Site Layout for Polling/Opinions Site

[WiKiDJeFF]

Me and my friend are making a site called PublicBelief.com, it is a polling and opinions site where users can go to vote on polls regarding the most contreversial topics. In addition to voting and viewing results they can choose topics which contains polls only about that topic and post their own opinions/arguments on the polls.

The layout that I have in mind right now is kind of similiar to this sites layout. It would have a big banner at the top with a login on the right which turns into a member control panel when u login. In the middle of the banner would be the different links to the different places on the site as polls, opinions, contact, etc and of course on the left would be the logo. Below that would be the top 5 or 6 most popular polls on the site each taking up a rectangular box and listed horizontally. Below that would probably be a list of categories listed horizontally and below that would be a vbulletin like list of the topics/individual polls which the users could click on to view a list of users opinions/arguments and post their own (also in a vbulletin like style).

How does this sound to you guys?

Any suggestions/comments/critisms are appreciated.

BTW the current site layout is just for me to test my asp scripts.

[splufdaddy]

It's kind of hard to give that the ok w/o seeing anything. Also, this sounds like it would have to be moderated VERY closely, because people will have some strong opinions about the topics I would assume you'll choose. People could get ugly VERY quickly.

Even if it's just a single image, try and give us a rough draft of what you envision your layout will look like.

[WiKiDJeFF]

Well nothing a user posts will actually be on the homepage so people wont get scared of that way, plus people are entitled to their opinions. The police dont monitor what protestors say even if it enrages other people to a dangerous point.

I will try to do a quick sketch for you, but I'm not an graphics person in fact my friend will be taking care of that, I'm doing the scripting for the site.

[splufdaddy]

Will their be forum guidelines, or can anyone post whatever they want? This is something you should think about, and I'm sure filburt can tell you stories about running public forums. I'm sure it won't take long for offensive language to show up on the site, what will your policy be on that? A forum with visitors just yelling back and forth at each other won't be fun to read, and will get off topic, w/ ppl making personal jabs at each other. This is the internet afterall, where you can say anything you want and be held virtually unaccountable.

[TheGAME1264]

I'd have to agree with splufdaddy. It's hard to comment on layout when it's not visible.

As far as your polls are concerned, maybe you'll want to stick to "safe" topics until your site grows steam. Things like "Bon Scott vs. Brian Johnson", "Tastes great or tastes less filling", "Stone Cold or The Rock", "Kitana Baker or Tonya Ballinger", things like that. Then when it gets more popular, push the envelope more and more until you find yourself licking it and cutting your tongue on the sharp edge. Then you'll know you've got the right balance.

[TheGAME1264]

Originally posted by splufdaddy
Will their be forum guidelines, or can anyone post whatever they want? This is something you should think about, and I'm sure filburt can tell you stories about running public forums. I'm sure it won't take long for offensive language to show up on the site, what will your policy be on that? A forum with visitors just yelling back and forth at each other won't be fun to read, and will get off topic, w/ ppl making personal jabs at each other. This is the internet afterall, where you can say anything you want and be held virtually unaccountable.

"oh shut up u @#$*(@#$)@#*$()@#$*@#$)(*#@)($*@#$@#$ u dont know what the #$*@($)$*)(#@$*#$@ ur talkin about you $@#*@#$(*)@$*@)$(@$*)@#$*@)#($*()$!!!"

(In other words, this is a very good point.)

[WiKiDJeFF]

Well in general obsessive obsene language will not be allowed, but if the person feels that a tad of strong language is really neccessary to prove their point then that is ok. However, there will be a separate section where obsene language is allowed (similiar to the chit chat section that most vbulletin forums have).

Or do you think it would be a better idea to just have an option that users can select that would not display posts with obsene language when they view the site?

Also I think it would be better to start with contreversial topics, like the war on iraq/abortion to attract a larger audience. This site is for adults as well as kids. But people will be able to post their own polls for people to debate and this will be the section where we expect to see more goofy topics.

[WiKiDJeFF]

"oh shut up u @#$*(@#$)@#*$()@#$*@#$)(*#@)($*@#$@#$ u dont know what the #$*@($)$*)(#@$*#$@ ur talkin about you $@#*@#$(*)@$*@)$(@$*)@#$*@)#($*()$!!!"

Something like that would not be allowed in excess in the main forum. We will ask that users post a point or valid comment and not just nonsence. If the user just says shut up you dont know what your talkin about then the next response will probably be making fun of him for being stupid and having no point. The forums will be moderated to the extent in which u can report a post to a moderator and if a user continues to abuse the site his account will be deleted and his IP will be banned.

[splufdaddy]

Your intentions are good, but what you ask is not always what will happen. This site here is closely monitored by 3 moderators, and some threads can see some interesting posts before they are closed. I think you should atleast have one moderator at a minimum that patrols the boards to keep the peace.

Also, banning IPs isn't a good idea, as you could temporarily ban the wrong person. Dialup users get a new IP everytime they sign on, so banning an IP will ban all users that get that IP, not a specific user. Even DSL/Cable subscribers get new IP's every once in a while, and they can get a new IP anytime they want (if they know how, a simple release/renew).

I'm not trying to be a pain, these are just some glitches I see in your plans.

[WiKiDJeFF]

You have a good point on banning IP's, but the bans wont be just on IPs though and we are just tryin to make a little it harder for people to screw around with us. We are hoping to attract a more mature audience in general though. Of course there will be multiple moderators similiar to the way this site and all other forums are set up. The site restrictions are not meant to be a replacement for moderators, just a tool to make their jobs a little easier. Because we don't expect our site to be incredibly large we don't anticipate people wanting to spend a lot of their time trying to devise ways to get around restrictions and wreak havoc on the site.