I started using this site after a co-worker saw a bill with www.cdn-money.com on it.
My co-worker tried to look up his bill by putting the serial number in the "Add Bill" field but was dissapointed and gave up when he hit the "Anonymous Bill Entry" screen. He basically said, "this sucks, there is nothing about this bill on here, what a waste of time."
I am a bit more inquisitive and took his bill for fun and entered it in the "Add New Bill" screen. It was then we saw the bill's past history.
May I suggest that you put a field on the main page that says "Check bill history" so that new users to the site get some gratitude. It will encourage them to participate. At the very least you could make the "Anonymous Bill Entry" screen tell the user that this bill has X amount of tracking entries and that they can be viewed after they enter the info on how they got the bill.
Otherwise I think the site & concept is really neat.
That might not be a bad idea…..
I'll report it to DR's bug tracker and he can add it to his to-do list if he agrees
Great idea! That's just the type of suggestion we need, something that will enhance the first experience of first time visitors. "You can only make a first impression once." I hope dr can put that in before the next release.
It would also be handy for regular trackers to check a marked bill so that they will be able to add an appropriate comment when they enter it!
You cannot look up the history of a bill without entering it. I don't think that you ever will be able to. The reason is that it may cause people to check a marked bill before entering it; imagine this scenario: "Oh, it's one of dr's notes. I don't want him to get a hit. I'll just spend this instead".
While I agree that we may lose a few people becuase they feel the site "sucks" and that it's too hard to see a note's history, I think that 99% of the time, those people are likely going to still think the same thing even after seeing the note's history. And as I've said over and over, all we really want here are people that a genuinely interested in tracking their notes.
-dr
Yes, dr is right, it could cause some friction. If anybody wants to look at the history of bills, why not become a member on this site? It is so easy, free and lots of fun.
I fully see your point from a competative point of view. I didn't realize how this effects people/teams who are competing for hits here. I am just interested in finding out to where bills that I have spent have traveled. I was primarily thinking of ways to entice a newcomer to add to the comments and perhaps get hooked the concept like I did.
Of course if one was competing for hits and they wanted to be unfair about it; couldn't they just make sure any marked bills they encounter get scratched out or damaged enough that they will pulled from circulation?
I would hope everyone who is competing for hits would be fair. After all, the spirit of this depends on it. I've been putting bills in here for a month now. I'm looking forward to seeing my first hit. Everytime I get a bill I look for the marking. I think finding out from where a bill has come to get to me is just as rewarding as knowing to where a bill I once had has gone.
I know when I first encountered this site, I found it confusing that I had to add a bill to the site. It seemed to me that if the web page was written on the bill, it should already be in there. That was what caused my co-worker to give up in frustration.
I admit that I was skeptical at first but after seeing the history on my bill it sparked my interest. Now I am hooked.
These comments have come from an one month old newbie who is relating his first impressions. Once I have been doing this as long as some of the seasoned folks on this site, I'll probably understand how things work a little better.
For the record, I think this is a great concept and I'm really enjoying being part of it. Kudos "dr" for all your hard work.
It sounds like you may have encountered an 'orphan'. You can check the FAQ for details, but this sometimes happens if a mistake was made when the bill was originally entered. If so, your freind was the first person who entered the bill correctly. Fortunately this is a rare event, and subsequent bills should not be as frustrating.
It is far more rewarding to register and get the full benefits of the site. As a long time user, (relatively speaking), I fully understand why DR has arranged the site as he has- it's protects the integrity of the site and prevents abuse.
idjit
it is far more rewarding to register and get the full benefits of the site. as a long time user, (relatively speaking),
now that is an understatent your in the history book here as one of the early settlers to this site.
I think BMWMAN wanted to say initally!!
Make the Anonymous bill entry page easier & more understanding for Anonymous users.
Even as an anonymous user people can look up the bill they just entered, but they need to enter the bill 1st.
I like the Main page, but the problem with it is that people see the login asking you to sign up right away.
If the main page stayed mainly the same, but add the Anonymous bill entry box to the top of the page it might increase our anonymous hits & end up creating more users who like the results of finding some of our marked bills.
I like BMXMAN's inital post! It is good food for thought.
I went & looked at the main page before logging in after reading it.
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