Revamping the web site - want your opinions

[Ellay]

**Updated**
Good evening everybody,

I want to thank everybody for the immense support you have given us since the inception of the site, it has grown beyond our wildest dreams and we owe that to everyone reading this post. Your suggestions, all of which have been delivered in a constructive and intelligible manner, prove just why this is the best community on the internet. I am humbled by the outcry of support that you all have offered us and each other.

I wanted to take a few moments and announce some short term plans for additions to this site. These suggestions were directly derived from your recommendations, and I want to let you know that if your idea didn’t make the list it was more than likely an oversight.

Short term plans, in no particular order:

• Avatars should now be enabled

• Request members of the site step up to assist in moderation of the forums and posting relevant information and editorials on the front page

• Minor modifications to forum layout (We hear your pleas for certain language and theme based areas, and we believe we have a solution that won’t break the community up. We are very interested in providing a more organized flow of information).

• A “newbie” forum section with critical start tips and FAQs that we can point our newest members to. This will serve to clean up general quite a bit.

• A new banner/logo (We have something in the works, but we need your help!)

• A better cosmetic look and continuity moving into the forums

• “Hall of Fame” screen shot section with rotating random image on the front page

• A section covering unique multi-boxing setups, as well as mind-blowing accomplishments

• FAQ section linked from the front page

• Link to important WoW Resources readily available from the front page (WowWiki comes to mind)

• Other important information readily available, including screenshots of GMs endorsing the dual-boxing community (let’s encourage others to join us in our distinctive journey!)

• We will be adding a donation button to help upgrade the sites bandwidth and allow dual-boxing.com to operate on a whole new level
**Updated**


Hey all Ellay here. With me and Xzin being featured in an upcoming online gaming Magazine, my Arena PvP video showing what we are capable of, and dual-boxing getting a larger audience everyday, it's time to flesh out the site and kick it up a notch.
Many here have helped contribute to the great site we come to everyday to enjoy, and why not make it better? With that in mind, would love to hear your thoughts on what you would like to see added.

Some ideas I currently have:
I plan on revamping the main page to have more of a blog style, and not just me writing the blogs, you too! I'm thinking to possibly centralize many of the great blogs we have going but are spread across multiple websites.

For the forums, they have been doing great. I always aim for a clean layout where it doesn't feel cluttered and easy to find what you want. Everything can always improve though and looking for ideas on what you prefer for a look and feel when you read about what you love.

Overall just really want to hear your ideas, the community here is the best of any forum out there. Lemme know what you think

[Djarid]

I like the idea of an open forum blog front end but it could open a can of worms if un moderated content can be posted there.

Are you thinking of implementing some form of CMS?

[Lost Ninja]

Upgrade the forum to phpBB3 then add sub forums for single topics, eg keyclone. That'd make navigation easier.

I don't ever really see the front page as I have the search for new posts book marked. So IMO whatever you do to the frontpage should be replicated into a news section in the forums. Does mean regulars don't have to arrive via the front desk to know what is going on. But obviously would mean that the admins would have more work or more difficult software. (Been trying to make a phpBB3 front end for ages that works blog stylee... (Outshine.com does have one for phpBB2).

Personally what I'd love to see is some of the products that are posted onto the hardware board actually reviewed by a multi-boxer... less 'this looks like it might be cool' and more 'OMG This Roxors my Boxen...'

A beginners thread, so posts asking easily answered questions can be posted (or moved) there.

(edited for spellings)

[kayb]

* What is possible to achieve. PVP/PVE.
- What have been done, and what is required to make it work.
- Which instances are easy, which are doable, which are hard/impossible.

* Group composition.
- PVP or PVE.
- Which classes work together, not only to cover disspells/decursing, but also to gain the most dps. Most people probably use elitistjerks.com or some other theorycrafting site, but boxing will always have it's own rules as to what works and what doesn't.

A forum covers most basic needs I guess, but it's sometimes hard to search to find just the info you need.

[keyclone]

as to not damage the 'community', and the welcoming atmosphere we have going, a general section where the new comers will probably always post for the first time is a good idea.

too many sub groups does have the possibility of reducing user interaction.

to illustrate my point, look at the general forum on the wow boards compared to the other forums. the volume on general is just insane... but also helps generate interest for lurkers and a forum for others to communicate

keep in mind, search does work... but people will most likely ask the same question numerous times... how the forum deals with that reflects the nature of the community... and one of the reasons i constantly refer people to dual-boxing.com

[Zseth]

I think one of the even larger issues we will see is an influx of trial boxers. Everyone who discovers it will want to have all their answers right away, and as you can see by the General Forums its getting more and more crowded everyday. I took a break from the internets this weekend when I was at my friends wedding only to find the General Forum filled. Now, I love answering questions whenever, but getting hit with a wall of text like that really hurts. I'm sure an FAQ page would be helpful and a Form to send in questions and have a few volunteers aka Veteran Boxers assist in answering them. The ones we deem worthy of sharing get added to the FAQ's. Idk, just me talking out loud. Ellay, check your PM's for more.

Also, I think <The Zerg> Needs a guild webpage or at least a private section of forums in order to discuss guild things, we have grown alot lately and I think that is something that should be considered if the site is upgraded.

[Ellay]

Exactly the kind of replies I was looking for, thanks and keep them coming. Adding a list of what needs to get done.

[Minister]

I would like a blog on the front page with a public style but moderated content, a more cohesive color scheme connected across the frontpage and the forums, and a separate spot for articles on DBing (most likely just static versions of most of your stickies).

[Xzin]

I agree on <The Zerg> having a website or something similar. We already have Vent and an IRC channel (shared with other boxers). I just don't have the time right not to put that together. Maybe somebody else wants to step up and put it together? I keep up with the community and don't mind helping out where I can but my efforts are focused elsewhere for the time being.

[Lost Ninja]

@Zseth
I can understand The Zerg Wanting/Needing its own site, I think if part of dual-box becomes a Zerg only page you'll break part of the community. You will get references to Zerg only information on the public threads, which will only lead to confusion.

Having a Zerg forum would be great I'm sure, my own guild wouldn't manage to be the great group it is without one, but watering down the information here with locked and inaccessible sections IMO would be a back ward step.

Not knowing the details of Ellay's hosting I wouldn't know for sure, but it should be possible to run two separate forums from the same domain or sub-domain. Thus allowing an entirely separate structure for the guild portal.

@Keyclone
Too many sub groups is bad its true but categorizing lots of posts under the same thread title, is good. I see your point about the main WoW forums, but if I'm looking for UI stuff I look in UI customization first.

And...

I'd love to see complete setups, not so much the hardware as the software, macro side of things. I'm just starting with running three, its great fun but building macros that actually work all the time is a pain. Being able to have anyone of the three my main has so far eluded me, and thats stealing macros heavily from the macro thread. Now it could be just doing something wrong, but I suspect I'm missing something.

So I'd love to see an offline macro editor, and or the text files saved in a character's WTF directory, so I can work out exactly what other people are doing.