Metal Academy Improvements - April 2022
We've made some improvements to the site as described below. There will be a few more improvements this week if all goes to plan. As always, please let me know your feedback. Many of these changes were requested by site members, so let me know what you think of them.
1. The Latest Releases page now shows 100 releases rather than 50. I made this change after fairly consistently adding over 50 releases in a day.
2. The Private Message window is now much bigger (and better) than it was previously. You can now see what you're typing, which is a novel idea.
3. When you edit a forum post entry, you are no longer thrown back to the first thread entry. You are now taken to the post you just edited, which makes much more sense.
4. You can now edit the name of a forum thread that you created. Previously only I could do it.
5. The site menu can now be found at BOTH the top and bottom of the site, making it much easier to navigate.
6. On the Releases and Bands pages, the page number navigation can now be found at BOTH the top and bottom of the page, making it much easier to navigate.
7. There's now a "Scroll to the top arrow button" that is displayed when you scroll down any page on the site, once again making it much easier to navigate.
Cheers,
Ben.
Awesome changes, Ben! The only error still around that I can think of is when a new thread doesn't appear in the "Recent Topics" thing until someone replies in a different post, so could you please keep that in mind for the next round of improvements? Thanks!
The only error still around that I can think of is when a new thread doesn't appear in the "Recent Topics" thing until someone replies in a different post, so could you please keep that in mind for the next round of improvements?
Are you aware of this topic Ben? It's the first I've heard of it.
Yep. I've noticed it myself. I'll try to get it sorted. Only happens when you post a new thread, which we don't actually do that much. We're always adding to existing ones.
It does appear by itself, but it's just delayed.
We've made some improvements to the site as described below. There will be a few more improvements this week if all goes to plan. As always, please let me know your feedback. Many of these changes were requested by site members, so let me know what you think of them.
1. The Latest Releases page now shows 100 releases rather than 50. I made this change after fairly consistently adding over 50 releases in a day.
2. The Private Message window is now much bigger (and better) than it was previously. You can now see what you're typing, which is a novel idea.
3. When you edit a forum post entry, you are no longer thrown back to the first thread entry. You are now taken to the post you just edited, which makes much more sense.
4. You can now edit the name of a forum thread that you created. Previously only I could do it.
5. The site menu can now be found at BOTH the top and bottom of the site, making it much easier to navigate.
6. On the Releases and Bands pages, the page number navigation can now be found at BOTH the top and bottom of the page, making it much easier to navigate.
7. There's now a "Scroll to the top arrow button" that is displayed when you scroll down any page on the site, once again making it much easier to navigate.
Cheers,
Ben.
Number 5 alone on this list makes me smile endlessly on its own but thank you for all the improvements made and the continued development of the site overall.
Another couple of improvements.
1. Newly created forum threads now immediately appear on the homepage under Recent Topics. I've noticed that deleted threads don't immediately disappear, but I think that happens rarely enough to not be an issue.
2. I've added the ability to select the release that you're Currently Listening To.
Once you click the Currently Listening To button on a release, your site name will appear in the Currently Listening To release name section, which you'll find just above the band chronology on the release page.
The release you're currently listening to will also appear on your profile page. (Note that I'm going to get it changed so it has BAND NAME - RELEASE NAME, instead of RELEASE NAME - BAND NAME.)
You can only be listening to one release at a time. You can remove the release by either selecting that you're listening to a different release, or by clicking remove next to the release in your profile.
Please give feedback on this new feature if you have any. I'm sure I'll end up doing something else with it, such as having a page where you can see what everyone is listening to, but I'm open to suggestions for improvements or additional functionality.
Cheers,
Ben.
Looks great, Ben! I plan to listen to and review the featured releases I've submitted for May once they're out a few days from now, so I'll definitely test out that new feature.
I love the concept Ben & think the idea of a dedicated page is the best approach to showcasing it. It's so easy to use & so intuitive though. I discovered it for myself this morning & immediately clicked on it.
I clicked on that button the other day as think knowing what others are listening to is interesting and I rarely go a day without listening to something (even if just as background music). The idea of a page that shows all this in one place is great.
Hey, when did the ability to list your top twenty releases on your profile page appear? Just updated mine, but it'll probably change quite regularly!
Anyway it's pretty easy to use, but if you want to insert a different release do you have to delete all the ones below where you wish to place it then add them back in, or am I being thick?
Hey, when did the ability to list your top twenty releases on your profile page appear? Just updated mine, but it'll probably change quite regularly!
Anyway it's pretty easy to use, but if you want to insert a different release do you have to delete all the ones below where you wish to place it then add them back in, or am I being thick?
I haven't tested it yet. It was just completed overnight. Let me have a crack at it!
Just done my list. Thanks for implementing this ability, Ben! https://metal.academy/users/profile/97/top-20
Not very user friendly to adjust unfortunately. I've asked my developer how we can improve it.
As an aside, what do you guys think about the way the ratings display in the Top 20 lists, with two decimal places. I kind of like it, and am considering applying that to the whole site. Thoughts? Does it make it too busy? Or would this just provide more clarity?
I think there's more clarity, Ben. Also why are the My Dying Bride and Cynic albums both #4 on your list?
I think there's more clarity, Ben. Also why are the My Dying Bride and Cynic albums both #4 on your list?
Because I was testing, and wanted to know what would happen if I did that. I guess I was hoping it would move the ones below it down a spot, but that was wishful thinking.
To be honest Ben, I think I prefer the look of the single decimal point ratings. Although I am a numbers nerd, I feel the two decimal places look a bit much in comparison to the standard layout. It may also be off-putting to some as it may feel excessively stat-driven.
As a point of interest though, are the charts still ranked by the two decimal point ratings, even though they aren't visible? (Told you I was a numbers nerd!)
To be honest Ben, I think I prefer the look of the single decimal point ratings. Although I am a numbers nerd, I feel the two decimal places look a bit much in comparison to the standard layout. It may also be off-putting to some as it may feel excessively stat-driven.
As a point of interest though, are the charts still ranked by the two decimal point ratings, even though they aren't visible? (Told you I was a numbers nerd!)
I believe the charts do use the multiple decimal points. I recall testing that theory at one point and it seemed to be the case.
I intentionally made it one decimal point when designing the site (for simplicity), but I kind of thought I might change it once there were lots of site users (at which point it would become more relevant). We haven't reached the "lots of site users" point yet, but I am wondering whether I prefer it or not. Keen to hear from others.
Speaking as someone who is not massively interested in numbers I find the two decimal places a push too far and frankly bordering on the excessive (obsessive??). I am a simple man of simple means and I largely came here to just review releases and shoot the shit generally. I don't care about charts to the degree proposed here - not knocking anyone who does care - just like I find I have fallen out with the Hall feature because having been here for a while now I trust the judgement of Ben and Daniel to simply move releases that are misfiled or need extra tagging. Although the interactive nature of the Hall looks good on paper logging into the site and looking at the forum page to see all "hot" posts are just "...should be moved to.." is just a switch off for me. Different opinions of course and I am not having a rant, just has struck me over the past week or so and thought I would share my thoughts.
While we are on the subject of ratings I was just wondering - when someone leaves or joins a clan does the site recalculate the clan ratings for any albums that person has rated. To clarify, Vinny recently left the Guardians so do none of his Guardians-related ratings now contribute to the clan ratings or is it dependent on clan membership at the time of rating?
Apologies for being so geeky, but I'm interested is all.
Definitely the former. I checked on one of my earlier-rated Guardians releases after I left that clan as well, and my rating is out of the clan ratings list.
Ah, that would make sense. Thanks for clearing that up Andi.
No problem, Sonny.
Just completed my Top 20. Very cool feature in my opinion. For the record, I can see both sides of the argument around the decimal places but feel that it's probably overkill to display it as long as the additional decimal places are taken into account in the background.
Just completed my Top 20. Very cool feature in my opinion. For the record, I can see both sides of the argument around the decimal places but feel that it's probably overkill to display it as long as the additional decimal places are taken into account in the background.
Agreed.