This Forum is Awful for Occasional Viewing!!!

Posted by: Mike Hanson on 05 September 2001

Over the past few days I've checked onto the forum only a few times, and I've re-noticed a real deficiency. Prior to the recent software upgrade, there was a little marker next to each message. It was either white or yellow, indicating whether that messages was new since my last visit. (I'm talking message markers, not threads markers which do work.) This makes it very difficult to know which messages are new, forcing me to watch for a guessed cutoff date & time. It was so much easier to quickly scan for the first lit message marker.

Why was this one useful forum feature removed? I know that it was sometimes flaky, but at least it worked most of the time. Now the occasional reader is cast adrift in the detritus of messages that populate this sea of shared perspective and experience.

Please bring back the "New Message" markers! While you're at it, put the member information back in the left-hand column, and move the message "emoticon" to sit beside the subject where it belongs. Finally, move the message status information to the bottom of the message, rather than the top. IOW, make it look the way it did before. It was much easier to read and follow messages.

Different is not better. In this case, it's much worse!

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 05 September 2001 by Alex S.
Then start Viewing it all the Time Again!!!
Posted on: 05 September 2001 by BrianD
quote:
Please bring back the "New Message" markers! While you're at it, put the member information back in the left-hand column, and move the message "emoticon" to sit beside the subject where it belongs. Finally, move the message status information to the bottom of the message, rather than the top. IOW, make it look the way it did before.

Why don't you say what you really think....that you'd like a return to the OLD FORUM SOFTWARE. big grin

Brian

Posted on: 05 September 2001 by matthewr
Mike,

You could just click the "New Since Your Last Visit" link which gives a full list of messages since your last visit and just shift-click to jump to the right place in each thread. Now these links work properly (ie even if not on page one) this feature seems pretty sorted to me.

Matthew
Fully expecting Mike to have some obscure objection to this feature

Posted on: 05 September 2001 by Mike Hanson
quote:
Fully expecting Mike to have some obscure objection to this feature

I just checked out that screen, and it's quite a mess! It looks like the messages are sorted by area and thread, so I could probably get by with that. It was tough to tell, though, because the thread name was buried within the subject. It should really have its own column. Besides, I would still prefer to drill down from the threads list.

What I don't understand is why it was made more difficult and noisy with this recent change. Our prior solutions were far more elegant (starting with the old forum, of course).

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 05 September 2001 by matthewr
I rest my case ;-)
Posted on: 05 September 2001 by John C
"Now the occasional reader is cast adrift in the detritus of messages that populate this sea of shared perspective and experience."

Mike. Dear God leave the English language alone.

John

Posted on: 05 September 2001 by Mike Hanson
quote:
Dear God leave the English language alone.

I suppose that I could have used "flotsam" instead of "detritus" to make my lost-at-sea metaphor more consistent. wink

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 05 September 2001 by John C
Although now that I read it again it has that saloon bar philosophy ring to it that I favour myself after my usual few too many.

John
n smile l

Posted on: 05 September 2001 by Mick P
Mike

I thought you were taking a break. Your daily rate is going back up again.

I sometimes think you are so obsessed with this forum that you keep your eyes on the screen, even whilst engaged in the act of copulation.

Regards

Mick

Posted on: 05 September 2001 by Sproggle
Thank -=><=- you're back! big grin

After failing miserably in my task as self appointed -=>Temporary Mike<=- I resigned and tried to organise a forum election with a more suitable range of candidates. Surprisingly, Vuk's cat did not win - in fact the highest placed contender, a NAP500, did not gain enough votes to win.

Luckily for me, Jonathan Ribee proved to be the perfect candidate, and I unanimously voted him the temporary you. Even more luckily for me, he seems not to have noticed yet - so he can't resign. big grin

Unfortunately, neither has he attempted to make any -=>MH<=- - like posts. The truth is that none of us can do it.

You've got to come back permanently, Mike, we need you!

--Jeremy

Posted on: 05 September 2001 by Mike Hanson
I'm not back fulltime. I had a few spare minutes during a big build, and I had nothing more important to do during the wait.

Back to work! <Crack goes the whip>

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 05 September 2001 by Martin Payne
quote:
Originally posted by Matthew Robinson:
You could just click the "New Since Your Last Visit" link which gives a full list of messages since your last visit and just shift-click to jump to the right place in each thread. Now these links work properly (ie even if not on page one) this feature seems pretty sorted to me.


Matthew,

this sounds fine, but when I click the "New since your last visit" link I actually get the "Today's active topics" screen. Also, the shift-click that I normally use doesn't position me within the thread, although right-click & "Open in new window" does.

I'm probably missing something, since I'd not seen the "New since your last visit" link until it was pointed out - I never use that page.

As far as I'm concerned, the behaviour you describe from the "New since your last visit" page should be what it does from the main topic list. Why would you want anything else???

cheers, Martin

Posted on: 13 September 2001 by Stephen Rodrigues
Guys, the Naim forum is just cool. That includes the software too. Anyone wanting an example of bad forum should see the Honest John motoring site. The site itself is fine, the info indespensible, but it takes about an hour to read through a thread because each reply requires to click a hyperlink to read it. Once you've read it, it's another half hour clicking the back button on the browser to get back to see the list of threads. So let's be thankful for the Naim site, eh?
Posted on: 14 September 2001 by Mike Hanson
quote:
click a hyperlink to read it. Once you've read it, it's another half hour clicking the back button on the browser to get back to see the list of threads.

It sounds like there's an "auto jump" in there somewhere. Instead of just hitting the [Back] button on the browser, try hitting the dropdown arrow beside it. This shows your recent history of locations. Select the second choice on the list to jump over the auto-jump.

BTW, just because the Naim forum could be worse, doesn't mean it shouldn't be better.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Posted on: 14 September 2001 by Stephen Rodrigues
Sorry, I use AOL's browser rather than the (much nattier) Internet Explorer, which for some reason refuses to co=operate with AOL on my PC (I'm a hi-fi dealer not a computer geek. Shame really, I could have been much richer and able to afford the £40,000 Krell LAT-1 speakers I covet SOOOOOOO badly!)
Posted on: 14 September 2001 by Greg Beatty
...on this.

The Forum seems to work well from where I sit.

Messages are displayed properly and with a color scheme that is easy on this eyes (I am AMAZED at the number of forums out there that have colors/light/dark that is hard to look at!!!) and loads quicky (sufficient bandwidth).

Not beyond improvement, but quite good.

Given that Naim was forced to move away from the old software, they made a wonderful choice here, IMHO.

- GregB

Insert Witty Signature Line Here

Posted on: 14 September 2001 by Mike Hanson
quote:
Internet Explorer, which for some reason refuses to co=operate with AOL on my PC

I heard it said many times that the AOL software sabotages a person's computer, making it rather difficult to ever use anyone else's software without a full reformat and reinstallation of everything (except AOL, of course wink). I'm glad that I've never tried it myself.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-