Dolphin too confusing for members..

i keep hearing this from my members that the site is confusing on 6.1.4 and 7.0.4 basically every since i got dolphin. i tried less blocks, less options i mean i have tried alot......does anybody eles experience this from their members on their site??? i mean im really trying to make it more easy for navigating, but nothing seems too work :(

Yes - dolphin is very busy. Sometimes it's easy to forget that as the webdev it makes perfect sense to you, but most people are overwhelmed by it.

Less is most definitely more - sometimes.

/DM

Got the same thing from my members. For instance they find the adding of videos, sounds etc to complicated. They just want a simple process to upload things.

As with anything new it takes time to learn. Everyone is use to existing social sites and now there a new one with a different "feel".

I do not think Dolphin is confusing once you know the steps. Make a quick instruction with maybe using the faq page. Teach your members how to use your site :-) Good Luck

Yes I got this complains also a lot from different sites and clients. 
Some instruction is needed to them, and I do it with some faq + visuals.

As with any new site it takes some time to learn it. I still have trouble with Facebook some times. What I do for my site is use less menu blocks http://e3global1.com/

agree with all you guys and I report this before and no one care about it

@ UFO360 - You said you reported this and no one cares about it? What exactly do you expect BoonEx to do?

As stated by several here already, just like with any new website, it takes time to 'learn' how it works. You have the ability to make Dolphin do pretty much anything you want it to. Either by customizing code or adding 3rd party extensions. If you think there are too many options in the menu, then remove some. If you think its too hard to located the 'Photos', then make it more accessible. You have to be creative and try to put yourself in their shoes.

I have also had members say they thought my site was a bit confusing, however I still to this day try to layout my site where everything that relates are grouped together, not too much content on 1 single page, and put the most common areas of the site visible on the main menu. Creating a 'help' or 'how to' in your forums is one way to assist your users.

The trick is having your members 'look' more by clicking around. Once they get hang of where everything is, Dolphin is really not that complicated. Its just getting them to 'try' and not leave.. thats the hard part.

yea that's why memebr don get

they see to many navigation menu and all the menus say the same thing

Then change it.

Y'all just need to get some smarter members.  If you build something that even dumbasses can use, then only dumbasses will use it.  Although... not displaying the top menu drop downs is not a bad idea.

Y'all have no idea. Take 300+ guys that drive tow trucks for a living who most of had only learned how to turn their computers on last year and drop them into a new Dolphin site!

It's been up for over a year now and they all learned. Just like your members, they cried like babies, especially when I locked them out of the old site and MADE them use the new one.

They learned and now, I don't think they would ever want to go back.... Just give it some time my friend.

Tough love. I like that.

I hear it all the time as well, even from my closest friends.  "Your site is cool, but it's way too confusing."

I know I could just call them idiots, but that doesn't really solve the issue. 

Here are some of the things I hear all the time from members:

"How do I change my profile picture?"

"How do I delete friends?"

"How do I instant message somebody who is online?"

"How do I add more photos?"  (They don't understand that they have to first select or create an album.)

I do realize that these are things I could make easier for my members, but I just haven't done it yet.

Also, things would be a lot more simple if I simply started removing lots of modules, but I really don't want to do that.

personally, I am having livefaceonweb.com perform an intro video for every page, there'll be none like it when done - will cost me thousands but will rack up the 'minutes on site' ranking in the millions.

quest - the worlds first live broadcast webshow for kids around the world - so yeah it may be confusing with just some tabs here and there BUT add some content and Dolphin can't be touched by a fifty foot pole.

I have seen a lot of scripts in 13 years, owned a few traffic sites, and own a current social network i paid over 240 bucks for that was a waste of my money now that i have felt doplhin.

Sure its confusing - and its great! Two thumbs up doplhin -

But the support sucks - thats my only qualm - poor me :)

I find facebook much more confusing!

my kids are ok with it, but i gave up -

I know about a site that was high traffic back in 6.1.4 days. The owner had customized it to be very easy navigating, and easy to understand. When he uppgraded to Dolphin 7 (unmodified), within a half year the daily visit went down from 20k to 2k

I totally agree!! Dolphin is not "Dummy friendly". It's not a big deal those of us who understand Dolphins structure, but it is to those who only have a basic understanding. I really hope Boonex thinks it through for  the next redesign planed for 7.1

Something I really dislike is it takes 4 clicks just to upload a file like pictures ,videos,sounds etc. When you finally get to the spot where you can upload something like pictures for example. It's not all that clear. What I mean is there's just a tiny little link that reads "You have 4 video(s) in this album. Click here to add more. "  They didn't even give it a button to make it stand out.I think you should be able to add content in two clicks or less.Because if it takes longer than that it is likely that they will loose interest and move on, never to return.

Back to to Boonex'es plan to redesign the template in 7.1.
7.1 is still along way's away and there is still time to ensure it heads in the best direction possible. Up to this point I can't recall Boonex ever asking us for our thoughts about design structure. They just take in what they read in the blogs and the forums and ask us to find the bug's. I think what they should do write a questionaire for us to supply feedback on their ideas. I  also feel it would  be helpful if we had a questionaire to extend to our members.

IMHO........ If you get a new program you have to learn it.  No matter how computer literate you are.  What Dolphin offers is an amazing platform that allows me to compete with some publicly held Companies.  I remember the first day I saw Dolphin and I love computers and what they can do, I thought OMG this is unreal how much is here and what can be done.  EVERY SINGLE PERSON who looks at my site has said they have no idea where to begin or what to do.  THIS IS INDEED my fault and not Dolphin.  I was not ready for the apathy of the end user but they will spend time on something they can benefit from and feel like it is worth their time.  The 64,000 question for all who are interested in this thread is not are the people idiots, or computer literate in a time of instant gratification and the ability to just comment on something and move on, but what does your site bring to the table that they just cannot get from another site?  Why would a person take the time that Dolphin demands to learn it.  Is it worth the time it will take for them to learn it?  The amount of things that I have seen VIA Google searches is astonishing BC of the information entered into Dolphin.

JAT:  I have looked at segmenting the system up to Separate segments of Dolphin pointing people to places like the video's and picture section BC it appears to me that people think BC of the current Internet to only be able to think that a website can do one thing like YouTube or Picasa this is what they are use to seeing and using.  I could go on for days.....

This is how Facebook have programmed so many people into being one dimensional. Take a site like linkedin, it took me days just to learn how to upload or post something. I went on Facebook yesterday and couldn't find where to click to share something because of there new design. Its all about each individual and the feel of your site. Dolphin is really a great platform for what I'm trying to do. I believe Dolphin will be a giant to compete with soon. Facebook will eventually decline like Myspace did and people will look for something new. Think about it like this; you start a new job and even though you are experienced in a specific field you where hired for, it will take some time to get the feel of and learn that company system and how they operate. So learning Dolphin is just like that. Especially for those who are used to using Facebook or other social Network site.

Most of the time, I don't know if people are just plain stupid, or just plain lazy.  It seems like a lot of people want to be spoon fed, instead of concentrating on learning something on their own.  Rather than take a few minutes to try and understand something, they'll just complain because they have the attention span of a friggin newt. There are far more difficult things to do in this world, than learn how to use a dolphin site... and people do them every day.

People not being able to figure out how to use a Dolphin site, goes a little deeper than the site being 'complicated'.  It's a complex social issue... one of education.  A lot of people couldn't find their ass if it had a bell on it.  They are everywhere, and their numbers are growing.  Owning and operating a Dolphin site, just gives you the opportunity to meet more of them.... that you would have never met, had you not owned a Dolphin site.

Okay, here is one spefic example of a change I would like to make.  Perhaps somebody here could help.

On a member's account page, beside the small image of their profile pic/avatar, there is a link that says:

Edit profile info  (Under Account Control>Profile...left side)

Right underneath I would like a link that would say:

Edit profile photo (avatar)

This links could then take them to their avatar page.

Anybody know how I could do this?  I know this would make my site 10% less confusing. 

I am just building this myself, I agree it is silly not to have it there - took me awhile to figure it out when i first seen the script too.

When i am done I'll tell you what to code UNLESS someone beats me to it :)

I did it an easier way:

http://www.boonex.com/unity/extensions/entry/1Col_1_0_Account_Menu_in_Ajax_like_facebook_/

:)

 yeah i see the >>>

/// I didnt see that - gonna get that instead - THANKS! lol sorry @JasonVan - i think i'll take the easy way out too!

You see? That's the whole point. If Dolphin did it, then everyone would have it. Do you want a great site that is unlike any other or do you want Dolphin to do ALL the work for you. Why can't you adjust the menu they way you want? Or add the "Upload Avatar" button or make the "add images, click here" into a more visible button on the site? Those kind of changes are easy in Dolphin. Just adjust the site in your own image and it will be unique and fully functional!

I personally like the way Dolphin does it. They give you everything you need and some things, they give to you in multiple forms in multiple places.  I do not know php coding by any stretch of the imagination but by coming here, making friends, and getting help from the community, I can learn to make the changes I want. The stuff I don't understand, I can throw a little money at it and get someone else to mod it.

I've seen mods to remove menu items, I've seen mods to change their appearance, remove applications you don't use with the click of a button, adjust each pages functionality with a click and drag system? Holy crap! that's fantastic! I mean, what do you want? I am currently building a business web application for one of my towing companies that is based on a Dolphin site. Dolphin is so configurable that by the time I am done, only a seasoned Dolphin developer will be able to tell it's based on Dolphin and I don't know squat!  It doesn't matter what you do with it, just do it.

To make this whole post short and to the point. If you don't like the way it works, then change it. If you don't want to change it, then be satisfied with the basic setup. It's really your choice. Complaining here because your members don't like this or that has nothing to do with Dolphin, it has everything to do with how far you are willing to go to change it to meet your users needs.

Are you serious??  The 'Avatar' link on the menu right above that, which takes them to the same place, is confusing to them?   I honestly don't get it.

 I can agree with that.  That's why I was asking for somebody to point the way to the files that need to be edited.

 However, I also think that if Boonex could make things a bit more user friendly, why wouldn't they? 

 I choose to use this software because I honestly think it's the best one out there, but that doesn't suggest there aren't some minor issues that   couldn't still be improved upon. 

Nevertheless, that ajax menu mod suggested by Zarcon does look pretty good.  I'll have to take a closer look at it. 

@houstonlively

Yup.  Not kidding.

@ SkyForum

You make a valid point.  But when it comes time to update to the next version what are you going to do? Are you going to remember all the little tweaks and hacks you did? It will quickly become a nightmare.  That's why boonex needs to be the ones to simplify things and do the little  things that should have been done.

It hasn't so far. Planning is everything. All I do is keep a text file on the desktop of my machine. Each time I make a change or add something, I make the necessary notes in this file. You'd be surprised how easy it is to open this file once you've done an upgrade and go through and check each thing to make sure it's working. One thing I have noticed that even with the major upgrades, the underlying code remains basically the same. Fixing the little faux pas that come up is really a simple matter.

I also keep track of all my changes, expect for those that take place within my custom template. I also run diffs against new and old versions to make sure I haven't missed anything.

People don't want to take the time to learn it. if it is not plain in there faces they get scared. I am in the process of redeveloping my site but I plan on creating a dummy account and creating small video clips on how to use the site and put them in a group called "video tutorials"

Since everyone has had their 2 bits worth why should I be left out.

If a site gives the member something of value and not just another run of the mill social scene, then you will find  members increasing and learning to use your site effectively.

Firstly humans love to complain, and after they have stopped complaining they will adjust and make use of what is left. This is just mans nature.

What I feel some have failed to understand is that Dolphin has tried to provide "EVERYTHING" in their software, anything else users need they provide via 3rd party developers.

Giving ALL the options to your members right away may not be such a good idea either, it may be overwhelming; similar to giving your kids all the toys at one time. Introduce new features in a timely fashion; peek their interest.......

What we have to understand is how to use bits and parts of the Dolphin software that works and is applicable for our site. Search for modules that fit our site and apply it. Not everything available works for every site, for instance I don't think i will ever have a Forum on my site, in fact even my video, photo, music etc uploads will be restricted, because the nature of my site just does not need those pieces.

On the other hand I will have lots of other 3rd party modules that I know my members will benefit from, so those will be installed on my site.

Tell you the truth, I have the purpose of my site written down on a piece of paper, it is well defined and explained so I never loose focus on exactly what my site is all about. At times I seem to drift away from my goals, but visiting my notes brings me back on track.

I must stop now.

IN summary; have a focus for your site, not everything needs to be used on your site, introduce new features every few months to keep the interest, give value to your members, most of all enjoy the journey and let good things just happen.