Okay, so I generally want to keep my blog positive. My first post was pretty well received and I like to keep morale up for everyone, so I figured I would comment on Chaos, not really the community so much as the board itself. The framework of the community as a whole, and the atmosphere it provides to both new folks and veterans. I've been a "member" of a few forums in the past, and the reason I quoted member is because I use the term rather loosely. I was signed up, I posted a number of times, and had a pretty solid understanding of the inner workings, the layout, and the community in general. I was by no means an expert, long lasting member, or highly knowledgeable on anything at these other sites.
What I did find however, in my brief visits to these places, was a stark contrast in quality of the boards, their layouts, their navigation, colors, text formatting, and many minor aesthetic details that separated them each for both preferred styles and to essentially differentiate themselves between one another to seem unique. The problem with that approach is in believing that simply changing your font, or color scheme will somehow make your website unique is about as sound a strategy as hoping the name of your restaurant will keep it in business. What the aesthetics can do however, is make a world of difference in bringing in new folks, and helping your established members find your forum both easy, and pleasing to use.
Which brings me to Chaos. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of other Star Wars RP sites floating around, and that is good, because people need variety to find what they like the most, and what suits both their writing and their personality. What I would like to point out though is that the admin team here seems to get it. The board itself that is. There are so many small, intricate details here that make using this site so easy. Venturing on a limb here I would say there are hundreds of small, seemingly taken for granted features that we all use on such a daily basis that we've become spoiled to their presence. Everything from the ease of sub-accounts, to the personalized features on your profile, the mention system, the multi-person PMs, the ease of navigating between all of the separate forums by either the top navigation for quick links to the well laid out forum categories.
The point I am trying to make isn't that Chaos is unique for these features, because I'm aware that a lot of what I used as examples may very well be modules that can be added to the site, but that it is very well integrated into Chaos. It blends well. It feels seamless, not something tacked on or thrown together. This is something that is very difficult to get right. To make it feel like it simply belongs, which some may take for granted simply because it's so unnoticeable. This is what separates our community board from the others, and why I find it to be so inviting for both new and old members. Its' look of simplicity is a reward that we get to enjoy as members, and a testament to the fabulous work that the admins and staff here do.
So, thank you for making this place enjoyable to be a part of!
And finally...Here is your GIF of the day...
