Forum cleaned up, opinions welcome

[kenfuzed]

After acquiring the following forum from a shop that went out of business last year, I think I'm close to getting this back in shape. The original forum was run on vB 3.0 and was a complete disaster. I completely tore it down and started rebuilding it 2 months ago, which included migrating over to a new host, new domain, and upgrade to 3.6.4. I've done a fair amount of style tweaking to get the forum to this point.

I realize the header doesn't quit flow well with the current layout but I'd like honest opinions regarding the rest of the forum. I still have other upgrades to complete including a portal and gallery. For now I'm simply looking for some objective input regarding the forum's current state.

Bike-Talk.com

[Smoothie]

No offense, but the icons, well, they suck.

These icons

[kenfuzed]

Originally Posted by Smoothie

No offense, but the icons, well, they suck.

These icons

Interesting you should say that, they were designed for me by a reviewer and staffer over at The AdminZone. Not that I think they are anything spectacular, but they sure beat the generic icons.

Other than the icons... I'm looking for constructive reviews to help me improve, not just whether things suck or not.

Thanks

[wtricks]

The forums need some work .. here are the things I would change:

1. header .. you have that logo redone and a lot of blank space (only that established text is there). The logo is a bit too "busy" to be seen as it should. I'd try with a stylized image (something like Orange County Choppers if you're looking at the Discovery show) ... and put something in the right part of the header.

2. gradient_tcat.png (that white to black gradient) .. it's tiresome too. It's not a good idea to make a gradient on such contrasting colours (get a grey and a lighter grey, not too far one from the other)

3. icons: pixelated. ALL. The ones in the who's online section, the ones for the new topics. With due respect to the TAZ member who made those wheely icons, they're pixelated and don't benefit the site.

4. welcome message. It's better to have this instead of the FAQ message in the header. Present your site in a nice manner in that place and it might get even more users

[kenfuzed]

Thanks for your input. That member over at TAZ is actually a senior staff admin there, which after all the input I've received from others makes me seriously doubt the advice I received there. He created the icons and header as well.

I'll work on finding a new gradient. I don't have any experience with graphics so I need to rely on pieces I can pick up elsewhere. Some of the generic icons are left over from the original installation so I need to find new ones of those too. I've yet to find any complete icon/button sets that go perfectly with my colors. Probably not the place to ask, but I'd like to find some custom graphics along with someone to make me a header.

[wtricks]

No problem. I think I know who you're talking about since I'm also staff there (mentor). The thing is that I am also a designer and consider the icons to be a nice idea, but low graphical quality. They are indeed original, but pixelated. and that means they don't display OK on your forums and that means they need more work. I don't think it's a compare situation in the end.I am not here to brag about how many skins for forums I made or how many titles I got for my creations, I don't even want to tell you the advice there is bad because it's not. I am just telling you that I like the icons as an idea, but they are as I said low image quality and detrimental to your overall look for the forums

You can get a lot of people to do graphical work for you, free or paid. The problem with free is that you need to get the designer in an "clientless time", otherwise they won't work. I made some free skins and graphics, but I can commit to a project only when I have a hiatus in the work with the clients. The second option would be the paid work and in this case you'll find many people available. You need to check the portfolios with care and then decide. Highest price doesn't mean best work as lowest price doesn't mean best work or worst. It's all about the portfolio and what that designer can do ...

Now I think I really confused you

[rajab1988]

It is not that bad , cool and well done m8

[hotwheels]

very well done.........couple things i would do, and they are only suggestion's, since i do think the site look's great. First, take the "Established in 1997, BikeTalk was founded by Cyber Dave - DirectParts" and add it to the logo itself. Would be very easy to do and would clear up the top of the site.....Second thing i would look at is redoing your forum statusicon's, they are great for your site, but they need to be cleaned up just a little bit, they are kind of fuzzy......other then that, i think it is very well done........

[kenfuzed]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have fixed the header message and image to the best of my abilities. I also adjusted the gradients so they don't look bleached out. The statusicons on the other hand are beyond fixing since that is how they were given to me. Is there a good place to request a custom set of statusicons? I see some requests on this board but not a lot of replies.

Thanks,
Ken

[KTBleeding]

Originally Posted by Smoothie

No offense, but the icons, well, they suck.

These icons

Is there a "worthless post of the year" award?