First Impressions - (Out of 20)
I'm sure you hear this alot, but i LOVE the sidebar PPV countdowns. Very ingenious, and a clever addition to the forum. I doubt they ever get old for your members.
The forum has a nice, organized look. Seeing as i've seen this skin on other vB forums, i was hoping to see alot more themes towards wrestling; i'm just not thrilled when a forum isn't original, and matches the theme in some way. There's really nothing of a wrestling theme going on besides the PPV countdowns in the sidebars. Even the buttons, and icons are all vB default or design. Like for New Post in boards on the main page, i'd use a Gold Championship belt, then Boards with no new posts, have the belt in a black & white image of some sort. Instaed of the "Vision" icons in use, now.
Even the banner seems really simplistic. I'm sure this is to keep things simple, since the main draw is not the look, but mainly for the access to the wrestling downloads available on the forum. I'm just suggesting what would help the forum get a unique look, and draw members' attention into sticking around; instead of watching videos on your forumn, then discussing on another.
(16 /20)
Site Layout - (Out of 20)
This might be a little long, but it's only cause i want to help ...
Firstly, Maybe one reason for alot of members not getting too involved, is just like the show, everyone likes to make a good entrance. I would suggest adding a New Members board up in the headquarters category directly under the suggestions board; should be one of the first places new members see when navigating the forum after joining. This will give new member a chance to poke in and see how the community is. Then, once staff and members show them it's "ok" to post, they'll join right in around the rest of the forum.
And, the Superstar section. Not really feeling the vibe from it. It's practically empty, and it'll probablly stay that way for some time. i would suggest either relocating it to the bottom, since you want your VIP sections usually at the bottom of the forum. Or, just make ONE superstar board, and include all other boards as "sub-boards" on the next page when the ONE board is clicked. Wait for the section to get more active before spitting the sections and placing them back on the main page.
The downloads/videos section just seems like there's too many boards, with few topics in some. Maybe consider merging some like boards for now, just til they get more active. a board with 15 topics, looks more active than 4 boards with 2 topics a piece.
I would change the "Miscellaneos" category title to something about wrestling discussion. Then make a separate "Off-topic" category for all the non-wrestling boards. Your forum is about wrestling, no reason the discussion boards on wrestling should appear in the "Miscellaneous" section.
And, make the wrestling discussion public, not just member accessible. Guests may be interested to see what's being discussed, and that'll get them to join, but if they don't know what's being discussed, they won't bother. If anything, i'd limit the download sections to members/active members.
of course, this is all just my opinion, i'm not bashing the forum in anyway; i like it, just giving, my honest insight and constructive criticism.
(12 /20)
Forum Statistics - (Out of 20)
Phenomenal statistics in some areas, then there are some not so satisfactory. The memebr count is astounding, giving the little amount of time the forum has been online. Over 400 memebers in just over 3 months is quite an achievement. Thing is, doesn't seem to be much discussion genrating from about 40% of the member base.
The free downloads available on the forum is a HUGE draw; but for some people, it may be the "only" draw for them. Try adding a link in each post that has a download, directing them where they can discuss other wrestling topics. OR, when you post the downloads ... at the bottom of each post, make some kind of remark about the event in your own words, so others will see it's ok to discuss, and not just reply, "thank you", "thanks for uploading". etc. Seen ALOT of that posted around.
Still, though, i can';t argue that the downloads is a great way to promote and boost the site, and get it noticed very quickly.
(18 /20)
Staff Moderation - (Out of 20)
It's very hard to see how many staff members you have on board. There's a legend in the forum index, but it doesn't help; cause it doesn't show the active members list within the lst 24 hours. I'd suggest adding that to the forum, it shows how active the forum is, and all staff members who have been on, recently. I know you have staff, and members who contribute to uploading ... but it's more reassuring for members to know who on the forum is staff, and who they can immediately contact if a problem ever came up.
(18 /20)
Spelling and Grammar - (Out of 20)
I've been reading through, and notice some minor punctuation errors in a few board descriptions. such as missing commas, and semi-colons. Plus, it's ot necessary to Caps Lock when typing up your board descriptions; considering you didn't in the top category, but the rest of the forum was Caps when typing the rest up. It's cool, though.
(19 /20)
83 - (Out of 100)
Final Remarks:
You've honestly got one of the strongests openings i've ever seen in a new forum. Over 400 memeber in under 4 months is a grand accomplishment. Just work on the skin theme, unless you're happy with the vB custom skin. You have the "bait" to get new members/guests on a daily basis, you just need to find the right "hook" to keep 'em coming back for more, and getting mopre involved with overall discussions in the other boards.
What was most liked about the website/forums:
The PPV countdowns. They really stand out, and breathed life into the forum, which needs a little more wrestling added to the theme. The countdowns added that, but still needs more. The high members base in such a short span of time.
What was disliked most about the website/forums:
The amount of similar Boards on the main page. I know the downloads are the draw, but they'd still be found, even if members had to click on ONE download board, and then select the category they wanted in sub-boards.
and, the ratio of members to posts. 400 members, and 1,400+ posts; meaning there's a 3 posts per member, which is very inlikely. Going through the Member List, a considerable ammount of members with 0 posts as i went through the pages of members.
How could I get you (The Reviewer) to join my website?
No lie, i was a HUGE wcw/wwf fan back in the '90s. But, since the WWE and WCW merged, wrestling fell very short, and lost my interests. But, your forum is very intriguing, if discussions pick up all around the forum, especially classic days of wrestling; i'd be willing to stop by every now and then.
(83 /100)
As you can tell, i took alot of time, both on your forum, and offering all advice i could for you, instead of just whipping up a sugar coated generic review. It would be greatly appreciated if you'd give some feedback on this review in the link provided just below ...
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Cilck Here!
thanx, and i wish the best of luck for your forum in the months/years to come
hcf
