The Toyark Forums – Give Us Your Feedback!

Hey Everyone,

We wanted to get some feedback from you regarding the current forum structure for ToyArk.com.

We pasted below how it currently is. Please take this, copy/paste, etc, and post what YOU think the layout and sub-forums should be.

We may not do anything immediately, but we will watch and adjust as we can based on your input.

Thanks!


Toy and Action Figure Discussion
- - Action Figure and Toy General Discussion
- - Toy and Action Figure News and Rumors
- - One Line Per Thread Toy Discussion
Featured Toy Lines and Properties
- - Marvel Discussion
- - - - Marvel Toys Discussion
- - - - Marvel Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - Marvel Comics and Graphic Novel Discussion
- - - - Marvel General Discussion
- - DC Discussion
- - - - DC Toys Discussion
- - - - DC Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - DC Comics and Graphic Novel Discussion
- - - - DC General Discussion
- - Star Wars Discussion
- - - - Star Wars Toys Discussion
- - - - Star Wars Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - Star Wars General Discussion
- - He-Man & Masters of the Universe Discussion
- - - - Masters of the Universe Toys Discussion
- - - - MOTU Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - MOTU General Discussion
- - Movie TV and Video Game Discussion
- - - - Movie TV and Video Game Toys Discussion
- - - - Movies TV Cartoons DVD and Blu Discussion
- - - - Video Game Discussion
Community
- - Welcome to the Toyark
- - Toy and Action Figure Reviews and Feedback
- - Conventions and Toy Shows
- - Collection Showcase
- - Sightings
Marketplace
- - Buy Sell Trade
- - Wanted Items
- - Buy Sell Trade Feedback
- - Toys On Ebay
Creative
- - Customs WIP
- - Customs Completed Projects
- - Customs General Discussion
- - Fan Art
Off Topic
- - General Discussion
- - Tech Support
- - Send a News Tip

Thank you for asking for user input in such an open and straight-forward manner.

My only issue with the current forum format is the need to skim/sort through unrelated toy line posts for content-specific info for any line in which you may hold real interest. Not sure where to draw the line when a toy line has grown to the threshold that it deserves its own thread, but I feel there are some obvious ones that the use community could agree upon:

• Marvel Universe vs. Legends + Select
• Movieverse (Captain America vs. Thor vs. Green Lantern vs. Iron Man vs. Spider-Man vs. Avengers vs. Batman, etc.)
• DC Direct & Universe Classics vs. Crisis / Infinite Heroes / et al.

Also, since certain lines will far outlive the seasonal aspect of certain movie toys, it might behoove us to separate the Movieverse discussions into a different combined thread (Marvel vs. DC vs. "Other").

Most of us are thread-jumpers, so I don't feel drilling down just a bit further will affect interactions to any great degree.

I am sure my suggestions below can be further improved upon, but this is generally what I am leaning toward:

Toy and Action Figure Discussion
- - Action Figure and Toy General Discussion
- - Toy and Action Figure News and Rumors
- - One Line Per Thread Toy Discussion
Featured Toy Lines and Properties
- - Marvel Discussion
- - - - Marvel Universe 3.75-inch Toys Discussion
- - - - Marvel Legends & Marvel Select 6-inch Toys Discussion
- - - - Marvel Movie Toys Discussion
- - - - Marvel Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - Marvel Comics and Graphic Novel Discussion
- - - - Marvel General Discussion
- - DC Discussion
- - - - DC Direct & Classics 6-inch Toys Discussion
- - - - DC 3.75-inch Toys Discussion
- - - - DC Movie Toys Discussion
- - - - DC Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - DC Comics and Graphic Novel Discussion
- - - - DC General Discussion
- - Star Wars Discussion
- - - - Vintage Star Wars Toys Discussion
- - - - Modern Star Wars Toys Discussion
- - - - Star Wars Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - Star Wars General Discussion
- - He-Man & Masters of the Universe Discussion
- - - - Masters of the Universe Toys Discussion
- - - - MOTU Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - MOTU General Discussion
- - Movie TV and Video Game Discussion
- - - - Other Movie TV and Video Game Toys Discussion
- - - - Movies TV Cartoons DVD and Blu Discussion
- - - - Video Game Discussion
Community
- - Welcome to the Toyark
- - Toy and Action Figure Reviews and Feedback
- - Conventions and Toy Shows
- - Collection Showcase
- - Sightings
Marketplace
- - Buy Sell Trade
- - Wanted Items
- - Buy Sell Trade Feedback
- - Toys On Ebay
Creative
- - Customs WIP
- - Customs Completed Projects
- - Customs General Discussion
- - Fan Art
Off Topic
- - General Discussion
- - Tech Support
- - Send a News Tip

My biggest complaint is how limited the signature can be. Says anything over 1 line cannot be used. That grinds me gears when I want to add 2-3 links leading to a BST forum and a wanted list forum, ect. Would be nice if that changes...

Toy and Action Figure Discussion
- - Action Figure and Toy General Discussion
- - Toy and Action Figure News and Rumors
- - One Line Per Thread Toy Discussion
Featured Toy Lines and Properties
- - Marvel Discussion
- - - - Marvel Universe 3.75-inch Toys Discussion
- - - - Marvel Legends & Marvel Select 6-inch Toys Discussion
- - - - Marvel Movie Toys Discussion
- - - - Marvel Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - Marvel Comics and Graphic Novel Discussion
- - - - Marvel General Discussion
- - DC Discussion
- - - - DC Direct & Classics 6-inch Toys Discussion
- - - - DC 3.75-inch Toys Discussion
- - - - DC Movie Toys Discussion
- - - - DC Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - DC Comics and Graphic Novel Discussion
- - - - DC General Discussion
- - Star Wars Discussion
- - - - Vintage Star Wars Toys Discussion
- - - - Modern Star Wars Toys Discussion
- - - - Star Wars Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - Star Wars General Discussion
- - He-Man & Masters of the Universe Discussion
- - - - Masters of the Universe Toys Discussion
- - - - MOTU Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - MOTU General Discussion
- - Movie TV and Video Game Discussion
- - - - Other Movie TV and Video Game Toys Discussion
- - - - Movies TV Cartoons DVD and Blu Discussion
- - - - Video Game Discussion
Community
- - Welcome to the Toyark
- - Toy and Action Figure Reviews and Feedback
- - Conventions and Toy Shows
- - Collection Showcase
- - Sightings
Marketplace
- - Buy Sell Trade
- - Wanted Items
- - Buy Sell Trade Feedback
- - Toys On Ebay
Creative
- - Customs WIP
- - Customs Completed Projects
- - Customs General Discussion
- - Fan Art
Off Topic
- - General Discussion
- - Tech Support
- - Send a News Tip

Guess that woudl be tech?

Signature rules are in place to reduce clutter on screen.

Here is your feed back
this site is awesome.

I'd like to say that there were several things I enjoyed more before the redesign, than now.
All recently active threads were displayed on the mainpage. I miss a lot of activity now, as I don't always remember threads that don't appear in the five catagories left listed.
Although, I do appreciate the catagories existing, as I now don't have to scan through a dozen MU threads (Which I don't care about) to notice the DCUC thread.

And from a purely visual standpoint, I enjoyed the avatars being on the right side of the screen. It made this forum stand out from 90% of all the others.

I actually think that Toyark has the cleanest look of all the affiliated TFW2005 sites. I enjoy it the way it is, but I think there needs to be even more specific categories. The site should cover every significant toy brand out there: (Should also look into collaborating with sponsors to offer some limited form of sponsor incentives to board members that post regularly. )

Toy and Action Figure Discussion
- - Action Figure and Toy General Discussion
- - Toy and Action Figure News and Rumors
- - Custom Toys Forum/Gallery (A la Radicons)
- - One Line Per Thread Toy Discussion
Featured Toy Lines and Properties
- - 1/6 Action Figures and Accessories Discussion
- - - - 1/6 Hot Toys Discussion/News
- - - - 1/6 SideShow Discussion/News
- - - - 1/6 Medicom Toys Discussion/News
- - - - 1/6 Military Figures Discussion/News (DID, Soldiers Story, etc...)
- - - - 1/6 Toys Gallery/Archive
- - Marvel Discussion
- - - - Marvel Toys Discussion
- - - - Marvel Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - Marvel Comics and Graphic Novel Discussion
- - - - Marvel General Discussion
- - - - Marvel Toys Gallery/Archive
- - DC Discussion
- - - - DC Toys Discussion
- - - - DC Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - DC Comics and Graphic Novel Discussion
- - - - DC General Discussion
- - - - DC Toys Gallery/Archive
- - Star Wars Discussion
- - - - Star Wars Toys Discussion
- - - - Star Wars Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - Star Wars General Discussion
- - Transformers Discussion/News
- - - - TFW2005 (Mirror Home Page)
- - GIJOE Discussion/News
- - - - Hisstank (Mirror Home Page)
- - He-Man & Masters of the Universe Discussion
- - - - Masters of the Universe Toys Discussion
- - - - MOTU Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - MOTU General Discussion
- - Macross Discussion/News
- - - - Macross Toys (Bandai/Yamato)
- - - - Macross Anime and Movies
- - Gundam Discussion/News
- - - - Model Kits and Action Figures Discussion
- - - - Anime Series and Movies Discussion
- - - - Gundam Model Kits Gallery/Archive
- - - - Gundam Custom Model Kits
- - Nippon MISC (Think Collection DX)
- - - - Bandai DX Chogokin Discussion/News
- - - - Yamato Armored Core Discussion/News
- - - - Max Factory Figma Discussion/News
- - - - etc...
- - - - Japanese Toys/Mecha Gallery/Archive
- - MISC 80s Toys Disscusion
- - - - Examples (Jace and the Wheeled Warriors, Starcom, The Centurions, Marshall Brave Star, Mask, etc...)
- - Movie TV and Video Game Discussion
- - - - Movie TV and Video Game Toys Discussion
- - - - Movies TV Cartoons DVD and Blu Discussion
- - - - Video Game Discussion
Community
- - Welcome to the Toyark
- - Toy and Action Figure Reviews and Feedback
- - Conventions and Toy Shows
- - Collection Showcase
- - Sightings
Marketplace
- - Buy Sell Trade
- - Wanted Items
- - Buy Sell Trade Feedback
- - Toys On Ebay
Creative
- - Customs WIP
- - Customs Completed Projects
- - Customs General Discussion
- - Fan Art
Off Topic
- - General Discussion
- - Tech Support
- - Send a News Tip

Oh, and '- - - - Square Enix Play Arts Kai Discussion/News' under "- - Nippon MISC" I am starting to really like the these figures. I have all the Halo Reach figures. I'm trying to get into the Deus Ex and Metal Gear ones coming out too... that is if I can afford them at $50 a pop.

The site is great but I would like to see a tab with the latest discussion no matter what part of the forum it came from like on the left side of hisstank.

I agree with crazy jetty. i miss alot of stuff because unless you actually go into each section and look (which i do, but arent going to do that everytime) you dont know that someone has posted something new, and if you post something, you are lucky if you get a reply because it seems most people just interact with the threads at the side on the main page because they can see someone has recently posted something.

it would be good for whatever has been posted in whichever thread to appear on the main page so everyone can see it at a glance, rather than 5 posts of marvel that someone might not have commented on for a few days.

what if i had important NECA news!!! not everyone would see it.

overall great site though, thats the one thing i have found. brilliant community here!

I want this too.

love this freakin site!! its cost me thousands of dollars in Marvel figures I never knew about! lol but if anything..

*seperate Marvel 3.75 from Legends/ 6"
*perhaps add a NECA or McFarlane thread?

keep up the good work!

You should go back to the way the site was before with the latest posts on the right hand side

Recent Threads - All of Forum - will return in some format / place soon. I hear you.

One thing to keep in mind - regarding forums and sub forums, is that Toyark's forum activity is light. And many forums while have heavy views, have little posting activity. So, I'm hesitant to break it down even further.

That's just my personal gut feeling on it though, and is why I asked you guys for input. So feel free to suggest and discuss ways of re-organizing things.

Question - do you guys use, or can you see yourselves ever using - the non-toy areas of Marvel, DC, MOTU, and Star Wars. Those places are super duper dead.

The last point is also why I am hesitant to break down things even further. While it makes sense, it feels like a ghost town (even more than now).

So, keep talking. Later!

Just me talking, but I most often hesitate to post to the main DC forum since I personally don't want to clutter it with thread after thread of character figure comparisons. If there was a subcategory for DCUC, I personally would post a lot more b/c I would rest assured that people who don't want to see/read these posts wouldn't have them cluttering their feed.

Same goes for me in the Marvel forum. If there was a Legends sub category, I wouldn't feel like a flurry of new threads would aggravate the 3.75 collectors who could care less about Legends talk and those who do will know just where to look.

Currently, instead of creating multiple threads for individual character discussions (which hopefully would spur discussion/opinions), I currently tend to heavily consolidate my posts. Just one example: DCUC Super Friends & Legion of Doom Line-ups - Toy Discussion at Toyark.com (This post would likely be far more effective at generating comments/discussion as separate posts about figure versions of single characters in a sub forum, IMO). It also should help for toy research.

All just my 2-cents...

Love the site otherwise, I too frequently wish for a little more activity from day to day.

Thanks, Tony.

To tell the truth, I honestly didn't realize that non-toy DC and Marvel forums existed. I',m much more likely to post in reguards to the comics and TV shows, than I am the toys (As I'm financially restricted in what I can buy, however watching/reading costs relatively little). I'm especially more likely to be more active in the marvel section as such.

For forum content, I do sympathize with your desire not to splinter the forums up more than they are (I'll admit some of the suggestions have been borderline rediculous), though I do tend to agree with hrothgar's suggestion.

Get rid of the "General Discussion" for Marvel, DC, Starwars, and Heman, as I can't honestly see how they serve a purpose that other forums in those sections do not. That could give you the room for:


Toy and Action Figure Discussion
- - Marvel Discussion
- - - - Marvel Legends and Marvel Select: Basically covers all Marvel lines of a 5"-10" scale, Hasbro, Toybiz, ecct.
- - - - Marvel Universe and other 3.3/4": Covers all Joe scaled lines.
- - - - Marvel Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - Marvel Comics and Graphic Novel Discussion
- - DC Discussion
- - - - DC Classics and DC Direct: Like marvel, all lines 5" and above
- - - - 3.3/4" Scale: Same. All lines of this scale.
- - - - DC Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - DC Comics and Graphic Novel Discussion
- - Star Wars Discussion
- - - - Star Wars Toys Discussion
- - - - Star Wars Movies TV and Cartoon Discussion
- - - - Star Wars Comics and Novels
- - Hasbro Toys Discussion
- - - - Transformers General Discussion
- - - - GI Joe General Discussion
- - - - My Little Pony Discussion
- - - - Hasbro Toy Lines General Discussion
- - Mattel Toys Discussion
- - - - Masters of the Universe General Discussion
- - - - Voltron Discussion
- - - - Mattel Toy Lines General Discussion
- - Bandai Toys Discussion
- - - - Thundercats Discussion
- - - - Power Rangers Discussion
- - - - Bandai Toy Lines General Discussion
- - Toy and Action Figure News and Rumors
- - One Line Per Thread Toy Discussion Featured Toy Lines and Properties
- - Movie TV and Video Game Discussion
- - - - Movie TV and Video Game Toys Discussion
- - - - Movies TV Cartoons DVD and Blu Discussion
- - - - Video Game Discussion
Community
- - Welcome to the Toyark
- - Toy and Action Figure Reviews and Feedback
- - Conventions and Toy Shows
- - Collection Showcase
- - Sightings
Marketplace
- - Buy Sell Trade
- - Wanted Items
- - Buy Sell Trade Feedback
- - Toys On Ebay
Creative
- - Customs WIP
- - Customs Completed Projects
- - Customs General Discussion
- - Fan Art
Off Topic
- - General Discussion
- - Tech Support
- - Send a News Tip


Just an example. I think some of the companies have enough strong lines that can support their own single threads (it's late, I got heatstroke earlier and I can't remember all the non-comic lines Hasbro and mattel run with). As well as Bandai (With powerrangers, and a ton of japanese lines like D-Arts and Gundam, they can hold their own). He-man I see enough activity that it deserves it's own forum, but not enough that it deserves three. So I'd file it under Mattel. With Voltron and Back to the Future coming, the minor popularity of the Ghostbusters, they can get folded under mattel as well.
Also, if some girl lines get acknowledged, MLP for instance, Perhaps that may draw a few female posters. (At the very least there are enough Bronies now thanks to FiM that such a forum wouldn't get totally ignored. But I really am thinking of the girl collectors from G1 all the way to now) I don't really know any other girl toylines that have such a simular collector community to us as MLP does, though.
I think there are other companies beyond Hasbro, Mattel, and Bandai that could support their own sections. Or perhaps a slightly better thought out set up than the generalized "one thread per" section.

An RSS feed option for news would be nice (if there is already one, maybe making it more visible to find). Otherwise I'd say don't change a thing. Except for maybe adding a little bit to the rules for sigs about gross out factor of pics.

RSS Feed: Toy News - All News Articles

I will try to get a hard coded link. Firefox recently removed the auto discovery icon, which sucks.

I've also added a "Everything else" discussion sidebar on the front page and forums. Put it after Marvel and DC blocks. Bumped Star Wars and MOTU down, since those forums aren't very busy.

I've read, and will continue to read your feedback. There are some good ideas in here that we can try after Comic Con.

I just noticed the "Latest Discussion" block! Thank you! Jetty is happy!

I'm too new to really have an opinion on how the sub forums are set up. I like them so far. However, tfw2005 has a separator between stickied threads and other threads... i think that would look good here. Easier to spot the start of the threads with new posts.