I've been thinking about making two simple changes to the site, and wanted to get opinions before deciding:
Switch the color theme to the classic black text, white background. While what we have is easier on the eyes, it makes some text difficult to see, particularly links. It also might feel a bit more like the old forum.
Move all threads to a single category. My thought process is that realistically, we aren't generating enough topics to justify 6 categories and picking one is an extra step that can isolate topics from users. This would also make the forum activity more noticeable.
Your thoughts on the matter are appreciated!
Was a little confusing the first time I opened the forum, but I like it now! 😀
I like the updates, Jabbawookiee. Thank you for all the hard work on this.
1.) It seems like most replies are in favor of keeping things the way they are, but with narrowed-down categories. I've made them into subcategories off of General Discussion, and merged Forum Games with Off-Topic and Battle Reports with Organized Play.
2.) I've added a notification bell to the header that indicates unread notifications (yay!). I'll delete the old buttons soon.
3.) Publishing this change also granted the newer version of Wix Messenger, which includes a creepy little demonic smiley face contact. Its smug aura mocks me and I shall endeavor to kill it.
I’m fine with either color scheme. I think combining all the topics might drive discussion better... I think fleet builds NEEDS to be in the main forum, because I feel like it gets little attention as a sub forum, and it’s my favorite part of discussing the game!
I’m a fan of dark text on light background personally (though I wouldn’t go quite black on white - dark grey on white is nicer, or dark grey on very very light grey). Options would be nice.
If I had to make one complaint about the current theme though it’s the fussy background image (which flashes up full screen whenever I change page). I prefer a more minimalist look.
I'm fine with the colors as is. I'm worried the alternative would look like Discord Light Mode, which looks terrible. That being said I haven't given it a chance yet.
Battle Reports, Organized Play and Rules feel like they should be in General Armada. Fleet Builds feels like it should be its own thing. Forum Games should just be a part of Off-Topic again. I don't really care either way about Painting and Modification either way.
Don’t mind on the colour but keep sub-forums, or at least keep: General, paints/mods & builds.
I’m happy the way things are at the moment. Thanks for all you do!
The option to change between the two colours would be ideal, but I still vastly prefer this new, darker colour scheme, Makes browsing less strenuous on the eyes and I think it also just fits a bit better.
Personally I like to have things all neat and tidy so I prefer the current organised layout but maybe a way of telling at a glance when a new post or comment has been made in a category would be nice?
I would prefer to have the option to switch between black on white/white on black, as i find the current version much more comfortable to read.
Regarding the drought of activity in this forum, i agree that one single category would be better. I never really found my way into actively checking all the subcategories in the FFG Forums, either. I just mostly read the "General Discussion" part.
One suggestion that i have: Maybe create some sort of checkbox-tagging feature, where you can select a default tag that is automatically put before your post's name, like this:
"GENERAL: Hi im new to the forum..." or "PAINTING: Presenting my repainted Clone Wars Ships!"
I don't know if such a feature is technically possible to implement, but I think that would focus the forum activity into one catergory while still giving readers the option to identify the broad categoy of the post.
Anyway, thanks for the continued support and maintenance of this site!
1) Personally I think black on white is easier on the eyes, so yes please!
2) Even if there aren't all that many posts I'd rather take one extra click to easily find the post I want rather than maybe having to go back 2-3 pages... So no, please.
N) Does this forum software support putting date of and link to latest post in each category, on the first page of the forum?