Everyone's honest opinion , please

[badjuju342]

I posted this at Car Crazy Central and I thought I'd post this here , too.I'm sure the Meguiar's site admins would find this topic interesting as well as I do. I own an automotive forum /website (see my sig) and I figured the best thing to do was to pose these questions to you , my fellow car nuts. What type of features do you look for in a website like this one or mine? What caused you to register and paricipate here? What are your likes and dislikes ? What stands out above other sites you've visited? I really like to hear your thoughts on this and your opinions . I'm not trying to spam here ( although you are more than welcome to register/ participate on my site) , I'd really like to get your critiques and input on this. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope to hear from you.

[Murr1525]

Good people and the colors dont hurt my eyes after 10 minutes. Some forums just use the wrong color schemes...

[TKDDAD]

Originally posted by Murr1525
Good people and the colors dont hurt my eyes after 10 minutes. Some forums just use the wrong color schemes...

And the forum is moderated so that topics stay on topic.

[SiriusRIMZ]

Customer Service. Its also nice have a website I can visit that people share the same intrest as I, and I dont have to worry about any content being "Not Work Safe."

I spend more time reading these forums because the knowledge about our hobby/ buisness is immense here. But it really boils down to the people who run/ frequent the board.

[JG_Detailing]

This forum is the greatest. It help's people with question's about the car care. And we all get along like a family on here. Because we are alway's helping each other with keeping our car's looking great.

THANK YOU MEGUIAR'S AND FELLOW FRIEND'S ON HERE!

[TH0001]

It looks good, kinda plain though. The best forum I have ever been too (appearance wise) is R1-forum.com. I don't know why, I just really dig there appearnce.

Do you have a detail section? Need a moderator? I want to be a mod.

[JeepGirl]

I am ultra-new here. However, what I really liked about the site was the fact that they have a separate spot for "off-topic" things, the people here seem to be very nice/friendly/welcoming to new members (eager to share their knowledge) and from all of the reading I've done, it doesn't seem like there are any individuals with gigantic egos picking fights with people.

Basically, for a woman like myself with a true interest in learning it came across as a safe enviroment. Not that I'm overly trusting, I realize weirdos can lurk anywhere, but over all it seems very secure.

I also agree on the color scheme - I'm at a computer for most of the day at work and after all that, this site doesn't bother my eyes.

Good luck with any changes you may decide to make.

[gb387]

I am in with everything said above.... I found the site off Meguiars.com Prior to MOL I was/am a member of another very popular detailing site and IMO this is well above the 'other guys' one reason is the people, the people, the people no fights and it just works! I agree on the colors very easy on the eyes that is a big plus, bad colors I tend to give a quick once over from time to time but never stay long enough to participate in the discussion.

[Desertdawg]

First off I have to say you have way to many different sections for the number of members. Try cutting it in half for now and you should get more activity in each section, it will also make it look more lively.
I would get bored and just open the sections that interest me, who knows what I would be missing in the other sections.
Also, like me, I'm sure everyone here frequents several forums a day, (plus running one and moderating a second). so I wouldn't waste time hitting all the sections you have.

I know mine is a little more car/area specific, but look it over and see how it's more concentrated... see sig.

[badjuju342]

What I did on mine was offer different "skins" to change the board's appearance, I believe 5 or so total .There's a box with a drop down menu in the bottom left corner that you can change the appearance . And I do have a pretty work safe site. In fact , most of the features you talked about , I have already. TH0001, if you're serious , hit me up.

[Gonzoli]

Re: Everyone's honest opinion , please

Originally posted by badjuju342
What type of features do you look for in a website like this one or mine? What caused you to register and paricipate here? What are your likes and dislikes ? What stands out above other sites you've visited? I really like to hear your thoughts on this and your opinions.

Generally speaking... on topic discussion. I came here because I was interested in Meguiar's products. I go to whatever site is best suited to my needs at the moment.

To stay at a site, I need to find good topics and interesting discussion. Quality, mature people. Extremely mature, high quality moderators. A decent forum interface/software which runs smoothly.

Traffic, or forum movement, is important also, and the hardest part of building a community. People don't keep coming back unless theres plenty of new stuff to see/read. You need lots of new posts daily, with quality content, not spam or posts for the sake of posting... and helpful members who reply in a quality fashion.

What I most hate is forums overrun with other people's disrespectful, ill-behaved, juvenile children. This is way too common, and it's ruined many, too many internet communities.

Ads ****, and pop-ups ****. Generally everyone will agree there.

A clean, streamlined appearance and functionality is important. People dislike dark colors, and don't care for lots of graphics. Alot of sites are too "busy", aesthetically speaking, and it just gives people a headache. Keep it simple, and you'll please alot more people.

Alternatively, you can set up multiple skins, so older folks can choose the straightforward, easy to read, light colored skin... and others can choose dark or colorful themes if they prefer.

[badjuju342]

Excellent advice! That's pretty much my site in a nutshell and I've even taken it a bit further by actually listening to the board users and including them in the decision process along with the direction it's headed in. I also have done my best to make everyone feel welcome no matter how much they know or how little.We all had to start somewhere and helping folks new to the hobby should be a priority , I think.

[davisinla]

Originally posted by TKDDAD
And the forum is moderated so that topics stay on topic.

Yup...I would never log into an automotive site where people post their opinions about the news of the day. I get my news elsewhere and come to automotive sites to escape. I see this: British 1, terrorists 0 ...and I'm gone.

If you MUST have that stuff, put it in a clearly marked section (this Break Room is a pretty good example) and moderate the threads to prevent drift. It's sometimes hard, but check out miata.net forums for a good example.

[badjuju342]

You kinda lost me on the last comment . That particular subject was posted in an off-topic section and that forum was requested by quite a few subscribers . Each manufacturer brand has it's own lounge , along with an Automotive News & Events section. Quite a few of our members are military and I feel like it is important to let them know we stand behind them . I'm sorry that you didn't like what you saw there.

[davisinla]

Originally posted by badjuju342
That particular subject was posted in an off-topic section and that forum was requested by quite a few subscribers.

My mistake. I went through it too quickly...I went to the link in your sig and saw that thread on the front page and it just turned me off.

In looking at it in more detail, I can see now that it WAS in a different section. I'll spend a bit more time checking it out this weekend - it seems quite robust! You obviously have put a lot of work into it.