Live chat criticism

[ba229]

For a while now I was wondering if it was just my computer, but tonight confirmed it.

The live chat is shocking. :(

It is slow and crashes all the time. :(

The more people that get on the worse it gets. :(

I got on tonight to be part of a new record for the most members on at one time. :)

At about 11 members it crashed. :(

Thought it was me but then noticed all the members who were there started to come back into the live chat. :)

Can something be done? ???

I'm sure more would use it if it was reliable and user friendly.

Please express your views and hopefully Steve can look into it. ;)

Regards
Alex

[propdinger]

for the price you cant complain ;)

[Maria]

Hey go easy dude...as Jeff said, for the price you pay for Ausfish (i.e....sweet F.A), there aint much room to complain. Yeah the chat isn't the best around, and it's probably server related, but I reckon I speak for 99% of members in saying that Steve does a fantastic job in keeping Ausfish alive and we're grateful that Ausfish is what it is today, regardless of how well the chat works.

Ben

[DaneCross]

Buy more Ausfish merchandise, eg stickers, hats, etc... More support, the better the service ;) ;D
Sure the crashing gets a little frustrating but the site's too popular for its own good. Gotta put up with a few little inconvieniences to get the best damn info goin 'round ;) ;D

[ba229]

I take it all back

[damons33]

i dont think its unfair for the guy to bring a problem to the attention of the management- sweet fa! no way! i buy a lot of stuff that gets endorsement here, so it is payed for in a way and those sponsors wouldnt bother if it didnt work for them. i didnt see offence in ba's remarks-just telling it how it is i thought, i didnt even view the comment as a complaint. whats the point of have a chat room that doesnt work properly anyhow!
damon ::)

[Maria]

Sure, there's some people who buy merchandise from Steve which can go some ways to contributing to the development and maintainance of the site - I take my hat off to you for supporting the cause.

However, I'm sure Steve could offer you some statistics of how much merchandise is bought in relation to how many members there are....i.e, X number of members out of 5117 members have bought merchandise totalling $X in sales revenue, or an average sales revenue per month etc. Then I'm sure he could offer you information on the money factors associated with owning, maintaing and running a dynamic website such as this one - you'd probably be quite surprised.

You would then be able to draw your own conclusions by weighing up the expenses and revenues. Don't forget to take in other factors such as time, effort etc.

Possibly a more assertive approach would be to email Steve with suggestions on how the problem could be rectified instead of outright complaining about it.

Maybe if you were being slugged $39.95 a year for AusFish membership, then there would be something to complain about. Just remember the old saying that says "Don't bite the hand that feeds you..."

Ben

[TonyM]

Ben I think you've missed the point mate - it doesn't work and Alex has done the right thing by raising it.

Steve doesn't run this site as a game - it's his business, and yes as far as i can see it's financed largely by advertising which we make possible by being here.

You suggest we might react differently if there was a subscription fee - Hell yeah! We'd stay away in droves - there are alternatives, and subscription based web sites (other than sex sites) have a strong history of failure. I say this from my experience working in the IT industry over the last 15 years, specialising in online related development for the last 10.

Having said that I think Steve has done a wonderfull job of building an online community, and as such he fully deserves to reap the rewards.

Ben you mention Alex should raise the issue, rather than complain about it. That's what he did mate! in relation to providing suggestions as to how to fix it, I have several that I'd be more than glad to discuss with Steve if he likes. Although as he has his own development team I'm sure they are allready aware of several alternatives.

Phew that was long winded, however I hate to see someone shot down for expressing an honest and accurate opinion.

[Maria]

My appologies for seeming as though I was shooting him down - it certainly wasn't intended as a personal crack at him.

Ben

[TonyM]

Thanks Ben, I'm not normally so long winded and I know you (like most of us) are here for the enjoyment of collaborating with like-minded people. Good on you for sticking up for the Site (and Steve) as it's worth it!

I guess what set me off is that I know how easy it is for people to mis-read what we write online, and quite often we can easily sound harsher than we normally would (because typing sucks and we all hate it) ;D Sometimes people can be so annoyed/hurt by missunderstood comments can leave and we are all poorer for it :(

p.s. Let me know if you're ever in Hervey Bay and I'll shout you a beer (or maybe go for a fish) ;D

[imported_admin]

as far as i can see it's financed largely by advertising which we make possible by being here.

Contrary to common belief, the chatboard and site is not funded by advertising, it is funded by sales of product and a small amount of advertising. The banners on the chat board actually link to product pages on the site where product is for sale. If you do as damons33 has suggested and have gone to a tackle store and bought a product that is advertised and for sale on this site then you have not helped out this site but you have helped out the manufacturer and that tackle store. That is your choice though and you are free to buy the product from anywhere you like.

I am looking at upgrading the server again and the chat board will also undergo an upgrade soon to save on server resourses.

There have been several things effecting the site lately. One of which I have just fixed was caused by someone running a website offering custom made stickers. They were using the code that I had written for this task direct from my server, see http://www.ausfish.com.au/sticker/

I have since put a block on their site and the following image is now being displayed on their website

http://www.ausfish.com.au/copyright.jpg

I have also sent them a nice little E-mail

[Sportfish_5]

Thanks for the great site Steve!

Maybe it is time for an Ausfish Members Pack (hat,t-shirt and stickers or similar) for $XX to help along . The knowledge,tips and help I have received here have no doubt saved me big $$$ when out fishing and I would not think twice about purchasing a member pack or even dare I say a membership fee if it helps keep the site at it's best. :-X

Floor is open 8)

Cheers,

Greg ;D

[Lucky_Phill]

You are absolutely right in posing the Chat question, Alex.

This is how business moves onwards and upwards. If you are using a business, and that business does not provide you with what you expect, you MUST, say so. Weather you be wrong, right or just have an opinion or suggestion, business's depend on feedback.

The worst thing someone can do is become a dis-satisfied customer, and NOT say anything about it, and worse still, tell others. How we deal with a problem is always a personal thing. I personally, would have emailed, Steve, and asked the question, but, having said that, you are quite within your rights to place a post on the chat board. This also gives Steve the opportunity, not only to reply, but to add more information, so that the wider Ausfish community can be informed.

I too, have experienced the Live Chat crashes, it happens. Log-in again and get on with it. At this stage, I would like to thank Steve for providing this Forum to anyone and everyone who enjoys wetting a line. I personally have met and made many new fishing buddies, mates and aquaintances through this site, and also put together some very useful info etc.

Cheers Phill

[ba229]

I never started this thread as a criticism of Ausfish as a whole.

I wouldn't have remained an active member for over 12 months if I didn't think it was good. If fact i think it is GREAT and this can be reflected by the fact that I log in at least 2 and up to 5 times a day to see what is going on.

I must say I was initially surprised by the negativity this thread received and was concerned because that is not why I started the thread in the first place. :-)

As far as I am concerned this site is a world leader and I hope it remains that way.

After previous changes to this site I have put my hand up and stated whether I liked the changes or not.

All I was trying to achieve was discussion on how this site could be improved for all members. Not just me. It was intended as constructive criticism.

Anyway hope it hasn't upset anyone or made them think that I was having a go at the great work that Steve and the mod's do to make this site what it is.

Keep up the good work and don't hate me for having my say :-)

Regards
Alex

[Cheech]

No probs Alex. I totally agree. If people don't know if there is an issue then how are they expected to address it?

Have to admit that I only ever tried to log on to the live chat once and crached 1 minute in. I thought it was me so never tried again.

Steve, I think it may be worth while reassessing the sales side of things. Even though I have only officially been a member this year, I have been logging on for over a year and really I do not think of here when considering a purchase. May be worth advertising yourself on your own site, but just not advertising, bit also shopping lists like Paul has been doing.

This probably shows how little I actually know about the ausfish business. Mybee there isn't a catalogue as such.

[bugman]

I think the biggest and most puzzling question in relation to this site is:

??? ???HOW THE HELL DID PHIL GET TO BE A GLOBAL MODERATOR ??? ???

The world is turning upside down - I swear. :-/

[cHiCo]

hahahahahhaha good work phill, loving that kick button!

[imported_admin]

Sportfish_5, great suggestion regarding the pack, will look into it.

ba229, no offence taken, if you or anyone experience a problem with the site let me know.

Cheech, for a full list of products available for sale on the site just go to the products section, either from the link at the top left of this page or directly at http://www.ausfish.com.au/products.html

[MTpockets]

Steve,
I would like to add my 2 cents here if I may.
I agree and hope you will go ahead with the members pack and possibly include 2 ausfish stickers in it as well. I reckon a cap, cooler 2 stickers and T-shirt or similar would be a great purchase. Out of the 5000 members here you could say at least 200 to 500 would be keen on buying said pack.
You could have several packs starting from $10, to a deluxe pack for say $50. I certainly would support the idea. Maybe a show of hands is in order?

Congratz to Phill as well, couldnt think of a better man for the job :D
cheers
Les

[Maria]

110% in favour of that one and would definately purchase a pack. One thing though....if it goes ahead, could we have a choice of a shirt or a singlet please!!!!!!!? Need something other than army ones to suit me next Torana ;D

Ben

[Hutcho]

Count me in for an Ausfish pack if one gets put together. Be great to give as a pressie too for Xmas or b'day's.

[moondancer]

Well,

now that everyones had there say......Hmmmm...isn't it interesting how we can sometimes jump to conclusions, but the moral of this story I thihk is that all things turn out for the better! Working around private, profit making, and voluntary organisations for over 25 years, particularly those with some form of customer focus (define customer!!) it really is vital that we stay focussed on the REASON people give feedback. Generally it's because they give enough of a bugger to say someth8ing - so well done! Also, the secret here is for all concerned to look for the message behind the feedback - particularly if it's given in a reasonable manner (which everyone seemed to do!) and amazingly, a couple of innovations/ improvements/ ideas pop up!!! It's all a matter of atitude! Be this a hugely profitable business or not is irrelevant - the site is up, it's connected to some merchandising (which I intend to take advantage of) and looks like it can only grow from here - feedback turned into pro-active action is the key!

Good stuff!! I'm in for an ausfish pack too!!!

[blaze]

I will put my hand up to, maybe a poll on such a beast
cheers
blaze

[polydriver]

i'll have a couple

[TonyM]

People power strikes again!

I look forwards to dusting off the credit card when the packs come out Steve!

[reefraider_II]

:-X

[adriancorrea]

Looks like a goer
Count me in
Maybe also a slight discount if purchasing from this site (over a certain amount) to incourage more buying from the site.
Just an idea

Tight Lines
Adrian

[Needmorerum]

Sorry for the late reply for this topic, but I have only just read it, there is that much to keep up with on this site that half the time I seem to be a bit slow off the mark.
Anyway, I just want to add my two bobs worth.
It is posts like this that makes me proud to advertise the Ausfish name on both my cars and my boat. What this post has proven is that with a little patience and time, people that are connected in some way, (Ausfish in this case) work things out no matter what.
The other highlight of this topic, is how much Ausfish is supported. There are members here that are full willing to pay for membership here if it was requried, me included. I don't think that there would be anyone who frequents this site that wouldn't. I also don't think that it would come to this.
As far as chat forums go, anyone who is part of any other chat forum would know, none of them are 100% reliable. Yahoo even have a catch phrase "Do you, Huh, Yahoo", which is frequently used when you have been cut off during chat. I'm on one nearly every night of the week and it gets frustrating to have to log back in and lose the previous posts that have been put up, or get locked out altogether. At least here we can bring it to Steve's attention and he can look into it if he see's fit.
Anyone who has their own website knows the work and time that is required to maintain a site. Waiting for uploads and sorting out problems.
Anyway, I don't think I am going to get much change out of my 2 bobs here now, I've dribbled on enough.
Well done to those that have made this topic and site the way it is today, and Steve, I don't think I need to congratulate you on the quality of site that you have, but congratulations anyway.

Corry

[charexblue]

I quite enjoy the website/ the company on the chatboards is great to see. I have no criticism. Try to get back into a game of yahoo chess in the same timeframe.
I am still learning about this site as in products to puchase as i have only been on about a week whilst chasing info on old Alvey reels. CJP Yabbies. charexblue. Hang in there :) 8)

[Dylan_Rylatt]

so when are the packs commin out???

[Mogwai]

ummm y not use Mirc (irc) or something like that

i'm just asking ;D

[C@RLO5]

yeh i havent gone on the live chat but id just like to say that i reckon ausfish is a great thing, its my most visited internet site and i reckon its a beautiful thing being able to share and compare ideas with other fishing fanatics, i dont know you steve but youve done a very good thing for all of us and i for one am very grateful!!! ;D

[sir_noelus]

Yeah, Like Hardcorr, I only open this site when time permits, sometimes a week apart. Many topics have died before I get to read them. Pity about that. One thing stands out here; The old 'Give a bloke a go' attitude is well to the fore. The day we cannot criticise (maybe not the right word) without people getting their hackles up, has no place in my world. Raising this issue is good and proper. The feedback is what I have come to expect. A couple of ideas, a few more thoughts, a few improvements, none of which have to be accepted by the management. It's just a good ozzie way of doing things. Noel