Folks

As you know we intend to improve things around here and also expand them.
Currently we are starting work on branding the forums, incorporating your comments we've already received, along with adding a web site.

I haven't done this as a poll as it would be very messy but I would like your comments over the next few days please.

Below is a suggested starting point for the web site.

Home page – introduction to the site and us
News – not sure if this will just be news about the site or / and pertinent news
How to - with relevant sub sections for linux etc
Reviews – with relevant sub sections.
Link (s ) to forums
Shop

Is this what you want ? If not say what would you like it to contain. Happy to take all comments but please lets be realistic and remember the content will need to be kept fresh.

Content will be sent to a central team in plain text / html format and they will upload to the site.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Don't forget the shop

Regarding the news part - if it's pertinent, (I assume you mean world news) would this link to the news forum, a bit like "the old place"? I'm slightly concerned that news just about the site might get stagnant once everything has been set up and there is not a lot more development.

Also don't forget the shop!

I can't wait to see the first x404 mugs. Can I Pre-Order?

Sounds like a cracking idea for me, I especially like the ideas of HOWTO's and reviews.

I guess news would be on a basis like the old place? Feeding into the forum after someone has submitted an article?

Yeah its the news section that is worrying me most. In the old place we had people producing news content well we don't to any great extent.

Links through to the news forum section make sense, my feeling is news about events developments etc that we are doing . Just a thought.

Perhaps a wiki style "how to" which allows users to post things, obviously with moderators approval.

Don't forget the shop. I know it's early days, but what methods of payment are anticipated?

Currently looking at that as a potential follow on from getting the site and the forums up and running and branded.

Yes shop has been added

That's how I envisioned the "How to" section mentioned above, and it seems perfectly feasible to combine that with our current db of users.

Edd

I should imagine it will be paypal tbh. It's much easier to set up.

Then and again, most methods will be investigated. (y)

Pardon me if I'm being dense but what is the shop for? Us to sell stuff or branded merchandise? (not keen on the branded stuff)

If it's the former:

Then surely that would be a "Classifieds: For Sale / Wanted" section - which once "open" would allow invited/post-count limit private entries - with no fixed monetary system being imposed, or in anyway touted/managed by the site.

If it's the latter:

Well then I'm guessing it's an admin-managed online gift shop - selling x404 stuff... which although doesn't appeal to me in the slightest*, I can see being a good thing. But good luck to those wanting to look after all that...


*although just incase, I think you should have something more than paypal - I don't know how much it costs to run with verisign, visa, mastercard etc... but that's real money. And I prefer real money.


EDIT Okay okay spot the interloper... I've just noted the classifieds!?! Woohoo!

The shop will sell branded tat. it's sole purpose is advertising & a contribution to running costs (although I reckon you all have to but 10 T-Shirts to even come close to a months hosting etc)

It will be an outsources solution not using paypal (but it may be an option)

What's the bandwidth at the moment?

Currently I get 30GB of bandwidth for £7.50pm

Not quite that simple I'm afraid. It's my server in my rack in a data centre with 24 hour monitoring & technicians on site.
I have to pay for the tech support, the cost to have the rack in the centre, the actual servers, the bandwidth & space and upgrades/software licences.
Add to that the potential server change and it's not cheap.
Shared hosting isn't reliable enough for me (as it only takes 1 person installing rubbish on the box to kill the site).