New forum software

[windshieldbug]

maybe I'm just dumb (has been known to happen).... but I can't tell which topics have new posts since my last login.... that was a really great feature....
RC

Last visit was: Thu May 01, 2008 2:08 pm It is currently Thu May 01, 2008 8:21 pm

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[ThomasDodd]

but I can't tell which topics have new posts since my last login....

I though I had seen a page with this, but now I cannot find it.

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The red color denotes that there are new posts.
The little orange and black icon next to the title is a link to the first new/unread post in the thread.


I think the star means you are subscribed (ie. get reply notifications) to the thread.
If the text is rolling in the icon it's a "hot topic"

This is subscribed with no new posts.

Clipboard03.jpg

Next is an sticky topic.

Clipboard04.jpg

I I believe that one is locked as well (no new posts).

[ThomasDodd]

Oops, I found this on the phpBB help forum.
**********************************
Select all
This is a summary of the new topic icons and what they mean.

Two general points
- Red icons are unread items, blue/grey are read
- A star on any thread means you have posted in it

- Announcement
- Sticky thread
- Read topic
- Unread topic
- Read topic that you have posted in
- Unread topic that you have posted in
- Hot topic
- Locked thread
- Moved thread
- Forum with subforums (which have been read)
- Forum with subforums (which are unread)
- Link forum
- Attachment
- Go to last post in the thread
- Go to last unread post in the thread
- Subforum read
- Subforum unread

[ThomasDodd]

This looks promising for firefox users.
http://userstyles.org/styles/6821

Haven't tried it yet though.

[Lew]

Oops, I found this on the phpBB help forum.
**********************************
Select all
This is a summary of the new topic icons and what they mean.

Two general points
- Red icons are unread items, blue/grey are read
- A star on any thread means you have posted in it

- Announcement
- Sticky thread
- Read topic
- Unread topic
- Read topic that you have posted in
- Unread topic that you have posted in
- Hot topic
- Locked thread
- Moved thread
- Forum with subforums (which have been read)
- Forum with subforums (which are unread)
- Link forum
- Attachment
- Go to last post in the thread
- Go to last unread post in the thread
- Subforum read
- Subforum unread

Now I'm sure it must be my colorblindness, but the difference between the icon representing threads that I have read and those that I haven't is almost imperceptible to me. It was much easier to tell the difference with the old software.

Also, can anyone tell me how to navigate between threads in this software without going back to the main index each time?

[tubatom91]

The side bar ad's are hanging over on top of the posts for me. the G&W "play naked" that is on the right side of the is fine but other ones (I know that it is red) hang over and partially cover the Quote button.

[tofu]

[ThomasDodd]

Perhaps it is only me, but it makes me sign in every time even though I have marked for it to log me on automatically. This happens with both Safari and Firefox.

Firefox here and no issue with that.

Also no issues with the add covering extra.

[ThomasDodd]

This looks promising for firefox users.
http://userstyles.org/styles/6821

Haven't tried it yet though.

Here's what this looks like:

I'm not a fan....

Maybe a bit too minimalist. Perhaps the PDA guys will like it?

userstyles has several other phpBB styles. But I think they need edited for the particular site you want to use them with? Haven't had time to look more.

[WoodSheddin]

TubeNet is now unreadable in IE which came on my Treo. I will see about getting a barebones theme for PDA users. Might be a few days though. Things here are stable enough that I might take the weekend off of TubeNet stuff.

BTW, since the move to phpBB3 and the corresponding Captcha hacks I created and implemented, TubeNet has had exactly ZERO spam account creation requests get through. Before there were literally dozens each day. New accounts management is a sigh or relief. Before none were getting approved, but there was a LOT of manual sorting. Now there is basically none.

[Rick Denney]

WE need some way to get rid of, or at least move the Google ad on the right hand side of the page, as it is obscurring part of many posts.

Hint: Firefox; Adblock.

Rick "google is your friend" Denney

[Rick Denney]

Perhaps it is only me, but it makes me sign in every time even though I have marked for it to log me on automatically. This happens with both Safari and Firefox.

Make sure you have cookies enabled.

Rick "not seeing the problem (with Firefox) since Day Two" Denney

[Rick Denney]

I'm not at all colorblind (at least that I'm aware of), and I still think it is difficult to tell the difference between the two at a glance. If I'm not mistaken the old software highlighted the whole row of the topic instead of just having a different-colored icon.

I don't have this problem at all. Red and Blue are about as opposite as it gets. Those who are red-blue colorblind might have the problem, and some of those people might be old monitors with fried phosphors, cheap laptop LCD's, or monitors connected through crappy VGA cables. Some monitors in particular don't display red well at all. If you are not colorblind, try downloading monitor calibration software and see if you can improve the accuracy of your color display.

But I also know that when I provide electronic documents to the Feds that are required to comply with Section 508 requirements for readers with disabilities, I am not allowed to use color as the only means of displaying information, unless I provide an alternative text description that also explains the display.

Rick "who would rather scroll than squint" Denney

[ThomasDodd]

I'm not at all colorblind (at least that I'm aware of), and I still think it is difficult to tell the difference between the two at a glance. If I'm not mistaken the old software highlighted the whole row of the topic instead of just having a different-colored icon.

Not that I remember. The one page that I still have open with the old interface only shows the new posts icon.
But, they were a bit clearer, and easier to differentiate.

Clipboard03.jpg

and some of those people might be old monitors with fried phosphors, cheap laptop LCD's, or monitors connected through crappy VGA cables. Some monitors in particular don't display red well at all. If you are not colorblind, try downloading monitor calibration software and see if you can improve the accuracy of your color display.

Agree, display and cabling issues could be a big part of it.
The old "white page" vs a "tan page" was easier to notice. Color or no color is easier.
(what color was that? A brown? RBG=246/191/136)


The icons are just images, but changing them is difficult later.
Since prosilver is the default theme, updates to the forum software will overwrite the changes.
Make a clone, then editing means tracking changes in the theme for bug fixes and such.
Both are a big pain for the webmaster, that's why so many forum just use the default theme.

[sloan]

... Red and Blue are about as opposite as it gets.

Rick exposes his bias as a physicist rather than a student of human color perception. Red and Blue are actually fairly close. Red-Green or Blue-Yellow are much further apart (perceptually) than Red-Blue.

But I also know that when I provide electronic documents to the Feds that are required to comply with Section 508 requirements for readers with disabilities, I am not allowed to use color as the only means of displaying information, unless I provide an alternative text description that also explains the display.

Another solution is to always have an INTENSITY contrast in addition to the chromatic difference. Perhaps the worst possible design uses colors that are all the same intensity and vary only in hue/saturation. This was the key attribute of "psychedelic" posters from the '60s.

Best, of course, is for all symbols to differ in shape, intensity, and color (in that order).

Rick "who would rather scroll than squint" Denney

I would rather have the choice - hence my call for a wider RANGE of sizes. What works on a light-weight laptop is not what works on the 40" wall-mounted display.

[WoodSheddin]

WE need some way to get rid of, or at least move the Google ad on the right hand side of the page, as it is obscurring part of many posts.

Hint: Firefox; Adblock.

Rick "google is your friend" Denney

The Google Ads are a not unsubstantial part of what pays for this website's existence. Blocking them has a direct financial effect here.

[joshwirt]

unable to search for 'B&S'. says query is too short. is there a whitelist you can add manufacturer abbreviations to?

thanks! lots of good things about the new software.

-Josh

[PWtuba]

Now that I've been using the new software for a while, I'm changing my opinion. I think the new format is easy to read, easy to use, and more efficient in some ways. I do miss the old format, but I think this will do just fine.

[Wyvern]

I use the New posts facility quite a lot and in that view you cannot see which forum a new post is in, unlike the old software.

The change may be inevitable, but so far I much prefer the old software. It seemed more user friendly and better structured.

[Rick Denney]

The Google Ads are a not unsubstantial part of what pays for this website's existence. Blocking them has a direct financial effect here.

Does blocking them prevent them from being downloaded or does it merely prevent them from being displayed?

In any case, I can't abide them for various reasons, so I'd be happy to send you a check instead.

Rick "who pays for commercial-free TV, too" Denney