(sorry i wrote so much!)
hello. i was just looking at the new PC front page layout, and i wanted to ask about some of the placement choices? i thought it best to list my thoughts while you are still considering the reordering, so please don't see these as a list of complaints, but just as my two cents to hopefully ease your decision-making process. of course i invite discussion and rebuttal, should there be good reason for it <3
1. i really think the main introductory forums for new users should be at the top of the page. i realisethat most people visit PC to engage in game-related discussion, but for me it is imperative as a new user to have clear and easy access to the rules and introduction boards. once people become more acquainted with the website, they can easily be condensed with the minimize button anyway, thereby placing the Pokemon forums on top.
2. i quite like the horizontal display of Pokemon boards per gen! to give one suggestion; i feel perhaps it would be helpful if each got their own icon? currently (on my screen at least) they all just have the default PC icon and then their gen number written out fully, which actually threw me off momentarily cause they're also in reverse order (6-1), and i had to do a double-take to realise where Gen 7 was... this may be just me and take some getting used to, but with just a few tweaks maybe it could be made even more handy and intuitive.
perhaps even put PGC at the top of the Pokemon forums, and then add Gen 7 in with the horizontal list?
3. while i agree that the off-topic forums should be kept aside from the Pokémon forums, i don't believe the manner in which this was attempted now is very good... i'd prefer if all the forums currently tucked under the single "off-topic" forum instead received their own section, similar to the Create & Discover section. that way, they will remain clearly visible and separated to those who use them, while again being easily tucked away under a minimize button for those who don't. the way it is now, "Off-Topic" seems extremely cluttered, and i worry that the forums will lose significant activity as well, having been reduced to sub-forums.
also, it seems strange to me that all these are tucked away, but the equally off-topic forum games (playground and UG) do still keep their own forums? i understand that these probably receive more traffic, though.
keep in mind that i all other things i haven't mentioned, i approve of! it has been a while since i visited PC, specifically its homepage, but i couldn't resist at least commenting. i am not alleric to change at all, but there are some fundamentals that i feel shouldn't be tampered with.
in a nutshell: my primary concern is that the main introductory forums, imperative for new users, are not clearly presented at the top of the page. i would argue to put them ("Community Square") up top, with the exclusion of the "Off-topic" forum, which i think would be better off as a section of its own at the bottom.