- Location
- Virginia
It was mentioned that there may be some aesthetic changes made before upgrading software. This comes from a good place and hopefully it's well received, so here's some feedback of things I've noticed as a relatively new member.
1. Some of the forum names are confusing. Example: the first time I went to post something for sale, I wasn't sure where. "Parts Counter" was ultimately the place, but I was initially confused because I was selling recovery points and that's not a "part" as in something that has a number and is something that comes from the factory.
Similarly, I've since figured out "XN Army" is build threads, DIY is how-to guides (I think), etc. Partly I understand the appeal of having some "insider" knowledge, but both for SEO (especially the breadcrumb names at top) and for new people to find stuff, more common names might help.
2. There are an overwhelming number of forums/subforums. I remember the first visit after @outback97 told me about it, and I was scrolling thinking "holy crap how am I supposed to find my way around here?" And then I click in some and there's less than a dozen threads spanning eight years. Still today, if I want to start a new topic, I'm not sure where to put it, because there are 2-5 different forums that by name would be appropriate. Many I think could be consolidated with nobody noticing.
I would guess a lot of current members navigate by just hitting "new posts" anyhow, and the forum structure mostly exists for new people and search engines, in addition to keeping things organized. It may be necessary if there were hundreds of posts per day, but I don't think any forums get the traffic necessary for this many subforums.
3. SEO. I don't know if it's design, software version, or what, but if I search Google for something X-related, two other corporate, ad-infested forums come up in results but XN is either not there or much farther down. I know they have a network of other forums cross-linking though so that may have something to do with it.
Anyhow, just some things I've noticed. I'm still new, but after a few months I still haven't quite figured out where everything is yet. Obviously I'd like the site to be as successful as possible.
1. Some of the forum names are confusing. Example: the first time I went to post something for sale, I wasn't sure where. "Parts Counter" was ultimately the place, but I was initially confused because I was selling recovery points and that's not a "part" as in something that has a number and is something that comes from the factory.
Similarly, I've since figured out "XN Army" is build threads, DIY is how-to guides (I think), etc. Partly I understand the appeal of having some "insider" knowledge, but both for SEO (especially the breadcrumb names at top) and for new people to find stuff, more common names might help.
2. There are an overwhelming number of forums/subforums. I remember the first visit after @outback97 told me about it, and I was scrolling thinking "holy crap how am I supposed to find my way around here?" And then I click in some and there's less than a dozen threads spanning eight years. Still today, if I want to start a new topic, I'm not sure where to put it, because there are 2-5 different forums that by name would be appropriate. Many I think could be consolidated with nobody noticing.
I would guess a lot of current members navigate by just hitting "new posts" anyhow, and the forum structure mostly exists for new people and search engines, in addition to keeping things organized. It may be necessary if there were hundreds of posts per day, but I don't think any forums get the traffic necessary for this many subforums.
3. SEO. I don't know if it's design, software version, or what, but if I search Google for something X-related, two other corporate, ad-infested forums come up in results but XN is either not there or much farther down. I know they have a network of other forums cross-linking though so that may have something to do with it.
Anyhow, just some things I've noticed. I'm still new, but after a few months I still haven't quite figured out where everything is yet. Obviously I'd like the site to be as successful as possible.