How can we make the 405th great?

[Art Andrews]

As mentioned elsewhere, we are very excited to be managing this community! We think it has a tremendous amount of potential and want to see it grow and flourish, but we need YOUR help to do that! This thread is for posting your thoughts and ideas about 1) existing changes as they are made and 2) changes you would like to see made.

Please bear in mind that there is only a handful of us and 10s of thousands of you, so we may not respond to every post or comment on every idea but we WILL read and consider every idea, comment and even criticism. Some things we should be able to implement quickly and easily while others may take time or not be feasible at all. Be patient with us as we already have a tremendous backlog of things that need to be done, but one-by-one, we will get to them.

 

[MyrHerder]

Does the RL map help show where membership is concentrated? It may help to know where most members are so you can divide regions better.

 

[Zaff]

I'm a little curious about the Regiments myself.
I thought we were going to hold off focus on them for a while.

But if not, I would love one that includes Oklahoma in it. The Southwest states section needs some more love (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas)

I thought we already had a system for this, not as "regiments" but as "divisions." For example, being a New Yorker, I am in the Northeastern 405th Division, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. So basically the New England and Mid Atlantic regions combined into one division. I thought other divisions had been made as well, covering the rest of the country, but perhaps those haven't been organised quite yet.

Art, in trying to find out whether Oklahoma was already in a division similar in structure to the Northeastern Division, I came across a change that I really, really do not like. In the old format there was a "forum home" that had everything. Every category, every forum grouping, all in one spot. And on every page there was a search bar that would access the entire forum, from costume and prop making to general discussions to the classified ads. So if, to use this example, I wanted to find any mention of Oklahoma to see if there was a relevant DIvision for it, I could just type in Oklahoma at the top of, well, pretty much any page but a user profile or the inbox, and I could search the entire forum in one shot. Now each sub-category of the old forum has been assigned a tab, and each tab has a drop-down menu with each topic, and a search option does not even appear until one of these topics is selected, and even then, it will only search in that one topic category. So if, for example, I wanted to search for something relating to costumes and props, I would have to open up that menu tab and perform 10 searches, one for each topic in the menu, in order to search that entire category for what I'm looking for. That...is not an improvement over the old system by any stretch of the imagination. We need a universal search tool again, not just for situations like this, but coming from someone who has been around here for a couple years, newbies seemed to have had more than enough difficulty figuring out the "great mystery" of the search bar in the old format, where it was on practically every single page of the site. If an experienced member such as myself has to dig that far just to find a search bar that will only service one tiny corner of the overall forum, how much more of a pain in the neck is that going to be for the newcomers who are completely unfamiliar with the site?

And another note but not quite as "urgent," I've noticed I have to resort to adding underline coding around links because there is no obvious color change or distinguishing feature that makes them stand out as "this is a link, not just more text."

 

[Art Andrews]

thumbsup:thumbsup

These are the 405th Facebook pages/groups that I'm aware of, or found via Facebook search, beyond the primary:

Midwest: https://www.facebook.com/405thMidwestern?ref=br_rs
Pacific: https://www.facebook.com/405thpacific?ref=br_rs
Mexico: https://www.facebook.com/pages/405th-Mexico/385156494834907?ref=br_rs
"Hood's Hellions/ 405th infantry/ PDX company": https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hoods-Hellions-405th-infantry-PDX-company/474810332557869?ref=br_rs
405th Infantry Division: 12th MEU "The Devil's Own": https://www.facebook.com/405thTheDevilsOwn?ref=br_rs
Thailand: https://www.facebook.com/SiamMoyimCosplay?ref=br_rs
Tahoe: https://www.facebook.com/groups/405thtahoeanime/?ref=br_rs
North Eastern: https://www.facebook.com/groups/203798869808486/?ref=br_rs
Central Texas: https://www.facebook.com/groups/280109532126792/?ref=br_rs
Italy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/200139296829692/?ref=br_rs

 

[Art Andrews]

And another note but not quite as "urgent," I've noticed I have to resort to adding underline coding around links because there is no obvious color change or distinguishing feature that makes them stand out as "this is a link, not just more text."

Corrected.

 

[Art Andrews]

I thought we already had a system for this, not as "regiments" but as "divisions." For example, being a New Yorker, I am in the Northeastern 405th Division, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. So basically the New England and Mid Atlantic regions combined into one division. I thought other divisions had been made as well, covering the rest of the country, but perhaps those haven't been organised quite yet.

The History is a bit clouded for sure, but the top tier of this group is obviously the Division. Now, we have to be honest that we are playing a bit fast and loose, both with true military structure and even with Halo continuity, but then we aren't a true military group. We are a costuming club.

With that in mind, when looking at a Division as the top tier, (think in terms of the 501st's top tier being the Legion), the geographic groups would have to be smaller organizations than the community as a whole. So, the local groups could be Divisions as well. In almost any iteration, It is Regiments that make up a Division and while it could be argued that no local group will ever reach the size of a REAL Regiment, we again have to acknowledge the limitations of the costuming club we are working in. On top of that, you already have several groups who are using the Regiment nomenclature and using Division for them would not make sense IF they want to fall under the 405th umbrella.

Art, in trying to find out whether Oklahoma was already in a division similar in structure to the Northeastern Division, I came across a change that I really, really do not like. In the old format there was a "forum home" that had everything. Every category, every forum grouping, all in one spot. And on every page there was a search bar that would access the entire forum, from costume and prop making to general discussions to the classified ads. So if, to use this example, I wanted to find any mention of Oklahoma to see if there was a relevant DIvision for it, I could just type in Oklahoma at the top of, well, pretty much any page but a user profile or the inbox, and I could search the entire forum in one shot. Now each sub-category of the old forum has been assigned a tab, and each tab has a drop-down menu with each topic, and a search option does not even appear until one of these topics is selected, and even then, it will only search in that one topic category. So if, for example, I wanted to search for something relating to costumes and props, I would have to open up that menu tab and perform 10 searches, one for each topic in the menu, in order to search that entire category for what I'm looking for. That...is not an improvement over the old system by any stretch of the imagination. We need a universal search tool again, not just for situations like this, but coming from someone who has been around here for a couple years, newbies seemed to have had more than enough difficulty figuring out the "great mystery" of the search bar in the old format, where it was on practically every single page of the site. If an experienced member such as myself has to dig that far just to find a search bar that will only service one tiny corner of the overall forum, how much more of a pain in the neck is that going to be for the newcomers who are completely unfamiliar with the site?

You do realize there is a site-wide search bar at the very top of EVERY page in addition to the local forum search bar lower down on the page, right?

 

[Zaff]

With that in mind, when looking at a Division as the top tier, (think in terms of the 501st's top tier being the Legion), the geographic groups would have to be smaller organizations than the community as a whole. So, the local groups could be Divisions as well. In almost any iteration, It is Regiments that make up a Division and while it could be argued that no local group will ever reach the size of a REAL Regiment, we again have to acknowledge the limitations of the costuming club we are working in. On top of that, you already have several groups who are using the Regiment nomenclature and using Division for them would not make sense IF they want to fall under the 405th umbrella.

So basically what it comes down to is terminology. Whether we call them "divisions" or "regiments" or "squads," etc., the idea is the same: a smaller, localized group within the main fold created with the intention of letting people know who else is geographically close enough to meet up, plan events, or otherwise hang out with.

You do realize there is a site-wide search bar at the very top of EVERY page in addition to the local forum search bar lower down on the page, right?

Embarrassing to admit, but somehow I did completely miss that, having only noticed the redesigned appearance on the right hand side (notifications, profile, etc.) I don't know if it's the faded grey text on the grey text bar or just simply a force of habit always looking below the top nav bar for the search tool, but somehow my brain just designated that area as merely decorative.

Also, what are the parameters for when the large yellow box with the link to the 4-shared database shows up? On some pages it shows up, on others it's not there.

 

[WandererTJ]

In regard to mapping, once we get a little further along, I'd like to see us use something similar to what the Rebel Legion uses:

http://www.rebellegion.com/rl-world-map/

This is epic.....
But, IMHO, I think that the regions probably just need simple names.

Does the RL map help show where membership is concentrated? It may help to know where most members are so you can divide regions better.

I don't see this, it seems like you have to physically click on a state and it will show you the # of members in the state.
I do agree though that a map showing population density would be great. Maybe having a button to overlay the map with population dots would be nice.
It would also be better to have some borders for the different regions they have, their regions are a bit unclear, you kinda have to hover over each state to see if they belong to the same region or not.

I do really like it though.

---

I guess I was looking for my "Division" :confused

Honestly, I pretty much just want to know who is near me (which in Oklahoma, the closest would probably be 100 mi if I'm lucky). It'd be nice to know who I could ask for help if I needed a 2nd pair of hands or for any reason really.
Let's say I was thinking about driving to Comic Con (I'm not, but if I was), it'd be nice to ping all the other Oklahoma members to see if they wanted to tag along (and be used for partial gas money ).

 

[Art Andrews]

So basically what it comes down to is terminology. Whether we call them "divisions" or "regiments" or "squads," etc., the idea is the same: a smaller, localized group within the main fold created with the intention of letting people know who else is geographically close enough to meet up, plan events, or otherwise hang out with.

A big part of what we are working towards is structure and uniformity, so, yes, it does come down to terminology, but as we move forward, for the sake of clarity, it will be very important that we have common and consistent terminology.

From a technical standpoint, any "Division" that was created would be a directly competing site to the 405th.

Embarrassing to admit, but somehow I did completely miss that, having only noticed the redesigned appearance on the right hand side (notifications, profile, etc.) I don't know if it's the faded grey text on the grey text bar or just simply a force of habit always looking below the top nav bar for the search tool, but somehow my brain just designated that area as merely decorative.

Perhaps we need to adjust out contrast a bit so it pops out more.

Also, what are the parameters for when the large yellow box with the link to the 4-shared database shows up? On some pages it shows up, on others it's not there.

Link and screencap?

 

[Fireryne]

Art i love the new and updated site. Keep up the great work and ill try and keep the PM's to a minimum

 

[Zaff]

A big part of what we are working towards is structure and uniformity, so, yes, it does come down to terminology, but as we move forward, for the sake of clarity, it will be very important that we have common and consistent terminology.

Indeed.

Link and screencap?

This first one is right from the top of the screen on this thread


And this second one is from the front page of the "Pepakura and Cardboard armor" forum. I did a quick run through the others and that seems to be the only one that the box shows up in.



Also, as I was clicking through I noticed the "File Archive" link is incorrect on the "Articles" page, redirecting to "vbdownloads.php" rather than "file-archive.php" and I'm not sure if any other pages have the same error.

 

[Art Andrews]

Not sure what you are trying to show me in that first cap, but the second cap... egad! That is hideous isn't it? I have removed that nasty yellow color. That notice on shows up when you are browsing the Pepakura and Cardboard Armor forum.

Thank you for the correction on the File Archive link!

 

[Zaff]

First image was just for comparison. I know there had been talk about making a very conspicuous link to the 4shared database and I wasn't sure if that yellow box was the initial result, and then was later nixed but hadn't been removed entirely (I'd imagine it's fairly easy for things to be missed with dealing with so much code). I'm wondering if, until we're actually able to host files on site, might it be better to include that box link to the 4shared database on the file database page as well for the time being? I know there's already a link in the drop down menus, but when it comes to something members have historically had a great deal of trouble finding, redundancy can be useful.

 

[Art Andrews]

First image was just for comparison. I know there had been talk about making a very conspicuous link to the 4shared database and I wasn't sure if that yellow box was the initial result, and then was later nixed but hadn't been removed entirely (I'd imagine it's fairly easy for things to be missed with dealing with so much code). I'm wondering if, until we're actually able to host files on site, might it be better to include that box link to the 4shared database on the file database page as well for the time being? I know there's already a link in the drop down menus, but when it comes to something members have historically had a great deal of trouble finding, redundancy can be useful.

No, the yellow was a left-over from the previous styling... definitely not intentional. We want to promote and link people to the 4shared database, but we don't want to beat them about the head and shoulders with it.

It shouldn't be a problem to add it in to the header of the file archive!

 

[Gokussj5okazu]

Hey Art, I know I might be jumping the gun but is there any word on how the leadership roles for the different regiments will be chosen? Also, I assume some standards will be set regarding member lists, regulations, etc?

 

[Vrogy]

-pepakura / 3d model / 2D template hosting. .PDO & .STL & .DXF all in one place with thumbnails and/or tags.
^I realize this is a tall order. Perhaps there's enough demand for an independent site for generalized costume design hosting?
^file-sizes are pretty small. STL aside, these are vector formats.
^many people have drives full of resources they would LOVE to add to a resource like this, including me.
-Charter. There's enough people who (still) want to build a real costuming club to make it happen.
-contact old members. A sea change this extreme may call for a mass mailing, once you have things dialed in as you wish them to be.
-forum space specifically for commissions and reviews of commissione(e)rs ala cosplay.com. Some folks want to make money. Some folks want to spend money.

everything else I can think of.. you're already doing right! :lol

 

[Art Andrews]

Hey Art, I know I might be jumping the gun but is there any word on how the leadership roles for the different regiments will be chosen? Also, I assume some standards will be set regarding member lists, regulations, etc?

Way too early to say on the first question. Absolutely on the second. As I mentioned earlier, formalizing a club will mean formalizing standards and requirements. The important thing is to actually offer something useful and positive and not simply make it a list of DON'Ts.

 

[Art Andrews]

-pepakura / 3d model / 2D template hosting. .PDO & .STL & .DXF all in one place with thumbnails and/or tags.
^I realize this is a tall order. Perhaps there's enough demand for an independent site for generalized costume design hosting?
^file-sizes are pretty small. STL aside, these are vector formats.
^many people have drives full of resources they would LOVE to add to a resource like this, including me.

http://www.405th.com/file-archive.php

I have been somewhat waiting on MissingSpartan7 to see if he is willing to move the 4Shared database here, but the thing is, others are welcome to upload as well! The biggest issue here will simply be one of organization.

I feel like we need a Master Librarian.

-Charter. There's enough people who (still) want to build a real costuming club to make it happen.

I had REALLY hoped I could wait on this a bit, but people are so enthusiastic, that this has been bumped to nearly the top of the list.

-contact old members. A sea change this extreme may call for a mass mailing, once you have things dialed in as you wish them to be.

Want to get just a few more things squared away and then we will send out a mass email to all the old members, asking them to give us another shot.

-forum space specifically for commissions and reviews of commissione(e)rs ala cosplay.com. Some folks want to make money. Some folks want to spend money.

We will soon be implementing a seller feedback system. Not sure why those offering services can't do that in the existing Marketplace. If you have more thoughts on this, I am open to hearing them.

 

[Gokussj5okazu]

I have been somewhat waiting on MissingSpartan7 to see if he is willing to move the 4Shared database here, but the thing is, others are welcome to upload as well! The biggest issue here will simply be one of organization.

I feel like we need a Master Librarian.

Just wanted to say I'm ecstatic to see the file archive. I think that's something everyone has been waiting a VERY long time for, great job! Also, the Master Librarian idea is something MS7 and myself had tossed around several months ago and he expressed a lot of interest in the position, given his experience.

 

[Art Andrews]

I think he is a shoe-in for that position!

 

[axmaxwell]

Im glad to see a File Archive tab. A more streamline organization of things has been in order for a while. Hopefully gone are the days of skimming through 5-600 pages of posts looking for the link to a single file.