T3G Feedback and questions about Tacoma3G.com - How can our community and website be better?

[Tyler]

To be honest...not a fan of the new update. The black background with the dark red headers make it really hard to find where the page breaks are (Is there a way to change that, that im missing?). The overall new fonts make the forum site feel older, the previous Tacoma3G felt new and modern compared to this update. Also the organization of the home page on the previous site was easier to find thread posts. I would also make the MAIN header be able to fit all the categories (home, forum, resources, etc.), I couldnt find ROTM until I hit the scroll button, if the fonts were smaller they would all fit.

All of this is my opinion of course Glad to see the site is being worked on, I like to see that its growing!

Update: I didnt read the new front page until now, I see that color changes will still be an option and the other notes. I still find the overall new layout of the forum more challenging than the previous version, but maybe thats because I got used to the old version.

Too dark. Is there a setting I can change to go to a lighter color scheme?

You guys can switch back to any of the old ones here: Repaint Tacoma3G.com

 

[Tyler]

To be honest...not a fan of the new update. The black background with the dark red headers make it really hard to find where the page breaks are (Is there a way to change that, that im missing?). The overall new fonts make the forum site feel older, the previous Tacoma3G felt new and modern compared to this update. Also the organization of the home page on the previous site was easier to find thread posts. I would also make the MAIN header be able to fit all the categories (home, forum, resources, etc.), I couldnt find ROTM until I hit the scroll button, if the fonts were smaller they would all fit.

All of this is my opinion of course Glad to see the site is being worked on, I like to see that its growing!

Update: I didnt read the new front page until now, I see that color changes will still be an option and the other notes. I still find the overall new layout of the forum more challenging than the previous version, but maybe thats because I got used to the old version.

Too dark. Is there a setting I can change to go to a lighter color scheme?

I do agree actually. It’s too dark and overall it doesn’t feel right to use. I feel like I’ve been forcing myself to like it over the last few weeks. I’m going to completely revise it to look almost the same as the old ones. Same font, same color tones, etc. But it will have the support for the other new features that the old ones don’t really have. I think this will be a much better route to take.

 

[Tyler]

Everyone should be switched back to the old design while I work on the next attempt.

 

[Tyler]

Hey guys. I'm going to try to keep this one short and sweet. We know 2020 has been rough on everyone and most of you know I had a lot of mental health stuff going on that made it hard for me to be here regularly (as did a lot of you). That's all I'm going to say about the year itself.

---

So, Tacoma3G in 2020... how was it? I saw my Google Analytics last night and I was honestly surprised by the numbers. Not that I thought the numbers would be bad, but I didn't realize they were this much better than 2019.

We had 194,000 total unique visitors in 2020, wow! What does that mean? Unique visitors are different people that visited the site at least one time (including unregistered visitors and us members). That is an 86.5% increase over 2019, which is insane. (The solid line is 2020 and the dotted line is 2019.)

In December 2020 we had 21.1k unique visitors, up 29% from November.

You guys created 25,000 new posts and 2,800 new members joined in 2020. Those stats are pretty good. The new registrations count in particular is well above the average of other forums of a similar size.

Of course, these are just numbers and the important part is quality over quantity, something we do very well here. We have good people making good discussions and almost zero trolling, so thank you for that!

---

Lastly, I want to hit a few unrelated bullets:

• 2020 was our first year of RotM and it was a lot of fun. I look forward to doing it again this year and seeing some of the new themes we can come up with.
  • I dropped the ball on the 2021 T3G calendar, sorry.
• I am still working on a subtle site redesign and implementation of some handy new features, some of which already exist but haven't been officially mentioned. (Notice the media gallery?)
  • Due to your feedback, the website homepage will stay as it is now, which is the forum. Any article pages will be navigated to via the links at the top of the site.
  • I do want to make the site slightly simpler to use and more organized. Some new members can't figure out how to post after they join.
• Will there ever be new merch? I don't know. Merch was never really my thing.
• I really want to make it a point to post more myself, even if it is just a small increase. I'm not active in the Tacoma threads enough.
• I wasn't able to snag Tacoma4G.com but I really do want to create the same site for the 4th Gen. Taco when the time comes.
• I will admit that sometimes I feel burnt out and don't do much here. And sometimes I feel motivated and probably overzealous with new ideas that never get done.
• I say this all the time but I really appreciate our regulars around here. Without you guys I would be doing this for nothing. Without discussions on the forum, the website would be useless.

---

That's all for now, but if you have any ideas for T3G, let me know. Thanks for reading!

 

[BroadStreetYota]

No worries, it happens. Still a great site to visit when we have questions or need recommendations. All the other stuff is bonus, at least for me. Cheers

 

[RevN3]

194,000: dang, that's a lot of hits
Merch: I really would like to buy some more stickers and a T3G t-shirt with the current logo.
Calendar: I wouldn't worry too much about that. I don't expect more than the 12 of us in it would actually buy it.
Media Gallery: I feel like it would be good to give us a way to remove our pics from that. In my case I see my old Mazda spin in now and then and that seems silly. Or else just grab media from the RoTM threads?

 

[uk_tacoma]

Don't suppose 4GTacoma.com is free? Not so bad having the number at the start. Might even prevent a couple of typos...

 

[knightacoma]

If T3G was a stock, I'd be overjoyed with those numbers lol

Look into TeeSpring. Super easy to set up a shop & get some basic shirts, jackets, hats, etc.
However they don't really have other oddball stuff like cups, mugs, keychains.

Here's to hoping for a better 2021!

 

[Sigs]

I do want to make the site slightly simpler to use and more organized. Some new members can't figure out how to post after they join.

This is really interesting to me. As a new guy here, I found it very intuitive. I really appreciate that there aren't 30 different categories to post a thread under. The "recent activity" is really slick too for me to read a random thread that I would've overlooked without it.

I could just be more used to forums than some people though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[knightacoma]

This is really interesting to me. As a new guy here, I found it very intuitive. I really appreciate that there aren't 30 different categories to post a thread under. The "recent activity" is really slick too for me to read a random thread that I would've overlooked without it.

I could just be more used to forums than some people though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Piggybacking off this, I wouldn't mind seeing more in the recent activity section. This is what I mostly look for when coming to the forum.

 

[Biohazard]

Love the site. It is a consistent place for succinct advice and how-to knowledge.

 

[Tyler]

Piggybacking off this, I wouldn't mind seeing more in the recent activity section. This is what I mostly look for when coming to the forum.

I’m going to reply to the other stuff in this thread too, but real quick:

Not sure if you guys didn’t know but you can click into that section to see a bigger list:

New posts

tacoma3g.com

 

[Tyler]

194,000: dang, that's a lot of hits
Merch: I really would like to buy some more stickers and a T3G t-shirt with the current logo.
Calendar: I wouldn't worry too much about that. I don't expect more than the 12 of us in it would actually buy it.
Media Gallery: I feel like it would be good to give us a way to remove our pics from that. In my case I see my old Mazda spin in now and then and that seems silly. Or else just grab media from the RoTM threads?

I was nervous to mention that there won't be a calendar but I was kind of thinking the same thing.

For the media gallery, you can remove your photos in a few ways.

The easiest ways are going directly to the post with the photo and deleting it there or go to Media and click on 'Your Media' on the left, then delete from there.

 

[Tyler]

Don't suppose 4GTacoma.com is free? Not so bad having the number at the start. Might even prevent a couple of typos...

It actually is. Not a bad idea. I do own Tacoma4.com as well. 4GTacoma and Tacoma4 are both not consistent with Tacoma3G but they would still get the job done.

 

[RevN3]

It actually is. Not a bad idea. I do own Tacoma4.com as well. 4GTacoma and Tacoma4 are both not consistent with Tacoma3G but they would still get the job done.

Also TacomaIVG.com maybe? Wait....did I get the roman numeral right? I'm too taxed out today to look it up. I'm going to go take a nap.

 

[Tyler]

Also TacomaIVG.com maybe? Wait....did I get the roman numeral right? I'm too taxed out today to look it up. I'm going to go take a nap.

Haha, no one will get it right.

 

[NATUREGARCON]

@Tyler Much appreciated on the hard work you do to keep this site going and continuously growing. Being a new member from the 2020 class, I love all the information, reviews, resources that this site provides all of us, not to mention the camaraderie and good natured fun! Keep it up!!!

 

[Tyler]

@Tyler Much appreciated on the hard work you do to keep this site going and continuously growing. Being a new member from the 2020 class, I love all the information, reviews, resources that this site provides all of us, not to mention the camaraderie and good natured fun! Keep it up!!!

Appreciate that!

 

[Wellspring]

I just joined, and to date, I am enjoying this site very much. Thank you for all of the hard work. May there more success in 2021!!!!

Cheers!

 

[Tyler]

194,000: dang, that's a lot of hits
Merch: I really would like to buy some more stickers and a T3G t-shirt with the current logo.
Calendar: I wouldn't worry too much about that. I don't expect more than the 12 of us in it would actually buy it.
Media Gallery: I feel like it would be good to give us a way to remove our pics from that. In my case I see my old Mazda spin in now and then and that seems silly. Or else just grab media from the RoTM threads?

Switching the gallery to the RotM threads for that media slider at the top of the page might be a good idea. I have it set to that plus our photo/video forum. I know the photo/video forum will have photos that aren’t trucks, but ideally those types of photos are about the outdoors, so that was why I added it in. Hmm.

 

[Tyler]

I'm really enjoying the revision I'm currently working with. It is super simple to use, the info and links you need are there without the bloat, the code is super clean and easier to work with, and to a regular user it looks almost identical to the current design. This is a much better approach!

 

[RevN3]

I'm seeing that "location" is no longer listed in the stats under people's names when they post. There is a bunch of other info though. Was that on purpose? I like the location info. Helps me find PNWers.

 

[Tyler]

I'm seeing that "location" is no longer listed in the stats under people's names when they post. There is a bunch of other info though. Was that on purpose? I like the location info. Helps me find PNWers.

Not on purpose. Let me put that back.

 

[RevN3]

Also, just an idea but I'd be interested in seeing a RoTM video competition one month as opposed to pictures. You'd have to cap the length of course. It would be cool to see videos of off-roading highlights and the like.

 

[Tyler]

Also, just an idea but I'd be interested in seeing a RoTM video competition one month as opposed to pictures. You'd have to cap the length of course. It would be cool to see videos of off-roading highlights and the like.

That never crossed my mind. I’ll have to think about the best way to execute this. Nice idea.

 

[Tyler]

The buy / sell section looks a bit different. It displays the threads with the photo of the item (if there is one) as the focal point. You can then click into the thread as you normally would. What do you think?

Buy | Sell | Trade - Classifieds

Buy, sell, and trade items with fellow members. Exchanges aren't limited to just Tacoma parts; feel free to have a whole garage sale here!

tacoma3g.com

 

[New Holland Overland]

The buy / sell section looks a bit different. It displays the threads with the photo of the item (if there is one) as the focal point. You can then click into the thread as you normally would. What do you think?

Buy | Sell | Trade - Classifieds

Buy, sell, and trade items with fellow members. Exchanges aren't limited to just Tacoma parts; feel free to have a whole garage sale here!

tacoma3g.com

I like it!!!! Nice job!!!

 

[Tyler]

I like it!!!! Nice job!!!

Thanks. I still have some adjustments to make. Like putting more empty space between each listing so they are easier to tell apart.

 

[Sigs]

The buy / sell section looks a bit different. It displays the threads with the photo of the item (if there is one) as the focal point. You can then click into the thread as you normally would. What do you think?

Buy | Sell | Trade - Classifieds

Buy, sell, and trade items with fellow members. Exchanges aren't limited to just Tacoma parts; feel free to have a whole garage sale here!

tacoma3g.com

Is there a way to have a button to swap it back and forth? It looks good, but the normal thread view is my usual preference. I still think the new view should be default, though.

 

[Tyler]

Is there a way to have a button to swap it back and forth? It looks good, but the normal thread view is my usual preference. I still think the new view should be default, though.

Good question. There isn’t one right now but I think I can probably create a way to do that.