Forum Sidebar

I noticed the tag cloud was added to the sidebar. I don't know about the rest of you but I don't see much use for it since I don't usually go to specific threads and some of the ones that interest me don't have those tags anyway. We also have a list of recent topics. That's somewhat useful to me though I usually use the new replies list.

What I think would be useful is a recent posts list, a list of unread replies and/or a list of subscribed threads. I usually spend most of my time going to new replies to see what has happened since I was last on and also when I've been on for a while and read most of the active topics so I use the unread replies list readily since its faster than looking through each section individually. The subscribed threads list would also help so we can bookmark interesting threads and come back to them easily.


We certainly have the vertical space for those extra options so I don't see any reason not to have them. Something else that would be nice would be the option to collapse the sections you aren't using and possibly move them around and permanently turn off items you don't use so the ones you use are at the top for easy access.

Anyone else have any comments or suggestions?

 

The only comment I have here is to always bear in mind the extreme difficulty of coding for custom layouts which is what you're suggesting by deactivating sections based on specific members.

The admin is doing the best job possible, and based on the amount of time he has put into this site just in the last two days when he doesn't have any time to spare in the first place I would say he's doing an amazing job.

 

I'm just throwing out suggestions.
For me just having usefull items is enough. The rest is extra fluff

Right now The recent threads and tag cloud lists seem kind of useless and we certainly have plenty of room for something else

 

Tags and the 'posted by' information is pretty useless. Most people don't bother to actually put tags in the threads, and those that do know what they are and don't need a tag cloud to pick them out.

The layout should basically include the latest posts and who the posts were made by. Everything else is found at the top of the page. The only other thing you could add would be some quick links to some subforums, and perhaps the ammount of minerals you have once the shop is set up.

 

sorry to get on the supposed tag cloud "flame train" lol

but yea, i dont even bother putting tags on my threads

 

I have to agree. Tag clouds aren't all that useful for me. Besides, I think they're an eyesore with all that jumble of words.

 

The Tag cloud is just a test to see what I can put in there. It's really hard to put things in the side bar such as your PM box, and subscribed threads, as it means the forum will need to process all these things for every person logged in for every page view refresh. This is why you don't see these things on any other forum. Latest threads are easy to do because they are the same for everybody. (I'm having trouble getting latest posts to show, that's why it's showing latest threads instead).

When I figure out how to get more useful things in the sidebar, I will. The tag cloud will be moved to the site home page to help search engines index the site better. If people could put in relevant useful tags when they can, that would be good! You actually get some experience points for each tag...

 

to be honest, I don't care if the sidebar doesn't show the listed options, just as long as they have links to them. I know it sounds childish, but I find it a pain to have to click on quick links and then scroll down to subscribed threads, whereas in the earlier format I could just click "New Replies" or whatever straight from the homepage
I also don't really see the point of the tag cloud. However, I am not sure what exactly it does. Is it only for the forum goers, or does it get included in search engines' indexing? So if I tag a thread with "baneling," will it come up in a google search for baneling (be it on page 1, 10, or 100)? Or is it just for forum searching? Or is it just for finding stuff you are interested in on the forum and nowhere else. If it does get included in search engines' indexing, I could definitely start tagging...anything to increase traffic

 

I see.
Well thanks for the reply

I alos agree with Nik. Having the quicklinks as a sidebar list would be nicer than the current dropdown