Name of Site: SWC Site Genre: eVERYTHING FORUM Site URL:http://www.swctheresurgence.proboards.com Type of Review ( Quick ): Opening Date: May 21, 2013 Additional Notes: over 7000 posts in only 4 months.
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My my my. When I first crossed the threshold of browser rendering into this fabled land of SWC, I did not find myself expecting too much in this area. Indeed, at first glance, SWC did not appear to be beaming with activity. There were only seven forum members active within the past 24 hours. One of them being a Forum Promotion Package Team member no less.
Everyone knows the old adage, "You can't judge a book by its cover". False in some situations, but most true in this case. SWC the Resurgence is not exactly bustling with activity. It is by no means a high-traffic forum. But the activity given to it by the members that it does have is quite solid, with the more active participants showing a truly meritable amount of loyalty to their forum. Discussions are being had board-wide. Posts are being made. I've seen several medium-sized boards with two or three dozen "active" members that couldn't match SWC in this regard.
So on a comparative level, SWC's community displays a very commendable loyalty to itself. It's not a large community. It's not an average-size community. And it barely registers as a small community. But, however small its memberbase may be, it makes up for it fivefold with reliability and integrity.
That being said, it could very much stand to grow. But it certainly isn't heading for a curtain-call anytime within a foreseeable future, so long as its current community maintains its stalwart dedication.
Tender-Loving Admin Care
To make a simile, websites are much like children. Whereas running a website is much like parenting. A website is born into this world by the grace of its parent. And, in order to survive, it needs loving care and dedication from its parent. One must clothe it (design/layout), feed it (post), help it make friends (community), and give it as much attention and love as you can muster. If the parent neglects its child, then the child will become severely affected...or even worse, die.
While I was exploring the depths of SWC in order to write this review, a certain PM popped up in my inbox on the account I had registered at SWC. It was from the admin, who welcomed me to his community personally. And as I further browsed the extent of SWC, I came to realize a pleasant detail.
The admin cares.
Now of course, all admins should be expected to care for their forums. And the vast majority of them do. However, sadly, a surprisingly large amount lack the dedication to carry through. And even fewer are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. YoungBlood, the admin, is one of those few. For starters, his post count is well over 2000+ on a forum that was created only four months ago. He's put quite a bit of effort into ensuring SWC has discussion to be had and has encouraged a beautiful quantity of interaction between his users. If just a little more of that effort could go into finding new users for his board, I'm sure the future of SWC would be assured for quite a long time. It's not a perfect love. It's rough and unchiseled, but it's love. And quite a large amount of dedication.
Hats are tipped to you, YoungBlood. I'm certain the reason SWC is standing so well on its legs at the moment is because you taught it how to walk. You are quite a good parent.
Weaknesses:
Tiny Index
Well, let's see. What's the best word I could use to describe the forum index of SWC? "Bare-boned"? It's technically two words, but it'll work. There's not much meat on these bones, you see. It's as if someone handed you a plate of a two half-eaten chicken wings and told you that was your meal for the entire day. Which makes for a rather dissatisfying meal, if you ask me. Of course, this isn't a restaurant. And I am not Gordon Ramsay. But it makes for a good analogy.
The index is the life-blood of a forum. And one that's sadly overlooked rather often by administrators. It's true that an index is primarily for the categorization of threads and discussions, but it bears a more important purpose. And index expands the genres of topical discussion for a forum and broadening the possibilities for the userbase. It reminds everyone that there are more topics to discuss and inspires more discussion than one would think.
SWC suffers from a severe lacking in discussion potential due to this fact. There are two boards per category (save for the main forum, which contains a total of 3.) And a total of four categories. They could all most definitely use an expansion, especially for a forum that focuses on discussion. "General", in particular.
Don't get me wrong. I am certainly not suggesting a massive index is better. A gigantic index will only serve to confuse and spread discussion too thin. A proper balance is required. And SWC should strive to achieve that balance. Branch out a little more. Expand the horizon.
Theme Design
Dark themes. I've nothing against them in particular. Executed correctly, they're even easier on and more pleasant to the eyes than light themes. I'd even go so far as to say that I take preference with a well-designed dark theme over that of a light theme. And a dark theme is suited best for what SWC has to offer.
They are, however, more difficult to design than a light theme. Using primarily light colors tend to blend well with most any other color, even dark ones. Sadly, the same cannot be said for dark colors being primarily used, as they contrast rather poorly with bright or lighter colors.
This is where SWC suffers. SWC's theme makes use of primarily black and grey colors mixed with a bright orange shade as the secondary. Alone, this wouldn't be too bad of a combination. Alone it is not, however, as the background makes use of a diagonal striped pattern that covers every empty space of SWC. This pattern makes use of two colors; an almost black shade of grey and a relatively light shade of grey. Both of which manage to contrast poorly with each other. When combined with the orange, it makes for a rather diconcerting strain on the eyes that takes a little while to get used to.
Those used to dark themes will most likely not be too affected, but anyone who primarily reside on boards with light themes will likely find to be rather off-putting.
That being said, the theme itself is fine. And the banner is delightful. The colors simply don't mesh properly, with the pattern being the main issue. A less-pronounced patter, or at least, less pronounced colors for the pattern would likely improve this area, and make users with delicate eyes less-likely to run away with blood streaming from them.
Final Remarks:
To be honest, I do not see SWC becoming a large community. The forum seems a bit too specialized for that to happen. But, if the effort is made by the owner, it could become a reasonably decent-sized and closely-knit community that many would be proud to call home. And while I did discuss some weaknesses in detail, there is really nothing wrong with this forum. The real issue is that it doesn't particularly excel in anything.
Secondly, while great effort is being made on the homefront by the administrator to ensure the community stays afloat, effort seems to be lacking on the front lines in order to stimulate growth. If the owner could extend the same dedication he has on the forums to advertising the site itself, I'm sure it could become an excellent and stable community.
My best regards to SWC and the unknown future that awaits it.
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