Page 2 of 7

Re: FORUM DOWNTIME...DECEMBER 07

Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 6:52 pm
by John Knight
jtaylor wrote:[
Google [Bot] is the Google (ro)bot having a look at the site, and re-indexing it. It does this periodically to add any content to Google so that it returns search results.
Julian,
Do you think that this is a good thing for what is after all, a private forum?
John

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 7:08 pm
by jtaylor
In general, yep i'd say it's a good thing. Whilst the forum requires registration, it's open to view. It's always been indexed by Google etc, just not as efficiently as now.

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:56 pm
by Mrs C.
Sorry Julian , I have to admit I don`t like it very much !
I find it far too cluttered somehow, and it`s not at all easy for me to tell where a post begins or ends - having the avatar thingies on the "wrong" side doesn`t help either!
Am I the only one? Or are others just too polite??

Also, when I go to a section, it always takes me to the first page, whereas the old one used to take me to the most recent - or is that something I have to change myself?

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:59 pm
by jtaylor
blondie95 wrote:What does the scrolling lines next to a topic mean?
What does it mean if the above mentioned icon is in red?
and does a red star in this icon mean there are new posts?
Image= Forum with new posts since your last visit
Image= Topic with new posts since your last visit
Image= Very active topic
Image= Topic with new posts since your last visit - then I think the star is something do with whether you've contributed to it or not....not 100% yet though, anyone else got any suggestions?
The icon names are all suffixed with "_mine" where there's a star...e.g. "forum_undread_mine.gif"

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 10:03 pm
by cj
It's only a question of getting used to it. I remember how everything took me ages when I first logged on to the forum. However, given that most of post at least once a day, it won't take us long to figure out the new system.

btw, Julian, I think it looks much more up-to-date. And given that you do all this voluntarily, ta very much!!

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:16 pm
by Katharine
I think we have to give ourselves a few days to get used to it before we criticise it too much. We were all 'comfortable' with the old style forum and knew it well. I am sure that in a few weeks we will begin to forget there ever was a different style.

Julian, I like the fact you get a far wider writing space when posting a reply, and I also like the way you can save a reply until you are ready to post it. I have often thought that would be a good idea.

Once again, thank you for all your hard work on our behalf - I doubt if you thought you would be fulfilling the Charge by hosting an Internet Forum - it would have been totally unimagineable then!

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:52 pm
by englishangel
Mrs C. wrote:Sorry Julian , I have to admit I don`t like it very much !
I find it far too cluttered somehow, and it`s not at all easy for me to tell where a post begins or ends - having the avatar thingies on the "wrong" side doesn`t help either!
Am I the only one? Or are others just too polite??

Also, when I go to a section, it always takes me to the first page, whereas the old one used to take me to the most recent - or is that something I have to change myself?
janet,

Just to the right of the forum title it shows how many pages there are, all you have to do is click in the latest one.

I am reserving judgement on the layout but I do like the fact that it tells you where you are at the top of replies, I think that was a complaint previously, that when you clicked reply and had a senior moment you had to go back to remind yourself where you were posting.

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:50 am
by Mrs C.
englishangel wrote: janet,

Just to the right of the forum title it shows how many pages there are, all you have to do is click in the latest one.
Yes I know - I`m just being lazy, having got used to it being done automatically !

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:36 pm
by Great Plum
This is very similar to other fora I have used so the upgrade is fine by me... could we not have our avatars etc on the 'other side'?

I've never used a forum that has the avatars on the right...

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 1:16 pm
by jtaylor
Great Plum wrote:This is very similar to other fora I have used so the upgrade is fine by me... could we not have our avatars etc on the 'other side'?
Yes, that one was bugging me too so I've found a way to move them to the left.

J

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 1:22 pm
by englishangel
jtaylor wrote:
Great Plum wrote:This is very similar to other fora I have used so the upgrade is fine by me... could we not have our avatars etc on the 'other side'?
Yes, that one was bugging me too so I've found a way to move them to the left.

J
that's better, more logical as we are neither Cinese nor Arabic.

Who posted and what did they post?

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 1:40 pm
by jtaylor
Replaced the light icon:-
Image
with a darker one, so a little more obvious one:-

Image

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:55 pm
by Ajarn Philip
Well, I've saved this one up for a day or two, as I decided to wait and see if I was just a silly old fogey who liked things to stay the same, as my first reaction was 'AAAARGH!'

Conclusion after a couple of days? I was being mostly a silly old fogey, but any problems I had have been mentioned by others and, may I say, extremely efficiently addressed by Mr Taylor, to whom I direct a vast and genuine round of applause.




Well, I would like to, but the clapping hands icon seems to have vanished, so you'll have to settle for seasonal greetings and a virtual large scotch, which I'm sure you could use (and which I'm equally sure you have!)


:santa:

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:29 pm
by Katharine
Ajarn Philip wrote:Well, I would like to, but the clapping hands icon seems to have vanished,
You are not looking in the right place!! :clap: :clap: :clap: You need to click on View more smilies and then you can see it.

I find it intimadating to have that chap with the axe right beside me as I write a message!! I seem to remember Julian found that one after some comments of mine, so it is all my own fault!

Re: FORUM UPGRADE - now completed!

Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:46 pm
by Mrs C.
That`s much better Julian - many thanks! I can see where each post starts now!

Image