What I think

Well this is it ill tell you what i think will improve the site

1 - too many ads that slow the site down(ok they give you money but dont like ads).

2 - Limit what content guests can view to improve the chances of them joining.

3 - An extra space on your profile for badges and medels you can buy using the gold you can earn from posting in the forums etc(taking part in the site)

4 - Earn titles for your profile by mentioning certain things in the forums and blogs like players and goals n stuff. So lets say i use the word goal three times in a blog i would get the hatrick title to add onto my profile.

5 - how about making the site a full screen instead of this third of a screen thing?

6 - Give regular members a chance to be staff and give them tools that allow banning of any bad members, posts, blogs etc. Would give them a deserved status for their contribution to the site wheather they use the tools or not.

7 - Bring back the HOME button, its no good in the news section.

Think thats all hope my input helps and thanks for reading.

1 - I agree, action is pending about this. Also premium members see no ads.

2 - Not sure about it, what would you make members-only? Certain forum sections or regular content sections? I wish to keep the downloads free for all...

3 - That would be difficult to integrate, but we could do with a karma system in order for members to receive points for posting useful posts/comments/articles.

4 - Er, that seems ever harder to implement... can't see it happening. But I could do with custom titles for premium members.

5 - Would be interesting, but I like the fixed width set to 960 pixels. If that happens, it would be an option for members only.

6 - Banning bad members/content doesn't sound good. But the chance to be staff is there for anyone worthy of contributing to the site. New member groups are being created for the different staff roles I wish to have on the site.

7 - Done. Click on the fmscout logo takes you to home as well.

Thanks for the home button thats loads better. The ideas about medals n badges i pinched from a leading chat site, the titles idea i pinched from a very liked blogging chat site. Cant see you getting much in the way of people paying for the site and donating n that. Dont think forums and blogs and help with tactics n that should be available to non members, proberly the dowloads shouldnt either if you want to increase your memberships.

Can i ask do you spam for members? do you have ads for the site anywhere. Perhaps even do some printables and ask your members to print out ads and stick them in local shops n that. Just an idea.

Yes, probably donations won't be a solid way of getting rid of most ads in the long run, but I have to try. An automated system for donations is in place and should be integrated in the coming days.

There is a thin line for the members-only content. I mean I don't want to gather a bunch of ghosts members who would log in to download and then go away without contributing anything to the community. And then by making certain content sections (let's say tactical advice) hidden for guests, it means there will be an issue with Google finding those links. I'd have to re-consider that part. But the bottom line is not to increase memberships, but rather to increase contributors.

And no, I'm not spamming for members, I've never done it. Didn't even try to promote the site. Lately I'm trying to maintain our facebook and twitter profiles, in an effort to reach out to a wider audience.
The printables sound a bit awkward, who would print out a site ad and stick it to a local shop? I know I wouldn't

We should focus on quality content production this year, including manager stories, tactical advice and player lists... and of course have more downloadables compared to last year, maybe compared to all other sites even. Quality shall leave no choice to traffic, but to follow us, or at least this is what I think.

# stam : Yes, probably donations won't be a solid way of getting rid of most ads in the long run, but I have to try. An automated system for donations is in place and should be integrated in the coming days.

There is a thin line for the members-only content. I mean I don't want to gather a bunch of ghosts members who would log in to download and then go away without contributing anything to the community. And then by making certain content sections (let's say tactical advice) hidden for guests, it means there will be an issue with Google finding those links. I'd have to re-consider that part. But the bottom line is not to increase memberships, but rather to increase contributors.

And no, I'm not spamming for members, I've never done it. Didn't even try to promote the site. Lately I'm trying to maintain our facebook and twitter profiles, in an effort to reach out to a wider audience.
The printables sound a bit awkward, who would print out a site ad and stick it to a local shop? I know I wouldn't

We should focus on quality content production this year, including manager stories, tactical advice and player lists... and of course have more downloadables compared to last year, maybe compared to all other sites even. Quality shall leave no choice to traffic, but to follow us, or at least this is what I think.

You have gained a contributor in me mate. Love the site and as a newbie who is now addicted...count me in as a regular!

Me a regular also and a fan and i stumbled to the site by accident. Love the site and yes I would happilly work for the site by placing ads in shops and supermarkets and have done it before for chat sites. Also spammed to bring people to chat sites with success. The problem i see is that you have lots of guests online with only a handful of members, those guests need to turn into members somehow. Ok so ill cut the moaning n suggesting and congradulate you on the great site you have made.

To be honest I also come to this website by accident and now is one of my favourite websties.

@adonis_p:
Thanks mate!

@paul1576:
It's always good to read valuable input on ways to improve the site, it reminds me I'm not the only crazy person thinking about it.

@macdab55:
You've been promoted to a 'storyteller' status mate, which means you can now submit articles in the blogs area without having to wait for a moderator to validate them.

wow nice thanks mate.

well let me just say this:
stuff like karma-systems won't work(TROLOLOLOLOLOLZ I DON'T LIEK YUO SO I GIEF YOU BAD KARMAZ!), also things like medals will only increase spam if it isn't done right.


also if you really want to keep the site at a minimum ad-wise i wouldn't switch to a dynamic view. from my experience you can get deals with ad-companies much easier if you have a fixed width.

edit: since i just noticed it from my other post i would really appreciate a feature that automatically shortens URLs to accomodate the layout.

You could just use [ url=... ] title here [ /url ] without the spaces of course in case of really long URLs. My todo list in regards to the site's improvements is quite long at this point, I wouldn't consider this a high priority issue.

I wouldn't make the site fluid at any case, but an option for a wider fixed layout could be an option for members I guess.

As far as the karma system and the general rewards concept are concerned, I guess we'd have to give it a go before putting this down as spam

ofc this is not intended as a high priority fix.
it's just something that would be nice as laziness is getting the better of me most of the time

I am good at thinking up crazy ideas stamm, you should read my science fiction and fantasy writing haha