Have you got 15 minutes to spare?

Oh, and do try the avatars!

Considering your post above I stayed near the home page, made some posts and started a couple of threads:

Points to note:

1.**Brand **LFGSS - it's all about Mccarthy

Is it clear to anyone (if one hovers over the new logo) what LFGSS stands for?
All good brands are clear about what they stand for (and possibly - only possibly what the acronym stands for - as I'm sure IBM doesn't mean anything to quite a few)

1. I loved the following on the registration page:
   By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws

2. I don't know if you did anything with registration but putting in a **referrer **causes an error.

4.**Tags **- max of 5 tags per registration. Should be no limit. I'm only thinking of JD...

hope this helps

All helps.

Those T&C's were always there, kinda encapsulated in the rules linked to from the foot of each page too.

Changed the title text on the logo link.

It's weird actually... I was so into thinking of it how computers see it that it clearly tells a computer what is going on, but didn't really tell a human what it was about.

I dont like it. this one is better

it is looking alot better now

there should be an option of other colours

LFGSS
It's all the ideas and no fucking gears!

Sigh.

There will be.

But I'm trying to get one design right before adding complexity by introducing other colour schemes.

Hello there--

Newly registered member, but long-time reader. I looked briefly at your new layout and while I enjoy most everything about it, I think the subcategories under the forums section should be a bit larger and more amply spaced. It makes navigating around the site for fools like myself much easier.

Cheers

Damn right.

reported - ffs…

VB, think it looks good, nice work Wayne. Loving your work as always.

My only issue is that it feels flat (I'm being very critical here - but seeing as the whole thing is up for review...). There's not feeling that the content is layered or given preference. For example colour could help. Choosing a two colour scheme is a nice thing to do aesthetically, but can be quite limiting when it comes to disseminating information to the user.

I can't help feeling that the site would actually function better on white.

I think the hierachy on the front page needs work - the main navigation and the introduction sentence can't be the same type size, especially since there's no graphical device to 'lift' the nav away from the content. Oh and you need another 5px of padding for the "log in" button.

Hang on - will illustrate the hierachy thing.. I should be working buttttt.......

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3930050/LFGSS.jpg

Ok, so here you go - it's a very rough version, i've just bodged this hard in photoshop, spacing and stuff is all very approximate. Sorry I don't have more time.

General + navigation area
Essentially, all the content needs to moved in away from the full width - especially the main nav, it feels very uncomfortable sitting flush with the edge of the site. I've also re-spaced the main nav so that it's easier on the eye and more comfortable for the user.

In general the navigation area needed simplifying. Login should be separate from the navigation - it's too confusing and busy having them together otherwise. Plus you've got all the room in the header— prime real-estate, make use of it.

The second horizontal line (dotted) marquees off an area that could a 2nd nav - for the sub categories of classifieds as you currently have on the 'old' site. Or could contain a breadcrumb.

Very simple change of having the 'Forum' in the main nav in white, means that the user is always orientated with a quick glance - doubly important if you decide not to have a breadcrumb.

Content area
Page title (H1) 'Forum' should always come at the top of the content area, message sits fine underneath it, and is certainly less important in terms of navigation/orientation. Hierarchy.

Because the site is quite 'flat' in it's feel (not a bad thing necessarily, just that Wayne has eschewed 'web tricks' like drop shadows etc) — the main page needs buttons/icons to show the user at first glance that each of those words on the home page are actually clickable links (while we're on the subject - rollovers, you need them). Doing this and re-spacing the content also gives any subforums with subcategories room to breathe.

The buttons are indicative, they're an adaptation from something else I've been working on today. Feel free to use them though - they might look better with the grey from the background as the + instead of white..

Incidentally, is there a philosophy behind UKFGSS being a different colour? The same colour as the main nav? What does this tell the user?

I could write/do loads more. But I've run out of time.

Hope that helps, this stuff is my bread and butter — just some illustrated thoughts.

Liking lots of dan's thoughts here, but what's a 'breadcrumb' ?

This is a breadcrumb (the line that starts "You are here: Home > Weather..." it orientates the user as to where they are in the site.

They're a bit out of fashion on sites with low volumes of content, but a site like this with lots and lots of pages could really use one.

Ah, thank you Young Dan. Now I know, I agree.

Also intend to show off my new found t'interweb vocabulary tomorrow. I like learning stuff.

Breadcrumbs - Hurrah for Breadcrumbs.

It seems to be getting quite a lot of spam posts. Might be worth stopping google from indexing it while it's still in development.

...
I can't help feeling that the site would actually function better on white.....

This VB,

Love the work but I think the white background is soooooo much better than any other option.
My 2p.

Plus if it ain't white how can I browse at work all day? I'm not the only one thinking this.

#forumwhore

ps where the fuck is the hash on an apple keyboard....fuck...

+1, I actually think day time use would need to go down significantly if it's not white.

#racist

Velocio has said that he will develop other colour schemes:

Sigh.

There will be.

But I'm trying to get one design right before adding complexity by introducing other colour schemes.

Good stuff.

Even better!?,... customizable Forum layout!

ok, i was on the original black on white forum (v.2?) then comes an interesting menu at the bottom of the page and i got change to v3.

do i have to delete my browsers' lfgss cookies to get back to v2 or is there an easier way?

My thoughts on version 3:
dont like the lack of contrast between colours.
no search func.
thats all i have time for, but a lot wrong with it