Former Member
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guest@proboards.com
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Mar 28, 2024 1:03:52 GMT -8
Former Member
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January 1970
Former Member
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Post by Former Member on Dec 1, 2014 22:46:13 GMT -8
Sorry for the late reply! Nori, I think the red should be the TINIEST bit brighter, and maybe the purple part of the board index could be darker? Other than that, great job on design.
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Nori
Junior Member
Posts: 481
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Mar 19, 2024 12:45:48 GMT -8
Nori
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September 2012
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Post by Nori on Dec 2, 2014 6:21:08 GMT -8
No problem! That you're getting back at all is wonderful.
I'll see what I can do about the brown/red, the problem is if it's brighter it clashes harshly with the purple. Every time I have attempted in the past I am always reminded of a gross fruit salad for some reason. It does not look good brighter. Making the purple darker though is an easy task, so perhaps when I darken that it will make the redder areas appear brighter relative to it.
Thank you for all your feedback and suggestions! Much appreciated.
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Aug 14, 2019 11:01:05 GMT -8
Mixed
And the new sun rises. With it comes restored hopes and renewed dreams.
1,168
October 2014
mixedinterests
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Post by Mixed on Sept 3, 2015 11:24:19 GMT -8
Hello Nori, I would like to offer you a review. How I go about reviewing a forum starts with first impressions. Through this, I will tell you what really sticks out and what kind of impression I am getting. Then I will go more in detail through your boards sharing what I like and suggesting where I feel improvements could be made. Ready? Let's start! First Impressions:
Whoa! Holy knight! Cool! Yes, the first thing that grabs a guest's attention is the giant knight standing guard over your forum. Between that and the black and white banner with what looks to be raven wings, I get a sense of medieval fantasy. To add to it, I feel like it could possibly be an RPG-forum. It makes me curious to find out more. Forum Banner & Background:
I am lumping these two together because the really work together as a team to give a visitor an impression of the forum. They are simple and eloquently placed, but if you look a little deeper, you will find the white washed image of a village setting. It feels like I've entered this world you've made and I really like that. Now I need to look at the content on your home page to see if I would like to be part of the world you've created. Sidebar Welcome Information: And there it is! My confirmation that this is an RPG-forum! Your Introduction right there is great. You have all the information someone beginning to consider joining would need to know: the basis, the writing level, character limit, races, and an incentive to play (bringing in original creations). I like how "You Shape the World as You Play" is highlighted as the most important part of this introduction and that you still include a required "no no" in smaller font. My confusion with this introduction container comes solely from the little box you have inside with a number (112 while I was exploring). Without some sort of explanation, this comes across just to confuse new visitors and guests. I would recommend removing it, adding a description, or perhaps give it its own box so you can explain it fully.
Then comes your Navigation box. Again, nicely organized and made available to explorers. I like that everything is linked as well giving it a clean feel.
Scrolling down your sidebar (I'll go back up for your boards then), everything is clear and welcoming. I am confused though by your affiliates table. What happens if you have more than 10 affiliates? Also, I'm not too keen on the box having empty space below the current affiliates. It seems like a waste.
Toggle Chat: I like this! I didn't even think toggling the chat box would be an option. But it definitely helps to keep the board from feeling cluttered and it keeps the focus on the game rather than the players' personal lives.
Boards & Layout: First off, I like your layout and color scheme. The navy blue works well with the grey of the background and the faded green contrasts well with the blue without getting lost in the grey. I might go a little darker with the link green color though. I notice they go darker if hovered over; this green was really nice.
You have 3 boxes to the right of the board with the sub-boards beneath. While I like the layout here, the empty box on the left sets me off. Trying to imagine it, I don't think dropping the third box and just centering the two remaining boxes would look nice. But what if you used an image to fill the box? Then again, that could make it look too busy and contrast the overall feel of the boards. I'm sorry, that probably doesn't help at all...
I really like (also) how your default keeps the game boards and advertisements hidden unless clicked upon. This really gives the forum an organized impression and guests aren't overwhelmed immediately with the number of boards. I just tried and opened them all up and I think it would be daunting so kudos for the foresight!
Random observation: Do you have a general discussion board for your members or is it only the chat and RP boards?
Rules: As my routine dictates, I also look at the rules of a forum to get a feel for the community and the clarity of the administration.
First off, it would be nice if the Rules also had a link in the Navigation box on the left. Secondly, I like your rules and how they are in a short-and-sweet kind of package. However, I would just recommend you write them out without abbreviations or maybe have a legend down where you include your disclaimer about changing the rules at any time.
Hover Items: I noticed your forum likes using the hover fade-in option. This works well. I really like it for the mini-profile images. Without taking away from the images (I like yours), users still have access to the information when they want it.
I'm not sure if you really need the hover option on the forum banner though. Sure the information would be good to have, but it could be arranged better. As it is, I feel it's a lot of empty space up there when hovered over the banner. I would recommend you either increase the text size so it didn't feel so empty, or decrease the hover menu size to either the right or the left. Maybe you should also give the "" another title such as "Mysteries" or something along those lines. With the "" even you seem confused.
Custom Tabs: Yes, I've found myself back at the top of your forum. I like your inclusion of the individual tabs where members can open a new chat away from the game window and even access the world map. Did you make that map? It's nice. An enrichment for the game for sure.
So I clicked on all of them and I noticed in your Member Terms the Midnight King doesn't have a link. Poor guy.
Please tell me how you did that! With the Quick Nav taking a member to the start of the terms section. I've been wanting to do something like that with my FAQs. Anyway, back to the review... PM me???
In your Bestiary, just semi-skimming through I found a typo you can quickly fix. In the second post giving a **Note about Animals** second paragraph: "Note that not every bite or contact with their blood is a guarantees infection." Should be "guaranteed". No biggie. I do that too (switching s and d in a rush).
Overall: I think you have a very strong RPG-forum. Your member-base seems active and from the few things I've read, it also seems very welcoming.
I congratulate you on the forum you've built and wish you luck in your future with this forum!
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Nori
Junior Member
Posts: 481
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Mar 19, 2024 12:45:48 GMT -8
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Post by Nori on Sept 3, 2015 13:56:55 GMT -8
Oh wow this is glorious! My deepest gratitude on the time you took to review the forum! The RPGR BannerThat little banner is linked to the full description of what it means. The 'L' is language, 'S' sexual content, and 'V' is violence. The numbers correspond to the 'level' of each category permitted on the site. The higher the number the higher the rating. Each number is given description in the link from the banner. You can also easily get your own! The Sidebar & Affiliate BoxThe affiliate box is actually coded to be x-height and when it exceeds that height becomes a scroll box. That height is specifically chosen to accommodate another row of affiliates; which we did have until a few days ago when I cleaned up some dead places. As for a waste of space... perhaps, but we usually fill those up pretty quick. It isn't a problem of vertical space on the forum cause, in case it was missed, the 'Introduction' & 'Char Stats' boxes can be minimized like the forum categories. Their names highlight when hovered over to give note to that function; same as the title bars for the categories. This was done because the introduction isn't usually read by returning members, and the char stats aren't needed all the time. So much saves screen space I did for a very brief time have the Affiliates box also collapse but the way it then brought the bottom of the screen up I found disorienting, so went with the set height + scroll box plan. I guess I should go get another affiliate then ey?! Fill in that blank space. The Board Layout: 'Empty' Box & General ChatIt actually isn't an empty box, it is the 'New Post' box and it does have an image in it. Just it is very faint when there are no new posts. When a new post occurs the image goes into full opacity and the box changes green. But! You're right it is a little dim, might go fix that when I have a moment. As for general chat there is! The Entire 'Public Sector' is OOC. 'Boloth's Tavern' is the General Chat board for whatever anyone wants to babble about. It isn't used very often since most just use the chat box. The Rules/GuidelinesI never considered putting in a legend before so that could be something. However, the only abbreviations are 'IC' and 'OOC' which I'm fairly certain everyone already knows. And I do like when guests ask questions in chat as it introduces them to the existing players of the forum and makes them feel more welcome. There's always someone around that could answer such a thing as 'what does IC mean?'. But! I will take the suggestion into harder consideration, thanks! And a note, I do have a disclaimer at the bottom of the rules. It's a few lines worth of italics right underneath the RP rules container Hover BannerAll the information in the hover banner is added to and taken away from based on current RP threads and IC activities. The ' ' is necessary because it is actually directly corresponding to a ' ' enemy currently running around the world. To change the name would confuse those who were looking into the ' ' named enemy [this'll be replaced when the enemy is identified]. This information is also a copy of an info container that is on other themes of the forum which do not have quite as much space. So to change it on this theme I would need to change things on the other themes, which isn't ideal for when the area is more filled in by the explosion of new threads coming in shortly. Custom TabsMuch thanks for the map comment, I did indeed draw that and it is always being updated as member's play. Haha, yeah. The Midnight King doesn't have a link cause he wants to keep his true identity secret; for now. When he decides to reveal himself opening [without individual reveals through RP] then he'll have a link to the corresponding character profile. Oh man! Such a silly typo thank you! *goes to fix* This was a lovely review thanks again for all the time you spent on it; super appreciated! The least I can do is send yah a PM about that Quick Nav thing ;D
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Aug 14, 2019 11:01:05 GMT -8
Mixed
And the new sun rises. With it comes restored hopes and renewed dreams.
1,168
October 2014
mixedinterests
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Post by Mixed on Sept 3, 2015 14:21:47 GMT -8
Nori, Thank you for the equally amazing response to my review! You don't realize how good that makes me feel and to go to bed with a smile is grand. I promise I will have a few more comments (likely closing comments) on what you've revealed here, but for now, I think I'll hit the hay. I promise to be back in the morning to edit this post to give you something more substantial. EDIT (04/09/2015): I have time now...
The RPGR Banner: Cool! I didn't even know something like this existed, I may just look into getting one for my own forum.
Sidebars & Affiliate Box: It was missed. But that is a cool feature to include in your sidebar. I didn't think that collapsible categories was applicable to the sidebar. Do you use the Sidebar Redux or is your sidebar directly in the code?
Removing the collapsible option from the affiliate box was also a good idea because then the affiliates would have no real reason to have their minibanner there. What's the point if it's collapsed and members don't really look at it anymore?
Uh, did you notice your affiliates are now in a single wavy column? I'm thinking you added an affiliate and the scroll bar took space away. Still I would hope there was at least space for two columns of affiliates.
Board Layout - 'empty' box & General Chat: Now I see. Of course it would be the thing I didn't really take notice as missing anywhere else. You may want to brighten that up a bit. OR you could include a legend for the icons. You may want to include the legend either way; I just went looking and couldn't find it.
Now I'm embarrassed! I never actually read the board descriptions here in the "Public Sector". I had glanced over the titles but had assumed them to be part of the game with titles like "Boloth's Tavern," "Staraive Caravan," and "Artisans Alley." Oops on my part. But now that I know this, I want to give you props on choosing creative and well-fitting titles for the normal "General" type boards.
Just a random note: You may wish to change "Artisans Alley" to "Artisans' Alley".
The Rules/Guidelines: The thing about guests is most won't ask a question like "What does IC mean?" since everyone already uses it. They would feel it is a stupid question to which they should already know the answer. And let's be frank, no one wants to make themselves look stupid or risk being vulnerable.
And I had noted the disclaimer. I knew it was there and I liked how you had presented it.
Looking at your site again, I noticed you took my suggestion of a legend under very hard consideration and it won out. I also notice you found a few more terms beyond IC and OOC. I enjoy how you formatted the Terminology Guide and it looks very nice. Great job!
Hover Banner: Ah, I understand now. No worries.
Custom Tabs: I can appreciate the time it took you to make that map. I made one for my own forum and quite frankly, the first version has probably taken over a year to plan and then create. I used color and I think too hard most of the time.
I see. Do YOU know who the Midnight King is?
It was fun to review your forum! I'm glad it worked out and... Thank you for the pm!!
>> I just saw your edit about your changes and I think they were all done very nicely, whether I noted them during my initial secondary look or after I read your edit.
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Nori
Junior Member
Posts: 481
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Mar 19, 2024 12:45:48 GMT -8
Nori
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September 2012
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Post by Nori on Sept 4, 2015 6:16:58 GMT -8
Sidebar & Affiliate Yes ma'am, that is the Sidebar redux. I think it's a recent feature added but can be handy.
As for those affiliates, that is interesting. It doesn't appear like that on my screen no matter how small I make my browser window. If you reload is it still doing that? Currently it should look as it did yesterday but with no empty space underneath; and still no scroll bar. I have tested it with the scroll bar and it does not squish the affiliates so much it messes up the 2 to a line. I'll ask my members and see if this weird alignment is happening for anyone else and hopefully figure out what's causing it.
If I may, what browser are you using to view the forum? And are you zoomed in at all? Zooming in will make the scroll bar appear, but for me it's still a nice symmetrical 2 lines of affiliates.
Board Legend Hmmm, not sure about the legend. I really don't like it since it only has 2 icons in it and it's 'no new posts' & 'new posts' which are super obvious if you spend any time as a member. It just takes up too much space and most of that space is completely empty and dead. However, I may look into turning it on for guests only.
That grammar note for Artisans' Alley I will definitely adjust! I must've missed it, thanks for the catch!
Haha yeah maps can be a pain. Keep it simple and it's not so bad. And yes I do know who the Midnight King is. Much ninja!
Once again many thanks for all your lovely feedback. This has really helped and you've given me a lot of constructive ideas to help gear the forum better for guests and tweak it for members. You are an incredible help! I hope you keep up the great reviews for others too!
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Aug 14, 2019 11:01:05 GMT -8
Mixed
And the new sun rises. With it comes restored hopes and renewed dreams.
1,168
October 2014
mixedinterests
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Post by Mixed on Sept 4, 2015 6:48:04 GMT -8
Sidebar & Affiliate:
I reloaded your forum just now. This time I found that it is fine (2 columns of affiliates plus a scroll bar) unless I zoom out even a bit. Then it goes to a single column. In case it makes a difference, I am viewing your forum using Mozilla Firefox. Board Legend: I can see your point with this and the extra space. Maybe having it active only for guests might be a solution. Then again, guests will never see the new post icon anyway.
Awwww.... thank you! You're making me blush! It's been fun. I love when the forum owner actually interacts with me. Sometimes it really brings out what is truly needed.
Take care and good luck with the continued success of your forum!
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Nori
Junior Member
Posts: 481
inherit
182806
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Mar 19, 2024 12:45:48 GMT -8
Nori
481
September 2012
nori
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Post by Nori on Sept 4, 2015 7:05:28 GMT -8
Ah hah! If I zoom out twice it goes into 1 line. Soooo, I guess I'll be playing around with that. Yay, thanks a bunch!
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