You can, in just two clicks, one on the profile picture and one on the Postcrossing P.
No real need to delete any, if it’s just about some people being annoyed by some categories. Everyone can choose which categories they want to see already.
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That does not lead me to the official profile, just to the forum profile. In order to look up the official profile, I have to click on a link that goes to the main site. The two systems are completely separate was my point.
My suggestion was not because I don’t like the categories that exist. It was a suggestion to streamline to make the forum seem less overwhelming to new users as that has been stated as a problem.
It seems unlikely that it works differently for me than for you, but OK…
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I’m not following what you are saying, I don’t think. It works the same for both of us. I just wish it worked differently. Not a super big deal, just a suggestion since we are throwing them around.
I am sorry if I did something to make you angry with me.
Do you get the official Postcrossing profile when you click on the profile image of a user? I only get the forum profile which is different from the main profile. Also, some users keep their profiles hidden, so you don’t see anything.
So, I think, it will be great if the official profile is linked with Forum. It won’t have a huge impact, but I think definitely a small enhancement on the current setup
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You are wrong, sorry. When the forum profile occurs, click on the Postcrossing logo and you will get to the Postcrissing profile of the user!
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Oops. I never knew about this feature 
. I have doing it all wrong. 
Thanks for the explanation. I believe this feature is unknown to many.
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You can read about it in the manual.
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There is a manual? What else is there that I don’t know about 
Yes. I understand this. As I said, this is merely a link to the main site. The official profile is not embedded in the forum. So when you click on the icon, it takes you completely out of the forum. This is not user-friendly. Also, the icon is not obvious.
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I agree! The detour via the forum profile is not necessary, as the forum profile itself is not really necessary in my opinion.
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There was a lot of hatred in this forum, when the Ukraine war started and many participants asked to exclude Russians from Postcrossing. The staff had to delete a lot of postings and to close discussions. I also regard Postcrossing as a peace project, but it is not always peaceful itself.
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I agree. The forum profile is redundant. It should just show a user’s main profile on the forum.
Yes. A user guide exists. I read it when I first joined. However, there is an overwhelming amount of information in there that is presented in a difficult way to navigate. I would prefer a clickable FAQ.
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I referred to Manish.
A clickable FAQ could be a good solution.
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If you would like to have a clickable FAQ, just ask the admins, tell them why you think it is necessary and ask if you can create one.
There are also other topics that have been opened by users to help.
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A good exercise in UX (user experience) development is asking “What problem does this potential solution solve?”
Since we want to increase Forum usage, the question becomes “What problem does the forum solve?” or “What forum benefits do we want people to use?”
I, for one, began using the forum when I wanted to share some of the stamps I was using on my sent cards. It was too cumbersome to load the postcard picture + stamp in the gallery, so I started looking for other options. And voila, the forum solved that problem for me in the Stamps thread.
All that to say, one idea would be to list out how the forum solves “I wish I could do ______” in the main site. And then include prompts to steer people to the forum.
The key thing is to include bite-sized prompts at the moment of friction, at the micro decision point. It’s a smaller way in, rather than this big overwhelming idea of a forum. That solves what other people mentioned earlier in the thread: misunderstanding of what the forum is, or being reluctant to tackle the whole beast.
- User thought: “I wish I could send more postcards than the official site will allow.”
On the Send page, “Sorry, you’re already sending five cards, which is your current limit! Want to send more? Explore the Trades page in the forum.” - User thought: “I wish I could show off my stamps in my sent cards.”
On each postcard details page, “Share what stamps you used in the forum.” - User thought: “Where are people getting great cards like these?”
On the Gallery page, “Need ideas for where to get postcards? Fellow Postcrossers share tips in the forum.”
Etc, etc.
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I agree. Starting out with clear requirements is essential!
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