

Looking for single hackers to review my site - mikecurry

Title says it all... just opened today.<p>http://mikesandmegs.com
======
marketer
Why would I bother using this site when I could go to any of the other dating
sites on the web, many of which have thousands of females in my local region?

From the about page of your site, it seems like you're an introvert programmer
married for 15 years and three children. When was the last time you've been on
a date or tried to romantically connect with other women? I don't mean to plow
on the haterade but it's a serious question. Do you understand the dynamics of
meeting women (i.e how attraction works, what women look for), or is this site
a projection of what you think dating should be?

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joshuarr
I don't like being called a mike. I only dislike it for the site name - it is
moderately memorable, after all - but i hate that i have to call myself a mike
when selecting a gender. I'm not mike. I dont know anyone named mike that i
like. Just make it say im a guy or girl.

Don't require a one liner. I hate one liners. Make it optional.

The logo and logotype are ok, but everything else looks like a default
template. Why not take the design seriously and actually develop a theme? It
looks like the microsoft guys hired out for the logo and did the site in
house. no offense. Well, just a little.

Why are you getting into this crowded marketplace? What is new about this?

After logging in you say something like, "We're a dating site, but were also
kind of like facebook, and if you get a hook up here you're totally lucky, cuz
we're way too chill to stress it, bro". I lost faith immediately.

Also, Advanced search has major problems:

Notice: Undefined variable: latitude in /var/www/dating/trunk/html/search-
advanced.php on line 700

Notice: Undefined variable: latitude in /var/www/dating/trunk/html/search-
advanced.php on line 700

Notice: Undefined variable: longitude in /var/www/dating/trunk/html/search-
advanced.php on line 700

Notice: Undefined variable: latitude in /var/www/dating/trunk/html/search-
advanced.php on line 700

Notice: Undefined variable: longitude in /var/www/dating/trunk/html/search-
advanced.php on line 700

Notice: Undefined variable: latitude in /var/www/dating/trunk/html/search-
advanced.php on line 700

Fatal error: Uncaught exception 'Zend_Db_Statement_Exception' with message
'SQLSTATE[42000]: Syntax error or access violation: 1064 You have an error in
your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server
version for the right syntax to use near ')) * (69.1 * (latitude - ))) +
((69.1 * (longitude - ) * COS( / 57.3)) * (69.1 *' at line 1' in
/var/www/dating/trunk/library/Zend/Db/Statement/Pdo.php:238 Stack trace: #0
/var/www/dating/trunk/library/Zend/Db/Statement.php(283):
Zend_Db_Statement_Pdo->_execute(Array) #1
/var/www/dating/trunk/library/Zend/Db/Adapter/Abstract.php(464):
Zend_Db_Statement->execute(Array) #2
/var/www/dating/trunk/library/Zend/Db/Adapter/Pdo/Abstract.php(232):
Zend_Db_Adapter_Abstract->query(Object(Zend_Db_Select), Array) #3
/var/www/dating/trunk/html/search-advanced.php(708):
Zend_Db_Adapter_Pdo_Abstract->query(Object(Zend_Db_Select)) #4 {main} thrown
in /var/www/dating/trunk/library/Zend/Db/Statement/Pdo.php on line 238

~~~
mikecurry
Thanks, I'll fix that, and rethink the one-liners tonight. There is no team,
just me, any suggestions for themes, or a place where I could read a bit more
about the design aspect?

~~~
joshuarr
Sorry to be so brutally frank about the design - obviously take everything
with a grain of salt.

I like the look and feel of the logo (although I would hand draw the type
instead of using a font), and I would recommend that you do more to give the
rest of the site a similar vibe. For instance, on the landing page i would:
1\. eliminate all the extraneous boxes around everything 2\. maybe try giving
the whole page a light blue/pink background instead of just the boxes? Just
trying to simplify it more. 3\. reduce the size of the footer type 4\. keep
your font colors consistent (i see a few different shades of blue) and unless
theres a good reason, keep your links all the same color.

On the next page, 1\. I'm not a fan of the happy face indicator for the
default image. Maybe try, i donno... a bunny? 2\. the link buttons on the top
right are really ignorable because of the generic icons. I would continue with
the handwritten theme for the primary nav items and hand draw the icons 3\.
the recent members box takes up a lot of room... its most of your content. In
fact, my home page asks what is going on? and answers: nothing is going on.
Why not switch the locations and importance of the recent members and the
whats going on thing?

Basically, removing boxes and revamping the nav to incorporate the logo theme
would go a LONG way.

~~~
mikecurry
No worries, I know this is the hardest crowd. Once I figure things out, take
the advice, it will be a lot better than never mentioning it here.

I appreciate all of the suggestions and advice.

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icey
I'm not a single hacker so I can't really help out much; but I hope you've
started by reaching out to some more female heavy communities first. Otherwise
you may have a pretty severe overpopulation of Mikes.

~~~
mikecurry
This is the first place a guy runs too... I'll speak to the Meg of the site
and kick her in the ass to run to wherever they run to when they finish
something.

Going to do that now ;)

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mattyb
Clickable: <http://mikesandmegs.com>

------
tc
My browser cookie settings are default-reject. Your site should allow me to at
least take a look at your home page without needing a cookie.

~~~
dangrover
Average people don't care about stuff like that. Most people have more cookies
than Pepperidge Farms on their computer without realizing it. Unless you're
targeting cranky hackers specifically, I wouldn't worry.

~~~
Goladus
For the _home_ page? Sure average people don't care about cookies, but if they
get an error message when they arrive at your page they aren't going to waste
time adjusting browser settings, they are just going to leave.

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bisceglie
signed up. went through painful profile population process (alliteration
w00t). the drop-downs for city is not at all fun - suggest text-field with
auto-complete if you want the silos. otherwise, zip-code might be better?

checked out the member search not a single user within 200 miles of NYC?

while i understand this has just opened and the team is based in Ontario,
seeding the userbase with beta-testers/soft-launch participants for major
metropolitan areas is usually a good idea for sites that hinge on real-life
location-centric interaction between users...

just my two cents

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pmichaud
I went there, but I don't know what it is. It's a dating site, but why am I
signing up for it? I don't know what the features are at all. So I try to look
around, but I'm met with a login screen. Seems like maybe I'm supposed to
register there, since clearly I'm new (I just came from the I'm a Mike screen,
after all), but no. It's just a login screen, and the user name and pass I
thought I was registering with doesn't work..

Oh, I need to register first... by looking all over and finally find the
"Join" button nowhere near where I was looking.

I give up.

~~~
mikecurry
Thanks for the input, going to rethink a few screens! :)

~~~
HalcyonMuse
Definitely consider what differentiates you.

What's the draw? Why use this instead of, say, OkCupid.com?

EDIT: You also claim to be the best free dating site on the web. This is
arrogant and unfounded. It didn't do it for me.

------
amackera
The logo is sort of heterocentric (it looks like a male rabbit is mounting the
female rabbit).

~~~
joshuarr
Just looks like two bunnies to me. Is one wearing a bow or something? I didn't
look that close.

~~~
amackera
I only say that because on the login screen you have to choose a "Mike" or a
"Meg" with their corresponding bunny.

~~~
joshuarr
...and you dont know any boys named Meg? How long have you lived in sf???

~~~
mikecurry
lol

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_pius
Real quick usability tip: make the bunnies clickable. I shouldn't have to
click "I'm a Mike."

~~~
mikecurry
Did this one real quick! :) Thanks for the tip :)

~~~
sepa
the bunny image title still says "Click the button below..." :]

~~~
mikecurry
doh... got it ;)

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warp
The graphic design and introduction text on the first page (where you choose a
bunny) gives the impression that you want to be different from all the other
dating sites..

So ok, I sign up. First questions you're asking when creating a profile is all
kinds of stuff I really don't care about.

"Ethnicity", "Religious views", "eye color", "hair color", "height", and
whether I am fat or not in some annoyingly gentle politically correct manner.
Try to be a bit more creative. A dating site needs to make it easy to find
interesting people you are in some way compatible with... and you come up with
eye color. EYE COLOR!

I think you really need to think about what you want to accomplish here, start
from scratch instead of copying other sites. And most of the other sites suck,
so you really have a chance to create something useful and unique if you just
do everything opposite from them. (think stackoverflow vs experts-exchange ;).

One more thing, to enter a description you present us with an FCK editor with
every feature enabled. Three lines of buttons! WHY? Please, hire an
interaction designer or at least read Steve Krug's "Don't make me think".

------
yaacovtp
No interest in registering for something i can't see. are there even people in
my area?

~~~
mikecurry
We just opened today to the public. Just looking for some advice ;)

------
jerryji
I dived in your site for 2 minutes even though I'm not single and this is how
I feel --

    
    
       1. Too many questions during registration
    
       2. Too little hand-holding for new users
    
       3. The functionality seems pretty limited (upon a
          quick glance)
    
       4. How do you differentiate yourself from the
          numerous other dating sites?

------
gaius
This is a bit, well, _austere_ is the kindest way I can put it. The bar for
any sort of online profile is pretty high these days; you're up against
Facebook and the subset of their userbase that filled in their 'looking for' -
and they're not even really a dating site.

------
HalcyonMuse
Dude... you spelled Atheist wrong under Religious Views.

It's spelled Athiest right now.

EDIT:Your spell check has an ad in it to buy the spell check's licensed
version. That's kind of tacky.

Also, you don't support the features in your rich text editing - my underlines
and italics disappeared!

Is "Buy x a drink" a feature to be implemented in the future? Also, this /is/
real life. Your alert text is kind of lame.

~~~
mikecurry
You can buy anyone a drink. It's working. I fixed my typo... lol ty for
pointing it out. I'll have to figure out something about that spell check.

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dexen
Accessing pic.php with argument s=1 or greater gives much better picture
resolution than the original. Is that intentional?

The amount of interaction available without registration is sadly very small,
not compelling to me.

Before I invest time in registering, I'd like to evaluate the site much more.
At least some sample profiles... Use of OpenID could also streamline the
registration or do away with it altogether.

~~~
mikecurry
yea the pic returns a thumb or a full size image.

I'll look at allowing more prior to login, as a few others said, its a huge
weak point for my site.

Thanks for the input, going to look into OpenId now ;)

------
HalcyonMuse
Why can't I upload pictures of myself from the web? I don't keep any pictures
on my computer anymore... so this means I have to download the picture, and
then upload it again.

Yet another usage barrier (but maybe it's not an issue for everyone).

------
melito
You have a Google ad for "Greater Expectations" (another dating site) on the
front page of your site.

You could always look at it as "my competition is paying me", but at first
glance it looks like a traffic hemorrhage.

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xenoterracide
your drop downs in registration seem slow... heavy in javascript maybe? I
really hate all these sites with 'blog' and microblog stuff... basically I'm
saying how many 'blogs' do I need? I don't mind it but I'd personally rather
have one that ends up on all... maybe add a way to grab feeds and post with
those? and whatever you do feature wise in the future don't make messaging
unfree. I refuse to pay to send a message to someone.

~~~
mikecurry
messaging is free, as is everything on the site. I'll look into adding feeds
;) Good idea

------
holaberlin
Your front page needs a serious design reconsideration. Besides that, two
minor points - The two bunnies humping each other in the upper left corner - I
guess that's supposed to be funny. Didn't really do it for me. Also, why
mention "Release 488" on the front page?

