Category: Zone BBS Suggestions and Feedback
A lot of people have asked about what might be next. While nothing has been planned and I don't want to make any promises (have definitely learned that lesson here a few times), I'd be interested to hear what you think the next chapter might look like if there is one. Should the site be reprogrammed and brought back on the web? Should it be a mobile app? Something else? Or should we concentrate on just keeping some community boards out there such as the new Reddit forum, Facebook group, etc. Or is it simply just time to move on.
Also, which features are most important to you? While forums and chat are available a lot of places now, I know some of our games and other features are unique and not found in other places.
I don't want to get anyone's hopes up at the moment. A lot would have to happen for a Zone 2.0 to emerge, including finding some new developers, redoing a lot of code, and finding more people who can give this site some love. Or maybe there are some small certain parts that it would make sense to bring back in some form. But most importantly, we wouldn't want to create something else just to see it neglected.
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I'd personally love to see a mobile app for iOS and android. That would be hella useful.
I'd like the games. I can post on FB, and between family and other friends on there, there's plenty of blindness awareness pages. I think the card games should be expanded, and the Anagrams too. Nothing is so wonderful, like the moment when I figure out that for the first time I can remember, I could spell this or that word.
I also like the quicknotes.
Thank you for all the fun, and sorry if I sounded firm. Me and Flop Eared Monster, and others, really needed a site like this. And, I think it's still necessary.
Thanks, and Here's To The Future, or as it was said in Star Trek: 6:
"To The Undiscovered Country!"
Blessings,
Sarah
I've always used the zone from my computer, personally, so I'm not quite as fussed about a mobile app, myself. That said, I like the ease with which people can just show up and decide to chat. I like private messages and profiles as well. Anagrams were cool, even if some people just came on in order to get a perfect score on them. lol
So to make a long story short, I'm not sure how this ought to work. From an effort standpoint it might just be time to move on. But I've been here a lot today, and the sheer outpouring of memories of this place tells me that there will be a lot who are sad to see it go, even if they're more than capable of getting on without it.
It would be great to see a mobile app, but it would definitely take some time to develop, especially if you want those of us with multiple disabilities to be able to use it. And is there a Facebook group?
A lot of the problems are due to the software and somewhat to the drama, but really not the majority of people within the community. The trick is in coming up with something that isn't duplicated elsewhere. We have text chat, voice chat, games, boards, etc. on other websites and they do a decent job of those things. Maybe with some really innovative ideas, a reboot to get rid of old code, and an infusion of talent, something could happen. I'd recommend using the Reddit group at http://reddit.com/r/zonebbs to brainstorm ideas. You never know...
While I can certainly understand the desire not to just replicate what can be found elsewhere, the zone is its own little niche. Having a bunch of stuff, duplicated or not, in one place was precisely one of its appeals, for me at least.
I absolutely go with what Chris N said on this one. I mostly enjoyed the boards myself when I was here, going into quicknotes every now and again.
Agreed with the previous poster, and this was the only browser-based app of its kind I actually found enjoyable. If I would design a new community from scratch...It would honestly look like this, albeit with a mobile app with push notifications for, say, person watch. But that's really it, this is how well the UX was designed.
the things I loved about here Quick notes of course. but the number of boards from everything from animals to food to amusing forum games. I'd love to see those continue in some form the games not so much since the points were just bragging but the zone forums and QNS for sure. even if it's an IOS/Android app.
I liked the QN feature a lot, and I feel that the boards are beneficial to those who are not on social media and stuff.
And I honestly wouldn't mind having another one of these with better coding, but I wouldn't cry if another site never happened again either.
Oh, and I'm up for trying the mobile app idea too.
I personally would like a mobile app.
Another vote for a mobile app of some kind, at least to keep the games and quicknotes
going. Have you considered doing some sort of crowd-funding to create something new?
I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only one happy to donate.
Personally, I think that if the games and the message boards could survive, those would be useful for loads of people.
Wish I had time to say more, but I'm cutting it awefully close to the wire.
If the site could be made read-only for the most part and the domain name payed off for a few years, in order to give the new team time to recode the thing, I'd most likely come back when the new site went up.
Honestly, iPhone apps and android apps are kinda overrated. Why not just stick with what works, which this site has for ages.
Thanks for all the fun,
Shaun C
I would like to see the message boards archived somehow. Some of them were great resources for learning about certain things from technology to daily living questions.
I'd love to see a renewed site brought back online with the anagrams and other games that are unique to this site as the major concentration. Although I haven't participated in the forums and boards, I regret not checking them out in more detail. Iagree that having a mobile app would give versatility but keeping with thisform would be fantastic as it works! Truthfully, I wouldn't have known the code was out of date. This is one of the few sites that works just about perfectly with my screen reader JAWS. Please consider bringing back the site. Meanwhile, it has been fun! Thank you bunches!.
I like the quick notes and messaging. It is much easier to use than Facebook, and more random than Skype. I liked Graffiti also and the make a new friend feature. I played anagrams speed everyday and will miss that as much as the quick notes. This site enabled me to meet other blind people I would have never met any other way. I did not grow ujp with or live around other blind people, so this has been a true blessing. I have made some close friends. I would be willing to help with moderating a new board. I am not skilled enough at coding to help in development, but I am even keel and respectful and have informally helped moderate the drama quite a bit. I vote for a new site, if on smart phone fine, but I prefer a web based version. I'd even pay a bit to have this kind of site again. Nothing wrong with we blind people integrating, I certainly have done so, but nothing wrong with being able to be in a comfortable space with those for whom constant explanations and misunderstanding are absent.
a mobile app complete with the quicknotes feature, a message boards feature and the anagram game would be a nice start toward something that could maybe develop into a zone spin-off. It is my hope the app wouldn't be too huge in terms of a storage hog if such an idea were to unfold.
i would like to see a web site that is similar to this, and maybe have some sections for teenagers 13/21 and one for over 21 years old. a mobile app also highly desire as it can be easier to manage from user prospective. if J or Chris are interested to develop a mobile app, or even rewrite some of the code, i might have developer that is interested to have a go at it. i do think we need more commitments from the users to the site, and yes, more love and less dramas.