Post by oblivion on Nov 16, 2004 15:11:30 GMT -5
I'm about 3/4 of the way through the rework of one of my forum designs, and I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts about ways to make the forum cleaner looking, easier to read, more cohesive looking, and otherwise better. At the moment, the real forum has a "seasonal" background, so you can see what the "post holiday" overall look and feel will be on the test forum...
adhdrefugetest.proboards23.com/index.cgi
The test forum doesn't contain all gazillion boards. To see those (and the gawdawful thanksgiving background...soon to be replaced by gawdawful snowflakes) go here...
adhdrefuge.proboards18.com/index.cgi
Things to keep in mind:
-- On the ADHD Refuge, my screen name is glyphon, not oblivion. You may notice that I've lent my "chimera" avatar to someone on our board who goes by that name. Chimera is not me, despite the identical profile pictures. I use a Julia Set visualization as an avatar on my forum, because I'm into math and chaos theory.
-- Some of my members (and their kids) are subject to seizures, so I don't do moving images of any sort, because they can trigger seizures. I am "shopping" for a graphic that can replace the flaming folders, but in the meantime I replaced them with something that doesn't actually indicate lots of replies. One graphic I'd like to find is something nautical that suggests a locked thread. You'll see why "nautical" if you visit the forum.
-- My demographic is mostly 35 or older (all the way up to pushing 60) and at least 80% female. Nearly all of them have children, and a few are also caregivers of their disabled parents or spouses. Although the forum started as a place to provide info and support for parents of ADHD children, we now have adults with ADHD and a whole lot of people who either have conditions that affect ability to concentrate or who have children with such conditions and who can benefit from many of the accommodations and compensations that ADHDers often require and develop. A lot of medical conditions are now discussed on our board, though we've tried to keep the non-ADHD medical conditions confined to just a couple of additional forums, and not devote a separate forum to each condition. I don't want to wind up with a general neurology board in a year or two. I'm not qualified to run one!
-- Members' vision problems have to be accommodated on this forum, so the fonts, etc are probably larger than you're used to seeing, and the banner is quite plain and "clean" visually. I try for high contrast between textual and non-textual elements. Any suggestions on improving the readability of this forum would be GREATLY appreciated.
-- We have a fairly active members-only area that is completely invisible to guests. The category doesn't even show up when a guest views the forum. The actual post count is over 13000. Due to the need to sometimes talk about sensitive personal issues regarding health or school, it was decided to create an inner sanctum for members. We keep just about all of the information that can benefit people looking for information about ADHD in areas where guests can read.
-- Philosophically, we decided long ago that we didn't want to make a big deal out of who on our forum moderates (we actually call it "facilitate") and who participates. Some of our non-moderators would make great mods if they only had the time. So, our board looks pretty egalitarian. No special fonts for admins or mods, and no place on the forum that lists who all the mods are. This is a preference on the part of our staff, and I wouldn't change it unless most of the staff wanted recognition, and maybe not even then.
-- Believe me, I know that ADHD is a controversial diagnosis and a LOT of people don't think the condition exists at all. I'll be happy to discuss philosophical issues about ADHD here or via private message, but I ask that no one register on our forum to question the existence of ADHD or the diagnoses these families are dealing with. One of the reasons I have never asked for a proboards GOAYB rate is because I don't want to advertise the ADHD Refuge to people who aren't looking for this kind of forum out of necessity. The other reason is that the design constraints I've set for myself (and my members' needs set for me) mean that 90% of the feedback people get at GOAYB would be worthless to me.
On the other hand if you happen to HAVE ADHD/ADD or have a family member with ADHD and think this forum could help you, you are welcome to visit, and to join if you wish.
Thanks in advance to anyone who wants to take a look and provide feedback.
adhdrefugetest.proboards23.com/index.cgi
The test forum doesn't contain all gazillion boards. To see those (and the gawdawful thanksgiving background...soon to be replaced by gawdawful snowflakes) go here...
adhdrefuge.proboards18.com/index.cgi
Things to keep in mind:
-- On the ADHD Refuge, my screen name is glyphon, not oblivion. You may notice that I've lent my "chimera" avatar to someone on our board who goes by that name. Chimera is not me, despite the identical profile pictures. I use a Julia Set visualization as an avatar on my forum, because I'm into math and chaos theory.
-- Some of my members (and their kids) are subject to seizures, so I don't do moving images of any sort, because they can trigger seizures. I am "shopping" for a graphic that can replace the flaming folders, but in the meantime I replaced them with something that doesn't actually indicate lots of replies. One graphic I'd like to find is something nautical that suggests a locked thread. You'll see why "nautical" if you visit the forum.
-- My demographic is mostly 35 or older (all the way up to pushing 60) and at least 80% female. Nearly all of them have children, and a few are also caregivers of their disabled parents or spouses. Although the forum started as a place to provide info and support for parents of ADHD children, we now have adults with ADHD and a whole lot of people who either have conditions that affect ability to concentrate or who have children with such conditions and who can benefit from many of the accommodations and compensations that ADHDers often require and develop. A lot of medical conditions are now discussed on our board, though we've tried to keep the non-ADHD medical conditions confined to just a couple of additional forums, and not devote a separate forum to each condition. I don't want to wind up with a general neurology board in a year or two. I'm not qualified to run one!
-- Members' vision problems have to be accommodated on this forum, so the fonts, etc are probably larger than you're used to seeing, and the banner is quite plain and "clean" visually. I try for high contrast between textual and non-textual elements. Any suggestions on improving the readability of this forum would be GREATLY appreciated.
-- We have a fairly active members-only area that is completely invisible to guests. The category doesn't even show up when a guest views the forum. The actual post count is over 13000. Due to the need to sometimes talk about sensitive personal issues regarding health or school, it was decided to create an inner sanctum for members. We keep just about all of the information that can benefit people looking for information about ADHD in areas where guests can read.
-- Philosophically, we decided long ago that we didn't want to make a big deal out of who on our forum moderates (we actually call it "facilitate") and who participates. Some of our non-moderators would make great mods if they only had the time. So, our board looks pretty egalitarian. No special fonts for admins or mods, and no place on the forum that lists who all the mods are. This is a preference on the part of our staff, and I wouldn't change it unless most of the staff wanted recognition, and maybe not even then.
-- Believe me, I know that ADHD is a controversial diagnosis and a LOT of people don't think the condition exists at all. I'll be happy to discuss philosophical issues about ADHD here or via private message, but I ask that no one register on our forum to question the existence of ADHD or the diagnoses these families are dealing with. One of the reasons I have never asked for a proboards GOAYB rate is because I don't want to advertise the ADHD Refuge to people who aren't looking for this kind of forum out of necessity. The other reason is that the design constraints I've set for myself (and my members' needs set for me) mean that 90% of the feedback people get at GOAYB would be worthless to me.
On the other hand if you happen to HAVE ADHD/ADD or have a family member with ADHD and think this forum could help you, you are welcome to visit, and to join if you wish.
Thanks in advance to anyone who wants to take a look and provide feedback.