Hello CMDR Wolzan,
I have to give you reps and kudos on an excellent job with the website! Very pretty, very well done, and it really collects all the information for the objects submitted!
I played a little bit with it and entered an ELP in a binary system. So entered the data for the planet and both stars just to get the hang of it.
A few things, though, that I would like to point out from a pragmatic approach.
I am sure you are familiar with other projects that have attempted to collect data from the ED Galaxy via pilots. And many of them have failed, with the exception of the Trading ones.
The question that you should constantly ask yourself while developing the website is: "Why would someone want to come here, and spend lots of time pouring their data in?". Understanding that, is the key for your success.
After filling all the information in the forms for the 2 stars and the ELP, I felt that it was pretty showcase of my findings. But also, didn't imagine me coming back for it necessarily as I had the info available and in pictures. In fact, it took me like 30 minutes to properly set up and register them under the same system and organized. Truth, learning curve provided, I still have hundreds of objects under my belt that could register, and the proposal from the website is that it will take me days. All cool, but what am I getting in return? the same data in a different format? I need more than that.
So, my suggestion is, refine the filter or create new advanced ones, that allow grouping data in ways we couldn't otherwise. Knowing the value of planets -if the explorer has it available- would also shed lights in relationships between mass/type and data value, etc. Or just for more scientifically driven content! E.g. I want to filter ELP that are between 0.95 and 1.20 Earth Masses in the database, to then filter more for those with Oxigen level near 15.5% to 17.5%.
The reason why the trading websites are popular is because even when they demand entering lots of data from the markets, the benefit players get in return is to be able to organize data in a way that can be translated back into routes that will generate credits or rewards for then when searching a commodity.
The same will prove truth for exploration: offer a data base that we could manipulate in a way that can translate into interesting findings or credits and you'll be up for success.
Please, by all means take this in the lightest of tones. My aim is to be constructive with my comments because I can imagine the amount of work that is behind the website and would love to see it thriving in the community.
=-)
/Kancro out.
