Your Forum Review
First Impressions - (Out of 20)
The following image is an example of an unneeded line of <br>. You basically have extra space that isn't filled and just bumps your forum down the page a few lines. Look in the coding and if you see <br> tags remove at least one there.
Of course this is not necessary, but I think it would make it look a little better.
Your forum is a broad discussion board, yet you keep your services (packages, reviews, etc) and your shop at the top. They are also not that active. You should put those elsewhere. Your first forum/category should be for announcements, introductions, and suggestions. Announcements, because they are important. Introductions, so newcomers know where to get started. And suggestions, because any suggestion can help your site out and suggestions are encourage on pretty much all forums and websites.
(Scored 18/20)
Site Layout - (Out of 20)
Keep in mind what I said above, about your Shop area and your Services area. These should be moved down to your Extra area. They are not active and nowhere as active as your General Discussion forum which has 775 posts.
I am sure you want people to use your services, or earn points for the shop, but as they are pretty much inactive there is no need to have these right at the top. Of course there are benefits to having them at the top. They are noticeable and easy to find. However, if hardly anyone is using them you mind as well put them in the Extras section.
If someone really wants to use your services or shop I am sure they will still use it even if it is near the bottom.
Your music section. It currently is more active than your Media section. You could combine these sections or make Music a sub-forum of Media. Music is media, and would fit perfectly.
Debates. Again not very active. Debate sections are always nice on a forum and sometimes those sections become very successful, but you could always make it a sub-forum of general discussion. I say this because right now you have a lot of forums on your board. The less there are, the more easy it is to navigate.
(Scored 16/20)
Forum Statistics - (Out of 20)
It looks like your board came out July 21, 2009 (based off of the fact that your board opened 5 days before your grand opening)
Great statistics for a little over a week.
Your general discussion forum has over 700 posts, but has less than 30 topics. You should definitely start up some new discussions there.
If you don't have enough topics for people to respond to, eventually the topic will die causing inactivity in certain parts of your board.
When I did this review...
Our users have posted a total of 1835 messages
We have 34 registered users
Just get some more topics started.
(Scored 19/20)
Staff Moderation - (Out of 20)
From what I see there is one admin, and two moderators. There may be more, but I can't find any more without registering. This is a good amount of staff. You are not running it alone which is good, and you don't have too much staff.
As your board gets bigger you may want to hire Super Moderators, and Moderators. Each would have different permissions.
Right now though, it looks like your board is doing just fine with 3 staff members (that I can see). Each staff member has a responsibility which is good because it means they will stay active and the staff members won't ignore something thinking that someone else will moderate an area for them.
(Scored 20/20)
Spelling and Grammar - (Out of 20)
Only spelling mistakes I found were in your member's names, but that's perfectly normal of course.
Only small thing I found was in your rules thread.
"THe rules will change over time so check back every so often"
THe should be "The".
Try to make your rules thread look professional. If it looks sloppy or unprofessional users will be under the impression that rules aren't enforced and staff aren't taking their moderating positions seriously.
(Scored 19/20)
Total Score - 92 (Out of 100)
Final Remarks:
Good looking site. You should offer some style options for users. Try having a light option, and a dark option. However, the style you have chosen is fine and looks fine to the eye (of me at least). Good luck with it!
What was most liked about the website/forums:
I like how the login feature and some statistics are on the right side. Some forums mess this all up and it looks terrible, but this looks fine on your forum.
What was disliked most about the website/forums:
Some inactivity in certain areas (It's okay, I am pretty sure your board is new). It would just be nice to see some more topics instead of sections full of replies.
How could I get you (The Reviewer) to join my website?
I am really not joining any more forums, as I have my obligations on my own site, here as a reviewer and my personal life, including my job.
(Final Score 92/100)
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