Bear With Me

[Former Member]

Bump

[Kami]

So, normally, I'd do a much more in-depth dive into the forum to provide a rate, but I think I need to start a lot more high-level first.

You say that this is a forum for the paranormal, but I do not get that impression at all, either aesthetically or the content you have. As far as aesthetics go, there's a super cute panda bear and a chill pastel purple-and-green colour scheme. Nothing about that visually says 'paranormal'. On top of that, the place where members talk about the paranormal is the second to last board on the forum, and is preceded by getting to know each other, politics, and "alternative news". On top of that, your "What is Bear with Me" thread doesn't indicate anything about the paranormal at all — it honestly sounds like it's a political forum (and having 2 boards with politics / "alternative news" more prominently featured than paranormal content, that reinforces that).

I will abstain from my usual numeric rating because quite frankly, I'm not sure you've really got a solid plan for this forum. Based on what is here, what you are conveying to guests is that this is a general chat forum with an emphasis on right-wing / conservative ideology. If that's your plan, then hey, more power to you; but your posts here state otherwise so I cannot in good conscience provide a rating.

[Former Member]

The board was first intended as paranormal discussions but I stepped away from that. Sorry you didn’t like what you saw

[Kami]

Aug 17, 2023 10:17:00 GMT -8 lucylacemaker said:

The board was first intended as paranormal discussions but I stepped away from that. Sorry you didn’t like what you saw

It's not about whether I liked it or not, but rather that you asked for reviews on a forum with a particular topic and the content I saw did not reflect that topic so I had no review to give if the purpose of the site was still paranormal despite the heavier emphasis on more political / ideological conversations.

If you're interested in an actual review, then you should edit the first post in this thread so that your intention for the forum is updated and clear for anyone wanting to provide a review.

[Former Member]

Okay I edited the first post

[Kami]

Jul 25, 2023 4:49:17 GMT -8 lucylacemaker said:

bearwithme.proboards.com/


Discussion on the culture war and the clown world we are living in

Thanks for updating! I don't think I can give as an extensive a rate as I maybe would usually since the forum seems fairly new, but hopefully what I can review is helpful.

First Impressions: While I think this theme is really cute, I don't entirely think that it lets a guest know what the forum is about. If it were me, I would maybe either find a banner image that is more topic-relevant (something like a news photo of current events) or lean a bit more abstract to indicate the more serious side of the forum's topic. Another potential thing you could do is add a subtitle in your banner (via layout templates) under the "Bear With Me" text, so it would read something like:

Bear With Me

Discussion on the culture war and the clown world we are living in

This is probably the easiest change to make, and this way if you like your current theme you don't have to change it while still being able to let people immediately know what the forum is about.

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Aesthetics: I think I covered most of it in the initial impressions. Beyond that I like the theme aesthetically even if it doesn't fit. It's easy to read the text, and the colours work well together.

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Content: I think the biggest thing for me is that Rules and Introductions are grouped together, right above a board for "Getting to know each other". It feels a little counterintuitive? Like I would expect the Rules board to just be for rules, or maybe "Rules and Information" or "Rules and Site Announcements", something like that. Then I'd expect Introductions to be a subboard of getting to know each other, since introducing yourself is the first step to getting to know a new group of people.

One thing I would call out is that your rules have a line that says "If something is NSFW warn us first!" and you mention in a follow up post that you don't like censoring people. I totally understand your perspective, but unfortunately NSFW content isn't actually allowed on ProBoards per the ProBoards Terms of Service. I don't see any NSFW content at this time, but you may want to be cognisant of this issue as all content must be PG13 appropriate (and this is applicable regardless of whether or not you have any kids on the forum or whether or not you make a rule disallowing them, because 13 is the minimum age of joining service-wide). Just a heads up! I'd hate for you to run into an issue because of this.

I think the final thing I would say is I would consider the Alternative News board to be a very similar / same thing as Politics and Culture? I'd likely group them together, or make the Alt News board a subboard of Politics and Culture, but that's totally subjective and you can ignore me if you like it as-is.

Rating: 8/10
Summary: While the forum doesn't grab my personal interest, I think it's right along the lines of what someone interested in these topics would expect and I think you'll be able to compete with similar forums well, especially as the community grows. The missing two points are really just me being stuck on the fact that a potential member can't tell what this forum is on a first look, or might mistake it for a general chat forum rather than a more sociopolitical chat forum.

Hope this helps! Best of luck moving forward :)

[Ken]

lucylacemaker , I have a few things to mention.

Firstly, the theme isn't accessible as it can. The white text on the predominantly-white banner has an inadequate contrast ratio, likewise with the footer with the links and background.

Secondly is the content. I sincerely hope you have read ProBoards's Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. I believe allowing not-safe-for-work content (as long the poster warns) along with misinformation (conspiracy theories and rhetoric) as "knowledge and truth" are dangerous. 

As an administrator, you want to make sure your members are safe. 

I don't want bad blood and am open to discussion.

[Former Member]

What do you call misinformation?

[Ken]

Aug 21, 2023 5:27:14 GMT -8 lucylacemaker said:

What do you call misinformation?

As I mentioned, conspiratorial and inaccurate theories and rhetoric are advertised to viewers as "knowledge and truth."

[Former Member]

People can think for themselves I just share videos if people don’t agree they can certainly voice it. But people know how I feel about the woke

[Ken]

Aug 21, 2023 7:26:36 GMT -8 lucylacemaker said:

People can think for themselves I just share videos if people don’t agree they can certainly voice it. But people know how I feel about the woke

I beg your pardon?

[Former Member]

Aug 21, 2023 7:33:53 GMT -8 Ken said:

Aug 21, 2023 7:26:36 GMT -8 lucylacemaker said:

People can think for themselves I just share videos if people don’t agree they can certainly voice it. But people know how I feel about the woke

I beg your pardon?

I don’t like what I’m seeing with all ages drag shows. Not for kids.

[Ken]

Aug 21, 2023 7:38:05 GMT -8 lucylacemaker said:

Aug 21, 2023 7:33:53 GMT -8 Ken said:

I beg your pardon?

I don’t like what I’m seeing with all ages drag shows. Not for kids.

May I ask what you consider woke? If you know how you feel about it, you surely know a definition.

[Kami]

This is not really appropriate here, y'all.


Ken - While the content warning is appreciated and made with the best of intentions, it's generally best to side step some ... subjective opinions about what constitutes as objectionable content. Aside from blatant NSFW (or rules permitting it) and blatantly illegal content, the TOS department is the one that should handle defining these things. This is not the place to challenge someone on the definition of a term, even if your intentions are honourable :)


lucylacemaker - If you disagree with someone's assessment of your forum, that's okay. But take the assessment in the friendly spirit it was offered, and just kind of let criticisms that don't jive with your opinion go. Ultimately you are the vision holder for your forum, and if you disagree with someone's assessment that is your prerogative :)

[Ken]

Aug 21, 2023 7:56:56 GMT -8 Kami said:

This is not really appropriate here, y'all.


Ken - While the content warning is appreciated and made with the best of intentions, it's generally best to side step some ... subjective opinions about what constitutes as objectionable content. Aside from blatant NSFW (or rules permitting it) and blatantly illegal content, the TOS department is the one that should handle defining these things. This is not the place to challenge someone on the definition of a term, even if your intentions are honourable :)


lucylacemaker - If you disagree with someone's assessment of your forum, that's okay. But take the assessment in the friendly spirit it was offered, and just kind of let criticisms that don't jive with your opinion go. Ultimately you are the vision holder for your forum, and if you disagree with someone's assessment that is your prerogative :)

I wholeheartedly understand. I'm sorry for getting off-track.