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March 19, 2024, 07:37:54 pm

Author Topic: ATAR Notes Update Thread  (Read 59847 times)

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brenden

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ATAR Notes Update Thread
« on: December 17, 2015, 09:54:12 am »
+7
Hey everyone!

Whenever there's interesting news or updates about AN, I'm going to post them in this thread so everyone can keep track of what's going on!! This could include website updates, or event news, or pretty much anything excited to do with AN ;D

A reminder that we have a place for you guys to make a suggestion regarding the website,  or the way it works. Just start a thread in the linked board. Ultimately we drive this community for you guys, so we love it when you pitch us ideas!

You can also request articles/content areas in this thread, let us know what you want to see! :)
« Last Edit: March 13, 2017, 02:09:33 pm by jamonwindeyer »
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brenden

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Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2015, 10:03:41 am »
+3
    December 17th 2015

    So, a few updates!

    Tutoring list
    • The tutoring list never went back up on the new site
    • It didn't go up because we wanted to launch the new site ASAP and we wanted to put more thought into the tutoring list
    • We are essentially turning it into a marketplace, where people can find tutors, but also very easily find second-hand books and calcs. Like a free eBay, and more accessible version of the selling forum
    • We needed someone to design this marketplace + tutoring list, then develop it
    • We hired someone to do it, then he got bogged down fixing other issues and the entire project got delayed
    • Late November we directed him to get the project finished ASAP and he's essentially finished the tutoring-list aspect
    • At this stage, it looks like we'll release the tutoring list ASAP - hopefully in the next 7 days in the first week of the new year - and then put the marketplace up soon after.
    I know it's been super annoying not to have it up and I'm pushing very hard for it to be a priority. Once it's up, I'm going to ask the people who've posted advertisement threads to a) update their tutoring profile and b) remove their threads soon after.


    Website
    • The website has been having server issues
    • We are moving to Amazon Web Services (AWS), who host Netflix. It'll be expensive but worth it, and it should make all of our troubles go away
    • The site will be down from 6am - 7am tomorrow morning, and hopefully after that everything will be perfect. There's a chance there will be some hiccups tomorrow but the chance is quite low from what I've been told

    Lectures
    • We'll soon be announcing lectures in NSW which I am obscenely excited about. From this, we will grow HSC traffic. We also have plans to make sure the growth in the HSC community doesn't impact on the forums (i.e., we'll make sure the 'unread posts' list isn't flooded with HSC content)
    • VCE Lectures will be going ahead, as per this Facebook event

    If there's something I'm missing that belongs in this update list, let me know! :)[/list]
    « Last Edit: December 19, 2015, 11:18:00 am by brenden »
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    brenden

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #2 on: December 19, 2015, 11:21:26 am »
    +3
    We've launched New South Wales lectures!

    We're partnering with the University of Technology, Sydney. They're super close to Sydney's version of Flinders St Station - "Central Station" so hopefully everything goes well!

    If you know anyone in NSW - cousins or friends from science forums or anything like that, let them know about our lectures! Check the first post on our NSW Facebook page here: ATAR Notes HSC Facebook Page
    « Last Edit: January 07, 2016, 02:19:56 pm by brenden »
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    brenden

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #3 on: January 07, 2016, 12:39:22 pm »
    0
    Update:

    The tutoring list is looking pretty sleek! I had a look at it yesterday and it looks really good and looks like it's pretty much ready to be on the website according to my untrained eyes, but the guy developing it says he wants to fiddle around and test things for just a bit longer, so seems like it's not that many (working days) away at all! I might try to get a screenshot of it for everyone.

    We've also changed the name of VCE Memes to ATAR Notes - VCE Memes. We did this recently with HSC Memes (as per above), to accurately reflect that we're the people behind the page so it doesn't look so strange when we post about things like lectures. We'll probably start posting things more on this page because more of you 'like' it, whereas a lot of the liked on the 'ATAR Notes' page are very many years old, with not much of an updated audience because we didn't post on it for so long :)

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    heids

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #4 on: January 07, 2016, 02:17:45 pm »
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    Are you aware that the link to the ATAR Notes - HSC Memes page is broken?  I'm pretty sure that's changed since you last posted.  Also if you Google it, the front-page suggestions are also broken links.  Not that I'm sure how it all works :P
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    brenden

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #5 on: January 07, 2016, 02:20:40 pm »
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    Are you aware that the link to the ATAR Notes - HSC Memes page is broken?  I'm pretty sure that's changed since you last posted.  Also if you Google it, the front-page suggestions are also broken links.  Not that I'm sure how it all works :P
    Oh, woops! I changed the URL name since I posted it in this thread :)
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    heids

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #6 on: January 07, 2016, 03:11:42 pm »
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    Oh, woops! I changed the URL name since I posted it in this thread :)

    Isn't URL changing a huge issue in terms of traffic though?  Again, I don't know anything about the way Facebook pages work, but if it were a link I visited often, I'd start typing in my address bar and get the old broken link.  Then if I Googled it to get the new link, the link front page Google would show me would also be broken.  And unless I really really cared about it, I'd never come back to the page again.  Similarly, any links posted in the last few years (like the one above) would also be broken, losing traffic.

    I'm purely curious about how it works :P

    P.S. Stoked to see the new tutoring section!
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    pi

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #7 on: January 07, 2016, 03:15:12 pm »
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    No one really pays attention to facebook links :P

    Alter

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #8 on: January 07, 2016, 03:15:33 pm »
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    It's not really an issue in terms of a Facebook page. Most of its reach comes from people interacting with it on FB itself (few would know its url and less would have it bookmarked) or searching the page's name, in which case no real difference would be seen.
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    heids

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #9 on: January 07, 2016, 03:18:36 pm »
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    Cool bananas, that solved my curiosity :D (yes, I am incredibly ignorant)

    Thanks!
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    brenden

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #10 on: March 03, 2016, 12:17:03 pm »
    +2
    We'll be changing a few things in the coming days!

    Today, we got a report back from a Google expert who said that changing things like the toolbar and forum layout had changed the way Google displays ATAR Notes.

    Basically, all the things I did to make the forum more usable made the forum less findable, so now we'll make some changes to find a good balance. It won't go 100% back to the way it was, but it will change from how it has been. The toolbar will be mostly how it used to be, and the forum homepage will slightly change but still maintain the new usability.
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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #11 on: July 19, 2016, 03:14:57 pm »
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    Well, I've been mega slack on the updates - sorry!

    I will try to get in the habit of posting an update literally every single day to keep you connected to what's going on in the office.

    Many of you may have noticed a spike in HSC forum use... this is incredibly exciting for ATAR Notes, who, as a community, have been working towards building a NSW forum community for over 5 years - since the site URL name changed from vcenotes.com to atarnotes.com

    We made a breakthrough last week during the HSC lectures. We showed every single HSC student our forums, and told them that if they started posting in NSW, they could have something similar. And they responded! They are also in the middle of an exam period at the moment, so their motivation is peaking haha.

    As for other things AN: lectures were a huge success. 29 VCE session, 22 session in HSC - every single one of them completely free. a huge success.

    We are also changing distributors and cleaning up our processes on notes delivery. Previously, the delivery process was manual. I downloaded the orders into a spreadsheet, sent them to the distributor, who sent them to his employee(s), who packaged the notes and sent them out.

    In changing distributors, we have managed to get a process where the distributor gets a notification when there's an order, and sends stock out immediately. This should reduce our shipping time from 3-5 days to 1-2 days. It's costing us a bit more, but 100% worth it to ensure people get their orders extremely fast.

    Moderator applications are imminent and from here on out will be frequent.

    We are also setting up a new area of the forums for new members to learn the ropes, read the rules, and make their first post... That will become visible to you soon!!

    All in all - exciting times at AN, and I'll make sure I keep you updated so you can share in the excitement, too  ;D
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    pi

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #12 on: August 24, 2016, 02:23:09 pm »
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    Loving how the forum content reaches the sides of my screen now, feels like it's wide-screen hahahaha. Nice work on this feature (Y)

    Joseph41

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #13 on: August 24, 2016, 02:33:06 pm »
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    Loving how the forum content reaches the sides of my screen now, feels like it's wide-screen hahahaha. Nice work on this feature (Y)

    I absolutely could not work out what on Earth's great green pastures had changed. But now that you mention it, that's it! +1.

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    Re: ATAR Notes Update Thread
    « Reply #14 on: August 24, 2016, 02:42:56 pm »
    +1
    Loving how the forum content reaches the sides of my screen now, feels like it's wide-screen hahahaha. Nice work on this feature (Y)
    I noticed something different about the aesthetic this morning and I was like "surely nothing has changed...".
    Kudos pi for pointing this out! ^_^
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