So I've been looking over the post-display style of cB and comparing it to other forums and discussion-thread-type sites I frequent, and I think it could use an "upgrade". Admittedly, I am a bit of minimalist when it comes to design, but I'm inclined to think that the post display style of cB is a bit busy, and could stand to be cleaned up a little.

First of all, post count. I think we should get rid of post count, or at least the display of post counts. People are too obsessed with their post counts, which don't even reveal much about a user, except for how much crap they post. So let's just get rid of it.

Secondly, extra user info like custom rank, group, joined date, location, member no., and status. Shove that stuff to the user info page display, or iconify some of it.

Basically, on posts, just display an avatar, username, and post date and time. Save the extra info for the user page, or get rid of it entirely. If status is deemed to be important, iconify it along with the post. Iconify "rankings" like moderator and admin, too. Give them a little badge next to their name.

i wouldn't mind that. [:

seems like a good idea

i liek that

Yes, I like that idea. We should do that.

It's true; people care too much about their post count. That shouldn't be a factor.

I would have to agree. As a chnage, I think it would be for the better. It could clean up the busy-ness you have described, and on another hand, it may discourage posting for the sake of posting. We couldn't be sure, but if members are posting simply to raise their post counts so other members can see, those actions would be greatly discouraged. At the best, this could help to minimize cB to more meaningful and detailed discussion in the community boards and else where.

I like the idea of badges and a cleaner member info display to the left. I like the idea of getting rid of post count display.

I don't know, I like to see post counts. When I was a noob here, in a way it helped me see who's not only been around for a while, but who posts a lot. I understand how there is much emphasis in post count, but so what if people are proud of that. I think it's cute. Having said that, the 'badge' icon would work (instead of the numbers).

I agree that the "From" and "Member No." are a bit superfluous and could be removed (should site contraints allow that). I do think that Group is important so that people can easily recognize Staff, Official Designers and Official Members. Those could potentially be iconic as well though.

^ Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about seeing who is new and whatnot.

But I think we can keep the blue squares for that.

I'd even like to see the blue squares go.

I understand how post count can sort of show who has been around here for a while and posts a lot, but it doesn't really say a whole lot. A person can post a lot and never really say anything worthwhile (I can think of a number of members with a lot of posts who fit that bill). And I think anyone who sticks around here for more than a week will quickly pick up on who is around a lot and who has a lot of experience.

In effect, the bad things about post count outweigh the good. Post count can be useful, but then you run into all sorts of problems where a lot of members post just to raise their post count, which means that most of what is posted is garbage that very few people actually want to read. Getting rid of post count will help alleviate that problem, and it won't be a big hindrance to figuring out who has a lot of experience here. (Recall that the "joined date" would still be displayed on the user info page, as well.)

Well, we're all entitled to our opinions.

I'm not opposed to removing the post count, I can just understand why some might enjoy seeing them on the posts is all. :)

I personally like looking at a person's post count. Because sometimes it can explain behavior, respect, or whether I should respect them.

However, it wouldn't be a bad thing to see them go away. The spam is probably a certain to go away. But would the PPD remain? Because without the post count, can the PPD calculate itself? I believe that PPD is something very important for official members and designers and staff.

I kind of like the badge idea myself, but isn't that a little too vague? Like the same navy blue badge for the whole staff team? I think we should give them different colors - like Gold for admin, Silver for head, and so on. Or different styles, perhaps?

I agree with Rebecca - From and Member No isn't something that most people use on a daily basis.

I don't know about status though.

Hmm, Michael - with your new design for cb4, member titles would have to go too - a lot of people enjoy reading those.

I can understand that, too, but ultimately, I have a better idea than mere post count. This is beyond the capabilities of the forum software, unfortunately, but I think it would be more interesting to have a "user rating" of sorts. Something that calculates post count, threads started, joined date together, maybe with a weighting for the more important elements. Maybe even include something whereby other users could rate you.

I personally would just like to see post count and everything go entirely, since it's a very superficial way of calculating a user's importance, relevance, and contributions, but I can see why people cling to it. I don't like it, but I can see why.


Out of curiosity, why does a person's post count demand a certain level of respect, or demonstrate a certain level of respect?


I think we could do without the PPD, too. PPD requirements for certain "positions" are historically rather arbitrary, and even people who don't make the PPD can be promoted to certain positions, further emphasizing its lack of importance in gauging user "worth".


I'd recommend a different badge for the different "types" of mods: design staff, people staff, head staff, and admin staff. Color-coded or symbolized some other way, I don't know. Haven't worked out a mockup yet, but it's in the works.


Mm, maybe they can be incorporated. I don't see them as that useful at any rate. Just another way of personalizing oneself--but we already have avatars and sigs to do that, anyway.

Ah, I think I'm just weird cuz I always enjoy looking at the whole post count thing. I think it makes it pretty fun, seeing how many posts the other person has. And the joined date, status, member number and all that, I found really nice to just have there without searching for it on their profile page. I dunno, i thought it gave a mini-preview to that person with just a simple glance, without having to dig really deep to see how old or new of a member that person is.
And the whole post count thing, I dunno, I always thought it inspired people to post more, atleast on an unconscious level.
I think it works, and I like the Group member titles as well.
Though an icon next to admins or mods or something does sound cute, i think that would be a nice touch.

I dunno, I think how it is set up now works pretty well.
Small details that make CB more fun.
Atleast to me.

The post count should stay. Seriously, removing it is a terrible idea.

What makes it a terrible idea?

1 I LOVE post counts! Really. Most people love this. Who cares about it not being 'convenient'? As long as we LOVE it, it's good.

QUOTE

Out of curiosity, why does a person's post count demand a certain level of respect, or demonstrate a certain level of respect?

It doesn't really demand - it's just one of my personality flaws. I'm very vulnerable, so when people have like 1000+ post count than me, then it feels like they're just superior to me. Personality flaw, my friend.

It doesn't demonstrate exactly, it supports. For example, in the myspace help forum, I see much disrespect to other staff - and it really irks me when they only have 5 posts

Honestly, Michael, it seems like you're doing this all to fit your new "threaded" design. Which, at first glance, seems like a good idea, but the more you look into it, the more we have to sacrifice.

The member info seems just fine to me, and is interesting to look at.

Not exactly. My two design proposals don't go hand-in-hand, nor do they have to be implemented as a package. I'm looking at the site from a usability perspective (graphical user interface design is, in fact, an area of study of mine). The ideas stem from a number of places. I've taken a lot of inspiration from sites like Digg, Newsvine, and the DeviantART forums, for example.

Post count seems like a "big deal" at first, but if you look at the sites I mentioned (as well as some other forums I have visited in the past), post count is not displayed along with posts. Some dispense with it altogether; others make it available only on the user info page (see DeviantART); others make it accessible and possible to figure out, but don't highlight it (see Newsvine and Digg). Admittedly, it's a bit of a shock at first; but it's amazing how much you start listening to people for what they say and how they act, not how long they've been on the site or how many posts they've made. And in the end, it does cut down on the number of irrelevant posts—it's amazing how much people post just to get their post counts up.

I've long been in support of removing post count from display next to posts. You can always click the member's username to get the full profile with post count and everything.

And I will say again that I love the threaded design you're suggesting. There's a reason why sites like Digg and Newsvine are so successful, we shouldn't be missing out on that.

The general design of both sites is very good. Good use of AJAX-y stuff. I'm not sure how much can be implemented here, though, as I don't fully know the limits of IPB.

Well, Jusun has the right idea with the "automagical" goodness that he's implemented so far. That's AJAX-y, sorta. It's mostly modding tools, though.

I'd really like for him to consider this when working on the next launch.

1. also, we should have an upgraded profile which enable us to input html to design our own custom profile.

this way, we can learn more about this person but, will micron ever do that?


2. can we recieve "icon award" from moderator?

Hm, interesting idea. The thing about icons is that they only work when a) they clearly express the message of the icon, b) they're simple, and c) they're not overused to the extent where it's hard to remember what all the icons mean.

I guess basically I'm thinking of the icons as a way to highlight ranking members of the staff, not as a way to reward users or provide a unique way of identifying certain users. Icons aren't really effective for that.

I agree. I like the post counts, but the "from" and "member no." could be removed, yes.

I'm all for removing the "From" and the "Member No". Good luck with removing the post count, though. I like them but I see how it causes problems; like robb0 said, it really is a psychological thing.

Get rid of the post counts if you want, but leave the member numbers.

^Wow, that's a great idea, lol.

Like have a little arrow next to the members name. :]

That is a very good idea. That way whoever wants it, it can be displayed, And whoever doesnt can hide it.. or w/e.

That would be kind of cool if it were a drop-down panel, like a quick display of info. Easily accomplished with some JavaScript-ing.

QUOTE(Statues/Shadows @ Aug 8 2006, 7:00 PM)

Get rid of the post counts if you want, but leave the member numbers.

Why leave the member numbers? They don't mean anything. *looks at own* Really.

Yes, exactly what I "envisioned". :]

I like the idea of the pop out profile deal thinger-thing.

Well, I personally like seeing the post counts. But I'm for removing all the extranious details such as member no., location, and group.

I'm a bit torn on the removal of the post count idea. People would be disappointed but on the other hand, it may be better in the long run. It would take time to used to it though. A lot of time.

I think we could afford to lose some of the other user info in our posts: custom rank, joined date, location, and member number. I like the 'status' though. It makes it so much easier to see if a particular person is online rather than going to the forum index to check. I think it's quite nifty. I never liked the blue boxes. =x I found them unnecessary. As for the groups, we could either leave it as it is or as Michael mentioned, iconify it. Seeing as we have the little gender icons we could badges for each staff group, but really, I think it's fine the way it is. The groups, I mean.

I'm all for this.

I don't really mind them and I really don't know why everyone is making such a big fuss about them. If this is about people downlowing people just because they have maybe only 100 posts or lower that is crude of the people that are doing so. I know alot of people that worked their way up here and now most of the people that have done so that come here now of days don't really care about the post count any more. They come and go as they please. It's all for fun.
I like them because it's just a good thing to look at. It also gives me a goal to have like.." Hey, I am going to get 10 posts in today. That is better then the 9 yesterday." I think it helps keep the posting going.
Oh well, do what you people want.
That's just what I have to say about that.

I agree with Mona, I like how its set up on the side. The blue boxes I never found a point in it or the member number.. But everything else I think is fine..

^I agree about the post count issue. I mean, I would much rather see quality in posts instead of just a "smiley face" or a post that doesn't have anything to do with the topic. Quantity doesn't really matter if the posts are beneficial to anyone.

No, the post count should stay. It's almost an essential thing to have in forums. It shows how active someone has been since joining.

The member number could be gotten rid of, though I like things as they are.

I kind of want the post count to stay as wo0yapo0ya said, it shows activity in members.

I like the idea of a drop down member, although... there are a lot of good things that could come out of removing the post count.