New Forums!
Posted by Webmistress Laura on Sep 14, 2009 · Member since Jun 2009 · 831 posts
Hey All!
Just wanted to say that we're reading over all of your feedback in the other threads about the new look of the forums. Decided to start a thread dedicated to all things new forums! If you have any questions, concerns, comments, praise (!?), or anything else, please leave it here! We take everything you have to say very seriously and will be discussing it at our meetings.
If you don't feel comfortable posting in a forum, you can always email me: laura at vegweb dot com.
Thanks!
Laura
Also, in the Stroller Derby description, notso is not a word.
Say it's notso!
Yeah...I kinda like the more categories, but I think maybe like a few categories with a couple subcategories in each might be better and make it easier to navigate.
Newbies (where people can do intros and ask questions about getting started)
Chit Chat
General
Parents/kids
PG-13
Food and Cooking
General
cookbook reviews
restaurant reviews
Travel tips
News and Debate
Health and Wellness
General
Fitness
Nutrition
THIS!!!
I kinda like the cutesy names but I also don't like them because they can be a little confusing (like the Nice Package thing haha) and also it seems PPK-ish. And I like VegWeb because it's VegWeb.
I'm with this as well...i like vegweb because it looks vegweb-ish...looks like a message board but is slightly different, more warm feeling.
Or even if there aren't officially sub-boards--maybe have some headers that go across each of the sections? I like that it's kind of "themed" now in its organization, but having a visual divider would help to break up the space.
(ETA: you see how "VegWeb forums" looks at the top of the page? Make headers like that to indicate where each of the "themes" begins)
Yeah, I think that sub-boards would be terribly annoying--once you have to click twice to get to something, you lose people. You want to be able to see all the related topics at once. Visual dividers would be awesome.
I feel we're having a bit of an indentity crisis! We want to stay like our own little "home," but we want to attract more people. The only reason it feels homey to us is because we KNOW that we have such-and-such threads, and we know where they are. To strangers it's not so intuitive. I mean, about 20 new people posted about vegan parenting in the past few months, when there are already 5921 threads about the topic. This will be better.
I think we tended to use single threads as home bases for related topics--we had a DIY thread, not forum. Once that gets too long, it's kind of useless. Now we have a whole room and can post about individual projects, for example.
I for one could do without the "cutesy" thing. One reader's cute is another reader's truly lame.
And yes, it feels like PPK now...intimidating, confusing. Hard to find what I want.
Agreed.
I for one could do without the "cutesy" thing. One reader's cute is another reader's truly lame.
I understand that everyone is going to have a different opinion, and I get the need for constructive criticism, but calling it "lame" is a bit rude. People are working really hard to make everything better for us, and are listening to every single suggestion.
I just wanted to point out that on the homepage, threads are being mixed in with the most viewed / rated recipes. Like, it has the General Tao's Tofu recipe and underneath that is the aimless chit chat thread.
I for one could do without the "cutesy" thing. One reader's cute is another reader's truly lame.
I understand that everyone is going to have a different opinion, and I get the need for constructive criticism, but calling it "lame" is a bit rude. People are working really hard to make everything better for us, and are listening to every single suggestion.
Except that it really is my honest, considered opinion that cutesy is a turn-off. Call it lame, or tiresome, or whatever. In point of fact, I find it out of place.
And that's my opinion. Just as anyone else may have one.
Thank you for your input.
i dont' think they would have to be subboards within a board - even if things were grouped by theme so you could click to the board you want, like
Cooking and Dining: Discussion about tasty vegan foods!
Dine and Dish -- Cookbook Chat -- Eating Out -- Special Diets -- ETC
Right right right. That's what I meant. As long as it doesn't become too cumbersome, where you have to scroll down the entire main page.
See, I disagree that the cute names are necessaily a turn-off to the general joe-shmoe vegan. I think they provide personality that vegweb kind of lacked when the forums appeared more....bare bones. Vegweb DOES have a personality, so we should show it! That's why a lot of people I know choose ppk over us. They think vegweb is too.....blah. I think fun names say "friendly" rather than "intimidating." But maybe that's just me. I just can't imagine someone being like, "Oh, I was gonna ask a question, but they seem too.......fun? Nice?" Maybe that's just me, but it doesn't ring of exclusivity to me.
I initially didn't like Kitchen Sink at the bottom, but I think it's ok because much of what used to be referred to as generic chitchat is now distributed. Good deal.
I think they provide personality that vegweb kind of lacked when the forums appeared more....bare bones. Vegweb DOES have a personality, so we should show it!
I agree, but I gather that people are saying they don't think, or want, VW's personality to be "cute," or "cutesy." Is that correct? I don't even think of ppk's forum names as "cute," anyway. I love them, and I love ours, but I think ppk's are more...sarcastic in a way. PPK, as a whole, is definitely not "cute." Do we really want just "food" or "chitchat"? What are you wanting? (non-rhetorical question)
Yeah I could see that, I'd just hate for it to be so sterile! It would be nice if it were inviting.
I also don't think ours our cute, I was just using it to differentiate from austere. PPK's are nice in that they correspond to parts of a house/town. Maybe people want cohesiveness? I don't know.
How is veggieboards set up? I think they have the generic names. We want to be a cut above them. ;)
In my opinion, I don't thing vegweb should try and look like other veggie boards because we are the OG. But I also think that vegweb as a whole should have goals to achieve with these board conversions.
I'd imagine they'd look something like this:
1. Improve the site to make it more easy to use, more fun, and more like a close-knit community. (Also to show off the largest and greatest collection of vegan recipes on the web.)
2. Make a configuration that keeps current members happy.
3. Make this a site that new people want to come to, use, and keep using.
4. Convert as many people to veganism as possible.
Some people may disagree with number 4, but like it or not, this is a vegan recipe website, so why not push our wares?
I haven't been on vegweb all that long, but I love it! I think the new forums are really cool and help keep things organized. But I am also a really organized person, so it appeals to me. It's different, so it takes some getting used to, but I really like it.
I love it! I think the new forums are really cool and help keep things organized. But I am also a really organized person, so it appeals to me. It's different, so it takes some getting used to, but I really like it.
I wholeheartedly agree! I can't remember if I already said this, but I am also seeing quite a few "new" people (users who already had a post count started, at some point), and more newnew people post! Good sign. ...and not just in the giveaway threads
i think i would be happy if all the forums had simple to the point names... then i wouldn't be so confused
I'm thoroughly confused and frustrated by this system. I don't know where to look for any of the threads I was keeping track of, most of all one of my non-food related topics. I liked it the other way, though I know it needed to be a bit more organized. The names, and the little info bites, I agree are a little too "fluffed up" for my taste. True, we want to attract more people, but the bites seem a little over done in my opinion.
And it certainly confused the crap out of me when I clicked the forum button at the top and got the message that the forums were not there.
I really appreciate the time, creativity and effort by those who have made VegWeb such a fun and informative website for us all. I wouldn't even know how to begin to design a web page and so marvel at your talents. I love the VegWeb newsletter, the VegWebber of the Week, the cookbook challenges and updates, the giveaways, but mostly the friendship, wisdom and compassion of those who are part of the VegWeb community.
I have to say, while I like the cleverly written list of Forum topics, it was a little confusing at first. If you are not used to it yet, it is harder to find things too if you are using a Blackberry or other travel gadget because it means more scrolling down and searching on a teeny mouse and keyboard. I really like the Cookbooks subcategory because I frequent that tab. Easy to find. I go straight to it. Perhaps a shorter list, with one word categories like this, might make VegWeb a little easier to navigate? Thank you for your consideration.
ok ok... a few days and i have figured it out! i hate new things but they grow on me... just clearer forum names that's all i ask! i do appreciate the effort thank u so much for everything u guys do!
I turn my back for a few weeks and just look what you do to the forums!!!
Only joking - it seems to be working and lots of new people look to be posting - yay!
However, I too think that maybe grouping some of the headings together may help - but that's probably just becasue I am lazy and don't like having to scroll down too much.
Also, I'm not sure on some of the forum names - I'm not sure I really know where to look for things. I prefer no-noncense (?sp) titles like we previously had. However, ask me again in a few days/weeks once I'm used to it and my view may well have changed.
I hate to be negative but I've given it some time now and I officially don't like the new forum. I just went looking for the restaurant review thread in Dine n Dish. Not finding it, I did a search and found that it's in the one about travel (I've already forgotten the name). It seems to me that people had enough trouble posting in the right place when there were only 6 divisions (and they were mnemonic). Now it's even more of a judgment call. Does "What did you eat--parents and kids edition" belong in Dine n Dish or Stroller Derby?
I also notice that debate threads have been moved out of News and Debate board into other topical boards. We had a reason separating the light conversation from the heavy debates.
I was pretty surprised that this just happened without any kind of preview. I didn't see a lot of demand for lots more board categories in the suggestions thread (except maybe for the "adult" one). I saw more suggestions for improving the recipes section than the forum. Personally, I liked the forum as it was.
But, I guess you can't please all of the people...
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