Im happy with the forums with Firefox. I did discover another issue. The use of the fonts and colors in the forums overall. I find it hard on the eyes and induces headaches.
I never realized how happy I was with the previous version of the forums until this new one was built. Sorry Folks.
Don,
Thanks. That worked. I hadn't scrolled down far enough to find it. Previously it was at the top.
Engineer Jeff NS Nut Visit my layout at: http://www.thebinks.com/trains/
Us Norfolk Southern modelers are thinking that white text on a black background might look cool. That would really make things exciting here.
You know it's funny that when some of us complain about certain issues that arise here from time to time, we get no "sympathy" and instead get told to move on to another forum if we don't like how things run around here. These same people are the ones now complaining about the new forum and we're all supposed to sympathize with them? I think the new forum looks pretty neat and I agree with some who've said that it'll take some time to get used to. For the others who are complaining, if you don't like how things are done here, go to another forum or better yet start your own.
TONY
"If we never take the time, how can we ever have the time." - Merovingian (Matrix Reloaded)
Paul3Secondly, when one hits the "Forums" button (under the pilot of Koester's Midland Route Berkshire above), it only goes to the forums for MR (http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/default.aspx?groupid=8). Before, that same button went to all the forums (http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/). This means that when I'm surfing the MR forum, and I want to check out the Trains forum, I have to click on the "Trains" magazine tab, then click on "Forums" to get there.
Actually, on the previous site there were two Forums links. One was at the very top of the page within at the Trains.com-based links, and it would take you to the very top of the forums. The second was in the specific magazine's navigation bar and if you clicked that one you'd be taken to the specific magazine's portion of the forum.
On this new site, you can get a link back to the very top of the forum by hovering your mouse over the "Resources" tab at the top left of the page and selecting Reader forums from the drop down list. As mentioned, if you click the Forums tab from a magazine's navigation bar, you're going to go into that magazine's portion of the forum.
Thanks for all the feedback, Paul, and thanks for participating for so long. It's greatly appreciated.
Erik
I think the overall layout looks great--very clean. It does run a little slower for me, but I don't expect good sites to dumb down to my dial-up standards. I haven't used it extensively yet, but I think the layout and look are very nice.
Ron
Owner and superintendant of the N scale Texas Colorado & Western Railway, a protolanced representaion of the BNSF from Fort Worth, TX through Wichita Falls TX and into Colorado.
Check out the TC&WRy on at https://www.facebook.com/TCWRy
Check out my MRR How-To YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/RonsTrainsNThings
My main screens are 1680 and 1400 pixels wide (desktop and laptop). The forum is about 1000 pixels wide: 300 for the adds, 175 for the users avatar, ~60 for padding, with the left over 465 pixels for the forum posts. On my screen, that is 465/1680 = 28% of the horizontal width used for ACTUAL CONTENT. This is a major step backwards from the old forum.
Its pretty easy to set the main css file or master page and have it as a preference in the users page. You can do both dynamically. As long as you use the same content panel ID's, you can set the this.MasterPageFile in OnPreInit to "~\biggermasterpage.master
Thanks MRR for fixing the Page Back button feature. Now at least I do not have to keep logging off and logging back on to go to the next thread or even to go back a page on the same thread. Now if only you could put the ads as a banner across the top of the thread and widen the thread area to take advantage of the space vacated by the ads as they are now it would be MUCH better. Then all you would have to do is add a little subtle shading in the thread area to get rid of the harshness of the large white area.
Thanks in advance if you could do it.
Blue Flamer.
P.S. I do not know if it is on your end or mine, but the Smilies are very squashed together and small and hard to make out. The Smilies box was about twice to three times the size in the old style.
Thanks again.
B.F.
EDIT.
Sorry, but I lied. I CAN back up to the previous page on the Laptop with Vista Ultimate but NOT on the Desktop running Windows XP. I use the same version of Netscape Navigator for browsing on BOTH computers. I have no problem using the Page Back feature on any of the other Web Sites that I frequent and I NEVER had the problem on the old Forum format. This nonsense of having to log off and then log back on after I read each thread is starting to get old. REALLY fast.
I've been checking out the new look, like the rest of you have. Overall I think it looks good. It has the makings of a real fine forum.
I understand that things aren't 100% right off the bat. Thats OK, there's always some fine tuning to be done on something so new. I'll let the website techs do their job for a while and most likely my issues will be addressed. If not, they have a big enough work load to contend with right now. I'll let them work through some of that stuff for a while before I make my piddley requests known.
As to the side of the page that many seem so concerned with, I don't have any issue with that. It pays the bills. It's cool with me. It doesn't seem worth it to me to get all worked up about. Even if I had a slow internet connection, I'd have to realize that I'm not footing the bill, so as my old man used to say, "Beggers can't be choosers!"
Thanks Model Railroader crew for all that you do!
BergieTwo quick things.... First, it was not necessary to lock existing username and we did not do that. We have a message for all first time returnees to the site that says if you have a username all you have to do it logout and login again. (If you've done that, the message is gone.) Next, it's funny to hear a CP fan calling a color scheme nasty. Sorry, that's just funny to me. Sorry for the sarcasm... call me a proud pappa if you must. Bergie
Two quick things....
First, it was not necessary to lock existing username and we did not do that. We have a message for all first time returnees to the site that says if you have a username all you have to do it logout and login again. (If you've done that, the message is gone.)
Next, it's funny to hear a CP fan calling a color scheme nasty. Sorry, that's just funny to me.
Sorry for the sarcasm... call me a proud pappa if you must.
Bergie
I thought the message I received was to create a new username OR click "here" to unlock my "old" username. I guess I read the wrong message. Seems like I was not the only one.
As for CP's colour scheme it does not hurt the eyes like this one does.
As for your sarcasm...it's about all I expect from you anymore.
Change is the only constant.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
LD.30-30Today I sign on, go to the Trains forums and get a ''you need to unlock your old screenname'' prompt.OK.... I enter my info and get a ''incorrect password'' prompt.....after 3 more times of the same, I say ''send me my password''...what I get is a jumbled bunch of nonsense numbers and letters but not my password. So I have to make a new screenname, this is progress? Now I have to go and redo all my info and find an avatar.More wasted time. I'll have to wait and see if this new mess is worth the trouble, but right now it's a big thumbs down.
Today I sign on, go to the Trains forums and get a ''you need to unlock your old screenname'' prompt.OK.... I enter my info and get a ''incorrect password'' prompt.....after 3 more times of the same, I say ''send me my password''...what I get is a jumbled bunch of nonsense numbers and letters but not my password. So I have to make a new screenname, this is progress? Now I have to go and redo all my info and find an avatar.More wasted time. I'll have to wait and see if this new mess is worth the trouble, but right now it's a big thumbs down.
Hint: Lot in with the "jumbled bunch of nonsense numbers and letters" (and your old screen name), then you can go and change the password back to something familiar and easy-to-remember.
This is a common security procedure; the passwords are encrypted back on the server in such a way that it is IMPOSSIBLE to recover, only to assign you a new one. This is for your own security- if some idiot cracker (NOT "hacker") manages to break into Kalmbach's servers, they can't get your password (and, as another person stated, the password to all the other sites you access).