-enabled chatroom that could be a good addition?

by chess64, Nov 24, 2008, 7:51 AM

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Interesting -- one of the ideas we've had is to give users the ability to create and implement their own applications. Would this be of interest?

by rrusczyk, Nov 25, 2008, 1:13 AM

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I think that's a great idea. Since many of the AoPSers in the forum are proficient with computer science, there may well be a complex collection of various applications if they are allowed. Users could share their apps with each other, and the apps could be games (not necessarily mathematical!), math lessons, or who knows what!

by MathAndKnowledge, Nov 25, 2008, 2:26 AM

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maybe put a thing up next to the b,i,u,quote,code ect stuff that automatically puts $\$[/dollar]\$[/dollar]$ around stuff. I know it sounds tupid, but sometimes i highlight something, look for that button, and i type