[ZeTurd]

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The purpose of the graphic isn't to look good but to get your attention. So I guess our sixth grader just made it to junior high.

MM

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Hey, trainwrecks get attention, but somehow they don't make me want to jump on the next train.

The fact is, the 2+2 brand on the net is something like out of the 90's when things like the <blink> tag was considered cool (well, by some at least), and effective styling and usability were basically unknown quantities.

Take the green sidebar for instance. For one, it's butt ugly, but that would be OK, or at least forgivable, if it scored high in usability. Sadly, it don't. The orange on green color of the links is hard to read, the way menu-items over two lines have their second line start at the same margin as the menu-headings makes it difficult to seperate between categories, and while the logical placement of the different subforums has been improved somewhat, it's still a mess, especially links for your products (books), authors, etc. should be seperated and highlighted. You DO want to sell your products, right?

Further, there doesn't seem to be put much thought in your advertising scheme. The ads are generally ugly, again something that could be forgivable if their placement was logical and their message clear, but that's just not the case, at least to my eyes. For instance, it would be a trivial matter to make ads for limit hold'em books for users visiting the limit forums. To take it a step further, you could track what forums users visit regularly, and throw ads based on their preferences. Someone who exclusively visits the MTT forums should get ads from your affiliate advertisers focusing on MTT's. Users browsing the sports forum, could get ads for sporting goods. Those most active in sports betting could get ads from bookies. I'm sure you catch my drift by now.

In my opinion, 2+2 need to hire a third party to do a complete overhaul of the site. A half-assed upgrade to the latest UBB-forums just doesn't cut it. You need to change forum software, possibly upgrade your server park, and make a clearer seperation between your products, the magazine, and the forums themselves, with plenty of visible "doors" to navigate between each. And you need a concise and thought-out advertising scheme, as well as put some serious thought into other ways of monetizing 2+2 (the earlier El Diablo thread had some excellent suggestions). All just my humble opinion of course.