Preferred Database Organization

delyar · Post by **delyar** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:03 am

Consider this to be a long poll.

1. Do you prefer to have the listings by rider or by dragon?
2. Do you prefer to have rider and dragon on the same page or separate?
3. What would you like to be able to search by? (ie. gender, colour, species)

Basically I'm looking for input on how to set up my dragons, hydras, etc to be in a more user-friendly format. If I include my founder wingless guys (more on that later) and hyedhostar, I hit somewhere around 425 rows of data in my database. So... yeah. I want to know what people would like to see or find most useful.

The search query is so that I know what fields to include in the database before I start really fighting with MySql and PHP and all that wonderful stuff.

Any opinions/elaborations are welcome. And thanks in advance for the input!

Post by **Dray** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:36 am

1. Do you prefer to have the listings by rider or by dragon?
-Inevitably by dragon. 90% of my searches revolve around finding siblings, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents of my own dragons, but usually I have a name (or the names of the children of the one I'm looking for) at the very least. Riders very rarely factor into those searches, save for when I reach an index page all about the rider and have to hunt the dragon down within that.

2. Do you prefer to have rider and dragon on the same page or separate?
I myself like when they're on the same page, just so that all of the information is in one spot. I know that some people are different and it doesn't really bother me either way, so long as they're clearly linked to one another. One thing that does mildly annoy me is when people only link to the image in stats or story or whatever, so the only way to see the dragon is to click to a .gif or a .png image. :c It doesn't make sense: you've gone and written this amazing, long story for this shiny piece of pixel art, and now you're hiding it away? (I also find that it's more confusing in terms of linking for the sake of pedigrees.)

3. What would you like to be able to search by? (ie. gender, colour, species)
A little of everything, honestly. Generally I search by name and colour first, then if I know the species I'll add that in, and gender only really helps me to confirm whether I've got the right dragon or if I've stumbled over another with the same name by coincidence. XD

As an example for searchable data, when I use DF's search site I typically just type in the name at the top first. If that doesn't work I enter some stuff below and take out the name (maybe it's spelled wrong or something) but largely I've found the 'quick search/search by name' section to be very handy when looking for dragons. :D

Xenoqueen · Post by **Xenoqueen** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:56 am

And now for the opposite opinion! X3

I like listings by rider. To me, the rider came first and is more important. And if it's an author/character I'm keeping tabs on for whatever reason, chances are I know the character better than any dragon(s) they get, so that's what I look for first. Also there's the issue of a character winding up with multiple dragons, but there's (generally) only ever one rider, so I think that's more streamlined.

Personally I also like when each character (rider, dragon, whoever) has their own page. Makes for streamlined linking and a lack of scrolling when I only want one character, not a pack of them. In some instances I will multi-page (like the swarm of Frights I got from DF, since they're bound by an Overmind) but otherwise I find it cleaner to keep them separate (I imagine my Gavin with all FIFTEEN of his bonds on one page and shudder!).

Searches, I suppose it's good to be able to search by as much as possible. All I ever google for is name and color, though.

Kitsuneko · Post by **Kitsuneko** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:05 am

1. Do you prefer to have the listings by rider or by dragon?
Dragon, usually.
2. Do you prefer to have rider and dragon on the same page or separate?
I generally prefer to have them on the same page if they've only bonded one or two dragons as it does make it easier, but like Phe said, when there's lots of bondeds like the aforementioned Gavin...lots of pages are fine.
I find I also prefer the stats, images, and story all on the same page rather than separate pages for search, hatchlings, weyrlings, etc. in most cases as well, at least with my own pages. For one, it's easier to page and upload, and when I'm sending dragons to a frenzy or something, I don't have to decide whether to link to the main stats information or just the page with the adult image that might not even have a story...
3. What would you like to be able to search by? (ie. gender, colour, species)
For me, it'd be mostly for gender or color.

Cy · Post by Cy » Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:34 am

In my own databases, I prefer to have all the dragons from the same agency grouped together, and then sorted by rider name. I like seeing this used elsewhere too, as it just makes it simpler for me to find, say, a specific Ryslen dragon I'm looking for. I also like to see the rider and dragon on the same page, unless the rider is bonded to multiple dragons, and then I think it's fitting to have headshots of the dragons on the rider's page linking to their own separate pages.

delyar · Post by **delyar** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 12:03 pm

Thanks for the input guys. :) Keep it coming. I am reading even if I'm not responding. I want to amass a variety of opinions for this, so feel free to speak up even if yours is the same as someone else's.

Shard · Post by **Shard** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 12:25 pm

I've been wondering things like this myself for my own huge reorganization.

1. Do you prefer to have the listings by rider or by dragon?
Dragon, when I'm searching for other people's stuff. I don't know everyone else's riders, but I do search for *dragons*.

2. Do you prefer to have rider and dragon on the same page or separate?
Definitely same page. Unless they are plentiful dragons, but still, the page that earned a dragon should *have* the dragon on it.

3. What would you like to be able to search by?
I like being able to see color and species (site?) pretty much.

Yakima · Post by **Yakima** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 2:14 pm

1. Do you prefer to have the listings by rider or by dragon?
Doesn't matter but I always list by rider. If I'm looking for a dragon, then I can always use the "Search" feature in the broweser. XD

2. Do you prefer to have rider and dragon on the same page or separate?
Same. But if they're not bonded to (ie Impressed, Paired, Bonded, ect), then they don't have to be. Caretakers/sponsers type thing can go on seperate pages.

3. What would you like to be able to search by? (ie. gender, colour, species)
D, all the above. XD

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:40 pm

The same problem i've been having... I prefer listings by rider really, but i list the riders by colour of the dragon so the lists don't actually get too long...
And I have gender, place of origin and mate listed (if any)

but all of it is just in a word file now, I haven't worked with online databases yet. I should really get around to it :p

delyar · Post by **delyar** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:36 pm

Adding another, more general question:

Do you prefer having a frameless layout, or a layout with frames?

I am running a 1024x600 monitor of late, so no big shiny fancy layouts. I love frames, but I know I tend to make mine a little too small since I'm used to such a tiny screen now. If I were to add frames it would be the same layout, just without scrolling beyond the menu.

Thoughts!

Post by **Dray** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 9:38 pm

I don't mind if a page is narrow, but I dislike ones that are short! I really like how Phe had set up the Abstract Destiny so that it could fit on smaller screens but wasn't so boxed in on larger screens. She uses frames, I believe, though their height isn't defined. Those're my faves!

delyar · Post by **delyar** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 10:14 pm

Yeah that's the setup I'd plan on using. Something like 250 height for the top banner, then 250 width for the menu, and the rest * to let it expand.

I definitely don't want to force anybody to be as squished as I am, which is why I'm trying to let go of the tables and iframes that was my "trademark", so to speak.