I love the idea as well just wish there was a little more about learning Japanese. Like maybe right up some quick introductions yourself and/or link to some good sites to start learning.
The theme isn't the biggest issue for me honestly. I mean sure it could be better but it works pretty well for your topic and you could probably get away with just modifying it your self (mainly to make the site match the forum more and different on, off, and locked images).
I don't think the theme is all that bad. Some of the dark colors are a little too dark, but nothing that can't be changed. The general look of the forum is pretty nice - I honestly think you could stick with the theme, just edit it to make it easier on the eyes.
I suggest adding a little more Japanese to the forum - maybe some in the descriptions, or change the forum names to something like FORUM NAME / JAPANESE NAME.
I lived in Japan for a few years, but I don't remember any Japanese, so hopefully you get what I'm trying to say, haha.
(2012-05-27, 05:16 AM)Irreligious Wrote: [ -> ]I like your idea. I used to be a Nintendo DS gamer and there were many games only released in Japan that I wanted but couldn't play because I don't know Japanese. Good luck with your project. 
Thank you! That is exactly why we started this project.
(2012-05-27, 05:50 AM)Alex Smith Wrote: [ -> ]I love the idea as well just wish there was a little more about learning Japanese. Like maybe right up some quick introductions yourself and/or link to some good sites to start learning.
You're right. A beginner's guide would be great. Right now, we assume every reader will already be a Japanese learner, which gives us a very small potential user base. When I have time, I'll work on some quick tips/quick links that people can follow to get some more information about starting to learn. Thanks!
(2012-05-27, 05:59 AM)Tecca Wrote: [ -> ]I suggest adding a little more Japanese to the forum - maybe some in the descriptions, or change the forum names to something like FORUM NAME / JAPANESE NAME.
Resident Smash Hunter Damacy Warriors Turbo -> バイオスマッシュ-ハンター魂TURBO
...I might have to work on the English titles if I do that. Or perhaps do non-literal translations.
Was waiting for the thread to get low so I can put it back on top
. I really like your niche, I think it really makes a community. THe theme is also good, but you could put more feeling into it. Make a logo that has japponese letters and put some box on top explaining what's the community about. Basically my advice is try to come up with a better logo that has more meaning for the community. The rest of the layout is fine. GOOD LUCK!
(2012-05-30, 07:20 AM)zero_X Wrote: [ -> ]Was waiting for the thread to get low so I can put it back on top . I really like your niche, I think it really makes a community. THe theme is also good, but you could put more feeling into it. Make a logo that has japponese letters and put some box on top explaining what's the community about. Basically my advice is try to come up with a better logo that has more meaning for the community. The rest of the layout is fine. GOOD LUCK!
Thanks for the feedback and support. I definitely think the theme is alright, but it's not great either, and was never really meant to be anything but temporary. I did try last week to put a little more work into it, only to discover that I'm not great at coding. At this point, I've decided I'm going to pay someone to do a theme so I can spend more time at what I'm good at: being a family man and writing for the site.
We should therefore have a new theme soon, and I will probably start working on integrating more 日本語 (Japanese) into the boards after that step is complete. Ideally I want to make a Japanese myBB translation so that members can use the boards while immersed in Japanese. The community is starting to finally get some traction, so it's doubly motivated me to get to work on a number of things I've wanted to do. I wonder if there is a way to make the forum names and descriptions change when you change languages.
And as for the logo, it's probably not a bad idea to change our name to JRPGクラブ.
That's what Nihon Falcom (a game company) referred to us when they posted my review of their game on Twitter, after all.
I wasn't going to post again until the new design was complete, but it's going to take longer than expected and there's a few things I wanted to talk about in the mean time.
First, we're making a donation to Child's Play, as a pledge to a Final Fantasy V "challenge run" charity event. You can still participate in the event and increase our donation!
Details here.
Second, we're starting a fantasy sumo tournament. Think fantasy football or baseball, but with shorter (and more frequent) seasons (and less checking Yahoo!). And super fat athletes.
Details here.
I'd be especially happy to get some more participants in the sumo tournament. It's tons of fun! My friends and I did it for the first time last year, and since it's not as hands-on as other fantasy sports I think anyone can and will enjoy it.
Well done on the forum cappazushi. Starting a Japanese related forum was always a dream of mine but could never be fulfilled due to lack of funds and expertise in the niche.
You've done a decent job, hopefully just as good as I or someone else would have. What I am looking for in your site, is more language based stuff. Things that will help the users of the site learn, me in particular. Even if you had a separate section for learning Japanese, that would be really helpful and from what I've read you're in the situation to guide the users on learning and if they're making mistakes and whatnot.
Overall, good job. I hope to see big things come from this site, and I will most certainly join ASAP.
Thanks! I keep meaning to start the "Beginner's Guide," but I've been busy with work and my new baby. The main site is more focused on learning, but probably appeals to intermediate to advanced learners so I definitely need to work on expanding my potential audience. Thanks again for the advice!
By the way, is your avatar a shot from Kiyomizu-dera? I got engaged there.
Yeah definitely, I'm someone who really wants to achieve fluency, so it'd be more than helpful to me. I really need to find some resources to help me become fluent too. Not sure what to do.
Not sure, just some random place in Japan that I got off Google. I visited Kiyomizu-dera when I went to Japan though.
P.S. Reply to my PM
Oh, yeah, you're right. You can't see Fuji-san from Kiyomizu-dera.
Also, pretend my last post says, "probably appeals to intermediate to advanced learners
that are also gamers." In the coming days, weeks and months I will definitely be working on making the site welcoming to more and more "types" of learners.
Thank you so much for joining!