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qsilverza
13-01-2009, 03:15 PM
Hi,

Could somebody please fix up the the front-page on www.vwwatercooled.org.au as a lot of the links are not going anywhere or they are misleading e.g. Golf Mk3, New Beetle, Bora

Bora = MkIV

clicking on the MK1 link takes you to a message of "Invalid Forum specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator"

I am sure there are more but it needs to be fixed as a newbie would be confused or look for another site as the frontpage representation is very poor. Maybe it could even use a revamp :) With some cool looking flash, I would be happy to lend a hand in my limited spare time if needed.

Mischa
13-01-2009, 04:37 PM
i reckon we should scrap the front page altogether and just have it redirect to the forum index.

The_Hawk
13-01-2009, 04:39 PM
i reckon we should scrap the front page altogether and just have it redirect to the forum index.

Or maybe a pretty picture or two which links to the forum index, either way really.

Mischa
13-01-2009, 04:43 PM
Or maybe a pretty picture or two which links to the forum index, either way really.

yeah that would be good. either way just get rid of the current crappy one :)

Mrk_Mickey
13-01-2009, 05:05 PM
I think scrapping it would be a good idea..it serves no purpose really, the links are just a scroll away on our main index..

Treza360
13-01-2009, 05:19 PM
I bought this up six months ago or something like that (http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=16792). No one was really interested back then. Seems that people have now discovered this section of the forum and are looking to pretty up our little corner of the internet. Good stuff. :)
Cheers,
Trent

MattyT
13-01-2009, 05:46 PM
I'm another for the Scrap It movement.

Peter Jones
13-01-2009, 05:54 PM
Ditch it. IMO

Pete

Tim
13-01-2009, 06:00 PM
unless VW watercooled has something to offer other than a forum I dont see the point in having a front page.
If say you were linking to a merchandise shop or a photo gallery/car garage in another section or some other form of interactive content then having a front page would be justified.

Having a hub that only links to one thing is just an annoyance. You have to make extra clicks to get where you want to go. And its the only place to go anyways.

DUB 20V
13-01-2009, 06:00 PM
Ditch it. IMO

Pete

x2 not that i ever look at it:biggrin:

qsilverza
13-01-2009, 10:10 PM
I thought maybe we want to have some form of official information in a more professional manner such as a proper FAQ/RIDES/NEWS etc. (Something verified by members or common information... sort of like White Papers for VW's !!! Maybe a document store of some sort ?) which at least give's the world a window on us, making us more "together" than just a backyard forum which I know was intended to be, but I feel it is becoming bigger than that. I guess the site could also add advertising for the up-keep on the main window site and keep the forum relatively free ?

And to keep us forum punters happy, make a decently easy to remember forum link for the regulars such as forums.vwwatercooled.org.au

The_Hawk
14-01-2009, 07:13 AM
I thought maybe we want to have some form of official information in a more professional manner such as a proper FAQ/RIDES/NEWS etc. (Something verified by members or common information... sort of like White Papers for VW's !!! Maybe a document store of some sort ?) which at least give's the world a window on us, making us more "together" than just a backyard forum which I know was intended to be, but I feel it is becoming bigger than that. I guess the site could also add advertising for the up-keep on the main window site and keep the forum relatively free ?

And to keep us forum punters happy, make a decently easy to remember forum link for the regulars such as forums.vwwatercooled.org.au

I wouldn't say backyard forum, I would say community forum and as you rightly point, it's always been our intention to remain a community forum. To stay on those lines we do not have corporate sponsors, just small business who want to support our us. When it comes to advertising, we have not ever had nor do we want banner ads anywhere.

mikinoz
14-01-2009, 08:44 AM
If there were a link to the forum and say a news ticker with upcoming events that may be nice with a photo section, scrolling gallery too?

Like this;

http://uk-mkivs.net/

The more professional and not 'backyard' to use a term, it looks, the more care will be placed in it.

Mind you the only link I use to get into the forum is http://vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/search.php?do=getnew

Mrk_Mickey
14-01-2009, 09:17 AM
That's a nice page you posted Mikinoz, but I just get the feeling it'll be too busy and it'll send off the wrong message. We're essentially a smallish group of dublovers and we're not all about news and stuff..it would work if it had more of a role on our forum, but I don't think it does, IMO.

qsilverza
15-01-2009, 10:05 PM
Sorry, maybe backyard was not the right word, more community as you say, just picking up svtompi's from other conversation's or heated topic's prior.

But something like uk-mkiv's is near exact on what I am thinking and it wouldn't hurt. Maybe a Poll of some sort for the forum ? At the moment there is no real way on communicating messages to members in all parts of the forum rather it is very segmented, I believe we would benefit from it becoming more global than it is and as far as I could tell from the topics I was following, we really do care about new members and how they see the forum so why not give the heart a face to match !

In any case at the least could we please fix up the standard redirector, I hear you on the link Mike, but I sit at many different computers at home and work and I don't always have or want the link stored in everyone of them :)

geoff_gti
16-01-2009, 12:19 AM
Agree with the comments above. As a regular user, I normally enter the forum from an email notification and then once i've read through that post I use the New Posts button at the top.

However from an outside view, the front page does need a revamp. I think a url redirector straight to the page /newforum/upload would be the easiest fix. Since we don't run a news site etc as well I don't really see the need for a portal either.

Plus the windscreen stickers would look a mess if you tried to fit in the full address, so I reckon it might just help get a few more new members too, if they log on and find it's a very active & friendly forum :)

revnit
16-01-2009, 06:41 AM
Having more than just a forum is a great idea, i find it hard and a little frustrating at times browsing though cruise/events pictures all the pictures are scattered over a half dozen pages if they where all summited and posted in a gallery section outside the forum :)

back on topic first impressions count i remember the first time i came here i was um ok looked plain i didn't even enter the forum! but my mate insisted it was a good site, the page hasn't changed since i signed up seems no one cares to much theres plenty of moderators on her get something done v:biggrin:

qsilverza
16-01-2009, 11:19 AM
Ok,

So with the mods permission, can I please post a Poll on the general chat page (Since it has the most posts/view by far), with the following,

VWwatercooled needs a front page revamp as the current page is out-dated and isn't cared for. A couple of options have been suggested and since this is a democratic forum for us, it would be great if we could have a vote on which way the forum should head;

1. Leave the current front page in place and up-date links regularly
2. Redirect vwwatercooled.org.au, straight into the main forum view i.e. no front page except the main forum view
3. Leave front page as is and start work on a fully featured portal with the emphasis being to present ourselves to newbie's and to also give us a chance to organise pictures/news and official events in an easy to view and find format. Something along the lines of http://uk-mkivs.net/
:mowlawn:

madglf3
16-01-2009, 02:20 PM
i reckon we should scrap the front page altogether and just have it redirect to the forum index.

x2 mate. I don't know why we even need it as I think it makes it look pretty out-dated, and alot of the links are false and broken.

revnit
16-01-2009, 05:09 PM
Ok,

So with the mods permission, can I please post a Poll on the general chat page (Since it has the most posts/view by far), with the following,

VWwatercooled needs a front page revamp as the current page is out-dated and isn't cared for. A couple of options have been suggested and since this is a democratic forum for us, it would be great if we could have a vote on which way the forum should head;

1. Leave the current front page in place and up-date links regularly
2. Redirect vwwatercooled.org.au, straight into the main forum view i.e. no front page except the main forum view
3. Leave front page as is and start work on a fully featured portal with the emphasis being to present ourselves to newbie's and to also give us a chance to organise pictures/news and official events in an easy to view and find format. Something along the lines of http://uk-mkivs.net/
:mowlawn:

sounds like a good idea to me not that the point will get though i seen other polls on here not huge on popularity but worth a shot.

VWindahouse
17-01-2009, 07:16 PM
VOTE 1 for option 2. :)