I have a lot of suggestions which might help bring interest back into the site. I'm posting my suggestions as a list in groups - here it goes :-
========
Features
========
-> Automatic Redirection to the topic last visited after posting a reply
-> Automatic Redirection to the topic newly created in any forum
-> Embedding links into text
===========
Appearance
===========
-> New banner for the site covering entire window or centered image
-> Different color scheme for the site
-> Deep black background slightly visible on the sides would be great
-> Different fonts for forum/topic headings
-> Inclusion of more smilies while removal of the following two -

* Those two smilies subliminally promote excluding sunlight from eyes.
** As for the Banner, I'd suggest an eye with the reflection of the Sun visible on the eye.

My expectations may be unrealistic but I believe they will help the site.

_________________

Remove these two smilies? That's crazy talk. They are simply urban- and afro- related. Are you anti-urbano-africano? I'm not.

_________________
nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1420
rbs2.com/SilvNitr.pdf
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocular_dominance
lowingerpaul.com/second%20sight.html
Biofdbk: picasaweb.google.com/JMCCAC
AsLtRayIsBent/SoVisSystmIsInclind
WorseEyeDominanceIsAbnormal.KnowTruth=SetFree

Did I not mention it was a suggestion? "Myopia is curable" can be crazy talk to most people. What term would you use for those who support it?

_________________

I like your other suggestions.
I would use the term 'enlightened', or 'illuminated', or 'truth seekers', or perhaps 'anti-magical thinkers'.
Lenses work like magic. They are sleight of hand. Ledgerdemain. Smoke and mirrors. The lens is quicker than the eye.
The Bates Methodology is not.
Neither is knowledge of neonatal eye antibiotics.

_________________
nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1420
rbs2.com/SilvNitr.pdf
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocular_dominance
lowingerpaul.com/second%20sight.html
Biofdbk: picasaweb.google.com/JMCCAC
AsLtRayIsBent/SoVisSystmIsInclind
WorseEyeDominanceIsAbnormal.KnowTruth=SetFree

Thank you for not starting an internet war because I would certainly have started one.
Still I am more reluctant about addition of smilies. BTW, if anyone is thinking that the site already has redirection feature, I'm talking about the page that loads whilst the redirection is being done. I think its unnecessary & probably eats some bandwidth as well.

Also, don't try to annoy me.

_________________

As far as the color scheme and banner, do you mean on the main home page at http://www.iblindness.org or the forum home here?

I could change either banner. I've got rudimentary photo editing skills, but maybe someone here can make a better one, and I can add it in. The forum colors are just part of a template, so I would probably need to put in either a new template to match a new banner or at least something that doesn't clash with it badly.

I tend to think that people often want to see their post in the topic after posting, to confirm it's there and maybe to quickly read over it, rather than being redirected back to the forum.

You can embed links just by typing the address. Or using the URL button. Are you thinking of something else?

Dave

_________________
Webmaster of http://www.iblindness.org

"I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates they have made of the value of things." - Benjamin Franklin

I mean color scheme for the forum.

Pity I don't have any photo editing skills. BTW, did you like my suggestion for the banner at the top? The 'Sun on the eye' thing?

The intermediate page that loads after submitting a topic or reply is probably unnecessary.
I was trying to embed links into text the wrong way previously but anyways I learned it from the code of another post so I get it now.

Thanks for replying,

_________________

I found a pic which closely resembles my concept of a new banner for iblindness.org community forum. It can be used as a base for the new banner.
The Sun's reflection could be added in the center of the eye for dramatic effect.

_________________

A small suggestion -> While SEARCHING User's posts, the full posts would be shown instead of a snippet & a Jump to Thread/Topic button to be added.

I also noticed that if the snippet has a QUOTE, a quote code is seen without the box like the one you'd see while posting replies.

_________________

David, place a link on the forum to your main website for: free books, articles, bookstore . I cant seem to find a link that brings me there from the forum. I like the new picture and title on the forum!

_________________
Mary I. Oliver - 38 years practice, teach Natural Eyesight Improvement.

Free on-line Better Eyesight Magazine with Translator, Speaker;
http://www.cleareyesight.info/naturalvisionimprovementoriginalandmodernbatesmethod/
http://www.cleareyesight.info

I don't have an easy way of modifying the built in search function, but if you click on the Search button and type in the user's name to search for, you can also change the last setting on the page to show the entire posts.

_________________
Webmaster of http://www.iblindness.org

"I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates they have made of the value of things." - Benjamin Franklin

Right, there should be a way I can insert in a link under the logo.

_________________
Webmaster of http://www.iblindness.org

"I conceive that the great part of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by false estimates they have made of the value of things." - Benjamin Franklin

Sorry if I ever sounded too demanding.

That kind of thing only happens through the profile page user posts search. That still isn't much of a problem & I appreciate your time.

_________________

_________________
Mary I. Oliver - 38 years practice, teach Natural Eyesight Improvement.

Free on-line Better Eyesight Magazine with Translator, Speaker;
http://www.cleareyesight.info/naturalvisionimprovementoriginalandmodernbatesmethod/
http://www.cleareyesight.info

Would make life easy.

_________________