This is not directed at anyone and this is probably a result of pent up frustrations coming from many angles. Ranting doesn't have to be reasonable right? So here is my moment of possible irrationality.

*deep breath*

Don't take on a job you can't handle. This means, if you know you are on a crunch for time and know you probably won't be all that active, don't create a site. Inactive admins without leave annoy the crap out of me and I'm sure this isn't one of my irrational parts of this rant. Admins, as the leaders of a community, are expected to be loyal to their own forum.

Fly-by-creations don't pass for me and this is mainly why a lot of sites close. RPG's come and go at blinding speeds! I swear on my hamster's grave that I get whiplash just watching them appear and then disappear just or twice as quickly only days after creation. Please, don't create a site on a whim... you may be one of the unfortunate few that don't make it... and one of the many who might tweak my nerves and send me over the deep end.

Harry Potter... I hate you... :sweat:

Premature launches are oh so frustrating and heart wrenching. Well not really but this is yet another thing that pisses me off when I look at a site. The place usually looks great in my experiences, but the more I read... the more and more I begin to feel like information is missing. Its like handing me the ingredients to an upside down fudge cake and then showing me the picture - completely forgetting the instructions which are an important piece of information! And when I ask about the information - now it is mostly just to humor myself - I get the appauling answer of "We're not finished yet. But we are open and you can join and get to posting! " o.O I sometimes wonder if I am seeing things but I never ask twice in fear that I might get the same answer again.

Cbox in the sidebars... ew... I'm sorry. I'm not as lazy to complain about having to scroll to the bottom or the top to see the cbox. If there is seriously that much scrolling involved... you have too many forums. I just can't stand the squished look of a Cbox in a sidebar. Don't you people get even the slightest bit claustrophobic? *shudders*

Unprepared admins who lack the knowledge to run a site tend to annoy me. But not all of you because some do actually try not to go out of their way and end up jumping in a pool that is way over their head. But yeah, I honestly think there should be some basic knowledge of HTML involved. Just like if a person has absolutely no knowledge in HTML, I would not suggest they get a website because they would not be able to manage it unless someone was holding their hand more than likely. However, considering my strong belief in "Practice makes perfect!" I am willing to overlook a lot of the lack of knowledge that goes with running and owning a site because we all have to start somewhere. It does bother me though when an admin of a site doesn't know the basic codes for links or images.

I have to go now and I currently can think of anything else that is bugging me. So yeah... I do feel better. :pink:

hahaha I personally prefer a c-box in the sidebar becasue on my comp it often takes rather long to load the bottom of the page (god knows why). Another reason is that in most c-boxes these days I do not see the refresh button so I have to update the whole site. Now imagine a lively chat where you have to update between every few seconds. It will get VERY annoying. Especially if you have to scroll down over and over again...and in my case I also have to wait for the bottom of the page to load and that's very frustrating.
Then I find myself dropping from the conversation and I have to check older messages or reply to things said several lines ago. So yeah I like c-boxes in the sidebar. *laughs* And I'm defo not claustrophobic on that. I think I might have a phobia on open spaces because those bottom-of-the-page c-boxes are so spacey that it freaks me out. :sweat: :D

Also...Agree with you on HP.

*clings* I agree! It's scary! It's like writing blind! I just prefer seeing full information and fully formed board with a clear structure where the information is in a logical place in a logical order. That's what I do with my board: first work then play. I cannot otherwise expect the members joining to fully comprehend what the board is about etc.

My C-Box is in the sidebar. Sorry!

I agree with premature launches. People inviting you to a brand new site that looks fantastic and has a good plot and then you go to sign up and rules are missing and other basic info that would be really useful to know before you register.

I once joined a site like that, a few years ago now, and I was refused my application because I had done something incorrectly. Not that there was anything to tell me what "correct and incorrect" was! How annoying is that!

There is a "join" button. Push it, and the c-box refreshes automatically when someone posts. ^_^

I can definitely agree about it being annoying people don't finish sites before opening them. Uhm, HELLO? Why on earth should I join your site if it's incomplete? Hell no. How'm I ever gonna know that you're actually going to finish it? It's stupid. >_>

I also think it's definitely a good idea for new site owners to learn some HTML. There's a lot of sites out there to help with that, it's easy to look for the info, and your site will be better off for your knowledge.

However, I'm gonna have to disagree on the sidebar c-box rant. I love them there. It's not because I'm too lazy to go to the bottom of the page, it's just that it puts the c-box in a more prominent position. You can't miss it, or forget about it. It keeps it more active, and makes things seem more welcoming to me.

I've tried it but never worked for me. *shrug*

I have done the Join thing, took me ages to realise that if you refresh the main site though you have to click the little Join button again.

Haha well I haven't had issues with that, since it doesn't exactly work either way. Premium c-boxes work like a charm though. Love them.

Gah. I think my site may be a little guilty of the premature launch. I'll try not to make it sound like I'm making excuses... ...I'm writing a RP novel? haha We have everything for everyone to RP comfortably, but we're continuing to build and update the world well beyond what you'd normally find in a fantasy RP. I just hope it doesn't drive members away because we've been open for three years and I haven't finished writing for it.

The impression I got from your reply, you have information there but you are just adding on to it. I like to think there is a vast difference between having information which you are building onto and having a void space missing important stuff that would be liable for someone's "Need to knows" when joining. I don't think you are on the same boat as the other premature launchers. :pink: Actually, I wouldn't even consider you a premature launcher at all.