Eight coordinated changes aimed at first-time visitors landing on /forums. Returning-user workflows are untouched.
- Guest hero on
/forums— short value prop ("A working community for retro & vintage computing") plus a Browse the forums / Create a free account pair. Only shown when logged out; no effect on the auth'd view. - Keyword intro moved behind a "What we cover" disclosure. Still in the DOM (SERP bots still see it), still auto-open for auth'd users, but no longer eats the fold for first-visit guests.
- Forum categories open by default. A new visitor now sees the actual forums immediately. localStorage still honors explicit user collapses — if you've manually closed a category before, it stays closed on return.
- Guest CTAs in the page header — Log in + Sign up free in the same slot where the auth'd Create Forum / Mark all read buttons live.
- "Start here" sidebar widget for guests only — plain-English explanations of homebrew / demoscene / emulation / BBS so the jargon in the category list doesn't gatekeep.
- Platform-scope strip under the hero linking Files · Door games · BBS directory · Platform hubs · Leaderboard, so "this is just a message board" isn't the default read for anyone landing here.
- Login subtitle rewritten — "Good to see you again. Pick up where you left off." The New here? Create an Account block below the form is unchanged.
- Today widget above Site Stats in the forums sidebar — new threads, new posts, new members in the last 24h. Shows everyone (even slow days are honest) so a first-visit visitor sees the pulse, not just lifetime totals.
Mobile notice modal got a tone rewrite: names the actual desktop-only tools (image editor, in-browser BBS terminal, bulk uploader) and drops the "experience may vary" hedging. Reading / posting / browsing all work on mobile, and the copy now says so.
All changes live in templates/forums/index.php, templates/auth/login.php, templates/partials/mobile-notice-modal.php, and src/Models/Forum.php (new stats.today block). CSS additions in public/css/style.css ship via the usual build.
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D2sk - Sysop