JesKid's World: Resurrection

For those who were part of Mr. Ben's masterfully planned reunion of everybody in the DbP chat room, our glorious leader Jesse mentioned how he would like to have another JesKid's World site where everybody can hang out like the old days. He still owns the domain, but has nobody to design, maintain, and admin the site.

Basically I wanted to start this discussion to see who out there in the DbP community would be willing to work together and make this happen. Mr. Ben showed interest in doing some admin stuff and I have a small background of Photoshop and web design, but we need people who know PHP or ASP templating (something similar to PHPNuke or CMSMS) and can design something like the earlier version.

Toss out your ideas here and what you might like to see on the new version that the old site did not have (or may not have worked as well as it should).

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anathema on May 12, 2009 at 8:53pm: I think the more important issue is being overlooked. Jeskids World wasn't the most sophisticated site in it's time - what made it better than anywhere else was the people. That's part of the reason I asked why there was even consideration for another site - if you want to break it down into features and options and where people spend time - the more places people have to visit the less likely they're going to visit them - that's where it comes down to forgetting about what features it offers, and more about the people involved. JeskidsWorld had an intense following, and by intense, I mean people would login every chance they got because:

Someone they liked ALWAYS posted a new image ir blog
Someone the like was ALWAYS in chat

People went to JKW because it was based on the people, and not the functionality. Devoting time to another online community website isn't so important as to rally the people to bring them together under one roof.

That rallying came from passion - and not because someone was an admin, not because someone knew how to code, or photoshop, or whatever other talent (and there were many) - it was because there were always people there who were interested in people, above anything else.

Do you think those nonsense apps on facebook mean anything? They don't - the only gell facebook or myspace has is that there are people there from your past and present, who want to catch up, see what you're up to and so on - if you take that away, you're left with a feature-rich website and nothing else.

People of the original JeskidsWorld loved one another. Not just a matter of rating something they wrote or posted, but they loved reading friends' thoughts, they loved sharing their own simply to provoke emotion or inspire others. It wasn't about the features - the features were there merely to make being connected more possible.

*gets another beer*

People didn't give a shit about rating. They didn't give a shit about polls or karma or any of that bullshit that is a tease for RVB's audience (young impressionable kids looking for a place to call their own). Jeskid wasn't the sole focus of the site, regardless of the name - his work was the catalyst that brought a group of people together, who then discovered they had more in common than they ever could have imagined.

The site was like fucking "Cheers" - you always knew that Mangrove, Boganman and Noah13 were going to be in chat early morning, followed by a returning from work Noobalicious, and soon to be off to school Adrcrc, off to work Holpar and throughout the morning, people would continue to stop in - Cheshire would be in during lunch, and as the afternoon wore on people would return home and eventually the chat room would swarm with activity - the blogs would sometimes be simple, lighthearted foolish surveys, and other times deep painful turmoil - and people would read and hang on every word of each because the PEOPLE who wrote them meant something to them.

"Why do you come to JeskidsWorld?" - the people. That was always the first answer. It wasn't the features, it wasn't the presentation. People cared. People fell in love there. People made life long friendships with people they'd never met, and people gathered in "real life" certainly, to unite under the same (Jeskid) cause, but more importantly, because they loved one another.

If you really want to build a community, you need to forget the features, and remember what made JeskidsWorld different than this, or RVB, or any of those other community sites- it was the COMMUNITY.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Camael on May 13, 2009 at 1:34am: Here Here!

Granted, I was only there for the final 4-5 months of Jeskids World before we switched here, but what you have listed Anathema was the exact reason I enjoyed that site more than the others I visited.

Personally, I am sick of a lot of so called "features" on websites these days. A lot of them do take away from the community based idea and the site becomes something that is more annoying than anything else. I wouldn't mind someone taking the Jeskids World site and improving/tweaking it, but I can do without the apps.

As for the rating system, in the end it becomes a pissing contest for those who like to abuse that system. Honestly, if someone wants to express their thoughts on something, they need to express it with words. If you use a rating system it will allow people to not really discuss why they liked or disliked an idea/opinion. The "community idea" is to promote contact and discussion among people so it creates a better bond.

Like Anathema stated, on Jeskids World you had people returning to that site to see what was being posted and to respond to it without all the ratings because we all know that words are more important than clicking something that states "like" or "+1 whatever". People were eager to share experiences, opinions, memories, fun times, bad times, etc., without an extra feature that really served no purpose for what the site was intended for.

I am perfectly happy with a site that would allow people to share pictures and journals. Videos are optional, but you get into trouble with that since it does tend to cause long loading periods of the site itself.

Other than that, I am fine with whatever goes as long as the site is focused on the members and not the "bells and whistles" or the apps.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brandon King on May 13, 2009 at 5:51pm: The features and extras they tack on websites do get annoying and overplayed. Thats why I hate facebook. There is more attention on apps than building friendships!! I totally agree with what Andy said above and that's why I miss the place so much.

There is an old quote I used to say: Popularity is a socially transmitted disease.
Rating systems and mod points are a bad idea. I agree that you should express your thoughts and feelings about someones journal/blog or art work/writings through words.

Again Andy stated it perfectly. Thank you my love!! lol

You guys are amazazazing!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Anathema on May 7, 2009 at 4:50pm: It takes an awful lot of work to build something like that... :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Not The FBI on May 13, 2009 at 11:06pm: It doesn't really matter to me, I have always felt like I am in the way on this site (It's not just this site though so don't beat your self up over it) and some of the people here have made me feel less than welcome. Even the ones that came to the site after I did. But it doesn't bother me because I am going to do my own thing and just because someone doesn't think too highly of me or just flat out hates me doesn't mean I am going to go out of my way to try and impress them or find a way to hurt them.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cheshire_Cat on May 15, 2009 at 3:24pm: I agree with Andykin (anathema).. that is what made JKW so great.. people just aren't on as much and building a site like that is a lot of work.

I think the major things a good site needs is:

Functionality: Can it blog? Accept pictures? Send Messages? Post Forums? And can it do all that without crashing every other page load, without getting people lost in the navigation for these things, and with a decent speed?

Aesthetic: I am sorry - but basic or not, it has to look somewhat appealing.. am I going to want to spend hours on a site that is neon orange with hot pink writing and brown frames? Probably not. The aesthetic can be basic, but having it be appealing is also nice.

I don't really need to move all the "widgets" on my page or other people's pages around, I don't really need that many widgets to begin with... A good website can drown in all the bells and whistles, and like facebook, it just turns me off of it. It's too much, more complicated than it needs to be.

And lets not forget, while it's great for us to have a website to hang out and share, it's also about Jes and all his work and films.. The site's focus may not be that all the time, but I believe the spine or the core of it should be.

Also - in regards to Not the FBIs post... I know what it feels like to feel like you are outside of a clique or that someone (or a bunch of someone's don't like you).. but guess what? that is an unfortunate side of life, not everyone you encounter is going to like you and throw accolades and flower petals around you.. it doesn't work like that and you have to enjoy the parts that work.. the people you do get along with and the things you like doing.
I will say, however, that for the most part, I found people here (and mostly on JKW) to be very accepting of almost everyone and that most folks did in fact, like one another.. New people were always welcomed and help was almost always offered.. but again human nature can occur, and I don't believe this should be a place where we point our fingers and pout in the corners because so and so wasn't nice to you, or so and so won't let you in their little group.

I don't like feeling left out either.. but let go of that and find your own in with someone else.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Not The FBI on May 17, 2009 at 9:15pm: I realize that. That's why I just don't associate with the people that do that. I don't hate these people but I am not someone who is gonna put myself out there for someone to do it time and time again. That's one of the reasons I don't go into chat very much or for very long anymore.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Hollie Parrish on May 22, 2009 at 11:01pm: I would have 2 cents to throw in but all my money has been spent (translation, it is late, my brain is fried. Besides I think most covered it. My one function I want to be able to follow what my friends are doing and the shiny button that lets me clear it when I get too busy. Hopefully something that can run on a mobile device like a psp or a DSi because i get to touch and use my computer 2 out of 5 days, maybe 3. Really the site is about the people, while we do want something pretty we don't need too many widgets everywhere.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chris McLaughlin on June 1, 2009 at 4:35pm: I think this would be awesome! I would love to see things come together and have everybody posting and chatting again... I like the DbPTV site, but it seems like a disconnected group of people (compared to JKW). I am pretty busy these days but would gladly find the time to hop in and talk for a while with all of you guys.

Now, I think the website should be attractive but simple.. I hate the clutter and nonsense apps of facebook and myspace... it should be a simple site with a Clean and Simple blog spot, photo hosting, forum/event center, and chatroom. The more this is cross platform the better.. on the go I might hop in on my PSP Go, DS, iPhone or GooglePhone or ZunePhone whatever shows up in the future. Thats the major limiting factor for me right now, having time to sit at my computer!

Miss you guys!
Chris; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cheshire_Cat on June 6, 2009 at 4:43pm: Tell me you didn't buy a Zune from Nick's warehouse! He suckers you in every time. ;); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kate Pinkerton on July 10, 2009 at 10:44pm: Hey there!!

I know alot of people from the old JKW but I always felt weird hopping onto this site because I only recognized a few of the people. I have alot of pics from the old chat and that is definately what I miss the most. I made some great friends online that turned into even better friends in real life.

But then real life got in the way and I disappeared for a bit. Well I'm back with tons of time on my hands. I've gotten in touch with some of the old crew and I would love to meet the new people. Blame Brandon for starting this nostalgia with a middle of the night text message. Yeah, its all your fault!; ▶ Reply to This