Fallen Rose. (Runescape Clan)

[Sky Kitty]

Link- fallenrose.boards.net/

Brief Description: We are a fun loving clan filled with members of all levels. The clan was founded 7 years ago by Openplease and Bladeblaze and we have been around ever since. We have had many ups and downs over the years but there has never been anything that has been able to break us apart. Members of our clan see each other as family more then just another player. We are an eastern based clan and will accept anyone as long as their friendly, fun, and active. We do many clan events ranging from simple fishing trips to the more elaborate boss hunting.

What I'm looking for: General feedback.

[Sky Kitty]

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[Sky Kitty]

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[Sky Kitty]

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[Sky Kitty]

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[Sky Kitty]

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[:~:Sarapha:~:]

Hello there, Sky Kitty! I'm Sarapha, friendly reviewer of forums. I've got 10 years of Proboards experience, as well as 9 years of admin experience, so I will use both to the best of my ability to help you along The way I review is to first look things over at a quick glance (which is what guests will do as they decide whether or not to join your board), then I'll take a closer look to give pointers on the finer details of things. Let us get started!

First Glance
A quick scroll through, and I really don't have a single idea what this forum is about. At this point, I'm not sure if Fallen Rose is the fandom name, or the name of the board, and if it is the name of the board, I'm not actually entirely sure what the board is about. Everything is pretty non-descript, and there isn't really anything that jumps out at me as a reason to join. As I scroll through the boards, my confusion grows a bit. It seems as though there is a mix between discussion and RPG, but it's really hard to tell which is actually the main theme of the board. There are all of the areas to sign up for a character, but there isn't a main focal point at all. At this point, it really looks just like someone really likes Runescape, and threw together a board with every element they could possibly think of, hoping something would stick.

Closer Look
You have nearly every board set to member view only, which will cost you a lot of guest activity. A lot of people, when they are looking for a forum to join, they will not only read the OOC/informative areas, but they will also want to take a look through the boards for other members threads to get a feel of the posting ability of the other members. If that is hidden, there is really no way to see whether the members are notorious for one-liners, or whether there is an average of literacy throughout the board. Hiding the posts from guests just leaves the feeling that something is being hidden in plain sight, and it's hard to determine whether you'll get traffic that way.

Another confusion that I have is that the "Applications" category is the fourth category down, even after the RPG areas. This was my main confusion before, since, if the board is an RPG, you would probably want that information to be front and center (after the Rules, of course). But the categories themselves really don't seem to have any rhyme or reason to them. Without knowing what your aims for this forum are, I can't exactly help you on ordering them, but if you respond and let me know, I'll gladly help you figure out an arrangement that will flow well to let your guests know what the forum is about.

The Rules
This is always a thread that I make a beeline for when it comes to forums.
+++This rule is very confusing to me; "3. No breaking Jagex rules." I'm not sure if this is a Runescape thing, or a site thing, but given that I'm reading a list of rules, and one of the rules is not to break the rules, it is very confusing. I would suggest some sort of elaboration there, or a link to the list of Jagex's rules, if they are listed elsewhere.

In General
I would definitely suggest adding an informative thread within the Rules board to indicate what is going on with this forum. What is the theme, what is the plot, is it a discussion board with a side of RPG, or an RPG board with a side of discussion? Is there a site-wide plot, or is it just Miscellaneous posting? Everything at this point is really difficult to discern, and I'm afraid that will cost you more traffic than anything. People want a reason to join a site; a well balanced plot, an informative discussion, a directive with the board that makes them want to be part of it. This forum, I'm afraid, as I'm looking it over, really feels more like a group of friends together that are posting, but that it may not even be non-invite friendly.