Ameraucana Breeders Club
The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club => Members Only => Website Changes => Topic started by: Susan Mouw on January 05, 2015, 07:43:20 PM
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I will be working with the configuration of the forum tonight and tomorrow morning, so you might see something flash, then go away, or it might stay. The tweaking of the colors is so it will match the new website that will be installed sometime late tomorrow. I wish it was one of those things I could play with off-line, and then just load the finished product, but without loading some heavy software, that's not possible.
I look forward to everyone's comments and suggestions about the new changes, but please wait until it is all done. I will post a comment in this thread when the forum work is complete.
The website changes that will be installed late tomorrow are mostly just appearances - bringing a little more consistency between the pages and a few simple "bells and whistles". After those changes are installed, then the real fun begins! I have lots of ideas about how to bring the website more current and functional.
Thanks everyone...for your much looked for comments and suggestions and for your patience during the transition.
Susan
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Still a work in progress, but the colors are starting to run together in my brain. So..off to catch some zzzs and continue tomorrow!
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Ok...phase 1 of forum changes and website upload is complete. I welcome your comments and suggestions.
The changes to the website, at this time, are mostly cosmetic. So, the content is mostly the same as what it was before - just minor changes in how it is displayed. However, bigger changes are coming. Here are a couple of things I will be working on:
Online Membership renewal form and link to paypal.
Online sortable/searchable Breeder's Directory.
Online shopping for the ABC merchandise with payments going to paypal.
Major changes to the gallery - but I need your help with this one. Some of the pics in the gallery are fantastic - very crisp, clear images of very nice birds - some are not so nice. I would love to expand the gallery to show several birds of each variety and to improve the overall quality, navigation, and functionality of the gallery. This is where everyone (including myself over the last few years) come to see what a good quality Ameraucana should look like at different stages and I think we should have multiple pictures to show them.
Forum changes are moderate at this time and there won't be a lot of changes. I will still keep working on it, as time permits, to merge it more into the overall website look and feel, but that will be a "as time permits" project and doesn't have top priority.
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It would be nice to have the top logo/banner link back to the website as before. The logos on the website link to the forum and was done to quickly and easily navigate back and forth between the two.
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Yep..just caught that.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention, John!
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Lookin' good! Welcome Susan!
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We like so far
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Ok...phase 1 of forum changes and website upload is complete. I welcome your comments and suggestions.
Major changes to the gallery - but I need your help with this one. Some of the pics in the gallery are fantastic - very crisp, clear images of very nice birds - some are not so nice. I would love to expand the gallery to show several birds of each variety and to improve the overall quality, navigation, and functionality of the gallery. This is where everyone (including myself over the last few years) come to see what a good quality Ameraucana should look like at different stages and I think we should have multiple pictures to show them.
Susan, I like the new format on the gallery so that you don't have to keep going back and forth selecting between varieties, age and sex of photos. It is all there in one click for LF and another click for Bantam. My question is would it be possible as under the old photos on the Forum to click on one of the new gallery photos and get a larger enhancement?
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Susan, I do like the new photo gallery format. Are you sure the large fowl blue wheaten female shown is not actually a wheaten? Her tail feathers look pretty dark. Nice bird in any case.
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It looks like a wheaten to me too Mike. We'll have to find another picture of a blue wheaten to use.
I do prefer that photo over the current one used for the wheaten LF female though.
Everything is coming along nicely Susan. I haven't update my own personal website because it is so time consuming. Thank you for offering your time and your skills!!
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Looks great, Susan! I'm just now taking the time to look around the site at all the new pages. I love the new color scheme and layout. And yes, the Gallery is much nicer this way.
I just noticed the: http://www.ameraucana.org/docs/MembershipForm.pdf link on the "Club Membership" page has an error screen (Object Not Found). Would you like for us to point stuff like this out?
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Susan, the Web site is really looking great. Thanks for all the work you're doing.
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My question is would it be possible as under the old photos on the Forum to click on one of the new gallery photos and get a larger enhancement?
I agree with Gordan and would like to see clickable thumbnail pics.
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Yes, that is a great idea. I can do that for those pics that have larger images - which, fortunately, is most of them.
However - the current format is probably only temporary. I'm really re-thinking the whole gallery - its purpose, its function, and how to best and most efficiently accomplish those. Especially as more pics for each variety are added, the current format won't hold up.
Start digging through your online picture albums, folks, and send me pics of the different varieties of both large fowl and bantam.
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On the blue wheaten hen - I agree, that doesn't look like a blue wheaten. However it is the pic that was on the previous scrapbook as the blue wheaten hen and I just copied them all over.
I would love to have a better pic of a nice blue wheaten hen, if someone has one. I was going through my pics and the best one I have has the opposite problem - so little blue, she almost looks like a splash.
But...I'll let y'all decide - if this pic doesn't work (and you won't hurt my feelings if it doesnt), then someone send me a new blue wheaten hen, please. :)
(http://sandcastlesfarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Amy-12-10-12_1.jpg)
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I do prefer that photo over the current one used for the wheaten LF female though.
Agreed. This would be one of those pics that needs to be replaced.
I'll scroll through the forum and see if I can't find a nice wheaten hen to use. I know I've seen pics of one...somewhere and recently. Have to rack my brain to see if I can remember which thread. Once I find it, I'll message the owner for permission to use the pic.
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I just noticed the: http://www.ameraucana.org/docs/MembershipForm.pdf link on the "Club Membership" page has an error screen (Object Not Found). Would you like for us to point stuff like this out?
Yes! Absolutely, Sharon - if you find an error like this, please let me know. I went through the links last night after everything was loaded, but obviously missed this one - might be more I missed, too! :)
This one is fixed now - just be sure to refresh the page when you go back to it, so the new page is loaded.
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However - the current format is probably only temporary. I'm really re-thinking the whole gallery - its purpose, its function, and how to best and most efficiently accomplish those. Especially as more pics for each variety are added, the current format won't hold up.
Start digging through your online picture albums, folks, and send me pics of the different varieties of both large fowl and bantam.
The original idea was just one photo for each...the best available to represent the variety...a reference library. It was not intended as a photo gallery of member's birds.
Just my thoughts, but the forum would be the place for posting multiple photos for comparison and comments/votes. Then a high resolution file could be requested for use in the gallery.
With clickable/enlargeable thumbnail photos/pics we would be able to study the birds better.
I tried for years to find a photo of a bantam white chick for the gallery/scrapbook with pleas on the forum and in the Bulletin. It just doesn't always come together.
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On the blue wheaten hen - I agree, that doesn't look like a blue wheaten. However it is the pic that was on the previous scrapbook as the blue wheaten hen and I just copied them all over.
I would love to have a better pic of a nice blue wheaten hen, if someone has one. I was going through my pics and the best one I have has the opposite problem - so little blue, she almost looks like a splash.
But...I'll let y'all decide - if this pic doesn't work (and you won't hurt my feelings if it doesnt), then someone send me a new blue wheaten hen, please. :)
(http://sandcastlesfarm.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Amy-12-10-12_1.jpg)
I checked my photo files, and the bird pictured as a LF blue wheaten female was shown as just that and won BV in the junior show at the ABC National in 2011. Her tail is too dark, but she is nice otherwise, so I would just leave her there until something better is available. Can you photoshop the tail a bit?
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Hi Mike
Thank you for taking the time to look that up. She is a nice bird and maybe it is just because the pic is a bit dark that her "blue" looks so dark.
Instead of photoshopping the tail, do you have another pic of her that is a little lighter...or of another blue wheaten hen?
Thanks
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I would not recommend photoshopping any of the photos, but if you do please be sure to acknowledge it.
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Agreed, John. My policy is not to change structure, color, or anything of substance on any pics for any websites - dogs, horses, chickens. It is a policy that has served me well for many years.
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I agree it would be best not to photoshop in most cases, but if you don't have a picture that is correct I fail to see what the problem would be. I thought the idea was to show a correct depiction of breed type and color. Who is going to care? Susan, your picture shows a nice bird, but it has no color in the tail and an incorrect topline. The other one is more correct in those respects. I don't have any other photos of LF blue wheatens, sorry, as I have not raised them since before the digital camera age. Speaking of toplines, that LF b/w male has almost a squirrel tail. There must be a better photo of a b/w male somewhere on the forum.
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Susan, I love your ideas on the gallery. I would love to see several pictures of each variety. Not to vote on a winner but to see and discuss what's right and wrong with each bird. If we had a question and comment section it could give people like me a visual reference of what to and not to breed, or at least what to look for in their brood fowl. I really believe the gallery could become the most visited place on our site. It doesn't have to take the place of the best in variety photo gallery, but maybe in addition to. You are doing an awesome job! Thank you!
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Cliff, that was never the purpose of the gallery. We have the forum to discuss the merits of various birds, I just wish more folks would use it. The gallery is for newbies to see what a proper bird in each gender of each variety should look like.
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I mentioned that it doesn't need to take the place of the best in variety gallery. I think it would be very helpful to newbies to see faults and perfection. I think it could help people a great deal make decisions about their breeding pens.
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I mentioned that it
I'm confused and don't know what you mean by "it". The Gallery (old Scrapbook) is on the website. That is the variety photos of chicks and adult birds. Currently no one can post comments on the website.
I see the ABC Forum as the logical place for questions and comments of photos that members can post there.
What am I missing?
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Ok..let me clarify what I have in mind for the gallery and we'll see if that matches up with the original intention. :)
I don't mean to have a large folder of, say, wheaten Ameraucana large fowl, so someone can pick and choose which one they like or don't like. What I would like to see is a good chick pic (sounds like movie night), a good pic around the time of first molt - when they are changing from chick to adult feathers, a good juvie (pullets and cockerels), and a good adult for each sex in each variety (sex not determined for chicks, of course).
I like Clif's idea of a comments area, but it will take some research to see how to implement that without migrating to a dynamic website - such as joomla or wordpress. So, for now anyway, comments will have to stay in the forum.
I do love hearing everyone's suggestions and comments - even when they don't necessarily agree with my original concept. That is how I stay on track and keep the website something the whole Club can be proud of. :)
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I'll throw my two-cents in the ring...
WRT to the Gallery, speaking of the BW, I was wondering if the Wheaten LF hen is a LF?
WRT to the Gallery format, one thing that really stuck out to me was Type. It's all over the place on the various varieties. I think it would really look nice and moreover it would really be helpful if all the birds on the main page were in the same pose and showing the same Type.
Perhaps this would require some effort on the part of the various breeders but hopefully everyone would be willing to do that for their club. Maybe we could have an online Club Show or something as an incentive. The main thing I think this would do is show anyone who comes to the Gallery a breed that basically all looks the same except for color.
From there I agree with those who say that we don't need a bunch of pictures of a lot of other birds behind the main one. It's only my opinion but I think that would only distract and detract from the best bird on the front. I do like the idea of showing the chicks in the various stages of growth and molt though. Having more pictures of chicks at various ages, I don't think that would detract like it would for the adults because Type or Color hasn't been set yet.
So there's my two-cents. Might be worth a plug nickel but it's a thought...
God Bless,
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I've always thought that the LF wheaten hen looks like a bantam.