I really, really miss the old forum....

[jfugate]

I don't like this forum software either.  One really annoying "feature" is that some posts don't have a scroll bar available and I can not read the entire message unless I cut and paste it into some other program.  Anyone else have this problem and a solution?
Peter

If you don't have a scroll bar on the right side of your browser window, that's a local problem, not a problem with our new forum software. Does that always happen?

Bergie

I think there is one version of this problem that is here in the forum software ... it appears when someone posts a really long block of text (like a link) with no spaces and you can't scroll the message to the right to see what's missing. It's a rare problem, but a real one and would probably affect everyone.

Let me try to duplicate it ...

http://nowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirpartynowisthetimeforallmentocometotheaidoftheirparty.com

Hmmm ... I get a scroll bar and can scroll to the right in Firefox 1.5. It could be a browser-specific problem too. How about a really large photo ... ?

" border="0" />

Nope, still get the scroll bar, but the photo is just a placeholder and not the actual image. Not sure how to duplicate the problem ... but it does make this post look really wierd. Can everyone read this post okay?

[Bergie]

I don't like this forum software either.  One really annoying "feature" is that some posts don't have a scroll bar available and I can not read the entire message unless I cut and paste it into some other program.  Anyone else have this problem and a solution?
Peter

If you don't have a scroll bar on the right side of your browser window, that's a local problem, not a problem with our new forum software. Does that always happen?

Bergie

[Bergie]

You know what I miss?  I miss:

1) Typing in plain text.  Yep, I figure that in this reply window, we're actually typing html, not plain text.  Because of that, things like copying and pasting from other websites is a mess.  For example, try copying and pasting from Wikipedia.  All their text highlights are there and you can't get rid of them.  I find myself having to manually type things into this reply window to get rid of unwanted text highlights.  That's annoying.

2) A single line return key.  For example, see the extra space above this line?  That's because I hit the return key once, yet it double spaced it.  Why?  I have learned that if you hold down the shift key while hitting the return key, it makes it a single space.  But why this extra step?  It's annoying.

3) A reliable delete button.  I tend to go over my posts and edit them before posting.  Yet for whatever reason, my delete key sometimes doesn't work.  To erase anything, now I use the backspace key and make sure I put the cursor to the right of any corrections.  That's annoying.

4) Not seeing the whole thread page when replying.  It means that if I want to reply to multiple posts, I either have to make individual replies to each post in question, or I have to open another browser window in order to see all the posts I want to reply to.  That's annoying.

Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************

In regards to problem #1, copy the text from another Web site, paste it into NotePad (which turns it into true text), and then paste it into our forum.

Bergie

[pcarrell]

Also, does anyone know how to look up a specific members profile without having one of their posts to click on?  Like lets say I want to look up Spacemouse, and I don't have any of his posts to just click on.  How would I find his profile?

Go to the top or bottom of this page and click on "Model Railroader Forums."  That's one step up from the General Discussion or Layouts Page.  Find the line that says something like:

There are 34 of 28,821 member(s) online

And click on the big number (28,821 in this case.)  That takes you to the member directory.  I think I'll bookmark that page, because getting there is really obscure and I'm not sure I could do it after a couple of beers.

That'll work!

[SpaceMouse]

I also miss my daily Spacemouse fix.

Me too.

Lately I have been starting a holistic health practice and studying for my naturpoathic degree, so I have very little time for the boards. To add to that, my home computer went south this weekend. I figure it's just the power supply, but I have had little time to devote to it. My model time has suffered as well, I have not really done anything since mid-July. I hope to get at least that part of it turned around soon. I have some interesting projects--interesting to me anyway--in mind. Today I had a break and jumped in. Mostly, like Phillip said, if I have a second, I jump in on a discussion on layout design.

 

 

 

[Anonymous]

and Ray, you're not complaining? Spacemouse is a big boy, he should be able to speak for himself, and there was more childish BS on the old forum, open your eyes.........mike

[NS2591]

This new format sucks. I espescially don't like the Subscriber only content

[howmus]

I miss what this forum used to be.  But that has nothing to do with the new software.  Yeh, it took a little bit to figure out some of the new "improvements" but I quickly went over to the Apple Users forums and did some research among Apple people (like myself) and got the browser problems worked out.  I don't think there is anything you can do with a PC that I can't do here with my MAC..... 

What I do miss is the helpful, friendly, cheerful responses that used to be the norm here a couple years ago when I joined.  The threads that get all the answers are the topics where someone is complaining about everything.  Look at this thread.......  SpaceMouse has all but stopped posting because every time he started a topic some &*%%$#@#@ jumps all over him and calls him names. 

What I really miss is the useful help that used to be here (still here, usually found on page 3) as well as the fun and good humour.  While I still pop in from time to time, I find that another forum nearby doesn't have the childish attitude that this forum has developed recently......  So I spend most of my online time over there.

[grayfox1119]

RC 1 is shipping next week to some of us who are Beta testing IE 7.0 I am still having problems with Beta 2 version, I cannot get the drop down boxes when I reply to messages on this forum. It seems they really tightened up security, so much so that we have all sorts of problems with some web sites. I hope RC1 clears this up.
Joe, I wanted to send you a sad face icon, but I cannot get the drop down boxes, so please know that you have my sympathy on the water problem at your home.

[IRONROOSTER]

I find the new forum to be visually better.  Functionally, I can still do everything I did before.  But a number of functions have to be done differently, some with more keystrokes.  Overall I'd say it was a little less friendly and more cumbersome, but not enough to keep me away.

I miss:
The polls
The rants and raves against them.  
Having a good laugh  over people getting their knickers in a twist over the polls and stars.

Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

What is there to miss about the "old" forum?

The same whiners are still here.

[selector]

I agree, Joe, and said as much recently.  I have gotten used to the new flavour, but I was never a big fan of plain old vanilla.  Thanks to Jon (alco_fan), my picture problems are history.

I am no more comfortable with change than the next person, but a wise old Roman said, "Who does not advance falls behind."  I am happy there are no more polls, althought the enterprising person could figure out how to make one work.  Don't, please!

BTW, where is Dave Kelly?

[jfugate]

I am probably considered part of the "Old Wifes Club" too, but I agree with many of the concerns about this forum's software -- and especially with the odd silence on the part of MR about them. It would be nice to hear *something* from MR, even "get used to it".

KNOWN PROBLEMS
As to the posting problems, it is clear from reviewing CommunityServer's bug reports on their support site that two major snafu's exist in their code:

1. IE 7 is a problem. If you are using that browser, the version of CommunityServer MR is using on this forum has *serious malfunctions*. CommunityServer is developed by a Microsoft-Centric development group, so no doubt they will address the issues in time to be out with the release of Vista next year, but that also means MR will need to plan an immediate upgrade in early 2007 or they will have a major mess on their hands.

2. Macs and Safari are a problem. Since the CommunityServer developers are Microsoft centric, it appears from their responses to their bug reports that they rigorly test their software on the two major browsers, and that's it. The two top browsers right now are IE 6 and Firefox 1.5. If you are not using one of these browsers, then you will have problems, period.

MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION AS A WEB DEVELOPER
Since I am a senior internet software developer in my day job, I have a couple of professional observations on these issues.

1. Browsers are free, and if you want the least hassle and the most enjoyable internet browsing experience, then keep your browser updated, and get familiar with using one of the two top browsers on your computer. You need a working copy of IE 6 or Firefox 1.5 installed on your computer and you need to be familar with it. Even if these two browsers are not your favorite, you need one of them as a second browser for sites like this one that require one of these two browsers for a good browsing experience.

2. On the other hand, web software that only works well in lastest versions of the top two browsers and misbehaves badly in anything else is a really sloppy development practice. It appears the CommunityServer developers' official stance is: "If you use our software and it doesn't work right for you, get one of the approved browsers and use it. Browsers are free, so if you are unwilling to download and use an approved browser, then getting bad behavoir using our software is your own darn fault." Yes, sloppy, unrealistic, and rather heartless.

MR's SILENCE
MR's deafening silence on this whole issue doesn't do much to dispell the rather heartless aspect of CommunityServer's stance on their software problems, either. I've emailed Bergie myself, but it appears he has lots of irons in the fire at the moment, and my guess is the upgrade caused him to get behind in his other responsibilities and he's playing catch up. But it would be nice to at least hear a peep out of him now and then.

[modelalaska]

I don't like this forum software either.  One really annoying "feature" is that some posts don't have a scroll bar available and I can not read the entire message unless I cut and paste it into some other program.  Anyone else have this problem and a solution?
Peter

[Darth Santa Fe]

I've gotten used to this new forum, but I still like the old one better. Logging in and posting was easier (login box at the top of the page, quick reply box), pictures and urls were easier to post, and everything loaded in half the time it does now for me. When you've got an 8 year old computer and less than a cable connection (like me), loading this place can take a very, very long time.

[Casey Feedwater]

As a Mac user I can't do much here. I have all kind of problems. The pdf videos for example that seems to be the new great thing is not for me, I can't use that feature at all.

Mac users are model railroaders too, but when the importent thing is money, things like that does not mean much... I'm 100% sure they calculated and said, we can sacrifice Mac users because they are a minority.

I am also a Mac user. But as I reported on pages 2 and 3 of this thread http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/3/895844/ShowPost.aspx#895844 the solution is to download Firefox for Mac OS X and use it instead of Safari when logging on to this forum. I use Safari everywhere else I go on the internet with no problems, so it seems reasonable to assume the problem is with the Trains.com forum software and not with our Macs.

I installed Firefox yesterday and discovered that the photo posting problems have disappeared and that I'm also able to use the text formatting options in the posting window - something I was never able to do with Safari on this forum.

[Railphotog]

Boo Hoo!  Things change.  Live with it.

[Paul3]

You know what I miss?  I miss:

1) Typing in plain text.  Yep, I figure that in this reply window, we're actually typing html, not plain text.  Because of that, things like copying and pasting from other websites is a mess.  For example, try copying and pasting from Wikipedia.  All their text highlights are there and you can't get rid of them.  I find myself having to manually type things into this reply window to get rid of unwanted text highlights.  That's annoying.

2) A single line return key.  For example, see the extra space above this line?  That's because I hit the return key once, yet it double spaced it.  Why?  I have learned that if you hold down the shift key while hitting the return key, it makes it a single space.  But why this extra step?  It's annoying.

3) A reliable delete button.  I tend to go over my posts and edit them before posting.  Yet for whatever reason, my delete key sometimes doesn't work.  To erase anything, now I use the backspace key and make sure I put the cursor to the right of any corrections.  That's annoying.

4) Not seeing the whole thread page when replying.  It means that if I want to reply to multiple posts, I either have to make individual replies to each post in question, or I have to open another browser window in order to see all the posts I want to reply to.  That's annoying.

Paul A. Cutler III
*************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*************

[CAZEPHYR]

Sure the new forum might be a little difficult for some people to figure out but they will eventually.  I don't miss the dumb polls or the rediculous posts though from the old forum. 

I agree with your comment on the dumb polls.  Most of the polls were repeat subjects over and over. 

 

[Anonymous]

I guess to each his own, but quality has gone up and quantity is down. This forum has become better imho, more train talk, less idle banter, much ado about nothing...............

[cripp12]

I've only just figured out how the "My Forums" and "Persoanl messages" work... and I'm not entirely thick... mostly just not used to the jargon.

Coould you explain how they work?

[simon1966]

I am in high tech as well.  I deal with new software and changes all the time. Yet I echo many of the complaints written above.  I am dissapointed with the new forum.  It really is not a significant improvement in any way, except for speed.  It is faster to load, no doubt, but I can not think of a single other improvment over the old forum.  I don't hate the new forum, I am just ambivalent towards it because it does not seem to have provided the user any advances. 

[grayfox1119]

Change comes very hard for some people. Working in high tech comapnies most of my working career, I had to deal with many radical changes. I had to help people through many of these changes as I had over 100 techs working for me.
You will get through it trust me. Change is how we get better, grow stronger. Heck, if our bodies never changed, we would still look and act like Neanderthals.....ohh ohhhhh, some still do!!!! LOL

[Don Z]

 Also before you could see the threads that are new and new replys

since your last visit that were a different color.  I dont know if I'm just stupid or what but I can't

figure out alot of the new features.

I also miss my daily Spacemouse fix.

Tigerstripe, instead of using the "Back" button on your browser, click on the forum name that you are reading in (General Discussion, for example) at the top or bottom of the page, and when it reloads, the topic you just read shows up in grey, while the unread topics are blue. Also, when coming back to the forum, those grey topics will again be blue if a reply was posted in your absence.

I hope this helps,

Don Z.

[CSX_road_slug]

Some members of the "old" forum don't visit as much because they don't have as much free time as they once did; others have changed their screen name (myself included).  IOW many of the changes may not totally be the result of the new software.

[MisterBeasley]

Also, does anyone know how to look up a specific members profile without having one of their posts to click on?  Like lets say I want to look up Spacemouse, and I don't have any of his posts to just click on.  How would I find his profile?

Go to the top or bottom of this page and click on "Model Railroader Forums."  That's one step up from the General Discussion or Layouts Page.  Find the line that says something like:

There are 34 of 28,821 member(s) online

And click on the big number (28,821 in this case.)  That takes you to the member directory.  I think I'll bookmark that page, because getting there is really obscure and I'm not sure I could do it after a couple of beers.

[MisterBeasley]

To me, there's really not much that's different.  Sure, the keystrokes have changed a bit, but it's mostly the same things.  I would say that the performance is better, particularly in the daytime hours.  The old one used to hang up for 10-20 seconds once in a while, and I don't see that problem anymore.

I don't know if Kalmbach did a server upgrade along with the forum change.  Since the old forum has been around for quite a while, it may be that the old forum software wouldn't even run with new servers and new OS's.  This happens a lot when you upgrade.

[pcarrell]

Spacemouse has been hanging out in the layouts section lately.  He's still here!

As to the new format.....I don't miss the polls or the stars, but I do miss being able to copy from a post before it's posted.  It was handy for my spell checker, you know?  It's not as user friendly, but it has it's good points as well.  It's kind of a tradeoff. 

Also, does anyone know how to look up a specific members profile without having one of their posts to click on?  Like lets say I want to look up Spacemouse, and I don't have any of his posts to just click on.  How would I find his profile?

And TMLEWI, there's one in my signature.  It's kind of new so the membership isn't what this one is, but it's pretty good.  Since there aren't a lot of members yet you really get to know everybody.

[Anonymous]

Do I miss the old forums? Yes.

These forums are ok. Just overbuilt and cumbersome.

I have a feeling a little something may have gone by the wayside when the new forums was implemented.

The recent troubles over the weekend assured me that some things never changed.

[MAbruce]

I don’t know.  While the new format is not perfect, I think it’s better than what was there before.  But then again, I’m not a high post count members that is reading/posting through nearly every topic and demands advanced features.  I’m an average user that realizes this is a free forum and works with what they have.