Forum layout

[Annihilate]

I've been on a lot of online communities, and I must say, it's a lot better when you arrange your forums in a good arrangement, rather than scatter a lot of things around.

Here's how it is now:
Key:
* Category
- Forum


*Diablo 3 General Discussion
-Site news
-Introductions
-Diablo 3 News
-Diablo 3 Discussion
-Diablo 3 Items
-Diablo 3 Hardcore
-Diablo 3 Ladder
-Diablo 3 PvP

*Diablo 3 Class Discussion
-Barbarian Village
-Witchdoctor Tribe
-Wizard Clan
-Diablo 3 Strategies

*Diablo 3 Trading Center
(THE TRADING SECTION - CLOSED)

*Rogue Encampment
-Off-Topic
-Other Games
-Hardware Discussion
-Suggestion Box

*Diablo 3 Clan Hall
-Official D3G Dialo 3 Clan Recruitment

How I suggest it should be:
Key:
* Category
- Forum
-- Sub-forum

*Diablo 3 Gaming
-Site News
-Suggestions
-General Help
-Introductions

*Diablo III
-Diablo III News
-Diablo III Discussion (general discussion)
-Diablo III Classes
--Wizard
--Barbarian
--Witch Doctor
--Speculation (Other Classes)
-Diablo III Items
-Diablo III Hardcore
-Diablo III Ladder
-Diablo III PvP

*Other Games
-Diablo II
-World of Warcraft
-Starcraft II
-Other Games

*Off-Topic
-General Discussion
-Movies & Music
-Computing
-Graphics

*The names of the forums are just guidelines to what the forum should be about. If you do decide to use my suggestion, you could change the names of the categories and/or forums to whatever you feel is necessary.

**This is just a general outline of how I suggest you arrange the forum. Forums and/or categories I have not included are the ones I feel either have no significance to me and/or I do not feel need to be on the forum at all at this moment in time. Again, forums I have added that aren't on the forums are the ones I feel are missing and should be here.


Thanks,
Annihilate.

[admin]

good suggestions.

the reason it's crappy right now is solely based on search engine results. im trying to draw people in with whats currently available, once the community is here the categories will definitely be fixed and updated.

[Annihilate]

I'd say a good layout would be better now, actually. Search engine results won't get you the members anyway, the best way is really word of mouth. If you offer something in reward for people bringing players here, it will motivate members to tell their friends, and then their friends' friends will get to know if you're offering this to every member who comes here.

Word of mouth is the best way to advertise something - if people come here and see you've got a good layout on the forum and a good thing going on, you'll get members, don't worry about that.

One thing I'd stay away from (not saying you have done it, but you COULD have, I haven't been here long enough to experience it) is false promises. You need to keep working, and you need to let your members know what updates are coming soon - and keep to the schedule you set for those updates - don't be promising things then not delivering, that will just drive people away from the site.

It's all about the amount of work you put into the site, and how people see it as they first come here. I'd suggest getting some points of interest for certain subjects and getting some big discussions going in a few threads, and eventually, people will come.

There's a gap in the market, and you could be hitting it with this site. I've yet to see a Diablo III forum-based fan site that's actually working, the site has potential, you just need to learn how to work with it.

[Sirlaughalot]

One thing i really like about this site is that the Admin is very active and forward-looking, he listens to our suggestions and he asks for input on features and tools we will use. This allows us (the users) to take ownership of some features with our collective ideas and tweaks .

Good suggestions Annihilate (we need a thumbs-up smiley) I like your suggested layout for the most part because I do think the suggestions, introductions and forum news should be in a separate category of their own.

The trading forums are important though to show that we are intending to use this site as a trading hub as well as a discussion forum.