Post by Cameron on Jan 1, 2011 19:09:30 GMT -5
This is a review that we received on August 22nd, 2010. We received this review from Forum Promotion. This review was created by thedudeman.
Click the Spoiler button to see the review.
First Impressions & Appearance - (Out of 20)
ProBoards looks terrible as far as modern standards go. Everything is extremely blocky. The little “hover-over” image blocks out the description text. The black text on dark blue is hard to read. Your site looks tiny due to the extremely restrictive width. Those are the main problems I had there. Also, I’m not sure if you can change this, but your favicon is still the default ProBoards one. Finally, letting people set custom images in their member stat area by every post looks horribly unprofessional because of the cut images and extremely conflicting colors and images.
However, not all is bad. Your icons really look nice. Each icon goes well with the respective board. All your images seem to lack extra white pixels or other issues. Your logo looks pretty nice as well. Additionally, your affiliate scroller is less annoying than most are.
(Scored 10/20)
Site Layout - (Out of 20)
I’ll start out with the good on this section. Your forum layout is extremely simple. You don’t have to go through digging through subforums to find stuff. You keep your forums just limited to just a few important things, and don’t have an overage of off-topic forums. Additionally, all forums are categorized correctly. Also, your announcement flicker thing is pretty neat.
Now, moving on to the not so good. The register beggar box is extremely annoying, and takes up space. People will join based on their interest, not because of a box driving you nuts. Also, as I mentioned briefly earlier, your forum isn’t fluid. In fact, it’s so small only about 40% of my screen is seeing actual forum. Finally, it seems silly to have a guest promotion section. That is just begging for spam. Advertising is one thing I actually am for requiring registration for.
(Scored 14/20)
Statistics and Activity - (Out of 20)
Your statistics are absolutely great. You’re nearly at 40,000 posts in like a year. That is amazing. A lot of forums never even reach that much. The same goes for 200+ members. The only thing you have to be careful about is having nearly every post by staff. You yourself have like 1/4th of the posts. That’s not bad in itself, but it’s intimidating to see every couple of posts be by staff. The most important type of activity is that which comes from totally voluntarily normal members. That’s the only thing, though.
(Scored 17/20)
Staff Moderation - (Out of 20)
You’re doing well with staff. You have quite a large staff team, which is fine for a forum of your size. Almost all your staff seems very active. I like how you have a few specific-category mods. That’s good for targeted areas. All your staff seems to do a good job. There’s really nothing I can suggest/complain about here.
(Scored 20/20)
Spelling/Grammar & Professionalism - (Out of 20)
Your board descriptions could really use a proofread.
“Let's Talk About American Football Here!” This is one of your main problems. A lot of your descriptions Are Like This. Descriptions aren’t titles. They don’t need to have so much capitalization. Therefore, it should be, “Let's talk about American football here!” Not to mention, you got it right on some of the boards. Another thing I noticed was this one:
“Post graphics that you have made or graphics that you like.” This should be, “Post graphics that you have made, or graphics that you like.”
(Scored 14/20)
Final Remarks: You have an overall nice forum.
What was most liked about the website/forums: Staff/Activity
What was disliked most about the website/forums: Appearance
How could I get you (The Reviewer) to join my website? Nothing would stop me.
After you have read your review, please click the following link and rate our service to help us make it better for you.... [Click Here]
Click the Spoiler button to see the review.
Your Forum Review
First Impressions & Appearance - (Out of 20)
ProBoards looks terrible as far as modern standards go. Everything is extremely blocky. The little “hover-over” image blocks out the description text. The black text on dark blue is hard to read. Your site looks tiny due to the extremely restrictive width. Those are the main problems I had there. Also, I’m not sure if you can change this, but your favicon is still the default ProBoards one. Finally, letting people set custom images in their member stat area by every post looks horribly unprofessional because of the cut images and extremely conflicting colors and images.
However, not all is bad. Your icons really look nice. Each icon goes well with the respective board. All your images seem to lack extra white pixels or other issues. Your logo looks pretty nice as well. Additionally, your affiliate scroller is less annoying than most are.
(Scored 10/20)
Site Layout - (Out of 20)
I’ll start out with the good on this section. Your forum layout is extremely simple. You don’t have to go through digging through subforums to find stuff. You keep your forums just limited to just a few important things, and don’t have an overage of off-topic forums. Additionally, all forums are categorized correctly. Also, your announcement flicker thing is pretty neat.
Now, moving on to the not so good. The register beggar box is extremely annoying, and takes up space. People will join based on their interest, not because of a box driving you nuts. Also, as I mentioned briefly earlier, your forum isn’t fluid. In fact, it’s so small only about 40% of my screen is seeing actual forum. Finally, it seems silly to have a guest promotion section. That is just begging for spam. Advertising is one thing I actually am for requiring registration for.
(Scored 14/20)
Statistics and Activity - (Out of 20)
Your statistics are absolutely great. You’re nearly at 40,000 posts in like a year. That is amazing. A lot of forums never even reach that much. The same goes for 200+ members. The only thing you have to be careful about is having nearly every post by staff. You yourself have like 1/4th of the posts. That’s not bad in itself, but it’s intimidating to see every couple of posts be by staff. The most important type of activity is that which comes from totally voluntarily normal members. That’s the only thing, though.
(Scored 17/20)
Staff Moderation - (Out of 20)
You’re doing well with staff. You have quite a large staff team, which is fine for a forum of your size. Almost all your staff seems very active. I like how you have a few specific-category mods. That’s good for targeted areas. All your staff seems to do a good job. There’s really nothing I can suggest/complain about here.
(Scored 20/20)
Spelling/Grammar & Professionalism - (Out of 20)
Your board descriptions could really use a proofread.
“Let's Talk About American Football Here!” This is one of your main problems. A lot of your descriptions Are Like This. Descriptions aren’t titles. They don’t need to have so much capitalization. Therefore, it should be, “Let's talk about American football here!” Not to mention, you got it right on some of the boards. Another thing I noticed was this one:
“Post graphics that you have made or graphics that you like.” This should be, “Post graphics that you have made, or graphics that you like.”
(Scored 14/20)
Total Score - 75 (Out of 100)
Final Remarks: You have an overall nice forum.
What was most liked about the website/forums: Staff/Activity
What was disliked most about the website/forums: Appearance
How could I get you (The Reviewer) to join my website? Nothing would stop me.
After you have read your review, please click the following link and rate our service to help us make it better for you.... [Click Here]