[Sticky] The New Forum

A floating 'Go to Top' button would still be very useful for mobile use!

I'm still having problems uploading pictures direct from my phone.

Two pictures of the same thing taken one after the other without changing any settings.

One will upload the other gets the red triangle of no.

WTF is going on?

Interstitial ads are over filling the page to the point that the close icon is off screen and can't be used, which makes the site entirely unusable as it's completely covered by an immovable ad 

Happened a few times recently, Android/Chrome 

I'm slightly bemused that the 'sticky thread' asking for feedback on forum issues, doesn't actually seem to be sticky? I know it's not the end of the world, but it does feel mildly ironic. And not in an Alanis Morisette way. I'm sure it's already been mentioned umpteen times, but it doesn't really inspire confidence. 

Otherwise I like the new forum. The image upload works fine for me and I've managed to get my head round the concept that the easiest way to see all threads in order of latest post is to click the 'Forum' link on the main menu header. It also seems snappy and easy to use generally. Obviously as a member, I don't get to deal with the ad issues. But mostly it seems really good. 

Posted by: BadlyWiredDog

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I'm slightly bemused that the 'sticky thread' asking for feedback on forum issues, doesn't actually seem to be sticky? I know it's not the end of the world, but it does feel mildly ironic. And not in an Alanis Morisette way. I'm sure it's already been mentioned umpteen times, but it doesn't really inspire confidence. 

The stickies show as sticky in the forum they're posted in.  It's just the latest posts view where they don't.

Quick update. We've just pushed a software update that includes some efficiency stuff. Nothing major from the front end - more back end code stuff. 

The ingesting of the missing historic forum posts is ongoing but almost complete. You can see the effcet of that at the bottom of the page. We are currently at 9.4 million posts. The full tally will be around 10.5 million we expect.

The fact sticky posts are not sticky in the 'Latest posts' index (Which to most of us is essentially the forum front page) is a known issue and we hope that wpforo will address that in a future update. In the meantime it's something we could perhaps implement an extra code fix of our own. It's on the list.

Posted by: the-muffin-man

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A floating 'Go to Top' button would still be very useful for mobile use!

We were just discussing this is our staff meeting. We'll see what we can do.

Posted by: Mark Alker

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We were just discussing this is our staff meeting. We'll see what we can do.

Expect an influx of comments from the other half of the userbase complaining that it's in the way and irritating.

Why is it needed anyway when you can just fling the page with your finger (which is all the button does)?  What scenario necessitates going back to the top of the page?

In the rare occasions I use the mobile version, I long-press / open in new tab and then close them when read.

Why is it needed anyway when you can just fling the page with your finger (which is all the button does)? 

On my phone it takes 6 to 8 "flings" to get from the bottom to the top of a page. A shortcut would be useful. Cue suggestion I have a shit phone or a defective thumb and should change both to accommodate site functionality 😉

What scenario necessitates going back to the top of the page?

Posts lower down the page often selectively quote others higher up. If it's an interesting thread I've joined late, I may want to go back and read earlier posts that have prompted a particular response, to get the full context.  Or sometimes, go back to the top to read them all.  It's probably best not to assume that because you don't see a need for a feature, that there isn't one for others?

Why does it take anywhere from 6 to 10 seconds for a “like” to show up? 

Edit : And 12 seconds to post above, checked broadband speed and its fine, checked speed of loading other sites and they’re fine 

A back to top would be useful...for once I don't agree with Cougar with his non-standard browser behaviour...most users flick back up as they don't open links in a new tab or window, so having something to make that easier is definitely a good idea.

Whoa! I've just had a very loud video advert about dogs play as I've been posting.  I'm a signed in full member.

Posted by: blokeuptheroad

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Posts lower down the page often selectively quote others higher up. If it's an interesting thread I've joined late, I may want to go back and read earlier posts that have prompted a particular response, to get the full context. 

So you want to start from the top scrolling downwards rather starting from the bottom scrolling upwards?

What happens if it's a selective quote from two pages ago?

Posted by: DickBarton

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for once I don't agree with Cougar with his non-standard browser behaviour...

Which is perfectly fine of course.  If you want to make things deliberately more awkward for yourself. 😁

So you want to start from the top scrolling downwards rather starting from the bottom scrolling upwards?

No. I just want to browse the way I choose without being quizzed on it, having to justify it or it being implied I'm doing it wrong* 

*different to you 😁

There's a link to last post, but not to first post on last page.  Also the jump to newest unread post seems to work intermittently.  As such, I often jump to the last post, but to get a bit of context I scroll back a few posts.  I'm happy with a few flicks, but I can see how a jump to top could be handy.

Posted by: Cougar

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What happens if it's a selective quote from two pages ago?

It's not a solution for every scenario.

Posted by: blokeuptheroad

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No. I just want to browse the way I choose without being quizzed on it, having to justify it or it being implied I'm doing it wrong* 

I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm suggesting that there may be a better way of improving your workflow.

Still slower than it used to be on nearly every function 

still can’t get to the classifieds on the drop down left hand menu as you can’t scroll far enough to select it and / or banner pop up adverts block it. Not exactly ideal and been that way (and mentioned before) many times. 

Some, not all ,posts going super wide again 🤔

I'm seeing a large (about a 1/4 of a page) of space between the Singletrack header and the start of the page. I suspect that it's some sort of advert holder, but it's just empty space.

That "back to top" button was removed on the last iteration of the forum, then mysteriously appeared as a "hovering icon" until this upgrade,and I'm pretty sure was brought back fairly soon after this upgrade, but is now gone again....

Please can we have it back?  

There's also now loads of text editing options,which is nice, but given how slow the site is and how godawful it is to use if not signed in seems a bit superfluous?  

Posted by: joelowden

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Some, not all ,posts going super wide again

on iphone.
seems to be anything with an image in the thread.. 

The “Tony Blair” and “insuring a French van” ro name two.. 

The super wide threads are very irritating. 

Suspect the threads have long URLs that aren't being split across multiple lines so it makes the thread go very wide...

Where did the forum search button go?

Posted by: ScotRoutes

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Where did the forum search button go?

Don't you have this?

Posted by: DickBarton

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Suspect the threads have long URLs that aren't being split across multiple lines so it makes the thread go very wide...

I think its also folk posting massive images, I believe the old forum software would resize to a reasonable width . 

Itscthe long urls for links that breaks the formstting.  I have pisted big pics without breaking it

Itscthe long urls for links that breaks the formstting. I have pisted big pics without breaking it

Yeah but it's f****d your keyboard up big time!

Yeah but it's f****d your keyboard up big time!

I assumed he was ‘pisted’ 😀 

I don't like the new format for 'articles' at all. They seem too compressed, convoluted and messy now. The 'thread' associated with them doesn't always make sense as sometimes it now just shows who's posted etc.. 

For whatever reason there seems a LOT less engagement on the articles than previously... but i suspect it's because people are confused by them as much as i am.

Well, the new website is a bit 'busy', isn't it. How do you get to the last post on a topic- I can open the topic, then select last post, but  it takes an eternity- is there a one click from the index method?

As Weeksy says the formatting for articles is a bit crap and the structure and navigation of the whole website is convoluted and illogical. It feels even less designed than previous iterations.

I can't work out the ad policy, I've come to the site on both mobile and laptop and despite being logged in, I'm served up a selection of ads. If the site was more responsive, and the ads the sort that go away as soon as clicked I wouldn't mind, but the performance is bad as it ever was. 

I feel like the site is, once again, the product of people who have little to no understanding of usability and user experience or structured design, but have decided to squeeze in as many bells and whistles as possible in an attempt to mitigate more serious failings. Performance can cover up a lot of nav and design flaws, conversely good design will mask performance issues, but tinkering with random forum gadgets and tools that no-one uses while the website burns is just a folly.

Posted by: vinnyeh

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How do you get to the last post on a topic

Double arrow jumps to the end. 

Posted by: vinnyeh

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I feel like the site is, once again, the product of people who have little to no understanding of

The site is, once again, the product of one and a half web developers who also have a day job to keep the whole thing running at all.

What's with the ads taking up so much of the page in the Classies?

Posted by: vinnyeh

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I can't work out the ad policy, I've come to the site on both mobile and laptop and despite being logged in, I'm served up a selection of ads.

Yep. There is some strange behaviour going on, like it doesn't recognise the fact you were logged in and you have to click on your Profile icon every new visit. I know that @Mark is aware of this one but I've not heard of any updates on a fix (though I might have missed those). I'd say that's currently my one major issue with the forum as, other than that, it all basically "just works". 

Would a new thread from STW Towers with a "Issues in the pipeline to be sorted" and a "Sorted" list be useful?

One that people can't post on so it doesn't duplicate this one. And only lists issues relevant to users of course, not back-office stuff.

Just thinking people could see where we are heading and where STW have come from without trawling through this thread and posting the same issue over and over again.

All historic replies are back now. We have the full compliment of 9.4 million posts in the forum. If you spot any old but still broken threads then let us know. 

Does it look a little different today, or is that me? The graphics in the Wordle thread, for example, look more polished.

Running nicely for me on Chrome.

The graphics for wordle are external. 

Something's gone wonky in the Classified (possibly just for Free Members).

If you click into a specific ad. the "Free Ride Jersey" pop up I'm seeing (bottom left) scrolls right up across the page, does a pretty poor job of trying to display some of the Classifieds and blocks a portion of the page; it doesn't appear to offer any way of closing it.

Free Ride Jersey ad that sticks rigidly to the bottom left and cannot be moved

PITA when you click on an image to see it full-size and the ad obscures a chunk

(see also PJay above)

Posted by: Mark Alker

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All historic replies are back now. We have the full compliment of 9.4 million posts in the forum. If you spot any old but still broken threads then let us know. 

Whooooohooooo

My big bike ride threads now have the pictures displaying.  A slight oddity in that the links to the pics are there as well but i dont think that matters.

Thats made me happy.   Its the best record i have 

I think I've worked out why some people complain about the layout of the site, whereas others don't.  If you have "www." at the front of the URL the site looks significantly different - massive font, blank spaces, missing icons, adverts.

Once you click on some of the links the www. is removed and the site looks normal - I think that's why some people talk about having to log in again after coming here - I suspect their bookmark has www. at the start, but after they log out and back in it redirects to a link without "www.".

The site really needs to redirect on loading any link with "www." at the front, or get the formatting to apply to both links.

I discovered this by following a link from Google which took me to a "www." page, so even if people updated their bookmarks, many would still see the issue if coming from a search engine.

Posted by: verses

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I think I've worked out why some people complain about the layout of the site, whereas others don't.  If you have "www." at the front of the URL the site looks significantly different - massive font, blank spaces, missing icons, adverts.

Great spot - just tried that - OMG an advert hell!! 😱😱

Posted by: timba

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Free Ride Jersey ad that sticks rigidly to the bottom left and cannot be moved

There's an 'X' top right o fthat ad. Which is currently white on white (will be fixed in a few minutes ) Click that and you never see it again.

Great spot there @versus 

We've been scratching our heads over this one. That makes perfect sense. www.singletrackworld.com is very different to https:  //singletrackworld.com 

If you come in on www.singletrackworld.com and then click a link you will be taken to the non-www site where everything works. So, if you have a bookmark for www.singletrackworld.com then removing the www will sort it. For our part we will see about a redirect that takes all www. traffic straight to the correct address.

I'm finding Classifieds cannot be viewed on either Android OS or laptop Chrome browser. What happens: Click an ad, it loads, then immediately the page is filled with a full screen pop-up for similar items for sale on STW. odd!

Anyone else getting the same?

It's in the post above. It's a Singletrack popup that's gone wrong. It's the same one you'll see bottom left on the forums. It should have an X to close it after which it vanishes for good.

That’s a really weird new bug. It’s as if the classifieds plugin and the user notice plugin have had sex. Two completely different and separate systems trying to mate. It will be high on our list of things to fix this week. 

Small potatoes but, there's a disparity between account name and display name when quoting.  Whichever way around it should be, it's showing the other one.