New look for the forum

[Solomoriah]

I do NOT like the icons beside the threads in the list view; using color alone to separate "new messages" from "no new messages" doesn't work well at all, especially when they are as colorful as the ones here. Would be much better if the icon shape/picture was different so that those with color vision issues would be able to see them clearly.

 

[GregGleason]

To the people who were haveing readability issues - how does it look now?

It turns out the font colour wasn't actually black, but a dark grey. I've changed it to black now, and I'm seeing a big improvement.

Cheers,
Phil

For me the color is fine. It's more of a matter of font size.

I would like the "who/when" font size (highlighted yellow) to be swapped with the "topic" font size (circled red). That would be a big help for me and my "older eyes".

BTW: the "PC" version of the forum is fine, it's when I look at it on my iPhone that I have the issues of visibility, which is the pic that I provided.

Greg

 

[MarkH]

To the people who were haveing readability issues - how does it look now?

It turns out the font colour wasn't actually black, but a dark grey. I've changed it to black now, and I'm seeing a big improvement.

Cheers,
Phil

Looks better, almost normal Thanks.

 

[troj]

BTW: the "PC" version of the forum is fine, it's when I look at it on my iPhone that I have the issues of visibility, which is the pic that I provided.

Have you tried Forum Runner? If not, you should consider doing so -- it's much easier to interact with forums that way on a phone than it is to use the browser. A good portion of my interaction with the forum is done via Forum Runner.

-Kevin

 

[Serpico]

Like the update - looking good.

Would agree that keeping unread messages bolded makes it visually easier to identify them.

Great job tho!

 

[troj]

BTW: the "PC" version of the forum is fine, it's when I look at it on my iPhone that I have the issues of visibility, which is the pic that I provided.

BTW, if you don't like the Forum Runner approach, scroll down to the bottom of the page and change "--vB4 Default Style" to "--Default Mobile Style" for something more small-screen friendly.

-Kevin

 

[troj]

Would agree that keeping unread messages bolded makes it visually easier to identify them.

They are bold.



-Kevin

 

[Serpico]

They are bold.

View attachment 82360

-Kevin

:blush:

 

[o1d_dude]

+1 on switching the font color to straight black instead of the watery gray.

Now if we can do something similar to the weak pale blue font as well...

 

[hornet driver]

So how does one change his profile , since the 18-14 cat is out of the bag ?There's no edit profile option-just asking------hunting Hornet !

 

[troj]

So how does one change his profile , since the 18-14 cat is out of the bag ?There's no edit profile option-just asking------hunting Hornet !

"My Profile" and "Settings" at the top of the page.

When you're looking at your profile, there's a little pencil icon next to a number of the headings. Click those to edit.

-Kevin

 

[Dr.Zooch]

Why can't IT people simply leave well enough alone? Just when a site gets handy and easy to often use, they feel comepelled to change the entire frigging site. Why? Just to prove that they still serve a purpose? Then every member is forced to spend time (something of which some of us have very little to spare) to learn all of the "new" little hoops to jump through and re-enter all sorts of new stuff just to BEGIN to use what was once a great site. I go through the same junk all the time with my web masters who want to make sites "Better" just because some new template appeard in cyber space. I really hate this junk. I'd say more- but I now have to take time away from making up kits for folks so I can re-learn TRF. Thanks.

 

[DAllen]

When I used to manage web sites one of the biggest complaints I got was that if it was left too long in the same format it looked "old." That's why IT guys need to fiddle with it. You'll get used to the new layout sooner than you think and about 90 days from now you'll forget what the old layout looked like.

Gotta love it. Kevin is in a completely unenviable position...No matter what he does someone is going to think it's WRONG.

No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[Gary Byrum]

Why can't IT people simply leave well enough alone? Just when a site gets handy and easy to often use, they feel comepelled to change the entire frigging site. Why? Just to prove that they still serve a purpose? Then every member is forced to spend time (something of which some of us have very little to spare) to learn all of the "new" little hoops to jump through and re-enter all sorts of new stuff just to BEGIN to use what was once a great site. I go through the same junk all the time with my web masters who want to make sites "Better" just because some new template appeard in cyber space. I really hate this junk. I'd say more- but I now have to take time away from making up kits for folks so I can re-learn TRF. Thanks.

REALLY! And I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the dark clock digits on the dark blue background. Will the guilty graphics genius please step forward?

 

[gdjsky01]

It's sending the right MIME type for the image, but the software may well be inspecting the URL to try to determine the type.

This way of displaying images is a bit of trickery, and it's likely confusing the software. Yes, it's a valid way to do things, but yes, it can also confuse software, depending on how it's trying to figure out what it's seeing.

-Kevin

I know you did not write the BB software... just saying, there is a reason for content negotiation and 21st century sites ought be using it. As the Sr Architect for a major online site, that would get you a long lecture on brittle software and software engineering.
​

Overall I see little issues here and there. I just have not had anytime to play with the editing as I am still back East taking care of family business. But there is nothing I have seen so far to make me think it's a step backwards. And I'll bet there are maintenance and admin functionality that makes it worthwhile to the admins and moderators as well... Often it's the little thinks that bring admins joy (been there, done that).

BTW: Is there summary of the major (and minor?) user facing functionality?

 

[jeffgeraci]

When you change a site, the only "changes" you should make are "ADDITIONS". You should NEVER change what is already working- there is no benefit for the user when you do that, only confusion. The only exception is when a feature is either 'not working' or the overwhelming majority wants it added or removed.

I think TRF could have "enhanced" the site, rather than scramble it around. It's like my wife rearranging the contents of the cabinets in our kitchen; when I'm cooking, I can't find anything I need because nothing is where it was, and muscle-memory is difficult to re-train. Change is fine, but rearranging things needlessly leads to frustration and inconvenience. Obviously, it's not going to be reversed no matter how much people complain, but hopefully admin will consider "adding" improvements, instead of changing what already works.

Regardless, it's not about the format- I come here for the knowledge and the common bond I share with TRF members, and if it ever gets too complicated, I'll just hire an interpreter to type my posts

 

[jsargevt]

Having done admin on a vBulletin site I sympathize with Kevin. Admittedly, it was a couple of years ago so things might be different now but vBulletin is one of those software packages that tends to make major changes in new, improved code. While they maintain older code they do try to use their unseen-but-very-helpful-for-admin features regarding simplicity in patching and keeping things generally up to date with a minimum of fuss. I highly doubt that Kevin woke up last week and said "Gee I think that I'll update TRF on a whim" and he carefully weighed out the advantages to updating vs. not and did what needed to be done.

I agree that the "new skin" on the site is a bit different to navigate. I am one of the people who did prefer the older style but I'll get over it and get used to the new layout. In fact I'm betting that 6 months from now I'll see an archived copy of a TRF site on the old style and make some comment about how much better the new site is.

I have no idea if this is possible but if the old TRF layout was a standard one it is POSSIBLE that it can be installed as an option. The concern is that it might break some of the improvements depending on how much customization the old template had (or for that matter, the new one). I suspect that if it was easy it would have already been done.

Finally, I agree with the damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don't comment. So very true.

 

[powderburner]

I have to assume that the reason for the change has something to do with support (or non-availability of support) for the older forum software, or a similar reason that the administrators felt was important. But about the changes....

I am puzzled about what is now the proper way to log in. I have been going to the tab in the top toolbar, but the log-in screen greets me with the message that I have performed an illegal log in attempt (yeah, before I even get the chance to try one) and I only have five attempts total. Good thing that I have my password tattood on my other wrist.

Also have noticed that we don't get to put titles on our posts now. Looks like only the overall thread gets a title. OK, no biggie, just noticing.

It's new, it's a little different, we will get used to it soon enough. Thanks to all the moderators and admins who work to give us this website!

 

[Rex R]

you have to 'go advanced' .
rex

 

[o1d_dude]

Okay, when I select "New Posts", the resulting Search screen doesn't tell me how many New Posts there are to view. The previous version of TRF provided this information.

I found the new post count useful when deciding whether I had time to view them or to come back later.

Compounding this issue is that the "New Posts" screen only shows the number of pages at the bottom of the page rather than at both top and bottom as on the regular pages. Now I have to page down to the bottom of the page to see how many pages of new posts there are.

Nitpicky to be sure, but less convenient than the previous version.

 

[JAL3]

Okay, when I select "New Posts", the resulting Search screen doesn't tell me how many New Posts there are to view. The previous version of TRF provided this information.

I found the new post count useful when deciding whether I had time to view them or to come back later.

That's exactly the way I used it.

I still have hopes that it can be implemented in this version.

 

[o1d_dude]

Sorry, John. I edited my post while you were quoting me.

Glad to hear I'm not the Lone Ranger in regards to the missing New Posts count. LOL!

 

[WiK]

Compounding this issue is that the "New Posts" screen only shows the number of pages at the bottom of the page rather than at both top and bottom as on the regular pages. Now I have to page down to the bottom of the page to see how many pages of new posts there are.

Does it? I see the number of pages at the top too:



Cheers,
Phil

 

[troj]

I am puzzled about what is now the proper way to log in. I have been going to the tab in the top toolbar, but the log-in screen greets me with the message that I have performed an illegal log in attempt (yeah, before I even get the chance to try one) and I only have five attempts total. Good thing that I have my password tattood on my other wrist.

You should see a login box like this in the upper-right corner of the screen



Put your username and password in the proper fields, then click the Log In button. Are you not seeing the fields, or is it not letting you enter anything into them, or...?

-Kevin

 

[grouch]

I kinda like it. I am visit so many other forums from time to time that the changes aren't that big of a deal to me. I do kinda miss the separate screen for posting replies however. It makes posting pictures of writing long winded responses a little easier. Never mind...I figured it out. Go advanced seemed to do the trick.

 

[Serpico]

Hey Folks - I am a Director of IT and have rolled out countless upgrades and software transitions over the years. From that perspective I can share with you several reasons that I would have updated the forums to this software package (knowing full well as the integrator it was going to be slightly painful):

1: It is one of the most widely used and accepted (self administration) forums software.
2: It is one of the easier and more flexible to administer packages.
3: It is one of the more secure (if the the most secure) packages available.

As for the changes/features/missing "XYZ" that seem to either be accepted or rejected by our community for different reasons: I have seen many sites go through upgrades such as this and it takes time for both users AND administrators to "figure out and fine tune". It is even more challenging when the community is a large one such as this. It just takes time - a natural progression and each user has a different learning curve depending on their individual tolerance to change.

I don't work with (or for) this folks that run this board - but I appreciate the effort and understand the challenges. Hang in there!

 

[Solomoriah]

Honestly, this theme is ugly. Fonts are too small, the multicolored but otherwise undistinguished post icons aren't very informative, and yeah, it's hard to find things sometimes. If we had, at least, an option to use other themes, that would be nice. I'm a member on advrider.com's forums, where they also use vBulletin, and when they upgraded, they kept the old theme as an option. At the bottom of the page is a pulldown you can use to choose the option... too bad we don't actually HAVE any other option here.

EDIT... just tried the "Default Mobile Theme" and, while not fully "functional," it is sure easier to look at.

 

[Adrian A]

I've been trying to figure out which threads get red-background thread icons and which ones get blue-background icons.

 

[stealth6]

I've been trying to figure out which threads get red-background thread icons and which ones get blue-background icons.

There are grey ones too.

s6

 

[troj]

I've been trying to figure out which threads get red-background thread icons and which ones get blue-background icons.

That's documented at the bottom of the thread list page:



The settings regarding what's a "Hot Thread" have been tweaked, and may well be tweaked again, to keep so many from showing up as "Hot".

-Kevin