[Closed] When's this 'new' forum coming.?

What's useful?

What's useful?

You do realise why people do that? Which is one of the good reasons for PM. I'm also not sure why getting hassled via PM would be any worse than getting hassled via e-mail.

I do know why people think they do it, but mine's entirely legible and I've not had a spam problem that the default yahoo filter hasn't blocked.

If there was a PM function it'd just go unchecked along with all the other forum PM systems I'm probably registered for. Whereas I do actually check my e-mail once in a blue moon.

The new forum

+1

Can it just have mountain bikes in it please?

Multi quoting is bloody awful and pointless. You're replying to one person so why do you need the full conversation from the start?

*sigh*

Multi quote - by this I mean amassing individual quotes for individual replies without having to use a seperate window to scroll back and forth to pull each and every thing you want to reply to.

eg.

Binners said

So I said

Junkyard replied

But I refuted

Drac mentioned something else

Which I made into an amusing pun involving genitals.

On a modern forum you can literally highlight the text you want to quote and hit either a 'reply' button or 'multi-quote' button which adds it to a list of quotes which you can insert into the reply box. As for nesting - useful but only usually to second generation quotes, this, believe it or not, can be controlled in the forum admin settings. Whodathunkit?

Spoon - you can usually set PM functions by default to inform you that you have a new post when you next open a new window. Again, not difficult to turn this, or even the whole PM function off for your account if you really don't want it.

It is quite amusing, for all the arguments of "this is a forum for adults, I don't want to see all this juvenile crap' not one person actually trusts anyone enough to act like an adult when posting. It's also apparent that all the 'haterz' seem to speaking from positions of complete ignorance and are resistant to change itself rather than any changes proposed. The fact that the reasons for dismissal are so woefully ignorant speaks volumes.

FWIW I have had limited back access to forums in the past and it's really not that difficult to work with nor tailor to individual requirements. You could probably update to a whole new database* and front end and barely notice a difference afterwards.

*which is probably the sticking point IMO as it reeks of effort and money

Anything that requires extensive referencing like that, I'd compose in Notepad and C&P when I'd done. Apart from anything else, it dodges the bullet of spending ages typing a reply just to have the browser crash.

all the 'haterz' seem to speaking from positions of complete ignorance

Chinny reckon.

It's also apparent that all the 'haterz' seem to speaking from positions of complete ignorance

Speaking from experience of being a mod on 3 forums and running 2 but don't let your opinion get in the way.

*which is probably the sticking point IMO as it reeks of effort and money

Indirectly perhaps, in that it's not a huge team of developers and there's always other things to be doing. Or more simply, when everything is a priority, priority priorities have to take priority over lower-priority priorities.

There are many reasons for us not putting resources into updating the forum just yet, but mostly the reason is development is prioritised elsewhere.

Dammit. How dare you not take on board the complaints of your forum users, particularly those who get it entirely free (many non-Ps I see), above making more money via the website, grit, etc.

It's also apparent that all the 'haterz' seem to speaking from positions of complete ignorance

I still think it was a step too far seperating the fs and wtd forums.

[quote=thisisnotaspoon ]If there was a PM function it'd just go unchecked along with all the other forum PM systems I'm probably registered for.

Not if it came up with a big flashing box across the screen stopping you reading the forum every time you get a new message 😈 On the other forums I use you get a more subtle but obvious notification, so no need at all to check most of the time.

Though as sk points out it's easy enough to turn off PM functionality - it could even be opt in, so that nothing would change for those who don't want it.

[quote=squirrelking ]On a modern forum you can literally highlight the text you want to quote and hit either a 'reply' button or 'multi-quote' button which adds it to a list of quotes which you can insert into the reply box.

You'll like the Chrome add-on I linked to earlier then. Not a lot, because it's hard to do stuff on the client which should be on the server, but it does at least provide some of what you're suggesting there - my enhancements specifically included easier multi-quoting. Though by default it scrolls down to the post box when you quote - would be easy to change that if useful (and to be honest I probably need to clean it up a bit). I'm open to suggestions in general for anybody using that - I should point out that it wasn't my invention (so don't blame me for most of it!) but I've done the most recent dev and the only one likely to do any more I think - though as pointed out the answer to most things is likely to be "no, too hard or impossible".

I have done something about some of the weaknesses I see, and I'm definitely not alone in my preferences, though it would be nice if that wasn't necessary.

Well said sk.

There are many reasons for us not putting resources into updating the forum just yet, but mostly the reason is development is prioritised elsewhere.

Thank you.

A reply at last. See, I can accept that. It's a bugbear for me but you are the ones doing the work. I don't like the fact but that's my problem.

Speaking from experience of being a mod on 3 forums and running 2 but don't let your opinion get in the way.

Well you'll have to excuse me for believing that someone who clearly had no idea what I was talking about was speaking from a position of ignorance. I've already explained it before to boot although it may have been Cougar I was talking to last time and I do accept that most of the time it needs explained as it seems to be confused with quote nesting as you did or with multi-threading (SATANS WORK) the replies as on reddit. In fact, even a reddit type forum structure (minus the aforementioned multi-threading) would be better and would be a compromise between those who want features and those who want the usual look.

Dammit. How dare you not take on board the complaints of your forum users, particularly those who get it entirely free (many non-Ps I see), above making more money via the website, grit, etc.

I already said I'd be embarrassed to pay to support a [b]commercial[/b] enterprise who enjoy practically free advertising through their forums (given they are just about the last surviving UK mountain bike forums) that are running on software whose installation media was last seen supporting Noah's tea cup. I already support other forums who are reliant on member contributions (financial or otherwise) to stay afloat rather than commercial takings and who actually keep their software up to date, sometimes from the efforts of a sole admin. Maybe if the forum gave me a reason to support it then I would consider it but not in its present incarnation.

Also, given the fickleness of your usual 'hacker' I'm surprised this place hasn't been done over yet given the ancient holes that are probably in existence.

Anything that requires extensive referencing like that, I'd compose in Notepad and C&P when I'd done. Apart from anything else, it dodges the bullet of spending ages typing a reply just to have the browser crash.

Which is fair enough however Xenforo (and I'm sure other software) gets around that by saving your replies to the server rather than the browser meaning that if you did get a crash the majority of your reply would be intact anyway (I sometimes revisit topics weeks later and find half typed replies that I forgot about).

Well you'll have to excuse me for believing that someone who clearly had no idea what I was talking about was speaking from a position of ignorance. I've already explained it before to boot although it may have been Cougar I was talking to last time and I do accept that most of the time it needs explained as it seems to be confused with quote nesting as you did or with multi-threading (SATANS WORK) the replies as on reddit. In fact, even a reddit type forum structure (minus the aforementioned multi-threading) would be better and would be a compromise between those who want features and those who want the usual look.

I wasn't answering you at that point. If only there was some way for me Quote aracer

Don't worry Drac, that's coming in Forum Mk 2, sometime in 2007

(are we done now?)

What is?

What is?

The new forum.

There's a forum?! Why didn't anyone tell me?

STW should just take over / use the same software as MTB Britain. Aside from better layout, formatting, colours etc you could set ignore_user=Jambalaya which I image might be quite popular here 8)

Can I request the new forum runs well with iOS machines only to annoy the robot lovers and Gates-ites?

I'm not sure STW haven fully realised the value they have in the Forum if it was put on a modern platform and also gaining the economy of scale of running the STW and Grit forums alongside each other.

I just want a forum that works on my phone.

[quote=CaptainFlashheart ]

What is?

is what?

😯 help

 

Que?

Shame. My words of wisdom seem to have been lost. They were profound.

This does however prove that excess quoting is a bad thing 😉

I like this forum as it is, however, if you are going to change it I suggest a long hard look at the overclock.net forum software.

I just looked. You really want over a hundred sub-forums?

Moreover, you expect us to moderate 100 subfora? No chance, it's bad enough moving things into the right place when there's four.

I presume it would be possible to have just 4 subforums using that software.

Looks similar to a lot of other forums - I presume it's using a dialect of some standard forum software which isn't capable of coping with the traffic levels on here. Looks kind of messy, but that may be down to the way it's set up - the other forum I use most now I think is rather cleaner, though I'd happily lose avatars and plenty of the other rubbish from that http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/

Hmmm, I mean the way it handles posts.

It saves things as you type, allows quotes [generating alerts for the quoted], allows replies that also trigger alerts, has built-in image uploading software [with preview and display size choices].

It has an image library for each thread, has all sorts of other nifty things for the end user - like hotkeys, pagination, various types of lists, text size, spoilers, text colour, atachments etc etc.

Then there's the account info like Rep [Reputation points] and attached feedback 'n stuff.

Not the layout of the forums, that's not what I mean, just the facilities for the users.

Oh, and PM's and a messages page.

I just want a forum that works on my phone.

Some of us would settle for a phone signal of any kind

I'm not sure you can blame that on the STW forum software

I quite like Avatars, so long as they're small and unobtrusive. It gives a 'voice' to conversations and helps me identify / remember who said what.

It's an academic discussion anyway; but there's an inherent danger that if you change things too much, you lose what made it popular in the first place. The forum software is basic, but it's simple and unfussy. There's definitely room for improvement, but it needs to be an functional evolution rather than throwing out what works in the process.

That is to say, ultimately it's just a tool and it's the community that makes the forum. Splitting everything down into separate forums would be akin to having a great party until everyone cliques off into the kitchen / spare room etc and then it just fizzles and dies.

So, I'd be all for technical improvements. PMs would be good, Avatars I'd like. More text formatting controls, so long as it doesn't allow people to set a 72pt flashing pink neon font or some such. Quoting, linking could be better, so long as it doesn't encourage people to requote half the thread on every post. Banner signatures, no thanks. And I think the single biggest, most valuable upgrade the forum could see would be to self-host images. But turning it into a big sprawling mess of a forum would kill it, IMHO.

Then there's the account info like Rep [Reputation points] and attached feedback 'n stuff.

Yeah, that'd be good too. Post counts, [like] / [thanks] buttons and such.

Yeah, that'd be good too. Post counts, [like] / [thanks] buttons and such.

*Shares*

I don't disagree with any of that, Cougar. I don't think anybody here is arguing for sub-forums (well I might have joked about it, but I'm really not serious - on the other forum I linked to I only hang out on one sub-forum and I don't think any of the others are very active) or indeed for changing the look in any significant way, and I agree any changes would have to be evolutionary - the ship of using standard forum software has sailed. The thing is a lot of this stuff isn't terribly hard - if I can do some of it client side, then it has to be a lot easier to do it server side.

Though this thread has inspired me - just in case anybody else does still use the Chrome add-on, I've realised that I can make multi-quoting work a lot more like those other forums using that, and I should probably get round to making nested quoting work with that (it didn't work at all here when I last did any dev). Unless of course somebody would like to tell me I'm wasting my time because those things will be part of the new forum when it gets released some time in 2007...

[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/whens-this-new-forum-coming/page/4?replies=116#post-7116069 ][quote=Cougar ][/url]So, I'd be all for technical improvements
...
Quoting, linking could be better

Well who'd have thunk it, that works - that's going in too!

Nothing wrong with the layout but the image hosting needs sorting.
Feedback, post count, reputation, etc are all the most basic minimum on every other forum I use.
Would make classifieds a lot safer too with positive/negative on a sales thread.
Being able to "reply and quote" is on all of them too as a link on each post - rather than having to do it from the text box.
Scrap the "share button" - load of carp that is!

Nothing wrong with the layout but the image hosting needs sorting.

Nothing needs sorted there you can use many places to host your images and then link them in here easily.

"Easily" - STW specific term

I want the old one back, I want to feel like I've grown up in here and then morphed into this version "post the great Hack"then grow old very ungracefully like everyone else.

Can we turn back time (dud duh, if I could find a way, dud duh) ?

Drac - Moderator
Nothing wrong with the layout but the image hosting needs sorting.
Nothing needs sorted there you can use many places to host your images and then link them in here easily.

Easily? Is it f.......

Strange how you're the only one who thinks that Drac when even Cougar agrees with it. 🙄

I really like the simplicity of everything here; for me, it just works.

I [i]would[/i] ask that the 'login' bit wasn't so bloody far in the corner of the screen, as it's a PITA to click from a mobile, when you inevitably get logged out for sustained periods and is always the LAST piece of info to display when you have been logged out.

..but hey, paying for subscription doesn't really count for anything here anyhow 🙂

I'm not conversant with the technical side of STW, but I'm pretty sure it's going to need a shitload of storage if they store local images?

I mean, I can see why Mark is saying this is not a priority.

aracer, are you an ex dev for this software? Could sworn it was tomdebruin that wrote it....

PS try swapping your username on your forum history page for a number... Tom was user 01, pretty sure he wrote a custom forum which became the basis for this one, right?

Strange how you're the only one who thinks that Drac when even Cougar agrees with it.

It's pretty straightforward, especially if you've been on the internet forums for more than a few weeks.

Here's a photo I took last week to show how easy it is. Copy and pasted the link that nearly all image hosts give you.

[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/743/20667529831_96d1eb3c6b_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/743/20667529831_96d1eb3c6b_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/xujuze ]P8112167[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/75523014@N08/ ]Jamie Carson[/url], on Flickr

The only thing I'd change would be PMs and multi quoting would be nice. It's hard to get right quoting right though. A lot of forums have huge long threads that are mostly quotes. That's not a good look.

Avatars - no thanks, prefer a clean look.
Post counts - again, no ta. It makes the big hitters easy to identify and can lead to people not chiming in if they think they're out of line etc.

What's difficult/tricky about image linking here?

Agree that PM, post count and 'kudos' would be nice additions. Not essential, but would enhance user experience IMHO.

It's an academic discussion anyway; but there's an inherent danger that if you change things too much, you lose what made it popular in the first place. The forum software is basic, but it's simple and unfussy. There's definitely room for improvement, but it needs to be an functional evolution rather than throwing out what works in the process.

Absolutely, no denying that.

Oh, an FYI for Mark - the issue I described before about quote/image button functionality (constantly putting tags at the beginning of the post rather than where the cursor is): it's not just an IE8 issue, Edge is doing it as well. Yay.

Another good example of a modern forum is https://wasp-inc.com/forums/ Ignore the stratification and look at the actual functionality (actually I'm not sure how much you see without signing in).

"big hitters" lol. Sad gits more like (speaking from personal experience here). Agree though that post count isn't that much use unless it's being used to moderate classified users.

There are lots of ways of it not needing tons of storage if done right.
I know it is easy IF you can get the direct link or have photobucket, etc BUT not every image lets you steal its data. Not everyone has an image upload account.

The thing is - whilst we all love the look and layout here - the functions are very poor in reality to what is freely available.
VB Ware, IP Boards, etc have masses of functions including PM's, better smileys. font selection as basics.
With quoting that puts your text in to the middle of the brackets automatically, reputation, page views , post count - IMO necessary for the Classifieds, minimum post count/premier user to post in there for example and many more - the question is WHY aren't they doing it already or is this forum merely an "add on" and they can't be arsed with making it the best it can be?

Christ - there's more NIMBY's in here than out there.....

Easily? Is it

Yup. Use Imgur and then use their hand BB code for example.

Strange how you're the only one who thinks that Drac when even Cougar agrees with it

Going off how many people post images it can't be that hard.

Going off how many people post images

Bet more people don't. 😉

Not everyone has an image upload account.

You don't need one.

This image isn't in my Flickr, or any other, account.

Just felt like posting it.

[img] [/img]

have masses of functions including PM's, better smileys. font selection as basics.

Apart from PMs all the rest do, imo, is make the forum look messy as you end up with a loads of weirdly formatted text. Why do you need better fonts and more than the 20 odd smileys currently available?

With quoting that puts your text in to the middle of the brackets automatically, reputation, page views , post count

Are they all necessary for a good forum experience? What does reputation add and how is it determined? The same with post count and page views, what does it add?

Where
Is
Jamie
?

I could see a use for "reputation" in the Classifieds (Where a "Classifieds only" user icon would also be a good idea), but beyond that? No.

Are they all necessary for a good forum experience?

Quotes in the middle of brackets?

YES!

Brackets appearing in the right ****ing place would be a good start.

This image isn't in my Flickr, or any other, account.

Just felt like posting it.

No idea why but that's a hilarious image.

Quotes in the middle of brackets?

You mean such as highlighting the text then press quote?

Nothing needs sorted there you can use many places to host your images and then link them in here easily.

It's nothing to do with ease. The problem with hotlinking is twofold:

1) is you've no control over the images. Go back to any "classic" thread over 12 months old that involved someone wanting free Photoshop help. Well over half of the images will be missing, that's a part of our "precious" history gone. (Problem? Well, we're still papping on about Badger and AFAICT that was 12 years ago.) Plus there's nothing to swap a site owner from displaying an alternate image, which potentially could be done maliciously because,

2) hotlinking is considered bad form as you've got other sites paying for the bandwidth and hosting of your images. Granted, less of an issue these days than it used to be with the advent of free, dedicated photo hosting sites, but some servers still take exception to it.

You mean such as highlighting the text then press quote?

Yes. That would be nice.

I'm not reading all that.

Look what happened when we had tag anarchy.
THAT is why we can't have nice things.

Can we have a slightly bolder shade of blue for the 'P'?
It would really tie the forum together.

The rep score on overclocked.net is awarded by people who found your post useful, they can also comment on the rep to explain why they awarded.

Anyway, overall I like this forum.

So, did Tom write it from scratch like I guessed above?

No

I like it as it is now ... 😀

[quote=Drac ]You don't need one.

How does that work then?

[quote=gofasterstripes ]aracer, are you an ex dev for this software?

No, it's nothing to do with me - don't blame me!

I'm simply one of the devs for https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/singletrack-world-forum-e/cpgdlmbifgbhcoigdoeoooakijdionop?hl=en-GB which if you're using Chrome provides a small amount of the functionality we're missing (badly - though I've got some ideas for making it quite a bit better now).

How does that work then?

You upload to image hosting site that doesn't need you to sign in. Imager for example.

Yes. That would be nice.

Yeah can do that now or do you mean the txt in the post your quoting?

1) is you've no control over the images. Go back to any "classic" thread over 12 months old that....

How much of an issue is that really though? Has Imgur ever changed or deleted images?

And do many people really care when they're posting a pic of the bike against the sofa?

[quote=aracer opined]gofasterstripes  » aracer, are you an ex dev for this software?
No, it's nothing to do with me - don't blame me!
I'm simply one of the devs for https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/singletrack-world-forum-e/cpgdlmbifgbhcoigdoeoooakijdionop?hl=en-GB which if you're using Chrome provides a small amount of the functionality we're missing (badly - though I've got some ideas for making it quite a bit better now).

Updates signature

thanks aracer it works great

I've got some ideas for making it quite a bit better now).

Just wondering how talented you are
thanks aracer it works great

[quote=Drac ]You upload to image hosting site that doesn't need you to sign in. Imager for example.

Ah - I have an imgur account (which is what I use for posting pics on here) didn't realise you could use it without.

You mean such as highlighting the text then press quote?

Yes. That would be nice.

Yeah can do that now or do you mean the txt in the post your quoting?

From previous discussions I'm fairly sure he means text in the post being quoted, so you don't have to copy and paste.

What makes you think it'll be weirdly formatted text if someone uses Comic Sans?
Christ - it's a different size/font not html code.

[quote=Junkyard ]Can it auto spell for me ?

I suspect auto spelling corrections would be possible, though you may not like the result (and to be honest I'm not sure I can be bothered spending loads of effort so you can be lazy 😉 )

From previous discussions I'm fairly sure he means text in the post being quoted, so you don't have to copy and paste.

Ah! Ta.

Oooh look it's the 1970's Dr Who intro.

I suspect auto spelling corrections would be possible, though you may not like the result (and to be honest I'm not sure I can be bothered spending loads of effort so you can be lazy )

Who are you talking to?

[quote=aracer opined]Junkyard  » 

Can it auto spell for me ?

I suspect auto spelling corrections would be possible, though you may not like the result (and to be honest I'm not sure I can be bothered spending loads of effort so you can be lazy )

Flounces

thanks aracer it works great

Cougar - Moderator

So, I'd be all for technical improvements......More text formatting controls, so long as it doesn't allow people to set a 72pt flashing pink neon font or some such.

The real irony is that there's a line below the reply box which says

[code]Allowed markup: BBcode a blockquote code em strong ul ol li font strike center u hr.[/code]

but not all of those work (eg [ul]underlined[/ul])

Mark - Resident Grumpy
No

Raazzzzz.....!

No enlightenment then?

Cheer up, I said I like it.

How much of an issue is that really though? Has Imgur ever changed or deleted images?

Well, it annoyed me earlier today when I went looking for "classic" threads on the back of someone asking about the origin of Bombers. So from a sample set of 1 it's 100% annoying. (-:

I quite like Avatars, so long as they're small and unobtrusive. It gives a 'voice' to conversations and helps me identify / remember who said what.

It's an academic discussion anyway; but there's an inherent danger that if you change things too much, you lose what made it popular in the first place. The forum software is basic, but it's simple and unfussy. There's definitely room for improvement, but it needs to be an functional evolution rather than throwing out what works in the process.

That is to say, ultimately it's just a tool and it's the community that makes the forum. Splitting everything down into separate forums would be akin to having a great party until everyone cliques off into the kitchen / spare room etc and then it just fizzles and dies.

So, I'd be all for technical improvements. PMs would be good, Avatars I'd like. More text formatting controls, so long as it doesn't allow people to set a 72pt flashing pink neon font or some such. Quoting, linking could be better, so long as it doesn't encourage people to requote half the thread on every post. Banner signatures, no thanks. And I think the single biggest, most valuable upgrade the forum could see would be to self-host images. But turning it into a big sprawling mess of a forum would kill it, IMHO.

Cougar - Moderator
How much of an issue is that really though? Has Imgur ever changed or deleted images?
Well, it annoyed me earlier today when I went looking for "classic" threads on the back of someone asking about the origin of Bombers. So from a sample set of 1 it's 100% annoying. (-: