Testing the forum - Give your feedback

Just testing out the simple embed image function, which should also place the image as a thumbnail on the Headlines page. Similarly thumbnails are created for embedded videos linked to the Headlines page.

I have now created all the discussion Groups and Categories... erm.. and yes.. it might be too many. This is something we can refine. It also looks a little empty, so I will invite some more experienced friends of mine to add some posts, and content here.

Once the board becomes more active we may find that this setup is fine, otherwise we might merge certain categories together.

About Categories - my instinct would be to have fewer, and then add more later, as you have activity. A lot of nothing sort of ... looks bad. Better to have fewer categories, but have activity.

Then, as there is more activity, you can add more categories.

That said, I suspect that the majority of the forum activity will happen on arizonapua - so this forum would need it's own distinct niche. Categories like "Ask Jdog" (which you already have) or "Discussing Jdog's recent articles". Obviously the titles could use work, but my main point is that I suspect it would be better to have a distinct niche.

Other thoughts:
- It is really convenient to see time of last post / subject / by whom (like on azpua) when looking at the main categories - let's me know what I need to catch up on without needing to open every section
- It seems like some threads appear in both the major category and the subcategory - this is strange, although not necessarily bad. (Example: "Being too playful?" appears under "Dating and the art of seduction", under "Ask Jdog" and under "Lifestyle").

Just my 2 cents.

Best,
David

EDIT: For the above post - I take back where I say "need to see recent posts", since the main headings can say "NEW". It wasn't like that the last time I checked.

Best,
David