Some Layout Suggestions

[MarkusTay]

I have been recommending Paizo and Pathfinder to tons of people the last few weeks, and the first thing they see when they log onto the message boards is a list of cancellations!

Is that really the first thing you want potential new customers looking at?

Either move the Customer Service forum to the bottom of the page, or have a 'cover page' that directs people to the correct forum (without the lists of threads).

I personally prefer the cover-page concept - I hear lots of complaints about the difficulty in navigating this site, so a cover page with a 'site map' would do wonders. Also, I like the minimalist approach to the boards themselves, but you could 'spruce up' that first page, perhaps with some Paizo art? Its the one and only thing WotC has over you guys - their Internet presence is far more attractive.

Just about every other company in the industry has a cool 'splash page' - just check out Privateer Press, or Games Workshop. You guys have geat art and minis, so why not flaunt it?

Eye Candy is what gets people interested in this day and age, and this site is like the Saharra desert when it comes to visuals. A lot of the people I have directed here took one look and never came back.

[Andrew Phillips]

Very good point, I too have had poor results referring friends to the site. The list of cancellations has got to be a turn off.

[Chef's Slaad]

The fact that customer service is at the TOP of the list rather than the bottom is a GOOD thing. (How many other web stores do you know that are organised that way?)
It is unfortunate that it lists many cancellation requests. I think the best fix is to create an option on the store or on the my account page where subscribers can cancel their orders.

[Andrew Phillips]

I think some action needs to be taken, for instance the "Paizo gave my email address to Spammers" post has been there all day. Of course if you read it the OP found out what happened and everything is cool, but as for someone who just looked at the site it kind of jumps out.

[Callous Jack]

Thankfully the "Paizo kicked my dog and pushed over an old lady" thread is no longer up top...

[MarkusTay]

I LOVE that Paizo puts customer service as #1, buuuuut....

you have to think about the casual surfer who is looking for something new and sees that first. WE know Paizo products are good, but a newcomer will never get far enough to know that.

At the very least, have that board 'closed' (like we can do with those little arrows), and you need to click on it and enter to view the threads... that should be fairly easy to impliment and might be the easiest solution ... for now. It is a great thing to see Customer Service right on top, but since CS is usually all about 'complaints', it would be wise to hide the thread titles.