With news and set photos slowing down a bit these past couple days, I wanted to take a moment and ask the community if they have any suggestions or feedback for us here at WinterIsComing.net. I am always looking to improve the site, and since WiCnet would be nothing without our readers, we are turning to you fine folk for suggestions on how to do that.
In fact, I am planning on beginning a complete redesign of the site soon, so I particularly would welcome any suggestions or input on how you would like the site to look and function.
That being said, there is no suggestion or feedback too small. Is there something that has always bugged you about the site? Or something you wish we would add or change or in someway make better? Let us know! We welcome it all and will take everything into consideration.
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173 Comments
Make a tab on the site that shows the winners to the WiC.net awards. I was trying to look for season 1, but couldn’t find it in the search box and didn’t want to traverse 30+ pages of old news to get to it.
MedievalFantasyQuote Reply
It would be nice to be able to “Like” a specific comment, or reply to a specific comment rather than the general thread.
The KingshaverQuote Reply
Nested comments a’la reddit
wabawangaQuote Reply
When I edit a comment I would like the different options like bold, link, spoiler etc to show up.
CarneQuote Reply
Threaded comments would make following discussion a whole lot easier. That’s the only thing that immediately jumps to mind.
Godspeed on the redesign! And thanks to all the staff for the hard work they put in keeping us entertained during this excruciating hiatus.
(p.s. I seem unable to log in and comment with my Twitter account. It logs in, but when you hit post, it gives an error. FYI.)
Heather VeeQuote Reply
A cosmetic useless suggestion. I would make it a little more “visual”, since the grey columns on the side look rather boring and there’s a lot of visual content now released by HBO, etc. that could help the page look a little bit more IGN and not so much AICN.
EmpedoclesQuote Reply
My one suggestion would be to pin bigger conversations to the top or very left column, allowing subsequent lesser important entries to stay in the center column. This way you don’t lose the big ones. For example, the event specific Ireland shooting conversation has a lot more depth to it than the site award winners and breaking up of crew assignments ones. Not to say that these smaller newer bits of info aren’t important, but it’s a shame to lose the bigger ones to the next pages because they’re forgotten or harder to locate. Great job on the site thus far!
KosisQuote Reply
Kinda like MedievalFantasy said, but more. A tab with collections of basic reference data (casting, episode titles, &c). No need for anything like a wiki; just a few cheat sheets pulling together the kind of info already posted about.
JacarbQuote Reply
I’d like to see weekly or semi-weekly polls during the off-season. Doesn’t have to be anything big like wic.net awards style polls…just simple stuff that could be easily generated on a frequent basis.
ie….How would you rate the portrayal of __________ overall? 1/2/3/4/5
How did the Fist of the First Men look to you? Terrible/Not what I pictured but good/Great/Everything I imagined!
etc etc.
Lord of FangsQuote Reply
I’d love to see a forum in here.
Wrath of the GodsQuote Reply
I was just thinking the same thing, though only if it was in addition to the comment-ability of news postings, not in lieu of.
Sadface McBastardQuote Reply
A forum.
Pastor_of_MuppetsQuote Reply
Free cookies every Friday!
Super DannyQuote Reply
Make it mobile friendly, plz!!!!!
or a mobile version, dunno how it works lol
JP DayneQuote Reply
This is fairly minor and I’m not sure if it’s something that can be changed in the website’s settings, but anytime I click a link in the comments or post, it takes me there in the current tab, rather than creating a new tab. I know it’s not my browser because this is the only site that doesn’t open a new tab for links. Like I said, pretty minor but it would be nice haha.
Ye Olde WolfeQuote Reply
A shot in the dark, but maybe put in a forum? Westeros.org’s forums are nice (most of the time…) but I find myself at WiC.net more often than Westeros.org. Again, just a suggestion.
MedievalFantasyQuote Reply
* Because the comment section is used as a discussion board, threaded comments would be nice.
* The main menu dropdowns haven’t worked well on any version of Firefox or Chrome I’ve used the last six months (they disappear before I get a chance to click on an item).
* A standardized way of marking stories spoiler free.
* There are usually way too many newlines in the comment form when you quote a post.
* A page dedicated to the WiC awards with past winners à la IMDb’s “Road to the Oscars/Emmies”.
* I don’t believe the spoiler tags achieve what they’re supposed to achieve. It’s not difficult to read between the lines when people only hide a few words when they should hide whole paragraphs. On the other hand, I’m not sure if any non-readers actually read the comments on posts that are prone to contain spoilers. If they are, maybe it would be better to tag and hide whole comments instead. Flagging for spoilers could also help, so the community could temporary hide a comment and automatically notify a moderator.
* More polls would be fun.
thisoneQuote Reply
MedievalFantasy,
While it’s not run by Wicnet, and I hope that Winter is Coming and Ours is the Fury will forgive this plug; but WICGeeks was created to address the forum issue by people who post here regularly… particularly aimed at fans of the TV Series, Game of Thrones. We even have a few GoT-related custom emoticons. :)
Cary StormQuote Reply
Rygar is our head troll at that site I just mentioned. And we have chat. For logged-in people.
Cary StormQuote Reply
Send out hunting parties to find the people who post “first” or “second” while adding zero to the subject matter. A forum would be great!
glennQuote Reply
Come join us at WIC geeks! You are most welcome!
Jen@House StarkQuote Reply
Forum is a good idea, you could always recruit more moderators too if it gets too much for you 3 to handle.
Also I want to see season 3 listed in the episode guide! haha.
John-Michael LelievreQuote Reply
I would NOT like a forum. I dunno, they’re just so… common – I really like WiC staying a bit different.
Being able to Like comments would be cool, though. Maybe not include the ability to Dislike, though? Since this is supposed to be an “all opinions are valid”-type of place. Personal attacks would be deleted anyway, so…
sjweningsQuote Reply
Good one.
sjweningsQuote Reply
Bad DogQuote Reply
make the whole background indigo. Because I know FaBio would love it. :)
JillybeanQuote Reply
this comments way is great, dont change it. What u could change though is the look of the layout. new colors and such, ur still using the first major change from Season 1 hehe
Maybe lannister Red or Stannis Fire, or White Walker colors!!
Dave BrownellQuote Reply
Add a section under media for production shoots, season 3 shoots, ect
Edward SotoQuote Reply
A different way to edit one’s comments. One that works on Safari 5.0.6.
Cary StormQuote Reply
Overall, this is a well-run site. There is lots of interesting content posted in a timely manner. Everything is handled in a positive, inclusive style (which is more than I can say for other similar GOT/ASOIAF sites.)
As others have said:
- Threaded comments; it gets difficult to scroll up and down and see who is responding to who
- Some way of segregating spoiler-free discussions from those containing spoilers; this isn’t an easy one
- More polls would be fun…as a way to pass the time
- Perhaps a few sub-menus on the “Posts” tab or a re-organization. There can be subtle differences between “news”, “rumors” and “speculation” which are not obvious to the average site visitor. Also, “press” should be part of “media”, I think.
lovesduncanQuote Reply
This really isn’t about the design of the site, but that has already been covered.
My suggestion is..more threads for non-readers. I think we often get carried away with our spoiler-heavy discussions, not to mention many people here forgetting to tag spoilers or trying to be oh so subtle – and failing.
I’m a book reader, but I love to hear the thoughts of TV viewers, and I think this place could really be more non-reader friendly.
MachaQuote Reply
i wouldn’t like a forum or threading
i would also like to see the wic awards more available seeing as how this is last a couple seasons
i know that there are tags but maybe seeing all the “dearly departed” cast members/characters in one place
ACVGQuote Reply
I believe that a proper space for fan discussions would be great G. R. R. Martin series has so many plots , murderers and of course a lot of fan theories. It would be great have a space to discuss both, the books and the series.
DanielQuote Reply
A “quote of the day” with a quote from a random character in the series.
AemonQuote Reply
sjwenings,
I like this idea. I also hope to see nested comments to make following a discussion easier.
I don’t really have much interest in a forum TBH. I feel like you get more discussion when everyone is directed to the same small number of threads via these pieces you guys post.
ZackQuote Reply
Hear hear, Macha! There are no spoiler-free places to comment here, except during the season. So maybe speculation posts by non-readers that we can comment on.
Black as SnowQuote Reply
Dave Brownell,
or Indigo. Lots of Indigo.
JillybeanQuote Reply
Forums aren’t a bad idea, but would rapidly fill up space given how popular this site is.
I suggest adding in regular features that would make this site fun to come to on a regular basis instead of waiting for fresh news. Examples include a weekly caption contest (no prize necessary, just bragging rights), trivia, a section for artwork and maybe stories? (GRRM might have a rightful beef with that)
From a design standpoint, maybe some Flash content? Shockwave games? I dunno.
AziraphaleQuote Reply
This. At wicgeeks, we’re doing a lot of character-by-character analysis. You could do two posts for a single character each week…one for readers and one for non-readers, which would undoubtedly spawn some fascinating speculation and discussion and make the off-season pass more quickly.
Black as SnowQuote Reply
Design-wise, I like the clean look of the website. If redesigning it, please keep it simple—don’t make too many graphics or other content that can make a website very cluttered and time consuming to load.
Daily posts would be nice, even if just as topic starters, particularly to fill the time between news announcements.
Content-wise, I’d like to see Features, such as interviews with cast and crew, more essays, and contests.
I would also like a forum. That way, there can be sections for book readers and non-book readers without worrying so much about spoilers. Also, sections to discuss other projects we’re into besides GoT.
I know other sites offer these things, but bottom line is I like WIC.NET the best and would rather get all my GoT fixes here.
Thanks for all the hard work.
sareetaQuote Reply
Also: How about specified links to ‘types’ of content, e.g. ‘Interviews’ ‘Casting Speculation’ and so on. There are a lot of fun threads I remember but don’t quite recall the timeframe in which they were posted, and this would make getting to old discussions a lot easier for us who remember them, and allow newcomers to the site who aren’t aware of those threads to find them. Would make referencing much less time consuming.
ZackQuote Reply
The ability to edit the comments at any given point in time, not just within the first few minutes would be a very welcome addition, if it were possible.
Tir AirgidQuote Reply
This, please.
Tyrion4LyfeQuote Reply
This. There’s so few spaces in which non-book readers can interact in the off season without fear of being spoiled…
Tir AirgidQuote Reply
The website itself, needs more color and graphics. Like have a cool picture or pictures always in the background. And as a few people have already mentioned, the site needs to be more interactive. Have multiple tabs that lead to different sections such as one for photos, season 1 and 2 breakdowns talking points and ect. maybe even have different areas completely dedicated towards Book readers and non-Book readers.
HugeFloppyGutQuote Reply
It would be nice to see more Dragonstone affiliated imagery on this site.
The Onion KnightQuote Reply
I’d love to see a weekly or bi-weekly “mailbag.” Just a chance for interested readers to submit questions that will be answered weekly or bi-weekly (to the best of your ability, of course).
ToddQuote Reply
Re-organing the login process that also allows them to show house allegiances? :D
DrfunkQuote Reply
:(
AnonymousQuote Reply
Anonymous,
Holy shit I`ve got tears in my eyes already just by reading a tweet about it….
@Topic: What bothers me most about this blog is the excruciatingly long loading time! Your servers are just way too slow.
It would also be cool to be able to make a log-in profile on this blog to post. I don`t want to connect this with facebook but I would still like to make a little registered profile and also get some information from the profiles of other long-time posters.
G_LeeQuote Reply
Add Deadpool commentary…
Seriously, some artistic background like different house sigils on each side, and each sigil is a dircent link to different parts of this website.
Michael WilsonQuote Reply
Oh NO! I luv this site just as it is! Please don’t go to forum mode. This site is quick and easy to use and that’s why I check it several times a day. If I want a time consuming forum, there are plenty of others.
My only small complaint is the rare large ad on top that makes everything scroll up and down. (Hmmm, maybe it’s been a while since those were here….)
Keep yourself special/different, please!
mimiQuote Reply
You can always ask us to make sigils or designs that you can put as backgrounds on the site and then alternate the ones you think are best. Have a problem with the site’s graphics? Design something cool :)
I don’t know how difficult it would be to do this, or if you have space to do this, but maybe put cast’/crew members’ twitter posts somewhere on the side columns and let it run as they update it. It would be nice to read different cast/crew members’ updates, especially during filming.
mags giantsbabeQuote Reply
A continuous live web stream of Emilia Clarke, thanks.
In all seriousness it’s a great site, and I rather like its relative simplicity. I suppose it would be nice to be able to talk about whatever subject we pleased on a forum – but on the other hand, I wonder if that would split up the users somewhat (mind you, that might suit the non-book readers). I actually quite like the fact that everyone is together looking at two or three threads at the most based on what’s on the front page.
RossQuote Reply
Ditto. It would allow for extended and off comments, veering away from the central
subject, to continue elsewhere. If it proves viable, it would take some irritation
from some having to sort through posts. I’m just as guilty for contributing to
this, but I do like responding to certain relevant threads. This may be an easier
task too, than constant monitoring and cleanup.
I really do believe you guys a doing a great job , the features, reply format is easy
to use and the general atmosphere here is less contentious than other sites. I’ve
learned a lot about the GoT production and shared the excitement from the
Season Polls & Parodies. Can’t wait to see the new design.
WildSeedQuote Reply
Winter can we email you if the proposed change is perhaps of a sensitive nature?
Aegon the ConquerorQuote Reply
The Season Episode Review is really done well here, there are GoT reviews
separately listed for Non Readers/ Viewers Only, and Book Readers. These
have been done quite well, especially as Warnings and Disclaimers are
well placed in each review. The Reply Post area is very user friendly with a
Spoiler Tab easily accessed. Sometimes people tend to get carried away, and
need a reminder, but generally it’s a very good setup.
A Forum might resolve a dilemma for some, but it may not be the scope of this
site. It may in itself, become bloated and problematic . I hope there is a rational
approach based on the scope of this site. Sometimes good ideas are difficult to
achieve, and remain focused and balanced ( not to mention the duties it
necessitates ). I noticed a few frown faces when Forum was mentioned in the
replies.
WildSeedQuote Reply
A real forum. Please.
EdQuote Reply
I agree with, fundamentally, especially the great work already in place.
I wonder if a page # tab would work. So far I just use the highlighted
subject line, or last person to comment, which is also highlighted.
WildSeedQuote Reply
permanent usernames/WIC.net membership
Eugene ToussaintQuote Reply
My only quibble is that the spoiler tags can’t show what’s under them when reading on my phone. I don’t know if that’s fixable.
Otherwise I wouldn’t change a thing! If it ain’t broke….
MalcatrazQuote Reply
Ed,
There is a real forum, though it’s not run by WIC, HMR, Fabio or the others. Just look further up. It was started cause of a lack of a forum.
Aegon the ConquerorQuote Reply
Bi-Annual GoT/WiC Con; One in June before filming starts and one in January (avoid holidays). They should alternate between NYC and Europe, so fans on both continents have a less expensive option to attend.
This is a show con, not a book con event.
Production crew should be invited (on condition they bring along cool props and other equipment to showcase); think PJ and all he has done in promoting and pleasing the LOTR fan base.
tysnowQuote Reply
I agree that links should be opened in a different tab. I would also like to have a WICnet login. I dont like social media.
AmsterpaulQuote Reply
Nothing it’s just enough but not to much.now don’t go getting too sophisticated on me.if it’s not broke no fix
Rk76Quote Reply
A message board forum would be nice. Also the chance to have my own profile would be pretty cool.
Al SwearengenQuote Reply
I think a forum is a good move, but for those weary of forums
you can set modern forum sites in a way that you can post news in the front page, each with a comment thread and a regular forum (linked or not) for more detailed conversations (that means that appart for cosmetics, the site will behave almost the same)
If you need a working site with this schema, look at http://www.civfanatics.com (they use vBulletin but I think other forums support similar characteristics)
DraxtonQuote Reply
A separate tab for Saturday funnies/humor section under Features.
Mummer’s fartsQuote Reply
I agree with the forum idea.
TolgerosQuote Reply
you should totally get an app for android and apple
with notifications and stuff that let’s me know when there’s a new post and what not, that would be awesome.
And more Emilia Clarke, definitly more Emilia.
JoshQuote Reply
This is a great site – a go-to for me and I suspect many, many GoT fans. The only thing I can think of would be a way to find specific threads quickly, like when I want to reference and revisit the original “Support the Bottom” thread or other discussions that have occurred; and yes, maybe even a “–Gate” or two!
un0Quote Reply
A threaded forum type……..forum, with the ability to like comments, and also a proper app is a great idea.
GrijnwaaldQuote Reply
My comment is that I want 52 episodes a year rather than 10
NormanQuote Reply
Honestly I don’t understand why so many people are against a forum. It really is the best thing for discussions on whatever topics you feel like discussing, and if you don’t like using it no one will have a gun to your head. Why can’t we have posts that we can comment on like we already do AND forums?
Wrath of the GodsQuote Reply
I wouldn’t mind a visual upgrade. some banners at the sides of the page instead of the grey at least.
A forum would be good too but only for Tv show discussion and rumors, Westeros.org has the books totally covered.
ConorQuote Reply
Can we redesign the site to be in Indigo ;)
Ryan JohnQuote Reply
-No forum.
-Update the look, but please keep it clean and simple.
-News has been slower every year, so I like the idea of more fun things (daily caption contests, character discussions, whatever).
LexQuote Reply
I would like a Jon Snow Cone stand please. Cheers :3
Harry The HeirQuote Reply
- I’d like to have the comments on these blog posts in a nested form with expandable and collapsable branches. Would be golden if new comments could have a different colour scheme than comments you’ve already read.
- Have a separate forum for more on-going discussions (for example a thread where non-readers can talk about their predictions). Of course this should also be in a nested form. From the start we can have only admin-approved threads to avoid cluttering.
- Have personal user profiles. They can still be connected to Facebook and Twitter but I’d like to have a permanent home here.
- Open up links in new tabs/windows instead of in the current window.
- I’d like it if the most memorable posts (whether because of their news content or because of the speculation in the comments) were accessible through the menu in a section called “Memories” or something like that. It could be split up into “Production news” (green lights of pilot, season 1 etc), big casting news (Peter D, Sean etc), “Casting clues”, “Other” (always support the bottom). Episode recaps could be here as well as in the Episode guide.
Johan SporreQuote Reply
I think a forum too ….
No wait … we have one ! My bad .
YvyBQuote Reply
Tir Airgid,
I second that. I hate it when I find a typo and can’t correct it anymore. Smiley icons would be nice as well.
AbyssQuote Reply
Lex doesn’t want a forum?
Aegon the ConquerorQuote Reply
Great site
But I would love that when you make a comment and check later to see what replies there have been the page opens at your comment this being on the mobile version on my iPhone
Cheers
AshQuote Reply
Oh and for you to have a secret webcam on grrm so we can check he is writing! Put it in the air vent or something!!!!!!
AshQuote Reply
I would like to see the cast and episode guides fully updated for previous seasons. It would also be nice to have more polls, which might have already been stated
The Dear HunterQuote Reply
No forum
Update casting, filming locations, etc. more frequently
Don’t change too much – we love you
Patchy FaceQuote Reply
I like the website quite a bit. . . simple but effective. I go here for all my GoT needs. I’d really just like to see more frequent posts and updates. It’s always a bummer when two days go by and there’s nothing new to read. Maybe a forum is the answer, as many have suggested, with fun topics/arguments for the “down” times.
Benjen_SQuote Reply
A woman knows little of technological things, but would like to be able to edit comments at any time. Sometimes one does not see ones’ errors until too late to edit in the current system, leaving egg on the face. : – (
Simplicity is a virtue, but it would also be wonderful to be able to find favorite previous threads without scrolling through hundreds of pages. It would also be great if links open in a different window so you can keep both open if you want to, is that possible?
Perhaps a colored background or a “night view” option so if one is reading on the iPad while the spouse is sleeping it’s not so bright? And an ipad/iphone app that would load quickly and be easy to use so we can check on news on the fly. I think there was one for a while but then it went away? Or was I hallucinating?
Mrs. H’gharQuote Reply
Not really a cosmetic improvement, but considering what hooked me on this site in the first place was FaB’s interview with Sophie Turner, more by-site interviews with cast would be awesome.
AndrewQuote Reply
A FABio bobblehead in the corner of the page, that whispers odd pronouncements from time to time, which can be scripted by site members.
spacechampionQuote Reply
Andrew,
Yes, more interviews please!
AbyssQuote Reply
Don’t know if someone has said yet, but its extremely difficult to go back and look for a previous post… especially one that’s old. I really like going back to read them (especially the first casting posts), but there’s no date archive, so I have to search a specific term and keep going back and back and back… there’s not even numbers of pages to navigate through.
If that could be set up easily that would be great! Just organizing old posts under year and month much like a blog would be amazing for anyone who wants to remember the good ol’ days :)
The InstrumentalistQuote Reply
The Instrumentalist,
On the right side of the screen under ‘tags’ there is a section labeled ‘archives’ with years drilling down to months, although this does not feature tags or sections.
I mean my feeling is pretty much the same–take the info that seems to already be on the site and just organize it a bit more sensibly.
ZackQuote Reply
Give away more free stuff (not that I need it, but people tend to like free stuff, even if it’s cheap crap like key chains and posters). I’m sure HBO would give you a box of trinkets if you bugged them enough.
And, if you plan on doing more interviews, get some of the actors, and/or D&D and/or GRRM to sign some stuff for you. People love autographs (I’m not sure why that is, but it is).
It wouldn’t cost you much, if anything at all (assuming HBO caves to your demands), and you could increase your page views exponentially (I’d imagine).
That’s all I’ve got, really. I’m not good with the fancy, technical stuff, but I’m sure whatever you guys come up with will be cool.
Varamyr FourskinsQuote Reply
Zack,
Holy crap! I feel like such an idiot. I usually search for posts in the search bar and go through pages of posts… Instrumentalist sad :( Herp derp.
The InstrumentalistQuote Reply
As others have said I would be in favor of a threaded comment section. Something like the SB Nation websites.
Personally, I am of the mind that less is more in terms of overall design. But as I’ve said about the SB Nation websites, I come here for the content not the look. So no matter what you end up doing I’ll be here as long as the content is strong. However, having said that, if the reaction to the SB Nation redesign is any indication be prepared for some pretty harsh bitchin’ no matter what you do. :)
HexonxQuote Reply
I love this site, have been checking here ever since I saw on IMDB that Sean Bean would be playing the part of Eddard Stark in GOT (that’s when I started reading the books, too). One small request – would it be possible to number the comments? It is much easier to remember a number than a name if you have to interrupt your browsing and come back at a later stage. Also could the print be a little darker for those of us whose eyesight is not what it used to be!
AnneQuote Reply
How about numbering the comments? so I would know at which comment I stopped one day and can read starting from there again. At the moment I have to read a lot of comments a second time because I never know were I stopped.
Also liked the suggesten of an overview of older posts, there is enough space right and left of the site to make a colum with all the post titles of the last few month linked with the post of course.
Edit:
Lol, did not read the last comments, so it seems I am not the only one having these truobles…
AbendsternQuote Reply
I love using the ” Tags ” feature, it’s really user friendly and efficient. This has been
in use at a non ASOIAF site that I occasionally visit, and proved to be a big hit
there. You had good points about what’s already here, the key is simplicity in
format and scope of focus. Even with minimal tweaking,any feature will improve,
this site already has great appeal and potential for evolving over time .
WildSeedQuote Reply
It would be nice if we had the option of creating a user account that keeps track of all our comments and the responses they receive. It would also be nice if you could go to another users page and see their latest comments.
It can be a bit tiresome to scroll back to find the last comment you read, see who responded to your post, and to find comments from other people you like to read. If I could simply go to my own account page and see if someone responded to me, or type in a user name of someone I like to read and be able to see their past comments, it would make the site more enjoyable for me.
DanQuote Reply
One last thing to go with what I said above, keep it where you can still post with just a nym for people who don’t want others to be able to see all their past comments in one place.
DanQuote Reply
I know advertising is kind of a nessecity… but I think the ad space is a bit much to have it on both sides of the screen.
I’d kind of like to see the reading space expanded so the print is a bit bigger.
You guys are doing a wonderful job! I’ve enjoyd Wic.net since GRRM gave you guys the shoutout.
IcebirdQuote Reply
A forum.
WiC specific accounts.
Numbered comments.
BloodQuote Reply
Get rid of the salad ads at the sides!
ahdhQuote Reply
I really like the “recent comments” and “tweets” section on the right side. Maybe we can add something like a “current rumours” section as well where we get a short summary of rumours who are not worth an entire post.
G_LeeQuote Reply
Oh, and I like the possibillity to comment without a user account, I am not at twitter or facebook and would like to stay that way.^^
AbendsternQuote Reply
Maybe you could upgrade the cast page:
the one you have now is cool but actors are divided per season, while it would be great to have one big page with all the actors from all the seasons, divided per house.
This way, the page will get bigger and bigger every season
PaoloQuote Reply
I have three minor suggestions:
1) I’ve been coming to this site almost since the beginning. I used to LOVE to read the comment sections, something that you guys particularly do well is encourage discussion/reader involvement, however when GOT became more mainstream the user comments went from interesting and worth reading to a giant waste of my time. I suggest editing comment sections. The #1 culprit being “first” or “second” posts. This is a sign that commenting means nothing on this website, something that I’m under the impression you guys are not intending. I don’t think I’m alone in hating “first” comments. They really make sites look mundane and filled with readers without anything worth adding.
2) I would love to see (although I have already read the books before and can look this up) a section on the website that gives the Season by Season family breakdowns. That way viewers will know who they should know about while watching each season. This is different than the book-book family breakdown. This really should only include people who are mentioned, or shown in the show. I think this would also help future seasons and viewers who maybe haven’t read the books.
3) You may want to consider a bio section for you fine people who run the site. I know I’ve seen (over the years) people asking stuff like “who’s WIC?”. You can also link the bios after your posts. Just an idea, certainly not something that makes or breaks your site.
4) I also wanted to comment on something else you guys do incredibly well. multimedia. I love that you try and involve as many aspects of media that you find. Youtube, blogs, twitter, hbogo, etc. Keep doing this!
Thanks for such a great website!
MaximillianQuote Reply
Maximillian,
Jesus, this site is not a full-time job for them :D
G_LeeQuote Reply
It would be nice if blackened out spoilers could be read on mobile devices.
NyoQuote Reply
G_Lee,
I must have a misunderstanding with the headline, because it says “suggestion box”. I’ve always taken that as a suggestion. Something they can choose to do something with or not.
I trust their judgement.
My #1 complaint/suggest would be to rid this site of the “first” comments. That is something that would be very easy to do. I strongly suggest this because it reflects poorly on the website. I know I’m not alone in thinking this, I’ve seen past suggestions in this post about that. Not to mention there are numerous comments complaining about “first” posts as well (something we wont see ever again if “first” comments go away).
The other suggestions are just fun ideas. They may not run this site as a full-time job, however, they have on several occasions spent time constructing things unique to the tv version of ASOIAF. I don’t think the show or site are going anywhere. I’m not giving a deadline or even saying they NEED to make those changes. Just a fun idea.
MaximillianQuote Reply
Have a feature where you can instantly ban the Trolls. Except me of course.
RygarQuote Reply
What about a quote of the day from the funniest comment, or thread if that gets implemented? Give a little love to all the clever posters here.
JillQuote Reply
How about a member section where we could get to know each other, maybe have a flea-market or promote our own art/writing (NOT fanfic).
JennyQuote Reply
Maybe you should try an ASOiAF Dating Site!
Type Darkstar looking for Type Cersei.
Type Lothor looking for Type Dontos
There might be so many Couples in this who have yet to meet.
JennyQuote Reply
Jenny,
Type Cersei Looking for type Cersei
MaximillianQuote Reply
I prefer King Troll, bastard!
RygarQuote Reply
Jaime would pop up. Too easy.
Ros looking for Pod = Azhor Azhai
RygarQuote Reply
A like button would be awesome, and a most liked comments section like youtube has.
I agree that threaded comments would be awesome and make it easier to read conversations.
Funniest comments page every couple of weeks, similar to the episode tweets would be brilliant.
Finally competitions; fan art, poems, and fan made geeky stuff would bring the community together.
Tom SavageQuote Reply
I would like a pony
LordStarkingtonQuote Reply
Would love a like and dislike button on comments, just don’t shy away from the dislike button, the community is mature enough to handle it. Plus a button to make it simpler to block spoilers, as of right now I just avoid posting anything with spoilers because I haven’t bothered to learn how to block them, I would post quite a bit more otherwise.
Ser Lyonel The Laughing StormQuote Reply
A “view conversation” link would be nice.
A way to hide comments of those you find annoying. Maybe just show a Box with “Comment by xyz hidden” and you can click on it only if you really want too.
fuelpaganQuote Reply
An ability to block comments would be great!
MaximillianQuote Reply
Can’t we have like an Open Chat? Instant message thingy. I personally hate forums…..
Harry The HeirQuote Reply
Rygar,
There is only on king of the wicgeeks, only one who can bend the forum to his will, and he does not share power!
Aegon the ConquerorQuote Reply
Thanks for all the great suggestions, folks! Lots of good ideas here to consider.
To address a few comments:
-We have a mobile site. Just navigate to the regular URL from your phone and the mobile site should load.
-You can also view spoilers on the mobile site. Just tap the black bars to reveal the text underneath.
-To spoiler something is very simple. Once you finish writing your comment, highlight the text you wish to cover and hit the “spoiler” button. You can preview the comment to make sure it worked.
-I used to have links open in a new tab, but people complained about it! Currently the web standards say you shouldn’t force a new tab/window on a user, that it is up to them whether they want to open links in a new tab or not. But if there is enough support for them opening in a new tab automatically, I can add it back.
-I’m still undecided on the forum thing. I like the current setup, since it keeps everyone together and I’m worried having a forum will fragment the readership. But there are limitations to the commenting system, namely the inability to easily go off-topic or discuss issues not raised in our usual posts… I will have to think about a solution.
Sure thing. Just shoot me a message via the contact page.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
In defense of FIRSTs:
Why not a little playfulness? One would think it fosters a sense of camaraderie and light-hearted bonhomie. We are after all talking about our enjoyments not doing a literary critique of The Brothers Karamazov. Do we really need even our hobbies to be taken with solemnity? These posts are not part of our doctorial dissertations.
Also,
Hows about a spell check. That would save one a lot of back and forth to Google.
Currer BellQuote Reply
Not sure if it is possible or if it is just my iPhone, but I can’t do spoiler blocking on the mobile site….
I definitely like the embedded comments suggestion
Login ID and profile would be fun
Please no forums!!!! I like this site the way it is…. I check it first thing in the morning and usually a couple more times each day, if a forum split up the comments or lessened people’s interest in the daily WiC posts I feel that I would be losing something very important in life, like coffee or sex even….
Pure tragedy that would be
Jim CrossQuote Reply
Indeed! Maybe we could merge the fan based forum and make it official! http://www.wicgeeks.com
Omar BrownQuote Reply
http://www.wicgeeks.com has both, open chat and forums
Omar BrownQuote Reply
a live chat section would be nice.. where members can have a direct conversation with each other
WinturdQuote Reply
I’m not the first to say it, but numbered comments! On a popular post it can take forever to find out where you finished last time you read some comments and where the new ones you haven’t read begin.
Nick LarterQuote Reply
Winter Is Coming,
Oh yeah please open links in a new tab! This is probably the only site I visit where tabs are NOT opened in a new tab so I always forget to do it manually and since wic.net takes forever to load it`s always a pain in the ass if get redirected.
G_LeeQuote Reply
Winturd,
With some luck, some members here were able to Chat, as if instantaneous. It
was only by chance though, but hugely fun. If doable, it would be a great
feature at this site. As long as it doesn’t replace the the current Comment system,
with dated and timed response. Some folk may perceive this is enough, as others
keep up through their Twitter or Tumbler feeds. I’m not on either of those, but I’d
respect their option to utilize that. Maybe a Chat feature, if Winter allows, can be
placed at the bottom of the page, or the far right, where the Links used to be. Or
substitute the Poll area somehow ( also located at the bottom of the page, in Black ).
WildSeedQuote Reply
Remain, mostly, advertisementless.
Big Hause and DinkleQuote Reply
It might be too complex, but a solution for a lot of people might be found by allowing us to register permanent usernames with our own accounts. Within which there could be a control panel where we could choose the proper time zone so posts would always show correct times, where we could choose if we liked the comment sections to be threaded or unthreaded, or where we could pick from a selection of 4 or 5 ‘site colors’ perhaps corresponding to the major houses of the series–the current look of course ‘Stark’ mode, or whether or not we prefer links to open in new tabs (I don’t, because I find I quickly end up with 20+ tabs).
ZackQuote Reply
I don’t usually mind ads unless they’re videos, or there’s loads of ads everywhere. But you should really have ads that would appeal more to ASoIaF readers, rather than these food ads; they just look really out of place!
ahdhQuote Reply
Biggest annoyance on this site. Make it illegal to brag about being the first post. That is so lame. Why does it matter if you are a first post? It doesnf. Ban it!
Lord NogaQuote Reply
Also, there should be the option to “like” comments.
ahdhQuote Reply
Ranked comments (thumbs up thumbs down) like reddit. At the very least it will stop the “first!” bullshit. At the best it will foster actual conversations and reward the most insightful/entertaining/interesting posters.
KunderaQuote Reply
Thank you for pointing out how to read spoiler blacked out text on a mobile device. I have been reading this site for almost 2 years (usually on my iPhone or iPad) and have tried to select text to read it using many browsers. Only Opera Mini version 7.0.1 and earlier can reveal text by selecting text. And I often update Opera accidentally on my iOS devices. This is a real saver for me. Thanks.
MarkQuote Reply
I’m at a loss for the Comment Rating , i.e. “like ” or ” thumb sign “, do these enhance
the functionality of the site in any way ? Will Polls be held on the one rated the
highest ? I’ve utilised these at Amazon , or other retail sites, can these really
prove useful here ? Has it been demonstrated it deter rude behaviour ? I really
have no other experience except the retail or product experience, can someone
explain (?). Thanks.
Mark
I was wondering about that too, the info Winter provided gave me insight too.
This will especially prove useful for my iPad ( soon to be purchased ). You
saved me the trouble of asking. Thanks ( to you and WiC )
WildSeedQuote Reply
Oh and how do you access the mobile site on an iPad running iOS 6? The spoiler reveal trick does not work on my iPad likely because the site does not recognize my iPad as a mobile device. With the iPad I have to do the select text trick and hope it works. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. You can email me privately if you’d rather. Thanks.
MarkQuote Reply
1. Add a discussion board feature to the site. I know Phil didn’t want the headache, but it IMMENSELY improves the experience for the user, who then has the ability to block ignore, or skip posts from people they don’t agree with. It also gives users the ability to start their own threads to discuss their own side issues or theories or whatever. It helps create a community that sticks. It gives the users so many more options. It gives you a safe way to chit chat with other members other than just posting in a comment thread. Blogs are what people read, Discussion boards are where communities are built and sustained. This site has long ago outgrown the ‘just plain commenting on a blog’ style.
2. Make the toolbar along the top have several tabs that highlight WiC Premium content, such as a tab that would have under it all of FaB’s retweet posts, and a Tab that goes straight to the official Tumblr, and a Tab for all content written that originated at WiC, for example the Pearson Moore Essays. Love em or hate em, they were still WiC specific content that should be higlighted out as things that are WiC exclusives. Make one of the tabs a page of Daily Raven links for the year, with some text explaining what the Daily Raven is, etc.
3. The WiC brand has a great start, if you want to make it better, keep going with it – that’s why you need all the WiC Custom contant pulled out – anything that is WiC exclusive, all those interviews you guys did, point that out and trumpet them.
4. Make the annual Wic awards a bigger thing, and make an actual trophy and go present it to the people. Get sponsor of some sort to pay for your trvael or whatever. There are some videos up where Entertainment Weekly made up their own award, a EWwy, and it was a trophy in the shape of an Ewe, and they got videos of the cast members accepting the trophy, and one cast member said she was going to hide it on set, and move it to a different place every episode, and the fans would have to try to spot it. What fun! and all the more reason for the fans to keep watching! See, it’s a marketing circle of genius. LOL. House Gatewatch, I forgot our mottot but a sub motto could be ‘The Sun Never Sets on House Gatewatch”, since we have people watching the show and through the web round the world, and no Gate will slip past our eye! The more you build yourself as a brand, the more respect you get, and then you’ll get press passes, and then before you know it, you’ll get press passes to actual events. Maybe the trophy could be a giant eye starting at a computer screen, or maybe that might look too creepy. Anyway, you could vote on it..
purplejillyQuote Reply
Suggestions requiring spoilers:
Hide/reveal all spoilers buttons at the top of the page. Should solve the problem for the iOS people and would make things more convenient for other book readers. Non-readers can make sure it’s set to hide. (this is in addition to the current system, so those who only want to view some spoilers can pick and choose).
A ‘flag for moderator’ option on each post in case someone forgets the spoiler tags or indeed there are any other problems. Ideally when flagged the whole post should be spoilered out until a mod gets to it (you have lives!) but there is the potential for abuse there- maybe when flagged by 2 different IP addresses? Something to think about.
To make the site more non-reader friendly, a spoiler alert rating at the top of each post. e.g.
Blue= absolutely no chance of spoilers whatsoever, comments locked or pre- moderated
Green= comments open, no book discussion of any sort allowed
Yellow= book/show comparison in tags (including extra info like dragon names), no spoilers
Orange= open discussion of book/show comparison, spoilers in tags
Red= casting/filming and other spoilery news, plot spoilers in tags
Violet= open discussion of all published books, but nothing further
Indigo= open discussion of everything including preview chapters
ShinyteapotQuote Reply
ALso, why not have the discussion forum AND the current ‘reply to post’ system? Then those who want to use a forum can do so, and those who want to just comment on the posts can. And everytime an argument gets too heated, or too offotopic, or too whatever and annoys you, you can tell them ‘take it to the forum’. Everyone is happy :)
purplejillyQuote Reply
Duh, yeah, Now I remember the motto “Always support the Bottom”, and our sub motto could be the sun never sets on House Gatewatch. Haven’t had coffee yet this morning..
I know the idead of a forum seems overwhelming, but I will tell you, we’ve lost a lot of quality posters from the beginning because of the endless crap that starts cycling in the comment replies, with no way to filter it.
Who wants to make a long, thoughtful post about what they see as the major character and structural issues that arise from the TV show leaving Renly’s Peach out of the confrontation with Stannis, only to have it bombarded by many posts saying ‘book purist! go away and post somewhere else!’,& “If you can’t tell the difference between a TV show and a Book you’re stupid! & the directors know what they are doing, you are dumb!& The peach meant nothing, on and on, and on, but buried in the compliants were a few nice responses that understood, added on to the discussion, and rounded it out into a full, mature and meaningful conversation. But who wants to be bombarded with hate crap and calls to shut up or stop watching any time you want to discuss differences?? In a forum, you can easily have a section specifically FOR discussing differences, or for discussing casting, or whatever, and people could have their opinions, post them and enjoy their conversations in a mature way, and people who just want to complain and say ‘you shouldn’t be watching the show – you’re a stupid purist with unrealistic expectations’ could just take all those comments somewhere else on the forum. It would clean up the main comment thread so much, by allowing side discussions to wander off into their own tributaries, instead of the main stream becoming a cauldron of unmanageable crap, which led people to leave and not come back. Yeah, forums are headaches, but you could get plenty of volunteers to help you, and it can be done. It all depends on what you want to do with a site. I think this site has great potential.
purplejillyQuote Reply
Always support the bottom!! How could you forget??? :-)
Edit: ah, I’m glad it came back to you before I wrote my comment ;)
Tar KidhoQuote Reply
Winter Is Coming,
I would love to Phill, but it is for your eyes only, so I need to know only you will see it.
Aegon the ConquerorQuote Reply
external links open a new window or tab.
feyrbandQuote Reply
The comments are the only major thing that needs tweaked. We need nested comments that can be ranked up or down. This would help promote discussion, and finally evolve the site past users proclaiming first on each discussion. The main page is nice, simple and to the point.
DavidQuote Reply
David,
But we firsties love to claim bragging rights for the post, don’t be hating.
Aegon the ConquerorQuote Reply
I am also in favor of numbering the entries, apart from that your site is simple and elegant.
S.R.Quote Reply
Now you’re talking :D
You made good points here, and above .
WildSeedQuote Reply
1. Members: Don’t like to login with facebook and twitter… but actually I would like to create an acount here. People could send PN, Get a Avatar… BUT: post comments as a guest should still work.
2.Layout: I would like to see something new, fresh. Don’t like to scroll the whole page down. Want to have a frame (so I can click on a side or topbar)
3.Sidebar (Cast, news…) please. Hate top … and most time it is not working right.
4.Forum would be nice. I mean westeros has a lot of facts and a great forum. But I would like to get some information here to. Maybe a information section (major houses – and a portrait of the involved actors as the character they play, major locations, storyline… but not to detailed… just an overview)
5.Comments (If somebody writes something and i want to adress it to his post, I would like to see the comment under his post, not at the end)
By the way, thanks for the work.
HinkaQuote Reply
-The ability to thumbs up or thumbs down comments and then organise comments by rating.
-A weekly episode poll on the main page where you can rate episodes out of 5 and then be able to see which episodes are the best rated.
DanQuote Reply
Personally, I wouldn’t like the thumbs down option. I think it would discourage some people from speaking their mind, or speaking at all, and that would be a loss for the site.
Tír AirgidQuote Reply
One potentially useful hint for opening links in new tabs: it usually works to click the link with the middle mouse button, check your settings. A useful shortcut for fast browsing, it doesn’t even switch the tab to the new one, so you can click on several links you like, and then check them later.
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
Tír Airgid,
I agree.
WildSeedQuote Reply
Agreed, I think Facebook got it right just allowing “Like.” The only reason I can see for letting us at least +1 posts here is that you might allow an option to ‘sort by highest ranked posts’, although that is a feature that would discourage people from reading the whole thread and so might be frowned upon, I don’t know.
ZackQuote Reply
I agree with both of you.
WildSeedQuote Reply
I like the idea of a like button, but not a ranking system for comments as it would make the discussion near impossible to follow.
Aegon the ConquerorQuote Reply
Terribly sorry, I was agreeing with Tir Airgid’s comment of ” no thumbs down “.
I am not in agreement of rating posts, in any way. I find it distracting , for a
site such as this. Not everyone speaks with such elegance or concise points,
especially if English is not a primary language spoken. I like reading through
the posts, even disagreeing along the way. Let people have their say, as long
as there is no intent to disparage posters or disrespect the moderators of the site.
WildSeedQuote Reply
WildSeed,
Indeed so. Additionally people would be tempted to think along the lines of how to phrase their comment to get the most approval instead of just being honest.
The appeal for me is because I know bullshit ‘first’ or insult-prone people wouldn’t get a lot of love and if I could sort the thread so that those comments got sent to the bottom it might improve the site, but…
there are better ways to handle that problem. I’d leave ratings off.
ZackQuote Reply
I have a forum that is a support place for women’s health issues, and you have the ability to thumbs up or thumbs down a post, and I just tweaked the code so that only thumbs up are allowed. It’s like it or say nothing :) There are plenty of work arounds for a lot of the default features.
purplejillyQuote Reply
I know, I even wrote a little scenario to go with our motto! That was a bad morning after being up half the night with a 9 year old very unhappy with her strep throat pain! After some coffee, it came back… whew…
purplejillyQuote Reply
I think a forum would be a dramatic improvement. There have been times when I’ve found really interesting sub-discussions, but it’s such a hassle to scroll through all the comments to find posts that relate directly to the issue you want to discuss. And then there are the times when genuinely worthwhile talking points sprout up organically in threads but are deemed “off-topic,” which I think might make a lot of people choose to not engage in the discussion.
If you guys do install a forum, just keep it simple. This site focuses on the show and the adaptation of elements, so it wouldn’t have to be as extensive (and frankly, overwhelming) as something like the board at Westeros.org. Also, leave ratings off. I once belonged to a vBulletin forum where “liking” a post led to boosting “reputation” of a user and getting people onto leadercharts or winning color subtitles or whatever. The whole process was ridiculous and created a very junior-high environment at times.
With a forum, users could also have profiles, which would be nice. I’d love to know where some of you guys are from and what your other interests are, and have the ability to share my contact info with certain users via private message instead of having to post my email/skype/Facebook info in one of these threads.
A forum would be a big undertaking and you’d probably have to enlist some other people to act as moderators to watch over the expanded scope of the site, but I do think it would really increase the community here.
Other than that, I would just say maybe redesign (which Winter said he’s doing). There’s nothing wrong with the design now, but since the amount/types of content has increased over the last few years, there may be a better way to organize it all that boosts user-friendliness and also showcases the site’s achievements.
LinaQuote Reply
Lina,
Lina there is already a forum related to this site, in fact this place inspired it. Check near the top for the address.
Aegon the ConquerorQuote Reply
I understand your meaning, and I agree with your point. Yet helpful advice regarding
health issues or product usefulness clarify issues of a definitive nature (or substance ).
A subjective discussion of an artist or author’s intent is likely to draw informed
debate or pure speculation. Even Crackpot Theorist have their say here, within reason.
As long as the discussion remains honest and civil and follows the general theme
of the post, the conversation serves it ‘s purpose. I’d like to have a ” work around “,
as to said, to curb the extended ( and angular ) discussions. Those may indeed
need another method of outlet , maybe.
Good luck with the work you’re doing, you sound like a thoughtful person.
WildSeedQuote Reply
Perhaps I’m old fashioned, but would love to have a mobile/text only version of the site. follow you on Twitter & have that on the cell, but sometimes would rather read site on the go & loading images takes forever on the mobile, ugh.
Would also love to see short bios of the great crew here on the site, and echo earlier comments on a live webchat /video chat like they do for the one ring.net etc, please please :)
SueQuote Reply
Before Fury joined our team, we ran this post:
http://winteriscoming.net/2010/08/getting-to-know-you/
This is about as much as we’re willing to share … for now ;)
Hear Me RoarQuote Reply
Thanks for this, as it predates my becoming a member here. You guys are awesome,
and I ‘ve been described a someone with distinct views. I’ve been rescued from
becoming solely an academic to burgeoning ASOIAF aficionada, now there is fun
and divergent POV….on of all things, Science Fiction and Fantasy . I had no idea
I’d end up here. Thanks again.
Thanks for the outlet
WildSeedQuote Reply
Don’t know if this had been posted, but maybe it’s a good idea to look into the links. Many of them are not really needed imo.
Here are my suggestions:
1. “Fantasy Sites” should be deleted as a whole. The sites focus is Game of Thrones first and A Song of Ice and Fire second, not fantasy in general.
2. Same could be true for “HBO Fan Sites”, but it can be argued, that the connection with Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire is more direct here. HBO is making the show after all.
3. I don’t see why “HitFix Game of Thrones Fan Page” under “Game of Thrones of Thrones Sites” is of special interest. There are many sites like this on the web (Game of Thrones on paper.li for example).
AbyssQuote Reply