Repeat posting while I fight the redirects?

Great.

Rusty Spanner

How’s the server migration going?

Any idea when we can expect some info?

As a “life member” I feel somewhat duped

(and quoting your text Pete took a bit of buggering about)

In summary…

Random text in quotes

I never get this because I always enter the html code manually.

Slow performance at different times

This I have definitely experienced, but not so much that it gets all that bothersome.

Pop ups and redirects

I have never experienced this. Ever.

Difficulty pasting text – can you do it really easily in android or lots of different taps?

What does this mean? I can paste text just as easily here as anywhere?

Search is still buggered

Maybe, but it always has been, so I never use it.

Post history is next to useless

This is definitely the case. I liked being able to look at my own posts to then follow them back to a thread I had an interest in. I have been living with the hope that it will return to the way it was, or even get better.

Image Link in android is wider than the screen and the cancel button is off the screen

Don’t have the pleasure of Android right now, so wouldn’t know. It hasn’t happened with any of the OSes I use.

Predictive typing is also bolloxed

I never noticed. Where would one experience this?

Beyond any of the issues mentioned above, I have no access to emojis (although that may be a good thing!), and I now struggle with adding images, but that is entirely because of Google no longer allowing one to click a preview and open an isolated image in a separate tab in order to get a discreet jpeg URL.

Ultimately, though, are any of these aggravations worth ditching the forum over, seeing as it’s been such a bloody good place for so long?

🙂

If the forum is resurrected by Easter I may have to reconsider my atheism.

Well saxonrider, seems as you put it like that…

please dont don’t forget to turn the lights off, thanks. 😉

The jumping screen while the page slowly slowly loads is however, starting to do my nut in!

Ultimately, though, are any of these aggravations worth ditching the forum over, seeing as it’s been such a bloody good place for so long?

Ditching or wandering away from? The post count is down, the rate of reply is down, the amount of stuff going on is down. You may not have experienced any of the things above but when your very stable mobile keyboard doesn’t work with only this site and leaves posting from mobile more like using an old nokia, then quote being buggered as typing html is a pita etc. and those without P are getting spammed hard it makes you wonder. Then the overwhelming responce deom the owners to any of these issues yep silence means a lot of good will is being lost. The forum is only as good as it’s content and as people are experiencing all of the problems above I can see why people are not coming back, I’ve given up replying on a few occasions as doing what used to be really simple now isn’t. That is the absolute NO when it comes to a redesign, if you make things harder it will piss people off.

Even down to random things like massive text forheadlines but really tiny numbers for next page which on mobile getreallyhard to hit. I’m sure there is a list of issues somewhere and I’m sure I’m on it.

Erm.. ja ko’ wot..

Yeah, it’s bloody frustrating for a vast majority of posters, new and established.

We kinda don’t post moans about the issues unless it reeeeeeeeeeeeeelllllllyyyyyyy get on our tits.

A lot we understand, accept and support.. but it’s time all the issues were corrected/fixed/re-Implimentated.

Any SDLC process would have sorted out the basics, the frills and guff of advertising could have come later.. As is, the same issues of redirects that appeared in the previous version still occur.. and the Porn ones are unforgivable TBH.

If you don’t get the same issues, then one can only assume you are a Demi God with all manner of attributes mere mortals have yet to form.

no issues with pop up and re direct either .

Nope, me neither, but it’s still cripplingly slow, and whenever I’ve logged on there’s a noticeable drop off in posting, which means I’m disinclined to keep returning. It’s now a distant 4th on my choice of forums, having been first by a long way for many years. Partly changing interests – I just don’t ride as much, but the forum experience is noticeably worse now, and the aggression from the mods and Mark on here is hardly encouragement.

But it’s only server migration, be fixed a few days.

You can’t argue with the immediate response of the adverts.

<span style=”-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);”> </span>

So where are people going instead for their MTB forum fixes? Would be good to know as no mater how much this place is annoying to use, I don’t know anywhere else to go so I’m stuck (due to my own inability to find elsewhere)…

Apart from the forum, Subscribers get access to a load of ‘premium’ content, could it be that the forum is causing so many issues that STW are driving it into an early grave and will switch it off for good once the rest of whatever gets developed?

The silence is deafening…things are very clearly bad when even CFH is complaining loudly about everything.

Predictive typing is also bolloxed

I never noticed. Where would one experience this?

There’s an issue with Swiftkey.

The post count is down, the rate of reply is down

It’s quite the opposite, actually.

it’s still cripplingly slow

For me it’s sporadic.  Sometimes it’s rapid, sometimes painful.  There’s a host move in the pipeline, though they’re down to one developer this week which I’d expect has created a bit of a bottleneck.

and the aggression from the mods

There’s been a few digs at us in the last couple of pages so I’m going to call this out here.  We’ve made a few snarky comments over time because a) it’s frustrating for us too and b) I’m genetically snarky.  But aggressive?  Really?  I’ve barely posted in the last few days due to other commitments, and I’ve not noticed Drac being particularly spongy of late either.

In other news:  I spoke to Mark earlier about the redirects.  No-one at STW has been able to replicate the issue so far, across multiple devices.  That’s not to say there isn’t an issue, just that they can’t (yet) see where it is.

Unless things have changed a few years back mark said the adverts on the furm subsidised / paid for the rest of STW.  The magazine will not be profitable and few folk will come to the site for anything other than the forum is my guess so the forum is essential to the whole profitability of stw – hence the huge number of ads

You say post count and replies are up?  Its certainly not what it looks like.  Is that actual posts or the number of times people are on a page as we now have to hit many pages to find posts and to post. Rose tinted glasses and all that but it certainly seems to me to have a lot less posts and topics stay on the first page much longer

the redirects / hijacks are unforgivable – I used dodgy pirate streaming sites and they are not as bad

I spoke to Mark earlier about the redirects. No-one at STW has been able to replicate the issue so far, across multiple devices. That’s not to say there isn’t an issue, just that they can’t (yet) see where it is.

If this is down to the amount of time and number of visits spent by the user, have any of them spent enough time and done enough visits to reach that magic moment of trying to access the forum/topic and suddenly being congratulated that they have won something/getting to see some unwanted porn? Going from the silence from STW Towers, it does suggest they haven’t spent enough time using the forum to get to that point (if that is the reason for the redirects).

The ads certainly subsidise the site.  To what degree, I don’t know.

FWIW, there are now fewer adverts than there were on the old site.  Overall there’s about a third less, and there’s a 20% reduction over what casual viewers see if you’re actually logged in (as a regular free member, not a [P] subscriber).

Are redirects just a mobile thing? I’ve never had one on the desktop, in fact I’ve had very few problems at all there, but tried it on my mobile and got a redirect within seconds. Disconcerting. But the old version was sooo difficult to view on mobile I’ve got into the habit of only using the desktop version. At least the mobile version now starts as if its going to be mobile friendly.

If this is down to the amount of time and number of visits spent by the user, have any of them spent enough time and done enough visits to reach that magic moment of trying to access the forum/topic and suddenly being congratulated that they have won something/getting to see some unwanted porn?

Theoretically, yes, in so far as the staff are relatively heavy users of the site by dint of them working here.  Whether it’s sufficient traffic compared to the heavier non-employee users, I couldn’t say.

This is by no means an official comment as I’m speculating, but it’d be interesting to see whether for those affected it made any difference clearing cookies / web cache / changing IP address (reboot the device?) / using an incognito browser window.

Are redirects just a mobile thing?

Anecdotally from the comments here, it would appear so to me.

tried it on my mobile and got a redirect within seconds.

That’s concerning.  What device / browser?  Can we tie this down to an Android issue perhaps, any iUsers affected?  (Doubly concerning if so, as the advertising networks are now 100% Google-approved.)

There’s an issue with Swiftkey.

As pointed out earlier it was doing the same with stock android  its got better but still not where any other website is.

Post count? Numbers then and excluding the it’s broken, ads are porn, pop up threads etc. Observation is its slower, less threads and threads die faster.

When you spoke to Mark did he mention why he didn’t want to engage with his customers?

I get the redirects only when using my Android tablet.  I can be on a page – scroll down and then I’m jettisoned off to another page.

No problem on a PC.

Both browsers are Chrome.  Could it be something related to how I’m scrolling on the mobile device? i.e. using my finger – and somehow inadvertently “pressing” something as I slide my finger?

That’s concerning.  What device / browser?

Samsung Galaxy 7 Edge with Chrome. So yes Android.

As pointed out earlier it was doing the same with stock android

Ah, I’d forgotten that. Ta.

When you spoke to Mark did he mention why he didn’t want to engage with his customers?

Obviously, I didn’t ask.  I figure he’s a busy chap and in any case I don’t think that’s an appropriate question for me to be asking (it’s a bit “when did you stop beating your wife?”).  I merely try to help out around here and try to look out for you guys (hence why I asked for an update in the first place), but I’m neither his keeper nor a union rep.  Feel free to ask him yourself, mark@…

Again, the only feedback or comments are from the mods.

Cougar, thank you for your continued efforts to placate, but stop. Please. It’s not your place, or job, to be addressing these issues. You’re a forum mod, not an employee/developer of the site.

The redirect issue is on mobile and tablet. Second hand comments that “Well, we aren’t seeing them” isn’t helping. Many others are. Links and screenshots have been shared. The issue of someone getting a porn redirect in a public place remains unanswered.

I think I speak for everyone here, at least I hope I do – We like it here. We like the advice, the humour, the opinions, the hilarious footwear jokes and more. We don’t like the turd that the forum has become. Fine, maybe it’s all part of some grand plan, but the silence is deafening, and the aforementioned liking it here can soon be eroded if it stops being an easy place to enjoy all that advice,all that humour, all that good will and all those hilarious footwear jokes.

So, Cougar, please just go back to being a mod. Stop making someone else’s apologies for them.

We like it here. We don’t want it to wither away.

Honestly what’s the actual point?

Well that didn’t last long as a new thread so I’ll post the same on here:

This forum is f***ed. Popups, redirects, loss of functionality. Ban me if you like, it’ll be less annoying than trying to persevere with using the forum which is a shame really as I’ve enjoyed it over the years.

It’s quite the opposite, actually.

It is android that’s the problem with redirects, that has been obvious since the weekend. But I’m pretty sure Mark doesn’t care about Android users and previously said so as they don’t spend as much money as isheep.

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>Also considering the software to put disaster then one developer in this week to sort this mess is a joke.  If they don’t sort things soon they won’t need any. Especially as frustration levels have increased a lot over the last few days. </span>

Wtf, happened to my formatting on my last post. I give up, this forus seems to have been built and developed by either a fraud or an idiot.

CFH I take your point but so we’re clear I’m not trying to make apologies.  I’m trying to effect communication.  Really, that’s all I ever tried to do since I agreed to be a moderator.  I’m mandated not to slag off the site, I’m not mandated to defend it.

Second hand comments that “Well, we aren’t seeing them” isn’t helping. Many others are.

This isn’t directed at you personally CFH, but it’s a fair example.  When you (the forum) are given information, there’s always someone ready to use it against us.  You’ve just selectively commented on what I said despite me saying in that very same post, “That’s not to say there isn’t an issue, just that they can’t (yet) see where it is.”   The primary reason I’ve been quiet on this thread lately is because I’ve been busy, but knowing that every time I do post I’m probably gonna get challenged over it by someone isn’t overly encouraging me to care sufficiently to bother to respond.  (And again for clarity, I’m not talking about you here, I’m generalising).

What would be helpful instead?  Genuine question.  STW knows there’s a problem for some users and haven’t as yet been able to isolate a cause.  Would you rather Mark had come along and said the same thing instead?  Would you rather no-one had said anything and we had another twelve pages of “the silence is deafening” posts?  Something else?  I’m at a loss here.

one developer in this week to sort this mess is a joke.

It’s a well documented fact that when you work in the IT industry you aren’t allowed weekends or holidays.  Maybe if there were more subscribers and fewer ad blockers, they might be able to afford another developer.

(I’m not being entirely serious and my hilarious wit and biting sarcasm aside, I know how many subscribers it would take to do away with advertising completely, and it’s an astonishingly low figure.)

I used to subscribe and I will again if the forum gets sorted out. I would also be willing to pay more for additional functionality. Mark, hear our prayers 👏

Said it before

CFH I take your point but so we’re clear I’m not trying to make apologies.  I’m trying to effect communication.

What are you communicating? Is it what is going on or opinions?

Would you rather Mark had come along and said the same thing instead?

Well as the man running it all yes, it would actually show he wanted to be involved. Some people here know a thing or 2 about customer relations and it. They are making some good points

Personally I would like to see a ” sorry we effed it all up, we are doing a b and c to try to sort things out” and regular updates on progress

As for the ridirects if its any help I normally use my desktop.  When on my tea breaks at work I’ll look at the forum on my phone.  Sony xperia running chrome.  all standard.  I get the redirects every few pages I look at some days then its clear for a while..  Monday I was on a train so again used the phone – redirected 5 times IIRC in 3 hours intermittent browsing.  I do not use the phone for browing the web much at all and I have never had an issue from anywhere else.  so with me I am as sure as I can be given my limited IT skills that its not to do with the amount of time spent on here nor anything to do with other sites.  the only other sites I ever go to are the BBC and the guardian and occasionally an ad free rugby forum

FWIW, there are now fewer adverts than there were on the old site. Overall there’s about a third less, and there’s a 20% reduction over what casual viewers see if you’re actually logged in (as a regular free member, not a [P] subscriber).

I’ll oppugn that. There may (or may not) be fewer ads overall, but they’re more intrusive – included in people’s posts, every few posts. My browser tells me how many advertising elements it’s handling. This page has 25 on it until I log in, then it has 61. The typical/average seems to be 20-30 additional elements when I’m logged in.

Genuine question then, if you weren’t a mod, would you be posting similar responses to what you are now, or would you be complaining like many of us are?

The silence from anyone from ‘the business’ is making this worse as it is essentially lack of communication and the userbase is frustrated by the apparent lack of trying to fix things.

If fixes are happening why is there no updates being posted? Any progress is far better than the none that appears just now.

What are you communicating? Is it what is going on or opinions?

A little from both columns.  I do try to be clear, apologies if that’s not the case.

My browser tells me how many advertising elements it’s handling. This page has 25 on it until I log in, then it has 61.

Ok, that’s weird.  I’ll feed that back, thanks.  What platform?

I’ve not trawled through this thread for a while but is there going to be a stop with the endless bumps on the classifieds? It was much better when that couldn’t happen.

What platform?

Desktop.

A little from both columns.  I do try to be clear, apologies if that’s not the case.

Simples….

Anything starting with “Mark Said’ we will take a communication

Anything else we take as just stuff Cougar is saying that has nothing to do with stw.

Sorry but it’s not clear at all when you start defending or explaining with opinions not facts.