[Fawn]

Hey there!

I imagine you have all noticed the tweaks to the site lately, such as the sidebar moving and the extremely requested, functional Recent Threads making its debut on Warrior Cats Online. As of right now, we are still tentatively adjusting things and are reliant on community feedback to make steps in the right direction.

The Redesign
We have also been working hard behind the scenes to redesign WCO with a focus on the navigation system. We're hoping it creates an understandable, less overwhelming experience for both newer and older members. Clans will be receiving "splash pages" that function as a hub for joining, news, roleplaying, etc. relevant to that Clan.

The Main Warriors RP Section
Because the Clans will be accessible from these new pages, the Main Warriors Roleplay category will be hidden from the forum index. This means you will not be able to view it from the 'Forums' page anymore but will still have access to everything you need via the new navigation system, including categories that do not specifically pertain to Clan life (e.g. Outskirts, Twolegplace.) This change is primarily to keep the forum index much tidier & reduce scrolling by hiding the longest section.

The Alt/Non-Warriors RP Sections
Similarly, Alternative Warriors Roleplay and Non-Warriors Roleplay will also be hidden from the forum index. It contributes to the tedious scrolling, and most of the WCO community tends to be active in either Main or Alt/Non Roleplay - but rarely both, so it does not make sense to keep it viewable to everyone. If you want to continue participating in those sections, no problem! To continue roleplaying in Alt/Non Warriors after the update, just go to your Group Memberships page and join the group for it. Links to these sections will reappear when you've joined, and you can resume roleplaying there as usual.

Allegiances
We've made the tough decision to deactivate the Allegiances. This feature does not see as much usage as it used to, is difficult to maintain and made irrelevant by the biographies and the emerging rosters that deputies have tailored to be superior alternatives. Because characters on WCO do not require approval prior to being roleplayed, it is simply more confusing than beneficial. With that in mind, we've determined we will be removing it from the navigation bar and hiding the corresponding category - so it will be there if the demand for it returns, but until then, it is not cluttering the forums.

New Site Themes / Retiring Old Themes
To go along with the navigational changes, WCO will be receiving five new themes with this update, and one redone theme (Summer.) To make room for these themes, the following will be retired: Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Spring, and Fall.

Those are the major updates that Warrior Cats Online will be undergoing soon, but it is subject to change as we finish development & take feedback into consideration. The staff continue to value all of the input we receive from the community and hope you enjoy what we're preparing for you.

 

Implemented:
- New sidebar
- Allegiances moved to left
- Mobile (no sidebar) theme
- Fully functional Recent Threads module added to left sidebar, including ability to see OP, last poster, and jump to most recent post in thread
- 'Home' link changed on navbar to account splash page
- Open Roleplays moved to right sidebar

Planned:
- Five new site skins added
- Remove retired skins (Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Spring, and Fall)
- Move Members List into footer, remove from navbar
- Add 'Explore' to navbar
- Add Clan buttons that redirect to Clan splash pages
- Replace 'News & Joining' with Clan Relations
- Hide Main Warriors RP section
- Hide Alt/Non-Warriors RP sections, make viewable via joining the group for it
- Deactivate Allegiances
- Publish New Member's Guide to WCO, tweak UX for new members
- Redone Summer theme