Zilvermine Minecraft http://zilvermine.freeforums.net/

[zilver]

Hi

I'm new to the ProBoards forums and i was hoping for some input. What do you think? plugins i should add etc. I would really appreciate your advice.

zilvermine.freeforums.net/

I used a theme called FreedomOP Theme by Delphi

Thanks

[Mixed]

Hello, zilver! I'll give you my comments broken into categories for easy digestion. Let's start!


First Impressions:
Obviously a Minecraft forum. Why do they look so sad?

Look:
I like it simple. The earthy tones match my thoughts of Minecraft. Honestly, I don't know anything about Zilvermine, but I think your theme might be nice with a few green tones. I'm wouldn't be sure until I saw it.

For your icons, I really like how your primary icon really fits the icon block. Personally, I'm not so keen on the sad faces but it works with the color scheme. I would also recommend you alter the size of the green icon face to match the size of the rest. This would add to the block feel of the forum emphasizing the block theme of Minecraft.

I like your use of the top scroll bar to provide important links and even fun!

Boards:
Not too few. Not too many. Good good.

My only suggestion here would be to move your "Back to Zilvermine" link out of the "Other topics" category to maybe the "Servers" category as I feel it probably fits better there.

What I missed:
- Site Description -
I think your site could benefit from a short description somewhere in the header or on the side stating you are a discussion forum for Zilvermine or Minecraft. That way your forum isn't confused for something else.

- Rules -
I couldn't find your rules. It would be good to include them somewhere, perhaps in the News and Info category. You may not feel you need them, but they are a good safety net to have for your forum.

- Affiliates -
The use of affiliates and advertisements is a great way to help people find your forum. This, of course, would need a board or another place.

And so we move to our next topic...

Plugin Recommendations:
Per your request, these are a couple of the plugins I would recommend for use in your forum:

• Easy Affiliate Table by ®i©hie - This plugin will help you easily make a place to keep your affiliates' banners.
• Sidebar Redux by Brian - This plugin is an easy way to include sidebars for your descriptions, important links, or any other content you might find need easy access.

I am sure there are others, but these are the two I have experience with that I would recommend for your forum. You could look through the plugins library using a few keywords to find others you would like for your forum.

Let's stop there. I hope these suggestions help. Good luck with your forum and have fun!

[zilver]

Thank you for your input.
The sad face is a ghast, a mob from minecraft and i thought it fitting showing there were no new posts.
I will alter the size of the green icon as recommended, it never even crossed my mind to do so.
I'm not sure about moving the Back to Zilvermine link into the server category as its not a server on the network but i will find a better location.

The Sidebar Redux plugin, i did download it but had a hard time getting it to fit on the page and not mess up the layout. I'll take another look as i'm a little more comfortable with how things work now.

Thanks again, zilver

[Mixed]

Hey zilver,

No problem! You're welcome.

I see now! Makes sense to use a ghast icon when thinking about it in that way. Though I want to share with you, a guest will never not see the ghasts when viewing the forum. Also, I don't see the Sidebar. Let me know if I can help. I played with the sizing of it for a while so it still looked nice on my own forum.

Have fun playing with it!