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Noobindex.com Launches

7 points by jfornear ↗ HN
This is a continuation of: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=227879

A) Noobindex is a social networking site for noobs.

B) Noobindex is a social networking site for gamers to organize and communicate outside of the games themselves.

I took some of your advice and am not going to worry about the press until there is something worth reporting. I decided to launch here on HN to you guys. I don’t know which tag line I should use. I like A better than B. A isn’t very clear, but I kind of like that it doesn’t limit itself.

Thanks HN for being a great community to be a part of. I’m anxious to hear what you guys might have to say about this.

15 comments

[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 57.3 ms ] thread
tortilla
Hey, I like the minimal look of your app. I'm not a gamer so my comments might be a bit off, so adjust accordingly :)

I don't like "social networking site" because it sounds too technical/formal?

C) Noobindex is a place for gamers to meet, join forces, and to (plan/interact/communicate)?

edit: Upon further review. Once landing on your homepage, I don't really know what my next step would be. I know you have the register/login links in your nav, but beyond that, I don't know why I would register.

Also for "find a group" and "find a user" you should list out the groups and users so people could browse and explore on their own. What you have currently is like a blank restaurant menu. I don't know what I'm ordering because I don't know what you serve?

swombat
Hmm, I don't like the minimal look. It's just too minimal... looks almost unfriendly.

Noobs are noobs... they need rounded corners and friendly colours, not sharp red corners :-)

</my $0.02>

kajecounterhack
hmm imo just too much red. beauty in simplicity, yes. beauty in big red expanses...hmm. a little blinding.
maximilian
The red is a bit harsh. There's too much of it. Can't really think what to do about that. Less red though, definitely.
ajbatac
i want to add aside from the red color. when i get into the site first time, i don't know what to do. i don't know what it's all about. noobindex? no. sorry. i don't get it. i thought it was for noob hackers. was surprised it was for gamers.

definitely a need for improvement. 0.02

Hexstream
There is an about page...
bprater
Wrong. Fail. You have THREE seconds to capture someone's attention before they yank the back button and go back to surfing funny cats.

The human brain is very lazy, it is constantly trying to put every situation in a box. An easy-to-understand box. An "I get it" box, so it can move on.

We talk about this over and over here, but "what's the fire burning in someone's pants that makes them want to use your site right this second?"

Now figure out how to polish that into a small snippet of text that instantly draws folks into why the site exists. Maybe: "Bored to tears waiting for someone good to kick your ass at Countertrike 2? Good, you're just come home."

Plaster that on the homepage. Then walk the person through exactly what they need to do. Step 1, step 2, step 3. Pretend we are all idiots.

And then it's game on.

geuis
I like the layout of the site. The text is too close to the left/right sides. Adding the same spacing that's at the top to the other sides would help improve readability.

The functionality is pretty basic though. =(

I'm not sure what is gathered here that couldn't be done within an existing system like Ning, which already has a large user base. That would give you an installed userbase to help pull from without having to get people to register for yet-another-social-network.

Allocator2008
Personally I like tag line B) better. It is clear and to the point. And it provides a unique niche. "Gamers organzing and communicating outside the game itself". A novel concept since the idea of networking "within a game" is now familiar, but venues for game rivals to interact with one another outside the game, but still online, is a novel idea. Besides, I haven't the faintest clue what a "noob" is! And I work in the software development world. :-)
rdj
Wow! Don't mistype this one. One letter over and you get a different kind of index.

I always thought 'Noob' was a mild put-down. People don't strive to be 'Noobs' or associated with 'Noobs'. So, even if they start out as 'Noobs' what happens when they go pro, or whatever the opposite of 'Noob' is? Isn't this mindset going to be difficult to overcome and market or am I just out of touch with the gaming culture?

ppdes
I'd rather the site was called something obvious, like "gamerdex.com". Noob isn't only a gaming term. Seeing it doesn't instantly make me think gaming.

A tag line at the very top of the first page would help too. For example, "Gamers organzing and communicating," like someone suggested above, right at the top.

jfornear
Does anyone see ANY potential?
truebosko
There is potential in the idea but your execution is well, bad. Sorry to say but read some of the above comments and take them into consideration.

I went to the site and the red hurt my head. I didn't know what it was about, and it just looked plain boring.

jfornear
I will change the design and colors. I'm working on a "tutorial video" that will have a link by the logo, which will hopefully help explain what it is about.