As many of you know, this is the fifth design iteration of this site, not to mention the 14th design candidate for just this iteration. Each iteration has two overall objectives: a new, fresh appearance, and compelling new functionality. New iterations happen about every year; traditionally, they're implemented on January 1st.

So, it's no surprise that we (the moderator team and I) are thinking about the next design iteration, naturally called WDF v6 as this is WDF v5. However, that is where the similarities end. We're striving to completely depart from the paradigm a forum introduces, and turn this site into more than just a discussion area for all things web design.

Don't get me wrong: we're not aiming to change at WDF is at its core: discussions between web designers is still going to be the target, and always will be...or the domain will be useless! But we're going to extend that with many exciting new features. When I say exciting, I'm not trying to use marketing-speak: I genuinely hope to turn WDF into something that is literally completely different from any other site in this field.

We do have some big ideas, and unfortunately, we're going to break tradition and not share what they are. However, we are going to keep with tradition in another area: seeing what you, the members, want. Everything and anything goes. Don't worry if it's complex, seems outside the scope of the forum, or you think nobody else will want such a feature. Let us know.

• Obviously, there'll be a new appearance for the site. Suggestions?
• Are you pleased with the power of the site now? Do you want certain features enhanced, removed, replaced...?
• Do you think the use of vBulletin (the software powering the forums) are limiting WDF's potential, and would you recommend that we either switch to another product or write our own entirely?
• In generally using WDF, what's the one feature that you wished you could have?

It's probably clear by now that this is no design change like most of the WDF versions have been, but instead, a whole new approach to discussing web design issues and learning about web design. That also means you shouldn't expect to see anything by January 1st, 2007; 2008 is possible. That's how in-depth this will be.

Any and all ideas are welcome. Please reply to this thread with whatever you are thinking.