Calendar positioning....

[Mithoron]

So need some site feedback.

One of the biggest issues some people have is missing events on the small calendar to the right.  Events are highlighted on the calendar; however, in order to see WHAT the event is, you need to click on either the month or day to pull up the schedule.

There is also an option to have a 7-day floating calendar on the top of the page which shows everything going on for the next 7 days.

My question is which do people prefer?

I've put the 7-day large calendar on the top of the Homepage and Forums pages as examples, as well as leaving the monthly calendar.  I'm wondering which people prefer...one, the other, or both?

Part of my issue is I hate "cluttering" the site with widgets people aren't going to use.  I find the monthly calendar perfectly acceptable, but as I said, some people miss things on it so was wondering about the 7-day weekly calendar.

Feedback please!

[Mithoron]

Also, if you LIKE the 7-day calendar, WHERE do you want to see it...above the shoutbox (current) or BELOW the shoutbox?  Or even BELOW all the forum posts on the bottom (where the "Last Forum Posts" and "Gallery" images are located)?  I try to avoid the bottom as people don't look down there as often...

[Kattrax Rivenstorm]

Granted I am only a few days old in the guild. But i like having it at the top. It makes it <BOOM> there it is come join us might make more people show up for a event because they saw it right away.

[Hamfast58]

If it stays, with the whole clutter with widgets thing, I think I understand how touchy designers can get (Auntee likes to watch HGTV and the DIY Channel a lot) then I have to agree with Kattrax, the top is best, not for it's aesthetic value, but because it's really hard to miss and almost as hard to ignore... unlike the calendar on the side.

[PoisonedEro]

I really like where it is now. My phone is a jerk about this site, and the current location works really well for it. But I can do a little extra clicking around if others dislike it. 

[Mithoron]

PoisonedEro wrote:

I really like where it is now. My phone is a jerk about this site, and the current location works really well for it. But I can do a little extra clicking around if others dislike it.

 

Are you using the mobile version of the site or the regular URL?  (and before you ask, YES, there is a mobile version, LOL)...

 

http://www.the-eternal-watch.com/mobile/?gid=312807

 

[Mithoron]

I'm surprised you could even post here without logging in...

[levs08]

I like the 7 Day Calendar, and I like it at the top. I hate clutter. I love white space. 

That said, if I may offer my opinion again, I know you are limited by Guild Launch as to the formatting and structure of the forums, but I would really love if it could be cleaned up.

As for the widgets, 

And as for the Forums themselves, 

Let the Announcements have meaning by showing something that is News.

Could be condensed into one big, bold MANDATORY READING thread.

Again, could be condensed (cleaned up) into one big HELLO thread.

:)

I think a clean forum would be nicer to read and easier communicate through, don't you?

:)

 

[Mithoron]

Well, YOU may ignore the widgets on the right-hand side, but personally I utilize them all the time.  First, it lets me know when new members have joined that other officers have accepted...and secondly, it allows us to know whose birthday is coming up for wishing them well.

Also, I ALWAYS utilize the Ventrilo status widget so I know not only who is online, but also that it's being used.  When I see it empty I start to worry that maybe the server is having issues or not.

 

As to the forums, I typically condense posts over time, but a lot of people want to find a specific post and miss it in one single mandatory thread.  When they come on and say "where is the ventrilo information" it's pretty obvious it is under the thread "Ventrilo Server" versus somebody coming to find information on the guild bank and lo and behold, there's a thread entitled "Guild Bank Policies."  Remember, you are one out of over a hundred members, so I'm trying to please everybody, and what works for one doesn't work for another.  For example, Shartenn (not to pick on him, but he's a good example) doesn't like the calendar on the top, as we have always used the calendar to the side...but the majority of newer members like it at the top.  Am I going to remove it because a few people prefer one over the other?  No...that's why I asked for people's opinions.

The welcome threads add a "personal" touch to people joining the guild.  We have had a massive recruiting in the last month, so yes, there are a lot of them, but if I just had a generic "Welcome to the guild John/Jane Doe" it completely loses the personal touch that has always been one of the goals of this guild.  I don't want to make everything generic, so although yes, there are a lot of welcome posts, who here does not want their own welcome thread?

[levs08]

Okay. 

[Mithoron]

http://www.the-eternal-watch.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10125052&p=35848432&gid=312807#35848432

 

[Syrex]

Nothing needs to be moved. Everything on this site gets seen and used. I agree with Shartenn about the 7 day Calender. It does not need to be there. If people really needed to know what is going on, all they have to do is check the calender that WAS to the right side of here. PLUS...if ALL the members were coming to the website and looking at the boards then they would ALL know what is going on.

Maybe we don't need to clutter up the Members forums with "Welcome" posts. Maybe just one sticky announcement that says "Welcome New Members" and we can just make the posts there for newly recruited members.

But Welcome threads does add a personal touch. Really no need to change it.

If anything is game related anyway, it should be in the "General TESO Information" forum. The members forum is what it is. For members to post anything in for others to see. Even welcome posts.