CrankshaftCoalition.com

[ice9]

I know, I hardly have any images remaining . I'm shooting for more of a WebmasterWorld or Slashdot type of look. The newthread, newreply, quote images might go.

I'd be really interested to hear feedback on the programming ideas and online community articles listed on the site. I know it's somewhat against the trend, but the images and the skin will probably be kept mostly plain.

[Corriewf]

One question you must ask is what would a user want to see?

What is the point of being so plain?

[ice9]

I suppose my thinking was: "what's the point of being ornate?".

Most of the information-based sites that I now visit are plain-jane few-graphics sites. The users that I'm trying to attract are people interested in legal issues and open-source development, and they're accustomed to seeing information-rich sites, so I figured they might be interested in it.

My hotrodding site is the other way -- more graphically oriented, etc.

[FightRice.com]

I signed up there, Seems like its a pretty useful site oneday

[Corriewf]

Originally Posted by ice9

I suppose my thinking was: "what's the point of being ornate?".

Most of the information-based sites that I now visit are plain-jane few-graphics sites. The users that I'm trying to attract are people interested in legal issues and open-source development, and they're accustomed to seeing information-rich sites, so I figured they might be interested in it.

My hotrodding site is the other way -- more graphically oriented, etc.

Yes but those sites have probably been around before there was much competition in the market. As a new website you need to think about why people should use your site vs those sites.

If you wanted something so basic why not do a phpbb forum instead.....

[ice9]

I admin a phpBB forum too -- I think vBulletin is much more feature-rich, although I like the fact that phpBB is free and open-source. I wanted a clean look, but with the vBulletin functionality. I thought that the phpBB admin panel is pretty limited, and the hack community doesn't seem as well developed as vb's.

To the best of my knowledge the Crankshaft Coalition is unique, so you could say it doesn't have any "competition" yet. It's a community for automotive forum leaders that focuses on freedom of information, group knowledge-sharing projects, and open source development of software for automotive forums.

[Corriewf]

Originally Posted by ice9

I admin a phpBB forum too -- I think vBulletin is much more feature-rich, although I like the fact that phpBB is free and open-source. I wanted a clean look, but with the vBulletin functionality. I thought that the phpBB admin panel is pretty limited, and the hack community doesn't seem as well developed as vb's.

To the best of my knowledge the Crankshaft Coalition is unique, so you could say it doesn't have any "competition" yet. It's a community for automotive forum leaders that focuses on freedom of information, group knowledge-sharing projects, and open source development of software for automotive forums.

The hacks with phpbb seem more involved as well........ YEAH! It took 30 minutes of hacking but now I have a title YEAH!.

Anyway I hope it isnt too specific for you.

[filburt1]

You not only have one splash page but two of them. The second one is useless: first-time visitors couldn't care less about your site's history, they want to access its content.

[Princeton]

'automotive' AND 'website management' forum??
that's really confusing

I agree ... remove the splash page

• it's not necessary
• it's a waste of time for your users
• it hurts SEO

about the design ...
I like the clean look ... but it needs some character.
Right now, it feels like I'm entering a home for the sick. Not the kind of mood you want to promote.

• At the very least, add a background image (gradient) to the headers.
• Also, change the color of the borders to a subtle color -- the black thick line just STANDS OUT.
• Add your intro to the 'welcome' panel.

[ice9]

Thanks guys, I'll deal with that second splash page, I agree that it's useless.

princeton -- yes, it's a community for automotive admins, I know it's a little confusing right now, I'll do some work on that.

corriewf -- I think I see where you're coming from. I just checked out your site. Very cool, looks sharp and hi-tech. But on my mac, I can't get it to display in IE at all, and it crashes in Mozilla. Perhaps I need a compromise between a stark white look, while avoiding some of the less-compatible style adjustments.