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I agree about IPB; it's a stable and convenient engine with almost no lag.
Hmm. You're talking about changing the website's design... I dare to suggest that this isn't very important. Personally, I visited it once and then just left it to gather dust. I only use the forum. And that's not surprising, because you can find news on Google, which everyone probably uses, and the same news appears on the forum. Of course, the forum is the HeroesWorld forum, i.e., the website's forum, but... "HW" usually refers to the first one. Perhaps it would be worth adding more information there – maps, and other things. Then the website wouldn't be an add-on to the forum, but the other way around, as I think the Creator intended.
But the forum definitely needs some work.
First of all, the sections need to be organized. Honestly, they're overwhelming. And why are the section titles duplicated in English, possibly for the sake of foreigners:), which clutters the page and doesn't make any sense.
The engine hasn't been decided on yet, of course, but if you keep this one, you need to, at least, establish clearer boundaries between the sections... because they're arbitrary, and again, everything blends together.
The main page is also very large and difficult to read. It would be better to have a few, 4-5, small sections here:
"Heroes 5 [the only link leading to sub-sections] => general, download, tournaments, ..., ....
might and magic => m&m1, m&m2, ..., ...
...
..."
and so on, that is, reduce the amount of this chaos. Besides, all this information is often unnecessary, because many people start their "forum day" with the control panel, not just me:)
and they only view topics from a specific section.
And a chat would be much more convenient, because it would load a minimum of unnecessary things.
It would be better to put something pleasant to the eye in that place – special icons, a background...
By the way, the styles aren't much different. In essence, only the color and the image at the top. But you could make it more beautiful – with an elven style, for example, the scrollbar could be entwined with vines, some trees, with a necropolis style – bones, some dark green gothic fonts, inferno – pentagrams, flaming letters, etc.
The very presence of different styles should encourage the user to experiment, to change styles, as is the case with the status castle, for example.
Yes, the amount of work is large, but we have the whole summer ahead of us? Or, rather, half of it? And we're talking about changes in general.
Now, regarding reputation...
I think BD (Battle Divinity) should be removed altogether. It's essentially useless to anyone.
Yes, many people do stupid and short-sighted things because of it. Like the Root.
Besides, every other person, not counting every first person, constantly tries to convince everyone that BD is completely unimportant to them, therefore, if it's turned off, they won't be upset.
What about clans? Aren't they not that far removed from clones that increase the owner's spirit, right? In topics concerning the relationships between clans, there is often terrible arguing, everyone throws remarks at each other, lowers the reputation of "enemies," and increases the reputation of clan members. In my opinion, this is completely immature behavior. It doesn't evoke anything but a contemptuous smirk.
So, I think abolishing reputation could solve many problems.
You've probably noticed that with the latest change to the spirit system, "congratulations" have lost popularity. What does this tell us?
Okay... I've rambled on, haven't I?:)
I suggest introducing a simple off-topic tag, which is used on many forums. Many, many topics are drowned in off-topic and meaningless, harsh flaming. This way, it would be possible to differentiate between informative and... meaningless parts of a message. There's also a psychological factor here – the very need to use the tag will limit the flood.
Moderation. Here, I suggest simply reducing the number of "ordinary" moderators, as many of them were chosen by the Creator simply by submitting an application, and many of them don't do anything.
And yes, it would be better to try to change the mentality of this role... it shouldn't "inspire awe and fear," or "wave its weighty rights in front of your nose"; it should symbolize painstaking, unrewarding, and difficult work to maintain order, which is its ultimate goal, as many people treat it as a privilege, not a duty.
And there shouldn't be bias, which I increasingly observe in the actions of our new moderators. No, I'm not talking about myself. Or, rather, not only?
...a resource council, each in their own section – is a good thing, even a great thing, but it should at least be observed not only by the "responsible" person, so that there is a broader view of things.
Yes, and please remove this terrible, caps-locked "FLOOD." It looks like the Creator created the test section just for the sake of it, giving it a working name, and then forgot to change it to something more euphonious.