New Forum Feedback - Part II

OH no....  sorry.  i have never been there.  Although it gets ripped in here often.

I am speaking purely of function....  I am sure it is a widely used template/format on hundreds of sites.

-p

The gray and white alternating posts is still confusing to me.  Especially when there are quotes.

I don't see how you can say the page real estate is well used, approx 70% of the page space  is unused.

A very bad point IM( and several others)O.

Pat was referring to the JRMC forum (follow his link) as a good example of space efficiency.

Hook

Whoops sorry. 

As I've been reminded.

Once you are in the topic do we still have to have those RHS boxes that restrict the page width?
We have reply buttons top and bottom,(didn't the Eve forum have a reply button with every post?) 

Maybe the watch topic button along side the  topic title.
As for stars tags and sharing, certainly no interest/need to me, and I suspect many others, judging by other comments, if really needed perhaps these too can be repositioned.

I stress ONLY in the actual topic page, this would allow a much better spread over the page and reduce the amount of scrolling. Forums list and thread title pages can stay as per so that  adverts cartoons  or whatever new "facilities"   can be added as required.

There does seem an awful lot of double or treble coverage, with this format IMO.

BigH47, agreed. The scrolling is too much, and too much real estate being wasted on the right hand side of each page. Otherwise, the forum is coming along.

Dave

It would be interesting to see if the forum traffic has altered since the new format was introduced?

Paul said it has maintained  even increased, I suspect because of new members and late search facility implementation.

Now there is a reasonable search available may be the traffic flow figures could be re-assessed, Paul?

I had a conversation with a web developer I know, and who has a great reputation in my company (no names, but we sell business machines....internationally).

He told me that, unless the provider has done some very non-standard things with the data, that altering page format should pretty simple from a technical point of view.  So, that leads me to believe that the reason we are stuck with this inefficient format is hoopla's business model where customization is premium priced.

None of have the right to tell Naim how to spend their money.   But unless the mods say otherwise, I think we have the right to continue to criticize, over and over, how much this format negatively impacts our forum experience.  

I don't care what the post count numbers say.  I read this forum every day.  All I know that in the last days of the old format, it was all I could do to stay current on the number of interesting and varied topics.   That is simply not the case now.   BigH47 is right.   There was (and still are) a large number of redundant threads that only existed for lack of a search facility.   And many of us answered the same basic questions over and over instead of simply saying "go search for it"....but no more.

I was disappointed by Paul's last comment that format is what it is.   Again, I get it -- it is his money and his decision.   But I've not heard a single member say that they love the fact that there is all this wonderful blank space on the right, or that having to page all the time is fun.

IMHO, the number one way of attracting new members, not to mention bringing back the many forum veterans who remain on sabbatical, would be to give this playground a more adult look and feel.   Why not have a forum format that more closely aligns itself with the sophisticated, efficient design aesthetic of Naim's own products?

Hook

+ 1

I presume you mean the Uniti series, because at the moment the format is aligned with the 'more boxes the better' aesthetic

Jan

Good guess ROTF! 

By the way, not sure if ever said it, but.....glad you are back.  Kind of like getting a new Doctor Who....same super powers, different face.  

Hi Jan -

You, Pylod and Tog have gone on quite a bit recently over box count.  We get it.  It's not for everyone.   Am glad that Naim offers Uniti and UniQute as options.   And if those don't work for you guys, please feel free to try something else.  We will all look forward to hearing how it works out.

Personally, the Naim separates strategy has worked out very well for me.   It has given me the opportunity to improve my setup, over time, and in multiple, more manageable investments.  Could not be happier with the sound quality I have gotten by following the prescribed upgrade paths.

Besides, I enjoy seeing my little army of Naim boxes.  Every new box I've added has brought additional pleasure to my listening sessions.  So the more the merrier I say! 

Now, if we could only we could see a little bit of that same commitment to quality applied to how this forum is formatted....

Hook

Hi Hook,

I have nothing against the separates strategy. My main system is nServe / nDAC / XPS / 82 / Hicap / 250. The strategy has served me very well and I plan to continue it in that system. My apologies if my remarks here and elsewhere were taken as critical of that approach.

I'm running three other systems, and when I reviewed the Qute it opened my eyes to the beauty and simplicity of a single-box approach. A Qute will soon be added to one of the systems.

Just trying to keep an open mind.

Jan

Tell me I'm being naive, or don't have enough knowledge, but here goes. I've spent the last two months creating a website for my wife's business. I found some amazing software from some chaps in Brighton. I'm slowly learning CSS and HTML, yesterday I learnt how to edit the Plist for the site theme. I can go under the hood and change any parameter for anything in any page within minutes.

So, Hook says "altering page format should (be) pretty simple from a technical point of view". His statement is correct, is it not? Doesn't BigH47 make a valid point about not wasting page space, at least on the actual topic page? Why can't each post run the width of the container? If Naim wants to feature some advertising or promotions on any given page, there would be a number of ways of inserting extra content, and it doesn't necessarily have to be in the sidebar. There could be a brief javascript banner, etc.

Dave

Agreed 100% Jan.   It seem likes the state of audio technology is progressing quite rapidly, and staying on top of new trends, and new possibilities, is definitely smart thing to do!

Maybe I overreacted, but there does seem to have been a lot of posts recently suggesting Naim's separates strategy is nothing more than an evil marketing plot for maximizing wallet share.   And, in fact, that may be the end result!  But from I can tell, the design goal is less sinister.  Naim, like most high-end audio manufacturers, still seem to believe that separates remain the best way to achieve ultimate sound quality.

It will be fascinating to see what the impact Devaliet's D-Premier will be.   Perhaps it will turn Naim's entire design philosophy on its ear!   Maybe they, or perhaps NAD, have it right.  For those of us with large investments in vinyl, I am a bit leary of the whole A-D-A thing, but who knows, only time will tell.   Right now I am perfectly content, but like you say, it is wise to keep an open mind!

Hook

I don't think these discussions are right for this thread.

Agreed.  Please can we keep on thread here, otherwise important info might be missed.

Noted.

Richard, there have been many suggestions for using up the blank space on the right, and indications that page layout is under your (Naim's) control. Could you confirm this and perhaps indicate when this might be fixed. This would cut down on the repeated requests.

Thanks

Jan

Jan-Erik, not under my control but Naim's.  I'm not sure what plans there are for the space but I do recall Paul Stephenson commenting on it a few days ago on this very thread.  For my own part, I'd like to see the whole width of the page dedicated to threads...

I may have picked up what Paul said in one of his posts wrong Jan but I think NAIM intends to advertise in that space on the right.







Still wish I could get the toggles working in my Reply box but that doesn't look like it is going to happen anytime soon.

Paul stated that he did not intend to sell advertising for that space.  Which leaves open the possibility of Naim-related adverts, links and such. That the space hasn't been filled by now would indicate that plans are to use it for something other than threads.

I think what Paul said was that the page layout was a Hoop.la standard format and Naim couldn't change it. The space on the RHS is available for ads. Paul said Naim wouldn't sell this space to other parties, but might, as a longshot, do something with it themselves.

He also said that he could get Hoop.la to provide a "customised" page layout (eg a full page width) but this came at a premium rental. He indicated we were stuck with the standard offering for the time being, but things might change in the future.

Well, that's what I understood him to be saying, but I might well have got it all wrong.

Why not use the "search" facility to look up what he actually said!!!! (or just scroll back a page or two.)

Cheers

Don