debating removing vendors list

[sothis]

i just wanted to give a heads up, that i'm considering removing the vendors list. mostly because i have very, very, very little free time to do anything nowadays, and when i do, it tends to be on the anirec. the vendors list is a good idea, i don't have time/energy to spend days coding certain features and such.

as it is, it's incomplete (functionality as well as entries), and seems to be used hardly at all, so i'm thinking in the near future, i might remove it and concentrate on the site's core: the anirec (which is what i do anyways).

just wanted to throw this out in case people have really huge arguments for why i should keep it. regardless, the info would go somewhere else like maybe a forum thread ("non bootleg vendors list" sticky thread, who knows?), and maybe the "is this a bootleg" form could stay up (magi has offered to take care of answering this)

i used to put 200% of myself into this site, but i'm realizing i just can't do that anymore without help... adn given the fact that probably won't happen much, i am trying to be realistic :) thus, i'm thinking this is the best course of action.

(and in case anyone says just keep it up anyways, i hate putting something incomplete for all to see, a personal trait ;))

[BTime]

IMHO, a vendors list would be really useful for Brick & Mortor locations listed by state/country. Most of us are probably already aware of the major online vendors.

I always like clicking on graphic maps and seeing what's in my area, or in an area that I may be visiting.

In the above cases I would find the vendor's list useful, in its current form it's not of much interest to me.

[Magi.M]

I already talked with you about this Sothis but i'll repeat it here anyway. The vendors list is obviously one of the least popular (if not THE least popular) features of the site. You've got alot on your plate, and if you don't feel you can devote the time necessary to make it acceptable to your standards, then you should take it down.

That said, I think there are some parts of the vendors list section that are really valuable. One of the reasons I was so keen to work on the list in the first place is that bootlegs/piracy is an issue that is really important to me. I found it attractive to work on a project that could help people make an educated decision with regards to where they buy their products. I was duped into buying a bootleg once, I didn't know how to spot them and was very dissapointed when one of my friends informed me of my error. I don't want anyone else to have that experience if I can do something to prevent it.

Specifically, I think that there must be a way which we can work in the "Is this a bootleg?" form. It requires very little (if any) maintenace, and is a very valuable tool even if it is used infrequently. As you stated sothis I would be more than happy to take care of answering any requests that come through the form.

In the end I think that if you don't feel you can get it to a point where it is up to your standards, then I have absolutely no problem with you taking it down. But I feel that there are some valuable low maintenance features that could be kept.

[sothis]

i think the fact that only one person (besides the admin of the section) responded about this speaks volumes about keeping it intact or not :)

i think i've 99% decided i'll remove it from the button bar, probably replacing it with "dvd reviews" (since those are a fairly important part of the site now, like it or not, since i'm getting free anime in the mail for doing them).

i do think we can keep certain aspects around, though im not sure if they will be forum based or not. we can talk about it soon :)

Well, the fact that I didn't respond to this post yet is because I spent the _entire_ week on several work-related forums, trying to get a demo for a (relatively obscure) bit of software working speaks volumes to the fact that we are all pressed for time.

I actually do use the vendors section, because my familiarity with anime tends to be sporadic - very in-depth for some things but then trying to decide whether a good deal on a DVD is a good deal or a bootleg, I've got no clue. However, I'm sure I can post to the forums (or google, as I also do now) to get that information. Since I originally came to the site for animerec, and didn't know until a few months ago that there _were_ other sections, if I had to choose between animerec and anything else on the site, of course I'd pick that.

[MewEleven]

This site is full of wonderful ideas, like the AniRecDB, the future DVD Reviews, and the Vendor List. Although the vendor list is a really great idea, it is currently going unused and takes time and energy away that could be used for something else. Now, if you do consider that you do not want to continue putting your resources on it, you can either a) take it down for good, b) give it to someone else to complete and take care of, or c) keep it up but continue completing it.

If you were to go with a), then other things like the AniRecDB can get more attention, if it does not the most already. The bad thing is that some people may end up getting scammed but this can perhaps be avoided if you make sure that the FAQ link/page is able to be seen on the site in the more popular areas.

With b), you can either put it in forum form on the site, host it on anime-planet.com but let others be in charge of it, or give the code to someone and have them use their own hosting. First and second options would most likely involve you still. The third would be the better option as long as people can easily get to that site while browsing anime-planet.com

Now c), the vendors list already seems to be the least popular feature on the site and is requiring too much effort from you than you can currently give. You do not appear to be able to get more time at this present moment in time thus it would be an option to stay away from.

Out of the three options listed, taking down the list altogether, leaving someone else in charge of it, either on anime-planet.com or somewhere else, and continue what you have been, the first and last should be discarded, so you can give responsibility for it to someone else and either host it yourself or let them find their own place for it. I'll leave it here so you guys can further the discussion.

[Crysla]

with regards to the "Is this a bootleg" form - how about a vote? just limit the voting to long term members of anime planet, and we can all vote whether or not a particular site is a bootleg or not. perhaps this idea is a little late, but oh well ^_^

[BTime]

Just thought you'd like to know that I'd seen the Vendor's List linked from Anime News Network today, so apparently some folks are finding it useful.

[sothis]

in the forum, or where?

[BTime]

Briefly listed in one of their Columns

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/colu...man.php?id=197