5 ms·

Looking for single hackers to review my site

9 points by mikecurry 17y ago

Title says it all... just opened today. http://mikesandmegs.com

_pius 17y ago
Real quick usability tip: make the bunnies clickable. I shouldn't have to click "I'm a Mike."
- mikecurry 17y ago
  Did this one real quick! :) Thanks for the tip :)
  - sepa 17y ago
    the bunny image title still says "Click the button below..." :]
    - mikecurry 17y ago
      doh... got it ;)
icey 17y ago
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 17y ago
  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 ;)
tc 17y ago
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 17y ago
  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 17y ago
    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.
yaacovtp 17y ago
No interest in registering for something i can't see. are there even people in my area?
- mikecurry 17y ago
  We just opened today to the public. Just looking for some advice ;)
mattyb 17y ago
Clickable: http://mikesandmegs.com http://mikesandmegs.com
bisceglie 17y ago
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
pmichaud 17y ago
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 17y ago
  Thanks for the input, going to rethink a few screens! :)
  - HalcyonMuse 17y ago
    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.
xenoterracide 17y ago
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 17y ago
  messaging is free, as is everything on the site. I'll look into adding feeds ;) Good idea
jerryji 17y ago
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?
amackera 17y ago
The logo is sort of heterocentric (it looks like a male rabbit is mounting the female rabbit).
- gaius 17y ago
  A site can't be all things to all people.
- joshuarr 17y ago
  Just looks like two bunnies to me. Is one wearing a bow or something? I didn't look that close.
  - amackera 17y ago
    I only say that because on the login screen you have to choose a "Mike" or a "Meg" with their corresponding bunny.
    - joshuarr 17y ago
      ...and you dont know any boys named Meg? How long have you lived in sf???
      - mikecurry 17y ago
        lol
melito 17y ago
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.
dexen 17y ago
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 17y ago
  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 ;)
warp 17y ago
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".
holaberlin 17y ago
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?
gaius 17y ago
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.
joshuarr 17y ago
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 17y ago
  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?
marketer 17y ago
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?
HalcyonMuse 17y ago
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 17y ago
  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.
HalcyonMuse 17y ago
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).

9 points by mikecurry 17y ago

Title says it all... just opened today. http://mikesandmegs.com

_pius 17y ago

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

mikecurry 17y ago
Did this one real quick! :) Thanks for the tip :)
- sepa 17y ago
  the bunny image title still says "Click the button below..." :]
  - mikecurry 17y ago
    doh... got it ;)

icey 17y ago

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 17y ago
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 ;)

tc 17y ago

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 17y ago
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 17y ago
  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.

yaacovtp 17y ago

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

mikecurry 17y ago
We just opened today to the public. Just looking for some advice ;)

mattyb 17y ago

Clickable: http://mikesandmegs.com http://mikesandmegs.com

bisceglie 17y ago

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

pmichaud 17y ago

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 17y ago
Thanks for the input, going to rethink a few screens! :)
- HalcyonMuse 17y ago
  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.

xenoterracide 17y ago

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 17y ago
messaging is free, as is everything on the site. I'll look into adding feeds ;) Good idea

jerryji 17y ago

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?

amackera 17y ago

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

gaius 17y ago
A site can't be all things to all people.
joshuarr 17y ago
Just looks like two bunnies to me. Is one wearing a bow or something? I didn't look that close.
- amackera 17y ago
  I only say that because on the login screen you have to choose a "Mike" or a "Meg" with their corresponding bunny.
  - joshuarr 17y ago
    ...and you dont know any boys named Meg? How long have you lived in sf???
    - mikecurry 17y ago
      lol

melito 17y ago

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.

dexen 17y ago

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 17y ago
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 ;)

warp 17y ago

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".

holaberlin 17y ago

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?

gaius 17y ago

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.

joshuarr 17y ago

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 17y ago
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?

marketer 17y ago

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?

HalcyonMuse 17y ago

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 17y ago
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.

HalcyonMuse 17y ago

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).