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Requested a review.
Topic Started: September 3, 2011, 1:09 pm (65 Views)
Boston Pitty
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So on Forum Promotion I requested a review. I'll let you guys know what they say about us. What are your opinions? How do you think we'll do?
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Boston Pitty
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First Impressions & Appearance

When I first view your forum, without looking at any content, I get the impression of a forum about pets. The cat in the header and the choice of colours is what causes this.

Your header looks like a 2 minute paint job, it is single coloured with an image placed far out to the left, with nothing inbetween. The text is hard to read as it is so narrow and the colour blends with the background. I would suggest getting a new logo that tells a story of your forum. A logo that intrigues new visitors but at the same time tells them what your forum is about and invites them in. I really don't feel that a cat represents a chat forum.

Your forum feels really empty, there is a big empty square under your menu before your forum starts, I don't know if this is intended for adverts, if it is, it is far too big. If not, I suggest removing it all together, it looks very odd.

Your menu is probably the best part of your forums looks, you have worked with the colours and have something actually going on, but there is still a lot that can be improved. I don't see the reason for the green bar in the Announcements Category title, what is it for? There isn't one anywhere else.

I feel that your whole style needs a re-vamp, just adding gradients, textures and graphics will make it look much better. Right now it looks like a boring paint job and I find it quite off-putting.

Another thing that confused me when I first visited your forum was your domain, it doesn't at all tell me what your site is. I wasn't sure it was a forum until I clicked the link. It is not only about having a TLD, it is about having a name that your visitors will remember and is easy to type. I advise staying away from dashes as they make the name harder to remember and type. Even if it means your domain becomes a bit longer it is well worth it.

Your whole design really reminds me of a 2D Zoo game I played years ago.

(Score: 6/20)

Image Site Layout

Your forum layout isn't too bad, your categories all contain a good, even amount of posts. The first section works well with the general information which all forums should supply. I don't see any real issues with the next section, though I don't understand what the Earth category is about or what is meant to be discussed there? I have to admit, for a general discussion forum I find all your categories rather odd. But they do seem to work, it is nice to see things done a little differently.

The last section is well laid out too, I don't see any issues. I like the idea of the separate girls/boys forum. What I don't like to see is the huge post difference in the forums games area from the rest of the forum. I find this a real shame but I can understand why it is like that. This is a common issue on general discussion forums. I know it isn't always a nice option, but I do suggest you removing the post counter for the games forum. This would urge your members to post in the discussion areas of forum where you want the posts to be.

(Scored 18/20)

Image Statistics and Activity

Date Forum Opened: July 14 2010
Total Forum Posts: 22,620
Total Members: 214 (The newest member is xDR)
August 26, 2011, 12:50 pm, a record 52 users were online.

For being open over a year I would like to see more activity on your forum. Your post count isn't bad but I hardly see any members visiting your forum during the time I am reviewing, I find this a real shame. You really need to work on not losing what you have obviously worked hard to gain. Yet, I am still not amazingly impressed by your post count, I have seen many forums that have gained this count in a smaller period of time. An average of 100 posts per member isn't the best I have seen either. You need to work on making your members want to stay on your site. Offer new things for them to do, posting competitions, referral competitions and such. Give them a reason to keep posting, you are in a very competitive niche, you need to keep the pace of your opponents.

(Scored 16/20)

Image Staff Moderation

Your forum seems well moderated and you have a good amount of staff, if your activity picks up then you may want to hire another moderator. As you haven't provided a demo account I can't see your staffs post counts. From what I can see around your forum they seem active and to be working well within your community. Your forum also seems spam free.

(Scored 18/20)

Image Spelling/Grammar & Professionalism

Most of your descriptions are very short and poorly written, small mistakes such as "good byes." make a huge difference to your forum. Your spelling doesn't seem too bad, but you really need to look at your grammar.

(Scored 10/20)

Total Score - 68/100


I don't agree with a lot of that. I've gotten lots of good complements on the theme on the first hand. I admit that the cat in the banner is a strech, but what else goes with "Up a Tree". A bird? That's twitters thing.
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Swim
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Woot.
That reviewer is a liar.
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Rest in peace Salt.
Forum Chat Staff, June 2011-October 2011
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Boston Pitty
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Swim
September 6, 2011, 5:07 pm
That reviewer is a liar.
I seriously think that she's having trouble with her browser. Most people complement me on the overall look of the forum and lots of people love our activity lately. Do you think she reviewed us when we were unable to log in? Server 4 had a few problems during that time I'm sure.
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triforceguy1
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One of the only things I agree on is the URL as it is a bit awkward to type but other than that, I see no problems at all
Try getting a review from Advertise Hotspot, they gave me a pretty nice review :D advertisehotspot.info
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Boston Pitty
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triforceguy1
September 6, 2011, 6:03 pm
One of the only things I agree on is the URL as it is a bit awkward to type but other than that, I see no problems at all
Try getting a review from Advertise Hotspot, they gave me a pretty nice review :D advertisehotspot.info
I'll make a review there in a little bit. Forumchat.com was taken at the time or wasn't available.
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triforceguy1
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Indeed
That's what I thought

Anyway, here's what AH gave me:

Quote:
 
Forum's Appearance and Design
First time coming to your forum, having visited your site before, the change of theme surprised me. Especially because your previous theme was a light one and now you have a dark one. A great change, I should say, and nice choice to pick another template aside light themes. The colors reflects the depth of the ocean well; a bit dark but not too dark, and not too light. It has a nice balance.

A bit about the left bar quick menu. I think you don’t need to put the welcome box there; it feels useless because it contains nothing but ‘Welcome to Simple Studios!’. I think you can mix important feature, like you get double points for posting on a certain day, to that welcome box so it would be noted by members more. And also, I’m not sure if you want to put the link to advertising section at the ‘Important Links’ bar. As far as I’m concerned, Simple Studios is a general discussion forum, right? Putting a link to advertising section as one of your important links might not be very appropriate. It would be best to give link to either the most famous general discussion section or not very active section there to get more attention.

The default avatar for members who do not upload an avatar is squished to the left. Owning a forum on ZetaBoards, I know that this is a problem with the template. Unfortunately I couldn’t help you with the codes as I don’t know the solution so I’d say you go and ask help from the person who manages your styles/themes.

I also noticed the user rank images. There is no special user rank images for administrators and global moderators, but you have a different one for premium members. I should say the rank image for premium members is not very tidy. I would suggest requesting one complete set for every groups to make things look nice and unified.

One more thing. When I used the account, a log-in box for AIO keeps popping out every time I clicked on another page. I hope this doesn't appear for other members because it is quite annoying having to close the box every time the page changed. It would be best if there is a choice to disable that pop-up notification box unless the member himself/herself wants to activate it.

Score - 18/25

Forum's Layout and Categorization
Overall, the categorization and layout is pretty good. You don’t bother giving too many sections; instead you just wrapped them together, dividing based on the importancy. That should help to concentrate discussions and make your forum more crowded. I just have few notes.
I think the link to forum rules must be placed at the very top of the first category to make it clear to everyone that it is important to read the rules of the site. I also think that ‘Showing Off’ section can be put together at the ‘Main Lounge’ category because it still relates to other sections, such as music and technology. Meanwhile, you can join advertising section with forum with links to other advertising forums as one category related to advertisement. That should make things tidier and clearer.

Score - 19/25

Forum's Activity and Statistics
You have a total of 293 posts with 13 members. Dividing it roughly, you will get almost 23 posts per member. That is quite a high number for a new community, and that is a great work so far. Keep it up. There are also only two members with 0 post count, so the posts is spread quite well. You yourself as an administrator compose 126 posts from the total post count. Almost half of the total post. Perfectly understandable, considering the age of your community. Keep on encouraging discussions and give members more place to talk to and you’ll be able to grow big one day.

Score - 20/25


Forum's Spelling and Grammar
I checked through your forum descriptions and also several of your posts, and I think I don’t see any grave grammar mistakes on them. Perhaps a small mistake on your spoiler signature with punctualization, but it’s not a bery big deal. Also the word ‘your’ in ‘Advertise your Forum or Website’ should start with a capital letter. People make mistakes all the time, I believe; but I didn’t see you did it at the part when you should minimize your mistakes. Well done on keeping the descriptions and posts tidy and perfect as much as you can. Keep it up!

Score 24/25

Final Comments
Simple Studios is only around 12 days old, so I wouldn’t be able to say too much except that I wish you all the best of luck. Being a general discussion section, you would have to keep the community fresh with new features, unique additions, and various kind of discussions to make sure the forum will run properly. Keep on being creative and who knows where you will end up. You migh as well end up being a big forum!

Total Marks Upon 100 = 81/100


Pleae note that I have made a few changes suggested from the review
Edited by triforceguy1, September 6, 2011, 6:20 pm.
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Boston Pitty
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That's a good review. How long does it take to get one?
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triforceguy1
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I waited about a week but I think the reviewer was on holiday a bit (almost got declined as I posted when it said the service was down lol)
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Boston Pitty
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lol. I think I'll try them. I think the FP review was in a hurry and took one look at the board and didn't even let it finish loading. I also think she caught us when Server 4 was having problems.
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