[wtfrick]

So the forum feels somewhat dead and ancient compared to other modern MyBB forums. I've only been active for a few days now as a new member but I thought I would share my suggestions on how we could increase member retention rates and small things we could do to improve the overall feelings of the forums.

Suggestions:

• Hide BBCode tags in the thread creation text area and instead show an immediate preview. For example, instead of the text area showing the BBCode bold tag of the part I selected to bold, it should just bold it. Feels cleaner and less clunky. You could perhaps add an option to view the BBCode tags for the few who want to save their thread formatting.
  
  


• Make it possible to tag users in posts and have it alert them when you type @user. Imagine if you couldn't tag users on Discord -- it just wouldn't feel the same. The feature adds a lot, and it also brings the community closer together in a way since members will tag each other for jokes.
  
  


• Allow non-upgraded users to upload custom avatars. I'm not sure why this feature is disabled (cashgrab?) but as a non-upgraded member, the forums would definitely feel a lot more appealing if I could have a custom avatar. It doesn't make me want to upgrade -- if anything, it does the opposite. And what ever happened to gif avatars?
  
  


• Allow non-upgraded users to post in the Online Accounts forum section. I have a bunch of OG IDs I would like to sell but can't sell in the appropriate section because I'm not upgraded. And just like that, you're already probably losing website traffic because I'd rather sell my products elsewhere.
  
  


• Expand the Online Accounts forum section. Perhaps add some extra subsections for specific websites and clarify it further (namely websites such as Instagram, Twitter, Soundcloud, and Steam) so add sections such as "OG Instagrams", "OG Steam IDs", and whatnot. These subsections would probably, in fact, receive even more traffic than some entire forum sections. Selling OG IDs has become a pretty big thing recently, and it's relevant to the hacking theme since the accounts are usually cracked and/or social engineered for.
  
  


• Make the captchas less annoying and not affect members who are already confirmed not to be bots. I've verified my e-mail address, been registered for a while, have popularity, and have 20+ posts, yet sometimes I still have to do a captcha over and over even if it's for something as simple as previewing my post. The bot protection seems unnecessary and should not be imposed on everyone.
  

Okay, so there's a lot more I have in mind but that's a few of the things that I feel like HF should work on more.

Through the years, it feels like HF has been getting stripped down bit by bit. Rather than adding features, you seem to be removing them, adding paywalls, and restricting members from doing even the most basic of things (such as sending a PM or using a custom avatar) which any other forum would allow you to do for free without having to meet certain requirements. This especially makes the market more annoying to use for new members.

Also, something to consider working on would be the theme. The colors (particularly the chosen shade of grey) are kind of dull. It should perhaps be a darker gray, and the purple should be a bit brighter to remove the dull/monotone feeling, but that's just my own personal opinion.

[Traum]

Great feedback in my opinion! You really hit the spot with most of your points (can't talk too much about the Online Accounts sub) but the paywalls are definitely holding back the site, as well as no custom avatars for unupgraded users.

Gif avatars aren't dead btw, they are just not common anymore.

[reBELLYus]

The captchas are killing me. Other than that, I enjoy the forum and have been for some time now.

[Riyu]

Expand the Online Accounts forum section. Perhaps add some extra subsections for specific websites and clarify it further (namely websites such as Instagram, Twitter, Soundcloud, and Steam) so add sections such as "OG Instagrams", "OG Steam IDs", and whatnot. These subsections would probably, in fact, receive even more traffic than some entire forum sections. Selling OG IDs has become a pretty big thing recently, and it's relevant to the hacking theme since the accounts are usually cracked and/or social engineered for.

I agree with this. OG scene is pretty big right now.

[Central Sky]

For me forum is really nice and activity is not less, but too many scammers in the forum, there must be an automated escrow service to protect users from scammers

[Riyu]

For me forum is really nice and activity is not less, but too many scammers in the forum, there must be an automated escrow service to protect users from scammers

That will never happen lmao

There's going to be scammers on any online marketplace lol.

[Vitani]

Thanks for the feedback. Most of your suggestions/issues seem to be based on the fact that unupgraded users don't have certain features. The simple solution would be to upgrade. If you want to use this forum, especially the marketplace side of it, what's the harm in investing in a $15,- upgrade that gives you the features you are asking for?

You call it a cashgrab, but you should think of it as a way to monetize the forum while giving upgraded users their moneys worth.

For me forum is really nice and activity is not less, but too many scammers in the forum, there must be an automated escrow service to protect users from scammers

You realize members have been closed for suggesting this over and over again? Pretty damn stupid move.

[Armada]

Joined: 11-21-2017

Please tell us more...........

What you saying, its been said before.. Shits going to go as it goes, dont fucking like it dont log back in... not complex.

[wtfrick]

Thanks for the feedback. Most of your suggestions/issues seem to be based on the fact that unupgraded users don't have certain features. The simple solution would be to upgrade. If you want to use this forum, especially the marketplace side of it, what's the harm in investing in a $15,- upgrade that gives you the features you are asking for?

You call it a cashgrab, but you should think of it as a way to monetize the forum while giving upgraded users their moneys worth.

The issue is that with a paywall, the forums (and marketplace) is not as active as it could be, so there's less incentive to upgrade. A lot of users like myself have shit to sell and would happily post our products (which as a result brings more traffic and people registering just to buy said products) but don't feel as if it's worth $15 due to a lack of marketplace activity (which, again, is because of all of the restrictions which other popular forum markets don't have). If you need examples, I can happily PM you them as well as their activity rates which are skyrocketing due to less restrictions and more features, which actually brings in more overall revenue but without a paywall. You should reconsider your business model.

Joined: 11-21-2017

Please tell us more...........

What you saying, its been said before.. Shits going to go as it goes, dont fucking like it dont log back in...  not complex.

No reason to be toxic. As an active forum user, you should be grateful that there are users like me willing to put out thoughtful (and sensible) feedback. Also, I've used the search function and could not find half of these suggestions. Only a couple of discussions on the custom avatar part.

[Agent Shark]

Joined: 11-21-2017

Please tell us more...........

What you saying, its been said before.. Shits going to go as it goes, dont fucking like it dont log back in...  not complex.

Tell me how you really feel...

[Vanderbilt]

I can happily PM you them as well as their activity rates which are skyrocketing due to less restrictions and more features, which actually brings in more overall revenue but without a paywall.

Yes, that is a given but if you want traffic from those areas, you dont need to have access to the prem sellers sec.

afaik, you can happily post in the 2ndary sellers and just buy a sticky to almost any section youd like

https://hackforums.net/buysticky.php

[Omniscient]

Bah, wasted time typing up a long reply. I was very annoyed and this is bullshit but I realize OP just wants us to be like a site he got banned at. We're HF. We don't copy what other sites do, they copy us.

I am not interested in stealing traffic from other forums by mimicking what they do. I'm interested in innovation.

If you don't like the paywalls (your term not mine) then you can fuck off.