This topic was started in Currys branch numbers thread in Geographical Chat section. I thought it more appropriate to continue in its own thread here.

The 'unverified' list can be reached from a button at the bottom of the search page. Maybe more information on how to use the site on the home page.

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I think what Dave and DaveM actually need are more trusted testers that they could share out the work with in some way.  As this site gets more and more well known the workload in adding new numbers is obviously increasing exponentially.

Although I suppose when this site has really done its job the work will then be more in deleting now redundant 0870 number listings.  Or we can at least dream of the arrival of that great day.

The homepage needs more information on how to search for a number. At the same time it needs to be concise and to the point so as to attract the passing visitor. Maybe put brief information on the homepage with links to other pages going into more detail.

Merging the unverifed and verified lists is a good one, just make sure that it is clear which entries are which.

As far as the forums go, I think that "Geographical Numbers Chat" section needs breaking up. How, I'm not too sure. Maybe we could have a new section for talking about particular companies,but not for requesting numbers. This new section would include replies from companies/organisations, FOI requests, posts about companies who refuse to take calls on geographical alternatives etc.

The layout of the site, in particular the front page, could do with improvement. How about a box to search for a number right there, instead of having to click one of the links at the top? We could take a leaf out of the book of directory enquiries sites such as 118118.com who do just that. The search for a company name or a number should be unified, rather than having separate fields for each.

As for unverified entries, they should be included in the main database, flagged appropriately. There could be a checkbox next to the search field: "Include unverified entries" (perhaps with a small link to a pop-up explaining what it means).

The format of the data also needs sorting out. Some extra fields are needed, and perhaps displaying it as a table isn't the best idea. The "other info" column contains too may different types of data: fax numbers, addresses, etc. When there are branches of a store, we need to know which one a number is for. So should that go in the "Company Name" field or not? Really an extra "Location" field would be useful. Search for "Currys" to see what I'm talking about... The same thing goes for organisations with numbers for different departments.

If the entries were displayed in a sort of "card index" format rather than a table, you could have many different fields: fax, location, premium rate no., comments, etc. They would only be displayed if there was data for that particular entry.

Is there any reason why I cannot copy and paste my 0870/0845 numbers into the "Search for Alternative No." box?  This would save a lot of time and prevent inaccuracies. ???

May I suggest that one way to very much improve this site and its effectiveness in the campaign against the abuses with these numbers would be:

1) To add the history and full details of these scams in a separate section of the site, describing all the various tricks being used etc. so that newcomers could quickly get up to date and understand the totality of what is going on;

2) To integrate the campaign action into the site and provide submission templates and other assistance to all who wish to participate in Ofcom responses when there are any new ones.

This would enable the site to be more powerful I think in representing all of these abuses with NGNs, not just those with 0870?

Just a suggestion.

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Good idea. This would be useful for journalists researching the subject.

Yes that would probably seem to make more sense and could possibly take off the workload pressure of authentication?