Whats unique about Habbox?

[Tintinnabulate]

Whats unique about Habbox? Why should people use it? What are they getting that is different?

Talk about a new Habbox.com site layout has been going on since January this year, but nothing has happened. It was set for release this summer, yet we have heard nothing...
Matt made this sticky last month and its still stuck but we have not heard anything
http://www.habboxforum.com/showthread.php?t=662821

News Section...
Well Habbo news has not been ideal for fansites posting news.

The Newsletter section is for July. Its September now.

Events calendar says there are no upcoming events. Seems like the managers cannot be bothered updating it. I have posted about this before but its obviously not improved.

Competitions Section on the site says the last competition ended on 13th August. - Not been updated in over a month.

I am sure Roxy916 said she will update the Competitions section of the site but yeah not happened.

Rare Values
Market place has meant this is no longer unique.

It seems Habbox is struggling to even update some minor pages, how do you expect users to keep coming back? They will check the Events calendar, see its completely blank and leave it. They will see the competitions page, see its a month old and leave.

Forum is still pretty active which is good.

I have suggested so many times that Habbox needs unique stuff like scripts on HabboEmoticon. They have amazing generators and I have seen so many people here use it in their signatures. Thats what unique about them.

What unique about Habbox? Before it was rare values, now whats unique? Why should people use Habbox? Dont say because people are friendly, it needs to offer something unique first like amazing generators etc.

Before there used to be huge prizes on the Radio every so often. The show would be advertised all over habbo, habbox and the forum for like 10 days before the event and the prize would be like a Throne. You can still do prizes like 200c or 300c twice a month on the radio to get interest.

[Richie]

I totally agree with everything said.

[Storking]

Agreed, I just went into those sections and it looks pretty bad on Habbox's behalf not having them updated..

A little bit of effort to update areas like events and competitions will go a long way in making Habbox look more professional and popular.

as for the radio, I don't really see many giveaways and competitions in the popular room list on Habbo from HxL, but there are usually giveaways/big competitions daily from other fansites like clubhabbo, tryhabbo and hffm. So.. maybe more giveaways could be held to get dedicated listeners and attract users from other time zones who might not have heard of Habbox before

[Tintinnabulate]

Jin had like huge rooms of furni to give away right after the merge, did that ever happen?
If not then whats the point in getting people to donate huge amounts of furni and then just keeping it locked up in a store room? :S :S

---------- Post added 27-09-2010 at 12:37 AM ----------

And management, people do not say "Well wait till v6, its going to be fresh".

That line has been repeated since January. I actually doubt it will happen this year. Think of what immediate things can be done? You don't need v6 to get new generators or those similar to HabboEmoticon.
Also what new and fresh ideas will actually be in v6?

[scott]

Right now? Nothing from what I can see. I've said as well about the events calendar hardly updated and sometimes the lack of events. The amount of events staff there is and the little amount of events really shocked me.

HabboxLive held a day full of events/win a room/giveaways on saturday and we did manage to attract quite a good few listeners from it. Did they come back? Not all of them of course not, a few yes they have. I think that it is shocking the amount of time it's taken for the sites to be fixed it's surely over a week now? There is no radio stats and a very slow loading site that certainly isn't going to attract anybody to the site. If i go on HabboxLive and see some weird coding instead of radio stats I wouldn't be coming back to that site.

I've always thought there needs to be competitions put onto Habbox.com - Have a form were they fill their Habbo name and an answer instead of having to be registered to the forum that will attract people as well. Something different rather than just news, Habbo has news why would they come to Habbox to read it? A different persons perspective on the article but once they've read that they will leave, there is nothing else keeping them there.

The Habbox Today I know Garion was getting strict on it being used when he became AGM at first, I don't know if it's still the case but either make sure there is one everyday or get rid of it and have something else because the name 'Habbox Today' obviously means that it's what's happening that day sometimes when I check it there hasn't been one for 3 days which just makes the site look really out dated.

We've been told time and time again 'Oh this is going to be the best layout Habbox has ever had, interactive the lot!!" Months down the line and yeah we still have no updates on it, I hope it's that good the amount of time it's taken

[Tintinnabulate]

Right now? Nothing from what I can see. I've said as well about the events calendar hardly updated and sometimes the lack of events. The amount of events staff there is and the little amount of events really shocked me.

HabboxLive held a day full of events/win a room/giveaways on saturday and we did manage to attract quite a good few listeners from it. Did they come back? Not all of them of course not, a few yes they have. I think that it is shocking the amount of time it's taken for the sites to be fixed it's surely over a week now? There is no radio stats and a very slow loading site that certainly isn't going to attract anybody to the site. If i go on HabboxLive and see some weird coding instead of radio stats I wouldn't be coming back to that site.

I've always thought there needs to be competitions put onto Habbox.com - Have a form were they fill their Habbo name and an answer instead of having to be registered to the forum that will attract people as well. Something different rather than just news, Habbo has news why would they come to Habbox to read it? A different persons perspective on the article but once they've read that they will leave, there is nothing else keeping them there.

The Habbox Today I know Garion was getting strict on it being used when he became AGM at first, I don't know if it's still the case but either make sure there is one everyday or get rid of it and have something else because the name 'Habbox Today' obviously means that it's what's happening that day sometimes when I check it there hasn't been one for 3 days which just makes the site look really out dated.

We've been told time and time again 'Oh this is going to be the best layout Habbox has ever had, interactive the lot!!" Months down the line and yeah we still have no updates on it, I hope it's that good the amount of time it's taken

Its a shame that I need to spread before repping you again scott.

Well its so amazing that apparently they didn't have a proper layout last month if Matt had to hold a competition. They knew about it in January, yet no one bothered taking up the job to ensure its done. Alkaz made some amazing designs and they are very nice. He actually suggested some amazing forum skins too and showed me rough designs but it never really happened, meaning his hard work designing it was a waste of time. These forum skins would have made Habbox unique and have attracted new members.

Habbox needs to look at making several games room owned by one person or a few managers. Maybe a TC, but a main Battleball for sure.
Give all managers and trusted staff rights and try and ensure its on popular most of the time. People will see Habbox.com on top all the time in the Games section and a few would go on it. Its the only way to do it.
Most new members start with Games rooms, so thats where Habbox needs to be popular. They slowly go to trades after using Games but by that time, if they know of Habbox, you job is done.

[Calvin]

I have to agree with all those points, to be honest Habbox isn't really considered unique at the moment besides from it's very slow speed really.. But yeah, I noticed the events calendar problem earlier when someone in HxHD asked what events are on, I thought this updates from the forum events calendar anyway? :S

The newsletter is just pointless, it basically offers nothing and is hardly ever updated, perhaps get a manager to post a monthly summary in the announcements forum for each month going over the new updates on Habbox, HxL and HxF instead.

As for generators, I'm trying to get as much generators as I can so some new ones should be coming soon.

[Storking]

There needs to be a clear and eye catching events timetable (regularly updated) on the main site so that people can find out when events are in advance, rather than having to be on the forum and then having an events staff post a forum thread to advertise their event.

even if it means moving the news articles down a bit to fit the timetable in there or on the side, it should be on Habbox.com - and users shouldn't have to click any extra links to get to it

No matter how many updates you bring in, new users aren't really going to hear about the site and visit Habbox/HabboxForum unless there are plenty of events and giveaways in Habbo.com that advertise it simple really.

[Nixt]

I'll start with addressing your concerns regarding V6, I've recently highlighted the issues surrounding V6 in another thread but anyway - what it comes down to is that we have not been provided with the specification necessary to really get stuck into the creation of the site which means most of what can be done is merely rhetoric that cannot be acted upon. This is a result of Jin's commitments in real life which obviously cannot be avoided. However, he has now returned and has said that he would like to see the creation of Habbox V6 before Christmas, which is great! He has also began planning the more intricate details with the coders.

Further to this I am happy to admit, as will I am sure other members of General Management, up until quite recently the Management of the project has been rather confusing and frankly piss poor. There were severe breakdowns in communication and confusion over what was happening (amongst the Management team) and it did take a while to really start developing ideas and discussing what could happen properly. Whilst this is all based on ideas and not what may actually happen, we have at least started developing some very interesting new features and ideas for the new website which will hopefully make the whole process a lot smoother.

I will agree that to an extent Habbox lacks a certain singularity that it once offered; other Habbo fansites have certainly caught up and in some cases overtaken us in what they offer and how they offer it. This is a pressing issue and essentially comes down to one thing - the antiquity of the Habbox website and this is something, as explained above, we are trying to improve. I really do hate to fall down on the "Habbox V6 excuse" because it does seem to be happening a lot recently but in fairness I am not just relying on it to reply to feedback, I am relying on it because without it Habbox. Will. Fail. It is as simple as that really. I am essentially putting all of my faith, as a member of General Management, into its development so we can see Habbox improve. Without it we are stuck in a rut and will continue riding the waves of our previous success until the site (although maybe [probably] not HxF) falls further into disrepair and disuse.

Regarding news, whilst I will agree it doesn't make us unique, Habbox.com has always and continues to provide a valuable news service that gives users something that is unique in its own right. If you look at other fansites the news is often a mere replication (or poor differentiation) on Habbo news itself - we offer a different take on Habbo news and this is used. Of course this isn't a clincher, or anything anyone would consider spectacular but it is a fundamental part of Habbox and does provide an element of attraction to the website. A large proportion of our visitors read the news posted.

Moving onto the Newsletter - You will have to wait for Matt on that one really, as I understand he was going to be maintaining it.

For events and competitions sections of the site, this really comes under the umbrella category of content. Not that I wish to single out a department, because it comes down to more people than just the Content team, but Habbox.com content as a whole is not very well kept (other than those allocate to Content Designers but these don't necessarily need updating daily). I can't really say why these pages haven't been updated but I know there were some issues with a script when it comes to the events calendar. However I agree these pages need to be kept updated and perhaps to ensure this we should widen their editors to people other than one or two individuals.

As for rare values, my post here seems to sum up my thoughts here:

Not going to sit here and pretend that Rare Values is the number one part of Habbox.com or the Habbox collective any more (it certainly used to be) but let me make one thing very, very clear - it is not getting removed or closed down. Rare values have been an inherent part of Habbox.com for a long time and it remains an important and key part of the current Habbox project and its foundations in the long term.

We admit quite readily that the Marketplace has overtaken Habbox in terms of the main source of values but it is still used and it is still referenced on numerous occasions I have noticed on the client. In recognising the fact that the usefulness of rare values - whilst not completely burnt out - have been devalued (see what I did there) we have discussed and planned numerous changes for V6 that will make a kind of up and coming "rare resource" (rather than just values) a useful and commonly used tool on Habbox.com.

The department is far from obsolete and with the changes we have planned could easily become a key part of Habbox.com once again. We recognise reform is needed but the complete abolition of such a department would be foolish.

I do think we need to start thinking about introducing new features and so on on the current Habbox.com site and it will be possible, perhaps, to introduce some of the scripts and features we have planned for V6 on the current site until the V6 launch. This will not be everything of course, but at least some of the things to keep people coming back and interested. This will be something that Jin will have to decide of course but I am sure it is possible.

Regarding the radio - it is having some difficulties and obviously that has impacted quite negatively on listeners. This applies to both Habbox and Habbox Forum too which have been suffering since the server difficulties but once again I am only really in a position to say now Jin is back I am sure it will be addressed as soon as possible. He is, after all, the only person in a position to fix these things.

As Scott has said we also did a HxL promotion day and this helped. We need to continue doing things like this, of course, and we are attempting to really get our name out there on the client in a variety of different ways - different rooms, different events and so on. Of course there is an element of quietness at this time of year and I am not about to use it as an excuse but people have just started school, college and university so this can negatively impact on the number of events going on and so forth. It also affects the amount of people using Habbo at any given time which inevitably impacts on us, too.

I do agree with everything you have said but for a lot of it I am not in a position to fully explain why or what will be done to fix it, as that is not for me to impose. However I do want to stress my above points about V6 which are the absolute truth and your frustration and desperation when it comes to the new website is shared by myself and Management alike.

Oh and apologies for any lack of structure or coherence, it is nearly 1AM.

[Tintinnabulate]

There needs to be a clear and eye catching events timetable (regularly updated) on the main site so that people can find out when events are in advance, rather than having to be on the forum and then having an events staff post a forum thread to advertise their event.

even if it means moving the news articles down a bit to fit the timetable in there or on the side, it should be on Habbox.com - and users shouldn't have to click any extra links to get to it

No matter how many updates you bring in, new users aren't really going to hear about the site and visit Habbox/HabboxForum unless there are plenty of events and giveaways in Habbo.com that advertise it simple really.

I like your idea about giving Events and Competitions exposure on the homepage. It would be ideal and would help a lot. Addition of a few simple modules can easily fix this till v6 is released.

There is no point releasing all this amazing stuff only when v6 is released. At this time when Habbox is still popular, its ideal to offer some new things quickly to keep those users interested or slowly they will get bored and leave too.
Something needs to make users return, and events and competitions are ideal for that, and their exposure on the homepage will help.

Martin is doing a great job with News, I am not complaining one bit. Its updated regularly (more so than last year) and quality of articles are fantastic. I am just saying unfortunately its not unique any more.