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ZetaBoards Premium
Topic Started: Dec 4 2008, 10:44 PM (14,300 Views)
Brandon
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Just over one year ago, we released ZetaBoards as the one of the most advanced message boards. Since that release, we've added over 60 new features. Still, some have asked if we have anything else to offer to make your communities even more advanced and customizable.

Well we've listened and as part of the ZetaBoards anniversary celebration we're now excited to announce that in the coming days we'll be offering a new premium service option to ZetaBoards members. For a small monthly fee, this service will offer powerful specialty features to help manage and interact with your community.

The initial features will include:

  • Admin accessible PM logs.
  • Edited post logs.
  • Email/PM based topic subscriptions.
  • Larger board wrapper.
  • Ability to send board-wide emails more often.
  • Option to change copyright to: Powered by ZetaBoards Premium.
  • No second ad on the board front page.
Features Added in March 2009:

  • AMTs will now keep track of the number of times they are run. This can help you remove or improve underutilized AMTs.
  • Admin Digest covers up to 14 days if you have not visited the board.
  • Admin Digest is available to any admin, not just the board owner.


ZetaBoards Premium also includes the chance to use sneak previews of new ZetaBoards features before they are released. These previews are fully functional and are available on your board, not just a demo board, so your community can start using them immediately.

From time to time, a feature will move on from ZetaBoards Premium and be made available to all boards for free. These changes will be pre-announced in case you are using the premium service only for that one feature.
On occasion there will be a feature that will always be available only on ZetaBoards Premium. These flagship features are exclusive to ZetaBoards Premium because of their extreme specialty nature or because the feature can not be technically made available on all of ZetaBoards. From the initial premium features, only PM logging is a flagship feature.

ZetaBoards will always be first and foremost a free service. It is our policy that ZetaBoards Premium will enhance ZetaBoards rather than take away from it. We will use ZetaBoards Premium to increase resources and produce more features than ever for all boards, free or paid.


[Also note, Round 3 of Conversions has been announced.]
Edited by Brandon, Mar 29 2009, 08:21 PM.
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Brandon
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I wanted to go over the selection process for ZetaBoards Premium features in more detail.

Firstly a feature is checked over to see if it clearly fits into at least one of these categories:
1. Minimal demand. Every board is unique and some features are only needed by a handful of boards in a special situation. ZB premium gives us the chance to help these boards with a feature they otherwise wouldn't get.
2. Technical limitations. A feature may use so many server resources (or has other undesirable side-effects) that it could never be added to all boards.
3. Speciality. These are features that have never been asked for yet we perceive there is some demand for them. Think of these features like concept cars.

Even if a feature fits one or more of those categories we still try our best to make it a free feature first. While we understand that it would be very nice if all features were free always, features that make it into ZetaBoards Premium would never have been made at all otherwise.
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Brandon
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Privacy of members is of great concern to us. I wanted to go over the privacy implications of PM logs in ZB Premium.
Firstly, to reduce the risk of abuse of the feature, it is an exclusive feature of ZB Premium.

Since the early days of InvisionFree and the beginning of ZetaBoards there have been infrequent but steady requests for PM logs. We have traditionally taken the side of those who wanted privacy in the PM system. We now feel that we have built a PM logging system and accompanying features that gives the board owner a proper level of optional control over the board and yet enhances privacy.

1. PM logging must be enabled in the Admin CP. Only messages sent when logging is enabled can be read by an admin. This prevents an admin from leaving logging off and then turning it on to read messages sent in the past. While logging is enabled, a warning message is displayed on the compose PM screen ("Any messages sent through this form will be logged. Do not include any private information, financial information, or passwords in any message sent through this form.").
2. We will be soon releasing a new PM privacy feature that will let members make sure their messages are not read without their knowledge. This system will protect messages even if an admin changes the member's password and logs in as that member.
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Brandon
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There has recently been a lot of demand for email-based topic and forum subscriptions. I wanted to explain the new spread of subscription based features and our plans for the future. We understand that boards converting from InvisionFree have become used to email-based subscriptions. We have carefully taken into consideration the benefits and drawbacks of each type of subscription notice. I will do my best to convey to you the careful planning that led to the system we have come up with.

Subscription Notices
Notice TypeAvailabilityBenefitsDrawbacks
EmailInvisionFree & ZB PremiumReaches inactive members.Can lead to inactive members. Too many subscriptions slows down posting.
Interferes with delivery of important emails. Generates spam complaints. Not ideal for active members.
ListZetaBoardsGreat for keeping track of topicsNo true notifications.
List 2.0ZetaBoards (later upgrade)Excellent for keeping track of topicsNo true notifications.
PMZetaBoards (later upgrade) & ZB Premium (now)Excellent for active members.Not ideal for infrequent visitors.
FacebookZetaBoards (later upgrade)Good alternative for less active members who frequent Facebook.Not ideal for active members.
RSSZetaBoards (later upgrade)Good alternative for less active members.Not ideal for active members.


During our research we identified 5 main types of members who use the subscription system.
1. The inactive lurker. This person posts once and expects a reply and has no intention of participating in your community. Ideally you would give him no subscription options to help him.
2. The active member. This person is on your board all the time. His subscriptions have two purposes. A) To keep a list of topics to look at later. (For this the ZetaBoards list works best). B) To wait for a reply to one of his topics or replies. (PM based subscriptions work best since he is already on the board.)
3. The semi-active member who is online a lot. This person may stop by your board and participate but he also visits a lot of other websites and/or boards. (Facebook or RSS based subscriptions work best for him.)
4. The semi-active member who is not online much. No traditional subscription type is very effective for this member type. Using browser bookmarks is best. Email subscriptions also are somewhat effective. When combined with the small size of this group this is why email-based subscriptions were brought back as a ZB Premium feature.
5. The inactive member. Subscriptions have minimal effect on this user. Email announcements that entice him to come back are most effective. Facebook or RSS based subscriptions are best otherwise.

Finally I wanted to go over in detail the drawbacks of email-based subscriptions to show why we have avoided using them in ZetaBoards as a whole.

  • Can encourage inactive members. Allows a user to post 1 topic and then leave with no intention of coming back to the forum except to get his answer.
  • Too many subscriptions slows down posting. If hundreds of people are tracking a forum or topic then a new topic or reply can take several seconds to minutes to post while emails are sent.
  • Interferes with delivery of important emails. Password reset and email validation emails are much more important to be delivered promptly. Some ISPs limit the number of emails they receive from one server. Thus subscription notices in large amounts can hold up or block more important emails.
  • Generates spam complaints. The majority of spam complaints we receive are from people who have subscribed by email and then didn't like getting emails when replies or topics were posted. Spam complaints can lead to other legitimate important emails being put in a user's spam box instead of inbox.
  • Not ideal for active members. An active member who just wants a list of interesting topics to remember will prefer the list of subscribed topics currently offered. An active member who wants to be notified of replies or new topics will prefer receiving a PM notice since he is already on the board.

In summary, on ZetaBoards Premium and the next ZetaBoards upgrades, many new types of subscriptions will become available. Combined, these are much more useful and effective than email based subscriptions. Email based subscriptions were traditionally avoided on ZetaBoards because of their long list of drawbacks, but ZetaBoards Premium resurrects email subscriptions.
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Brandon
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Three new features have been added to ZetaBoards Premium.

1. AMTs will now keep track of the number of times they are run. This can help you remove or improve underutilized AMTs.
2. The new Admin Digest covers up to 14 days if you have not visited the board.
3. The new Admin Digest is available to any admin, not just the board owner.
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Brian
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Go Irish!

As part of the recent upgrade to ZB, ZB Premium now has two new features.

1. A premium-exclusive sneak preview of the new ZetaBoards® Shoutbox. Click here for more info on the shoutbox
2. Automatic tracking of PMs sent via the warning system.

http://if.invisionfree.com/topic/5061964/1/
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