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Originally Posted by Duke
aaaaiiiiggghhhttt 
I'll change it this weekend and let it run for about 2 weeks. |
Actually, I'm having second thoughts as to whether or not I'm willing to compress the look of the forums (for now). I have not as of yet been able to find a block or module that lists all new topics in the forums that I like. The other problem is where to put said block if I manage to find one. It must be on the main page and cannot be a centre block. This only leaves side blocks which nobody can see due to how low they'll sit on the front page. The only way another block will be seen is if the user scrolls down on the page which I'm not sure everyone does. If they do, I hope their looking at the news and glancing over the blocks but there's really no way to be sure.
Also, hiding the topics when first loading may lead guests who are browsing for the first time to believe our forums are empty. They certainly aren't hopping but are far from empty. This is an unacceptable risk to have people leaving a site due to it's apparent emptiness when thats far from the truth.
Lastly, I have to add icons and stats to the compressed look of the forums. This is essential as there is no way to tell if a category has new posts in it unless you can view the entire category. This isn't a problem with a vbulletin powered forum but I don't have the money to buy one and won't ask for the money from the members. This site and all that encompasses it is funded entirely out of my own pocket and I don't really feel like putting up a donations block. I can afford to run this site entirely from my own pocket provided I don't pay for extra's such as advertising, better software, professional templates, etc. All advertising for the site will be from affiliate programs with similar sites and free website directory services such as All Links, LinkPartners.com and WoW Directory.
Thoughs?