- Marianan ID
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- Mar 31, 2023
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- Mariana Bay
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Criticisms of the Bay and How We Can Improve
Morning all, I made this post to go over the main criticisms our forum gets and how we can improve going forward so this site can be even better going forward. 2024 approaches soon and by April time this forum will be over a year which is crazy to say and as we do go on onward I want to look back on some of the main criticisms our site has received, from inside and outside the forum, and how we can work from that so our website can be even better to use. So, let's begin:
1) The Mariana Bay isn't original/ a copy of [Insert site here]
A very common criticism this site receives is that it's too similar to other forums. While some of this is bit unfair, especially since many Xenforo forums use the same addons and plug-ins, and what have you, this criticism does have a bit of a basis to it. There's no doubt this forum is inspired by another forums and borrows elements that I liked from them, though I've obviously added my own stuff as well, however though I definitely feel Mariana Bay is it's our distinct entity with its own forum culture and etc, I feel there definitely needs to be more to make us different, hence I propose these following things to help separating us from any potential contemporaries -
a) New UI Tbh our current styling has a very mixed reception, some love it and others detest, but ultimately it needs a makeover to make itself more unique and distinct in the online forum space. What we could do I don't know but we should definitely look into it going into the new year. Don't worry if you like the current styling btw as it will always be a selectable option if you want to use it.
b) Ditch the Mariana Chan idea I know we have worked on it for awhile but we should have a more unique mascot idea if we want to set ourselves apart so I propose we come up with something new and use that as our promotional mascot as while anime waifu characters are more marketable, they have been done to death and something else should be pursued.
C) Bring more to the table that makes us unique What could we offer that other online spaces can't and that can set us apart? It's worth a thought.
2) We need a better idea of what direction we are gonna take the forum and make it better than alternatives
Tedposter brought this up ages ago and it's a very valid criticism despite what you may think. When I made this place I really didn't know what I was doing and only made it as some friends told me to pursue and thought it would be a good time so I did and so far it's been going well, but in the long term where do I really want to take this site? What is going to be the selling point to this site and how will we make it interesting enough to gather users into the long-term, and make it a place that's worth hanging about? Many forums do face crossroads like this and go through periods where they have to think on how they are going to attract people to their forums and make them marketable, especially when server costs threaten its existence, so our general direction is worth contemplating on and any ideas feel free to shoot.
3) Mariana Bay is le toxic
I've heard this one from all corners but yeah some people are easily put off by the blunt and no bullshit given takes user give on here and our general leniency towards such users. I'll say right now I don't want to change this and think a myriad of unique users is what will help keep this place fresh and interesting, however I still want to develop a userbase that is chill, laid back and friendly so I think it's about finding that middle ground that is essential. What will we let flourish in our culture and what will we not? We need to make this place welcoming to join but not impeach on anyone's speech unless they are fedposting or something dumb like that.
4) Make a SFW option for the site.
An issue brought up by @Malice, in what states we need some sort of styling options so this place is more easily read in places that aren't at home. Maybe styling that censors certain words and blocks images is worth looking into? I know Kiwifarms has a styling like this and I think it's worthwhile looking into to make this site more accessible for those on compromised networks.
---
I'm out rn but will write down other ideas on how we can improve later but yeah genuinely these are worth thinking on if we want this forum to have a positive and long future. I'm glad we have come this far so thanks to those who have stuck around, believe in what I'm doing, and done what they can to help support the MarianaBay, wherever it be sharing the site, posting, creating content for it, etc, your support is much obliged.
Morning all, I made this post to go over the main criticisms our forum gets and how we can improve going forward so this site can be even better going forward. 2024 approaches soon and by April time this forum will be over a year which is crazy to say and as we do go on onward I want to look back on some of the main criticisms our site has received, from inside and outside the forum, and how we can work from that so our website can be even better to use. So, let's begin:
1) The Mariana Bay isn't original/ a copy of [Insert site here]
A very common criticism this site receives is that it's too similar to other forums. While some of this is bit unfair, especially since many Xenforo forums use the same addons and plug-ins, and what have you, this criticism does have a bit of a basis to it. There's no doubt this forum is inspired by another forums and borrows elements that I liked from them, though I've obviously added my own stuff as well, however though I definitely feel Mariana Bay is it's our distinct entity with its own forum culture and etc, I feel there definitely needs to be more to make us different, hence I propose these following things to help separating us from any potential contemporaries -
a) New UI Tbh our current styling has a very mixed reception, some love it and others detest, but ultimately it needs a makeover to make itself more unique and distinct in the online forum space. What we could do I don't know but we should definitely look into it going into the new year. Don't worry if you like the current styling btw as it will always be a selectable option if you want to use it.
b) Ditch the Mariana Chan idea I know we have worked on it for awhile but we should have a more unique mascot idea if we want to set ourselves apart so I propose we come up with something new and use that as our promotional mascot as while anime waifu characters are more marketable, they have been done to death and something else should be pursued.
C) Bring more to the table that makes us unique What could we offer that other online spaces can't and that can set us apart? It's worth a thought.
2) We need a better idea of what direction we are gonna take the forum and make it better than alternatives
Tedposter brought this up ages ago and it's a very valid criticism despite what you may think. When I made this place I really didn't know what I was doing and only made it as some friends told me to pursue and thought it would be a good time so I did and so far it's been going well, but in the long term where do I really want to take this site? What is going to be the selling point to this site and how will we make it interesting enough to gather users into the long-term, and make it a place that's worth hanging about? Many forums do face crossroads like this and go through periods where they have to think on how they are going to attract people to their forums and make them marketable, especially when server costs threaten its existence, so our general direction is worth contemplating on and any ideas feel free to shoot.
3) Mariana Bay is le toxic
I've heard this one from all corners but yeah some people are easily put off by the blunt and no bullshit given takes user give on here and our general leniency towards such users. I'll say right now I don't want to change this and think a myriad of unique users is what will help keep this place fresh and interesting, however I still want to develop a userbase that is chill, laid back and friendly so I think it's about finding that middle ground that is essential. What will we let flourish in our culture and what will we not? We need to make this place welcoming to join but not impeach on anyone's speech unless they are fedposting or something dumb like that.
4) Make a SFW option for the site.
An issue brought up by @Malice, in what states we need some sort of styling options so this place is more easily read in places that aren't at home. Maybe styling that censors certain words and blocks images is worth looking into? I know Kiwifarms has a styling like this and I think it's worthwhile looking into to make this site more accessible for those on compromised networks.
---
I'm out rn but will write down other ideas on how we can improve later but yeah genuinely these are worth thinking on if we want this forum to have a positive and long future. I'm glad we have come this far so thanks to those who have stuck around, believe in what I'm doing, and done what they can to help support the MarianaBay, wherever it be sharing the site, posting, creating content for it, etc, your support is much obliged.
