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• fantanoice

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Your Forum Review




First Impressions & Appearance - (Out of 20)

I am really digging this new skin layout. I think it's one of the best Dashing has to offer, and the best to present as the forum's default skin. The colors match up nicely, the category bars at the top of each section look amazing, as well. The link color font was a nice choice, and also compliments the rest of the theme, and matches perfectly.

The one thing that does seem really seem out of place, is the banner. I know it's your tastes, and the members enjoy it, I assume, but it could be presented a little better. Don't get me wrong, I like the overall design, and I have nothing against the pop cultutr icons you chose. It just doesn't seem to all fit together. As you have anumated characters pastes next to real characters. It just doesn't sync up well. But, like i said, the design is great, and it works; it just doesn't look right, in my opinion.

I really like the board icons used down in the "board statistics"; they add a more personal touch down there. I think you should try something like that with your actual new/old board icons. They just seem really plai, in comparison. They work, and easy to determine what each one means. It might just be my own personal taste; though.

(17 /20)

Site Layout - (Out of 20)

This is just about as good as it gets. Exactly how a general discussion forum should be layed out. The categories are easy to determine what discussions go on in each section, and they aren't overloaded with too many boards. You also made a great use of splitting different types of discussions within those boards into sub-boards, which makes the navigating the forum experience that much easier.

One thing that does seem kinda strange, though, is you have two sections that promote forum games/spam. I think it would be best to not have an entire category just devoted to these. I know you want to display fun for the forum. But, for me, personally, I just don't see the need.

(18 /20)

Statistics and Activity - (Out of 20)

Statistics are great, and rising more and more that the forum progresses. You're getting close to 200 members, which is great; and you continue to surpass prestine post milestones. It's also great to see the amount of ling term member, that have been with the forum for so long; and keep coming bakc for me.

Post counts, and threads are pretty spread out evenly, except for a couple sections, which you can only do so much for those. On the many forums I have ventured on, tech discussions to seem to be the least of interests; but it's still a good thing to provide the opportunity for discussions on that subject.

As mentioned before, about the section devoted to games and spam. It seems that almost 1/3 of your forum stats are coming from these section, cause they're the easiest for members to post in. It's good to have some leniency, and fun, buit it can add a negative impact, as well, when you're wanting all sections to be just as active.

(17 /20)

Staff Moderation - (Out of 20)

Your staff team count is at just the right amount, and all staff members seem to be active on a daily basis; which is one of the best aspects you could ever ask from your staff. They're very attentive, and most are very welcoming to each new member joining the forum, and seem to have a very respectful display of maturity when monitoring and helping members, as well.

Only thing that does kinda bug me, and it's a big one. Is when active staff, aren't welcoming new members. I've seen some that have been on, and not check the new members board. A coupel are good at this, but I have notice one , and sometimes another, who don't reply to new members at all. It's very important. Nothing say "welcome" more to a new member, than staff members welcoming them. The more, the better.

(18 /20)

Spelling/Grammar & Professionalism - (Out of 20)

Have no complaints here. And I did try to find any faults. Only thing I could actually nit pick on was this. Come here to discuss different forms of entertainment, such as film, television and music. When you use an interuption, like, "such as"; it should be separated with commas on both ends. And, I can't help notice a semi-colon should come before the interuption in this sentence. Come here to discuss different forms of entertainment; such as, film, television and music.

Going through the board titles and descriptions, they are very well thought up; and nicely presented. Though, the gaming forum, which I know you're a huge fan, just seems to really fall flat when compared to the rest of your descriptions.

(18 /20)

88 - (Out of 100)

Final Remarks:

Dashing is a great forum, and run by an even superior admin. You know what you're doing Fanta, no doubt about it. The forum offers so muc, and has so much good going for it.

What was most liked about the website/forums:

The new skin, dedicated members, and excellent staff.

What was disliked most about the website/forums:

It's going to be the banner. It's not bad at all The design, colors, and font are great. I just don't think the images sync up very well.

How could I get you (The Reviewer) to join my website?

I've been a member for a very long time, and enjoy each visist. I remember joining on a little post exchange, but then got interested; and try to find time to come back around when time permits.

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I know, it's been awhile. Things just keep coming up and getting in the way, lately. But, I'm finally getting around to these, and have a very pleasant read for you all.

Our 9th Interview comes from fantanoice. Creator and admin of Dashing! A very uniqe and entertianing discussion forum with an emphasis on ... well, just about everything you're looking for!


Alright , Fanta. Lets' slow it down, and not Dash too fast through this.

Where did the idea, and motivation come from when getting Dashing up and running?
Well, the concept came about after I had won a GBA: SP from playing Mario Kart: Double Dash. This was the second time I had come out with a prize from playing that particular game (the first time was a year before, when I came 3rd overall, winning a Gamecube and MK: DD). It was at this stage that I realised that there were essentially no Mario Kart forums on the Internet, so I set one up. I needed a catchy title, so I looked at the name ‘Mario Kart: Double Dash’ (the most recent MK game at the time) and noticed I could play on the word ‘dash’. Thus Dashing was born!

Over time, people became less interested in Mario Kart and more interested in simply socialising, which is how it grew into the general discussion board it is today. It still keeps its ‘Mario Kart’ mannerisms with the red skin and appearances of Mario in the banners.

Would you consider your forum to be a success or a failure?
Dashing is definitely a success, in my eyes. If it closed down tomorrow, although I would be sad, I would still be thankful for the years I’ve been running it and the friends I’ve made, because the memories have been worth the effort.

What do you consider the best aspect about your forum?
The best part is the members, for sure. I have made some great friends through the forum, including one of that was originally just an acquaintance, but now one of my best friends in real life. Without them, I probably would have never had such amazing memories.

If not the members, then the ‘Never Ending Story’/’Sequel’ (‘NES’, a topic which was basically a storytelling forum game) would be the best thing, simply because that’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had on a forum. I believe it kept a lot of the members active as well. I loved it so much that I once did a school essay on it (getting an ‘A’ for it as well). We would even have MSN conversations and take turns replying to it. It was great fun. I don’t think I’ve seen another forum do the ‘Never Ending Story’ quite the way we did, which may explain why they always seemed to die on other boards.

The worst? (Or things you'd like to change or add)?
I personally don’t like the idea of having a dark skin as the default, but I’m trying to fix up some stuff on the other skins, so for the moment, it’s the best option.

I don’t like some of the graphics on the other skins, which is why I’m trying to fix them up.

As for what I’d like to add, I’d like to add a domain. As for the software, I know Zetaboards is free, but it meets my needs so I have no reason to move to another host.

You've recently updated Dashing with a new skin. How did you all come up with the final look?
The skin had been available for a long time, simply because many people were asking for a darker skin. I decided to make it the default while trying to fix some stuff on the other skins, seeing as that one was pretty much done, not to mention the members seemed to really like the new banner on it.

I’ll probably get the other skins finished up and put a poll for the default. I’d probably choose Acerbic, but at the moment it has the worst banner. =/

What other hobbies do you enjoy besides managing forums, while drinking fantas without ice?
Haha, nice question. Gaming is my biggest hobby. It’s hard to explain why I love them so much, not to mention I’m the not the stereotypical gamer, seeing as I’m a girl. I suppose I may love them because I’ve grown up with them and I love that it shows that if you work hard, you can really accomplish stuff. Failure isn’t as tough on you in a game as it is in reality, because even though you get game over, you can go back and try again without any real consequence. I have a fear of failure as well, so games help in that respect.

Though I must admit, I hate that on ‘some’ gaming forums I get treated differently because I’m a girl, so I’ve stopped mentioning it in my Introduction threads. I usually tell people whenever somebody refers to me as ‘he’, or if there’s a gender thread.

Gaming aside, I’ve always enjoyed designing and I’m pretty good at it too. I’m far from the greatest, but I’m always learning. I need to read up on some more tutorials to improve my skills, but for the moment I’m decent and competent. I would love to get a job as a games graphics designer or a multimedia designer, simply because they combine the things I love: Gaming and design (or in the instance of multimedia, technology and design.)

How would you compare FP to other advertising forums? Is your time at FP worth it?
I’ve glanced over other promotion sites and they seem to provide exactly what FP does, which to me isn’t that impressive. I’ve never been active on another promotion site, so I can’t really compare other than stat-wise. However, the service appears to be better here considering this forum is big in size and activity.

I’ve found the members here to be pretty good. We all want similar things (to promote our sites), but the people here are willing to help others as well. I really like this place in that respect.

I believe my time here has been worth it, because I’ve come across some great people, found some great forums and been given some great advice while here. I’m just disappointed that I wasn’t a member here sooner.

How would you rate the services you've received from FP since you've been here?
The service here is amazing. The exposure and activity that I’ve received here is unbelievable and would have probably taken years to get without their help. I can’t believe I went so long without it. Thank you Forum Promotion!

If you could give any advice to admins on advertising their own forum, what would it be?
You’re responsible for your own forum. If you want people to post, you have to the lead the way. If you want it to be active, you must be active yourself. If you want to make people happy, you need to be willing to listen and try and compromise.

It’s not the skin, the images nor the software that makes a forum, it is the content, so always keep it flowing. Having said that, don’t skimp out on the appearances, because nice appearances are always a plus, they’re just not the main concern.

I know you're a gamer, so tell me, what was the very first video game you ever played?
I don’t actually remember, because I’ve had a NES for as long as I can remember (my brother got it for Christmas when I was only a few months old). If I were to guess though, I’d assume it was Super Mario Bros.

Would you like to give any shoutouts to other members, here at FP?
Firstly, I’ll give a shout out to hcfwesker for taking the time to send me the questions, reading my rambings and for being a great member and friend.

Secondly, I’d like to give a shout out to Boss Jr, for again being a great member and friend.

Thirdly, I’d like to give a shout out to each and every staff member that was once on Dashing. That means:
- Anthrax
- Cubemaster54
- Balooneybob
- Richjohnny
- DrunkenSquirrel
- Azsxdc
- Joey Kazooie
- Simply the Best
- Linkman
- Mr Goombastic
Thanks to all you guys for your because help and contribution to the site.

Fourthly, another shout out to Azsxdc and DrunkenSquirrel, this time for setting up the Wiki, DashIGN. That was so nice of you two. Also, thanks for helping me with the forum move. The move couldn’t have gone anywhere near as smoothly without your help.

Fifthly, thanks to all the members over the years, active or not active. Special shout outs to Odairu86, Magus, Crushyesice, Reddeath26, Destructive Innocent Barbie and ACSpeedUp for all the great memories.

Sixthly, thanks to all the original active members, including Odairu86, Joey Kazooie, Balooneybob, Linkman, Simply the Best, Richjohnny and Roskutokami, simply for helping the forums start up. Without you guys pumping out the posts in the very beginning, there’s no way we could have grown.

Seventhly, thanks to Balooneybob for being such a great friend and putting up with my crap all these years. You’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had and I wish you all the best.

Finally, thanks to all of you for reading my interview.

Amazing! That was quite a read. I see why it took so long to get all of that togther. I really loved your response in the "advice to other admins" question. Pretty much nailed it, perfectly. Very interesting things you got going on, and Dashing is a great and popular forum; and it'snice to see that you're still keeping things fresh while tweaking up on the updates.

Best of Luck in all you do, fanta. Looking forward to hanging out iwht ya on both our forums, as well as here, at FP! :cool: