pandaa said:
A few things:
- The drop shadow on the admin group really bugs me, I think you should get rid of that and just go with a color.
Hey pandaa! Yeah this was just me messing around with a plugin that allows you to change your username style. I chucked a shadow on for testing and haven't taken it off since. You can do all sorts of things to your user name with that plugin, including adding an image to the background of your user name. I'll get rid of it soon and settle on a better visual layout :yes:
pandaa said:
- The background seems a little bland. Perhaps some sort of mild pattern would help spice things up a bit?
I do agree, especially on a higher res monitor, things look a little white. I actually have a nice background pattern in mind that I used on the previous theme. I might give that a shot and bug you again for feedback.
pandaa said:
- I'm not a huge fan of the forum stats bit. I like the idea of it, but it seems a little cluttered and I just end up skipping over it.
I like it, because while activity is slow it's easy to see all the latest posts through the stats box rather that browsing through all the forums (not that I want to discourage this mind you). It's a quick go to for whats new. Most people don't know or don't give the time to search by new posts etc. I've tried to make this easier by incorporating 'View Today's Posts' and 'View Unread Posts' under the navigation bar once you login.
pandaa said:
Good job keeping the amount of forums low; that's a huge mistake a lot of webmasters make on young forums!
Yes I was told in the beginning for other forum admins not to have loads of categories and forums, and just to let the forum grow and expand naturally and add forums as needed. I have what I consider to be the basics, but I do tweak it from time to time.
pandaa said:
The only other suggestion I have is to make sure you're leading the way with content. You really can't post too much on a growing forum. Try to shoot for one new thread a day, and make sure you're responding to any new threads you get. Having section that haven't been posted in since last year looks a little tacky, but that's an easy fix.
Good advice. I always try to post in all threads. A new thread per day is a good goal. I love expanding and working on my existing game threads, and I have loads of other things I want to post about, just got to make the time.
I'll go through an ensure myself and other staff post in any empty threads.
pandaa said:
Sure does, thanks so much for your feedback! Highly appreciated.
Practical said:
So far, your forum looks great so far. You have a very good amount of posts and members for a starter forum that's about two months old. There are just a couple of things that should be looked at.
Hey Practical! Technically we are over a year old, but have spent the last 2 months on the latest version of myBB (upgrading was a pain due to all my customization, 90% of which I lost).
Practical said:
- I was thinking of a new theme. The theme your using is a noticeable free theme(at least for me). Since you're forum is getting bigger, I would recommend a premium or custom theme to be added soon.
Yes it is the stock standard myBB theme. It's a lot more sleek and modern looking than their previous stock themes, which is why I have kept it so far. I have also keep it because most other 1.8 themes I have seen so far don't take my fancy or don't suit what we are about. I should start looking again though or potentially consider getting one made/making my own.
Practical said:
- I agree with pandaa. The board stats and the drop-shadow behind the administrator group creates a whole big illusion. I just don't think it's necessary.
Yeah as above, will fix this.
Practical said:
- I would like point out that the forum icons look great; well done.
You can thank my other admin for that, he does the graphics side of things.
Practical said:
- I think the Announcements forum should be put at the top of the forum. I didn't know there was an Announcements forum until..now.
Yes I do agree. It used to be at the top, but some of the members suggested moving it so the first thing you saw was the video games section. I agreed then, but having people see information about your site is vital. I post about all changes made to the site in that section. I'll move it again and see how that goes down.
Practical said:
Overall, your forum looks great. Keep up the great work..and keep up the great content. :great:
Cheers! Much appreciated and thanks for posting.
