Forum Link Experiment

[VideoGameCritic]

In a recent thread a reader requested adding links from the reviews to their forum threads, which would spur more discussion. It's a great idea, but kind of difficult since the reviews are totally separate from the forums. Just kind of how the site evolved.

However, I am conducting an experiment in the 3DO section to see if I can quickly implement an 80% solution. Under selected reviews you'll see a link that says "View Forum Discussion". Clicking on this does a quick search for the forum thread. You still have to click on that search result to see it.

One catch - the review feedback threads only trace back to 2006, and a LOT of review are dated prior to that. So for those older reviews I didn't include the link, since it wouldn't yield any results. Of course as I gradually update those old reviews this should be less of a problem.

Please go ahead and try it out and let me know if you think this is worth pursuing.
https://videogamecritic.com/3do.htm?ex=1

[VideoGameCritic]

You'll find these new forum links under the new Ace Combat reviews too.

[ActRaiser]

Couldn't you add an icon to represent the forums and then direct link to the forum post itself?

https://videogamecritic.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=39461&t=18744

The URL above brought me straight to the topic you created.

I get that you'd have to post and then link directly but it would allow the site to look a bit cleaner. I think the "t" represents the "topic ID"

When you use that search feature it highlights whatever text is on the forum page. It looked a bit odd. In my humble opinion it's better with it than without it but linking directly would be the ideal way to go.

[VideoGameCritic]

Actraiser - thanks for the feedback!

First, would icon would you suggest for a forum link? I like the idea but can't think of a good icon.

As for taking them straight to the right topic, that would be hard because I'd have to extract all the right topic IDs and associate them with the correct reviews. Could be done, but a major project. What I've done is not as clean but really doesn't require me to do any work.

As for the word highlighting - yes that is annoying! But I think I was able to get rid of it. It's probably still in your cache but that effect will go away soon.

Keep the feedback coming.

[LuckyWDFN]

First, would icon would you suggest for a forum link? I like the idea but can't think of a good icon.

There are a few good ones in a google image search of "forum icons"

or

what about Pac Man with a comic strip cartoon voice bubble coming out of his mouth? That Donkey Kong in your 20th Anniversary banner with a cartoon bubble coming out of his mouth might be a good candidate too. I'm just spit-balling.

[ActRaiser]

Actraiser - thanks for the feedback!

First, would icon would you suggest for a forum link? I like the idea but can't think of a good icon.

As for taking them straight to the right topic, that would be hard because I'd have to extract all the right topic IDs and associate them with the correct reviews. Could be done, but a major project. What I've done is not as clean but really doesn't require me to do any work.

As for the word highlighting - yes that is annoying! But I think I was able to get rid of it. It's probably still in your cache but that effect will go away soon.

Keep the feedback coming.

For icons or images I love to use Google to help me out. You can add "green" for example and it will filter to show you only green forum icons if that's your fancy.

https://www.google.com/search?q=forum+icon&tbm=isch&hl=en&chips=q:forum+icon&rlz=1C1GCEV_en&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwiCy5_-9fLpAhXENawKHfAeAfUQ3VZ6BAgBEBc&biw=1730&bih=890

When you do a search in Google there will be an Image tab that you can select. From there you can filter things down further. It's super easy to find an icon that's pleasing to you. I do it all the time for images for Power Points or wiki pages for documenting things.

I get that this would be a time consuming project but one that I believe would be worth it. Keep up the excellent work as always!

[Marriott_Guy]

I created an icon on use for my Discuss feedback area similar to those displayed in Actraiser's post. Sample:

http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/images/general/comm-disc.png

It is a transparent PNG file and can be easily recolored to match your site's scheme. Definitely will need to recolor the one black thought bubble so it doesn't disappear when users have the B/W theme turned on.

Terry

[icepeople]

Details aside, a great idea you should implement for the full site. Among other things, it should give people more motivation to (re)read reviews and offer more input. Since I know you're seeking more traffic, this is one way (if not massive, admittedly) that is an enhancement rather than a trend/gimmick.

[VideoGameCritic]

Thanks for all the great feedback guys. I'm moving forward, putting forum icons (you can't miss em) under all reviews dated 2006 and later. I'm open to modifications and improvements as you guys see fit.

In the process of doing this I accidentally copied the mobile site over the regular site. That's the risk you take whenever you start making wholesale changes.

Should be fine now, with forum links in the mobile site too.

[ActRaiser]

Thanks for all the great feedback guys. I'm moving forward, putting forum icons (you can't miss em) under all reviews dated 2006 and later. I'm open to modifications and improvements as you guys see fit.

Looks like there may be too many words going into your search engine box. I tried clicking the icon on the Dragon's Lair Review and received the following error message:

Information
You specified too many words to search for. Please do not enter more than 10 words.