Do you think sidebars are a good way to relay information to users of your board?

 

I think it's nice to have information in the header and footer, but sometimes those areas can be cluttered and hard to sift through the links you wish to access. A sidebar can help de-clutter those areas and make it more accessible, especially if you use a fixed sidebar that scrolls with the board. Of course, some administrators overdo the information sidebars contain and become cluttered, so keeping the sidebar information to a mid-tier minimum can be elegant.

At first, I wanted to make it simplified so I went with no sidebars but I think it took away the familiar feel of the forum, so I've added them back for now :)

Sidebars can be handy and add to the forum if done correctly. However, I have seen on some forums that it becomes too crowded and junky looking. I think it can be great tool if done right though.

I think sidebars are fine, they can easily display important information about your forum. They can also be an effective way to show ads too, and can help other communities if their links are in sidebars on other communities. As long as it's not too cluttered of course.