New Forum Look/Upgrade? (opinions please)

[Masato]

Hey all

- I have been receiving several feedbacks saying people didn't like the white text on dark BG.
- I also had several comments about ads all over the place, especially when viewing on a phone or something.

So, in hopes of keeping this place growing, I bit the bullet and went for some upgrades.

Personally I like the white text/black BG style (great for images), but I also have to admit that another forum I sometimes lurk has the same style, and it always kind of feels gloomy/lonely to me. So since my mask is orange, and I sorta started all this stuff from being a diehard Sakuraba fan, I decided to go with a new orange and light look in homage to the Gracie Hunter. The artwork at the top is a collage of previous work I've done.

So according to the Upgrades I just installed:

1. You can now rep people's posts
2. You can 'thank' people (not sure what the dif is, lol)
3. There are supposed to be no ads (would very much like this confirmed..!)
4. New style


...what do you think?? Honest opinions please, however subjective they may be.

Thanks!

PS: The old one looked like this:




Here is another option I thought was a good middle-ground (not black, but not too light)
I really like this one a lot, - Problem is this one seems to crop wider images (like there is a maximum width for the forum window) :(



Current experiment:
(the SHIT things about this one is that the custom logo at the top does not jive with the width of the user's window. See how it sticks out past the edge? That's fucking crazy :)



Old one with the new logo (I think all this fuss is just bringing me to a simple realization that I needed Orange represented somewhere :) )
The only thing shitty with this template is that the logo never get placed flush to the left. There is always that little space. From a design aspect, this is maddening lol

[Luigi]

I much prefer the darker backgrounds. Some sites like the ug and reddit have great content but I tend to not go there often because the light background is hard on the eyes.

[Edge Guerrero]

Hey all

- I have been receiving several feedbacks saying people didn't like the white text on dark BG.
- I also had several comments about ads all over the place, especially when viewing on a phone or something.

So, in hopes of keeping this place growing, I bit the bullet and went for some upgrades.

Personally I like the white text/black BG style (great for images), but I also have to admit that another forum I sometimes lurk has the same style, and it always kind of feels gloomy/lonely to me. So since my mask is orange, and I sorta started all this stuff from being a diehard Sakuraba fan, I decided to go with a new orange and light look in homage to the Gracie Hunter. The artwork at the top is a collage of previous work I've done.

So according to the Upgrades I just installed:

1. You can now rep people's posts
2. You can 'thank' people (not sure what the dif is, lol)
3. There are supposed to be no ads (would very much like this confirmed..!)
4. New style


...what do you think?? Honest opinions please, however subjective they may be.

Thanks!

- I liked the new style, a prefer the dark background, but this new style gives the forum a diferent personality.
Reminds some science foruns to, the clean look and all.

I liked the new forum.



Ps: Theres now a lot of cool opitions.

[Edge Guerrero]

- And it's ease to read now that the quotes are separeted in a diferent box.

[Masato]

LOL Now I'm totally confused :)

The dude who told me he didn't like the dark format just said this is way better, but my 2 top posters (Luigi and Edge) say they prefer the dark?

Am I fussing over this too much? Do you really think it will make a difference as to growing this place or not? Or do you think its all about content/patience etc?

I just get paranoid sometimes that the dark format is hindering our growth, but it seems people swing both ways

In any case, the rep function and cleaning of ads should help, those were crucial.


More comments on this would be greatly appreciated, I can always switch it back (maybe use the new banner though, I kind of dig it)

thx folks!
later

[Edge Guerrero]

- I voted on the new style, i really liked, it's ease on the eyes, and give the forum his own personality.
I think what would make this forum grow is posting his content in others big-forums, and with other scopes, like science forums and etc.

We should wait to the oponions of the other users like John Kilo, Canuscketer, Glenrod and etc.

[Masato]

Thanks Edge, your positivity is always reliable! :)

As a designer/visual kind of guy I have a look in mind that is somewhere in between (not too dar not too light)... but this forum provider doesn't allow you to customize so specifically. They have a lot of choices, but just not exactly what I'd pick if I could design it myself

I am impressed so far with the service, so I am hesitant to jump ship...
Also, if I get a whole new custom forum made I am guessing we'll lose all content etc.

I'm gonna take Edge's advice, hopefully we can get some more input by people who would also like to see this community grow

Happy Easter biatches

[Luigi]

Background alone wont determine growth. Sherdog is huge and has a dark background, ug is huge and has a light background. Its all about the content and building momentum I think.

[Edge Guerrero]

Background alone wont determine growth. Sherdog is huge and has a dark background, ug is huge and has a light background. Its all about the content and building momentum I think.

- Sherdog is aroud a long time, i think since 1997.
I remember seeing sherdogs adds in old Vale-tudo magazines.

Saddly i only discovered the forums in 2009. :D

I think the others big forums are pretty old to, you can see old accounts like 2002\2004 when lurking them, i was reading muscular development, and theres some 2009\8 accounts i think.

We need to keep the boat going.
IN a couple of years, when we reache like 10000 users, we are gonna start remembering the good old times, without trolls. :lol:

[Canuckster]

looks good,