New MLP collector site. New Question

[StarSwirl05]

Looks interesting so far. I think we truly need an up-to-date database for MLP toys. The ones that existed/still exist stopped updating and/or were unable to be kept active.

[hyenacub]

I can't seem to register for it, though.

[Beth3346]

I'm not quite ready for signups yet.  the site should be ready for signups in a few weeks. Maybe sooner.

[hyenacub]

Oh!  okay that would be why lol

[TravelingTwinkler]

An efficient cataloguing site would definitely be welcome! At the core I'd be looking for:

- Prominent quick reference by generation, color, or name (i.e., StrawberryReef.com, My Little Wiki, etc.)
- Ability to toggle different views for my collection (i.e., name list, thumbnails, names with thumbnails, detailed view, etc.)
- Comparing wants to trades between users
- Crowd-sourcing the database
- Import/export feature

In its current form, I don't think I'd use https://mylittleponycollection.com/ because:

- The navigation feels hidden at the bottom of the page
- Not enough information is shown on each search result page when searching by category leading to too many pages to click through
- Too many subcategory variations (i.e., cornflower blue, light blue, and dark blue instead of just having a blue category)

The less clicks needed to find a pony, the better—about 3-4 clicks is ideal.

Thank you for posting! I'm super-interested to see this project evolve.

—mari

[Leikin]

I really like the idea of a sort of online checklist. that you can just click a box that this one I have or this one I want (or this one I need an upgrade for). Sort of like the mlpmerch.com, but more flexible, that you can add comments for each pony if you want, like I have this pony, but it has cut hair, so I need an upgrade.

For me its not important to add my own images, as I will probably never have the time to photograph my ponies one by one, so I'm happy with just stock images to see wich variant of a pony I'm clicking the box that I have (like  Posey with pink or magenta tulips)

Of course I would prefer to have accessories as well, but as it is quite a huge job to list all different accessories they where sold with in different sets or different countries, I'm fine with skipping that part. at least in the beginning, as I would relly much want it at some point (not neceserly from you though, but that is something that would fullfill my collecting habits more, then just listing the ponies, as I'm more in the phase of collecting the accessories, then just the ponies itself right now)

And as said by others already, it would be nice if it used a more worldwide perspective of collecting and not just what is US and what is not. I dont have any good solutions on how to do that though, but one example might be to just focus on the pony at first hand, and then list which sets it is included in, and where these sets where sold.  As for Posey for example where the same pony had different set releases in different parts of the world. But on the other hand, I like to place my ponies in sets, so I would like to have the possibility to sort ponies by sets (and years) as well. Just be aware though that the same pony can be included in different sets (and with different accessories)
Im aware that I may not be making a lot of sence, but the whole early year releases is a mess as far as outside US, so forgive me for that

That said, I didnt actually see much of the layout on the page. I got stuck at places where there only was text to choose from, wich none of them where clickable, so I'm not sure If I did anything wrong or followed the wrong links, so I dont have much to say on the layout (yet)

[TornadoTwist]

I really like the idea of a sort of online checklist. that you can just click a box that this one I have or this one I want (or this one I need an upgrade for). Sort of like the mlpmerch.com, but more flexible, that you can add comments for each pony if you want, like I have this pony, but it has cut hair, so I need an upgrade.

We now have the option to add personalized notes.

[katrine2309]

And as said by others already, it would be nice if it used a more worldwide perspective of collecting and not just what is US and what is not. I dont have any good solutions on how to do that though, but one example might be to just focus on the pony at first hand, and then list which sets it is included in, and where these sets where sold.  As for Posey for example where the same pony had different set releases in different parts of the world. But on the other hand, I like to place my ponies in sets, so I would like to have the possibility to sort ponies by sets (and years) as well. Just be aware though that the same pony can be included in different sets (and with different accessories)
Im aware that I may not be making a lot of sence, but the whole early year releases is a mess as far as outside US, so forgive me for that

Exactly this  I agree with everything, and you explained it much better than I did

[Beth3346]

thank you for the feedback everyone Its been extremely helpful.

I definitely need to overhaul the way ponies are grouped and categorized on the site.  Its difficult to capture the nuance of pony releases and variations between international and us releases in a database since the tendency is to use binary categories.  But this is mostly possible with a little work.

I also include a notes field with each grouping and pony where we can add more detail.  The last thing I want is to add bad information so I tend to go with what I know.  Since I started my collecting with ponies I remembered from my childhood and most of the collector sites I looked at presented the usual US collector organization I have been kind of stuck with the US model. 

But i agree this breaks down with international releases.  And I love the international aspect of the MLP community so I don't want to make any one feel left out.  I just don't want to spread misinformation.  I know this has been an issue with collector sites in the past.

I also will make changes to the layout to make more information visible at a time and reduce the number of clicks it takes to navigate the site.  Its definitely a challenge to present and organize so much information.

[Taffeta]

I am renovating my site to be more inclusive of Europe at the moment and the more I go through it the more I realise even just the UK deviates a lot in stupid little ways.

In all honesty the most of the confusion comes in the early years. And those are the bits sites generally get muddled up. I agree it is good not to spread misinformation but thank you for wanting to make it more global.

I think it is possible to overcome some of the confusion by listing ponies under multiple years. Also by not listing variations in the same year as tge US release which is what the Wiki and ghostofthedoll do.

I don't like Strawberry Reef as a g1 resource as it includes mistakes that are not being fixed.

[katrine2309]

Beth, I think it is awesome that you ask for feedback- it is not easy to understand MLP releases I actually think what most sites do is to “overdo” it. They want to include all ponies and add all types of information about them based on hearsay or faulty sources. Taffeta has a good point when she is talking about finding your niche. If you are starting off by creating a collectors collection list and wishlist- do you need to categorize by release year? Why not just categorize by what you know is true and what everyone can see themselves? What color? What type of pony? What is under their hooves?

You can always add more information as you go a long, and have more time to double-check your sources right? I always ask myself questions when doing research - questions on my sources that is. For instance;

1. Is my source trustworthy? If my source on ponies released outside the US is Mlpwiki or StrawberryReef for instance, I wouldn’t call it very trustworthy. These sites have both been repeatedly critized for how they have structured the non-US ponies.

2. Can someone else confirm what my source is telling me? If I have decided that my source is indeed trustworthy, I still always would double-check the information I have received. For instance, if my source is a longtime collector of ponies in that specific region (lets say Germany), I still would have liked to get a second confirmation from an equally trustworthy source before I would have put anything up on the worldwide web.

As you can imagine, this is a lot of work if you want a lot of information on all ponies

[LadyMoondancer]

I think listing by initial year is important to understanding the history of the brand.  How design themes came and went, how unicorns started with a trait of a mane stripe and then lost it, the switch from visual changes to action gimmicks, the rise of the Sweetheart Sisters, an influx of neon ponies as the 90s began . . .

IMO the "birth year" of a pony (the first time she appeared in toy form--in whatever country she first appeared in) is important to getting context for the toyline.

Listing the UK and Euro pony set setups is important too though, I agree with that.  But IMO that can be done while still saying "Gusty was first made in 1984."

[katrine2309]

I think listing by initial year is important to understanding the history of the brand.  How design themes came and went, how unicorns started with a trait of a mane stripe and then lost it, the switch from visual changes to action gimmicks, the rise of the Sweetheart Sisters, an influx of neon ponies as the 90s began . . .

IMO the "birth year" of a pony (the first time she appeared in toy form--in whatever country she first appeared in) is important to getting context for the toyline.

Listing the UK and Euro pony set setups is important too though, I agree with that.  But IMO that can be done while still saying "Gusty was first made in 1984."

I agree 100%- it IS important with release year and that is exactly why I’m still researching into this for Scandinavian releases. But there are already sites out there saying something about this (or trying to), and is it important for this site to prioritise it? The business idea here (as I understand it)is to create a site for collectors- mapping their collections and their wishlists. I still think it is important with release year, but I also think it is more important to simplify instead of publishing wrong information. Which is why I was trying to make the point of starting with the things that you know is true, and publish that. Continue doing your research and when you are ready to upgrade- great, do it!

So even though I personally think it is important with release year, and I personally would love more sites talking about the history of the brand, I am not sure if this information is crucial for this site to be able go live?

[Taffeta]

I think it's finding a balance. For example, Gusty is from 1984. Agreed. But her variations - SS Gusty (1985?) Fable Gusty (1986) and Movie Star Gusty (1987) all have later release years.

So we're dealing with the concept of Gusty as a character vs the different toys.

And if the database wanted to go with years, it would be easy to include each of those variations under their correct year with their correct set. But then also maybe have a "Gusty" area which shows all of them under the name label of Gusty. If that makes sense?

I don't know either how detailed it needs to be. I am disentangling Europe and UK and US at the moment and it is muddled up horribly in places. I understand why sites have such a difficult time figuring these things out because even doing it from the UK perspective, I come across something unexpected like, oh, wait, we didn't get x playset till x year? And wow, that's still out in 1989 here? Stuff that would never happen in the US line because the US line is organised and logical.

Gusty is an easier example because her variations are so distinct. It would be more problematic if we were dealing with, say forelock/no forelock HK/China on the Sweetberries, because as I mentioned before, there's a nice big production gap there which probably explains it, but makes listing them by year a pain in the butt.

[Beth3346]

yes the more i think about it i think i'm going to de-emphasize years as a category for ponies.  i feel like it works ok for G1 ponies that conform to the US release schedule but not really anywhere else.

These discussions have been very helpful and thought provoking.

I'm still wondering how to handle all of the different variants of ponies. Especially since some of the variations are subtle. Like the Bow-ties that have hair colors that range from magenta to the lighter, more muted pink.  And the forelock/no forelock Sweetberries mentioned above.  Maybe thinking of them as characters would make more sense.

I am planning to make updates to the layout and structure of the site as I go along and get more feedback on whats working and what isn't working.  One of the great things about websites is that they can always be updated.  This current version is just a starter.  If i wait until its perfect it will never launch.