Hi all,i have been a member of GRG,since 2011.Good Run Guide is by far the best,for uploading runs/racing stats.There is so much info to be gleaned from this site.I am also a member of Good Run Wall,which was started off,by other members of this group,and i find it easier to "talk" and discuss all things running and have some funny banter along the way.I am still discovering stuff on here that i was unaware about.I am old school.and do struggle sometimes to suss new technology :) .However i still use GRG to log all of my races/training runs,Garmin site comes no where near GRG.I do read thru the forum,albeit occasionally,and enjoy reading posts on here.Long may you reign GRG :)

I'm glad this topic's popped up.

I really love uploading my runs here and, after using Fetch for a year or two along with the Garmin software I find myself coming back to GRG to log as I love the simplicity of the layout combined with the features. The site is clean and easy to look at and not having adverts is a big plus.

I've been a forum user and admin for ten years or so and often visit forums (mainly FRA) to find answers and info, but I find the layout of this forum quite clunky so don't tend to come on here. Most forums use a cascade template whereas this index page has a horizontal layout, the threads here show the newest result first whereas most other forums display posts the other way around. Along with small usernames and no avatars it feels a little impersonal and I don't find it intuitive to move around. I also agree that new post and new reply notifications would be great. 

I do use Facebook but like the relative anonymity of this site and wouldn't want to discuss my training on FB.

Following on from the suggestions on this topic we have now launched email alerts and photos and more info on members posting.  So, you can get email alerts if you add topics to favourites or start a new topic.  You can switch this on and off in your new forum settings.  Please have a go and let us know what you think! 

Hooray! Big improvement already!

John - I'd definitely agree with JayDee that a vertical rather than horizontal layout would be better for the main forum page.

In terms of going into the threads - I'd personally keep it as is - showing newest post at the top. But I wouldn't mind either way.

I'd also go a step further with the notifications. It's great to be able to "add to favourites" and follow threads but I'd go as far as to make it a default - if you've commented on a post, you automatically receive an alert to let you know when there is a further comment. Not everyone will note the "add to favourites". But a great start!

One other thing - why not make the "latest news" more prominent? Use it sparingly of course - but when there's an update, why not make it really eye-catching, can't-miss stuff? It feels a bit shy, tucked away - it could be a much bigger banner.

Hope this is coming across as helpful, rather than a ranting wine-fuelled stream of consciousness.... :-)

Nothing like a wine fuelled rant! Anyway working nicely so far as i got an e;mail notification there ws a new post by Burtie :-)

Oooh avatars!  Looking better already :D

I'm used to using Woltlab, proboards and vBulletin boards so their layouts are examples of what I (personally) find easy to navigate around.

They tend to display a fixed vertical style index page showing the individual boards or forums with a description, you click through to your chosen section which again displays in a vertical style board with the title of each thread, most recently posted to at the top and showing last post, number of posts and views and sometimes a hover over box can open showing content without having to click. There is usually an clickable link to take you to the most recent post or you can read the thread in order from the first post on page one to the end of the thread. There is often a quick post box at the end of the thread so that you can type your reply while still looking at the last few posts.

This is a nice example of a clean looking, simple to use and well frequented forum. FRA Forum  (opens in same window)

Nice big avatars and usernames (this was the size I meant, rather than character count) help users to recognise each other at a glance which makes for a much friendlier kind of place, as do a small selection of simple smilies.

And auto spellcheck .. for people like me with sausage fingers :D

The example of forum layout that JayDee has given is spot on. Categories listed vertically, with most recent showing, scroll down to view more. Then topics within each category listed vertically, newest  reply at the top. If you're able to show number of views and replies, that's great supplementary info.

Thanks guys!

Brilliant,love the new layout on the forum pages,much easier to navigate :)

Yep, agree with Phil. Definite improvement.