Fictionpost.com - A Community Forum for Writers

[Cedric_FP]

Hi everybody, I was wondering if I could get some comments on my forum.

Albeit, we have been open for about 2 1/2 years, and the member growth rate hasn't been phenomenal, but we have a core of regulars (around 30-40 per day and 50-60 per week) and this is helping to keep the forum above the surface ;)

Some things I would be interested in hearing about:

1. The design / aesthetics of the site.
2. The layout of the forums / first-glimpse ease-of-use.

Various, notable modifications include:

- Profile comments / friends redesign
- Arcade
- UserCP redesign - the one that won HoTM

URL is: http://www.fictionpost.com

Thanks for all your comments :)

[no mods]

I like the skin alot.

[Cedric_FP]

Thanks - it was custom done by myself. Took me about 2 hours of experimenting to get the colours just how I liked them.

[ablaye]

Well, I am not a big fan of your colors.
For example, the yellow color that you used on top of the forum does not match the rest of the site. Also, I find your colors to be too light and dull. You may want to add stronger colors or more colors.

[gforce75]

I like it. Looks nice and a very great idea. I still own daypoet.com which I never use. Let me know if your intrested. I used it back in 2000 for poetry, but taken it down in lieu of making gaming sites.

[Cedric_FP]

Well, I am not a big fan of your colors.
For example, the yellow color that you used on top of the forum does not match the rest of the site. Also, I find your colors to be too light and dull. You may want to add stronger colors or more colors.

I see. Any recommendations to the colours you would insert into the current layout? I'm a rather big fan of orange and blue, but didn't want anything too... imposing.

I like it. Looks nice and a very great idea. I still own daypoet.com which I never use. Let me know if your intrested. I used it back in 2000 for poetry, but taken it down in lieu of making gaming sites.

Interested in what?

[GekkoPixie]

He wants you to buy his site (or give it to you, maybe).

I, too, have a writing site, though mine is a bit more... fantasy based (roleplaying post by post). :) I like the site overall, but perhaps having a slightly more colored background, like a pale blue with a darker blue, would make it less straining on the eyes. Personally, I opt to offer dark, medium, and light skins to my users so that they can choose whatever is most pleasant and causes the least eye strain. I don't know if this helps you any, but... there it is! Just remember, though, that color isn't everything when you have reliable members :)

[Cedric_FP]

He wants you to buy his site (or give it to you, maybe).

I, too, have a writing site, though mine is a bit more... fantasy based (roleplaying post by post). :) I like the site overall, but perhaps having a slightly more colored background, like a pale blue with a darker blue, would make it less straining on the eyes. Personally, I opt to offer dark, medium, and light skins to my users so that they can choose whatever is most pleasant and causes the least eye strain. I don't know if this helps you any, but... there it is! Just remember, though, that color isn't everything when you have reliable members :)
That's true, but I have so many modifications it would be a real hassle maintaining them for the skins...

Thanks for the tips, though. I'll be sure to look into it.

[GekkoPixie]

I think I have like... 6 or so skins myself, and tons of mods. It is kinda a pain, but it's worth it - at least to me. :)

[Calash]

I like it. It is very clean and easy on the eyes for long reading sessions. You have a tremendous amount of activity...great job there :)

I also run a writing site...went for a bit of a darker skin myself but still easy on the eyes. The last thing you want to do is cause unnecessary eye strain....it will drive away visitors very quickly. Multiple skins is always a good option if you can support them.

My only complaint is more of a personal one. Forums do not make good fiction archives, at least in there default setup. Chapters get lost in the reviews and the reading flow gets disrupted for anything over a single chapter. I have seen setups that use different skins for the story pages that helps to resolve this problem...it keeps the chapters together while displaying the reviews without getting in the way.

However, if none of your members are complaining I would stick with what you have :)


On a side note, I am always looking to exchange links with writing sites. Shoot me a PM if interested.

[Cedric_FP]

I like it. It is very clean and easy on the eyes for long reading sessions. You have a tremendous amount of activity...great job there :)

I also run a writing site...went for a bit of a darker skin myself but still easy on the eyes. The last thing you want to do is cause unnecessary eye strain....it will drive away visitors very quickly. Multiple skins is always a good option if you can support them.

My only complaint is more of a personal one. Forums do not make good fiction archives, at least in there default setup. Chapters get lost in the reviews and the reading flow gets disrupted for anything over a single chapter. I have seen setups that use different skins for the story pages that helps to resolve this problem...it keeps the chapters together while displaying the reviews without getting in the way.

However, if none of your members are complaining I would stick with what you have :)


On a side note, I am always looking to exchange links with writing sites. Shoot me a PM if interested.
Thanks for the reply - I know what you mean about the default forum view. I've been working on a new layout method, but have hit a few snags and since lost motivation... I haven't looked at my experimental code in over a month now.

You're right, though, it's a problem I've been meaning to address for a long time now, I just haven't been able to find the time... or at least I keep telling myself so.

With regards to activity, thanks - but I just happened to luck out with a few very, very valuable members. In fact, activity has been dropping steadily for a few months... and I think I know why. With more competition with more innovative features (such as your rather interesting chapter layout) it's no surprise... Guess I have to buckle up and start working hard.

I'd definitely be interested in doing a link exchange, I shall PM you when I get home from work. BTW, I had a look at your site and it looks great! You have a really neat and practical system for story posting - I should take inspiration ;)

[wtricks]

I;d change the icons .. too "stock" for me.. Try something related to your topic. The skin is very pleasant otherwise. I like it ;)

[Cedric_FP]

Do you mean the forum icons? Or the stats icons?

Yes, I was aiming for the pleasant look... you know, nothing too assuming or imposing. Something light and modest - it pretty much sums up the attitude of the site and its members.

Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate it :)

[wtricks]

The icons that appear on the index .. for each subcategory :)

No problem. it's nice seeing a pleasant theme ..

[Calash]

The story section of my site is run by eFiction using a custom bridge to connect the user database and skin information. Both can be found at the eFiction site - http://efiction.org

It works well, but it can be a bear to setup and you end up with two scripts to maintain patches on (3 for me, since I have vBadvanced). Still, I prefer the eFiction layout for fiction archiving.

A vB based system using theme modification or some other method would probably be best overall. It would preserve the entire look as well as the search function...something I have not been able to do with the bridge yet.

[Cedric_FP]

I see. Thanks for the information.

I've been working on a VB equivalent which works rather like efiction, but remains based on the VB engine.

But it's a long way from completion.