Website reviews?

[rususorinvick]

Because I am new on the forum I wanted to ask first, to be sure I am not breaking any forum rules.

I have been working with a couple of friends on an assets-sharing portal, where people can upload their Web/Design assets and they can download them for free.

While we have gone live, we are still far from being where we want it to be. Could I open a review thread for my website, and get user feedback?

[ddadmin]

There are plenty of forums that have a reviews section already (ones that are a lot more active), so adding one here would just be a "me too" move that serves little except to attract spam.

[keyboard]

@ddadmin

I believe they're asking if they can post a link to their site and ask for reviews, not if you'll create a new forum(correct me if I'm incorrect :D)

[rususorinvick]

I know there are a lot of other sites I could go on...but since our site is Javascript heavy - we use a complex AJAX selector to present our files for people to download, and since there are countless things that we might omit/overlook, I thought having 1 or 2 professional opinions won't hurt, but rather help us improve.

Just as keyboard1333 said, I would only be posting the link to our site, and expect people would help us with some constructive feedback. And I thought that the forum, being as well known as it is, and respected, would have been the perfect place to post.

So? Would I be breaking the rules or can I go ahead and create the thread?

[mburt]

Maybe if you help out around the forum a bit it might seem a little more legitimate :)

[keyboard]

I guess that would make people more willing to help, but ultimatly it's up to ddadmin or the mods. Go and PM ddadmin asking him, or just wait for him to reply to your question.

[ddadmin]

I know there are a lot of other sites I could go on...but since our site is Javascript heavy - we use a complex AJAX selector to present our files for people to download, and since there are countless things that we might omit/overlook, I thought having 1 or 2 professional opinions won't hurt, but rather help us improve.

Just as keyboard1333 said, I would only be posting the link to our site, and expect people would help us with some constructive feedback. And I thought that the forum, being as well known as it is, and respected, would have been the perfect place to post.

So? Would I be breaking the rules or can I go ahead and create the thread?

Sure, go ahead and post the review request in this case, but please see this as an exception rather than a change in the rules to allow future site review requests.

[evelynkwoodbury54]

You could sent it to us via Private Message though :)

[james438]

My 2 cents, but I think it is totally fine to post a request to look at your website to see how it looks to others and how it can be improved. That's a big part of what this forum is for. Many other people have asked for feedback on their websites, so it is nothing new for you to ask to have your site reviewed here either.

Due to the spam that does occur people with only a few posts like yourself could easily be mistaken for spam, so asking for permission to post a link to your site for feedback purposes when you are very new here or have only a very few posts under your belt is a good idea. I might have thought you were spam in your case. If you had 100+ posts I am sure you would be far safer in posting such a request, but since your post count is in the single digits asking for permission was a good idea.

I am interested in what DD and the moderators think about this since my answer is not official.

[keyboard]

My 2 cents, but I think it is totally fine to post a request to look at your website to see how it looks to others and how it can be improved. That's a big part of what this forum is for. Many other people have asked for feedback on their websites, so it is nothing new for you to ask to have your site reviewed here either.

Due to the spam that does occur people with only a few posts like yourself could easily be mistaken for spam, so asking for permission to post a link to your site for feedback purposes when you are very new here or have only a very few posts under your belt is a good idea. I might have thought you were spam in your case. If you had 100+ posts I am sure you would be far safer in posting such a request, but since your post count is in the single digits asking for permission was a good idea.

I am interested in what DD and the moderators think about this since my answer is not official.

DDadmin already said it as ok in this case???

[james438]

It is ok in this case, but I am talking about as a general rule. It seems unnecessary to have to make this request every time someone wants criticisms/feedback on a website they are working on. If the person is brand new to the forum then it is a good idea to make a request for permission prior to posting their website so as to be sure they are not accidentally labeled as a spammer. If the person has 100+ (50+?) posts then it should be clear that the person is not a spammer.

[keyboard]

@100 post +
Even though it shows you're not a spammer, I still think it's a nice idea to contact one of the mods/admin, just to check... It's not as if it takes that long for an answer, and I think it would be the *polite* thing to do...

[james438]

I disagree. Members have been doing this for some time and I have no memory of this ever being an issue. Even in this case I am being overly cautious in recommending that members with less than 100 posts should request permission to ask for criticisms/feedback on their website. This is what the forum is for. Unless DD wants the extra job of monitoring the forums for people who are asking for feedback who have not asked permission first I find it silliness to have to ask for permission to get help with website design. It is not being polite. Rather, asking for permission becomes annoying.

[traq]

I think the "fine line" here is between someone posting a vague "review my site please" link (which is often simply a front for advertising the site in question), and someone with a legitimate question that is appropriate for these boards.

[djr33]

For established users (eg, the three users who've posted on this page), there's no problem with posting a link to a project as long as it's a legitimate question. Others do this fairly often as well. As moderators, we're a bit skeptical when it comes to a first-time poster doing that, especially when it's vague. If the post seems suspicious, we'll delete it and potentially ban the user if it seems necessary. Even for long time members, we might delete the post, if it's particularly inappropriate.

If you want to post something that is not related to web design (and is some sort of 'ad' for it), then you should contact the administrators. If it's "review my site", you can post that (and others do) especially if you're an established user. However, personally I'd prefer for this to only be for established users because if everyone starts posting this sort of thread it'll get crowded. And beyond that, I don't really like that kind of thread-- it's vague and often not very helpful. But in some cases it works.

There's not much to debate here-- you're certainly welcome to ask for clarification of the rules at any time, and do so if you're uncertain. If you have a legitimate web design question (whatever it may be), that should be allowed. If it's not, we'll let you know.

[buynowwebsites]

Mod's edit: here comes the spam. (I left this not deleted just as an example of how discussions like this can attract spam. It's one reason they can sometimes do more harm than good. Usually we can keep up with the spam and delete it, though.)

[keyboard]

The question has been answered and james and I have finished having our "discussion" :D .
Why don't you just close the thread?

[djr33]

I will if the spam keeps showing up. But in case anyone else has a question, I'll leave it for now.
I left it because non-mods can't see the spam once it's deleted and it might be interesting to see it for once (content removed, of course). :)

[keyboard]

I left it because non-mods can't see the spam once it's deleted and it might be interesting to see it for once (content removed, of course). :)

Mods can see spam after its been deleted?????

[djr33]

Until it's permanently erased from the database (done manually by ddadmin every once in a while), we can see that something was posted and we can access its content if we want to (it's hidden by default). This helps us figure out what the spam patterns are, pick keywords to filter, and check again in the rare event that someone protests its deletion.