Guestbook Revival Project
Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 4:45 pm
Hi! Remember good old days back in 2000+ when fansites and shrines were the main go-to sources for fans of any given subject? I associate that time with plenty of visitor feedback, visitor enthusiasm, personal conversations, regular and returning visitors as well as visitor tracking via counters. Most of these things have lost in presence and weight due to the presence of social media and more centralized interactions as well as feedback - for example what we have here at Amassment.
These days, getting people to click on a link to your shrine may not be as difficult due to promotion options via social media, but getting people to leave some feedback is harder. Outside of Amassment, I assume visitor feedback to shrines has become something private, through contact forms or direct emails for example, rather than public responses visible at the respective site. I think that's unfortunate, because people are naturally more hesitant to randomly message a stranger, even if it is to say something nice about their shrine - especially if they have to do so via email and feel like they'd be bothering the shrine creator with trivial things, since receiving an email is the equivalent of being directly spoken to. Leaving a comment on a guestbook, on the other hand, feels more like leaving your thoughts somewhere for the creator to get back to at any time, and one is more encouraged and less hesitant to comment if other comments already exist. They can also be a way to network and to find visitors who enjoyed the same shrines you did.
Todd and I have been talking, and we thought it'd be nice to bring back guestbooks even if they sound old school - precisely because we're a small community and external visitors may not know whether feedback is wanted or know how to contact you. So here it is!
How to Participate
You can do one of the following or both:
Guestbook Script Suggestions
I'm new to this and have to look around myself, too, so suggestions are welcome and will be added to this post! If you have Softaculous available, here's the list of guestbook scripts it offers.
Feel free to discuss and compare scripts in this topic!
Camy recommends BellaBlocks as well as Disqus as an alternative to guestbooks!
neo recommends Sign Me 1.55 (example: neo's guestbook) and dug up GBook - PHP Guestbook (example: LadyDB's guestbook)!
Warning: BellaBook has been tested and invites a lot of spam. We don't recommend using it.
Guestbook Directory
If you already own a guestbook or something similar as of this post, let me know and I'll add yours!
These days, getting people to click on a link to your shrine may not be as difficult due to promotion options via social media, but getting people to leave some feedback is harder. Outside of Amassment, I assume visitor feedback to shrines has become something private, through contact forms or direct emails for example, rather than public responses visible at the respective site. I think that's unfortunate, because people are naturally more hesitant to randomly message a stranger, even if it is to say something nice about their shrine - especially if they have to do so via email and feel like they'd be bothering the shrine creator with trivial things, since receiving an email is the equivalent of being directly spoken to. Leaving a comment on a guestbook, on the other hand, feels more like leaving your thoughts somewhere for the creator to get back to at any time, and one is more encouraged and less hesitant to comment if other comments already exist. They can also be a way to network and to find visitors who enjoyed the same shrines you did.
Todd and I have been talking, and we thought it'd be nice to bring back guestbooks even if they sound old school - precisely because we're a small community and external visitors may not know whether feedback is wanted or know how to contact you. So here it is!
How to Participate
You can do one of the following or both:
- Set up a guestbook for one or several of your shrines or a shared guestbook for your domain and entire network. There are no rigid rules for this. Your guestbook can be a cbox. Your guestbook can double as your contact page. Post the link(s) to your guestbook(s) here in the topic and it/they will be added to the list.
- Leave a nice comment in other members' guestbooks!
Guestbook Script Suggestions
I'm new to this and have to look around myself, too, so suggestions are welcome and will be added to this post! If you have Softaculous available, here's the list of guestbook scripts it offers.
Feel free to discuss and compare scripts in this topic!
Camy recommends BellaBlocks as well as Disqus as an alternative to guestbooks!
neo recommends Sign Me 1.55 (example: neo's guestbook) and dug up GBook - PHP Guestbook (example: LadyDB's guestbook)!
Warning: BellaBook has been tested and invites a lot of spam. We don't recommend using it.
Guestbook Directory
If you already own a guestbook or something similar as of this post, let me know and I'll add yours!
- Kotono: Ace of Hearts, Emerald Star
- LadyDB: Network
- Larissa: Network
- Lethe: Network
- neo: Network
- Robin: Network
- Todd: Network