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What do you prefer to see as a roleplay forum's home page?  

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Call me the poll master, because I've returned again with another question! When you look at a roleplay's index/home page, what makes more sense/what do you prefer to see? The forums, or some sort of splash page?

 

And for further discussion - when you're browsing a new RP site or group, what information do you personally look for? What are some trends in home pages that bother you, or that you like?

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Alright so.

I have a preference for sites that just send me to the index of the forums. If your site doesn't it's a bit of a strike against it but not the end of the world.

 

As long as the splash page:

-- has relevant information (plot blurb, links to wiki/site guide info)

-- has easy links to the forums

-- isn't formatted terribly (because the index usually coincides with the skinning of the forum and if I can't read it or it's waaaay too bright, I'm going to step away.

 

As for trends that bother me in home pages - too many moving parts. Carosel banners and gifs all over the place. Hover things are okay in moderation but too many of them are distracting and make things difficult to navigate for me. I'm also not fond of the (fading, I think) trend of having the banner take up basically the whole screen when you first open the site. My screen is HUGE if your banner takes up all of it, I don't know what to say except why.

 

I like to have a neat site blurb somewhere - a paragraph or two. And links to important information right there on the index, whatever it may be. Bonus points if there is a link to want ads or something like that. I'm a fond of the KISS take on things (keep it simple, silly). Don't give your entire plot in the blurb box - give a brief into blurb and LINK to the plot. Get me interested, don't drown me before I'm ready to make the jump.

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Straight to the forum, please -- but make sure there's a clear link of where to go to get information! I like to get a feel for the actual board before I do anything, but I still want rules, lore, etc. handy!

Edited by clipsed
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I honestly don't care as long as the navigation isn't confusing so it's hard to find the actual forum. For a roleplay I prefer that it goes straight to the forum. However, in the end of the day it is all the same.

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I immediately 'x' out of splash pages without a second glance - even for advertising. It's one of those arguably nitpicky things that I hated when the trend started, and still hate now. 

 

Send me right to the index, and the index should have a way for me to easily find the most important information in a matter of seconds. 

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Splash pages are cool the first time you see them, then become kind of a hassle as both rper and advertiser.  Perhaps I'm just lazy, but I like to be able to find things quickly so I would much prefer to instantly go to the forums.  

 

When browsing a new rp site or group, I really like a clean layout and preferably a board that does not involve endless scrolling.  I think it's best to minimize clutter and I personally prefer to see compact forums.   For information, I like to be able to find the rules, lore/plot, application, and face claims quickly.  As an advertiser, I kind of wish people would keep to a naming standard so it makes things easier on everyone.  But yeah basically anything that requires searching for ages or at least not getting a handle of where things are located relatively quickly due to a confusing forum layout is an instant turn off for me.  That being said, if the lore/premise of the site were compelling enough, I would probably adapt.  

 

Edited by The Rebel
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Nothing makes me x out of a site faster than a gigantic splash screen. Sure they're cool the first time you see them, but as has already been said, they get super tedious after a few times.

 

Call me old-fashioned, but I like my index to have the forums, and be neatly organized and with links that are easily found.

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I hate splash screens. I hate banners that take up the whole page and LOOK like a splash screen. I'm definitely not into this trend.

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Reality is an illusion. 


 
 

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To those that think it's "traditional" not to have them. It's actually an older trend than you all think. It's a trend that started back in 1998 with Geocities and Angelfire. It phased out pretty significantly over the years.

 

I think there is a huge difference that people aren't giving a fair chance. There is a difference between a "Splash page"  and an "Index Page". A true "Splash Page" is a click through page. Basically it's a blank page with a link to the full site. There are other Index pages that provide you with recent site announcements, information etc and you can click into the forum.

 

I can still see it as being annoying for advertising but Index pages aren't meant for advertisers, they are meant for potential users.

 

This has a bit more busy of a index page but here is an example one:

 

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Profile set made by myself and original Artwork by Fae Merriman, my daughter.

 

 

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I used to have an index page on a few of my sites and nobody used them. I think there are better ways to present information without an “index” tbh. 

Reality is an illusion. 


 
 

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I really hate index pages. I've never seen one that wasn't cluttered. It's just annoying when I'm trying to quickly slap some adverts around and having to find a button to click to enter the forum breaks my routine and irritates me. Yes, I know that makes me sound incredibly lazy, lol.

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I think that index pages that aren't the forums can be done well, but are rarely done so. You usually have to search to find the actual forums and when I type in a website, I want to be taken straight to the action, not have to jump through several links to get there. It gets tedious after a while, especially when page urls get complicated. For non-rp's, it's really a non-issue. But for rp's, I just want the forums, man.

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a dark, urban fantasy;

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