Pre-Launch Review
Site Name: If we burn, you burn with us
Site Type: Role Play
Age: 12 days
Appearance
The first and foremost thing I would like to point out with this forum is that it's very difficult to make out some of the text to read. For example, at the top where it says "Hey (name), you have 0 messages", the 0 messages part is so dark that it nearly fades in with the skin. I may not have to squint to figure out what the text is saying, but putting a gray text on top of a pitch-black background was a rather risky thing to do. My suggestion is that you make the text a lighter gray (or even white), or a light blue since that seems to also work out for the color scheme of the forum, or make the background of the text a different color with the text kept consistently dark. Either way, it needs to stand out amidst the rest so it can easily be read and it looks more developed and professional.
The footer of the forum is a little dull. Consider adding more to it so the forum can be used to its best potential. Reduce the amount of blank affiliates (15 is going a little too far for a forum that has just opened about 2 weeks ago) and you should be good to go in that area. I do, however, like the fact you can hide the statistics and users online options which is something I don't see very often. There's also a fair balance of images with text and the title is very creative for a role play forum. The design of the title at the top of the forum could be a bit improved, it just looks like you pasted calligraphic text and a picture of the "Hunger Games" onto a random pastoral scene. Make it all make sense and flow together. I recommend getting a logo of some kind, maybe the title in flaming text since that could go well with the title name. Other than that, the rest of the forum is very good.
Layout
I was a bit overwhelmed by the layout of your forum. There were things all over the place with some parts big and other parts small. Above all, it needs condensation! You have a total of 41 forums which is a bit overabundant for such a narrow topic. Listing the districts one by one probably would be the first thing I would change, maybe into just "Districts" and split them into equal categories (1-4,5-9, and 10-13). This would also help create less blank areas in the forum that it leaves. A good amount of them are empty which just adds to the suggestion that you should really think about merging and possibly removing some forums that seem extraneous to the main idea. I would also move the chatbox to the bottom of the forum rather than the top as these will usually drain activity from the forums if not used properly. Space out the navigation pane a bit so each word is distinct from others and don't look like a single sentence. Keep in mind that you want to make your forum seem as professional as possible while sticking to the center of your forum's topic.
First Impressions and Interest
As I will mention again, my first impression of the forum was that it was very overwhelming. The page was filled with small gray text and things were not arranged in an orderly fashion. You did, however, make it clear from the header that the forum was about the Hunger Games series and by the looks of it, it was a role play forum. There's some inconsistency that I noticed that made me think the forum was really just a start. For example, District 13 has a very descriptive and lengthy description while 5,6,9, and 10 are basically just 4 words of description. Lack of consistency and proper organization just made me think that it didn't exactly reach maturity yet.
Content
When I look at the posts, the content is very descriptive, varied, and unique. It's looking very good so far and I commend you on that. However, there needs to be more that are on topic. A majority are in other forums that deal with other matters and the content is mainly irrelevant to the main idea. It needs more topics and posts that are centered in the on-topic section with richer content.
Words from the Reviewer
Every forum has its highs and lows. A good thing about your forum is that it is very specific and frequently visited with a good array of categories to post in. Just be careful with this and find the right audience, because such a narrow topic can also cause a lack of activity. There's some work to be done here and I expect good things to come out of it. I wish you good luck with your forum in the future!
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