Your Forum Review
First Impressions & Appearance
I love your style, it is 100% gaming, which just sums up your forum. The top works really well, it isn't too big so it is still possible to see the forum. The whole style flows and I really like how the cables start at the top and connect again at the bottom. The whole style is well thought out and I can see that a lot of effort has gone into it.
One improvement that can be made is the top guest box. It is a little too big for my liking, I would still like to be able to see the forum without scrolling down, even if I am being told that I am viewing as a guest. The box with the login information and such could be half the size it is now and still contain the same information. The gap between the logo and that box can be removed to help with this.
The logo is the one thing that I feel really doesn't work. I can see that you have added a Halloween logo, which is nice that you are showing that the forum is being updated. But I am (guessing) assuming that you are using the same logo without the pumpkin normally. The logo could do with a great deal of work, the one you had when I last reviewed your forum was much better.
The only other improvement I can suggest on the front page is making the category titles a little bit more red and a little less pink. This would tie in with the whole style better.
The individual post boxes work well, apart from the date in the top left overlapping the border, which makes things look a little odd. Making the text a little smaller would fix this easily, maybe a grey instead of white would make it look better too. Considering that most posts are quite short on your forum the default height of the post boxes is a little big.
(Score: 19/20)
Site Layout
You have 4 sections with 3-4 categories in each. The top section, News & Information, contains what I expect from this area. I would however add the Gaming Strike Outlet to this area as it is also a category about the site itself.
The Gamer's hangout section works well with a good amount of posts in each category. I don't however see that much activity being channelled into here as is being in other sections of the forums, which is a real shame as your forum is about gaming. I expected a lot more activity in this section.
The Gaming Discussion section contains a good deal of posts, but not many topics. This section seems to be tied in with the above section. Would it not be easier to connect these two and have 1 big section instead. A few changes to the categories would also generate more discussion.
The last section, General, seems to contain more activity than anywhere else in the forum. For me this is never a good sign as it shows a lack of interest in the forums niche. Work needs to be put in there to generate activity in the gaming sections instead of the general section.
(Scored 15/20)
Statistics and Activity
Date Forum Opened: Feb. 9 2011
Total Forum Posts: 7,509
Total Members: 103
This gives an average of 72 posts per member. This shows to me that your activity isn't great. Considering that you yourself have 2000 posts, this gives your post per normal member an average of 54 posts. 54 posts can be achieved in 2 or 3 days. The statistics of your forum really need to improve, you are really lacking in this area. It seems to be you as an admin who is generating most if the discussion on your forum. This is a good thing, but your members need to chat amongst themselves too.
(Scored 9/20)
Staff Moderation
Your board is free of spam, but I don't see your staff boosting the forums activity. The topics I have seen have contained the shortest and "Spammiest" posts from staff that it shocks me. A member posts a good idea on the forum and the ADMIN then posts the reply "Good Idea
😛" and that is it. Another staff member then comes in and says "he already posted that before". The staff don't run the forum very well and if nothing else, put members off posting again.
(Scored 6/20)
Spelling/Grammar & Professionalism
The spelling and grammar on the board, such as descriptions is good. They are well written and there are no mistakes. The professionalism on your board, from the outside is good. It is definitely appealing to new members. But once I start reading topics then the professionalism look drops fast. There is a lot of work that needs to be done with this. Staff should know what is expected of them, and the admin needs to look at his own values and ways of doing things. The admin is a role model for his staff and members.
(Scored 7/20)
Total Score - 65/100
Final Remarks
Strong Points
Style, Layout
Things to Improve
Professionalism and activity
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