Forum layout design

[tuxidomasx]

my site has a fixed width layout, so my forum content can't expand beyond the fixed horizontal limits of the page.

my questions are:

should i put my users' avatars and info on the side of their posts (like most default installations) or should i put it on top of their posts (to maximize the available width of their post text)?

and do users tend to prefer one over the other?

thanks in advance.

[dethfire]

I still prefer to the left, but it really doesn't matter

[Lars-Christian]

What do you think looks best? That's te only thing that actually matters. Users don't know what they want until you give it to them It is my impression though, that the majority of people prefer the legacy (left-aligned) post-bit.

[Mahz]

Just so you know, as you'll hear it a lot, these horizontal/vertical stylings are calling postbit and postbit_legacy. It can be toggled in AdminCP either way, and you can even let users pick for themselves!

However, in most settings, I like the legacy postbit (post/poster beside eachother). The flow of words isn't cut off by a large poster bar this way and the document is more easily read in my opinion.

[dojo]

It depends on the design and the forums in the end. I like it above the posted message since it doesn't stretch vertically that much, but I also use the 'normal' style too ...

[iTechno]

I still prefer to the left, but it really doesn't matter

[nameslot]

I have myself put it on left even if my forum's width is fixed one. and it gives very little space for the posts.

But the main benefit from this is that even if someone makes a post with 2 or 3 sentences.

It looks Huge.

Looks like everyone on the board is ranting about something big.