EAForums
 

Sucking up the courage to see what y'all think of the new style:

http://www.eaforums.com/

Yes, Dean, I know you don't like the portal :D

Amy

I think the header should be all the way up, getting rid of top margin.

Besides that is is ok, not hard on the eyes, but does not really stand out either.

The layout of the forums is unique, interesting, but a little busy for me personally.

I tried clicking on the icon to get into the forum and I guess you have this linked to get new posts (good idea) but it gave me a no permissions page... I thought for a moment that I would need to register (not that I wouldn't ... just that it can hurt new users from joining up).

Everything else is more or less standard quo.

:)

1. Header fixed.
2. Links changed. I'll miss my new thread shortcut, but you're right about not wanting to confuse visitors.

Well you're right I don't like the portal ;) Unfortunately if I'm being honest I do not like the style either. For me, one of the most important things when I come onto a board is seeing the on/off icons and the lastpost column. If it hasn't got a new post, I don't visit that individual forum. With the column-like layout I find it difficult to find my way around. The buttons I find a little large in places also.

Whilst I think the gamble you have taken by dropping the linear forum look on the forumhome is original as not many people put almost all their forums in that layout, I don't think it has paid off. As a new user, I find myself having no judgement on how active the community is, what the community is about and what your site is about :)

I tend to agree about not having the last posts visible. It just tends to screw up the page layout.

I am playing around trying to find something different. It seems every board has heavy graphics slapped on top of and below separated forum categories. That's not my thing, and everyone's doing it. It gets old.

I absolutely hate fixed width forums. I need to figure out something that allows the page to shrink and expand to the user's taste. I thought about An entry page that doesn't list the forums, but has content and then tabs or buttons linking to individual category pages. The problem with that is that my community outlived the reason it was created. Most of the members got sick of making 2 cents a review by writing for Epinions.com, but they loved EA and wanted it to live on. So, the only focus we really have is our little community. (Which not many outsiders care about).

So, I'm going to keep trying different things until I find something that doesn't look like all the other vbulletin boards out there.

I totally agree ... this adds more weight to the page (thus slows the rendering of pages especially if the html is badly written).

Amy,
You are posting in a vbulletin site (as you know) so people here will be looking at your site as they would any other vbulletin site. Hence you can expect feedback regarding the layout change a little on the negative side.

Personally, the portal system is fine but the default style tends to put focus on each block and not the content. Yes, this is more about the style than the portal system.
All you have to do is blur your vision a little (cross your eyes--lol) and what stands out? I'm gonna go out on the limb here and say that the blocks do and not the content. ;) (Color has an affect on how objects/text are seen.)

I agree with the on/off icons. You should, at the very least, display the "new" icon when new content is submitted into the forum. In this manner, your users and you will be able to see where new content is located.

Personally, I do not see anything wrong with the layout of your forums. It just needs a better visual appearance. It kinda reminds me of Yahoo directory but with BIG BUTTONS.

Have you asked your members what they think about the new layout? A simple anonymous survey will help you to determine if the changes hurt or hinder.

Oh yea, I almost forgot ... what is your site about? There is nothing on the front page that tells me this.
What does the "EA" in EAForums stands for?

Why display the active users block to unregistered users? I would hate to see it if you had 200 people online.

There is an on/off icon :D It's underneath the forum name when there is a new post.

Honestly, I'm grateful for all the feedback. I've cleaned up several things based on comments. My members are too easy going. I come here for the detail oriented criticisms.

oops, I see it now

I'll skip the portal and just comment on the forums. First thing I don't like is all the statistic/who's online stuck at the top of the forum. It's more convienient when your members don't need to scroll down just to get to the start of the forum list. Maybe you can keep the who's online up there, but the rest belongs at the bottom and the forum list more accessable than it already is.

Nothing else to comment on, the rest is fine. :)