Early suggestions

i did notice that lol.

It's hard getting them to all keep within the same sized box, the stupid editor keeps wanting to enlarge or shrink them depending on what is typed out blah!

So what do you think about the headers? Better than the kao sprites?

ill let you know in a day or so when im used to it lol.

It is a little bit more on the professional side. I like the koas, but I have to say that they remind me of the obnoxious MySpace layout kind of deal.

i never went on myspace so i dont know what you're talking about with that but i guess i kind of agree. the pictures though were cute too...so....i dont know i dont have an opinion on it yet XD

could you possibly do me a favor and look at the latest epic mickey thing i did? im only asking because the contest is over in a week so i want to get it the best it can be :3

Let me finish this first, but I'll get to checking it out today.

And yes exactly, cute. We're not trying to grab the attention of cute, rainbow, sparkle, and glitter loving people. That's not really what this forum is about, if you think about it. So people who could be potential members were turned away, and people who were interested in 'this stuff' quickly found out what our forum was actually about.

okay, take your time :)

daawww but i like rainbows =p.

yeah, i get what you mean though. we're more serious with our rping so we dont want people who aren't going to commit to join.

Alright! I finally got it! It's finished and they all look about the same size (not font wise) That took longer than I thought it would, but at least it looks good.

I tried to get it as close as I could with the darker blue color of the forum. So what do you think?

And a perfect example of what I once experienced was this forum called Wow!Kittens! It was about a group of online gamers (from a online game) who created a forum dedicated to Rping for that game. The game and the group were serious and nothing was cutesy or goofy about it, but the title would make you think otherwise right? Well the same can be said about the layout, images, and stuff used on a forum.

That is why I'm redoing things. To give us a better stereotype image.

Also what do you think about the replacement to the koas? I couldn't find an image I liked of the elements, so I made my own with PS. When it is transparent there are no new posts, but when it's at full opacity, that means there are new posts.

Whenever I turned it into a jpeg file, the stupid background became white again. It was so annoying. I had to go and make a print screen, just so I could copy the gray color into the scheme.

I'm keeping the koa smilies for forum posting features though, that's pretty much it!

i like the new set up but it's kind of hard to tell when there's a new post. i didn't even realize the difference with opacity at first. maybe can you set it up so the wording is in bold on the main page as well? i really like the new image though :)

If you mean the forum links, I can't do that. This is a free forum after all.

Maybe for new posts, I can add a exclamation mark, like I did with the X for being locked.

Alright! So here is how it goes.

No new posts the elements are faded. New posts result in a bright bold exclamation mark, new posts with a popular thread results in a panning exclamation mark, popular threads with no posts are just regular non-opacity icons.

...I think that covers them all! If you need to know more, just scroll down to the far bottom on the main forum page and in any of the category forum bottoms. It has each icon and description.

Took me a little bit to figure out how to make an animated gif.

yes, now i can see! lol XD

Are these better?

yes.

Alright awesome! Took me forever to figure out how to work these into an icon, especially the animated gif. At least now I know, whenever I need to do something like that again.

Oh yeah, regarding emoticons, do you know of any place with Avatar ones?

no. unfortunately....

Well if you happen across anything you might be remotely helpful with Avatar icons, just let me know!

i will :)

Doing a search, this is all I've found.

http://209.85.62.24/13/39/0/p276363/preview.jpg

However I remember there were these chibi like full body dolls, with the whole cast, including their different costumes...we had it on the first Avatar Episodes which Who ran.

yeah i remember that. i dont know where to look though to be honest.

Well after a little break, which I needed, I realized something. Well I've always noticed it, but more so now as well.

The only time this place is active, granted it's just you and me now, is whenever the RP is up and running. Not only that, it's only when a post is made regarding the current thread.

For members like you that's fine. All you got to do is read the posts, analyze them, and react with dialogue and action for your said character. With me or anyone who's controlling the finer details of the RP it's different because we have to make sure everything runs along pretty well. And unfortunately it's also slower and more difficult to do at times.

I often have to be thinking ahead several posts, just so that the thread or RP can keep going on without a hitch. Sometimes that proves more easy or difficult. Other members often don't have to worry about that, they may speculate what the posts ahead might be, but don't need to actually concern themselves with it.

Because of that a non-RP controlling member can post quickly, but after they're done, things are at a halt until I or a leading member makes a well organized post. It can't be helped with this story/RP now because things have gotten pretty far in the story where things have to be more organized compared to the earlier carefree parts of it.

I tried different ways of luring in members with deviant art, fan-fiction, a different forum layout, and even a wiki page (which I got to get back on again) but those were just to lure in members or guests. They really weren't and couldn't be a way for members to actively participate in.

That wasn't my goal though with those features. I was trying to lure in members for an idea I had for a few different RPs once we had enough members. We could still do it, if you find it interesting, I just didn't want it to just be two of us. There's more fun to be had if we had several others.

The problem with our original RP, although I do think it is great, is that the plot is already solidified, things are too straightforward and so on that people who would join would have to be thrust into an act too quickly. As you can see with a lot of our members who left. I can understand that.

These other RPs I've came up with would be a different and experimental research. I was going to test them out when the other features grabbed the attention of guests and or members. To see if it's the way the story is or if people are just lazy and not motivated enough.

I'll just start off with one of the RP ideas, you can tell me what you think of it or anything else I've mentioned.

One of the ideas was an alternate like universe of One Piece, but it didn't really have to be about the show or strictly keeping to it. So there wouldn't be the main cast or anything like that.

Basically there would still be of course pirates, marines, and other organizations. That much keeps true to the series, maybe even the plot remains with the exception of whatever happens/ed in the show.

Anyone can join and be anything from a marine or pirate or whatever. No one has to be thrust into the action or group. That's where one of the problems laid. We all had to throw everyone together in the same group always. That didn't always work out because of characters and personalities. It just doesn't/wouldn't make sense.

With this idea people can create their own character and own crew. Say like you and I are part of some fake crew. This other guy doesn't want to be part of our crew, he can make his own and others can join him. Of course no one knows everyone right from the start, sort of how like Luffy had to find his crew. And people can leave/join other crews if they want to during the RP adventure.

Another thing that I found to be a problem was that the plot of our story was straightforward. It was there and would never change. With this RP idea we could have that every island marks a different adventure on that said island.

Say one of the islands is some town rule by some thug who thinks he's tough crap and the citizens are scared of him. Or another place has is a large rocky marine base where prisoners can't escape easily or never. You get the idea, no need to go too in detail.

That way with each island comes a different and refreshing adventure. If one isn't to your liking, there's always the next one, which doesn't have to have anything to do with the previous or next island.

Which leads me to my next idea, which is with every island, someone else gets to come up with and control the story. So the first island might be me and the second you and so on. That way everyone gets the chance of controlling the story and everyone also gets the chance of just enjoying the uncertainty of the island adventure.

It also helps because if we get new members wanting in, they can hop in on the fun without really screwing with the plot, because there really is none. It would be like One Piece where it's just one crazy adventure after another. Of course plots and all will still take place and the characters will grow. No one will be strong right away or know each other.

^I think that's a really good idea. the only thing though is would we create another forum called the One Piece RP? otherwise, that might get a tad bit confusing.

also, what we could do is in the introduction or rules section of this RP, come up with another alternate storyline that would be a similar fashion to what you're talking about with the One Piece adventure. this way, new members can join the RP without being a part of this long story we've come up with.

and no, i didnt think that idea all the way through so there's probably problems in it XD

I can easily make a thread or forum section just for One Piece. Like I said it wouldn't be as organized as our current standing RP, that's what turned people off.

And no not as organized doesn't mean messy posting.

yeah no, i get that. but we might attract more people if we have a separate like website thing...cause people who are looking for one piece things will then find it more easily.