This is not trivial for a first time user. To change an entry I have to first click on one of the items in my collection and then I have to randomly look around the page. There is no edit button. Instead I have to click on the box (which I thought was a label) underneath where it says your collection and then it brings up a set of editable fields. Then when I am done I don't see a save button anywhere. So you just kind of navigate off the page and stuff gets saved.
Well, now we're getting somewhere, at last. When you say you click on one of the items in your collection, do you mean you click on the long horizontal button with the collection info on it? Granted, I could see how that might confuse someone new to the idea of this kind of AJAX functionality. What do you suggest? A flashing "Click to Edit" indicator? Most people seem to get the idea once they notice that the cursor becomes a finger pointer when hovering over it, but I'm open to any constructive suggestions.
As for the save button, no, there is no explicit save button. I thought I was doing you a favor by auto-saving the information. This is closer to how a spreadsheet works--you don't have to hit save every time you change a field, you just move from row to row changing what you like. Actually in one sense I suppose we're different from a spreadsheet--there's no risk of losing your work. If you don't want to wait for the auto-save, you can always just close the collection interface, and this will force a save if one is necessary. You don't have to navigate off the page for the save to happen. In fact, if you watch closely, you should see the words "Auto-Saving..." appear whenever it happens.
The same goes with removing something, it's not until you click on that box where you can remove a figure.
I could go either way on that one. I don't think people will be removing things nearly as often as they add them, so I figured it should be hidden inside the interface along with the other editable fields (which also frees up room for more information to be displayed in the label). Anybody else want to second the idea of making the "remove" button always visible?
I already talked to you about it and you said there was no way of putting prototypes up (again special case). So adding a figure or variant is not "easy" either.
Well, no, at this time we'd rather not bother with things like prototypes and customs. At this point we have to sort of focus on things that can benefit the user base as a whole. Down the road I'd like to add the ability for users to add sort of one-off rows to their collection, but it's hard for me to justify the incredible amount of work and re-thinking that would entail at this point when I'm still struggling to get more than a handful of visitors to the site per day. But it's been suggested before, so the concept is in the 'ol computer.
Regardless, this is a separate problem than adding a "figure or variant". There are 3 tricky points to adding a figure (a "variant" is no different than a figure):
1. Specifying the correct forms. Not too bad, really. You use the little interactive tree browser to drill down until you find the form you're looking for. If you can't find the form you want, you can choose "Other", or just do nothing and it will be filled in by a moderator.
2. Choosing the correct mold. Usually pretty easy. Most parts are repaints of other parts that have already appeared, so all you have to do is look up an existing part in the database, note its mold id, and type it into the little "mold id" box. If you want to add a new mold, or a retool, that can be done through the mold interface (and the mold interface will try to walk you through the steps, to a certain degree). I don't blame you if you find it confusing--it's on my list of things to revisit. But again, you can just leave it blank and no one will think any less of you.
3. Attaching the part to the package. The contents of each package are divided up into groups, each one intended to represent a complete "toy". Usually all you have to do is type a "1" into one of the group boxes. As long as you make it that far, again, the moderators can finish it up. I admit that this interface is a bit confusing, but I have designs on a new system that will make the process a little easier to visualize.
So, you can ignore #1 and #2, and fake your way through #3. Everything else is completely straightforward. And if you're still confused, the mods and are always more than happy to sit with you in chat and take you through it step by step.
I tried adding a Mexican Hoist which was under Mexico->Generation 1->Autobot Cars->Series 2 and it sent me back to the beginning (tried it twice with two different browsers, this might be due to the slowness of the site).
I don't understand--if this is a bug, I'd like to hear about it in more detail. Can you explain a little more throughly?
Finally, I don't see any way of adding pics of your own collection into the database . I would prefer it if I could added pics of my own figures to my collection, especially since I have multiples of the same figure in varying condition and this is supposed to represent my collection. If I missed it I do apologize.
We'll get to that one day, particularly if I ever get as far as implementing eBay-style selling and trading. In the meantime, if you're good with a camera, why not take some pictures for the site? I'm working on a system that will show you a big list of all the photos your collection can provide (taking sealed/opened status into account) that will save you the trouble of having to dig around through the database.
It takes so long to add stuff that I just give up
Do you mean adding items to your online collection? Which steps are taking all the time? Is it page loads? The wait for the "Add to my collection" link to respond? Or do you mean that you find all the editable fields too tedious?
Personally I wouldn't mind integration with a stand alone application that would allow you to either download pictures from your central source or let you add your own. That way you could have your own items without uploading to the shmax server. Also having the ability to have a copy locally makes me feel more secure. Just for the sheer fact that if something were to happen and your online database was either erased or taken down, all the hard work I put in wouldn't just disappear. A standalone application you could also back up if need be. Although you can download your collection from the site, it doesn't provide enough information to rebuild it. Again some of these problems are inherent with web design.
Neat idea, but I just don't have the resources to maintain something like that. Not only would this splinter one huge engineering task into two, but every time my schema changed I would need to force an update on both the program and your local data. A few people have complained that the downloaded data doesn't have everything they want in it, so I'll revisit it at some point and offer a cafeteria-style interface that lets you choose which fields get exported. Good enough?
I can recognize any TF toy and any related weapon or accessory on sight, so I have no need for pictures. On top of that, all my stuff is already complete with weapons and accessories, so I don't need to keep track of or manage any missing parts. All of that information automatically becomes unnecessary data for me. I was an Excel software specialist for years and can program the heck out of it, so for me it's as simple as seven columns - Year, Country, Series/Line, Faction, Subgroup, Character Name, Description/Details. Color code a few things, program some macros for various sorting and filtering jobs, and there's nothing I need that this thing won't do. It does it instantly, it's portable, and changing or adding functions is a simple matter of sitting down and putting a few minutes of work into it.
I'm not really sure what you're proposing, here. You seem to be suggesting that it's better for each person to learn Excel and just create his own homegrown personal copy of Transformerdom. Well, sure, that can be enjoyable for the lone enthusiast, but it hardly seems practical on a wide scale. Just imagine a geek walking into a room at a convention or something, with all these guys sitting around at their laptops typing the latest ROTF deluxe figure into their personal spreadsheets. How long would it take for him to say "hey, I just had a thought! What if instead of everybody repeating all the work over and over, we just all collaborate on one uber-database that has EVERYTHING in it!" Well, that geek was me. Think of shmax.com as a big giant spreadsheet that we're all working on. You say it has a bunch of stuff you don't need. Okay, so what? So does my digital camera, but Sony would laugh in my face if I wrote them a letter asking them to remove everything but the snap-picture button, as that's all I really need. The advanced features are confusing to me, but they don't prevent me from taking pictures with my simple button.
Honestly, I'm starting to regret ever putting in the collection system. It began life as a quick lark, with an Amazon-style "I own it" interface. People complained that they couldn't add "multiples", or indicate condition, so I went all out and created a system that has what I thought would be more than people would ever need. People fiddle with it, get frustrated by something, and then, strangely,
discard the entire site! Even
without the collection system, there is still 800lbs of site left! Shmax.com is the most complete, most thoroughly photo-documented Transformers toys site on the internet. It's absolutely bulging with unique features that haven't even been attempted anywhere else, for Transformers toys or anything else. I'm not going to perform the discourtesy of mentioning any other sites without them here to represent themselves, but yes, we have far, far more information and functionality than any of them, and we're only getting better.
So for crying out loud, lighten up, and the next time you feel a complaint coming on, resist the urge to pour it out on your pals on some other site. Spill it here, and as long as you express yourself clearly, I guarantee your ideas will get the attention they deserve.
