chuck_clark
Big Ring
Posts:277
Registered Users
Louisville
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| 06/19/2008 12:08 PM |
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I've been lucky enough this season to be able to ride a fair bit at several local trails so far this year. Several people I haven't seen in a while have been popping up on these rides. When the subject of this website comes up, many people are either telling me they had continued difficulty logging onto the site or they couldn't figure out how to logon to the forum once they came here. Since I have the link for the main forum page on my work and home computer desktop, it has become easy for me to navigate.
But, it's still hard if you don't have the KYMBA forum page link on your desktop.
I found this out when I was out of town this week. The hotel had a computer in the lobby. I typed in KYMBA.org and tried to get to the forum. There is a login at the bottom of the page, but that doesn't allow you to go the forum (or allow you to check posts in the forum as I found out later).
After hitting the community link, I then hit the 'click on bikelinks' icon and link in the center of the community page, I got an error and still do. I just checked.
So, I clicked on a specific post and got there, but low and behold, I wasn't logged into Bikeclicks. Going backward, I was still logged into KyMBA. So, I then had to login again (this time in bikeclicks) and then finally hit the forums link above the individual thread to get to the main forum page.
Why does it have to be this hard or this circuitous?
Why can't the community link send you to the main forum page?
Why is there a misleading login on the front page that leads you nowhere?
I think KyMBA will get a lot better membership, attendance, etc. when people can actually easily get to this forum and find out what is going on. |
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Rowbear
Big Ring
Posts:374
Registered Users
Lexington, KY
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| 06/19/2008 12:35 PM |
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| good points chuck |
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MEK
Big Ring
Posts:381
Registered Users
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| 06/19/2008 12:41 PM |
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| Wow Chuck. Thats a lotta clickin ............ Howz about clicking over to the chat session so you can really yell about it. |
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Chris Ward
Big Ring
Posts:188
Registered Users
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| 06/19/2008 1:01 PM |
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Web Guy
I have been told that there is a lot of work involved with running this website. We do appreciate everything that you are doing.
I have heard people say similar things about the website. Chuck is correct it is difficult to get to the fourm unless you have it book marked. It took me a good 30 minutes to figure out how to get to the forum the first time. Most people will assume it doesn't exist if they don't see a link on the front page.
It would also be nice if it could be cell phone web browser friendly.
The website looks great, it just needs to be a little more user friendly.
Thanks |
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WebGuy
Big Ring
Posts:324
Administrators
Louisville, KY
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| 06/19/2008 2:21 PM |
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All good suggestions. We're working to re-org things better and make the site easier. With racing season in full bloom it's been hard to find time to get everything we want done - but we have some things coming up which should make things better.
That said, it's important to realize that this site is more than just KyMBA. We have forums for other groups as well and host site for many teams, event's and clubs. In fact some forums for USGP and Kenda will be joining us shortly (they are currently on their own BikeClicks website).
We're trying to connect all of the regional cyclists in one place but still provide each group with their own "forum" within BikeCicks. This is a little confusing at times but if you give us some time we'll get it working well.
Thanks again for the feedback. It's appreciated and we're aware of it. |
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Steven Webster
Web Guy, BikeClicks.com |
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WebGuy
Big Ring
Posts:324
Administrators
Louisville, KY
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| 06/19/2008 2:27 PM |
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| One more question. The login on the homepage works for me just fine, in fact that's how I log in every day. Is it not working for eveyone? It should log you in, return you to the homepage and show you any current messages you have. |
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Steven Webster
Web Guy, BikeClicks.com |
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WebGuy
Big Ring
Posts:324
Administrators
Louisville, KY
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| 06/19/2008 2:31 PM |
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Also - keep in mind that the kymba.org site is hosted by us for kymba. We show the latest posts here on there so people see that there is a community on bikeclicks for KyMBA. I put some copy above and below this "25 latest posts" section explaining the relationship, what to expect, how it works, etc.
KyMBA felt it was important to have their own website that focused more on advocacy, education, information, etc. and the community belonged here. That said - we have been working with Mike a lot to help him finish out that site. He has some cool things planned for kymba.org but the community will remain on bikeclicks.
If you have some ideas on how we can explain everything better please let me know. This does tend to trip people up from time to time. |
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Steven Webster
Web Guy, BikeClicks.com |
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RIC0
Big Ring
Posts:314
Registered Users
sumwaresin, KY
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| 06/19/2008 3:21 PM |
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Something we always say here at work is KISS - Keep it simple stupid.
I here way more negative feedback about the site than positive. The more bells and whistles you turn on the more difficult it becomes for none web weenies. |
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scopes monkey
Little Ring
Posts:97
Registered Users
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| 06/19/2008 3:36 PM |
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I hear KISS a lot at my office too, only it usually followed by ...my a$$.
I figured out one way to get onto the site. Starting at the main page, I hit the Community tab and them the first post. From there I can log in and usually stay logged in where ever I may roam on the site. It's kind of a strange way to go about it but it seems to work. |
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Rowbear
Big Ring
Posts:374
Registered Users
Lexington, KY
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| 06/19/2008 3:50 PM |
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Posted By scopes monkey on 06/19/2008 3:36 PM
I figured out one way to get onto the site. Starting at the main page, I hit the Community tab and them the first post. From there I can log in and usually stay logged in where ever I may roam on the site. It's kind of a strange way to go about it but it seems to work.
that's is the method I use while at work since I can't bookmark
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chuck_clark
Big Ring
Posts:277
Registered Users
Louisville
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| 06/19/2008 4:20 PM |
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Posted By WebGuy on 06/19/2008 2:27 PM
One more question. The login on the homepage works for me just fine, in fact that's how I log in every day. Is it not working for eveyone? It should log you in, return you to the homepage and show you any current messages you have.
No, from the KyMBA homepage, it does not work as I stated.
I saw no current messages after logging in. It only returned me to the home page and said I was logged in at the bottom.
Furthermore, when I hit community, it has an odd assortment of latest posts and not necessarily all the latest posts. Similarly, when I glance over at the latest posts whether I am logged in or not, it's not truly the latest posts. I've posted before and then checked. It doesn't come up. |
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Tonybob
Big Ring
Posts:311
Registered Users
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| 06/19/2008 4:36 PM |
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No offense webguy, I am glad someone is takin the time to even put this togehter for us, but i find the whole thing, from signing up to account managing, pretty convoluted. I've also heard from folks who just "don't bother anymore" for the same reasons. omba, hmba, sorba - clear and easy.
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fasterdulin
Posts:100
Registered Users
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| 06/19/2008 5:17 PM |
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Not to worry - we're working toward all of the above. Eventually, all of us will be going directly to kymba.org for the mountain bike specific stuff, with the main difference being the site will be tied into the larger bikeclicks community if we want it. Like Webguy said, running the kymba forums through the bikeclicks community is essentially a placeholder until we can get our website back up and running (the hmba model is actually a very good example)
In the meantime, though, send any suggestions to either me or webguy as a private note. It will be easier to track everyone's ideas and will definitely help us improve the functionality.
It takes a bit of time, but so goes the life of an all volunteer organization.
Thanks everyone. |
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RIC0
Big Ring
Posts:314
Registered Users
sumwaresin, KY
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| 06/19/2008 5:25 PM |
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| Vbulletin |
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chuck_clark
Big Ring
Posts:277
Registered Users
Louisville
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| 06/19/2008 7:02 PM |
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| I'm sorry if it sounds like I am whining and I am very grateful someone is helping keep the site going, but I felt to not say something would be wrong. |
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FireBallKY
Big Ring
Posts:119
Registered Users
Lexington, KY USA
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| 06/19/2008 7:29 PM |
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Maybe I'm missing something here but what's wrong with just telling everybody to go to bikeclicks.com, click on communities and then KYMBA?
Tis what I do here at home AND at work.
No Chuck...saying "circuitous" was wrong. LOL |
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I'm not fat. That's a fuel tank for the love machine!!! |
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Chris Ward
Big Ring
Posts:188
Registered Users
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| 06/19/2008 8:27 PM |
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Posted By chuck_clark on 06/19/2008 7:02 PM
I'm sorry if it sounds like I am whining and I am very grateful someone is helping keep the site going, but I felt to not say something would be wrong. I don't think so. I have had a number of people tell me they had a difficult time figuring out where the forum was located. It is a strange set up, but it sounds like it is being worked on.
I actually was contemplating sending an email or starting a thread.
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WebGuy
Big Ring
Posts:324
Administrators
Louisville, KY
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| 06/19/2008 9:06 PM |
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Posted By chuck_clark on 06/19/2008 4:20 PM
No, from the KyMBA homepage, it does not work as I stated.
I saw no current messages after logging in. It only returned me to the home page and said I was logged in at the bottom.
Furthermore, when I hit community, it has an odd assortment of latest posts and not necessarily all the latest posts. Similarly, when I glance over at the latest posts whether I am logged in or not, it's not truly the latest posts. I've posted before and then checked. It doesn't come up.
Ah I see what you mean. You are trying to login to BikeClicks from the KyMBA website. Thought you meant the login on the homepage of BikeClicks.com.
Let me explain a little if I can. There are two sites. One for KyMBA.org and this one we are on now (BikeClicks). The KyMBA site is a completely seperate site (hosted by us). It's purpose is [eventually] to provide information about KyMBA, land management, what's going on for projects, etc.
A part of KyMBA is a forum. That forum resides over here on BikeCicks.com. We have a forum setup for KyMBA under the community section. We also have other communities setup, some are public and others are private (mostly for teams). The idea here is that the KyMBA website is the PR side of the organization and the forum is over here on BikeClicks. To show some of the latest posts from this site we setup an RSS feed of posts on the KyMBA site too....clicking on one will take you to BikeCicks.com. The information on that page on KyMBA attempts to explain how this all works.
Why do we do this? Well, most of us belong to more than one group of cyclists. For example, I belong to the Louisville Bicycle Club, Team Louisville, Purple Rides, Ohio Valley Cyclocross and KyCyclist. Depending on what I'm interested in I might look in three of four different places -all with seperate sites and seperate logins, etc. The idea behind BikeClicks is to provide communities for these groups, but to do it within one website.
So far, many people like it (even with the glitches) and it seems to be an active place. Yes, there are things we know we need to improve and yes we hope to continue to add more groups to the mix.
We are working on some new things to help you "tag" communities you belong to. Eventually giving you a "quick link" to things like latest posts, communities and maybe even latest photos for each of the communities you belong to.
So, there is a ton of work to do and we have a lot planned. I welcome the feedback and have heard much of it before. I understand the confusion between the two sites and would suggest that you start on BikeClicks.com instead of KyMBA.org. From the homepage, you just need to click on the KyMBA logo and you're there. Alternatively you can bookmake a direct address:
http://www.bikeclicks.com/Community/KyMBA.aspx
This will take you to the KyMBA community as well. Hang in there with us guys. I get a lot of feedback all the time, at races on rides, etc. While most of it is good we do see the cracks and will fill them in in time.
We certainly want this to be easy for people and this kind of feedback is great. Keep it coming.
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Steven Webster
Web Guy, BikeClicks.com |
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