Ozbow

G'day All,

I have been wanting to give the site a much needed facelift for some times now. We hope to be able to get things moving in this regard in the next month or two.

I would like any suggestions you might have that you think would improve the site either in content or looks. All suggestions are most welcome but I won't promise that they will be implemented but they will most certainly be considered though. Please post your ideas in this thread.

Thanks everyone for your valued support and I look forward to your comments.

Jeff

Graphic designer here with 20 years under my belt. Would be happy to look at the design side if you have a developer to build the pages

Jase

Red flannel background!!

Thanks Jase that is much appreciated. I'm not sure what is happening at present but should know more after the weekend.

Thanks Buford - at least you had an idea.

Jeff

Hi Jeff

IMHO I am happy with the way the site is and would notm change it unless you intended to add other functions and capabilities..

It is clean and works well. Then again I am a believer in "form following function".

GrahameA wrote:Hi Jeff

IMHO I am happy with the way the site is and would notm change it unless you intended to add other functions and capabilities..

It is clean and works well. Then again I am a believer in "form following function".

Ahh but form can always be improved

No worries Jeff just holla if you need a hand mate. I'll take a good look through and make some suggestions over function as well

Hi Jeff

I like the site the way it is also. It is one of the few sites is easy to use and not confusing. As previousl mentioned simple and clean - lot to be said for it.

What do they say -- If it aint broke dont fix it.

Graeme

Hi Jeff (GPR)
I must admit I'm one of those people that if its not broken it don't need fixing,
But now that you asked, A few points I would like to suggest are ;
1. Delete the Forum Heart & Soul. I do have a spiritual belief, but I don't think something from a auto news feed is enriching the spirit or soul.
2. Add a new Forum for us to display our Gear Eg Bows, arrows, 4WDs, etc mainly photos.
3. Possible Chat room as we have many members around Oz and overseas good place to become more personal (Able to ask dumb questions to others members that are not left up on a post for weeks on end).
Thanks mate for asking but if it stays as is I would still be happy spending many more hours on this site
Cheers
Paul

Jeff,

I also like the site as it is but there is always some room for improvement. A couple of things could be to spruce up the front page and as poppy suggested ad a chat room. Jasel could do a wonder job with the front page and he is keen too .

Lou

Jeff

Hope You did not think I was being negative. I have nothing against change, just not keen on change for the sake of it.
Many of the things suggested sound like good ideas particularly the chat room. And I have to admit that I have always wondered about the Heart and Soul Forum as It seems inappropriate on an Australian site where people have a much more private and personal approach to spirituality - Feels a little culturally out of place and I think we should be very conscious of trying to keep the site as Australian as possible. After all that is what sets it apart and to my mind makes it desirable.

Graeme

Thanks for your input fellas. We weren't envisaging huge changes but updating the front page is a definate.

With regards the forums, it has been mentioned a number of times about the Heart & Soul forum and it may well go as it doesn't seem to get used. A photo forum isn't a bad idea so we will have a look at that.

A chat room isn't something I was considering but we will have a look at the possabilities since there seems to be an interest in it.

Thanks for your input so far it is appreciated. Remember the site wouldn't be any good if we didn't have members so your input is important. If you think of anything else please post it.

Jeff

Jeff,
A new colour scheme with more outdoors oriented colours could be a good idea. As a suggestion a combination of some gum leave gray-greens and bark grays with some redish earthy colours could be an option.
Lou

I reckon the posts already up sum up my thoughts on the subject. It's a nice easy site to get around and there's plenty of info and entertainment

Jeff,

I believe you are thinking primarily about reformatting the front page? I personally feel it is in bad need of updating, and being simplified in line with the more easy to use forums.

Things like the counter, TB Association link (now defunt) and shop could either go or be made more useful, I feel. Also not sure about the Last Updated thingy, as it tends to imply the site is rarely updated, when a look at the forums will show loads of activity. Don't know about the slideshow either, which was always problematic, although the idea of pics of local hunters and archers is a good one, I feel.

I don't know what others feel about the "Check Out The Latest Posts on Our Campfires" section, but I do use this sometimes as a quick check to see what the recent posts are, and for a front page it does imply an active site.

Other than that, perhaps further down the track, it would be good to have a Shop section where you could sell things like the Buckles, and maybe folks who make things for sale could advertise their wares, with a small commision payable to Ozbow to support the site.

Just my thoughts...

cheers,

Erron

one other thing...

The Heart & Soul forum seems to have always had the knack of threatening or offending a lot of folks just by its mere existence. I find this personally sad, having observed many people (friends who've suicided, have cancer, etc.) to be able to open up to others about things. My guess is that some would like to, but won't do it in a public forum. So maybe it could be made a Hidden forum, where people could see its name in the forum list, and read a brief description of its purpose, but would have to register with Admin. to have access. I know this would require some form of rigorous moderation, to enable those who do register to feel safe enough to post there.

I've always felt Ozbow should try to differentiate itself from some of the other Oz hunting sites, where things like Religion & Spirituality are denigrated, respect for others is seen as indicating weakness or 'unmanliness', and the general behaviour of posters make you think you've strayed into an inner urban slum pub on pay night. Those sites are the worst advertisement for Hunting imaginable, and we should try to do better here. Whether that requires a forum like Heart & Soul is debatable, I agree

I just wrote this off the top of my head, and it may be way off beam. If anyone thinks that, don't be shy in saying so. I'm not easily offended, honest

At the end of the day no one is using it in its present form, and as such I agree it could go.

cheers,

Erron

Thanks for your input once again. Yes Erron, the front page will be the focus of attention and maybe a tweat of the forums.

Jeff