Burn up MY bandwidth for a change

slang · 07-16-2004, 02:20 AM

These photos are of shooters and ranges in this area. All are welcome to take a look but if you don't shoot a firearm of some type, you probably wont find a lot interesting here. For that matter, you may not even if you are a shooter.

Take a peek at my gun enthusiasts website that is under massive construction.

The link takes you to the photo page but the navigation menus should get you around the site if you want to see what is there. It's basically an empty house at the moment, the pages are created but there isn't a lot of content now. There will be in the near future.

I have loaded the entire site into NON IE browsers and it has a little trouble with the Java script at the moment. I'll fix that soon.

If you have any comments feel free to post them here or from the contact hotspot on the bottom of every (freakin') page.

If you really dont like it, or have something negative to say, just dont visit again.

jaguar · 07-16-2004, 06:51 AM

You run the firearms store or just some kind of relationship?

I can see you made it in frontpage, if you're interested I can help you move it over to something that is less likely to make a webdev cry.

i love the look of that .50BMG

slang · 07-16-2004, 07:42 AM

My best friend Rich owns and operates the shop with his wife. Their business is small but growing in a small town....in a very competetive market. There are a few gunshops around here with a website but they all seem pretty boring and dont attract a lot of attention. It was my intention to make something more interesting and bring some attention from a large national or international audience.

I am interested in getting more visitors to our site. There is a long list of things that need to be changed or completely redone to do that. If you have suggestions, I'd appreciate hearing them. Thanks for the offer Jag.

The 50 bmg is cool looking but is too much for the average person to shoot more than just a few times. The muzzlebreak looks like it might be effective but still doesnt take the bite out of the recoil. After taking 5 or 6 shots, I had a headache and an audible grinding noise in my neck. Forget that.

jaguar · 07-16-2004, 08:22 AM

Well, you asked for it.

Less animated gifs, it's like a small angry animal raping my eyes.
Header the sidebars, put the text about each item below it, easier to read, easier on the yes and easier to update.
A link up the top to the stocklist would be handy. Simplify and unify the colour scheme.
Move to a CSS based layout, renders better and gives you more control.

That's a starter list anyway. I know you're not a pro but I feel it's better to be honest than not. As I said, if you want help with any of this I can point you in the right direction and help fix problems as I'm sure plenty of other people here can as well.

You might want to consider moving to a package like Postnuke, it'll take the hard work out of it and give you more control. OSCommerce might also be of interest.

slang · 07-16-2004, 09:41 AM

Fair enough.

Would it help if the ani-gifs were softened or faded from the image change? Or maybe the timing could be slowed down. Maybe both.

The layout is hard to update and awkward. The benefit of that particular arrangement is that once the ani-gifs are loaded, they are re-used throughout the site. There has to be some compromise between allowing the use of space for ads and simplifiing the layout.

The goal is to have something with a distinct look and at the same time something that a wide range of users will appreciate. If I have to cut it down to something boring like the rest of the sites around here, I'll just can the whole idea and do something else.

At what point is the site ready for prime time? As bad as it is from a technical standpoint now, it's getting much better at every revision. Every time I make it better, the old version seems that much worse. There has to be a point that the actual content is added and I accept what the layout is, regardless of how it rates with the industry. Knowing that it really needs work makes that harder.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. There is no doubt your suggestions are rational. The questions is, can I get my target audience to visit regularly with minimal changes?

Maybe there should be some disclaimer to keep the webdevs from crying too.

jaguar · 07-16-2004, 09:47 AM

Well regular visitors require regular content updates. Whether it's ready depends on your target audiances expectations. You're not aiming for a spot on Styleboost, it's just about making sure they'll be happy with it. They way it's set up at the moment make updating painful. Something like postnuke can be hacked to look however you want with a little work while giving you a system that is easy to update and change. Think of it as an engine without a chassis.

slang · 07-16-2004, 10:05 AM

The content updates should be a slam dunk. I've spent more time screwing with the format than I probably will in the next month of adding content to the structure.

Since I live over a gunshop, all my friends are shooting nuts of one type or another, and I am plugged into every local shooting event for the next 500 years, keeping it current should be pretty easy.

All the feedback on the look has been positive. The download time is an issue though because most everyone out here is still on dialup. The photos are also often a loss for all of those using machines without video cards that can show them well.

Let me look into the Postnuke and get back to you. I've never even heard of it. Sounds powerful.

wolf · 07-16-2004, 10:06 AM

It has a scary name. Must be good.

slang · 07-16-2004, 10:59 AM

The PN site and software looks very good.

This is very frustrating. The AGA site is what I would call acceptable (with the exception of the page size which I can break up) to the local hillbillys here in Pa but it's not what I would call respectable in the webdev community. Being respectable in the web community isnt a real issue at this time but will be as my site evolves into more than just a gunsite.

Get the Visine out, I'm re-re-re-doing the format with some new tools and a new strategery.

Thanks for the suggestions Jag.

You are too funny Wolf.

wolf · 07-16-2004, 12:09 PM

It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it, Slang.

Troubleshooter · 07-16-2004, 06:00 PM

Hey, you need to get one of your gun buddies to buy one of these so I can come and shoot it.

slang · 07-16-2004, 07:04 PM

Maybe we can find someone around here that has one and is willing to let you shoot it.

Can the video footage of you bruising your entire body when you fire it be posted on my website?

That would draw traffic, word of mouth you know.

jaguar · 07-17-2004, 01:06 AM

What a silly weapon, sounds inaccurate to the point of uselessness.

wolf · 07-17-2004, 01:34 AM

yes, but it has that manly [tim the toolman taylor]arr arrr more power arr arr[/tim the toolman taylor] factor that attaches to it.

slang · 07-17-2004, 04:32 AM

The annoying animated gifs have been adjusted to be less annoying.

There's a great new look in process too, for the next version.

07-16-2004, 02:20 AM	#1
slang St Petersburg, Florida Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,423	Burn up MY bandwidth for a change These photos are of shooters and ranges in this area. All are welcome to take a look but if you don't shoot a firearm of some type, you probably wont find a lot interesting here. For that matter, you may not even if you are a shooter. Take a peek at my gun enthusiasts website that is under massive construction. The link takes you to the photo page but the navigation menus should get you around the site if you want to see what is there. It's basically an empty house at the moment, the pages are created but there isn't a lot of content now. There will be in the near future. I have loaded the entire site into NON IE browsers and it has a little trouble with the Java script at the moment. I'll fix that soon. If you have any comments feel free to post them here or from the contact hotspot on the bottom of every (freakin') page. If you really dont like it, or have something negative to say, just dont visit again.

07-16-2004, 06:51 AM	#2
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	You run the firearms store or just some kind of relationship? I can see you made it in frontpage, if you're interested I can help you move it over to something that is less likely to make a webdev cry. i love the look of that .50BMG __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

07-16-2004, 08:22 AM	#4
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	Well, you asked for it. Less animated gifs, it's like a small angry animal raping my eyes. Header the sidebars, put the text about each item below it, easier to read, easier on the yes and easier to update. A link up the top to the stocklist would be handy. Simplify and unify the colour scheme. Move to a CSS based layout, renders better and gives you more control. That's a starter list anyway. I know you're not a pro but I feel it's better to be honest than not. As I said, if you want help with any of this I can point you in the right direction and help fix problems as I'm sure plenty of other people here can as well. You might want to consider moving to a package like Postnuke, it'll take the hard work out of it and give you more control. OSCommerce might also be of interest. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

07-16-2004, 09:47 AM	#6
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	Well regular visitors require regular content updates. Whether it's ready depends on your target audiances expectations. You're not aiming for a spot on Styleboost, it's just about making sure they'll be happy with it. They way it's set up at the moment make updating painful. Something like postnuke can be hacked to look however you want with a little work while giving you a system that is easy to update and change. Think of it as an engine without a chassis. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

07-16-2004, 10:06 AM	#8
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	It has a scary name. Must be good. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

07-16-2004, 07:42 AM	#3
slang St Petersburg, Florida Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,423	My best friend Rich owns and operates the shop with his wife. Their business is small but growing in a small town....in a very competetive market. There are a few gunshops around here with a website but they all seem pretty boring and dont attract a lot of attention. It was my intention to make something more interesting and bring some attention from a large national or international audience. I am interested in getting more visitors to our site. There is a long list of things that need to be changed or completely redone to do that. If you have suggestions, I'd appreciate hearing them. Thanks for the offer Jag. The 50 bmg is cool looking but is too much for the average person to shoot more than just a few times. The muzzlebreak looks like it might be effective but still doesnt take the bite out of the recoil. After taking 5 or 6 shots, I had a headache and an audible grinding noise in my neck. Forget that.

07-16-2004, 09:41 AM	#5
slang St Petersburg, Florida Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,423	Fair enough. Would it help if the ani-gifs were softened or faded from the image change? Or maybe the timing could be slowed down. Maybe both. The layout is hard to update and awkward. The benefit of that particular arrangement is that once the ani-gifs are loaded, they are re-used throughout the site. There has to be some compromise between allowing the use of space for ads and simplifiing the layout. The goal is to have something with a distinct look and at the same time something that a wide range of users will appreciate. If I have to cut it down to something boring like the rest of the sites around here, I'll just can the whole idea and do something else. At what point is the site ready for prime time? As bad as it is from a technical standpoint now, it's getting much better at every revision. Every time I make it better, the old version seems that much worse. There has to be a point that the actual content is added and I accept what the layout is, regardless of how it rates with the industry. Knowing that it really needs work makes that harder. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. There is no doubt your suggestions are rational. The questions is, can I get my target audience to visit regularly with minimal changes? Maybe there should be some disclaimer to keep the webdevs from crying too.

07-16-2004, 10:05 AM	#7
slang St Petersburg, Florida Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,423	The content updates should be a slam dunk. I've spent more time screwing with the format than I probably will in the next month of adding content to the structure. Since I live over a gunshop, all my friends are shooting nuts of one type or another, and I am plugged into every local shooting event for the next 500 years, keeping it current should be pretty easy. All the feedback on the look has been positive. The download time is an issue though because most everyone out here is still on dialup. The photos are also often a loss for all of those using machines without video cards that can show them well. Let me look into the Postnuke and get back to you. I've never even heard of it. Sounds powerful.

07-16-2004, 10:59 AM	#9
slang St Petersburg, Florida Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,423	The PN site and software looks very good. This is very frustrating. The AGA site is what I would call acceptable (with the exception of the page size which I can break up) to the local hillbillys here in Pa but it's not what I would call respectable in the webdev community. Being respectable in the web community isnt a real issue at this time but will be as my site evolves into more than just a gunsite. Get the Visine out, I'm re-re-re-doing the format with some new tools and a new strategery. Thanks for the suggestions Jag. You are too funny Wolf.

07-16-2004, 12:09 PM	#10
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it, Slang. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

07-16-2004, 06:00 PM	#11
Troubleshooter The urban Jane Goodall Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 3,012	Hey, you need to get one of your gun buddies to buy one of these so I can come and shoot it. __________________ I have gained this from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law. - Aristotle

07-16-2004, 07:04 PM	#12
slang St Petersburg, Florida Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,423	Maybe we can find someone around here that has one and is willing to let you shoot it. Can the video footage of you bruising your entire body when you fire it be posted on my website? That would draw traffic, word of mouth you know.

07-17-2004, 01:06 AM	#13
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	What a silly weapon, sounds inaccurate to the point of uselessness. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

07-17-2004, 01:34 AM	#14
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	yes, but it has that manly [tim the toolman taylor]arr arrr more power arr arr[/tim the toolman taylor] factor that attaches to it. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

07-17-2004, 04:32 AM	#15
slang St Petersburg, Florida Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,423	The annoying animated gifs have been adjusted to be less annoying. There's a great new look in process too, for the next version.

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