Next weekend (Saturday for the US folks, Sunday for the AU/NZ folks), we need to have a small progress meeting. This will be like last weekend’s meeting, where I will be on more or less the whole day, and will have a number of bullet points to discuss. Please make an effort to stop by at some point during the day to give some insights. Guests are always welcome, and the chat is set up to allow guests to post. The meeting is also posted on the blog, and listed on the Calendar.

I'll update the toolbar announcement.

Great - I will try and book a computer for an hour at the library on Sunday. I kind of missed a lot at the last meet-up. Should I bring snacks and beverage ?

Yes, but you had better bring enough to share with everyone!

Absolutely, not fair to eat without bringing enough for everyone!

Matt

Okay folks, here are the discussion points for the meeting today:

1.) Simple assignments management (not FMS)

More and more it is obvious we need a very simple system for people who just want to do "drive-by" work on the project. These are people who want to take part, but have limited time and would rather just rapidly choose a task and perform it, rather than have to work through the assignment/submission process through the FMS. I propose a separate section or page of the site, where simple tasks can be listed quickly, and submitted easily. Again, this is not to replace the FMS, this is to cater to those who don't have as much time, and just want to jump right in. Something to consider would be categories in the FMS, so that a "simple" category could be called from this page and list only basic, quick tasks to be done. This section would be heavily promoted through the "Getting Started" guide, and would hopefully catch a lot of people who aren't ready for the larger dedication.

2.) Status on boards/site work

Just a follow-up from the last meeting, check on status of various projects (storyboards/site improvements)

3.) Blogs follow-up (Q's)

Any Q's about the blog system? Suggestions for improvement? Let's hear them!

4.) Fate of the portal

The portal is very useful (for those of us that use it!), but can still be very distracting to new members trying to find their way around. I do not wish to see the portal replaced, rather some options considered. One way or another, I'd like new visitors to land either on the blog or a simple "Getting Started" section first, then have the option to move on to the portal. The other option is to make the portal WAY more new-user friendly, which could mean sacrificing some of the function for form. Thoughts greatly appreciated!

5.) Getting Started Guide

I need help making sure this is user-friendly! I know it looks good enough to me, but it would definitely help if all of you wouldn't mind adding your own thoughts and observations into it.

Great meeting everyone! This bi-monthly, all-day meeting schedule has been working wonders! I think we've accomplished more in the last few weeks because of this than any other thing.

Now, I have been a bit feverish lately, so let's see how well I do in recapping this last meeting-if you feel I have left out anything, simply add it to the post for consideration!

1.) SAM system (simple assignment management)

In general, it seems almost everyone is in support of the idea of offering a simple assignment system for non-registered members and casual contributors. This system would be tied to the FMS but on a different page, and would lack a lot of the options available to registered users. In essence, the casual member could access a simple list of tasks (quick tasks; make a shipping crate, or a security camera, for example) and use a submit form to upload them for review. Again, this is not a replacement for the FMS, rather a "simple" mode that does not require registration or knowledge of the FMS. This section would be heavily advertised through the getting started sections in order to help lure people in. There are a few downsides, of course, namely the fact that someone has to approve submissions, and a system to handle what is displayed on the simple page must be worked out. This could be as simple as I listed above, where anything in the FMS fitting a certain category (ie; simple) is all that is listed. This system would not list things like the Nia mesh, or massive sets that need far more care and dedication than simple props. The important thing here is fast, small, do-able tasks for the casual contributor.

2.) Seems like progress on both the storyboards and website fixes are on track! We divided up the remaining scenes and assigned them yesterday, which leaves us 2 weeks out from our official goal for completion of this phase. Check the assignment thread for more information. Once the boards are done, they will go through an extensive review and any changes before we either decide to move right on to the animatic, or have one individual create the final draft board from all the submissions.

3.) Discussed (briefly) the blog system, and had time for any questions. Nothing major came up to report back on. I think everyone has a pretty good grasp on it.

4.) The portal was discussed heavily. A majority of us feel the blog is actually the best place for an unregistered member to land, as it is the most informative and easy to look at. This means a couple of things; namely that we will need to make an effort to keep content on that blog to keep people coming back. Right now, the draw of the portal is that it is regularly changing, listing new posts, etc. For the blog to appear to have the same level of activity, it is important to keep new articles on progress appearing. I'd like to see 2 articles a week, and the weekly recap takes care of one of those anyway. The portal itself would remain, as many of us use it regularly, but would not be the first stop for new people.

5.) We discussed a lot of options for a very visible "Getting Started" section, from a static page to an interactive tutorial. The current idea is to have a guided walkthrough via a banner in the header that can be turned off when you longer need the site. This would mainly serve to guide people through the site, show them each of the pages, and give them an idea of where to find certain information when needed. I have started a thread with the first mockups here:

viewtopic.php?p=5887#p5887


Finally, jut a couple of quick notes about the meetings in general. Meeting twice a month seems to be working wonders for productivity, and I think we ought to continue this regularly. One thing we did a little different this time worked; namely, in order to keep an all day meeting running (to get the most people), sometimes the meeting has to be led by different people. The bullet points for discussion will be posted before each meeting, so if one person has to leave, it is very easy for the next person to just take over and lead the Q/A for the next round of people. This is nice because no matter who you are, you don't want to be behind the computer ALL day long! So we'll see if running with that plan works well. All in all, it was a good meeting!

-CJ

(Obviously, I have opted to write a quick summary of conclusions, this does not cover word-for-word all the discussion that took place. If I have left anything out, please reply and I'll add it back in)