I made a few changes... [Archive]

CityK

07-03-2006, 01:20 AM

Umm, something sure looks different!

Last thing I remember I was at the Pub pounding back all the shooters Bartender kept feeding me .... must of passed out ... woke up and didn't recognize the place ... if it wasn't for that orange ape standing behind the counter grinning, I wouldn't of known where I was ... ah, time to stumble home I guess. Top of the morning to ya Tea.

ddrueding

07-03-2006, 01:36 AM

Wow, looks good to me. Considering all the different UI changes I've been dealing with the last 2 days, I think I like it!

ddrueding

07-03-2006, 01:36 AM

I don't know where that sig came from...at least a year old (five systems ago)?

Handruin

07-03-2006, 01:40 AM

My signature came back also. I had mine disabled in the old forum and I think the import process re-enabled them all. Just go into your "user CP (http://www.storageforum.net/forum/usercp.php)" and delete the profile to get rid of it.

Handruin

07-03-2006, 01:41 AM

I'm also rebuilding the search index, so if you can't find anything, that's the reason. The re-indexing will take about an hour to complete.

ddrueding

07-03-2006, 01:45 AM

Just from poking about in here it looks really sweet! I'm liking the additional buttons and navigation features.

Handruin

07-03-2006, 01:50 AM

Spend some time looking through the user CP for other goodies such as instant e-mail notifications and WYSIWYG editors for posting. There is also an Archive (http://www.storageforum.net/forum/archive/index.php) view for your PDA. RSS will be enabled and I'll make a post on how to customize it.

Everyone will have an easier way to submit news to show up on the main page. I'll explain that later after I grab some sleep. There are tons of mods for this forum that I can try to implement down the road. I'll also be changing the style a bit more to personalize it for us. For now the default works fine until I can make a new one.

You may even notice you can edit your post now...the edit feature lasts for 5 minutes to give you time to correct a few things before locking it down.

ddrueding

07-03-2006, 01:55 AM

Thanks Handy, you rule!

Handruin

07-03-2006, 01:58 AM

Also, another note. The new forum will remember your unread posts when you logout. In the past there have been many times I haven't been able to read all the new posts before having to do something and then I lose track of the unread posts because the forum doesn't display them as new the next time I log in. Well now the forum will remember which threads you haven't yet viewed.

There are ways to mark all threads as read if you want to clear things out. Just click on the menu item for "Quick Links" and select Mark Forums Read (http://www.storageforum.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?do=markread).

ddrueding

07-03-2006, 02:07 AM

And this wysiwyg editor will cause me to have too much fun :joker:

Handruin

07-03-2006, 02:20 AM

The search index is complete and also the "similar thread" list is also done. You can see a similar thread list at the very bottom of the page when viewing a thread.

Tea

07-03-2006, 02:58 AM

But it's not green!

Tannin

07-03-2006, 03:03 AM

vBulletin eh? You've been thinking about that one for a long time, Doug. I imagine I can get used to the new colours OK.

(Stupid ape.)

Tea

07-03-2006, 03:04 AM

But I liked the green.

Tannin

07-03-2006, 03:04 AM

Stupid ape.

ddrueding

07-03-2006, 03:19 AM

It used to be green? I don't know if I can trust an ape on that one. IIRC it was the same blue it is now...

Handruin

07-03-2006, 07:55 AM

We can make it green again. It will take a little while to hunt down a theme that is green and suitable for Tea, but I'll do that for her. ;)

Bozo

07-03-2006, 09:18 AM

WOW.
That was a real shock this morning. I am viewing this on Vista and at first I thought something was really wacked out.
But, it really looks great. I like the blue. (I thought owls and apes were colour blind??)

Bozo

Handruin

07-03-2006, 09:24 AM

vBulletin eh? You've been thinking about that one for a long time, Doug. I imagine I can get used to the new colours OK.

(Stupid ape.)

I know it was a long time over due. I actually bought the vbulletin license 15 months ago. Personal issues in my life prevailed causing a delay in the change and I finally gave in last night and decided to commit to making the change-over. I still have plenty to do, but at least I got things going in the right direction.

paugie

07-03-2006, 09:45 AM

I am logging in on a Monday night. Surprised. But pleasantly so.
Thank you Mr. Handruin, sir.
New is mostly always good. Blue is also cool. But what I had before was orange. My 2nd daughter likes orange.

mubs

07-03-2006, 11:01 AM

Thank you, Handruin Sir.

I guess I ain't doin sumtin right. I did the "Mark Forums Read" thingie, and the "light" went out on all the forums thingies. But the individual threads in each forum are still lit up. Can you toss a clue my way? TIA!

Handruin

07-03-2006, 01:10 PM

You guys are too formal by calling me Sir. :)

mubs, can you take a screen capture and upload it to this thread? I'm not entirly sure I understand what is happening. (yes, thread attachments are now possible and allowed)

cjstaples

07-03-2006, 04:42 PM

All looks good from here, Mr Handruin sir... no issues to note.

The best changes happen when no one notices.
Sorta like the Pats offensive line...

=cjs

LunarMist

07-03-2006, 05:50 PM

Yikes, this new version creates a lot of difficulties! There is so much wasted space, huge line amd columns spacing, so much scrolling, etc. I hope the normal people like it and it works out for you though.

Handruin

07-03-2006, 05:59 PM

All of your concerns seems addressable via a new vbulletin skin (which you can select individually once it is created). I will work with you get make something more appropriate if you give things a chance.

CougTek

07-03-2006, 07:18 PM

I admit it's quite a shock. All those pastel tones... But I think I'll live.

CougTek

07-03-2006, 07:19 PM

Heh! Where's my face!

ddrueding

07-03-2006, 07:26 PM

User selectable skins? Can we create them? That would be way-cool.

Handruin

07-03-2006, 07:32 PM

Heh! Where's my face!

I have all the avatars...I need to get them uploaded...will do that soon.

Handruin

07-03-2006, 07:34 PM

User selectable skins? Can we create them? That would be way-cool.

It works much the same way as phpbb...I upload a new skin and you can select it for your account. What I could do is setup a demo account if you want to play around with the templates. If we like it, I can add it to the main forum.

LOST6200

07-03-2006, 08:13 PM

Glad you are bak. Last night I though it was some virus that has wipped out the datrabase or sonmtehing. :o One question - whay is the font of ny username so large. LOST6200 is so scary in teh large size. Another thingi is that time and date go wahcko when I log in. Tehre is probably some option that control this, but it seems to be the same was it was when not loggted i=n.

ddrueding

07-04-2006, 03:43 AM

Handruin: I'd love a chance to set up a clean, low-contrast, greyscale skin. If you would give me the opportunity somehow.

Lost: In your profile you can set the timezone, that should fix your clock ;)

Bozo

07-05-2006, 06:44 AM

When I open the home page, there are a lot of boxes with the small red 'X' in them. Like there are some pictures missing. This happens in IE6 and IE7.
Is this normal for the moment?

Bozo :-D

The JoJo

07-05-2006, 02:06 PM

Wow, what ever happened to this place? I'm gone for a while (vacation) and now there's a totally new facelifted site to visit!

Looks good, I like it!

J

LiamC

07-05-2006, 11:20 PM

Late to the party, but thanks Dog for taking the time.

LunarMist

07-06-2006, 01:20 AM

Late to the party, but thanks Dog for taking the time.

Dog? :o

Mercutio

07-06-2006, 09:11 AM

timwhit

07-06-2006, 09:41 AM

Will Rickards

07-06-2006, 11:09 AM

ddrueding

07-06-2006, 01:32 PM

There's a drop-down at the bottom called "Foum Jump" that does all the navigation. I've already begun using some of the features (including the quick reply that I'm typing now), and the forum software manages to not log me out all the time, which is nice.

New skin? Yes please, but I do like the software.

Handruin

07-06-2006, 01:35 PM

When I open the home page, there are a lot of boxes with the small red 'X' in them. Like there are some pictures missing. This happens in IE6 and IE7.
Is this normal for the moment?

Bozo :-D

It's a pathing issue on my end, I'll fix it. Firefox cached the images so I didn't notice.

Handruin

07-06-2006, 02:23 PM

I'm not sure I'm happy about the new board software, or at least the look and feel of it. I'm having a really hard time distinguishing new topics and new posts from old.
What does the new software actually do that the old software didn't?

I'll work on getting some better skins that make things easier.

As far as new features:

Some may be selfish, but vbulletin is easier to manage on my end than phpbb was.

As for new features, there is a much better template interface for customizing the board.

The plug-in system is far superiour to phpbb, so I'll be able to other features down the road without serious code hacking (which makes core upgrades much easier).

There is a better RSS feed generator (which I'll outline how to use it shortly).

The posting interface is better (IMHO) because you can use the wysiwyg editor (or if you want the plain editor interface the choice is yours) and even expand the text field box in which you type your post to give you more room to work.

You can now edit for 5 minutes after posting.

Collapsable forum sections to make the view smaller if you don't read certain sections.

Better thread & posting notifications.

Archived thread view for PDA access and improved archiving by search engines.

You can now post attachments to the thread.

I'll have more info to post later.

Handruin

07-06-2006, 02:26 PM

Merc, I am going to agree with that sentiment. I would also like to have some navigation at the bottom of the threads, not just at the top. I like to be able to navigate back to a specific forum after I finish reading a thread.

Is there still a way to spellcheck my posts?

I'll add those two items to my list of things. I'll have to search for a new spell check system...I also liked having that.

Handruin

07-06-2006, 02:29 PM

Not to gang up but yeah we definitely need a theme change at least.
The visual distinction between forums with new posts and those without is too busy. The whole UI is too busy. And the visual distinction of unread posts is only bold versus unbold text. No simple easy icon to tell.

I'll have to experiment with the new posts since your last visit feature if it has one.

Would you be able to post a screen capture of what you mean (with arrows or something to point to the problem)? This will help me to correct specifically the problem you mentioned. I'm not exactly clear what you mean about forums with new posts and forums without new posts...There is an icon, but perhaps I'm looking in the wrong location? I can work out a skin to make things easier, I just need to make sure I know exactly what the problem is.

Will Rickards

07-06-2006, 02:50 PM

Would you be able to post a screen capture of what you mean (with arrows or something to point to the problem)?

Absolutely but I have to wait for there to be new posts.

Mercutio

07-06-2006, 03:42 PM

Has anyone tried to use the new SF on an 800x600 screen?

I know exactly what Will is talking about. There's all kinds of extra weird buttons and wasted space. The default theme seems to use a much bigger font, which makes for lots of scrolling even on a high-res screen.
I'm at 1280x1024 right now and I can't seem to see more than a couple posts at a time because of that huge-ass user information panel on the left side of every post.
There's all kinds of weirdo buttons, and each post also has a 25(?) pixel tall dark blue bar across it.
There's this giant box that says "posting rules" and another waste of space called "Similar Threads" (both are thankfully at the bottom of the page).

I do notice that extra long URLs go into panels with their own scrollbars, but frankly I already had a tool to deal with that problem.
I'm not suggesting there aren't good reasons to use VBulletin, but right now I'm finding it more than a little annoying.

ddrueding

07-06-2006, 04:19 PM

I'm surfing at 1920x1280 at the moment and it looks great :P

The user bar on the right could be a bit smaller; I've already shrunk my avatar, removed the IM links, and removed the "age" line from the display in an attemp to shrink it.

It is a dificult balance, though. I like the information it provides but I don't like the space it consumes. And if you just take out all the unused space it looks very crowded and complex for the uninitiated (less of a problem for us, considering the number of old-timers here).

Handruin, if I were to go shopping for a skin for vbulitin, would it be easy to implement? Or is there significant customization required? I don't want to force more work upon you, but I would like to help get things streamlined a bit.

Mercutio

07-06-2006, 05:01 PM

Seriously, ddrueding, drop your desktop res to 1024x768 or 800x600 and tell me how happy you are then.

Handruin

07-06-2006, 05:24 PM

Handruin, if I were to go shopping for a skin for vbulitin, would it be easy to implement? Or is there significant customization required? I don't want to force more work upon you, but I would like to help get things streamlined a bit.

I'll address more of these concerns when I get home...as for vbulletin skins, as long as they are vbulletin 3.5.4 compliant...it's a piece of cake to add them. Once added, there will be an option in the lower left corner of the forum for selecting your own skin. You can also make it your default in the user control panel once it has been added. I can also setup a test forum if you'd like to play with creating your own (as we mentioned before).

As for the other skin areas that bother folks...I can customize the theme to fit your needs. I'll try starting a new thread to discuss it so we can make one or two skins to make folks happy (reduce fonts, remove buttons, remove wasted space...etc).

Bozo

07-06-2006, 05:35 PM

I'm at 1024X768 and I don't see any problems. Even the new/old thread setup seems okay. The more I use it the better I like it.
It's human nature; nobody likes change. We were all comfortable with the old setup. Give it some time. :)

Bozo :-D

PS: I do miss my 'Big Grin' though.

P5-133XL

07-06-2006, 05:56 PM

Lets give him time to adjust the user interface: this is a major change and everyone was used to the way it was...

Mercutio

07-06-2006, 07:47 PM

And while I'm venting... I either have to hit "Post Reply" at the tippy-top of the thread to make a new post, or hit "Quick Reply" and then "Advanced View" to type my reply; the Quick Reply Window, being the size of a postage stamp, is good for exactly naught.

Bozo

07-06-2006, 09:41 PM

There is a Post Reply button right below the bottom Avatar/Post count window on my screen.

Bozo :-D

Handruin

07-06-2006, 11:39 PM

As Bozo said,there is a reply button in the bottom left corner. You can collapse the quick reply and it will stay that way so long as you don't delete your cookies.

Handruin

07-06-2006, 11:48 PM

After we chat about things a bit here, can you let me know your ideas/concerns in this new thread (http://www.storageforum.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5770) so that I have a master list to work from?

sechs

07-12-2006, 01:29 AM

I have to say that I really dislike vBulletin. It has too many functions, and hides pretty much all of them. It adds complication where it is unnecessary.

Handruin

07-12-2006, 06:14 AM

If vbulletin hides all of its too many functions...how did you find them all? Should I bother inquiring for more detail in your vague complaint, or are you just being your normal self?

Mercutio

07-12-2006, 09:14 AM

I'm pretty disappointed with it as well.
I found a thread with two-day-old "new" posts just a moment ago. I never noticed it. I really can't tell read posts from unread.
The forum is harder to navigate (I miss the drop-downs that let me flit from forum to forum) and seems to have a lot of functionality that in no way interests me yet still manage to occupy space on my screen.

sechs

07-12-2006, 11:12 AM

If vbulletin hides all of its too many functions...how did you find them all? Should I bother inquiring for more detail in your vague complaint, or are you just being your normal self?

If you have a bored moment, maybe you can go through the four menus at the top of this thread and tell me why they are there.

I've had several other boards of which I am a member switch to this newer version of vBulletin, and none of them were better afterwards. Some were distinctly worse. It's a lot of bling and not a lot of utility.

ddrueding

07-12-2006, 12:49 PM

There are quite a few things I like (this quickreply is great). I'm confident that some mods to the skin will resolve the other complaints, which seem to be:

1. I not used to feature x, remove it so no-one can use it ever.
2. Feature x used to be here, and now it's there...I'm confused.