I'll start off with one thing I want that I've been haphazardly putting together in the last few months: News.

What I mean by that is not everyone wants to keep up with the daily jib-jab of the forums. A lot of it is just friends chatting about their lives and sometimes that's fun and sometimes it's drab. Some people (especially newcomers who aren't friends with everyone yet) may just want "the facts."  That is, a one-stop shop where they can get major updates on what's going on with the dance(s) and the site without having to wade through the messy forums.

That's 1 thing I want for the new site.

Never thought i'd say this.  some sort of facebook integration would be nice.  not sure what or how but it sounds like a good idea in my head.  also, i would really use an RSS reader if i could subscribe to individual threads or integrate them somewhere else so i didn't have to actually come to floasis to look at the inspiring clips thread for instance.  Chat box was very fun.  Ummm, i would also like a more thoughtful background image on the forums that is easier to read against as well as fonts and colors of said fonts.  I scroll down a lot and find the water image hurt my eyes to read against.  To that end, I'd like a little more thought put into how this version will work on a smartphone.  About half of my internet browsing happens there and this, forum is a giant giant giant pain in the ass to use that way.

Also, I still really like the idea of archiving the forum annually.  I think it would really encourage positive growth by removing the stigma of content that is going to be repeatedly produced by newcomers to the art.

As far as the site (not the forum) goes, I would like to see multiple people (not just you and tmy) turning out content weekly in the form of articles, interviews, contests, whatever.  The format in my mind would look something like engadget.  Scrolling blog style.  Less is always more in my mind. Keep it clean.

Generally, I just like the idea of streamlining all the content that is put out by the community.  As it stands, it's fragmented horribly, and I don't waste my time with almost all of it because of that fact.

Like having a quicklink to the most recently commented or viewed threads on the forums availably on the mainpage would be cool.  And I don't know if it's possible, but I would really like to be able to see on the mainpage what the last 5 video clips posted on the forums are without having to look all the way around the forum.  Not sure if there is a way to link that stuff together especially in light of the fact that ppl post mad

Hey all --

So I'm going to temporarily don my web dev / user experience design / interaction design hat and talk a little about web stuff and what I think Floasis needs.

User Experience

First and foremost, a good website is whether or not there is a good user experience.  The user knows exactly what to do and what impact those actions have.  If they have a clear idea of how to get involved and how that's important, then they'll engage.

Forums, while wonderful for communities that are already engaged (most of us), are quite bad for introducing new people.  I've met several people at parties who lurk the forums but never get involved because they feel like outsiders.  I mean, I also personally remember my first few posts felt very weird and alien, and it took me a long time to feel like I was actually contributing.

As a member of a forum, you're really given no directive on how to behave.  Once again, great for people who are already 'in' the circle, but really awkward for those 'out' of the circle who want in.  With no clear way of knowing what to do and what effect those actions have, visitors are likely not compelled to directly engage.

This idea of being compelled to engage is not only for new users.  There should also be clear "calls to action" for veteran users (btw, I don't think the forums should go away, I just think they shouldn't be the central focus of the site).

Anyhow, here are some possible ways to encourage engagement...

• Some sort of "request a coach" / "become a coach" program -- maybe integrated w/ meetup, maybe a skype thing?
• Times to tune into a stream ("Check us out on Justin.tv every Thursday @ 7pm!"
• Dance challenges -- users submit videos of themselves:
  
  • Dancing to a particular song
  • Talking about some dance topic
  • Dancing with a particular restriction

Also, branding.  When I think of floasis people, I think of spunky, geeky urbanites who are always willing to share and help out.  A mechanically minded folk who also enjoy physically churning the wheels.  I want to see that story in the logos and the icon sets & graphics.  Making the brand graphically clear as soon as people land on the site clarifies the user experience; the personality of a site serves as a personal invitation for people to actually whip out their webcam or actually press the "sign up" button.

-Mainpage link for View Recent Posts
-Mainpage recent clips

Same for recent music updates would be cool.

If you do anything with the forums enabling more types of players to be embedded, like soundcloud.

And maybe split off a separate opinions/ misc/ gossip (thunderdome) board for flame wars, trash talking, e-thugging, off topic and all that fun hilarious internet garbage. You know the playground for when you're being immature. Then have the rest positive talk with none of that junk allowed.

I'd like the ability to watch posted clips and/or browse the site while at the same time using a chat feature to chat with other members.  this would be good for critiques.  Quote from: tommy VFIII on  "instead of tinychat intergration i want some other webcam tech.... tinychat is very laggy and lacks functionality." male nudity.