User Survey

[AJ]

Give me your opinion on a couple issues.

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.

2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?

3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?

4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?

Thanks for your opinions.. I'd appreciate if you answered most/all of the questions and elaborated on your own personal views on the issues.

[DragonPaladin]

1) General site impression?
Shiny! First things that comes to mind. Simple once you start using it and lots of choices.
2) Arcade?
Some games are fun. Never really played that much.
3) Forum Layout
Spilts out nicely.
4) Forum Leaders
See...my mind spilts them into two groups.
A) People who go to warboards to talk(That's most of us.)
B) Warboards Administrator/Mod-Police of the Warboard. Can ban, edit, close, and all sorts of techniques to oppress the masses(sorry, just came to mind)...I mean, help society.
5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I have no clue. Bigger Inbox? Bigger Avatars? Invulnerability against banning? Certain mod privileges? Certain things come to mind.

[Protogod]

its all ok, except a few things: i dont understant the last one, the arcade is fun, but it could use a wider selection, if by leaders, youmean mods, then i think they flaunt their power too directly,

[Sperate]

1) More color schemes. A dark one is desperatly needed. Other then that.. I only pay attention to Diplo/RP/SC2.

2) A few games are broken, and a few are just boring. 4 3 month "seasons" with tournys in the last week for a colored username until the next tourny or something.

3) Nothing that I can think of. Be nice for RP to be a forum with a Diplo subforum, but other then that..

4) No, yes, and it means you are the God of the Forum.

5) No ads, obviously. Larger PM box, possibly (POSSIBLY) a bigger sig limit. I think that it should be only thought of as a "fancy" membership, not as a "full" membership. Otherwise it just goes downhill. Full membership is joining. I would save it for a bigger/better server.

[Moser]

1. General Site Impression?
I love it. Easy to use. Everything seems to be in the right place so you can get around quickly.
2. Arcade?
I only play a few of the games, but I really wish we had that Ninja Turtles star throwing game back.. know which one I am talking about? :P Anyways, we have a good amount of games.
3. Forum Layout
It's good with me.
4. Forum Leaders
I get how people have the different colored names, but keep it simple.. don't pull a BF and have like 100 of each color and add 10 more colors. That's way to confusing.. If you wanna know how they are doing in my opinion-- most of them are doing a good job...
5. Premium/Donation Usergroup
I don't really know. If you do anything, don't do anything to much because then some users will feel that they are better then other users just because they donate money. Maybe if I think of anything sometime, I'll write it here.

[Markpyro]

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.

2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?

3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?

4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?


1)Im Pretty much fine with it, Im happy with the look. A few other skins would be nice, I like color.

2) I dont play in the arcade that much, but Im happy with the games.

3) It's fine. As long as I can find a forum, I dont care where they're placed.

4)Not confused. Yes, I know the difference. Warboards Administrator... Aj, Fenguin, Edgy. The people who police the mods and us, and change the forums to your liking x)

5) No, I dont want "Special" usergroups. It is another way of setting ranks, making people look better than others.

AJ, if the forum needs money, I'd be delighted to dontate a few bucks if you set up a donating system.

[IceFlare]

1. General Site Impression
- Im beginning to like it although there is still room for improvement but theres not much you could really do about it. When I say theres room for improvement I mean better post topics etc which you have little control over so I wouldnt count that against you. Overall you can tell this is still a new community that is developing.

2. Arcade
- Never touched it, no comment

3. The forum layout is decent but again could use a facelift. The current layout is a mix between heavy and lite in terms of load speeds. You have images for postbits, control panel etc which makes load speeds longer but they are simple images which don't take extremely long to load. It would be better if it had 2 themes, 1 full of images for the heavy users who have broadband and a lite version for narrowband users. Thats about it, otherwise its fine but a layout change every few months would be great ^^

4. Forum Leaders
- This is the part that is unclear, we need better distinction between the different types of authorities because with the current, it is hard to tell. The only difference mods have than posters is a bold in their name which is very subtle, a more noticeable difference would be preferred. Also, admins should just be admins, I dont think there is a need to classify them into their respective sites.

5. Promotional Usergroup
- Since this is not implemented yet I'll let my ideas run wild. Because of the fee, I doubt many users would actually subscribe to it unless they were die-hard hardcore fanboys. But if you do go through with this, some suggestions would be a private forum for these VIPs, porn?, normally disallowed topics allowed, easier to gain ranks (eg. if staff need more mods, this group would be given a better chance than the rest of the posters, an advantage) and access to the staff forum?

Theres more several cents

[Battlecruiser]

1) General site impression?
Very nice. I love the community since there is a lack of flamers, and while there used to be a lot of spam, now that is gone too. A new layout would be refreshing, but other than that, I can't really complain.

2) Arcade?
I don't play the arcade, so I can't really comment on this one.

3) Forum Layout
Yeah, forum heirarchy is nice. Works nice for me.

4) Forum Leaders
Nope, no confusion at all. Yes, I know what admins are.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I don't really think there is a point to having one unless money is really needed. If it is, then go for it, but I won't be one that would donate since my parents wouldn't let me.

[Zeltaris]

1) General site impression?
I'm currently ok with the site's works.

2) Arcade?
I don't really use the arcade currently, but a couple more sidescrollers [A Mario game, perhaps?] would be appreciated, should they be possible

3) Forum Layout
My biggest concern is with the Online Roleplaying forum being a subforum. I feel it's subordination to the Entertainment Treasury tends to diminish its attractive to newcomers, mostly

4) Forum Leaders
The colour code is fine. Orange= Admins Teal= Banned, Red=Admins [again?!] Purple= Moderators
No, seriously, it's perfectly clear. Moderators (Teal) have the duties of any global moderator: Keeping order within the boards. ORG Staff(Orange) have similar responsibilities to moderators, but they shouldn't be bothered when a mod's available
Admins[Blue, Italics] are in charge of running and maintaining the site. They are responsible for the code and stuff. Don't poke them. They bite

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I don't truly believe a premium usergroup is such a good idea. If it were to be implemented, though, I'd suggest larger PM inboxes, higher avatar filesize limits and, maybe the ability to delete their own posts. Nothing bigger, I don't want to see people "buying" modships, for example

-Zelt was here, May 17th, 2007.

[Markpyro]

( one thing: From Zelta's idea; I would pay to have a bigger PM box, since I run the newspaper and all: and I need to keep certain PM's , save some that have important information, etc. etc. 100 gets to be a little small sometimes.)

[IceFlare]

I like the larger avatar and sig limit sounds good

[BSTRhino]

1) General site impression?
It's fine, but it needs more integration with the network sites like StarCraft.org, WarCraft.org and FlagshipStudios.org. Right now the communities are too separate. Speaking from my point of view, StarCraft.org visitors don't come over here often, and WarBoards.org visitors don't go over there often. We're too divided. There are also extra features I'd love to have. A todo list would rock my world.

2) Arcade?
I never play in the arcade, maybe because I have too many other things to do. More tournaments are needed, and they are so easy to set up, we should just run tournaments all the time.

3) Forum Layout
Click to Enlarge isn't as obvious as it should be. I know we could have some incredibly stunning graphics on the front page and an outrageously unique way of switching between forums though, but I'd have to see it before I decided it was worth doing.

4) Forum Leaders
I think most people believe they know the difference between ORG Staff, Forum Administrators and the Moderating Team, but I actually need to update the "Your Guide to WarBoards.org" thread because what it says in there is partly wrong.

Edit: Oh well, I've changed the page, so everyone should get this answer right now.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I wouldn't like to consider that unless we had a lot more members. I wouldn't like bigger sig sizes or avies, I think we're being very lenient already with those actually. The bigger PM box might be useful for some though.

[TranquilNightElf]

1) General site impression?
I like it.Open and inviting.I agree with BST on the integration part.There are a lot more members on warcraft.org that never come here.Of course that it is their choice, but perhaps you can have some element of the .Org sites put on the boards instead to get more involvement out of those members.

2) Arcade?
I like the arcades. Fun games and nice layout. There should be more tourneys though.And resetting the scores might be a good idea on perhaps a two to three monthly basis.

3) Forum Layout
Good and Simple.I know there is already a lot of talk on new forum layout so hopeully we should also be seeing something rereshing and exciting as well.
Oh and is it possible to have skins that match the themes of the individual .ORG site as well, for example a user from SC.ORG could select a theme that makes WB resemble SC.ORG, though I realize that it would mean a lot of extra work, it might make the average .ORG member more comfortable at the boards/

4) Forum Leaders
No problem there.


5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I'm not really for Premium usergroup. Not everyone would be able to a part of it and would kind of split up the members. Of course paying to have a bigger inbox is a good idea. So I guess it would really depend on what type o services would be available to members who donate money

[mcflurry_1982]

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.

I really like this forum. out of all the forums that ive been to this is the only 1 i come to regularly. The one feature that i think should be added (actually readded) is a style chooser. i liked the macintosh theme.


2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?

I like the current games but do think new ones should be added and rotated with the regular games. The scores should be reset monthly because i feel that it refreshes the challenge a bit.


3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?

The current layout is good. it just needs to stay constant.


4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?

no problems or issues here


5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?

instead of some premium member thing i think surveys like this one should be done more often.

[Black.Ice]

Give me your opinion on a couple issues.

1) General site impression?

That was one of the reasons I signed up. Everything was clear cut, and simple and straight forward. I've been deterred from a lot of forums because they appear clunky, and have too much information.

The color scheme is good, and I like it. Perhaps a new header image, to incorporate a growing ORG network, for example FlagShipStudios and Diablo ORG site.

2) Arcade?

I play the arcade once in a blue moon, but I do notice it has a few quirks. For example, all the games don't appear on the rankings page. I have a few 2nd place wins or something, but none of them show.

But, since I don't visit it much, I can't really comment on it more.

3) Forum Layout

The Intellectual Roundtable should be renamed to the War Room, while the War Room should be renamed to the Intellectual Roundtable.

Seriously though, while it would be cool to have a separate RP forum, I don't think it's big enough to warrant it's own forum at the moment.

I would suggest the Creative Concepts forum to be more like a "Special Interests" forum which would house more than "art". Perhaps change it to allow general discussion of special interests, such as programming, etc.

Also, since we're not in England, I think the "Offering untold amounts of wit and humour since 2004." should be changed to the same thing with humor.
On a side note about descriptions, a certain forum description should be changed from "past" to "passed". :D


4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all?

Well, being a moderator no. But trying to imagine a newbie's point of view, the color coding for ORG staff would be a bit confusing. I would be wondering why the ORG staff have power here, and how come some ORG staff doesn't t have mod powers?

To avoid this, I would suggest implementing an icon or something similar next to the name. For example, I wouldn't have an icon, whereas Schwitzer, BSTRhino, etc. would have a small StarCraft.org Icon.

Moderators would have the same color -all of them, whether affiliated with an ORG site or not. Additionally, if they are affiliated with an ORG site, they would have an icon. And staff who do not have mod powers on WB would be simply denoted with the icon, but no color.

Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?

Unfair cruelty. ...

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup


First of all, I would love to have a premium donation user group. For premium members, I would think the following features would be cool:


Special Icon to indicate premium status.
Larger PM box.
Slightly different postbit layout. Whether it be larger avatar, etc.
Colored user-titles, etc.
I can't think of anything else at the moment, but I'll update this if I think of anything else.

What the money should be used towards

Acquiring exclusive Warboards content. I don't know how it would be possible to get this, but an exclusive interview with FlagshipStudios would be sweet. Or talk to Blizzard about upcoming Starcraft Ghost, etc.

Now... I have no idea what the process is to do this anyway, and whether any money is involved. Regardless of whether it involves money, I would still like to see it.

It would have multiple benefits... new people would flock to the site to learn about our exclusive content, etc.

Another use of the money is for advertising. Warboards should be the largest and best forum for Blizzard gaming. I say Blizzard, because we have to focus on one thing before we branch out.

Anyways, those are my thoughts...

[Protogod]

bst, one thing: about sc.org being separate. ya, it'd be nice to have 'em really close, but we are just really different. WB is the traditional sense of a commuinity, clean cut etc. but the rules are very strict, as opposed to sc.org where the ruled have to be less strict because the entire community is based around little jokes and such. we dont always stay on topic because there arent topics, so we just have more fun outside the box. nothing wrong with either one, just theyre really different. although i have noticed a bit more strictness at sc.org intentional or not, its there.

[DragonPaladin]

Well, I see Schwitzer and BSTRhino watching this. Lol. Anyway, the only places to talk are stories and they don't really have a defined subject besides the story itself. And they follow a cycle.

For instance:

My Story -> Posts for 1 week originally.
Views -> Seems popular so add some more weeks.

2 weeks later...People keep talking so -> + 1 week
1 week later...People still keep talking so -> +1 week
and so on and so on...That's how the map Save The World is still here after a couple of months.

[Schwitzer]

Well, being a moderator no. But trying to imagine a newbie's point of view, the color coding for ORG staff would be a bit confusing. I would be wondering why the ORG staff have power here, and how come some ORG staff doesn't t have mod powers?

To avoid this, I would suggest implementing an icon or something similar next to the name. For example, I wouldn't have an icon, whereas Schwitzer, BSTRhino, etc. would have a small StarCraft.org Icon.
I like this idea, as it allows for more consistency and clarity.

Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?
Exactly what it says; someone who administrates WarBoards (i.e. people who also have to concern themselves with the actual running of the site, as opposed to simply content control).

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I'm supportive of the idea of a Premium Usergroup that consists of those who have donated, although they need to be given something decent in return. Also, there should probably be a cut-off to prevent people paying a quarter so they can be a premium member (although obviously this cut-off shouldn't be too high... $5 or something, maybe).

Some things to consider...

1. When you gain access to the Premium Usergroup, do you retain that status forever or is the duration based on how much you donated?
2. Will the rewards given be somehow proportional to the amount payed?

Now, in reply to some of the rewards already suggested, here are my views:
» Moderator status / some moderator abilities
You have to be careful with this, because I'd hate for there to be a "pay-for-power" mentality. As it is, people get promoted if they deserve it, and I'd prefer to see it stay that way.

However, there are a couple of moderator abilities that would be nice to give Premium Users, whilst at the same time not giving them the keys to the ban cannon. These include:
- Ability to delete own posts
- Ability to move own threads
- Ability to moderate own threads, maybe?

» A private forum for Premium members
Hmm... it's something extra to add as a reward, but I wonder as to how worthwhile this would really be. I mean, what would they talk about in there? Something to consider, though.

» Larger private message box capacity
Yes, definately.

» Larger avatar / signature sizes
Okey, we don't actually impose these limits because we like making rules; we do this to keep people from going too overboard with their avatar and signatures. The dimension limitations should stay, although it's possibly a good idea to allow a bit larger filesize upload.

» Coloured user names or user titles
Heh, people love to be special, so I think coloured user titles would be quite a selling point for many people. My only concern is that this may result in Premium members being confused with staff (especially if they get some mod powers). All things considered, I'd be okey with Premium members having a subtle coloured user name.

» An honorific listing of Premium members
Have all the Premium members show up in a list - possibly on the Forum Leaders page. Whether or not the actual amounts donated need to be displayed is something to consider with further discussion, but I definately think the Premium members would deserve a listing somewhere.

» Immunity from being banned
No. Not even moderators get this luxury, so why would Premium members get it? If you deserve to be banned, you will be.

What the money should be used towards
Site fees, VB licences, upgrades, prizes for forum competitions.

In fact, having prizes for forum competitions would be awesome; I'd really like to be able to do that.

[DragonPaladin]

Great idea! The contest could be something like...
A) Design the best sig.
B) Draw the Best Picture
C) Make the Best Map
D) Write the best story/poem
E) Anything that can be competed with

Prizes:
Ultimate Prize-A computer(Might be too expensive...)
Couple of Runner-up Prizes. Various Blizzard Games and such.l

[AJ]

I appreciate the responses, feel free to continue to comment on one another's posts, especially Schwitzer's last reply.. Some of that is rather helpful.

Besides that, I've reworked the forum layout a bit to your suggestions.

[BSTRhino]

protogod, yes, the looseness on StarCraft.org is not intentional. We have the same rule policy on WarBoards.org and StarCraft.org. StarCraft.org only seems less strict because there are fewer staff members there to enforce the rules.

the only places to talk are stories
That's what WarBoards.org is for...

[Protogod]

the policy is irrelevant. the fact is what matters. what the policy is doesnt change the fact that it is looser, doesnt matter how or why, it is.

[DragonPaladin]

No...Bst. When I say talk, I mean spam randomly about entirely new things. You know, about paintball on my stories and invastion of America.

[Geno]

Give me your opinion on a couple issues.

Ok.

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.

Other than the newest thing I asked for, quick edit, I see nothing wrong. Of course, if I wanted to go out on a limb, a dice rolling feature would be cool (You say [d6r1] and it rolls a six sided dice once. It's an interesting thing, but as everyone's going to make a point of saying: It's pointless. It'd be really cool, though ^.^

2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?

I don't play in the Arcade, and therefore, I cannot comment on this.

3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?

I really enjoy this new layout, with the new FPS shooters subforum, the RP forum an actual forum, and no longer a subforum, the ML at the top. It's perfect, in my opinion.

4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?

The staff has always been a big help. I feel that earlier in WB's life, the members and I were doing 99% of the crap in the RP forum, minus what the mods and admins did on stickies, but now that we have BI as a mod, that's definately changed. Props to you on that. As for moderation, it's good thus far. Very few problems go unattended, and everything is dealt with swiftly and fairly.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?

I reccommended this idea, and stand by it. As for what we'd use the money for: Less ads. It would be nice not to see them at all, but that's probably not possible. As for what we'd get? I don't know. Maybe a color custom title for like 5 bucks, a different color name (Not moderator or Admin or such color) for like 10 or something... Those minor things to say "Yea, It's neat." Y'know? But giving to your forum should be gratitude enough.

Thanks for your opinions.. I'd appreciate if you answered most/all of the questions and elaborated on your own personal views on the issues.

No problem. I did my best :)

~Larry "Geno" Meyers
- BI's RP forum Aide

[BlackHawk]

1) General site impression?

I like it, easy on the eyes, however some custom alternate designs would be nice.


2) Arcade?

Some new, fresh games wouldn't be bad. As for the scores, you should refresh them every month.

3) Forum Layout

I think it's fine; if someone found something better that would be fine too :). Just give me time to get used to it xD.

4) Forum Leaders

Just fine.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup

I think that a donation would be nice, but they should get a T-shirt or something, maybe a larger size avatar, but a whole new usergroup would probably (though hopefully not) lead to discrimination. People like "I'm in the Premium Usergroup, therefore I'm better then you", or "kekeke i own j00".

[BIGDB]

1) General site impression?
WBs has everything from PM's to Live Chat (IRC) and the only thing I could think of to make it any better would be optional color schemes for each user.

2) Arcade?
I haven't been able to play the games recently, but I have in the past and was very satisfied, it gives you something else to do while waiting for a reply to a post or PM. Also about resetting the high scores, I think that once yearly would be fine, it gives users a good amount of time to compete for the high score, and would keep the competition going after the year is over.

3) Forum Layout
No complaining from me... I think the site is laid out very plainly and easy to navigate.

4) Forum Leaders
No, Yes, Forum Admin is the final authority.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I'm going to skip the first question and move to the second , I don't think that a premium user group is a good idea, because it gives people the option of buying a status instead of gaining it over time. I know that if there were a way for users to donate money to the site securely (Through whatever means is easiest.), you would definitely get some results... Becuase most of the people here care enough about the community, and have gotten enough out of it to want to give something back. In short, I don't think that we should get anything in return (Set aside a formal "Thank-You." for donating money because enough has already been given us.

And the third question! Whatever the presiding authority deems necessary.

[TranquilNightElf]

» A private forum for Premium members
Hmm... it's something extra to add as a reward, but I wonder as to how worthwhile this would really be. I mean, what would they talk about in there? Something to consider, though.



A private forum for premium members ?.. hmm food for thought. But then as you've said what would it be used for ?Unless it is something really specific, or out of set of common forums room(nothing comes to mind as of now) Premium members would generaly tend to hang out at the private forum,because after all they did pay for it, discussing normal things that would be also ideally suited for the non-paid forums. IMO that would be kinda sad..becuase you'd see two different factions of members separately doing things that they used to do together.





» Moderator status / some moderator abilities
You have to be careful with this, because I'd hate for there to be a "pay-for-power" mentality. As it is, people get promoted if they deserve it, and I'd prefer to see it stay that way.

However, there are a couple of moderator abilities that would be nice to give Premium Users, whilst at the same time not giving them the keys to the ban cannon. These include:
- Ability to delete own posts
- Ability to move own threads
- Ability to moderate own threads, maybe?



Not a bad idea this. But yes it has to be explored carefully. For eg. getting to moderate your own thread seem promising. But how would the donations work with this system ? Would it be on a monthly basis or a one time pay.And how would these members be considered in the situation when a full time Mod is needed.





» Coloured user names or user titles
Heh, people love to be special, so I think coloured user titles would be quite a selling point for many people. My only concern is that this may result in Premium members being confused with staff (especially if they get some mod powers). All things considered, I'd be okey with Premium members having a subtle coloured user name.

» An honorific listing of Premium members
Have all the Premium members show up in a list - possibly on the Forum Leaders page. Whether or not the actual amounts donated need to be displayed is something to consider with further discussion, but I definately think the Premium members would deserve a listing somewhere.


Nice ideas those (although at first I read the word honorific as horrific ;) )

[Hawthorne]

Give me your opinion on a couple issues.

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.
Good system, you've worked out most of the bugs but there are still some changes that need to be done.

2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?

If If not at all reset them yearly, add some new ones, I odn't know Pokemon heheheh :)
3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?
Suggestions: As was said by a user in another thread a Quick Edit Would be better. I think you should readd the "story" thingy that you had going before something went wrong with the server and it dissapeared.
4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?
It does not confuse at all.I know the stories of most if nto all the leaders. ORG Staff - you take care of sc.org,wc.org & the forum's hostage. Moderationg team - Forum Leaders.
5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?
I am clearly above such sthings.That would be a sort of raceism. If you need donations just say it we'll all gladly send a few bucks but giving someone more rights than other would be just horrible, let me remind you not all of the users would have the resources for monthl or even yearly donations...
Thanks for your opinions.. I'd appreciate if you answered most/all of the questions and elaborated on your own personal views on the issues.

You are welcome ;)

Hawthorne

[AJ]

Would you mind telling what those "changes that need to be done" are exactly?

And what "story thing" are you referring to?

by the way, ORG usergroup has been changed around a bit in terms of appearance. and i fixed multiquoting (which had been broken since we upgraded the other day).

[RogueRed2]

1) General site impression?

It's a big forum and I always get a small forum feel to this place. I like it ^^

2) Arcade?

It's OK. I like some of the games but they serve their purpose well :)

Well for me it's a time-waster, and it certainly does that well when I procrastinate. I don't have a specific preferance regarding resetting scores.

3) Forum Layout

This white/grey one is OK. I like the post box I'm posting in right now, but the color theme overall seems a bit too generic.

The organization is great though, I wouldn't change anything.

4) Forum Leaders

Well I think I know the differences but I don't feel I can answer this correctly since I haven't been here often.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup

Sure, for keeping WB active (like paying hosting fees) and using any leftover money to have contests/random drawings for members who have paid. Maybe more lax rules regarding sigs and avies too.

[mcflurry_1982]

2. Will the rewards given be somehow proportional to the amount payed?
That would be wrong


» Moderator status / some moderator abilities
You have to be careful with this, because I'd hate for there to be a "pay-for-power" mentality. As it is, people get promoted if they deserve it, and I'd prefer to see it stay that way.

However, there are a couple of moderator abilities that would be nice to give Premium Users, whilst at the same time not giving them the keys to the ban cannon. These include:
- Ability to delete own posts
- Ability to move own threads
- Ability to moderate own threads, maybe?
delete own posts, maybe. But moving and/or moderating own threads could lead to conflict between normals, premiums, and staffers.

» A private forum for Premium members
Hmm... it's something extra to add as a reward, but I wonder as to how worthwhile this would really be. I mean, what would they talk about in there? Something to consider, though.
When the Southern Legacy had premium members they were just given access to the staff forum

» Larger private message box capacity
Yes, definately.
agreed

[Ender]

1) General site impression?
Personally, I love. I don't think that there can be much more improvement.

2) Arcade?
Well, I don't play much, but I'm assuming it is fine.

3) Forum Layout
I don't really think it matters. You change where the RP forum is almost every two weeks, but I can still click directly into with no extra trouble. No problems here.

4) Forum Leaders
Not remotely confusing. The difference is easy to notice, in my opinion. I like the moderators we have; they do an excellent job. This is the cleanest forum I've ever seen.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I don't like this, personally. Simply because there are a lot of people like me who can't afford it. I'm an unemployed 16 year old, and my parents innately distrust anything on the Internet. They don't even know that I'm active. If I could send money, I would in an instant, because I love this place so much. However, I don't think it would be fair to base people's benefits on their financial status. It hearkens back to Feudalistic and Aristocratic eras. You might have a Revolution on your hands and we'll chop your heads off after we hack WB.

Just kidding about that last part.

[TranquilNightElf]

Just kidding about that last part.

Aww shucks :P lol

[DragonPaladin]

Mystikal promised me a cookie if I hacked Starcraft.org. I'll get that chocolate chip someday. Mmmm...cookies.

Anyway, I think that members that donate should get the following things


1) Bigger Pm Boxes. I've used up about half and I've only been here for less than month.
2) Bigger Avatars. I know about the reasonable size things and I have scouring the 'net for a small picture.
3) Some sort of special thing. (I don't know. It could be some forum power.)

[EdvardMunch]

1) General site impression?
I like that this site isn't drenched in black, like almost every other gaming forum is. I think the site looks just fine. It might be neat if we got some new smilies though...

2) Arcade?
The arcade games are great, though does duck hunt's kill all dogs setting allow you to submit your score? It doesn't for me, but I can't imagine the top-scorer got 750,000 points by shooting ducks. Breaking 200,000 is definitely hard enough.
Also, I think the scores should be reset every 2 months.
I'd like a lot more arcade tournements though.

3) Forum Layout
The layout is perfect. After you returned the entertainment compendium to the members lounge all of my unsuggested suggestions went away.

4) Forum Leaders
The current staff situation is easy enough. If your name is colored, you have the ability to delete my post or ban me, and that's pretty much all I need to know. I don't really care if a mod here also runs an ORG website.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
Going by the example of www.fark.com, that instituted a program in which you pay for TotalFark accounts to get extra features, it seems likely that the two groups, those who pay and those who don't, will associate themselves as groups (as opposed to thinking of themselves as among all members of WarBoards). However, there isn't much conflict between the groups, so this happening to WB probably wouldn't be a bad thing.
How far could the money go? I'd like to see flash animations or some sort of WB Text-Based game, or a WB MMORPG (overhead 2D and with crude graphics, probably). Just something that is media-based and relates to WB (like we once talked about making a flash animation to educate newbies).
As for features for site-supporters... More smilies, more arcade games, more spam allowance (jk, though that feature alone would probably net you $1 million).

6) Miscellaneous Suggestions
- There could be a news banner at the top of the forum, announcing anything a user wants announced. Namely, it could be used to announce to the rest of the forum that a new WBL comic is out, or someone released a new SC map. Obviously, someone would have to screen the submissions, but users could submit a headline, a description for the screener (if the headline isn't descriptive enough), and a link. Then, if accepted, it appears on the news banner at the top of the forum (which is only on the front page, not at the top of every page).

[XTERMIN8OR1]

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.
I think WarBoards is just fine the way it is.

2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?
I'd like if the WarBoards HangMan came back.

3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?
The layout is fine.

4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?
Nope, doesn't confuse me. I see the WarBoards Administrators as the keepers of stability on WarBoards.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?
I'll be honest; I don't like the concept of having to pay fees just to be able to visit WarBoards.

[Modred]

1) General site impression?
Now that I have better internet, it isn't a problem, but the loss of the imageless version can greatly inhibit dialup users. I like the light theme, although a change might be nice eventually, preferably still light colors. Black is so overused, particularly on gaming sites.

2) Arcade?
Haven't played the arcade in a while, so won't judge it.

3) Forum Layout
I'm not sure what the layout is. You change it every other day, AJ! ;) Anyway, I like RP being a seperate forum and Diplo being a subforum of RP. The Entertainment forum has enough traffic to be seperate, but I really have no problems with it being a subforum.

4) Forum Leaders
I would complain that none of the mods in Diplo play Diplo, but then I realized Oboe just hasn't come around in a while. Yes, I know the difference. Administrator in general means the one who runs the forum (as opposed to mods who regulate). Administrator when applied to AJ means one who endlessly tinkers with things.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
The larger PM inboxes would be nice. I would probably pay for that. Also the suggestions to be able to delete your own posts. However that could present a problem where someone offends another on purpose and then deletes the post (could be even worse if users are allowed to moderate their own threads). Perhaps a free gift. Like a WB coffee mug or something. I think a paying user-group is a good idea, particularly as we grow larger. I'll use LiveJournal as my example: non-paying users can access a variety of features and live well without paying, while paying users get extra storage, more customization options, etc. As far as I can tell, there isn't a real disconnect between paying and free users there; so if it were implemented carefully here, something similar could be achieved.

[claus]

I think its all great

[singo]

1) I like it the way it is....when it was playing up a few months back (before christmas I think) I had to use WB blue - I hated it.

2) I never use the arcade, pass on this one

3) the layout? well, I kinda preffered it when The E/Compendium (full circle, its back with the first name I remember as part of the member lounge again :P) was seperate, but with the thread based games locked Its neither here nor there now, the ORG gaming section is kinda big. blizz should be seperate...it just looked better like that, dunno why

4) Doesnt really affect me, all I need to know is dont piss off those with coloured names :D (I do understand, but just dont NEED to)

5) Don't go there....just....dont.

[UnHoly-Assassin]

The arcade games are boring. You should get more addictive games, like ball revamped on http://www.flashplayer.com/games/ballrevampedmetaphysik.html

Also I'd like to see a live shout-out board; like those you can get on xangas.

what the--how come page 4 and 5 of this thread are the same? It keeps sending me back to 4 whenever i click the 5...and it doesnt work after i click the ">" either...possible glitch?

[Sikawtic]

Give me your opinion on a couple issues.

1) General site impression?
Got really spammy for awhile, but it's better now. So WBs is back to being the coolest forum eva.

2) Arcade?
I think I played the arcade once. So... no comment.

3) Forum Layout
Yes, ORP finally gets it's own, and the Game Room died. Awesome layout right now ^_^

4) Forum Leaders
First off... I have no clue what the dif. between ORG. staff and mod's are... unless the staff is referring to the 3 admins... then I know who they are... Also I'd like to comment on how well B.I. took the moderation business. He roxXorz.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I would say put money towards image hosting and custom webpages for the members, that would be l33t ^_^. (make a WBs webserver deal maybe... pending on how many are interested... like... 5.99 a month for so and so memory.)

Other - I think we need new site design options... a dark theme, and a blue theme.

[AJ]

...
hmm.

that page glitch was odd. but it seems to work now.

[Nahotnoj]

1) General site impression?
the site is fine in my impression, nice simplicity, good community, etc. I do think that more org network integration would be a good thing, although i dont have any more specific ideas on how that would be done.

2) Arcade?
i don't play arcade, so N/A. (although i miss WB hangman a bit)

3) Forum Layout
I really like the current layout. Everything is arrangeed neatly and organized properly in my opinion.

4) Forum Leaders
I think the staff system is fine, although maybe adding something like the "org staff" image for admins might be interesting, i don't think that's really necessarry. Possibly a color code on the main page for new members, although they can of course just look at the forum leaders page and figure it out too.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I'm sort of neutral on the idea, as long as nothing is taken away from members who don't pay a fee/donation. Features that could be offered I think would be bigger PM storage, special listing or something like that, ability to self-moderate, (close/rename/move/delete own threads/posts) invisibile mode. that sort of stuff, tweaks and benefits.

[UnHoly-Assassin]

There could be something more...interative...in this site. Although it seems like a lot of work, you guys might make some sort of merit system like that site gaiaonline.com where everybody can buy new costumes for avatars with "gold" obtained by posting.

[mcflurry_1982]

There could be something more...interative...in this site. Although it seems like a lot of work, you guys might make some sort of merit system like that site gaiaonline.com where everybody can buy new costumes for avatars with "gold" obtained by posting.
nice idea but wb decided from the start not to do any sort of post count ranking system.

[bluemicrobyte]

Give me your opinion on a couple issues.

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.

2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?

3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?

4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?

Thanks for your opinions.. I'd appreciate if you answered most/all of the questions and elaborated on your own personal views on the issues.

1) Great forum, great staff, relatively peaceful, recent spam.

2) Reset the scores monthly, and record the champions each month. New games would be cool. Have the games automatically rearrange according to popularity.

3) I love the current forum layout. Add a "quick links" bar at the top with a link to every forum.

4) I think the staff should be less "proffessional" and more "user friendlY" because proffessionalism does two things: 1) it scares away flaming newbies and 2) it actually feels like the staff is seperated from the community (aka we are the members and you are the staff, rather than we are all members, except some have moderation powers).

5) No. Many users would not have a way to pay even if they wanted to. Besides, who would want to pay to be part of an online forum? It's not a service or anything, nor does it require excessive funds to run.

[Modred]

No. Many users would not have a way to pay even if they wanted to. Besides, who would want to pay to be part of an online forum? It's not a service or anything, nor does it require excessive funds to run.
As I understand it, the proposition is that non-paying users keep what they have now and paying users just get extra. It isn't as though you are paying to participate. It's more like with most free webmail services: you can have so much space for free, but if you want more you can subscribe to their premium services. I really see nothing wrong with it.

[Ragnarox]

1) General site impression?
Avatars, this is my first forum with Avatars
2) Arcade?
It's good, but I BEG for Missile Command to be installed.
3) Forum Layout
Works well for me.
4) Forum Leaders
It's all cool, but I envy, I WANT A COLORED SCREEN NAME!!
5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
Well, if this concept was implimented, I wouldn't really have any feedback because I wouldn't be able to stay here.

[bluemicrobyte]

I'd like to add that we should definately eliminate or merge forums that get little or no views because one of the reasons I *sometimes* post things in the members lounge is because I know they will get 25% of the views in the correct forum than if I put it in the members lounge, and sometimes things I post benefit all members regardless of its category (*cough xfire *cough)

[Hunta]

1) General site impression
I like the white skin. The members are overall very nice. It's just that there is posted too much spam, but more forums are suffering from this problem nowadays.

2) Arcade
Not all arcade games are being listed in the ranking table. You have currently 40 games in the arcade, yet 23 games are listed in the 'your rankings' table. For example, Snake 2 is missing. I would like to see all games listed.

3) Forum Layout
Maybe a different way of presenting the subforums. I have a feeling they are currently not drawing the attention they should. I liked how it was a few months (?) back, when the subforums were listed under each other instead of right next to each other.

4) Forum Leaders
It did confuse me, but after reading the guide to WarBoards it now makes sense to me.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If you want to create elitism, yes good idea. I wouldn't pay for anything. Then again, I'm not really that active so maybe that explains my lack of any special needs and/or desires.

[Black.Ice]

I'd like to add that we should definately eliminate or merge forums that get little or no views because one of the reasons I *sometimes* post things in the members lounge is because I know they will get 25% of the views in the correct forum than if I put it in the members lounge, and sometimes things I post benefit all members regardless of its category (*cough xfire *cough)

I would like to ask that you refrain from doing that, as it causes more trouble than anything. The member's lounge will then be filled with redirects, all leading to stuff not suited for the member's lounge.

Each forum gets views... so, it's not accomplishing much by posting it in the wrong forum.

[Mindslaver]

Give me your opinion on a couple issues.

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.

The basic impression of WB is fine. The simplicity of it is what attracted me to the website; however, I dislike the banner (no offense to the creator).

2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?

I never play the Arcade. I find it better to just go to some other website and play games. I come to Warboards for the forums, not to play flash games that I could find in other places.

3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?

I agree that smaller forums should be merged with larger ones. There is no need for separations.

4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?

Yeah; I still don't get what .ORG person means. Why do they get bold names too?

Warboards Administrator means banning power.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?

The pain that the staff would have to go through in order to set up the system will outweigh the profit made. This is a bad idea; there is very little motivation to pay for a website just to get "extra" features.

I don't mean to be advertising, but Gamedev (http://www.gamedev.net) has some of the best forums ever. Their system works. They do have a pay-for-extra system going on, so maybe you want to take a look at that.

I also think that we should have a merit system.

[kongurous]

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.

Hmm... I personally like the way the site looks. It doesn't look to overwhelming for those who are first visiting the site, at least, not to me, however, what's with the red cross on white background? If I remember correctly, that was the insignia of either the Knights Templar, Teutonic Knights, or the old Polish flag, I can't remember off the top of my head.

p 2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?

I like the current selection of games, though I do think you should reset the scores monthly.

3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?

Any answer I could give here would be griping about the fact that the Entertainment Compendium is a sub-forum, but overall, I like the site layout.

4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?

The current staff situation doesn't confuse me, but some kind of indication of why some people have orange or blue names would be nice, but I see, that's already been implemented. And what WarBoards Administrator means to me is something I'll never be and something I should never cross.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?

I don't think we should have to pay to post, as BF so horridly used as an April Fool's joke. If we pay for some kind of special features, I think it should be the ability to lock your own threads, if they are getting to spammy or off-topic, or the highly suggested larger PM space or sig space. If one were to donate money, I think you should put the money towards more PM space, or sig space for all members, if you need to pay for such.

[Jeff]

1) General site impression?
Great :)

2) Arcade?
I think it's good, perhaps add some more games but I can't think of any specific ones. Reset monthly or every couple months.

3) Forum Layout
I love the new layout! One suggestion, however, if SC Ghost is going to be seperate from the Starcraft section, I think World of Warcraft should also be seperate from Warcraft. Either that, or put SC Ghost under Starcraft (I think that's probably the better option).

4) Forum Leaders
No confusion for me. (I would hope not!) I can see how some people might be though.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I think it's a good idea, if it's used to help pay server costs and things like that, and it doesn't cost too much, perhaps $10 a year or so. Here's some suggestions... a cool name color, access to a private forum, name@warboards.org email account or forward, private file download or hosting section. Fairly typical, I know, but at least it's better than nothing. Some of these could apply to SC/WC/FS.org also.

[mcflurry_1982]

i think it would be nice for the account info be universal accross the org network. i think it would simplify things on both ends and would allow new members to fill out 1 registration and automatically have access to all of the org sites.

[Jeff]

i think it would be nice for the account info be universal accross the org network. i think it would simplify things on both ends and would allow new members to fill out 1 registration and automatically have access to all of the org sites.

We're definitely working on that, even with FS.org :)

[UnHoly-Assassin]

now that that's come up, i've got another sn at starcraft.org "unholyassassin" because it wouldnt allow me to create a dash between the unholy and assassin. If you haven't already, can it be possible to sort of...merge...two screen names together? Like I could turn the unholyassassin sn to unholy-assassin and still retain all the posts I've made in starcraft.org. That would make it a lot simpler for me, and more convienient too.

[Sikawtic]

I think that the "ORG Staff" icons should be more customized, like... a more SCish one for BST and a more Hellgate-ish one for Jeff. B.I. hinted at this I do believe.

[GrassDragon]

1) General site impression?
Love it. Love the community, the mods, the look.

2) Arcade?
I really don't play the arcade all that much. I think it should be reset every month or so though.

3) Forum Layout
I do like the current layout, easy on the eyes. But at night, it can be a little blinding. Maybe a darker or more muted layout? I remember a thread a while back for layout ideas, did anyone look into implementing them? I really liked Black.Ice's ideas (the front page with the tabbed forums), can we expect any of that to be used?

4) Forum Leaders
I really have no idea what an "ORG Staff" even is. They admin the ORG sites? Some are mods, some aren't? The change from orange to little images for ORG staff clears it up a little, but I still don't really know what they actually do. I understand the mods and admins though. Admins run the site, make changes, etc. Mods keep the peace with the member's, settle quarrels, extinguish flames.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
I don't know about this. Donations are not a bad idea, but I can't think of anything you'd give back to us. T-shirts would be nice and I would definitely buy one. Special user groups aren't such a bad idea (I've seen this done on another forum, just a small "site supporter" or "donater" under the username), but a special forum doesn't sound so great. Why bother?

EDIT: I read a few of the other responses on this, and would like to comment. I like Jeff's idea about an @warboards.org email. Bigger PM boxes, sure. Bigger sig restrictions, no. What are the point of sig restrictions right now? They're so that people on dial up don't have to load megs of images every time they view a thread, right? It's not a limit because the mods don't like you, or AJ is evil. Increasing them is not a good idea in my opinion.

EDIT: I remembered something else. I think it would be cool to have a "word count" line under the post count line. I saw this on another forum, and it seemed like a cool little feature. I don't know how useful it would be, but then again, how useful is the post count line?

[Subjukator]

1. General Site Impression?
I just find the overall grayness a little depressing sometimes when I'm on. Maybe a little color to spruce things up?

2. Arcade?
Pretty decent games overall. Good selection to choose from when compared to other forums.

3. Forum Layout
Definite improvement with the sub-link to sub-forums under the main forum. Nice.

Oh, and maybe have a little header at the top of the page somewhere that welcomes the newest member that has joined? Maybe a bit cliche in the world of forums but a welcome impression when the new person joins and see's their name on the main page.

4. Forum Leaders
I feel only a little ambivalent when it comes to the leadership of Warboards and what specific powers are given to each side. I'm sure a new person joining would definitely be confused on ORG staff and Moderating Team differences.

5. Premium/Donation Usergroup
I support the option of having an option similar to PayPal somewhere on Warboards. Any money donated to server costs is always helpful, although how much exactly are server costs?

Besides that, some "premium" options could be:

increased avy file size (increased to like 250kb instead of 125kb?),

bigger PM box (say... 200 message?),

a special sub-title for the donater denoting their status as a donater,

a bit larger signature file size,

perhaps the ability to give the premium members special skins for the boards or maybe the option to color the boards to their desire (on their personal comp only of course),

giving the ability to go invisible perhaps,

and perhaps "special" or at least different games just for these premium members (maybe games that take up more server stuff that would normally be prohibitive to release to the general populace but maybe OK to run just for the premium members? This idea could also be used to entice members to donate by having a link to a list of prohibited games with a small description attached to each. I guess the key is not to seem too pushy when working that idea into the arcade page)

I don't opt for the "special" forum just for premium members. What would you do there? Hold "Dare" contests? I think that forum would just become frivilious.

I'm also cautious on the idea of granting forum members rights normally reserverd for moderators. Those are some shark-infested waters!

well, i tried to hit everything. :)

[SuiCidAl-KiSmEt]

1) General site impression?
I think you should at least make the avatars 1/4 bigger and like make it have more file size, so I can make cooler animated avatars.

2) Arcade?
Some of the games are boring. You should get more shoting people games or something.

3) Forum Layout
Its ok, but I think you should make a like a StarCraft Theme, a Diablo Theme, a WarCraft Theme (great idea huh?), and some other color thems; like just mixing diffreant colores like black-and some sort of blue.

4) Forum Leaders
It took me 2 months to actually realize that u were a leader.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
Great idea, but you should let the users that want to be here for free not pay but, cut off some features or something for them.

[King_Templar]

Give me your opinion on a couple issues.

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.

2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?

3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?

4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?

Thanks for your opinions.. I'd appreciate if you answered most/all of the questions and elaborated on your own personal views on the issues.

1) Positive, though I never did understand why the default for the avatar space is a Lion...anyway...Current impression is...well....how do I put this in a kind way...well, it has gotten a somewhat large influx of newbies lately, I think, and this does show in the forums (thread redundancy, necromancy, etc.). However, I still like to try to be helpful, especially in the Maps and Mods Depot.

2) This is one of the best arcades that I've seen, in terms of sheer number of games. It has a very good variety, though I don't play in there much. Not much more to add, really.

3) The current forum layout is good. Also, the hierarchy works well.

4) Well, I don't think the staff situation is confusing. There's the WB Moderators, and the .ORG staff seem to have the same powers as the moderators, but they also are staff at the .org sites (e.g. BSTRhino is a staff member at StarCraft.org), though a number of the .ORG Staff are moderators, so I don't know for certain if they share the same powers as a moderator. A Warboards administrator is...well, the top ranking staff member position at Warboards. As far as I know, WB has a triumvirate for this, which is evident in their avatars. :)

5) Eh, not much of a fan of the idea of "Premium Membership," but if for some reason you guys need the money or w/e, I can't really be much help because I don't have any ideas in this area. If such a thing is implemented, the powers/bonuses could be things like, able to change own thread titles, or such. Any powers granted would have to be available only to their own stuff. Basically, no moderator powers over others by monetary donations or the like, but I'm sure you weren't every planning that sort of thing to begin with. I guess you could have stuff to "dress up" their posts or w/e. Like I said though, I don't really have many ideas for this, so meh.

Well, I answered the survey, hope it helps you in whatever decisions you are making off of the results of said survey.

[Griffonheart]

1) General site impression?
Comments concerning general ideas for the site, feature-requests, or whatnot would go best here along with your basic impression of WB currently.

I love it! I had a bad impression of WBs on SC.Org fr awhile, but I came here when I was apointed mod there, and I LOVE it! It's user friendly, well organised, fun, has an arcade, and it isn't black colored like most gaming sites, so it's easy on the eyes.

2) Arcade?
Are our current games in good condition? Problems with current games? Desire for specific new ones? And.. Should I reset scores monthly, yearly, or not at all?

The arcade is awesome. The games are good, and good layout, but there are two problems:

1)My 10th place score dosen't show up as tenth place in Helicopter.
2)In AirFox, it randomly reboots Internet Explorer. I tried on my school's newest computer, and it still messed up! Drat, I like AirFox, too....

3) Forum Layout
Do you like the current layout? (General Forums -> Members Lounge -> IR || and so on) Suggestions for better hierarchy?

Great. Seriously, everything is well grouped, and well organised!

4) Forum Leaders
Does the current staff situation confuse you at all? Do you know the difference between ORG Staff and the Moderating Team? Just what does WarBoards Administrator mean to you?

Uh....this talk about colors confuses me, but I know what the positions all are. There should be a page that mentions all the ORG staff members/Admins/Mods and says hat forum they come from, but that's all.

5) Premium/Donation Usergroup
If we were to begin a usergroup for people who either payed a fee of some sort (monthly or yearly) what features would you reccomend they be offered? Do you think such a group is a good idea? What would you want to see we put the money gained towards?

Apartheid, anyone?This is a bad idea. If you were allowed to donate, people ould, but getting Uber Gosu satus will create distinct communites, seperate from each other. Although this isn't always bad (The SC.Org "Veterans" still help newbs and stuff), but it could be. If you can't pay or aren't allowed to because of parents, then it makes you "worse". It's a bad idea.