The Politics of Place

[PoliSciPete]

Forum URL: politicsofplace.proboards.com

Forum Name: The Politics of Place

Description: A place for people of all views and backgrounds to discuss politics civilized but candidly.



Desired Outcome of Rate: Suggestions of how I can make it more a desirable forum to join.

[Trublu]

Hi there! Here is my review. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me, or if they are coding questions, create a thread in [codesupport].


Skinning: Well, for your forum there isn't really any. I am a fan of using at least some color when creating a forum, either with some gradients in the titlebg or catbg areas, some custom buttons, a logo, a background, but something to offset the black and white. The black and white does work great for posts, because that is always an easy combination for reading, but it doesn't bring forth that "wow" factor you want when you first visit a forum.


Codes: You don't really have any of these, either, which is not necessarily a bad thing. A couple I would suggest in general (can be found in the [codeindex]):

- "Remove 'Hey X'" or "Move 'Hey X'"
- "Resize Forum Width"

The first will move/remove (depending on which you chose) the "Welcome" message that is currently nestled on the right side of your logo space; this will make your welcome table a bit more centered.

The second will resize your forum; I suggest making it the same width as your welcome table for fluidity purposes.

I can suggest others if you have any ideas of changes you might make.


Content:

Since your forum is newer, this is also a bit hard to comment on. I do notice that you don't have any sort of welcome/rules/information board. I would suggest, at very least, having a rules thread so that forum members know what standards they will be held to, even if all it contains is a link to Proboard's TOS; obviously, everyone is bound by that anyways, but it never hurts to remind people what your expectations are! Political forums can get very testy very quickly, so having rules is always helpful.

As you get going, members will start to add more of their own topics, but while you're still new, you may want to get your own going to kick start things.



I hope this is good to get you started! Good luck!

[BattleRocket]

Skin:

The Positive:

I don't really see any skin on this, so I can't really say much. Though I do think it fits into the theme. That much, I like.

The Negative:

There doesn't seem to be a skin color, really. The heading fits, but other than that, I think that you should at least add some color. If your going for a Political look, then some greys, shades of black, and white would be what I suggest. Add a background with black and white maybe. That'd make the site look a whole lot more interesting. ^^

Boards:

The Positive:

There's a good organization of boards, and I don't feel like I'm overwhelmed reading any of them. It's to the point and nice, which is something that I always like in a forum.

The Negative:

There doesn't seem to be much diversity. I would suggest maybe some sub-boards in the already made boards, and a suggestions board, so that members can offer more suggestions on what they like or don't like, or maybe even request another board be made.

Other:

Have you tried any advertising? Affilates and an advertisement board would always help more members join the site. ^^

Overall Score:

Skin: 5/10 {There doesn't seem to be much of one, other than the banner.}
Boards: 8.5/10
Comments: It's looking good so far! ^^

[PoliSciPete]

Great thanks a lot! I've made a few changes, but I'm not sure what I should do about the skin. I honestly really like the white background, but I'm also willing to have a background. Could anyone make a suggestion so i could see what it would look like? Thanks!

[-!Freedom Wings!-]

Hello there,

First thoughts before opening the forum:

• A good idea, I love it.
  
• Is it realllllly unbiased or is it...just kinda half?
  

Opening the Forum:

• ...White. This can be good or bad, depending on what you want your forum to look like. I would add a splash of color. Or something of the like.
  
• "Who's house is closest to Russia?" *sighs* If you want to make your forum really for a all views and backgrounds, I wouldn't just attack certain people's right off the bat. I did look at one or two of your threads, and I see both sides of the issue, which does make this problem look extremely tiny...but hey, I'm not a huge fan of them either, but come on. Let it go.
  
• There are many different codes that can help you, such as "Remove Forum Name/Topics/Posts" the little useless bar up top, and you can go into your admin section, and look for General settings. Click on that and you can change the "Forum" to "The Politics of Place."
  

What do I think with all of this?

• You can never be unbiased, but for sites like these, if you want people on BOTH sides of the issue, then be as unbiased as you can be. To be honest, I think some of the things on there are normal party problems, but...it's just my opinion. I really thing sites like this can have great momentum and great potential for all people, to really bond together on what they can agree on.
  
• Color...Some thing at least. Maybe a forum resize, or something like that. You can go very far with what you have now.
  
• Maybe make a more concise and eye catching ad? That way you could advertise more. ^^
  

Now all of this together, I like the site, I'm against a few digging comments on there, but hey, everyone has their tastes. I think with a bit of color and some inviting discussions, you'll go quite far. Keep it up.

[PoliSciPete]

Wow thanks, I really appreciate your help and support! Sorry if the board seems a little biased, I'll try to bring it back to center. If your interested, feel free to join and provide a voice for the minority!
I'm still not sure what to do about the background, I just haven't seen anything I like more than what I already have. I really like the simple look, but I'll keep researching.

Thanks!

[PoliSciPete]

BUMP, what do others think?

[Blueone]

While I have no problem with the contents as I haven't studied them, your board doesn't have any imagination as far as catching one's eye.

[PoliSciPete]

Could you be more specific?

[Blueone]

A touch of color, maybe a border accent color. While not suggesting you follow my tastes, as it's an entirely different type of board, take a look at mine.



Let's refrain from advertising in someone else's thread, thanks. - Trublu

[mrcoolio]

I actually think its really fine. All these other yahoos have forums with painfully bright colors and it hurts the eyes. yours is nice and relaxed. I could go there and actually post something without being blinded.

[Blueone]

As I have an eye disease, the white in his forum and this one as well bothers my eyes way more than than the colors in mine. But to each their own.

[Andrea]

Hello!

You actually have a nice looking forum. I can tell you are going for an extremely simple, professional look. However, I do agree with a few above comments about it not being extremely eye catching. I would suggest making a banner. The rest of the forum will not need any further color if you don't want any, however a banner can definitely make it more appealing and interesting to look at on a daily basis.

If you can make graphics, what you can do is grab a few like images that maybe relate the topics of some of your boards and create a simple banner with a transparent background. If that makes sense. Or even just one image at the corner of one of the words in the banner. Something to make it pop a little more.

Nonetheless, your board is very organized, easy on the eyes, and easy to read. Good job and good luck!

Please let me know if you have any further questions!

[masterkid]

Jan 10, 2011 9:36:08 GMT -8 Blueone said:

As I have an eye disease, the white in his forum and this one as well bothers my eyes way more than than the colors in mine. But to each their own.

Yeah most people don't have eye diseases where its hard to see the color white.

[Blueone]

Jan 11, 2011 8:53:21 GMT -8 masterkid said:

Jan 10, 2011 9:36:08 GMT -8 Blueone said:

As I have an eye disease, the white in his forum and this one as well bothers my eyes way more than than the colors in mine. But to each their own.

Yeah most people don't have eye diseases where its hard to see the color white.

This is true, the disease I have doesn't make white hard to see, it is similar to someone shining a light in your eyes or looking at snow for too long. I still think a soft grey background would make his site look better. The layout looks OK.