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Garden Pond Forum [Reviewed]
08-14-2006, 07:03 PM
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 Title: Groupie
Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 44  |  Garden Pond Forum [Reviewed] I have created a forum for the Garden Pond hobby (just for Ryan  ). If anyone has a minute to take a look at it and give me some opinions. I believe I am ready to take the forum live.Garden Pond Forum http://www.gardenpondforum.com Thanks!
__________________ Chattanooga, TN Forums, Classifieds, Events & News  | ||||
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08-14-2006, 07:14 PM
| #2 |
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Title: Forum Addict
Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 1,318 Location: Delaware   Recent Blog: 10 Pot Studies Government Wished it Had Never Funded  | looks great! im impresed, althought the locked status icon should be the fish with a hook in its mouth.......hahahahaha......j/k | ||||
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08-14-2006, 07:15 PM
| #3 |
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| Title: Groupie
Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 44 | hahahaha, so true! Thanks!
__________________ Chattanooga, TN Forums, Classifieds, Events & News | ||||
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08-14-2006, 07:24 PM
| #4 |
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| Title: Rookie
Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 29 Location: Toronto, Ontario | Review of GoldenPondForum.com Initial Impression: Just from looking at your forum at first glance, I could tell it has a lot of potential. I didn't really like the portal however, I think it's more suited as your forum gets more established and there's a need for new information to be displayed as users enter. For now, your main focus should be on your forum and as such, users should directly be looking at your forum as they type in your URL. Overall, it looks good and with a few changes, it could look even better! Organization and Feel: Forum is well constructed and organized very nicely with a variety of different forums. I had a nice 'fishy' feel when viewing your forum, which is great.  You may want to cut down on some forums and add them as you grow. Maybe create sub forums? Skin and Modifications: I love the fish forum images and the banner especially. Your forum's skin doesn't really flow with the banner since it's a darker green and the skin is a bit to light. Maybe you should add some green to the skin to make it blend and look as though it's a part of the banner. You just have the change the yellowish golden columns to a green like you've used in your banner. From what I can see, I didn't find too many mods you've used, maybe take a look at vbulletin.org [link] and find some modifications that suit your needs and make your forum more user friendly. Instead of having a photography forum for your members, I think you should get a photo gallery modification such as [http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=92875"]this[/url]. In my opinion, you shouldn't put up Google Ads right of the bat. Not only is it implying that the owner is out to make money and not create a valuable community, it's not exactly in the best place, since it's 'distorting' the great banner you have. However, this is just my opinion and view on having Google Ads on your new forum. Another great modification that could be of use to you is this, which places Google Ads on topics. Guidelines and Staff: There are no guidelines for your forum, which isn't such a bad thing as your forum is fairly new. You may want to write a few guidelines and stick by them as your forum continues to grow. There will be times where you need to enforce your guidelines and stick by them, so the best time to write up a few general ones would be now. Of course you can change them whenever you feel the need to. Regarding you staffing, it's a good thing you are the only staff member at the moment and I'm very glad you haven't fallen into the "if I give them powers, they will come back to my site" trap. Your forum is new and as such, you will not need to find another staff member until you've reached/come close to the 100 member count. Recommended Changes:
Keep in mind the changes above are all recommended and are just an overview my opinion. Don't be pressured into putting them into action but consider them and get some ideas to improve your site. Additional Information: Very interesting and unique niche, with some good promotion, your forum could become quite a success. At this point, I would concentrate on posting and promotion (via links). A great guide on building links can be found here. Additionally, you will probably want to have your site at the top of Google, which shouldn't be too hard considering the topic of your site only brings up 2 million results. You're already well one your way, your site is already listed 3rd for garden pond forum, great job!  I would think you'd want to be at the top of Google for other keywords that are no so specific to your domain. Read the following articles to get to the top of Google with certain keywords: http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Google-Op...Google-part-1/ http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Link-Trad...Google-part-2/ http://www.seochat.com/c/a/Google-Op...Google-Part-3/ I see tons of potential in your forum so never give up. With a few hard months of work, you could be seeing a lot of activity on your forum in no time. Feel free to post any further questions you have about running an online community! Have fun being a forum admin and GOOD LUCK!  | ||||
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08-14-2006, 07:34 PM
| #5 |
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| Title: Groupie
Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 44 | Thanks for the tips and comments! I am a avid seochat reader myself.
__________________ Chattanooga, TN Forums, Classifieds, Events & News | ||||
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08-14-2006, 09:01 PM
| #6 |
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| Title: Rookie
Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 29 Location: Toronto, Ontario | Quote:
 Post if you have any additional questions. | |||||
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08-14-2006, 10:08 PM
| #7 |
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| Title: Groupie
Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 44 | Quote:
I had a few scratching questions.... 1. Guidlines? I have run another forum for over a year http://www.livingreefs.com and have never had to set any guide lines or for that matter ban or delete any user. Would this be more appropriate for very large forums or kiddy forums? 2. I installed photoplog when I first started setting the forum up, I just like people to be able to put their images inline to show off their ponds. 3. These are the current products I have installed.... Code: vBulletin 3.5.4 Extended Signature Limits 1.0.3 This Hack gives you more control (font size, # of lines, etc.) of what Users can put into their Signature Edit Disable Export Uninstall Opt-Out Forums from Get New Posts 1.0.3 This Hack allows you to select Forums that should not be taken into account for Get New Posts/Get Daily Edit Disable Export Uninstall PhotoPlog Pro 2.1.1 PhotoPlog: The Pro Gallery Edit Disable Export Uninstall Post Thank You Hack 4.4 Post Thank You Hack Edit Disable Export Uninstall Restrict usernames on registration 1.5 Restrict usernames to alphanumeric, underscore and some pre-chosen chars Edit Disable Export Uninstall Separate Sticky and Normal Threads 1.0.3 Separate Sticky and Normal Threads Edit Disable Export Uninstall vBadvanced CMPS 2.1.0 vBadvanced Content Management & Portal System Edit Disable Export Uninstall vBSEO :: Sitemap Generator 1.6.1 Generate a Google & Yahoo Sitemap for your Forums Edit Disable Export Uninstall Welcome Headers 4.1.0 Boost registration and activity rates with more visible guest welcome and member status messages. 4. Google ads, I can't help myself. I won't take them down. Im addicted. Thanks For all your help!
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08-15-2006, 12:49 AM
| #8 |
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| Title: Groupie
Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 44 | What do you think of the colors now?
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08-15-2006, 01:01 AM
| #9 |
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| Title: Rookie
Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 29 Location: Toronto, Ontario | Quote:
I was thinking more of a dark green like the one used in your banner, try experimenting with that and see how it looks. | |||||
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