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Well the new design seems OK, though the avatars are a bit repetitive and they do create a lot of blank space in the listings.
Do the avatars deter new users?
Work is progressing on the chat forum system to enable you (Freeola customers) to have ready made forums on your web sites.
Freeola Bingo is much improved now that it runs constantly. Originally suggested on the forums, Freeola Bingo was intended to give the forums a boost. By the way, it's not intended to be a permanent fixture and Google won't allow us to advertise it, even though it's free.
The site gets thousands of visitors and hundreds of new sign-ups per day, but this is hardly evident on the forums.
It does not seem worthwhile to me, to have eight different forums generating small numbers of posts. Maybe there should only be one.
As the rest of Gameaday is games orientated wouldn't it be better to have one focal point and declare this a games forum. After all you can still chat and post intelligent threads or stories, or talk about wrestling, regardless of what the forums are actually called. Back to our roots perhaps.
Or have chat forums "had their day"?
Do the avatars deter new users?
Work is progressing on the chat forum system to enable you (Freeola customers) to have ready made forums on your web sites.
Freeola Bingo is much improved now that it runs constantly. Originally suggested on the forums, Freeola Bingo was intended to give the forums a boost. By the way, it's not intended to be a permanent fixture and Google won't allow us to advertise it, even though it's free.
The site gets thousands of visitors and hundreds of new sign-ups per day, but this is hardly evident on the forums.
It does not seem worthwhile to me, to have eight different forums generating small numbers of posts. Maybe there should only be one.
As the rest of Gameaday is games orientated wouldn't it be better to have one focal point and declare this a games forum. After all you can still chat and post intelligent threads or stories, or talk about wrestling, regardless of what the forums are actually called. Back to our roots perhaps.
Or have chat forums "had their day"?
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FantasyMeister wrote:
> You could also gear your £30 a day vouchers towards,
> specifically, posts concerning areas you want to develop. E.g.
> "This week win £30 for best Wi-Fi tip/product
> review" etc.
That's quite a good point, but it still might have the "I can't do that so I won't bother to contribute" effect.
> You could also gear your £30 a day vouchers towards,
> specifically, posts concerning areas you want to develop. E.g.
> "This week win £30 for best Wi-Fi tip/product
> review" etc.
That's quite a good point, but it still might have the "I can't do that so I won't bother to contribute" effect.
Grix Thraves wrote:
> I already said I imagine you've got plenty of hits
> for cheats and walkthroughs, what I'm saying is these people
> don't stay around for the forums - and it's either because they
> can't even find them which even I find difficult, or it's
> because the forums just aren't worth visiting.
Well we can rule out them not being able to find it, as there is a "Chat Forums" button right next to the Cheats button on the top of every page.
> What other site offers free money to post somewhere? Don't you
> think that's a major incentive? Either it's not being advertised
> well enough or they're just completely unattractive.. and I don't
> mean the style and look of them, I mean the topics inside.
The first button in the top strip says "Gameaday Prizes" and there is a box on the top right of every page which says "Gameaday £30 Prize every day".
Thus my concern that we may benefit from a round of changes, particularly to the focal points of the site. But of course any changes will be unpopular.
> I already said I imagine you've got plenty of hits
> for cheats and walkthroughs, what I'm saying is these people
> don't stay around for the forums - and it's either because they
> can't even find them which even I find difficult, or it's
> because the forums just aren't worth visiting.
Well we can rule out them not being able to find it, as there is a "Chat Forums" button right next to the Cheats button on the top of every page.
> What other site offers free money to post somewhere? Don't you
> think that's a major incentive? Either it's not being advertised
> well enough or they're just completely unattractive.. and I don't
> mean the style and look of them, I mean the topics inside.
The first button in the top strip says "Gameaday Prizes" and there is a box on the top right of every page which says "Gameaday £30 Prize every day".
Thus my concern that we may benefit from a round of changes, particularly to the focal points of the site. But of course any changes will be unpopular.
Tony wrote:
> What concerns me at present is the missing focal point. A Chat
> forum surely needs a main subject around which it exists, and
> that seems to be missing. That's what I mostly need your views
> on.
Then I'd say concentrate on Freeola, expand and develop the Website Development & Internet Forum side of things, concentrate on forums for what Freeola does, chuck in a Wi-Fi section, Software section etc. I don't know enough about that side of things to suggest forum topics but I'm sure plenty of Freeola customers could.
Then if and when Freeola diversifies you could then work on expanding the forums further, e.g. if Freeola branches into the Gaming Industry, work on the Games Forum, if they branch into Mobile Phones open a Fone Forum etc. If Freeola don't diversify, no worries, keep the forums as they are, tidy them up a bit using feedback discussed so far, and us existing lot might benefit from random postings by new members attracted to the main forums who just happened to see a Games forum and added their 2 cents while they were there.
You could also gear your £30 a day vouchers towards, specifically, posts concerning areas you want to develop. E.g. "This week win £30 for best Wi-Fi tip/product review" etc.
> What concerns me at present is the missing focal point. A Chat
> forum surely needs a main subject around which it exists, and
> that seems to be missing. That's what I mostly need your views
> on.
Then I'd say concentrate on Freeola, expand and develop the Website Development & Internet Forum side of things, concentrate on forums for what Freeola does, chuck in a Wi-Fi section, Software section etc. I don't know enough about that side of things to suggest forum topics but I'm sure plenty of Freeola customers could.
Then if and when Freeola diversifies you could then work on expanding the forums further, e.g. if Freeola branches into the Gaming Industry, work on the Games Forum, if they branch into Mobile Phones open a Fone Forum etc. If Freeola don't diversify, no worries, keep the forums as they are, tidy them up a bit using feedback discussed so far, and us existing lot might benefit from random postings by new members attracted to the main forums who just happened to see a Games forum and added their 2 cents while they were there.
You could also gear your £30 a day vouchers towards, specifically, posts concerning areas you want to develop. E.g. "This week win £30 for best Wi-Fi tip/product review" etc.
Yes, Mr. Overzealous.
Ladybird wrote:
> Tsk tsk.. such deep rooted distentions..
Do you know what that word means?
EDIT: Anyway, this isn't the topic to bring more of your bizarre obsession into, why don't you start a new topic, and when you feel like insulting me, you can just post in there! Then everyone would be able to avoid it, you'd still get to 'have your say', everyone's happy. Just don't ruin other topics with it.
> Tsk tsk.. such deep rooted distentions..
Do you know what that word means?
EDIT: Anyway, this isn't the topic to bring more of your bizarre obsession into, why don't you start a new topic, and when you feel like insulting me, you can just post in there! Then everyone would be able to avoid it, you'd still get to 'have your say', everyone's happy. Just don't ruin other topics with it.
Tony wrote:
> You'll see some reference to this in my posts. Clearly the
> interactive sites would be a better place if there was a bright
> spark (a writer, an enthusiast) in charge of them full time. We
> can't justify the expense at present, but we might work towards
> it in the future.
You have some bright sparks, your posters. ;)
gamefaqs.com, gametrailers.com, digg.com, gamerankings.com, wikipedia.org, ciao.com to name a few have all demonstrated models by which you can leverage user content in a positive fashion. Some of those sites even started off as nothing more than glorified forums. And some of them have a large degree of self moderation with their content.
Theres a million and one things you could do, but its just a matter of having the time and will to set up some system. Literally any system you come up with gives you more of a focus.
> You'll see some reference to this in my posts. Clearly the
> interactive sites would be a better place if there was a bright
> spark (a writer, an enthusiast) in charge of them full time. We
> can't justify the expense at present, but we might work towards
> it in the future.
You have some bright sparks, your posters. ;)
gamefaqs.com, gametrailers.com, digg.com, gamerankings.com, wikipedia.org, ciao.com to name a few have all demonstrated models by which you can leverage user content in a positive fashion. Some of those sites even started off as nothing more than glorified forums. And some of them have a large degree of self moderation with their content.
Theres a million and one things you could do, but its just a matter of having the time and will to set up some system. Literally any system you come up with gives you more of a focus.
Tsk tsk.. such deep rooted distentions..
Tony wrote:
"Grix - we don't exist to make people post on the forums. And you are wrong from start to finish with your assumptions."
If I'm completely wrong, what about reviews? You didn't cover that.
"Even the moderate amount of Google advertising we do for cheats and walkthroughs brought 1392 people to this site in the past 24 hours. The number of visitors at cheats and walkthroughs is massively more than at chat and bingo. I am not putting the forums down, and we do what we can, but you need to be aware of the reality."
What reality? I already said I imagine you've got plenty of hits for cheats and walkthroughs, what I'm saying is these people don't stay around for the forums - and it's either because they can't even find them which even I find difficult, or it's because the forums just aren't worth visiting.
What other site offers free money to post somewhere? Don't you think that's a major incentive? Either it's not being advertised well enough or they're just completely unattractive.. and I don't mean the style and look of them, I mean the topics inside.
Don't be condescending when I'm trying to help, Tony.
"Grix - we don't exist to make people post on the forums. And you are wrong from start to finish with your assumptions."
If I'm completely wrong, what about reviews? You didn't cover that.
"Even the moderate amount of Google advertising we do for cheats and walkthroughs brought 1392 people to this site in the past 24 hours. The number of visitors at cheats and walkthroughs is massively more than at chat and bingo. I am not putting the forums down, and we do what we can, but you need to be aware of the reality."
What reality? I already said I imagine you've got plenty of hits for cheats and walkthroughs, what I'm saying is these people don't stay around for the forums - and it's either because they can't even find them which even I find difficult, or it's because the forums just aren't worth visiting.
What other site offers free money to post somewhere? Don't you think that's a major incentive? Either it's not being advertised well enough or they're just completely unattractive.. and I don't mean the style and look of them, I mean the topics inside.
Don't be condescending when I'm trying to help, Tony.
Grix Thraves wrote:
> Exactly my point about the cheats/walkthroughs/reviews
>
> What the hell is that database for? gamefaqs.com is where you
> can go for cheats and walkthroughs, and who's going to trawl
> through the reviews to find something there?
>
> It's there just for GAD and no other reason, as far as I can
> see. Scrap them all, put the GADs back into the chat forums,
> which I might add, is what made them so damn popular to begin
> with, and award posts instead of pointless reviews.
>
> I reckon Bingo should stay, as that's a bit of fun and can
> attract more people here. A lot more I think than the
> cheats/walkthroughs and reviews do.
>
> And I'm sure you can produce a list of numbers surrounding the
> hits on the searches.. but it's not making anyone post on the
> forums, is it?
Grix - we don't exist to make people post on the forums. And you are wrong from start to finish with your assumptions. Even the moderate amount of Google advertising we do for cheats and walkthroughs brought 1392 people to this site in the past 24 hours. The number of visitors at cheats and walkthroughs is massively more than at chat and bingo. I am not putting the forums down, and we do what we can, but you need to be aware of the reality.
> Exactly my point about the cheats/walkthroughs/reviews
>
> What the hell is that database for? gamefaqs.com is where you
> can go for cheats and walkthroughs, and who's going to trawl
> through the reviews to find something there?
>
> It's there just for GAD and no other reason, as far as I can
> see. Scrap them all, put the GADs back into the chat forums,
> which I might add, is what made them so damn popular to begin
> with, and award posts instead of pointless reviews.
>
> I reckon Bingo should stay, as that's a bit of fun and can
> attract more people here. A lot more I think than the
> cheats/walkthroughs and reviews do.
>
> And I'm sure you can produce a list of numbers surrounding the
> hits on the searches.. but it's not making anyone post on the
> forums, is it?
Grix - we don't exist to make people post on the forums. And you are wrong from start to finish with your assumptions. Even the moderate amount of Google advertising we do for cheats and walkthroughs brought 1392 people to this site in the past 24 hours. The number of visitors at cheats and walkthroughs is massively more than at chat and bingo. I am not putting the forums down, and we do what we can, but you need to be aware of the reality.
Biggie Little Jr wrote:
> We need Snuggly back, tbh.
You'll see some reference to this in my posts. Clearly the interactive sites would be a better place if there was a bright spark (a writer, an enthusiast) in charge of them full time. We can't justify the expense at present, but we might work towards it in the future.
What concerns me at present is the missing focal point. A Chat forum surely needs a main subject around which it exists, and that seems to be missing. That's what I mostly need your views on.
I've taken the points on board about reviews and I'll give it some thought.
> We need Snuggly back, tbh.
You'll see some reference to this in my posts. Clearly the interactive sites would be a better place if there was a bright spark (a writer, an enthusiast) in charge of them full time. We can't justify the expense at present, but we might work towards it in the future.
What concerns me at present is the missing focal point. A Chat forum surely needs a main subject around which it exists, and that seems to be missing. That's what I mostly need your views on.
I've taken the points on board about reviews and I'll give it some thought.
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