Forum request...

KhaosKhaos New Hampshire
edited December 2008 in Community
Minimalist theme please!

The giant top bar... It loses its usefulness after about five seconds, as does the Hot Threads section, etc.

It would be great to have at least one forum skin -- make it pink for all I care -- that does away with all the bloat and just gives us the essentials.

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Comments

  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    The reason it isn't collapsible is because of the ad. The ad needs to be there, so the options are to have "latest" info there or wrap the first post next to it, which I think would be even more annoying.

    Honestly, given our financial situation, I can't say as I have much sympathy for wanting to remove/minimize the ad space.
  • KhaosKhaos New Hampshire
    edited December 2008
    Keebz, I am not suggesting you remove the ad space. It would be a lot more economical, however, to put it on the side of the forums instead of the top. Everyone has widescreen monitors these days. If you are worried about ad exposure, put the Google AdSense in a floating side panel and left justify the forums.

    I'm not asking for sympathy. Just a little thought towards the layout to make the forum easier to use, which should have a long term positive net affect on ad revenue... Among other things.

    If it's money you're worried about, how about an option to donate to Icrontic via PayPal in order to remove all the ads and unlock a minimalist theme? It is quite common for smaller communities to take $10-$15 donations from dedicated members for such access.
  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    Khaos wrote:
    Everyone has widescreen monitors these days.
    That's not true. 75% of our viewership has a screen resolution of 1280 or less. 25% of our viewership is at 1024.
    Khaos wrote:
    Just a little thought towards the layout to make the forum easier to use, which should have a long term positive net affect on ad revenue... Among other things.
    The other function of the "Latest" info being there is to expose guests to more content on the site. A lot of our traffic is for single-page views of threads, so I'm sure you understand that getting them to click on a second or third page is a high priority.
    Khaos wrote:
    how about an option to donate to Icrontic via PayPal in order to remove all the ads and unlock a minimalist theme? It is quite common for smaller communities to take $10-$15 donations from dedicated members for such access.
    An interesting idea; I'll run it up the flag pole. I'm not sure if it would be worth the time investment if only 6 people take advantage of it, though.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    It's a nice cheery thought that icrontic could exist on paypal donations, but keebs nailed it, albeit in a slightly brusque way: There are precious few people who would pay what amounts to a subscription fee to have a different, "cleaner" or more customizable user experience. He may not be far off the mark with "6" though.
  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    primesuspect wrote:
    albeit in a slightly brusque way
    I don't mean to be :-/ I spend a lot of my day evaluating ideas, refuting proposals, or defending decisions; it's hard to keep a light tone. :crazy:

    //edit: Honestly, I'm typically happy anytime someone starts a thread in this forum, even if I disagree with the content. It means they care enough to post :)
  • jaredjared College Station, TX Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    I'd donate money for you to let me use my own theme in a heart beat :D
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited December 2008
    From what I've witnessed, Keebs puts a lot of thought and effort into balancing usability for IC veterans with exposure for those new people that happened to be linked externally. I think he's doing a great job, and the space taken up top really isn't that big of a deal.

    Also, I use a widescreen monitor at work, but I have two standard size screens at home. They've done me well, and I haven't required an upgrade yet.
  • KhaosKhaos New Hampshire
    edited December 2008
    You raise some valid points about exposing first-time/one-time visitors to other site content. I find myself in agreement on that score.

    I mean, while we're all being touchy-feely, let me make it perfectly clear that I absolutely want Icrontic to grow and succeed, and my suggestions are not intended to be selfish although they are certainly skewed by my own perspective.

    What about this as a compromise:

    Just let us collapse the top and only store that option in a session cookie. Every time somebody comes to the forums for the first time, it would be expanded. Then once it has ceased to be useful, or if they continue browsing the forums, it could be collapsed.

    The advertising issue could be worked around. That way you have less to maintain and everybody is happy.

    <hr>

    It's worth noting that while Icrontic currently gets most of its hits from Google/random link-ins, if we want to truly grow the community we still need to dedicate some effort to making the forums easier to re-use.
    It's a nice cheery thought that icrontic could exist on paypal donations, but keebs nailed it, albeit in a slightly brusque way: There are precious few people who would pay what amounts to a subscription fee to have a different, "cleaner" or more customizable user experience. He may not be far off the mark with "6" though.
    That's probably true, right now. It was not always, though, and it does not always have to be in the future. The mark to aim at is not random Google hits, but a thriving, growing community of enthusiasts who regular the forums.
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