Well would you look at that, I am back to writing reviews again! Wow, it has been so long; yet feels so natural. Let's get this review going!
First Impressions
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I have always loved this community, and for some reason, I cannot put my finger on it as to why. However, this new theme you have just made it so much better. Here's the thing, I dislike dark themes. However, the way you have everything laid out and how the colors just complement each-other, I am loving what I am seeing. The first thing I notice is the background of the header along with the very professional looking logo, very well done! Something I novice is just how professional and clean cut the logo is, which is probably the biggest thing webmasters overlook. However, you have done it very right here and it is very nice to see. Another thing that was quick to be noticed was the loading speed of the pages when I was clicking around before starting the review, holy no load time. This is another huge factor for a website, especially a forum, is the loading time as people don't want to wait to see the content. They say you have about 2-3 seconds before people navigate away, but this is something you don't have to fear. Something that I did notice was the fact that there are forums that I can see that I cannot access as a guest. Now, I completely understand why you have done this, however, if you are going to hide the content you might as well remove the entire forum from view as well. The same can be said about the "shop" link in the navigation bar. This is something that is really small in comparison to the rest of your forum, however, it's something to think about. Other than that, I don't have much more to say about my first impressions other than so far, I am very excited to dig further down and get into the nitty gritty of things! Let's go!
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Design Quality
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Like I touched on in the above section, I find that the theme you are using is just, stunning. I can tell you right now that this section is going to be fairly short just because I don't have a lot to touch on. Like the logo and the header, everything else just falls into place when it comes to this theme. The colors themselves make the entire theme, which is something that I really don't see a lot on dark themes. I love the fact that you have small hints of the colors that aren't blinding when contrasted to the dark background. The colors under the "cat-heads" and the forum icons is what I am talking about. I love how they glow as it offers a small hint of color without going all out in neon colors. In doing this, you are making a theme that someone could look at all day without their eyes hurting. A lot of what I like are the small touches that you added, things such as the image to the right of each "cat-head". The hover-over effects you added are a really nice small touch as well. I hate to say it, but there really isn't much more to say about this section other than maybe changing the border color of your theme chooser so it doesn't just look like a like, because I overlooked it when I was looking for it. Something that I did notice, however, was where your "Donate" button is located. To me, it looks very out of place and it's taking up too much space in relation to its overall size. Maybe put the link down in the "footer_right" section of the footer and change the color so it stands out? I mean, if you are getting donations at a steady rate, then by all means leave it as-is. Things like this is just being nit-picky when it comes to the design and doesn't reflect any negativity I have for this theme. I am sorry I don't have much more to say about this section, but I think in a way, it's a good thing. What you have here, well for your default theme anyways, is a very sharp looking theme that has qualities that I wish more forums had.
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Site Statistics
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This is something that I was very impressed with when I first loaded Atrium. When I was looking around before I started, I noticed content just about everywhere. This is another thing that I wish more forums did. They would have 2-3 times the content in one forum than another section. To me, this is just a horrible thing to do because then you have a lopsided community with some forums just collecting dust. However, that's not the case with Atrium, and, again, that's something I love to see. Now, I love numbers and Excel, so I put a few things together.
- Total Public Posts - 139, 294
- 24,778 are hidden, making 85% of your total posts public, which is good!
- You have 4,000 topics and 135,294 posts. Not too bad, but it just shows that you have a little over 34 posts for every new topic. Again, not too bad, but making more topics wouldn't hurt and it would make your stats even more better!
- You have 6 staff members that share 21,157 of the public posts, whoa! That's a little over 15% of the total posts! Again, that isn't too shabby for how long you've been open!
- The next part is something that is good to see, 378 new posts today! Very nice! Keep it up!
Now, I do know that stats aren't everything, however, they are still something that you will want to keep in mind. Knowing where you stand activity wise is always something to be good at. Doing so can help gauge where your community is and were it could potentially be. If you see your stats start to fall, you know that there are things to look at that might bring the members back posting! Again, don't think just stats, stats and more stats, but don't let them get out of sight, out of mind either.
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Originality
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Would you look at that, a little over half way done and I my fingers still work, we're doing something right! Alright, this section has always been the death of me, but for a good reason. Let's be honest, there are a lot of forums out there that share the same niche. However, it's
what you do within that cliche that makes you stand out. Am I saying that Atrium is the only general discussion forum out there? Well of course not. However, it does have a very tight knit user base that, at least to me, looks very family like. Having that type of user-base is something that will always bring your members back wanting more! When your members get comfortable with one another, they will always want to see what else is new with each-other. It's things like that which will make Atrium grow to new heights, so keep it up! Every time I look your community, I get a sense of belonging and that the community is very open. It's that that feeling that will make a guest wanting more, thus making them signing up. You have very nice discussions going on and I don't see them stopping any time soon, which is something nice to see, drive! Again, not too much to say more about this section other than keep doing what you're doing because what you are doing is very right.
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Site Structure
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Again, very nice win here. Something very nice to see is an index that is compressed, yet not too short. It is nice that you have a few forums, however, you don't have so many that it makes me scroll and scroll just to reach the bottom. It's nice to do this because it makes your community look more active than it already is because you don't have a bunch of inactive forums showing! With the navigation and overall usage of the forum, I found it very easy to find my way around all of the pages. One thing that I found when clicking on the links that I missed earlier, what is the box that is under the ad on the staff list? It looks like an empty container that might have been used for another ad? Not too large of a problem, it's just something that I noticed. Other than the links and forums that give me an error because I am a guest, everything looks golden when it comes to a layout standpoint. Other than that, I really don't have anything else to comment on because everything is where it should be. Really nice job!
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Spelling & Professionalism
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Again, I really do not have much to say here either. I really feel bad to a degree because I feel that I don't have much to say on some of the portions of this review. However, I was very impressed with how everything looks and how your members and staff members post. I get a very professional vibe from your community which is a very good thing. I can tell you put a lot of time into everything and it's the attention to detail that makes a community what it really is. Everything that I looked at was pretty close to perfect when it comes to how posts should look. There is a very thin line when it comes to keeping a professional poise and being laid back, and you have it perfectly here. I am sorry I don't have much more to say about this section other than keep it up!
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Final Remarks
Whoa! Not too long for a review but when it comes to it, you have a very nice community and I wish nothing but the best with it! Kepe up what you have been doing and I can see you and your members reach new levels that you would never have thought were attainable. Heck, I am excited for you!
Your Score
I rounded up
