Greetings,
Very seldom do I give an opinion on a website.
I have been an engineer for over 25 years and belong to communities ranging from Linux, Oracle, to 3rd generation coding. I am not quite sure how many communities / websites I am registered on. I can say this; it is many.
This is the first website that I have taken the time to post a criticism.
Bean Counter:
I think I understand the bean counter program put into place, though it seems a waste of valuable time and is superfluous at best. It is something that I personally would not engage in. If I happen to contribute, so be it. I cannot imagine even trying to keep track.
Control Panel Options:
I am sure there must be documentation on the following:
Credits Operation Log
Transfer & Exchange
Thread Payments Log
Thread Income Log
Log of rewards payment
Incomings
And let us not forget:
My Rewards
Reward Stats.
My Questions
My Answers
My Activities
Originated Acts.
Applying Acts
When I first saw the above in the CP, I took a second glance and shook my head. I find it very difficult that a site with as much potential as this one would complicate it beyond usability. Let us suppose for a minute that one would engage fully in this chaos. In doing so, the owners of this website should bestow a free BlackBerry upon them just for the time and effort it would take to be that fully involved.
I have seen marketing endeavors offering free laptops (and I mean legitimate), where the process was not as complicated.
Ads:
It also appears this website is a huge AD / Spam pit. I have never run across a website with so many ads and pop-ups. I should say a legitimate website. I would consider this a legitimate website.
I understand that you are attempting to generate revenue through Google ads and do not have a problem with that. I do have issue with the hidden ads and the forced pop-ups. This is deceitful at best and dishonest at worst. Why would a legitimate website feel the need to deceive their members into hidden ads and forced pop-ups? This is indicative of porno sites and removes all professionalism and credibility.
Has anyone who has anything to do with the management or development of this website, ever visit the CrackBerry or BlackBerry sites. And yes, that is a rhetorical question.
CrackBerry accomplishes the same thing you are trying to accomplish with this site, only with credibility and professionalism. Someone should be taking notes.
Forum Responses / Interaction:
I am very puzzled by the requirement for a member to have to first post to a thread prior to being able to download someone else’s contribution.
Is that not what being a member is all about? You end up with page after page of responses that contribute absolutely nothing to this community but “Thank you” just so they can download something.
You have completely missed the definition of what a forum was designed for.
Forums are for dialogue, interaction, contribution and the exchange of information and knowledge. This forum holds very little of any of that.
If a member likes a contribution, they will respond. I see little in the way of asking legitimate questions and the back and forth dialogue on a particular download or topic. Just as an example, look at this thread:
http://bbsgame.mobi/viewthread.p ... p;extra=&page=1
There are 26 pages and only about 1 page of legitimate questions of which most go unanswered. There should be more questions and answers. Not page after page of “Thank you.”
I sent someone to this site last night and was embarrassed by what they were going to have to put up with, just to check something out.
Summary:
In summary, this website has a lot of potential. However, with all of the above mentioned you will never be taken serious. I realize you have approximately 51000 members. However, they are not here to utilize your forum in the way it was meant to be. They are here to simply say thank you and download the contribution.
You need to rethink your business model and get back in the world of professional services. You will be taken a lot more seriously and your members will see you with credibility and not annoyance.
Sincerely,
Brian