ForumGarden

I have a suggestion for Mr. spot: introducing a graphic logo for the general forum. This would make the forum more attractive and contribute to greater interest. A logo makes a first impression on readers and potential discussion participants, so it should be graphic in nature, and ideally quite attractive. This could, over time, lead to increased activity from new participants.

wise47 wrote: Tue Oct 14, 2025 3:57 pm I have a suggestion for Mr. spot: introducing a graphic logo for the general forum. This would make the forum more attractive and contribute to greater interest. A logo makes a first impression on readers and potential discussion participants, so it should be graphic in nature, and ideally quite attractive. This could, over time, lead to increased activity from new participants.

It is kind of you to consider ways in which we might improve.

The site started with what you describe in 2004:
and retained until 2021, when switching to new software resulted in the textbox alternative we employ today.

We ran a parallel site using Discourse for a couple of weeks last year to test an alternative structure, and graphically it had more vivid aspects.

I suspect what we have today is not so much a forum as a graveyard in which the departed occasionally place a flower for remembrance. Others have wondered whether we might best be described as a blog site with comments. My own view is that specialists forums remain active but social media has long since been redefined. Meanwhile I mow the terrace and weed those plots which show occasional signs of growth.

Modern online conversation employs emoticons and questionable punctuation. I find myself actively avoiding the semicolon in favour of shorter sentences so I'm in no position to criticise. We tried for a brief period to run without "smilies" (as we then labelled the additional character set), which led to complaints and the eventual restitution of the appropriate panel in the edit window. I have little sympathy with such transient fashions.

But by all means, a logo. We are - as you can clearly see - monochrome by heritage, but modernity finds us lacking in many respects. If you would like to proffer a logo I shall adjust the configuration, we can then interpret comments as they drift in.

spot wrote: Wed Oct 15, 2025 12:12 am I suspect what we have today is not so much a forum as a graveyard in which the departed occasionally place a flower for remembrance.

I don't know if I'm understanding this correctly, but when the logo was there, there was a lot of traffic on the forum, and when it disappeared, the traffic died down. This may indicate the importance of the logo and its appeal. I won't suggest the logo design myself, but it's worth considering redesigning it.

For now, I'd suggest using the old logo and possibly considering a new one.

The record is in the website itself. The collapse in traffic can be seen to have happened eight years before the logo was retired. But we will consider an alternative to the gravestones during the next week or so. We have half the mods available, two are temporarily out of touch at the moment.