As some of you know, this forum software, IOBoard, is nearly 10 years old. It's also been modeled after designs put in place way back in 2002. It has received several major updates along the way, and now has lots of features ranging from the obvious like private messaging to the more obscure like the dice roller for D&D players.

At the same time, a lot of time has passed, and the platform is aging. The structure of the Internet as a whole has changed a lot in the meantime, and I don't always feel like what we have right now can compete properly against other places. At the same time, this place is definitely underused compared to what it offers. As I'm preparing another round of upgrades, I'd like to get your feedback on several points.


Mobile-friendliness? The current appearance is definitely geared toward full browser use, while sitting at a computer. Many people nowadays use smartphones, tablets, or even game systems to browse the Internet instead. Should I make an effort to make it easier to browse and post on the forums through these platforms?

Tapatalk? Tapatalk is an app available on various mobile platforms that makes using forums easier as it offers a standard, easier-to-use interface to all of them. Is that something that people would be interested in, or would a mobile-friendly layout be enough? Tapatalk integration is definitely possible, but it'd be a major time investment that I don't want to commit to unless others really care about it.

Layout update? This is linked to the two points above. Is the current layout easy enough to use, or does it need a major makeover to properly look like it belongs to 2015? I've been trying to use a more visual style in newer sections, like the Minecraft player profiles and statistics. Maybe I should do a bigger push in that direction?

Private forum messages? The private forum messaging system works quite well, and I'm probably its biggest user. At the same time, do you feel like it could benefit from new features? If so, which? Being notified of new messages whenever you login on Minecraft is a start; surely you can think of something else you'd like to see added?

Better website integration? Maybe what this place needs is a tighter integration with various websites like the Creeper's Lab? Besides being able to view comment on news posts and run player lookups, there isn't a lot going on there. Any thoughts on this point?


There are probably other points that I'm overlooking. What I want to do here is start a discussion: what do you see that works, what could be improved, and what needs a total makeover? What would cause more people to be interested in interacting here? I'll be making some changes no matter what goes, but at the same time, having some external input would definitely be valuable.

Thanks for reading!

As Skree said, if you want to chat from your phone, I highly recommend that you get an IRC app instead of using the web version. That will work much, much better!

Just to clear up something here, I'm not looking to merge the forums and the Creeper's Lab's website. The two are independant entities, and I like it that way, especially since the forums actually target more than just Minecraft. I'm just considering how to make traffic flow better between the two.