Spring Cleaning Official Feedback Thread

[Leonal]

Could a site-wide announcement be put out about exactly what all was achieved over these two weeks? Maybe I'm slow, but there were so many proposals floating around that I don't know what all exactly got done.

Other than that, there isn't any way people could complain about the staff taking time to actually fix things in detail. The only thing I have that even resembles one is, "Why didn't this happen sooner?" and "Do it more often than once a year!"

[Mindset]

A wonderful idea, and a wonderful way to get Gaians involved. It's so neat to be part of a dev code-a-thon and help influence the priorities, even submit our own ideas. I loved the PM notification of updates, that was awesome.

I'm also incredibly happy that the Spring Cleaning got three bigger projects in gear: the fishing revamp, the new avatar shop/marketplace preview, and the revamp of the trade window. Those were things I've wanted to see updated forever, and I can't wait to see how they turn out. biggrin

[Clay West]

I think it's a well-organized, wonderful way to interact with the people and find great ways to improve Gaia.

It's much more organized than the SF and the Petitions forum, and the update PM is the best way ever to keep us all in touch.

I hope you continue using this method in the future.

[diet otaku]

i definitely think spring cleaning was a good idea, and i'm glad to see some major changes come out of it, like the trading system revamp and the preview options in shops and MP (even if those won't be fully implemented until later).

it does seem as though a majority of the changes that actually went through were minor and cosmetic, so i kind of feel like i won't really feel the impact of spring cleaning until those major projects are finished. i did think taking user proposals was a great idea as well.

[Asidian]

I just wanted to chime in with a quick note to say thank you so much for this. Whoever came up with this idea, it was amazing! Not only did you guys focus on things that needed work around the site, you put it to the users to see what we wanted given priority.

I'd love to see something like this again.

[zerosystemquatre]

Gaia, I just really want to say thank you for taking on the Spring Cleaning project. I think making it an annual event would really boost the morale of the Gaians - knowing that if things get buggy there's always Spring Cleaning instead of constantly harassing you and the forums not knowing when things will ever get fixed. heart

[Uriel Ledon]

Spring Cleaning is definitely something that should be done again. Gaians have at times felt like we can't get across our ideas, like nobody's listening. This was perfect for making us feel like we have a say. I mean there are petition forums and the Site Feedback forum, etc, but this was a step-up from that. Our decisions actually directly led to site changes.

A couple issues with it though:

1) It's pretty much the same problem with Chatterbox. I lot of people, if you look through the pages, have great ideas! The problem is people post threads so quickly that nobody ever sees it. Most people don't bother to look past the 3rd page! Something should be done so that people see ALL the proposed ideas. Maybe making subforums would help? Or even just the admins' promise to check each Thread?

2) I know Gaia tries to be fair so that even new people don't feel ostricized, but honestly, maybe they should just for this. A lot of new members just don't know the site well enough to make an educated decision on whether or not to change it. And in polls there's no way to check.

MY SUGGESTION:
Maybe you should put a cap on the Spring Cleaning polls so that only people on longer than I dunno 6 months can vote BUT they can still post in the forums. That way they can't just click a button and move on without knowing the topic.
Also, anyone posts in the threads has to put a reason why the feel the way they do, and can't just agree or disagree.

Or maybe you can only vote AFTER you post, regardless of how long you've been on Gaia. That way people have to post how they feel and can't just arbitrarilly say they agree or disagree just for the sake of agreeing or disagreeing.

[Uriel Ledon]

Sorry just one more thing sweatdrop
Again because of the over-abundance of threads created, and the washing away of a lot of threads, threads with the same exact petition were created again and again.

I think the mods should go through and delete all the duplicates, sending PMs to people saying a thread already exists for that purpose, and provide a link to that thread. That would cut the page numbers from like 30 to 5. Make it easier on yourselves too.


Anyway thank you for the time you spent and continue to spend making the site better for us. -Uriel

[The Argonian]

Loved the idea. And like others said, it really should happen again to tackle other problems that may have been missed the first time around.

I wasn't a huge fans of the PMs, though. But I'm also just not a huge fan of getting any PMs.

[Absol-Ruler of ChaosMule2]

it is nice to see so many long over due things getting fixed up

[Nitroglycerin201]

It was a great idea! People are always going to scream and beat their fists because they want something, and you guys managed to listen to the ideas and get some good input. It's really nice to hear you guys talking about the issues!

I also appreciated the updates in my PM inbox; I didn't have to look all over to find out what was new.

I was most excited about the update to Jigsaw, though, so sitting tight. :]

Thanks for your hard work, gaia team! <3 Really hoping you make this an annual event.

[Bardess Ookami]

I loved spring cleaning! I felt really involved and excited. The PMs were awesome too. I could almost feel things changing around me, and I really felt connected to everything. I would love to see this happen again, and I love most if not all of the changes that are going through. Way to go, Gaia. This idea was a winner!

Some one else mentioned that not everyone cares so much about the inner workings, and that this was a major boon to those who do, without bombarding those who don't. I am one who does. This was GREAT! Keep up the awesome work.

I spend about 90% of my waking time with my computer (or sidekick) logged into Gaia and near to hand. Thank you for continuing to make Gaia such a wonderful place for me to spend my attentions! mrgreen

[Miss-dark8607]

Leonal

Could a site-wide announcement be put out about exactly what all was achieved over these two weeks? Maybe I'm slow, but there were so many proposals floating around that I don't know what all exactly got done.

This! As well as:

Pros:

~I LOVED the idea that you guys actually took the time to study Site Feedback, GCD, and similar forums for this.

~ I LOVED that you set up each thread in such a way that was clear cut and straight to the point.

~ I LOVED getting updated via PM and that swanky header. That was an epic idea.

~ I LOVED how you move popular user created proposals into the main thread since the sub-forum moved so damn fast.

~Love seeing the level of communication between staff and users. Also the fact that you finally understand how much certain "abandoned/forgotten" freatures mean to the older and newer users alike.

Cons:

~ Although probably the fault of the some of the "not so sharp" users around here. I think you could have made it clearer what spring cleaning was all about. The question was often ask in nearly every thread I posted in at one point or another.

~ More site-wide announcements SHOULD have been made no matter if people had voted or posted in the forum before. I think you left out a lot of users by doing that. Even with the header.

~ The User based side was TOO much like Site Feedback combine with Chatterbox. We had similar threads, most were poorly made, and above all it just moved too fast for ANYONE to keep up. A general sticky asking what you missed probably would have been a better idea. So please consider that next time around.

~I still get the feeling you may have bitten off more than you can chew and I (as well as many others) will be deeply enraged; if some of those accepted proposals aren't completely within a year's time at the MOST.

[xKittyxKittyx]

I LOVE the whole Spring Cleaning project.I sincerely hope you guys do it again.I also liked the pms about the updates. 3nodding

[killermercenary]

Please for the love of all that is gaian. UNFREEZE ITEMS!! I don't use aquarium. I don't play it. I don't want to. I have fish that say they are worth 30k+ for aquariums. And I have nothing to do with them. It truly upsets me. Unfreeze them and keep them rare and hard to get so market value stays high and revenue is high from them! It'd be great for the gamers that are having such a difficult time getting them to just buy them from the people who happen to have them that don't want them! That way people can trade fish and rings and things like that they do not want anymore.

When I joined gaia far long ago, when I was only 14 years old now 20, back then it was all about trading, commerce, communication, enjoyment, and freedom.

You moderators are now putting very strict harnesses on us gaians and we cannot take the choking of it for too long. You're only driving gaians away from Gaiaonline!!

So please unfreeze items and let people trade and sell what they do not want!!! Thats part of what i LOVED on gaia!