Forum Layout

[Bill]

I like the new format where the main news content is basically on the left with the adds on the right. It keeps the add to news ratio the same but its easier to see what you’re doing unlike some others that look like an advertising bomb’s exploding.

I use a laptop and using this I’ve been making some comparisons between our forum and those that adopt the tidier adds to the right format.

Here are two contrasting opening screen shots with and without right had adverts.

 

 From the start, this looks much better and at least some forum content visible, whereas our opening screen is just an advert and half a blank screen.

 

Select a topic and we get a bit of info on the left and a right with a massif blank in the middle. I understand screen settings can differ and the forum must display on mobile devices but if others can make it work, we should be able to as well.

 

Something like this looks more balanced and far better!!!!

 

 

Also I think 16 topics, most of which are rarely used, doesn’t buy us anything and a better solution might be to retain the five main busier topics and archive the rest. This might allow displaying a short list of the more recent posting under each heading thus preventing threads being prematurely hidden/lost.

Something like this...

[Gary]

Thanks for your efforts Bill.

As far as I am aware this forum just comes as a standard template and I have no idea on how to change the appearance.

Having just spent a significant sum of money improving the main site that is where we are investing our time as it attracts 10K to 20k visitors every day, generating significant advertising income streams to keep us afloat.

No disrespect to the forum but I reckon there are only around 20-30 active members and while important and indeed some old friends, until facebook departs I can't see it having a huge impact on the overall website experience.

[Bill]

Well, if you don’t have the time or the inclination to do it then why not let me have a bash at it. I’ve spent the best part of my life designing software systems and user interfaces and I’d be quite happy to give it a go to see if we can get it looking a bit better.

But now having done a bit of digging it looks like the system isn't as flexible as I would have thought so I guess we're stuck with this  format. Ah well such is life.

 

Bill 😊

[Gary]

On 11/25/2021 at 11:10 AM, Bill said:

Well, if you don’t have the time or the inclination to do it then why not let me have a bash at it. I’ve spent the best part of my life designing software systems and user interfaces and I’d be quite happy to give it a go to see if we can get it looking a bit better.

But now having done a bit of digging it looks like the system isn't as flexible as I would have thought so I guess we're stuck with this  format. Ah well such is life.

 

Bill 😊

Dizzy looked into trying to do re-designs and gave up a long time ago - it took weeks of work to even get the banner at the top to link back to the main site. I am sure there are much better forums but not really enough active members to warrant a fresh start- and old foggies generally don't like change  

[Bill]

That’s true.

It appears that most forums have changed their focus from engaging with the community to being more of a tool for business. I can’t argue with that, it’s the way life seems to work these days but it needn't be an either-or situation. We just need a few more here to keep things going and I’m still ready to help on this.

 

Bill 😊