Opinions?

[Mudjosh]

Ok.. This thread may get locked because I can see how people can misuse this and there is a review team for this purpose as well.

But I would like a general overall review if that is ok.

But actually, if it isn't ok, don't lock it, just delete the thread for me.


Anyway, I have participated in the FOTM a couple of times now and although my forum has more posts than a quarter of them and looks better than half of them, I never get any votes..

I am just requesting a quick review on what you impression is of my forum and how I could make it better and more appealing to guests.

the link is in my signature.

 

[hcfwesker]

We have a review service here.

I'm not fond of these topics, because it's a quick and easy way to attract guests to your forum, therefore seems like advertising to me.

Even though that's not your intentions.

I'm thinking of making a topic, kinda like a game for admins, for all admins to join in.

Where you list 3 Pros & 3 Cons of the last poster's forum.

 

[katy perry is hot]

Well, I'm not a reviewer but I'm good at constructive criticism.

I'm going to do a complement sandwich first.

Complement: You have a lot of boards for discussion of god, and such.
Area you can improve: You have WAY too many boards.
Complement: The name of your site is great and very easy to remember, probably indexed by search engines well too.

Now, here's where I'll give you a paragraph explaining what I wrote in the sandwich.

I like how you have those boards for what the niche is on, and it's good, but the problem is that you have too many, WAY too many. That board "The Grand Colosseum " shouldn't be in your information area, your information area should have to do with site info/help/news ONLY. Possibly rename it " Welcome " and have your site news area and your introduce yourself area.
Let me go back to my complaint at all those boards you've got going on- In the Relife area, you have 4 boards about pretty much the same thing, why not condense it to two boards and do some subforums? It's WAY too many boards.
Your " Life " Area is too general, it feels like a lounge to me, and again you've got too many boards, why not just make a board for Christianity discussions, the bible, etc, and then an area for Off Topic and then you can have the stuff like Library, Entertainment, Comedy, etc. The outreach area, also sort of useless- why is it there? Why not just put it at the top with the Information area?

Another issue I have, the skin is just, bad. I'm sorry, but it's bad. It has absolutely nothing to do with god or Christianity, possibly replace it with a more godish skin.


Other- Your board looks to me like a general topic board, the skin is what makes me feel this first, put a banner with god on it or something, and maybe make the theme white with some angels, pictures of bible, etc- I'm not good at graphics, but that bland skin just doesn't' work for me. Continuing on the whole general topic idea, you have too many off topic/general boards, get rid of them- there is way too many, condense them all into " Off Topic". Your board feels like a general board with a small emphasis on Christianity.

 

[Honey_Angel]

I think you should provide links to things Bible related. Some people might enjoy little trinkets to help them get to a scripture faster such as ESword. Have contests like "Blog of the Week" related to all things Christian.

The theme/skin isn't bad. It's simple and it works. However you might either be separating yourself from the other million Christian websites by having such a skin or not getting noticed because of it. I like the simplistic colors.

 

[Mudjosh]

Wow, Irviding, that was prolly the most brutal anyone had ever been on my forum. 😛

My I explain how the board is set up though?

I have set the board up from most important to least important in board issues.

First the Information Desk has all the board info of course. Contests are part of the info that is shared. All important information is told to our members here.

Secondly, the Relife category. This houses all Religious topics. It is seperated into four of the most common Religious discussion types.. One is Prayer Requests, the next is Devotionals (Short stories to inspire believers) the next is Bible Talk (duh.. anything to do with the Bible) and lastly, Life Talk.. Anything to do with a Believers life.

After that the Life Category. This is concerning more of the general life topics.. Jobs, Health.. Music.. News.. Anything that impacts your life goes here.

The Coffee Shoppe is like a lounge area. Off-topic, comedy, etc.. goes here.. While the rest of the forum is full of serious talk, this area is usually for the goofy minded. Just a bunch of fun.

And lastly, the outreach area.

This used to be at the top of the forum but was later moved to the bottom and expanded. This brought guests and new members to the true conversation quicker without them exploring the Help Desk, etc. before hand.

The style I use has always been a revolutionary style for Christian forums. I NEVER go for an ordinary style. The first style we had was a black and red one. (We was also originally called "The Revolution" ) I hate tackiness in web design and it almost seems that is one thing Christians are known for.. Which kills me. -roll-

I try to be original.. And I have to say, this is the first review (besides when I just started) that I failed miserably at.. Even on the Admin Zone, I got an amazing review.
http://www.theadminzone.com/forums/show ... hp?t=61072

But, I'm still confused.. Even if the style isn't the most Christian out there, this shouldn't discourage people for voting for my board in a FOTM contest.. They should be looking for a stylish design, a nice number of posts and how active the forum is..

So.. still mystified.

 

[katy perry is hot]

Wow, Irviding, that was prolly the most brutal anyone had ever been on my forum. 😛

My I explain how the board is set up though?

I have set the board up from most important to least important in board issues.

First the Information Desk has all the board info of course. Contests are part of the info that is shared. All important information is told to our members here.

Secondly, the Relife category. This houses all Religious topics. It is seperated into four of the most common Religious discussion types.. One is Prayer Requests, the next is Devotionals (Short stories to inspire believers) the next is Bible Talk (duh.. anything to do with the Bible) and lastly, Life Talk.. Anything to do with a Believers life.

After that the Life Category. This is concerning more of the general life topics.. Jobs, Health.. Music.. News.. Anything that impacts your life goes here.

The Coffee Shoppe is like a lounge area. Off-topic, comedy, etc.. goes here.. While the rest of the forum is full of serious talk, this area is usually for the goofy minded. Just a bunch of fun.

And lastly, the outreach area.

This used to be at the top of the forum but was later moved to the bottom and expanded. This brought guests and new members to the true conversation quicker without them exploring the Help Desk, etc. before hand.

The style I use has always been a revolutionary style for Christian forums. I NEVER go for an ordinary style. The first style we had was a black and red one. (We was also originally called "The Revolution" ) I hate tackiness in web design and it almost seems that is one thing Christians are known for.. Which kills me. -roll-

I try to be original.. And I have to say, this is the first review (besides when I just started) that I failed miserably at.. Even on the Admin Zone, I got an amazing review.
http://www.theadminzone.com/forums/show ... hp?t=61072

But, I'm still confused.. Even if the style isn't the most Christian out there, this shouldn't discourage people for voting for my board in a FOTM contest.. They should be looking for a stylish design, a nice number of posts and how active the forum is..

So.. still mystified.

I knew I saw your site somewhere 😛 I used to be staff at TAZ, wasn't a reviewer though.

I didn't mean to be Brutal, but I say what I can to help you with your site, I tell it how it is, I don't sugarcoat things.

Again though, the design isn't stylish, it has nothing to do with a christian forum.

And again, I'll repeat that you have too many general topic boards. Your board is for Christian discussion, and that's what it's centered around, not on General Topic, like what it feels like it is to me. Your board is new, you don't need that many boards to start, cut them down if you want to be successful. Your board gets plenty of exposure, with a domain like that you have no problem getting views, but you're not going to get regisrations with that many boards in the general topic area, and as for the Life area:

Your life area and your lounge area are almost the same. Your life area contains the following which are off topic: The Library, Tech Talk, the Jukebox.

All of those are things that belong in your lounge. The politics/news area is fine how it is in the " life area , as is the healthy home relationships- those are good, but you have crossed your off topic accross two boards, here's a suggestion on how to fix your Lounge:

Category: Coffee Shop
Board: Off Topic
SubBoard:Forum Games
SubBoard:The Library
SubBoard: Tech Talk
SubBoard: Comedy
SubBoard: Art Studio

Board: Entertainment:
SubBoard: The Jukebox
SubBoard: The Sports Channel
SubBoard: The Theater


How's that sound?

 

[Honey_Angel]

Maybe you aren't going to the right places. I dont know if it's out there, but try to go to Christian based websites to affiliate with. Usually FOTMs (from my perspective) are voted on by how many members you have, how active the forum is, and who you know. Maybe you need to stand out more as a person than an advertiser at a forum so people can notice you and pay more attention to what you bring to the table as a forum owner . A lot of people don't vote for things they are unfamiliar with, and some don't vote because they don't know who the person is. Sad, but I find it to be true.

Or maybe it's the cliche name. It does not spark interest. I know that anyone who loves God should be interested in a Christian website, but this isn't always true. If it's not the name then it's the slogan maybe.

I'm sorry I can't give you anymore opinions on this, because I am going through the same thing . I would get at least one vote everytime I tried. 🙁

 

[Mudjosh]

Thanks Honey_Angel..

Irviding, I'm afraid I cannot see from your point of view. I have administered Christianity Forums/ The Revolution for over a year now.. That is plenty of enough time to have that many forums. All the forums (besides the Announcements/ Help areas) are well populated with topics.

It is about Learning about God and Christian Fellowship (A Churchy word for "hanging-out" ) It has plenty to offer in the area of Christian growth compared to other forums..
Consider our main competition:
http://www.talkjesus.com/
and http://christianteenforums.com/

Both have plenty in the way of general talk.

All my categories are well balanced and my members feel comfortable using them. My descriptions are well put and all forums are used.

My most recent addition as far as a forum is the Polls area and it has filled up quickly.

But anywho... I guess that is enough of that. Honey_Angel has confirmed my guess that it is pretty much a rigged contest and there is really no hope for a Christian forum winning unless I'm either on staff here or spend more time posting here than I post on my forum..

So, I will not enter again.. No biggie.

I will have to say Irviding, I think you are the first I have heard to dislike the style I use. The only thing any of my members say about it is that it is alittle bright (but that is from a Pastor who is on late at night and has eye issues.. I have got a darker style for him to use and any others with a similar situation.. )

But thank you both of you for trying to help.

 

[katy perry is hot]

Thanks Honey_Angel..

Irviding, I'm afraid I cannot see from your point of view. I have administered Christianity Forums/ The Revolution for over a year now.. That is plenty of enough time to have that many forums. All the forums (besides the Announcements/ Help areas) are well populated with topics.

It is about Learning about God and Christian Fellowship (A Churchy word for "hanging-out" ) It has plenty to offer in the area of Christian growth compared to other forums..
Consider our main competition:
http://www.talkjesus.com/
and http://christianteenforums.com/

Both have plenty in the way of general talk.

All my categories are well balanced and my members feel comfortable using them. My descriptions are well put and all forums are used.

My most recent addition as far as a forum is the Polls area and it has filled up quickly.

But anywho... I guess that is enough of that. Honey_Angel has confirmed my guess that it is pretty much a rigged contest and there is really no hope for a Christian forum winning unless I'm either on staff here or spend more time posting here than I post on my forum..

So, I will not enter again.. No biggie.

I will have to say Irviding, I think you are the first I have heard to dislike the style I use. The only thing any of my members say about it is that it is alittle bright (but that is from a Pastor who is on late at night and has eye issues.. I have got a darker style for him to use and any others with a similar situation.. )

But thank you both of you for trying to help.

I'm sorry you don't see how I do but it's not really your boards as much as the theme that turns me away.
The theme on Talk Jesus is nice because it feels religionish, and has a nice jesus banner on the top, etc.

I like the theme a lot on Talk Jesus, and I would be more likely to join that, as a guest rather than joining christian teen forum or your forum- Theme is something that can turn or draw in a guest, remember that!
Now, christian teen forums skin against yours, I gotta say I like yours better- yours is actually custom, and christian teen is just using the IPB Default.

If you don't share my view on your boards, at least re-consider your theme and banner, and if you won't reconsider the theme, maybe request a banner to match it here with something to do with jesus or god, that would help. Trust me... your theme turns me off right away from joining. Just because I'm the only one who actually spoke out on the theme, doesn't mean in the only person who has been turned off by it.

Good luck 🙂