Implemented Show members online

I can't help but wonder why you don't have the members who are online being shown on the index. For one thing, not showing them makes the forum look inactive, and even if their names aren't shown, there should be something saying "XX members online" (100 members, 32 guests, etc)

 

Huh, seems like something you'd want on the main index though, to show forum business. I notice this forum isn't as active as one might expect, this could help out in the long run as it's what most forums do, and without it the forums will appear to be dead, driving away potential new members.

Source: Someone who runs forums for a living xP (I don't get paid though)

 

To me though, there's a difference between seeing nothing, or seeing "19 online, 9 guests and 10 Registered users", or seeing "19 Online, 9 guests and 10 registered users", and then seeing a wall of names. The wall of names inflates how many people seem to be online making me think "Oh, so if I post here, I might get replies!"

Even if there aren't a lot of members online that post, just seeing a bunch of members online encourages posting. It's like standing in a group of people and saying absolutely nothing to each other. It makes you uncomfortable and makes you want to say something if nobody else is saying something, just for the fact that saying nothing is awkward.

 

I think you're over analyzing this. A message board is a message board, not a chat. The idea is to post up something and then amble off for a few hours/days and the come back and see what's happened. Who's on when you make the post shouldn't matter.

Maybe that's just the old fogey in me talking, though.

 

If it takes more than a day on average to reply to an average post, the board is either dead or almost dead, so that's not typical.

 

Allow me to clarify.

I understand the corollary between response time and forum activity, having seen the death of my fair share of BBS. I've also participated in some that have lived long after my interest in them waned.

What I am saying:

I visit these boards maybe thrice a day. They have a clean, easy to read interface.

I don't mind if they tell me how many people are on when I happen to meander through. But I don't want to be assaulted by a wall of text telling me who exactly they are when I drop by.

I do not like this idea.

I expect that the devs will give this opinion as much weight as the viewpoint of a single forum goer deserves. This is all I have to say on the subject.

 

How is eleven members a wall of text? And if they're off to the right side of the screen I have no idea how you'd be being "assaulted". .__.

Are... are you referring to your idea or mine?

 

I'll go ahead and show this.

Terraria online uses Xenforo also. This is the "wall of text" you're implying will exist (Albeit MUCH smaller than this due to the infintesimally smaller userbase.)



That's including the "people you follow" (I can't express how nice of a feature that is) and the fact that it stops at a certain number of names and says "And ____ more..."

 

I'm also against showing of user names as a huge list as it's completely non-relevant to me and just serves to take up space. I wouldn't mind having people you're following shown however.

 

Empy space. Empty.

 

Clutter. Not visually appealing. Making relevant information more difficult to see.

Sorry, I just don't agree with you, but I'm not trying to argue against you, just saying it like it is for me.

 

All right, seems legit.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_space_(visual_arts)