ZoaID.com idea - feedback?

[whodah]

so i had an idea for ZoaID.com - but don't want to take the time to program it if it wouldn't be used.

as the site gets more and more zoas, i thought it might be nifty for users to be able to do a:

got it, got it, got it, WANT it, got it, WANT it, got it

type of thing.

the idea would be like this:

the user signs on to ZoaID and visits a form which lets you choose each zoa on ZoaID and place a check next to:

• no interest (default)
• got it
• got it - ready to trade
• want it

and there would be a place to put your RC handle on so peeps could PM each other on RC. and of course the peeps that got it could hook up w/ the peeps that want it...

this is NOT to be confused w/ frags.org or RC in the sence that there would be no communication systems on ZoaID.com. i don't wanna get into that... RC and a few others are great for forums/PMs and stuff already!

normally, i'd just surprise everyone w/ an idea like this - but:

1. i don't want to step on any toes (RC, frags.org, etc.)
2. i don't want to code it if it wouldn't be used

so, lmk whatcha think! and/or improvements/critisisms. you won't offend me, be frank and honest!

[Jovreefer]

So how would someone look up if you want it or has it? Would it be under each zoa with just a list of names or how would this work?

[whodah]

hrm...

off the top of my head, i'd probably have a link under each zoa that says 'want it, got it list' (or something like that) taking you to another page outside of the gallery listing the zoas w/ small thumbs and their statuses.

probably basic sorting functionality based on peeps that want it vs. got it or got it and ready to frag. sort by name, etc.

maybe even a link to PM that user in RC or something too?

but i'm open to suggestions too!

[JetHead]

I think it's a great idea although you might want to consider a way to "refresh" or "update" info every month or so.

Btw as a new reefer I love RC and as a someone who just got my first zoas I appreciated having both sites for info.

Thanks alot.

[coralfarm123]

Maybe add a button that says something like "Find it Now" under each picture and then have that go to a page with those who have that zoa in particular. On that Page just have a list of those who have them and are willing to trade or sell. Maybe use a traffic light type thing. Green is available now, yellow is available soon, red not currently available or something to that effect. Also you could allow users to enter their contact info, and have a button for that. You will probably need a way for those with the corals to login and update their availability and contact info to keep it current. That way you don't have to input all of it. Also a rating system would be helpful. Just a few ideas. Hope this gets the pot stirring a little. I think ZoaID is great and your new idea would make it even better. Keep up the good work.

[MinibowMatt]

I think its a cool idea. however, if a person has a zoo for trade, and trades it away, and does this alot, they would constantly have to update their settings...

[CoralNutz]

I have been thinking about something like this as well. I think frags.org had a great idea but horrible execution.

Note: Just needed an example so I used Reef Junkie, hope that's ok Bill.

IMO there should be a trade tracker that tracked who traded with who. Lets say, Reef Junkie sent me some PPE's, you could list that too, that way if someone wanted to get them from me, they would be able to track who I got them from. I think it would help people feel more confident that they are getting the real deal, especially when some of these go for big $. I know I have tried to get some PPE's traded for some really intense blues. Everytime I get close to a trade and requested a picture of the actuall frag I would recieve. I always have either gotten pictures that weren't the actually frag cause I've seen the picture all over the net for the last year or something. Or they tell me the camera's broken or something. So to be able to track who got what from where would add some legitimacy to the frags. If I looked on a list to find PPE's and the guy that had them said that he got them from Reef Junkie and it was confirmed by Reef Junkie on the site, I wouldn't even need a picture, I would know they are the real deal.

[rangerfan]

well that would sound awesome, but it is my experience that most people that have these cool zoos that everyone wants do ever send pms back to me or jsut blow me off because everyone bugs them for them, but i think it would be great

[rangerfan]

maybe everyone hates me what are yall hiding LOL

[whodah]

JetHead - ty very much, and yer welcome!

coralfarm123 -

• Find it now - nifty!
• Traffic light - cool idea too!
• Contact info/Rating System - the problems that i can forsee w/ a system as elaborate as that is now i'd be borderline 'competing' w/ RC (communications) and frags.org (trading) which is not my intentions nor what i want to do. know what i mean? that's why i was thinking of linking to a ReefCentral PM session for that user to keep communications going on RC. and as far as good/bad trades, RC has the feedback forums and frags.org has the rating system too. on a personal note, another reason i'd just assume not get into that is so that i don't have to moderate it, heh!

MinibowMatt - definetly...

CoralNutz - lineage is definetly important to some for various reasons. hrm... i suppose a lineage system wouldn't conflict w/ RC/frags.org... something that requires both parties to 'comply' to 'complete' a 'transaction', ha, lots of quotes there... plus, if a system were in place like this, you could do something **REALLY** cool n' geeky: family trees!!! that'd be REAL neat to see frags spread family tree style!!! i like it!

rangerfan - definetly an issue there too. but not just w/ zoas. my primary focus is zoas, but the same issues occur w/ monti's or yumas or anything else you can frag n' trade. but whomever this applies to has to remember to keep at it and eventually you'll get the piece you want!

another aspect that i think would be cool is the 'collectors aspect' in the sence of one could proudly list their collection like any coin/stamp/yugoslavian-race-horse/whatever collector would. at least i think that's kinda cool, heh!

feel free to reply back to this, don't hold back! if you disagree w/ something i'm thinking/saying, i'm always open to changing my mind

[Jovreefer]

I think its a great idea. I think maybe if you can put a timer on the "ready for trading" one though that might help to keep the clutter down. Like when your looking on frags.org for a certian frag you gotta sort thru ones that were posted 6 months ago Maybe have them disapear after a few weeks so the trader has to either re-list if they still have it or if not its not taking up any space on the site?

[jeffrey_ropp]

For those of you who saw my lfs mapping application (Aquarium Store Finder)....I'm also cooking up something for frag trading...very much inline with what you are discussing....stay tuned.

I can't formally promote the other website here, if you want details, you'll have to PM me.

Cheers,
Jeff

[CoralNutz]

On second thought after reading closer. I think the "want it" list would have to be controlled somehow. Can I just come in and put "I want it" on everythink in hopes that I would get it? Or is their some sort of a commitment to it?

[whodah]

nope, no commitments at all!

just trying to get harry and sally together who each have a zoa the other doesn't that wants to swap!

or:
joe wants PHE and has GI Joe.

john wants GI Joe, and has ruby red.

sally wants Ruby Red, and has PHE.

now u have a vicious zoa trading triangle opertunity, heh! ok, maybe not THAT complicated...

[Reef Junkie]

Jeremy,
What a frigging great idea! A geneology of sorts for coral frags. I love it! You're a mad scientists of sorts.

Rangerfan,
I swear I will send you frags. I've been in Brooklyn all week and that means early to bed and rise. How about next week? Just send me a blank check, ok?

Coralnutz,
Am I sending you PPE's?

[Azurel]

Great idea...I would use it for sure....I think the timed removal idea is great cause I was just on frags.org and had to sort through stuff posted a year or two ago, that makes it a mess, and less user friendly.

[coralfarm123]

I also think the time thing would be a plus. After the time is up maybe it could be archived or something for future reference if it won't take up too much space. Whatever the end result is, I am sure it will be great.

This will be up and running by tomorrow right? J/K

[whodah]

cool beans - seems the 'expire' feature comes highly requested!

easy enough to implement!

i can relate - i'm ashamed to admit i havn't updated my single frag on frags.org in quite some time! :X

coralfarm123: ha ha, nope, not tomorrow! i'm working on a couple other ZoaID things first...

but the pedigree thing has been on my mind all afternoon, ha!

[CoralNutz]

Originally posted by Reef Junkie
Coralnutz,
Am I sending you PPE's?

Ummm... Yeah don't you remember, supposed to get them out to me before the holidays.

[rangerfan]

reefjunkie i wasnt refering to you man please dont be offended i promise i am just talking in general i have been given the runaround by many people on RC, i dont know to me it is like you didnt create this coral, someone shared it with you so you sould pass it on like it was passed on to you. i am in favor of this as i think it will make requests lesser(word?) as you will be able to see who so and so got this particular zoo from, if you can see the whole chain of who has these zoos then the requests should be spread out amongst the people because maybe people will rather get the frags of a particular zoo from the person closest to them(i would) i ahve been trying to figure out where some of those pictures on zoaid came from(greenbay packers hint hint) i jsut think you should get permission from the person to post that they have this zoo or from people they gave it to.

[whodah]

normally, and soon again, the photographer's name shows up next to the image. it's a pretty safe bet that that is a source for the zoa yer after! (not always of course...)

but i'm experiencing some difficulty w/ the photo attributes atm.

on a side note: i think i'm just gonna have to kludge some code in myself to get the attributes to work how i think they'd work best for this site. that info should be up shortly! it's not lost, just not displayed atm!

[JnS]

cool idea

[Reef Junkie]

Rangerfan,
No worries. I hope to be able to ship next week. I have a lot of requests, but might keep most of them local.

Coralnutz,
Just call me jolly ole saint nick! Is there anything else I'm sending you? Seriously, I'd trade with you bud.

Jeremy,
Stop slacking and GET TO WORK!

[Mrdillpickle]

This might be off the subject, but I have a wish list too. ZoaID is starting to become the place to go for zoo names. The problem is that the gallery is pretty small. I have about 20 different morphs of zoas and only about five of them are named on ZoaID. It would be cool if people could submit their photos and there could be a place to post possible names. Then have a poll to select a name. I would like to not only see the photos listed by the most accepted name, but also a list of other names the morph goes by. I would also like to see a search engine filter by name, color, type, etc...

Great site, I really appreciate the hard work that has gone into it.

Thanks,

Jason

[whodah]

Originally posted by Mrdillpickle
It would be cool if people could submit their photos and there could be a place to post possible names.

currently the mechanism to submit new zoas takes you to one of my other site's contact form. the ZoaID.com contact form tailered to it's needs will be done very shortly. still form based, but has entries for each thing we need in order to list it on ZoaID. i.e. lights used in the shot, photographer name, location of Zoa origin, etc..

Originally posted by Mrdillpickle
Then have a poll to select a name.

i might be inclined to shy away from that one and let users create/participate in such polls on RC. thoughts?

Originally posted by Mrdillpickle
I would like to not only see the photos listed by the most accepted name, but also a list of other names the morph goes by.

although you wouldn't know it atm due to the attributes issues, this is in place already! i currently have three 'aka' in place for zoas that that issue arises on. for instance, 'red wine' has an 'aka1' of 'ruby red'. or is it the other way around... ha! but you get the idea. and normally it will show the 'aka' names beneath the pic. there are some issues w/ this... i.e. if someone today comes up w/ an AKA name for PPE (besides purple paly #3 or whatever blane had listed it as prior to the name PPE), i doubt we'd add 'purple soul' as an aka name, ya know? thoughts?

Originally posted by Mrdillpickle
I would also like to see a search engine filter by name, color, type, etc...

certainly doable. the fundamentals for the search are there, but not implemented for the end user yet. currently, you can search by name, aka, photographer, original namer, basically any attribute assigned to the zoa. i haven't entered in information such as type and color(s) though... but could!

Originally posted by Mrdillpickle
Great site, I really appreciate the hard work that has gone into it.

ty - and ty for the great feedback! hit me back w/ whatcha think after reading my reply!