Ideas to Improve VJ? Outside of the forums :).

[Captain Ewok 1,900]

Outside of the forums, I'd love to get some ideas on things to improve. Specifically little nits that are easy to fix but would make a big difference; even simply features that seem missing that would improve the site. Again please make suggestions on areas outside of the forums.

Thanks!!

[Captain Ewok 1,900]

Per request on facebook (we posted there too, like us if you haven't) I updated the reviews page to allow filtering by topic.

[photomile 101]

The guides for certain things could do with a revamp. Many things are out of date.

I'd also suggest on timeline (as others have pointed out) a clear notice that says Texas does not process K1 petitions

Also notices in the main forums that point people to the regional forums for specific questions

The embassy and consulate email alerts for the UK don't work correctly because there's a space in the URL. The emails cut off as soon as they hit that space instead of seeing %20 to continue the line

I don't personally use the frontpage much - I would use it more with a revamp. I'm aware of the capabilities of IPB so I know there's a lot that can be done with it. An RSS feed for the ALIA notifications might be handy on the front page as well as an announcements box for latest news updates

Personally I love IPBoard but the +1 buttons? Eh, not so hot on that.

Generally the site looks a 'little' dated. Not much but it's showing it's age. Nothing wrong with it though!

The Wiki doesn't get enough attention and is hugely out of date. Can't say I've ever been a fan of wiki pages. I've always found them hard to navigate, but it might be worth clearing it out a little.

Oh and as I've mentioned - on timeline, disable plain text input in the RFE field and only allow date ranges

[LeftCoastLady 441]

Agree with photomile on many of his suggestions.

Content is a huge way to improve the site and doesn't require any significant technical upgrades. By looking at the types of questions that are being asked in the forums, it would be great to put together a team of content editors whose job is two-fold: review the existing content on the site (the guides, the FAQs, example forms, etc.) and make updates (or suggest content be removed) and suggest new content that should be added based on the top questions being asked.

On the guides, in particular, it would be great to have a team review them to ensure the information is still correct and if not, make updates or make the suggestion to remove information altogether. For instance, there's still information on the K-3 visa on the site with no mention that it's no longer being issued, which in turn leads to people inquiring about it in the forums and thinking it's still a viable option. Or, as I've mentioned in another thread, providing more details on where to mail the initial petition since this comes up frequently in the K-1 forum, for example.

Ideally, the content editors would be a separate group from the moderators since they already have their hands full. In the best case scenario, the content editors would represent the various types of visas so there would be that level of experience to speak directly on the process for that particular visa and capture the nuances. And then, you'd have a link on each page that will guide them to the relevant forum, e.g. "After reading the Adjustment of Status Guide, if you have more questions, visit the AOS forum."

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Agree with photomile on many of his suggestions.

Content is a huge way to improve the site and doesn't require any significant technical upgrades. By looking at the types of questions that are being asked in the forums, it would be great to put together a team of content editors whose job is two-fold: review the existing content on the site (the guides, the FAQs, example forms, etc.) and make updates (or suggest content be removed) and suggest new content that should be added based on the top questions being asked.

On the guides, in particular, it would be great to have a team review them to ensure the information is still correct and if not, make updates or make the suggestion to remove information altogether. For instance, there's still information on the K-3 visa on the site with no mention that it's no longer being issued, which in turn leads to people inquiring about it in the forums and thinking it's still a viable option. Or, as I've mentioned in another thread, providing more details on where to mail the initial petition since this comes up frequently in the K-1 forum, for example.

Ideally, the content editors would be a separate group from the moderators since they already have their hands full. In the best case scenario, the content editors would represent the various types of visas so there would be that level of experience to speak directly on the process for that particular visa and capture the nuances. And then, you'd have a link on each page that will guide them to the relevant forum, e.g. "After reading the Adjustment of Status Guide, if you have more questions, visit the AOS forum."

This is an excellent idea. Basically a more streamlined place to go for information would be helpful. And some of the information DOES need to be updated! Newcomers to the site, who are new to the process and find it overwhelming, aren't always sure where to look or where to ask questions. Pointing them in the right direction would be very helpful since it seems there are a LOT of threads that get moved for being in the wrong area.

[SMOKE 1,426]

Outside of the forums, I'd love to get some ideas on things to improve. Specifically little nits that are easy to fix but would make a big difference; even simply features that seem missing that would improve the site. Again please make suggestions on areas outside of the forums.

Thanks!!

is it possible to craft something that will automatically detect multiple accounts linked to one ip? then alert you or kathryn for verification that it is a seperate user or someone wanting anonymity while posting about a personal topic?

evylin mentioned the ability to change the skin color in another thread...if its not a big deal, a little personalization would be nice.

cc and or bcc for pm's

.....................

inside the forums...you knew this was coming.

the +1 feature...everything that led to the exclusion of the -1 feature applies.

there use to be a feature that would allow you to search topics for keywords...i miss that.

Edited June 6, 2012 by SMOKE

[photomile 101]

is it possible to craft something that will automatically detect multiple accounts linked to one ip? then alert you or kathryn for verification that it is a seperate user or someone wanting anonymity while posting about a personal topic?

evylin mentioned the ability to change the skin color in another thread...if its not a big deal, a little personalization would be nice.

cc and or bcc for pm's

.....................

inside the forums...you knew this was coming.

the +1 feature...everything that led to the exclusion of the -1 feature applies.

there use to be a feature that would allow you to search topics for keywords...i miss that.

The search is still there, you just have to do an 'advanced' search. Personally I hate the google search

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Though I agree with getting the +1 removed, I do think there needs to be something in place that does let others be aware of the poster's reputation on the site. A "Was this helpful?" button, or something, that's kept track of for users.

[^_^ 5,021]

The +1 button is pretty harmless in my opinion. I don't understand all the fuss over it.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

The +1 button is pretty harmless in my opinion. I don't understand all the fuss over it.

It is harmless, but it's as useful as the "like" button on Facebook. It doesn't necessarily mean the advice being given is good.

[unlockingsky 94]

how about tracking receipt numbers in a safe way? this would be great to provide some useful data to possibly see how cases are processed...

[^_^ 5,021]

It is harmless, but it's as useful as the "like" button on Facebook. It doesn't necessarily mean the advice being given is good.

The like button is more useful because at least FB tells me who liked my content. On VJ I have no idea.

[SMOKE 1,426]

The +1 button is pretty harmless in my opinion. I don't understand all the fuss over it.

i don't either. i just threw that in because a lot of people seem to have an issue with it lately.

[sciencenerd 56]

It would be great to beef up the timeline a bit more so you can look at the data in more ways. It would also be good if it was easy to filter and sort (ex: only look at CSC filers and sort by biometrics date). It would be good to add a way for people to document that they did a walk-in biometrics so people would know which offices allow it and also more easily be able to tell if it actually makes any difference with processing times. Lastly, it would be great to be able to filter out abandoned timelines - obviously, it's impossible to know for sure if it's abandoned or just pending for a longer than usual time, but if they were far outside typical processing times and had not logged into the site for a long time, maybe they could at least be marked as potentially abandoned so you can just look at timelines that have been updated. Just a few thoughts.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Make VJ more user-centered, where other members can know who you are. Have the homepage either imitate or link to a person's Facebook or other social network, while allowing users to choose whether to post anonymously or using their identity. This is the era where people are openly sharing with the rest of the world who they are. Too often, this site has been infiltrated by outside individuals and groups with ulterior motives and/or malicious intent. While there is no full proof way to prevent it, linking their account to a social network would bean effective deterrent. It would also make this place a lot more personable.

Edited June 6, 2012 by Mister Fancypants