Flash Kit v2.0 - Your ideas here!

[pigghost]

Hi.......I have to admit I have not taken the time to read all of the posts in this thread........so, if I'm repeating what has already been said, just ignore this......

I think one thing that is desperately needed here at FlashKit is a FAQ Section........so many of the questions posted in the Help Sections are asked repeatedly......I think many newcomers do not realize there is a Search available.....

If there were a FAQ Section that was similar to GGW's INSTA-TUTES, but organized, say alphabetically..........I mean you could probably narrow down the most asked things to 15 or 20.......I think it would be a great help...........

....and I wouldn't mind helping out on such a venture; just let me know.

Just my opinion.........

-pigghost-
[Edited by pigghost on 03-11-2001 at 04:11 PM]

[cne_fx]

you could outsource your servers to speedera.com

[cne_fx]

Originally posted by cne_fx
you could outsource your servers to speedera.com

let me expand,..speedera is one of those things that clones your site as the hits grow,..they also let your users actually pull requests from local servers,.ie; someone in NewYork wouldnt be hitting a server in Cali,.. or does Flashkit already do this? I dont know,.. just a suggestion

[glow]

Originally posted by kptoth
Why don't you make FlashKit v2.0 100% Flash? Use the product that you are featuring.

UltraShock.com will probably be 100% Flash and it'll be tough for FK to stay competitive when UltraShock.com goes live.

Isn't Ultrashock.com live now? If it is the site you are speaking of, it isn't 100% flash. Try right-clicking on a download button.

I wouldn't pay to play, type anything into google and you'll find it
so what if its in russian

[daviddoull]

Flashkit is well known now as the place to go for source files, tutorials, answers to your questions.

Hence you have a brand that is strongly associated with 'learning flash'.

So why not put out a flashkit book or cdrom. Clearly there must be money to be made from flash books or there wouldnt be so many of 'em.

And people dont know which book to buy - flashkit could use its established association with being " the place to get flash answers" - to distiguish the book.

So get together some of your tutorial contributors and moderators and put together the flashkit book. Then sell it online and watch the money come in.

you could also try running flashkit endorsed training semminars (kinda like the colin mook ones f4 ff2001)

dd

[101000]

Originally posted by wseligman

2) Definitely a downloadable text version of each tutorial. ( Having to go online and advancing through seven pages slows the process of learning.) This might also allow users to be on less downloading only one file, than advancing through 7 pages.

3) All tutorials should be written the same if submitted by users. There should be an established criteria or rigid format that submissions follow - i.e., Must include: Read me file/Sample .swf/Sample .fla/all associated images.
[Edited by wseligman on 02-26-2001 at 02:24 AM]

As to point 2, I think that that's a great idea. I think that you can have it both ways though. Just have a printable version that people can download/print with ease.

As for point 3, I believe that your templates are difficult for users to write tutorials as it is. the only reason I haven't wrote several tutorials is because I have to use your templates. I think a better way of handling it would be to let your users write the tutorial in the fashion that there most comfortable with, and then use CSS style sheets to make it automatically intigrate into your site. Also if you wrote a dtd for xml people to write articles in, this would integrate all articles into your site, and make it easier for you in future upgrades.

One thing that I think would be great is build your site using a mix of flash/php. Example, build most of the interface, like a frame and menu buttons, in flash and then fill the parts that using flash would hinder, like links, news, ect., using php. http://www.ultrashock.com does a very nice job of this if you need an example of what I'm talking about.

I love your guy's site and I rarely venture anywhere else when reading flash related things. Infact I check your site for updates more than I check my email throughout the day. I know that whatever you guys come up with it will be the best.

[wseligman]

101000 -

"3) All tutorials should be written the same if submitted by users."

I agree on your suggestion to let users write in the style most comfortable for them, and perhaps I should clarify my statement after I read it again.

It's not about using the same templates when you submit a .swf, but rather about being very clear in the style of language and how you phrase your directions to the user.

I have found different writing styles from tutorial to tutorial. Some leave in certain details, some don't, but that's individuality. There should be a minimum set of standard information in their copy, such as what the tutorial does, all steps clearly written with no abbreviations, etc.

Many coders have submitted great tutorial ideas, but some of the writing is in "tech-shorthand," for lack of a better phrase. All writers should assume that their audience is clueless when describing something, and that the audience might not understand the world that the writer inhabits.

Hope I was clear, lol.
[Edited by wseligman on 03-17-2001 at 11:52 PM]

[101000]

wseligman-

I agree with you on a certain amount of standards that should be included in a tutorial.

[factor7]

8) Expand what Flash is about. FlashForward, etc is already there. Create FlashKit's own on-line festival. Maybe the Dead can play? No? Ok, how 'bout Blues Traveler? Alice in Chains? Let me know on that one.
-----
already did that, mon. I did that. I'm gonna do it again.

1)Gender specifications
2)Free Custom Titles
3)Free Access
3A)For users with over a year of exp, fee:$1 per month.
4)New color scheme
5)More news
6)flashMessenger, perhaps?
7)(festival), for which i have great concepts. CONTACT ME, Y'ALL LOOZAS FO SOME SKEENSHOTS, YEAH!

[banglafreak]

factor7, make the experienced users but not the newbies pay? thats extremely biased in my opinion. everyone free or everyone pay. (or make donations optional)

[clifffield]

The biggest problem I have with the site (actually the only one really) is that I feel there are too many steps to downloading a file.

Obtaining sound loops etc becomes a tedious process as I have to wait for pop up windows and so on and so forth. I would like to click the link and have the filesave dialogue box pop up straight away - without the intermediate step.

Other than that, FlashKit is an awesome resource, it is good to know it's not far from home either (I'm in NZ).

I have never had any speed issues or 404's.

Keep up the good work.

CF

[evade]

Please please change the colour scheme.
and maybe add a (compulsory to signup??) section where the difference between the sitecheck, cool sites, members sites etc. forums is spelt out in big letters with big pretty coloured pictures to illustrate the difference.

[visordown]

Definately

[list][*]Upgrade the forum to vB 2.0 this lowering load on the server which @ peak times in the forum must slow the whole site.[*]Keep it HTML - no questions.[*]Dont have a free email service - whats hotmail for ?[*]Maybe have a color change option in FLash Kit, I know that a lot of people use this @ work when they are not meant to, so what about an option to make it less abusive to the monitor thus more people can nip on @ work.

cheers !

~Ben

[thenewrules]

I've been to sites which offer services which can be billed to your phone bill. Having little tutorials and stuff for free is cool. But you could also have higher end stuff. "Download this complete turnkey internet commerce website kit, Click Here, a fee of $7.95 will be tacked on to your phone bill." or "Get my manual, Safeguarding your site from hackers, only 75 cents, click here".
As it stands now, designers can only hope to attract side business by posting tutorials. This way, designers can go out of their way to make some really nice product and get a little compensation for all the extra effort. You can pay out the way MP3.com or the banner ad companies do. Paying out after posters have accumulated $25 per monthly period.
It's good for the designers, it's good for people who need the services and it's good for Flashkit.
You could also offer all the Flashkit tutorials and movies on a CD set.

[thenewrules]

How's this for a method of making money for the site?
Flashkit can accept contract jobs doing flash sites.
Interested designers can hang out in what would be the equivalent of a virtual temp service. Let's say Flashkit lands a job doing McDonald's web site in Flash. You have a moderator who is like the group manager. He posts the various job descriptions on the board; Need a cartoonist to do Ronald McDonald riding a bike. Need a photographer to submit location shots. Need a Java Programmer familiar with submitting forms using ASP. Need a grunt to do cleanup and paint on submitted Ronald sketches.
You see a job description you like you apply on the board "Hey, I can draw Ronald McDonald blindfolded!" Then the Moderator comes back "OK FlashNutz, you get the job, go clock in" Jobs can be either flat rate contract, like $100 per sketch, or you can clock in on some kind of central database and work from your home computer by the hour.
You can set up a system like Cocoon which allows multiple users to work on different aspects of the same project simultaneously.
This would allow Flashkit to use their noteriety to attract real business, utilizing a virtual army of talented designers.

[thenewrules]

It would be cool to have a java script or something which will pop up a window alerting you when someone has answered one of your posts. That way you can post a question and roam around while you're waiting for an answer.

[bchew007]

I would like more polls.

[bchew007]

Maybe some book reviews?

[Nik128]

Originally posted by thenewrules
I've been to sites which offer services which can be billed to your phone bill. Having little tutorials and stuff for free is cool. But you could also have higher end stuff. "Download this complete turnkey internet commerce website kit, Click Here, a fee of $7.95 will be tacked on to your phone bill." or "Get my manual, Safeguarding your site from hackers, only 75 cents, click here".
As it stands now, designers can only hope to attract side business by posting tutorials. This way, designers can go out of their way to make some really nice product and get a little compensation for all the extra effort. You can pay out the way MP3.com or the banner ad companies do. Paying out after posters have accumulated $25 per monthly period.
It's good for the designers, it's good for people who need the services and it's good for Flashkit.
You could also offer all the Flashkit tutorials and movies on a CD set.

I don't agree with you.

• We all want Flashkit to be AD-FREE.
• The download kit you mentioned that adds a fee to your phone bill; no, there are thousands of members here on Broadband connection, and that Kit is not well recognized by other major websites.
• We all want fast surfing and powerful servers at Flashkit.
• Many people agreed that we all should give donations to FK. 100 000+ members, if each gives $1, it would be nice.
• Flashkit store would also be a great thing, buying T-shirts, CDs of cool loops, posters, and other goodies

This is a resource site, not a business site where you are supposed to pay just to download a 50kb-movie or small tutorial. Keep this in mind, if someone pays to download, he would have the downloads on his site, so everyone would go there, and Flashkit would face troubles removing those sites. There are better ways for Flashkit to make money.

[Knoj]

I would buy all of my books, and books through FK if they were sold here! I buy at least $300 in books, if FK got 5% of that, it's $15, take that by the number of people buying books, and FK remains free!

Why not hold contests for the member with the most sponsor clicks? The member that has the most "unique" banner clicks each month wins a tee-shirt, or a sound loop pack... It would encourage people to click on the banners, and that's where the $ comes in right?