New forum format

I would like to go on record. I DON'T LIKE THE NEW FORMAT!!!!!!!!!

And, Why have I been demoted to "Double Chili Cheeseburger" from "Filet Mignon"?
And, why were almost 100 postings removed?

And, What was wrong with the old format. It was great! Why fix what wasn't broken?

It is actually quite nice. Just sort of like moving into a new place. You have to figure out where the light switches are.

I agree wholeheartedly with Twinwillow. The new format is horrible. Not the least of the problems is that it's too wide for my monitor screen. But beyond that, what I find really, really offputting is the fact that there's no way to know what is active without opening every damned section and topic.

Bad,bad, bad.

Michael Hoffman


I agree wholeheartedly with Twinwillow. The new format is horrible. Not the least of the problems is that it's too wide for my monitor screen. But beyond that, what I find really, really offputting is the fact that there's no way to know what is active without opening every damned section and topic.

Mouse over "forum menu" at the top left of the page. It offers the option to see posts since last visit, and you can reset the time of that visit.

Twinwillow, there's an extensive thread on this same forum titled "Test out the new discussion forum".  You should find the answers to your questions there.



 

It is going to take some getting use too.
Got lots of cool features but some features are just strange.
The white background feels like a hospital site.

I always like an adventure but so far, this one is getting under my skin. Hopefully it is like a new Porsche. I just have to look at it a little more and get to know it better, then I warm up to it. Only time with tell for me but so far, I am not a fan either!

This is definately a step backward,  I particularily miss the active topics feature,  this is a mishmash.

Is there any way to view them organized by forum through.   There is so much traffic here that I really only read a few of the forums regularly.   In the old format I could skim down the active page quikly and only go into the ones I wanted.  There is no order to this new format.

Once you figure all this out I think most will find this forum easier and more powerful to use and definitely faster to find new posts.

If you want to just read one area such as the Miscellaneous forums you can select Miscellaneous under Search, select how you want to search such as new posts since last visit and then click on Apply.

The threads that you haven't read yet will be bold. You can go to the last message same as before, or you can click on the thread title and start at the beginning or if there are new messages in the thread there will be a little icon at the end of the thread title that you can click on that will take you to the first unread (by you) message. Once you have read a thread the title is no longer bold and that little icon next to the title disappears.

I am not at all enamored with this format. While I accept change readily,this change is way too much.Love the people that play with computers and find new ways of doing things, but as my father, who was the first person to bring the computer to UW-Milw. in the mid 70s said-we are dealng with people, not computers.And he made sure that all his students realized computers are developed by PEOPLE- so they are not in fallible.

There is another feature you might want to consider. Under User Control Panel there is a filter where you can select forums you do not want to see. You could thus limit posts to only the forums you care to read.

I think it would be better if the posts were organized by forum like they used to be.

Also, I don't see anyplace to automatically refresh.
 
Gotta love spell checker though!

I will be the first to admit that everything is not perfect, however, I think the new features far outweigh the limitations.

The old forum was vulnerable to hacks, and the original software developer is no longer supporting it.  That is a recipe for disaster so it was prudent for us to progress.

Change can be tough sometimes, but I imagine it will be behind us in a few weeks.

Stephen, it is great. Except for those missing posts. I was gonna retire ala carlton pierre at 3000 posts, but now it looks like I've got another year or two to put in :)

No posts are missing - the reason everyone's post count is lower is because our old forum software didn't keep track of it accurately.

bill voss


Stephen, it is great. Except for those missing posts. I was gonna retire ala carlton pierre at 3000 posts, but now it looks like I've got another year or two to put in :)

 
Bill,
 
I may have to come out of mothballs and correct this situation.  I'm withyou all the way!

carlton pierre

bill voss


Stephen, it is great. Except for those missing posts. I was gonna retire ala carlton pierre at 3000 posts, but now it looks like I've got another year or two to put in :)

Bill,

I may have to come out of mothballs and correct this situation.  I'm withyou all the way!

 

Michael Hoffman


I agree wholeheartedly with Twinwillow. The new format is horrible. Not the least of the problems is that it's too wide for my monitor screen. But beyond that, what I find really, really offputting is the fact that there's no way to know what is active without opening every damned section and topic.

Thank you, Michael. For once, we agree on something!

I'll admit I haven't taken the time to explore all the options now available,   but the thing I miss is the abillity to scan all the changed threads in all forums.   I don't have time to read every post,  but I could quickly scan the all the changed threads for ones I was interested in  that had activity.    I don't see that ability here.

I haven't had time to explore all the possibilities but I love it.  Thanks Stephen for all you hard work in making this transition.  The different arrangement of the forums is a bit off-putting but it's a huge improvement overall.

Stephen Rushmore Jr.


No posts are missing - the reason everyone's post count is lower is because our old forum software didn't keep track of it accurately.

  ROFL

can't some color be put in? also I read there is aa spellcheck for posting...how do i find/use it?  

This format is TERRIBLE...harder to read,,,and I'm not a stupid person...I can get used to anything...it doesn't devalue my opinion that this is no where near as pleasing to the eye as the old format...don't see how this is a step forward, at all!!!

The quick jump feature certainly isn't working!!!!

Are you guys getting e-mail notification of threads??? I haven't since yesterday....this new format is a disaster!!!!

Some of you guys remind me of little children. I lost some posts...boo hoo hoo, I don't like this and I don't like that....wah wah wah.  You should be thankful the owner of this site provided you with an improved forum that will just take some time to get used to. The choice is yours, accept it and enjoy life or get out of Dodge and go whine somewhere else. Thank you for listening and have a safe and pleasant day.

Oh thanks for your wisdom...perhaps many here  are just posting an opinion or a concern...many of us have been posting for years and base our opinions on using the previous format a lot...We certainly are entitled to an opinion and I'm sure the moderators welcome fdeed back...we are not just whinning!!!!

leethebard


Oh thanks for your wisdom...perhaps many here  are just posting an opinion or a concern...many of us have been posting for years and base our opinions on using the previous format a lot...We certainly are entitled to an opinion and I'm sure the moderators welcome fdeed back...we are not just whinning!!!!

Lee buddy, the old format is done, finished, gone, kaput. Deal with it!

carlton pierre

bill voss


Stephen, it is great. Except for those missing posts. I was gonna retire ala carlton pierre at 3000 posts, but now it looks like I've got another year or two to put in :)

Bill,

I may have to come out of mothballs and correct this situation.  I'm withyou all the way!

Do us a favor and stay retired.

In a while you'll all be used to the new and forget the old.  How many of you still remember a few versions ago of internet explorer? 

I do not like this new format. Seems like you have to "jump thru hoops" to navigate to where you want to get to. Too complicated. Not user friendly. I like the old way of when I would link to "all unread topics" everything would appear. Nice and easy

I like the feature of hiding forums that I never read or post on so they don't show up when I check posts since my last visit.

Stephen Rushmore Jr.


No posts are missing - the reason everyone's post count is lower is because our old forum software didn't keep track of it accurately.

Does this mean that all of the posts that were in the N.J. Hot Dog thread are still there even though it went from 49 pages to 31?

I'm on the fence with this but when I got to looking at a forum that had photos, the photos are tiny with no way to expand them! 90% of the beauty of this site is the photos people post! And where are the "smilies" so I can show a grumpy face here? Grrr....

Ok, I figured it out. You have to be logged in to see the full size photos. I always checked to stay logged in but I guess you have to log in each time now.

I see where I can change the size of my posts by using the size option.  Now if ALL the posts were automatically posted at least the size of this one (size 2), I would have little to complain about.

GOOD POINT!!!!!!!  The standard size is just too small and light...you go blind after a few read posts!!!

Now if they would only give the site some color in the background (such as the light yellow that I'm used to) I'll try to adjust to the rest. Otherwise, I'll go snowblind after a while.

I may have some other suggestions for improvements, but let me see if I can work around them first before complaining.

sodawater43
I do not like this new format. Seems like you have to "jump thru hoops" to navigate to where you want to get to. Too complicated. Not user friendly. I like the old way of when I would link to "all unread topics" everything would appear. Nice and easy

I agree with sodawater and several posters above.
 
I loved going to 'all unread topics' and seeing all recent forums in all categories.  Trying to figure out how to do that now but no luck so far.

I may have to do some more exploring, but I may have figured out what to do about reading all the unread topics since my last visit.

At the top of the page, where it says "Forum Menu," put your cursor on that.  A menu drops down.   It says "Posts since last visit."  Click on that.  I did that yesterday, and today that's all I'm seeing: posts since my last visit.  If I want to explore a particular subject area, I have to find it.

I know just enough about these things to be dangerous, but I'm learning.

kland01s


I'm on the fence with this but when I got to looking at a forum that had photos, the photos are tiny with no way to expand them! 90% of the beauty of this site is the photos people post! And where are the "smilies" so I can show a grumpy face here? Grrr....

I have to say, I like it too.  I like the Private Message feature where you don't have to go to your email to get a message from somebody.  I think it looks sharp.  I don't know where everything is yet but that's okay.

So are Bill Voss and carlton pierre like Michael and Latoya Jackson, where you never see them both in one place, and this instance is highly unusual?

KonaErnie


Some of you guys remind me of little children. I lost some posts...boo hoo hoo, I don't like this and I don't like that....wah wah wah.  You should be thankful the owner of this site provided you with an improved forum that will just take some time to get used to. The choice is yours, accept it and enjoy life or get out of Dodge and go whine somewhere else. Thank you for listening and have a safe and pleasant day.

 
 
Who died and left you in charge?  Guess what!  The people are merely giving their opinions of why they do not like the mew format. If you were not so busy lecturing and sneering, you might then realize that some of these comments will be very helpful to those that are in charge.  Thank you for reading this  and take a chll pill.

I've bee playing with the format, learning as I go. I like the PM capacity.

I like the block feature.

KonaErnie


Some of you guys remind me of little children. I lost some posts...boo hoo hoo, I don't like this and I don't like that....wah wah wah.  You should be thankful the owner of this site provided you with an improved forum that will just take some time to get used to. The choice is yours, accept it and enjoy life or get out of Dodge and go whine somewhere else. Thank you for listening and have a safe and pleasant day.

Oh, Ernie. Think about why you posted. Was it just to be a scold? People here don't exist to follow your desires. They are allowed to be contrary, and no, they should NOT just be thankful to the owner of the site. The existence of a website and web forum is cooperative; there is no benefit to the owner if forum members don't like the site format, is there? The website exists to benefit the Sterns; in order for the Sterns to benefit, they have to offer something of value. What you wrote is tantamount to saying we should not complain about the food, but rather be happy that we have something to eat!

Now, please reconsider, or I'll do something drastic, like compare you to Hitler or something!

John Fox

Stephen Rushmore Jr.


No posts are missing - the reason everyone's post count is lower is because our old forum software didn't keep track of it accurately.

Does this mean that all of the posts that were in the N.J. Hot Dog thread are still there even though it went from 49 pages to 31?

What probably has happened is that the default for posts per page has changed. I would think that all the posts are still there, though.

kland01s


Ok, I figured it out. You have to be logged in to see the full size photos. I always checked to stay logged in but I guess you have to log in each time now.

When you log in, check the box "save my information as a cookie". It keeps you logged in.

What I think is that there should be an easy to find link to the FAQ on how to use this new software. Everything is still available, but it is in different places and has been painted a different color.

Mosca

KonaErnie


Some of you guys remind me of little children. I lost some posts...boo hoo hoo, I don't like this and I don't like that....wah wah wah.  You should be thankful the owner of this site provided you with an improved forum that will just take some time to get used to. The choice is yours, accept it and enjoy life or get out of Dodge and go whine somewhere else. Thank you for listening and have a safe and pleasant day.

Oh, Ernie. Think about why you posted. Was it just to be a scold? People here don't exist to follow your desires. They are allowed to be contrary, and no, they should NOT just be thankful to the owner of the site. The existence of a website and web forum is cooperative; there is no benefit to the owner if forum members don't like the site format, is there? The website exists to benefit the Sterns; in order for the Sterns to benefit, they have to offer something of value. What you wrote is tantamount to saying we should not complain about the food, but rather be happy that we have something to eat!

Now, please reconsider, or I'll do something drastic, like compare you to Hitler or something!

 
Hey Mosca,  Check it out.  I just gave you a Gold Star!
 
Sorry Ernie, you get the new angry face
 
 
 

 

leethebard


GOOD POINT!!!!!!!  The standard size is just too small and light...you go blind after a few read posts!!!

In Firefox, at the top choose "view", then "zoom". In IE, choose "page", then "zoom".

When you click on [Show Me All Unread Topics]  and the list comes up, is there a way to not have a new window come up when you click on an unread topic?
 
Thank you.

Really, everything that the old forum had is here; it's just hard to find. But stuff in the old forum was hard to find, too, compared to more modern forums based on other software. This software has leapfrogged most of the stuff found elsewhere; it's going to be a challenge.

I think that there are a couple things that are probably in the design that could be unlocked. First, the capability to have different skins. This IS a little bit on the bright side.  Second, it would be nice to have the recent posts sorted into the different subsections. I could get used to it the way it is, but if it is possible to sort them, that would be nice. Third, I didn't look yet to see if it is an option, but for me topics are opened in a new tab. I'm not sure I like that. It would be nice to have the choice to have them open in the same tab or window. I might decide to let them open in the new tab, but the choice would be nice.

Ahhh, you're never gonna make everyone happy. I don't care for the new format either; but I would hope that they've changed things due to a REAL need for increased storage or flexibility on the maintenance side of things, and not just to a perceived need to 'freshen up' things.
Any chance of an option to 'revert to old style', as AOL does when they introduce a new version?

Add another vote for sorting if possible.

That was a nice feature I didn't appreciate in the past.

Mosca

John Fox

Stephen Rushmore Jr.


No posts are missing - the reason everyone's post count is lower is because our old forum software didn't keep track of it accurately.

Does this mean that all of the posts that were in the N.J. Hot Dog thread are still there even though it went from 49 pages to 31?

What probably has happened is that the default for posts per page has changed. I would think that all the posts are still there, though.

I don't think so. In reading through the archives, I've seen that on more than one occasion I have responded to a question (including the poster's name in my response) but have not seen the original question. Also I remember a poster specifically recommending having a hot dog prepared a certain way at Five Guys. I remember the original post, which is no longer included on the new format although there is a reply to it.
 
Stephen Rushmore,
 
can you address this?

I must admit I was kinda shocked when I logged on here the other morning and found it looked far from what I remembered.  That'll teach me to read topics with titles about testing out new discussion forums...
 
I'm not loving the new format to be perfectly honest but I'm getting slightly used to it, however it seems to be a little bit more difficult to navigate than the last format.  The thing I'm finding I am missing most is how the old format showed the active topics under each sub section.  Ah well I'll get used to it eventually! lol

Jim Ross


I'll admit I haven't taken the time to explore all the options now available,   but the thing I miss is the abillity to scan all the changed threads in all forums.   I don't have time to read every post,  but I could quickly scan the all the changed threads for ones I was interested in  that had activity.    I don't see that ability here.

You can scan all the forums at once and readily see which forums have new messages. Click on the Forums choice on the title header. This will bring up all the forums. Forums with new messages will have the left column page icon colored in. Then if you click on the individual forum you are interested in the threads with new messages to you will have the left column message icon colored in. There then will be a message icon right after the title of the thread that you can click on that will take you to the first unread message to you in the thread. This last is a feature that did not exist in the old software and allows you to quickly get to unread messages without guessing where you left off. If you want to go to the last message in a thread like the old software did then you can click on the little message icon in the far right column that lists the last poster in the thread.

I will probably use the Forum Navigation Bar, select Forum Menu > Posts Since Last Visit. This will show me only threads with new posts instead of all the threads in the method I described above.

I imagine that in time I will learn how to get around the new ranch...probably two or three days before the next new one is unveiled.

  Yes...change is one of life's only certainties. Sometimes the new thing is immediately easier and better. Sometimes not. I like it infinitely more when it's the former. 

  Aside from we having to get used to everything, I'm sure those powers that be are standing by to tweak whatever needs tweaking. Sort of like putting the next Corvette in 40 below weather in North Dakota, stepping back and seeing what works...and what doesn't. 

  Adding yet just one more car metaphor, if I may, like a new, top-of-the-line BMW or Mercedes-Benz, there are lots of bells and whistles here I'll never ever use. But they've got to be there because some folks need 'em, love 'em or just think we ought to be keeping up with times.
  Alas, while I am up Bear's Creek without a paddle, I'm hoping it won't be too long afore I'm getting along swimmingly. 

  In the meantime, let's hope this is all for the better and not a case of Classic Coke.

   The Bear