For a Hijack This! log, when in doubt, google. Believe it or not, this is the surest way I know of finding out what most processes are doing on your machine.
For a Hijack This! log, when in doubt, google. Believe it or not, this is the surest way I know of finding out what most processes are doing on your machine.
The "resolved thread" idea is something that is impossible to implement on the current version of Vbulletin, but will become possible after the upgrade.
One thing I would like to say, is that I hope that nobody feels that posting to this thread is a waste of time. I can assure everybody that all opinions and views are being, and will be, carefully considered. But we will have a much harder job in putting things right if we don't know what members think is wrong. So I too would encourage everybody to speak out.
Hello everyone, I have been sitting back just reading this thread for several days now but felt it was time for me to add some input. first of all some of you know that I am BJ's brother. He does not know that im posting this & has no effect on what I have to say. I know that he will read this & I hope he does not get mad at me for doing so.
First of all when I first came to VDR I barely knew how to even power up a pc. I learned a lot from BJ but most of all I know I have learned by just coming here & reading the threads. I am, in no way a computer expert but I know enough to get by in most situations. This place has also helped me in my career as an engineer at a local hospital as it went all computerized a few years ago. Most all of my co-workers think im a genius. ;)
I feel that the input so far has been excellent but everyone has to know that some of it will probably be impossibe to implement but im sure a lot of it can be. As far as the ad situation goes we must keep in mind that VDR is a free site & needs the ads to survive so maybe we as members should show a little more tolerance in that area.
Ok this is the part I may get in trouble for, I believe BJ is a great leader for VDR, he spends most of his waking hours here making sure this site stays a clean nice place for all to visit & genuinely cares for the welfare of this site & it's members, I know because I see it on a daily basis.
Last but not least, I feel that you will not find a better team of mods anywhere on the internet as the ones that are here. Sidewinder
Gee Sidewinder, I liked that post and you shore aren't in trouble with me. :D :D
Hey toolman55 and the rest of ya'all. What do you think of disecting some of the different types of entries in a HJT log in a separate thread in Spyware,Trojans, and Virus Forum and how to look 'em up etc in Google as JPNYC talked about. And how to use a HJT log when or if you do run into troube. Just a general little discussion to familarize people. Would that help ya' think?
Reading what you that have posted have said makes me think you have also brought up some neat ideas. Keep it all coming. :) :)
Hi Sidewinder,
You wrote:
"I feel that the input so far has been excellent but everyone has to know that some of it will probably be impossibe to implement but im sure a lot of it can be. As far as the ad situation goes we must keep in mind that VDR is a free site & needs the ads to survive so maybe we as members should show a little more tolerance in that area."
Sidewinder, I agree with everything that you have said with one very minor exception. I do not think that anyone, who has posted is advocating that any of the VDR ads go poof into the night.
I do not know of another website, where the homepage shows nothing but ads, and you have to scroll down to get to content. This is a marketing issue IMO. VDR needs to have ads but it also needs to attract more visitors, who eventually become registered members.
If all of the ads displayed on the homepage without scrolling down, then VDR is doing a good job with ads but short changing their own VDR self-interest. The 15-20% that I quoted was maximum without scrolling down the webpage. Right now, on the VDR homepage, there is no VDR content visible unless you scroll down the homepage.
Linda
Linda, can I ask what size monitor and resolution you're viewing on? Because for me the ads cover maybe the top third of the screen, prior to scrolling. Also, can you give an example of a forum that isn't privately owned, whose layout of ads etc. you like?
Aww shucks Sidewinder, I'll deal with you later. :D BJ
I think the separate thread idea might be good, and I also think that the VDR's 'search' engine as such, should be touted and pointed to,.. to a greater extent. There's a wealth of knowledge available right here....not to say that we shouldn't point to other viable sources, we should.Quote:
Originally posted by greengoose1
What do you think of disecting some of the different types of entries in a HJT log in a separate thread in Spyware,Trojans, and Virus Forum and how to look 'em up etc in Google as JPNYC talked about. And how to use a HJT log when if you do run into troube. Just a general little discussion to familarize people. Would that help ya' think?
JPNYC....fwiw...
I use a 17" screen and with firefox, or IE, the entire first screen is the right-hand ad, and on the left, the news box with VDR header above, so any page I go to I have to scroll down before the 'action' starts'......my screen settings are 800 x600 pixels.
poppy
Hi JPNYC,
I have a Dell 17 inch flat screen monitor with my Dell OptiPlex GX400.
My current resolution is 800 x 600. At this resolution, it is much easier for me to read and view images.
I have tried setting it at 1024 x 768 and without scrolling the homepage is still all ads. Only when I set the screen resolution to 1280 x 1024, then I can view "the most recent threads but everything else is ads or ad related. This is still way more thaan 15-20%.
Linda
:D
Hmm, well with the upgrade will come a change in that ad and in it's positioning. Instead of being above the main content table, it will be beside it, to the right. That may improve this issue some.
Linda, do you have an url to a site whose design you like? Thanks.
Linda, I also have a 17" LCD Flatscreen Monitor & running 800x600 resolution. I only have to scroll two small turns on my scroll wheel to see the most recent thread links & the ones below that.:confused: BJ
I'm running a 19in. monitor @ 1280 x 1024... looks like so.
At 800 x 600...
At 1024 x 768...
And there ya go... Pretty bad at anything but the highest resolutions.
GreenGoose1
I would be up for that (disecting some Hijack this logs). I've never used HJT so it would be interesting to try it, and then google the entries as JPNYC suggested. And then I would have some input here to see if I'm on the right track or not.
I love to learn new stuff.
I have tried to use the search engine here but I have very little success with it (it's probably because I'm doing something wrong :rolleyes: ). I just feel like I'm spinning wheels trying to come up with an answer, so I'll google it or research it some other way.
I am doing what some of you probably already do...when I come across something interesting, even if I don't need it now, I save it to a folder in my favorites. I have how-to chapters along with folders titled "HDD", "New Builds", "OS's"(with sub folders with the various OS's out there).
Let us know if you get anything rolloing, Greengoose1.
Thanks for the suggestion.
But there are only 2 ads on that homepage. The rest is links to articles, a navigation and the site header.
The two horizontals up top... and the large block to the right is an ad box...... currently showing whitepapers.....
i guess the reason i dont have a problem with that page is i dont go there, i have a shortcut on my desktop that takes me to xp forum then i just go where i want to from there.
Ok. there's 3. The very thin jupiterimages ribbon at the very top is ours.Quote:
Originally posted by Abhoth
The two horizontals up top... and the large block to the right is an ad box...... currently showing whitepapers.....
As a designer I'm really not so much bothered by the ads... it's their size! And it's not just the ads... here I am at the message post screen and I have to scroll down to get to the whole message box portion. The Virtual Dr. internet news box and the large ad box floats up there causing this. As an experienced user of the forums it's just auto now to scroll down and start typing... but for those that are new here it's probably more of a noticable pain... ;-)
The problem as I see it is that the design has no cohesivness... it doesn't flow right. Causes confusion to the eye... things look like they're just dropped out there without much thought to the look and feel.
You need a three column CSS flex design and a real navigation menu in the left sidebar... more easily said than done. Simply because you have to look at Jupiter Media as a whole, what is done here will have an effect upon other areas.
Yeah, the thin ones up top are not that big a deal really, it's when you get into the body of the site that some of the large blocks become a design/usability issue....Quote:
Originally posted by JPNYC
Ok. there's 3. The very thin jupiterimages ribbon at the very top is ours.
And don't get me wrong here, ads are necessary!
But outside of the header ribbons there's only 1 large block that is an ad on that homepage. The rest is the site's content.
True, more or less... but, with the ribbons up top, then the header with Jupiter tabs and such it really limits you. Then you throw in the Latest news from Internet.com and the huge block ad... well. Content gets pushed......
Thus my reasoning for a three column layout... right column would have the Latest news, in a scroller if you like.... the large block ad below it, but you would have to use a narrower but taller ad for the HP boys.
Content now rides in the center just below the VDr header then...
Well I must say that you have all given some very Good Ideas..
Web Design is way beyond me. (just learning that)
So whatever you do decide to do,Please remember this----
VDRs pages are FAST, at my end anyway....PLEASE Keep them FAST....I just payed your Sister Site a Visit, Second time ever since joining...I'm not Techy minded n only have a 2nd class education, but that site n the other (Datamation & Windows BBS) are way way to slow in changeing their pages...(I'm on Cable 750Mbt)..So Don't go the slow way....
I must say JP, this gota be only second time I've come across you in VDR, Hope to see more of you...
As regards Other Members poping into this Thread to give their views!! You'll probably have to get the Whip Out!..Why do I say that! Thought that would be Obvious to most of you....
Most Members tend to stay on the Forum they most Frequent at least 95% of the time, maybe 100% all I know....
When I first joined i tended to stay on Windows 98...Now it's Windows XP first, then a Trawl around the others if I got time..
As regards the ADDS, I Hate Adds unless it Interests me! Never Click em but do appreciate that VDR needs em..Put them down the Right hand side...Though like 'abhoth' I also run a 19in Monitor in 1280x1024 so tend to ignore em...
The Colour/Color of these pages is GREAT for my Eyes. so Please do not change the Color...I'm sure others will agree on that un!
OK, I'm off to change my Email Addy as I can not Access Yahoo for Email these days....Their Email is gone to the Dogs since changeing...Still all i ever got there was 1000s of Spam, lets hope they stay there..LOL---I'm not as Constructive as most of you in giveing advice, but I can assure you that if there be anything I don't like or dissagree with, I will let you know!!....
Take Care..
KEEP UP the GOOD Work ALL....
The news headlines are part of the content. And every company that runs a site has some kind of header and navbar somewhere.
I just opened VirDr and your attention does not go left to the forums nor are they marked as forums. And that is what a new viewer is looking for - the forums. How about the forums marked as forums in a bigger font and put where the news is now and then as you scroll down you would see the rest of the VirDr breakout. The news goes to the left. That way what the viewer is looking for is in the center almost with the other offerings around it.
Not trying to be contrary here... but... ;-) I don't consider the Latest news as part of the "content" of VDr. Considering the fact that it takes me away from VDr to another of JM's sites.Quote:
Originally posted by JPNYC
The news headlines are part of the content. And every company that runs a site has some kind of header and navbar somewhere.
The primary content of VDr would be the forums and that should be what is featured... in the cleanest, clearest and most usable fashion.
No problem really with the VDr header, aside that it gets pushed south, but not bad.
And the navbar to the left could easily be similar to what's in place, but it would have flyouts for the sub-forums within that group. Thus, you aren't taken to another page where you get a list of 2 or 3 forums to choose from... Usability factor, the fewest clicks to get where you're going.
Apologies for all the 2 cents worth, must be up to a buck and a quarter by now!
I've only gotten as far as Katmacs post on the first page, so I may comment more.Quote:
Originally posted by KatMac
And a P.S. We should always, without fail, make every effort to greet a newbie with a "Welcome to Virtual Dr." and a :). A warm greeting and a friendly, helping hand reaching out goes such a long way!
But as the the person who has probably posted the most if not all "Congratulations on 10 billion posts" I find it funny that showing appreciation for staying and posting is not seen as necessary but welcoming a new member is.
I take it as given that a new member is always welcome and can always find help here at Vdr, but I would rather seem them stay and participate by learning more and helping others than posting once or twice, welcomed by 3 or 4 people and then never seen again.
In fact the "Welcome to Vdr" line is probably one of my pet peeves" so maybe that's why I like congratulating people on their post count achievments birthdays etc.
Guess it just goes to show people can have completely opposite views on things.
A couple of sites I frequent sent me emails on my birthday - system generated but still I thought that was impressive.Quote:
Originally posted by hongman
And also, this the only forum I know that has 'Happy Birthday' posts! :D
Ok a few more comments in no specific order of importance:
Seems there is a division on whether we keep existing members or aquire new ones - if you look at the members list there are 1000s of members with 0 posts - why did they join, when will they post are they skewing the statistics.
emailing old users won't work as there are literally thousands of them, 10s of thousands even, most with 5 posts or less ??
A few people have discussed entry point, personally I use http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sea...etdaily&days=2 and almost never go to the home page.
Talk of an "Enter Here" makes me shudder as to me if you go to a home page you don't want to have to click "Enter Here" to really get things started you want to get into the thick of it right away. Besides sites that usually have an "Enter Here" or redirect you to a page that does usually have some other motive to prevent you from getting directly to the info you want, ie they want you to pay a fee. eg Porn Sites and Online Casinos, is that the sort of association we want even if we weren't actually charging people ?
I used to have VDr permanently open in a window in the background somewhere, lately I'll visit once a day if that - just seems the quality of threads have deteriorated, nothing juicy to get stuck into.
Every second thread seems to be to do with HJT.
Rough sums based on setting 200 members per page:
74,275 Members as per top left on http://discussions.virtualdr.com/index.php?s=
Approx 28,600 members with 0 posts or 38.5%
Aprox 69,000 members with 5 posts or less (inclusive of the 0 posters) or 92.89%
Hmmmm, JPNYC, you certainly seem very resistant to what most of the posters here are saying (few though we may be) . . .
The ad design is extremely slapdash, in my book. It's the kind of thing that makes me totally uninterested in clicking on a link. Ditto with the headlines at the top. They seem rather random. As Linda was saying, start with the most newsworthy, then go from there. Inverted pyramid.
It would be better, however, if a lot of the ads could be put at the side.
You seem to be saying, well, these ads are not a problem on my computer. But of course, users have somewhat of a range of monitor sizes/qualities/resolutions. So give some thought to what your users are saying, and what the consensus seems to be is that the current design is not pleasing.
If the point of having ads is to be able to tell your advertiser you have a certain number of eyes (which you certainly do, but unwilling eyes it would appear) and that out of that X number of readers will click a link, then the strategy is probably not helping the advertisers or Virtual Dr. You can't promise them the kind of success they want with the current design (I say this, of course, not knowing how well or poorly ad revenue may be here, but it's my surmise that it's a mixed bag).
Design, attractive design, can make a huge difference. I think it is not enough anymore to focus only on content (of which there is a huge amount). Given two sites, one with loads of content but poor design, the other with loads of content that draws the reader in, makes things easy to find, makes you want to click a link and arouses your curiosity, not your annoyance), guess which one wins?
It's all very well for a certain segment of the forum to say they want more really technical threads for really really professional IT people. I don't know if this is the place for it, at least in the main part of the forum. You could have your own segment, your own board within Virtual Dr. But quite frankly, though I'm something of a geek, I would be totally turned off if this place veered toward the professionals among us as a main focus.
Cheers
Wendy
:cool:
here is a well laid out forum (IMHO).
Good Morning Hongman,
I agree with you. The link that you provided is a well-designed website.
This site puts the content first and makes it convenient for the web surfer. I could only see the top of an ad but I wanted to see who was advertising. I ended up scrolling down the page.
The website did something very critical, IMO. They worked to establish the website's credibility with the visitor. Without clicking on anything, this credibility was established with me, which is why I scrolled down the entire webpage.
This is marketing 101; i.e., they fishing pole has a hook and juicy bait for all of those fish swimming in the vicinity.
I bet this website revenue stream is growing too.
Cheers,
Linda
His higher, who dictates, probably is the one who's ear you really need to get a hold of.Quote:
Originally posted by user595212
Hmmmm, JPNYC, you certainly seem very resistant to what most of the posters here are saying (few though we may be) . . .
The ad design is extremely slapdash, in my book. It's the kind of thing that makes me totally uninterested in clicking on a link. Ditto with the headlines at the top. They seem rather random. As Linda was saying, start with the most newsworthy, then go from there. Inverted pyramid.
Cheers
Wendy
:cool:
We have all been there.
And I thnk they use V-Bulletin software too?Quote:
Good Morning Hongman,
I agree with you. The link that you provided is a well-designed website.
This site puts the content first and makes it convenient for the web surfer. I could only see the top of an ad but I wanted to see who was advertising. I ended up scrolling down the page.
The website did something very critical, IMO. They worked to establish the website's credibility with the visitor. Without clicking on anything, this credibility was established with me, which is why I scrolled down the entire webpage.
This is marketing 101; i.e., they fishing pole has a hook and juicy bait for all of those fish swimming in the vicinity.
I bet this website revenue stream is growing too.
Cheers,
Linda
Anyways, we have pretty much established that a big part of bring new people in is the software/search engine thing, which we have expanded on.
Does anyone have suggestions for keeping existing members, well, existing? Like the Dr said, more and more of the core posters are dropping back to lurking, or not even at all (myself included).
Anyone?
Hi Hongman,
Quote by Hongman
"Does anyone have suggestions for keeping existing members, well, existing? Like the Dr said, more and more of the core posters are dropping back to lurking, or not even at all (myself included)."
Why are you dropping back? Satisfied at the level your at? Or have enough knowledge to go on you own? Or are the subjects you see not interesting? Or are the questions you have asked in the past being repeated? Or is their not enough discussion type threads that would give you additional knowledge. Or would you rather be doing something else? Or is this the first place you want to be when you wake up in the morning?
Put another way - What would get your blood pumping at VirDr?
:) :)
To answer both the questions posed by DrMDJ and Hongman:
All of the topics covered in the Most Recent Threads and the Most Active Threads all revolve around spyware, virus, and my computer is dumb....
IMO, for regular members to continue to come to VDR and to post requires a much greater diversity of content. I have made numerous posts to help these users but the featured topics are no longer providing me with an educational benefit. Does this that I know everything about computers. Certainly not. It just means that all of the threads being featured are narrowly focused.
I have been in a leadership position for my local PC user group. Here is what I have found. Our membership is 75% IT professional, developer and small business owner but 90% of our new members are also in this category.
When I first took over the UG leadership, I discovered that there were a lot of misperconceptions about the UG's demographics. Having this diversity in our membership benefits our end-users as well as other IT professionals. This diversity allows a lot of syngeries to develop.
When I started to schedule vendor presentations on a number of Microsoft products such as MOM 2005, Virtual Server 2005, 4 Active Directory training sessions, and ISA 2004; I was told that no one would attend these meetings. After all, our user group was end-users and hobbyists. .... but they had not analyzed the membership stats. At everyone of these presentations, we have had at least 30 - 50 people attending.
When I started this program, we were getting 1-3 new members per month. Now, we are getting 7-10 new members per month and it is continuing to rise.
We are upgrading our hardware and software to Windows SharePoint Services 2003 and SharePoint Portal Server 2003. Does everyone want to know how to develop SharePoint applications. No. But one of the driving reasons to be in a user group is learn about technology's leading edge. Lots of people want to know what the trends are and understand from an overview perspective.
What I have also found is that the 75% of our membership is the most generous in sharing what they have learned with other user group members.
If JP and VDR decide to go this route, I think that it is what they will also discover. This diversity of registered members and featured content will also make for a more enriched experience for everyone. It will also tell visitors that there is something for everyone.
Cheers,
Linda
Nix, to some extent you may be right. But if so, this need not and should not be the case. I am one of those that happens to fall on the side saying our most numerous/severe problem(s) relates to exisitng (or former) members, particularly the more experienced/knowledgeable ones. Nonetheless, there is no reason this needs to be or should be approached or addressed as an "either, or" thing.Quote:
Seems there is a division on whether we keep existing members or aquire new ones
Question Linda, how do you propose we can change the questions that new members post to make them more challenging to the current members? BJ
GreenGoose:Quote:
Why are you dropping back? Satisfied at the level your at? Or have enough knowledge to go on you own? Or are the subjects you see not interesting? Or are the questions you have asked in the past being repeated? Or is their not enough discussion type threads that would give you additional knowledge. Or would you rather be doing something else? Or is this the first place you want to be when you wake up in the morning?
Put another way - What would get your blood pumping at VirDr?
~Nope, not satisfied at all!
~Nope, dont have enough knowledge to go on my own- not the way I do things anyway!
~Subjects are getting more repetitive, although i am not sure how much we can influence that right now.
~Not enough discussion type threads: definately. I love those deep type threads that explore each and every detail...leaves you feeling like you have learnt so much!
But the main reason, as I have stated before is I no longer run Windows at home, I run Linux. So I am concentrating a lot more of my time at Linux forums, since the Linux section of Vdr is...not so good.
What gets my blood pumping at Vdr the most is the discussion type theads. Browsing thru problem & answer type threads are OK to pick up some general knowledge, but it can get repetitive.
Hope this portrays my views accurately.
Hong
Linda, I believe your statements are pretty much right on target. There are or maybe other issues/problems, but this is certainly one of them, a core one. VDR (at its best) is (needs to be) a mixed community in terms of the knowledge/experience/interests of its members. Let me be clear in saying (and I'm sure you and others agree) that no one is saying that the needs, questions, wants or presence of the (if you will) lesser experienced/knowledgeable members are to be dimissed, are not important, etc. But the more experienced/knowledgeable member need to get what they need as well.Quote:
IMO, for regular members to continue to come to VDR and to post requires a much greater diversity of content. I have made numerous posts to help these users but the featured topics are no longer providing me with an educational benefit. Does this that I know everything about computers. Certainly not. It just means that all of the threads being featured are narrowly focused.
BJ, the issue is not one of changing the questions new members ask. People need to ask the questions they have. I think it simply boils down to the fact that there have to be enough (what ever that means) questions/topics of a sufficient level/type to provide a balance that will keep more knowledgeable users engaged/interested. It's not that anyone has any problems having what might be called lower level questions asked or answering them. But when these become too predominant it becomes a problem. People get bored, burnt out. They need things that will stimulate and challenge them, are more in line with their interests, provide something that will contribute to their growth.