Is it possible to alter the layout of this forum (GimpChat)?

I find that the present layout where the "Recent Posts" is the main panel greeting you is sometimes overwhelming cluttered with posts about different Gimp versions and quite often with listings of code and compiles, causing requests for help, often by beginners, to drop off the main panel.

I would prefer a main portal panel layout where there are three or four categories, such as News, Help, Tutorials and Code (scripts, plug-ins and filters)

I am not complaining about the total content of the forum, I find that all the info is there and I am a regular visitor (2-4 times a day)

For example there are many forums where there is a small side panel to show "recent posts" but retain a categorised entry portal.

Cheers Wbool63

I don't know what would be the best layout but the technical stuff does seem to dominate the top slots. Your layout idea sounds pretty good Wbool63.

Could always create a shortcut to the forum of choice.

That sounds very interesting wbool. I like the idea of the side panel with the most recent posts. That way members can see what categories are active and of interest to them.
Nice idea Wbool

Would the main panel show a colored button if there are new posts I haven't read yet, like now? That is actually the feature that is most important to me, no matter what the other features would be.

I think it could be set up that way 2-ton. I have been on a couple of forums that had all the latest posts with bolded text to attract people that just want to see those but not always at the top. As wbool said they could be categorized. just a thought but he does make a very good point.

Hi Lyle , I have never thought about that and looking in my personal controls , I did not see it as an obvious option. But of course that is only a quick look. However I am not after a preferred sub-forum to greet me. I quite like knowing about other stuff too. It just seems that there is an over representation of technical entries.
A layout similar to (dare I say it) to Gimptalk with a small side panel to show abbreviated new entries, to me is a more user friendly layout.

I am concerned that we are turning away prospective new people because the simple help questions are "buried" in the clutter of technical issues and are dropped off the main portal too quickly and new people may feel overawed at the technical content and feel that the forum is not catering to simple questions. I know we answer all the "newbies" but this is not obvious to a newcomer as most likely the simple questions have been dropped off the main portal.

A simple 3 or 4 main categories portal, as seen in some other forums, would be a simple way to make the forum more user friendly to new prospects.

At least that is my opinion

You're spot on there. When I joined, it was because of people sharing their work and getting advice. I might not have bothered if I saw a load of technical stuff that didn't interest me.

In all honesty I prefer to see everything that is gathering the latest hits on any sub-forum. If its technical stuff that sounds above my head, I open it in another tab or ignore it all together. Not to hard to do.....

I don't really care which boards are the most active or getting the most hits, all I want to see is all of the boards that have posts I haven't read yet...I try to keep up with them all, not just certain subjects.

I don't get it? Why is there need to change? I see no complaint's by users. If it doesn't work perfectly for you, just understand your friends with other configurations.

Really all you need to do is select "Board Index" scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Gimp Help and there you go.Or any other index you want to click on.

Rod, I know how this forum works. I, personally, have no problems navigating the forum. I am also aware that we do answer any question fielded by a "newbie". I am simply expressing my concern that I believe that the main portal (the very first impression a visitor gets ) as it is, is over represented with technical stuff! I believe this is not conducive to attracting new members or for prospective members to feel comfortable asking seemingly beginners questions.

I feel that 3, 4 or 5 main forum entry choices makes for a more friendly first impression. By all means have one of those initial entry points a listing of the most recent or hottest threads or have a side panel with the the most recent entries.

I completely agree with you wbool, I think it would be a very good plan.

I think the present preponderance of "technical stuff" is anomalous, owing mostly to the recent release of a new version of GIMP and partly to some exciting developments in the newly introduced Goat Invasion development branch.

Rod - I think you just helped to make wbool63's point. We know that "all you need to do is...." but someone surfing does not. Without radically changing the site, a few tweaks here and there may help some. I know I had problems figuring out where stuff was and how it works when I first got here. But that's just me.

ie., I still don't know what all the little symbols mean on the left. I do know what locked and pinned is but where do you go to find the explanation of the others?

Hi Saul, I agree with you that the long awaited release of 2.8 and the new development (2.9 goat) is exciting and may well contribute to a "hump" in technical posts but it seems to me that there has been a developing trend of more technical posts for a long time.
I don't think that when this forum got started it had this format. My memory may be at fault here.
Maybe the audience on this forum has changed over time and reflects a new demographic that is becoming more "tech savvy".
However, it does not alter my opinion that the portal as it is now is not friendly to newbies and a few initial choices would hide all the technical posts.

Thanks for the suggestions but I'll have to say that I'm not a big fan of sidebars and stand alone portals. What I want in a forum is an easy to scan list of the latest posts to the site. The first thing I do when I visit a forum is to click on the recent topics/active topics/today's posts link (or whatever the site happens to call it). I would actually appreciate if all the forums I visit were formatted like this one.

I've been fiddling with phpBB forums for over a decade and I've settled on this layout as the best, with the most recent topics from all forums at the top, followed by the individual forums, for when the user needs to narrow their topic of interest. My design philosophy is to keep the home page clean and easy to navigate, with the most recent relevant posts being the first thing a user sees. If a user want to see more than 15 posts, they can simply click on the "Active Topics" link and select how far to go back they would like to view from the drop down at the bottom (7 days being the default).

I don't think new users are gonna be frightened away by technical posts. We certainly don't want to dumb down the site for newbies. There isn't that much of a learning curve involved in navigating this site. It's pretty easy to find the GIMP Help Forum and click the "New Topic" icon. My standard response to concerns over content is to suggest that the user start new topics related to the content they would like to discuss. There's room for a little of everything and the more the merrier, I always say.

Hi Tux, thank you for your reply, it is your forum and you should do as you see best. I disagree with you that this layout is the best but that is just my opinion. I did not want to start a controversy or try to change the world, I merely expressed an opinion. The responses from your audience have been for, against and non-committal to the present layout.
As I said in a previous post , I, personally, do not have a problem finding my way around this forum and I do not intend to stop visiting and being a contributor when I can but I cannot help and think that some "newbies" at least are put off by what I think is a somewhat unfriendly entry portal.
Again , just my opinion.
Cheers Wbool63

Maybe the problem is in the usage not the layout. The technical stuff is, in itself, a discussion and therefore encourages a lot of posts as a reply to a point can be made quickly. Artists, designers etc aren't always inspired to do work and when they do it takes time. I must admit that I sometimes wonder why people are getting excited about 2.9 and later versions when they haven't even had proper use of 2.8 - software isn't supposed to be an intellectual excercise, it's supposed to be used. Maybe us artists need to work harder to produce more of what we do or to create new tutorials. As I said before, I might not have joined GC if I had seen a page full of technical stuff - it's just not my bag, but maybe I'm guilty of being lazy and maybe that's the problem.