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Opinions of the Latest Forum Upgrade


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#1 John T Roberts

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Posted 23 November 2012 - 11:07 AM

I was curious what you all thought of the new forum design and upgrade. Please post your comments.

#2 John S.

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Posted 23 November 2012 - 01:49 PM

Seems to work access-wise as well as the older version if not better. If its also more hacker resistant then that too is a pluse. Two thumbs up, IMO!

#3 Austin55

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Posted 23 November 2012 - 05:27 PM

No problems here. If I had to critique something, I feel like the banner at the top is a bit boring, its kinda just a picture and some text. I really like http://www.guidetosfot.com/ because it's got a bit of everything and it's very functional.

#4 John T Roberts

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Posted 24 November 2012 - 10:16 AM

One nice new feature is that you can put up to 10 tags for the thread. Then when a bunch of threads have that common tag, you can click it and all of the related topics show up. You can also click the box to "Use First Tag as Prefix". That will make the first tag appear in a gray box in front of the thread title then you look at each Forum heading. To edit an existing thread in this way, you have to be the thread starter and you must use the full editor. A moderator or administrator can also edit in this fashion. I have already flagged the City Place and Project Sundance threads with "Downtown" as a prefix. I have also added other tags like "Old Tandy Center", "Sundance Square", and "Construction Photographs" as a common one between the two. Also, a the bottom of each thread, five latest related topics show up.

#5 Doohickie

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Posted 24 November 2012 - 09:23 PM

I like it; definite improvement over the old one.
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#6 John T Roberts

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Posted 24 November 2012 - 09:43 PM

It seems that every version is a definite improvement over the previous one. If you all want to look at a similar forum for a different city, check out http://www.houstonar...cture.info/haif

#7 gdvanc

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Posted 24 November 2012 - 11:51 PM

I like the changes overall. I like the look. And the tags. And the "Like this". And that the "fast reply" is automatically open and shows the full editing toolbars. I also like the changes to the tool for approving or deleting new member requests. Anything to make that easier is good.

#8 Brian Luenser

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Posted 25 November 2012 - 11:47 AM

I like the new setup well too. But the like button does not work for me. When I hit it I get an error stating I have already reached my maximum positive votes for the day. (Makes my wife laugh hard as she knows me too well) BTW, I get that message while trying to cast my first vote.

Thanks John for doing all of this. You are too good to us.
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#9 John T Roberts

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Posted 25 November 2012 - 12:36 PM

Brian, it must be some setting, because I tried to like your last comment, and it said that I have reached my maximum number of votes, as well. I will see if I can fix it.

#10 John T Roberts

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Posted 25 November 2012 - 12:52 PM

Yes, I had the "Like" and "Unlike" feature turned off. Everyone may now like or unlike a post up to 100 times per day.

#11 GenE

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Posted 25 November 2012 - 08:49 PM

Down at the bottom of the page, is a "mark community read" selector. I think that on most other sites that I follow, you are able to mark a topic as read without marking the whole site as read. This comes in handy if you are reading posts, and have to leave and come back. You wouldn't necessarily want to mark the whole thing as read, if you haven't fully finished reading.

Am I making any sense?

GenE



Edited to say:

Ya know? Never mind. I think I understand how it works in the directory now.

GenE

Edited by GenE, 25 November 2012 - 10:07 PM.


#12 Owen

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Posted 26 November 2012 - 01:29 AM

One thing I've noticed about the new upgrade is that it does not automatically readjust to fit the screen if the screen zoom size is greater than 150%; indeed, even at 150%, a little shifting from left to right is needed to bring the text portion of posts into full fiew. I don't know if anything can be done to fix this.

#13 David Love

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Posted 26 November 2012 - 07:10 PM

Overall, I like it, ...a move in the right direction for sure.

Better Business Bureau:  A place to find or post valid complaints for auto delerships and maintenance facilities. (New Features) If you have a valid gripe about auto dealerships, this is the place to voice it.


#14 Ron Payne

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Posted 27 November 2012 - 10:51 AM

Is there still a way to limit the number of posts that show up on a page? I used to have it set to 5 so I didn't have to wait so long for all the photos to load, but now it seems to go back many, many posts and takes forever to look at any new posts on my Clunk-O-Matic 5000 computer...
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#15 GenE

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Posted 01 December 2012 - 09:56 PM

The last couple of days, I have had trouble making the all content read button work. Sometimes, it has a pop-up of selections, and works. Other times, I get a Mark Community Read tag (pop-up) but nothing happens.

By the way, I am speaking of the process in the Index, not within a forum post.

#16 djold1

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Posted 12 December 2012 - 07:53 PM

What am I doing wrong? Most of the time in New Content the topic starts at the beginning post and I have to click on the last read. AZfter I read it and leave, the next I want ot look at it, the same thing over again. Why can't I get a setting where whatever I want to read goes to the last read or even the last post. It's tiresome doing all the clicks and the scrolls...

Grumpy

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#17 John T Roberts

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Posted 12 December 2012 - 08:14 PM

If you click "Mark Community Read" a menu should come up to select "Mark All As Read". If you click that, all of the new content will be cleared. Grumpy, aka djold1, when you call up the "New Content", click on the date and time of the last post. That should jump you to the last post.

#18 johnfwd

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Posted 13 December 2012 - 12:25 PM

I like to compose script on Microsoft Word, then copy to the post. Strangely though, the type size when copied here is very small, almost agate. Before the upgrade, the copied type automatically adjusted to your website format (even though the MS word type would be "Calibri 11"). I guess I'll just have to compose script directly at the post site. Any idea why this happening?

#19 johnfwd

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Posted 13 December 2012 - 12:43 PM

Sorry to bother you. Found the editing function to correct font style and size. But didn't have to do that before the upgrade (automatic format adjustment?)

#20 John T Roberts

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Posted 27 December 2012 - 12:25 PM

I made the upgrade to the latest Forum Version this morning.  I have been on vacation all of this week and I have been staying home to clean house, work in the yard, work on the Forum, and work on the web site. However, I haven't had any time to work on the web site or the Facebook page, nor have I had much time to take pictures.  I have off until the day after New Year's, and I can already see that I'm not going to be able to accomplish everything.  However, if you have any issues with the forum, please let me know.  I know that some of the last comments have not been addressed.  As you all know, I have been under the weather during the month of December with a bad cold that I could not shake. It took until taking my remaining vacation days and having the time off to sleep in and not have the stress of working to finally get well.  I started feeling much better on Christmas eve.  I'm sure most of you don't want to know about my cold, so post your concerns and issues with the forum and the upgrade, and I will try to get them resolved before I go back to work on Wednesday.



#21 Joshw

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Posted 28 December 2012 - 09:56 AM

I'd love to see more customized design (willing to help with that if interested), but otherwise this one is much more pleasing to the eyes and easier to use. 



#22 JBB

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Posted 28 December 2012 - 11:10 AM

It may be an issue with the computer I'm using, but when I quote a post, I'm not able to add any text below the quoted text box.  I also can't figure out how to display the plain text code where I could presumably fix that problem.



#23 Thurman52

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Posted 30 December 2012 - 08:55 AM

Love new design but curious if anyone else is having trouble with speed of loading? Seems much slower than before.

#24 Austin55

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Posted 30 December 2012 - 11:21 AM

^Now that you mention it it does seems slower to load than all my other sites.

 

Edit-Editing, posting and liking things takes forever...



#25 John T Roberts

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Posted 30 December 2012 - 11:39 AM

I have a fast connection, but I have noticed that it is a little slower than it was before. I looked to see if there was a way that I can speed up performance, and there is a way. However, we would lose the searching capabilities and the Personal Messaging feature if I made this change. I also know that deleting old and non-popular threads would speed it up some.

#26 Thurman52

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Posted 30 December 2012 - 11:44 AM

Searching is a good feature, personal messages I don't use them. Yea I too have super fast charter connection so quicker is better to me.

#27 GenE

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Posted 30 December 2012 - 09:02 PM

I am getting an email notification for each new post or post reply.  I used to just get one notification a night for all the new posts.  Any idea on how I can eliminate the redundant notifications?



#28 John T Roberts

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Posted 30 December 2012 - 09:58 PM

GenE, after you have logged in, your screen name should be in the upper right hand corner of the page. To the right of your name, there is a downward arrow. Click that arrow and a dialog window will pop up. Click "My Settings". When My Settings come up, on the lower left is a menu. Click "Notification Options". You will have a lot of choices to make, but your particular issue is addressed under "Topics and Posts". The first box and selection is for notification frequency. If you still want to be notified daily, select "Daily Digest". There are other options within that box. There are also other options about being notified, if you wish to change them.

#29 johnfwd

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Posted 08 January 2013 - 12:55 PM

I know this is a forum with constant change-over of posts, and I respect that.  But this morning I replaced a previous day's post about a favorite restaurant on the local history thread with an obituary remembrance honoring of one of Fort Worth's finest ladies (Ruth Carter Stevenson).  Only to have it replaced within two hours by the same post about that favorite restaurant.  Come on, people, can't you show a little respect here!



#30 John T Roberts

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Posted 08 January 2013 - 02:28 PM

Johnfwd, unfortunately, replacement of the last post is the way the forum has been set up.  Yes, it might have been more respectful for the person that posted on restaurants to hold off until after Mrs. Stevenson's funeral.  Depending on how they entered the forum or posted, they might not have even known that they replaced a thread about a civic leader.  There is an easy fix to this.  An adminstrator or moderator can make a thread always be at the top of the list within a forum.  However, if someone posts on another topic within that forum, the index page will list the newest thread first, so Mrs. Stevenson's Obituary may not always appear on the index sheet.   This is the best that I can do, and I will leave it as a pinned topic until after the funeral.



#31 JBB

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Posted 08 January 2013 - 02:46 PM

I assume I would be the guilty party.  I went to the first thread with unread posts and started there like always.  I honestly didn't see the Ruth Carter Stevenson thread until I had already posted.  How long do I need to stand with my nose in the corner?



#32 David Love

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Posted 08 January 2013 - 07:54 PM

Looks like its features are a lot more useful once you get the hang of it.


Better Business Bureau:  A place to find or post valid complaints for auto delerships and maintenance facilities. (New Features) If you have a valid gripe about auto dealerships, this is the place to voice it.


#33 djold1

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Posted 08 January 2013 - 07:58 PM

After using the new forum software fort a while, it's OK if not very up to date compared to the other means of internet communication that we deal with constantly. This is not John's fault... it is the stodginess of the Forum software producers who are barely into the 21st century...

 

However, the thing most lacking for me is the inability to have a setting that will ALWAYS bring up the last post to a given article and always mark it read after I have looked at it.  I don't like returning to the beginning of the thread and then doing another back to get to the New Content list.. 

 

Keystrokes count with me...


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The Lost Antique Maps of Fort Worth on CDROM
Website: Antique Maps of Texas
Large format reproductions of original antique and vintage Texas & southwestern maps
 


#34 John T Roberts

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 01:17 PM

Yes, forums are internet dinosaurs. However, a few are still popular and I still don't know of a place where you can find so much information on our great city all in one place. 

 

Maybe some of the others have a better solution to your keystroke problem. 



#35 John T Roberts

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Posted 12 January 2013 - 03:40 PM

I just posted all of the meeting dates in 2013 for the Historic & Cultural Landmarks Commission, Zoning Commission, and the Downtown Design Review Board.  These are posted in the Community Events Calendar.  I put an announcement on the main page of every forum that lists all of the City Council Meetings for the year with the varying times they occur.



#36 mssuzieq

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Posted 18 January 2013 - 02:29 AM

It is being a bit cranky with me tonight... every time I try to post it will let me type it in there but when I hit POST, it doesn't seem to work... so I copy my text (because I am too lazy to retype it) and reload the page... most of the time that works... Just like trying to post this.... arg...


Sometimes it takes more than one tank of gas in your bike to clear your head....


#37 johnfwd

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Posted 31 January 2013 - 11:30 AM

The forum probably cannot resolve this problem, but is there any way that access to the Star-Telegram articles downloaded in the forum can be universal to all members regardless of whether or not they subscribe to the Star-Telegram?  What's happening, as I experience it, is that some of your members are subscribers and download the S-T articles.  Then maybe others, like myself, are not subscribers and cannot access the articles because S-T has now instituted its firewall.  Any thoughts? 



#38 John T Roberts

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Posted 31 January 2013 - 01:27 PM

I would say that there would be absolutely no way to accomplish that.  The paper has decided that you must pay for the ability to look at their content; therefore, the only thing this forum can do is to let its members know of the stories. 



#39 Russ Graham

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Posted 31 January 2013 - 02:50 PM

... a setting that will ALWAYS bring up the last post to a given article and always mark it read after I have looked at it.  I don't like returning to the beginning of the thread and then doing another back to get to the New Content list.. 

 

It took me a while to figure this out... if you look at the "New Content" screen, it's a list of article titles.  At the right edge of the screen by each title, is listed the name of the last person to comment in that article, and the date and time when they posted.  If you click on the date/time, it will take you right to the most recent post in the article.  Then the back-arrow or the backspace key will take you right back to the New Content screen. 



#40 djold1

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Posted 31 January 2013 - 05:40 PM

Thanks John.. I'll give it a try..


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Website: Antique Maps of Texas
Large format reproductions of original antique and vintage Texas & southwestern maps
 


#41 John T Roberts

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Posted 08 February 2013 - 03:22 PM

Pet Peeve:  Everyone is still using the quote button way too much.  This is unnecessary.  I'm actually considering disabling the quoting feature all together if we don't start directly replying to the threads.  You do not need to quote the post immediately previous.  When other people do it, then five or six previous posts are all quoted. 

 

After the last post, there is a "Reply to this topic" box.  Scroll down to that point (it's not far) and start typing.  At the very bottom, there is a "Post" button.  If you hit that, what you just typed will be entered.



#42 johnfwd

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Posted 14 March 2013 - 07:57 AM

Curious new way for advware technology to link into into a website.  In one of my posts here, an ad called "Solid Savings" tried to link by blue highlighting such words as "video" and "problem" .  I had to click on the word to retrieve the ad, then close it out, so the ad wouldn't appear as a link in my post.



#43 John T Roberts

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Posted 09 April 2013 - 09:09 PM

I just made an incremental upgrade to the forum.  I don't know if you will notice any difference, but I wanted to let all of you know that I'm working to keep the board up to date.  It's getting late, so I will replace the banner with the skyline photograph some time this week.  I was also on Magnolia shooting a few night shots a little earlier.



#44 djold1

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Posted 10 April 2013 - 08:50 AM

I appreciate your work on the board.  The work arounds you gave me some time ago, particularly the ability to select the most recetn posting has made a big difference.  Thanks...


Pete Charlton
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Website: Antique Maps of Texas
Large format reproductions of original antique and vintage Texas & southwestern maps
 


#45 John T Roberts

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Posted 10 April 2013 - 12:42 PM

Pete, you're welcome and I'm glad that the tips made your forum visits a little more pleasant.



#46 John T Roberts

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Posted 13 June 2013 - 09:01 PM

I made an incremental upgrade to the forum tonight.  I just wanted to let all of you know that I'm trying to keep it updated as frequently as I can.  You probably won't notice the difference.  This was more about fixing bugs than anything else.



#47 johnfwd

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Posted 05 August 2013 - 07:18 AM

One irritation about Forum navigation is that a multi-page thread begins at the first page, then you have to keep clicking to get to the most recent page.  At first you see "1, 2, 3, Next" but find out it's really four or five pages in length (so you have to click some more).  Much easier for the reader if the most recent page would come up first, my opinion.  This "problem" (if it is one) may have been brought up before but I didn't see it previously posted here.  Noticed that the Houston forum has the same scheme, so maybe no one else but me gets irritated.



#48 elpingüino

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Posted 05 August 2013 - 07:48 AM

This took me a while to figure out, but it's really handy: If you click on the date/time to the right of the thread name (beneath the contributor's name and profile photo), it will take you directly to the most recent post.



#49 djold1

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Posted 05 August 2013 - 08:54 AM

The date/time thing is one John Roberts mentioned a while ago.  Before that I had pretty much stopped reading the Forum because I had to go through so much to get the to the latest.  It's been a big help...

 

But as someone that has developed software and done some sys analysis, I can't believe that there isn't a single button that SAYS "Most Recent Post" or something. When John or someone has to "discover" a hidden function or action that is useful, then that indicates that there is some thoughtless program design going on.  In the same way, How much problem would there be in adding something to the Settings that automatically displays the latest topics rather than having to select <one more click> them after the main page comes up?

 

To my mind, good design means requiring the minimum number of clicks to get to the content that I'm interesteed in.  With touch screens, design becomes even more important  Many new laptops, even inexpensive ones, now offer touchscreens and pad-type operation.  And of course all the Androids and Ios's are everywhere...

 

None of these problems has anything to do with John.  Forum software needs to move into the 21st century and the design needs to be more professional. 


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#50 GenE

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Posted 05 August 2013 - 03:37 PM

At the top of the main page, you should see an icon or button that says:  VIEW NEW CONTENT.  This will pull up all the posts since you last read the forum AND closed the forum by finding and clicking the MARK COMMUNITY READ button at the bottom of the screen.

 

Additionally, there are dots/stars/bullet points to the left of the topics.  If you will double click on these bullet points,  you will be taken to the most recent post.

 

GenE Shockley






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