Hey everyone,

In an effort to make this site run faster, today I've trimmed off some unused, optional parts of the software (modules) that it runs on. I'm not sure yet how much of a difference it's made so far, and there are actually still several modules I'm thinking of removing. However, I don't want remove something if it might be of use to everyone here, so I'll list them here for you and you guys can tell me what you want to keep.

Modules on the chopping block:

Classified ads... would you be interested in having classified ads available? Would you use them?
Downloads... I honestly wouldn't know what to put in a downloads section. Any files out there related to clowning that I should make available here?
FAQ... I do think a Frequently Asked Questions about Clowning section would be an asset to this site. Anyone game to help write it?

I know many of you were hoping to expand the clowning education aspects of this site (beyond a FAQ, that is), and I'd like to get a plan in place for working on that. Please toss any and all ideas about this at me. :) But to begin with, I'd love to see more articles about clowning submitted; I'm going to start another topic for article ideas.

And I haven't forgotten your requests for pie throwing and seltzer-bottle-using smileys. :) I was hoping to find some already made, but no luck so far. If anyone has any leads, please drop me a line. If all else fails I'll make them myself, but I'm hoping to save time. :wink:

One last thing; does anyone need help with their avatars? If so drop me a line. :)

removing moduals wont do much. it will only effect users if they use them but just being there it wont cause any laggage. it might if someone is downloading the info to see the download section. and someone is using the main page or something. other than this it would not lagg the site that bad.

best bet is to install a fresh phpbb with no addons then wack on an gallery addon. then setup a chatserver on someone elses server. by doing this it means peeps will be able to view the site alot faster. and because you using a fresh phpbb with no addons u can traansfer the users data from this forum to othe new one. this would mean not lossing any pictures, posts, etc

if you didnt want to do that. try get rid of some of the advertisiment banners. this cause users to not just have to connect to your site but others sites. this means users have to connect to 2 places at once can be a little frustrating.

hope this helps.

From my perspective, I think the "important parts" are the forum,
the photo gallery and the chat.

If done right, the forum can have topics that can help cover all
the aspects, including the articles -- they could be "sticky posts"

I know that a lot of new clowns ask questions about makeup and
costuming -- that would be a good topic to have, I think.

I'm with kinky_clown on this -- the fewer add-ons, the faster the
site will be.

I don't know how much benefit to you the ads are, but the fewer
of those, the better the site will perform.

Thanks for hosting this site, and for caring what we think!

Ashes

A business forum would be good to add. It will help support those with topics who are performing full time. For example:
How to start a business.
Help with SEO.
Ways to advertise.
Thank you notes for customers.
Proposal writing.
"You can if you think you can".
Business software.
How to get publicity.

Chopping modules won't help with speed, if they are not used. It does help un-clutter the server. The problem could be the volume of data stored in the database. Eventually, the database will get cluttered, and will slow down. One thing that might help is to remove the random gallery pictures that appear at the bottom of the home page (if possible). I am assuming these are stored as flat files rather than being in the database. File reads are always slower than database reads.

One thing I would like to see here is a forum dedicated to Clown Character Development. I think this is a very important aspect to clowning and, I think this is an area where there is not a lot of information available I think beginners often struggle more with this than choosing make-up or a costume. Most of the information I have seen on this subject glosses over it, but doesn't get into much detail. What I have read are more lists of suggestions and ideas rather than techniques to use.

Dynamo - Thank you for reactivating this thread.

One thing that might help is to remove the random gallery pictures that appear at the bottom of the home page (if possible).

I hope they stay.

About the pictures... there is a gallery where everyone can post pictures and personal albums. Isn't that a bit too much??