Forum structure suggestions
I love internet forums. I frequent several. I am going to use as examples, ones that I frequent, as suggestions on how to improve the design. There are some designs that appeal to me better. So please take these suggestions in that context.
BuckeyePlanet Ohio State Forums
Buckeye Planet (BP) is an Ohio State (american) football site. IMO this is THE BEST structure for internet forums I have ever come across. Everything is on topic, and there are forum moderators that make sure everyone adheres to the rules. However, the aspect that appeals to me most is the structure.
Let's look at "Football Recruiting" subsection of the forum. In that, look at the "Buckeye Verbal Commitments for 2010" thread (stickied). This contains links to other threads that were once stickied. However during large recruiting classes, they almost made the whole page, so the mods devised a new way to keep track of things by creating a stickied thread that takes care having to sticky the threads of every individual recruit, thereby cluttering the page.
The reason why I bring this up is something like what is seen in the Naval Forces or Military Aviation subforums. There are 12 stickied threads in the former and 16 stickied threads in the latter, and people haven't posted in several of those threads in close to a month. This also takes up space. Some users might not see the newer threads that can't be seen unless you scroll down some. Also, please ook at another recruiting site called Irish Envy. Their
2009 recruiting forum is in the same structure as DFI and it has the same clutter problem as DFI.
There is a hidden sub-forum called the rumor mill that you can't see unless you register, post a few times, get reputation and specifically request access by admins. There, they have a thread with news, and discussions about the news. For projects like the LCA, Kaveri, MCA, ADS, ATV etc, I would recommend the same, one thread containing news articles only, and one thread containing discussions pertaining to the ongoing news. This can be accomplished by heavily moderating the news articles thread. By requiring the mods to approve of every post, and delete or move irrelevant posts like "this is so cool" to the news articles thread, it can become a database of information. Pertinent discussion of those articles can be made in relevant discussion threads.
Speaking of reputation, that is another feature. I like the give thanks to a poster on this site. But sometimes, that isn't relevant. I would also like to see reputation like what is granted at BP. At the top right corner in every post, there is a "Report Post" button (which is present here as well), and a "Add to <user>'s Reputation" button. When you click the latter, it gives you two options (
positive and negative reputation), and a small text box where you can customize comments. If the user you are adding reputation to clicks on the UserCP button on the top menu, he/she will be able to see the type of reputation (positive or negative), link to the post, reputation giver's username, and reason for that. If you get enough positive reputation, the user is given a "buckeye leaf" and if you get too much negative reputation, the user is given a frowny face, and this is displayed on the member posts. Here, the buckeye leaf can be replaced with an Indian flag, or a chakra that is part of the flag, or anything the mods find relevant.
These changes might seem unappealing at first,
but it WILL grow on you. I've heard that multiple times from multiple sources, so I am sure of it. I know it grew on me to the point where BP is my primary source for everyday Ohio State Football info. Consider it addition by subtraction, if you will.
The one single thing I have a serious problem with on this forum is the Global Economy section. The economy is the primary strategic weapon in any country's arsenal. There should be an Indian Economy section. Global economy should be a subsection of within the Indian Economy forum. I'll also recommend subsections on Pakistani, Chinese, American and European economies as well.
These are just suggestions. For the most part (except for the economy section), these are visual and operating modifications. There are other minor points I'd like to make, but I'll do so if requested. This will require a considerable amount of work on the part of the mods, not to mention the startup coding time required to make these changes. The owner and the admins will have to put in a lot of effort. I've been looking for a forum like this for a while now. I love it, and just want to help make it better. I think the details are what make the difference between a good site and a truly well-designed site. And BP has done a good job of paying attention to the minute details. It is, of course, up to the owner, whether he/she wants to go in this direction.