New format - What do you think?

You can find the location on their profile.
I actually like the softer colors easier on eyesite.

juct trin tha spzel khec. NOPE!

juct tryn tha speal chec in google chrome. It works. It must be a more current browser issue.

Sorry getting in on this a little late.

 

The new format isn't bad. But I would really like to see more contrast on the pages. All these colors seem to blend together and it's hard to tell where a post starts/ends, where quoting starts and ends in a thread etc..etc...

 

Maybe it's my old eyes but the pages are just hard to read.

I agree with this. I like the new layout, and its pretty easy to navigate, but I'd like to see more contrast in the colors.

Thanks for the continued feedback.

 

I just added more contrast between the two light blue colors for alternating rows. Does that help a little?

 

Still no word on when we can get Location added back to the info under a member's avatar and name... working on it!

I'm wondering if you have looked to see if traffic has increased or decreased since the new format?

 

I know that it has effected my participation/desire to visit the forum as often.

I'm not knocking your efforts to improve things, just making a statement of fact as it relates to my visits.

Vector,

 

Good question. The traffic statistics are measured slightly differently in this platform, but overall pageviews seem to be similar. Our forums generally range from about 1 to 2 million page views per month depending on the time of year.

 

Our average concurrent users seems to have increased a little. Usually I was seeing around 300+ as our highest number online at once, but since the move I am occasionally seeing 400+ (tonight I noticed 401 online).

 

Personally, I'm not thrilled with everything about the new format, though overall I think it's a slight improvement. But I will continue to work toward improving things we can change, and asking for improved features in the software.

 

1. What are a few of the things you miss the most, or wish we could change about the new format?
2. And can you share any examples of other forum where you like the format? I am still open to considering another conversion in the future, or "benchmarking" other sites for improvements in our software.

 

Thanks,

Julie 

MN Mom,

 

I just visited the site for the first time in years and I love it!  Great job with the new format!

The contrast change is an improvement. In addition from post to post, it's an improvement when previous posts are quoted.

Without a doubt I appreciate your efforts to help improve things. Some forums stay with the same platform and do not even update it to get out the bugs. This even though the updates many times are free.

Still when you go to a whole new platform it can change the "feel of the place" for both good and bad. As to your questions;

 

1.

A) I think I mentioned that not being able to see who is online when you log on is a big one. Now you get that side window that only shows avatars. So unless you are familiar with the picture or take the time to put the cursor over each individual one, you have no idea who is online. It also does not seem to show every member who is online even with just the picture(maybe it is space limited?).

B) Though I only have one poster on my ignore list, I now see every time they post, even though the specific message is not printed out. Before it was if they were not posting because you did not see where they had posted in the thread, so most of the time the only way you noticed they had posted was if someone else quoted them.

C) In the overall drop down menu of different sub-forums you could see maybe 15-20 different threads where as now with the large avatar of the OP, you may only see 5-10 depending on your browser and screen size/settings.

D) To a certain extent the same can be said for the primary forum drop down menu in addition to the aforementioned sub forums.

E) I'm not sure about the PM feature as I have not received any recently. It took some time to figure where it was and how to use it. I suspect most newbies will have the same problem unless they have come from the same type of platform.

 

2) I will PM you with a couple that are very popular and user friendly.

I actually didn't care much for the the new platform, but now I am really likin' it, and if this saves money than I am definetly all for it.  Pat yourself on the back!

 

Why does someone have to know who is logged on and who isn't?

 

I actually think there are a lot more new posters(or those that haven't posted in a while) the past 2 weeks than with the older platform.  For many this may be more user friendly. 

 

The only thing I don't like is when I get an email that someone responds to a topic I am following (when on my phone) I have to go through the whole topic to read the last post. I prefer the standard version to the mobile also.

 

The contrast is definitely an improvement

Vector,

A) Definitely agree, would rather see names than avatars for "Who's Online"... I have entered this request.
B) Not sure if we can do anything about the way the Ignore list works, but I'll ask.
C) I think you are referring to a page like this one:
http://community.hsbaseballweb.../forum/general-items
I actually can't remember how the old site compares to that one, but I don't think I can make the avatars smaller.
D) Yes, it seems like there are extra links which we don't need at the top of each dropdown  but I haven't found a way turn those off yet.
E) I'll see if I can find a way to make it easier to see the Dialog / PM feature.

Thanks for the PM with links!

TPM,

This one is also on my list:
"when I get an email that someone responds to a topic I am following (when on my phone) I have to go through the whole topic to read the last post."

Thanks for the feedback!

Julie

Julie the old site had  a search feature that allowed you to search for all new posts since your last visit. It was a great feature that allowed you not to miss any posts and it was based off your actual last vist...very customized to each individual. Have not seen that feature with the new format.

 

still like the new format great job

dad43,

 

Try this and let me know if it's close to what you are looking for:

 

1. In the top menu, mouse over Forums and then click All Topics.
2. On that screen, click the "Mark All Topics As Read" button on the left side of the screen.
3. Close this site and close your browser.
4. Re-open your browser and return to the site.
5. Repeat step 1 above... you probably won't see anything useful if you have returned immediately!
6. Come back later and Repeat step 1... You will see "NEW" in orange text below the buttons of the new, unread posts since your last visit.

Note: This will only work if you include step 2 to "Mark All Topics as Read"... the system seems to need that reset.

 

Please let me know if this is something like what you're looking for.

 

Julie

I hate to disagree, but I'm not a fan of the new layout.  What happened to the users signatures?  I also like being able to see all the different sections on the main page.

 

I'm a fan of the vBulletin forums.  They're widely regarded as the best for a reason...they're clean, simple, and have tons of options.

 

Anytime you make changes everyone won't be happy.  I'm glad that it seems like most people are liking it though...it's just not my preference.

Tried and it works......not as user friendly as the old site but this does work.....thanks!

Catching101,

 

The items you mentioned are some of my least favorite things about the new forum format also:

• Lack of user signatures (location and date they joined - I'm trying to get both back)
• Not as clean, and difficult to customize.

When we made this conversion, I needed to move quickly because I was going broke with the high monthly hosting cost ($800+/month) and it was quickest to change to a different plan with the same hosting company.

 

But I've been hearing good things about vBulletin and I will investigate to see if it has some of the higher end options we need like moderation, as well as solid technical support and robust hosting for our busy community.

 

Thanks,

Julie

MN-Mom,

 

Coming back to this thread after having used the new format for a bunch of months.  Big thumbs up.  I'm wondering if others are liking it too, and made all the adjustments.

Is it still possible to view all previous posts from a poster?  When I look at a poster's history, it only shows recent posts.  User error?

fenwaysouth,

 

Thank you, I'm glad it's feeling more comfortable for you. I'm getting used to the new format, and our number of users online at any time has stayed higher than the old site, so I'm guessing that most folks are at least not hating it. But there are still some things I miss about the old site.

 

cabbagedad,

 

You should be able to see all posts by a member, including from the old site (many years o fposts). Click the little "gingerbread man" by the member's name, then click "View All Posts by (Name)".  When the next page opens, I usually change Sort By to Date, then click search again. If you scroll down the list of the member's posts, you'll see a Next link to go to the next page of their posts. There are no page number links though, so that part isn't super.

 

Julie

       
       
Jerry,
Guilty as charged... "Middle of Nowhere"!
Almost put, "Middle of a Cornfield, in the Middle of Nowwhere"!
Cause, 2013's High School was a Consolitated Unit School District with the consolidation of 8 small rural Communities, located at the most centralized location possible... directly surrounded by Cornfields! Directly located between 3 large cities. Son attended a Pitcher's event of PG's at your invitation. Attending a Division II school as a Pitcher, majoring in Sport's Management, Business, & Law. We reside in Central IL.

Just in case anyone wonders, I cleaned up this thread by deleting the last handful of posts. Just some back and forth that didn't seem to be making anyone feel very happy...  

 

Julie

Thank you.

 

Bob

Thank you, Julie! As if you don't have enough on your plate!