Jason
Well-known member
http://xenforo.com/community/threads/turn-xf-into-pinforo.29887/
I have been PLEADING with developers to change forums FOREVER by writing Pinforo... A forum where threads are bumped to the front page and displayed by an image with information that appears when you hover over it. Use a masonry style layout with infinite scrolling. This in my opinion is an idea worth a LOT of money.
Disagree, though I do think there's a lot of room for improvement with the layout of traditional forums.
No doubt, Pinterest is successful; however, not much credit is given to their bookmarklet, email notifications, sign up flow, target market, Facebook & Twitter integration, timing, etc., all of which worked together to make their launch a success.
No one wants to be overwhelmed with content. Yes, the more someone has seen, the more likely they're to find something interesting, but that doesn't imply that the best way to deliver content is all at once. Too much content promotes apathy. How can I possibly focus on just one thing when there are so many other things? How can I decide where I want to post knowing there are a hundred other options I may have missed? I'd rather post nothing at all. But that's not the worst part. The reason these layouts are a problem on most sites is that in the case where I'm actually trying to find something specific, it's impossible. The photos / tiles are staggered, and thrown on the page in a seemingly random fashion. There's no flow.
The layout works for Pinterest because most people don't go there looking for something particular, and because it's not crucial to Pinterest's success that the user see any one photo. It's an art site. If something catches your eye, that's great. It means the art stands out, which is more a testament to the artist. That's almost the exact opposite of what you'd want for a forum, where most people go to find posts on specific issues and have meaningful discussions.