Forums

[trestrainfan]

One benefit I like that I don't think anyone else has mentioned is that at least for me, the forum pages appear to load much faster than the previous version.

It seems like over the last few years, every time the forum was updated, it was slower and slower as a result. This time, it is faster.

I don't care for the following:

1. The bright red - maybe they could go with something more muted like a burgundy.

2. The page width - I have about 2 inches of blank screen on either side of the forum page. I would prefer to see it full screen. I wouldn't have to do as much scrolling to read posts.

[TRAINCAT]

Editors, PLEASE change the forum back to the way it was. I HATE it!

Roger

[edblysard]

adrianspeeder

Eh, better than when we used to kick it old school round here.

Adrianspeeder

Where in the world did you dig that up?

[edblysard]

I agree it is easier to read, once I get over the snow blind effect, the horizon white out takes a little getting used to.

The overall look reminds me of some of the first interactive video games, but hey, my daughters would have every function and do-dad figured out in about five minutes.

Only two gripes, no big deal, but it would be nice to have the page count and ability to go to the last page right on top where it used to be…and finding the edit function is hard, still looking in fact.

As for performance, on my laptop at least, it runs a lot faster than it did.

Yup, it does seem the overhaul was to make it better for the mobile device crowd, which is simply following the curve towards most devices being mobile…I give it less than 4 years before no one offers a flip top phone, and even the cheapest phone will have net connection and all the goodies, inevitable as having a cell phone today.

 10 years ago I knew a lot of folks with no cell at all, today, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have one.

[CTValleyRR]

riogrande5761

Speaking of big IT transformations, I'm also in the middle of one at a gov agency who I am a contractor for migrating roughly a thousand users from XP to Windows 7 and dealing with all the growing pains, missing software and things that don't work right.

Yes, there is resistance to chance but sometimes it isn't a ratty shirt, but something isn't broken and doesn't need fixed, just maybe.

Are you in the middle of MANAGING it, or just EXPERIENCING it?  I'm guessing that latter.  3 guesses why the IT folks decided to go to Windows 7, and the first two don't count.  Hint:  it wasn't because users were demanding it.

Broken isn't the right word, but something needed to change, for whatever reason.

But really, no one is trying to muzzle you.  The point is, if all you're going to do is stay here and complain, that isn't adding any value.  If it irks you that much, vote with your feet, and let the rest of us go back to discussing model railroading instead of how much the forums suck now.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Hover your pointer over the persons avatar or screen name. Both are at the top of the post. A dialog box will appear giving you a choice of adding that person as a friend or starting a conversation.

[CTValleyRR]

hon30critter

VSMITH

I politely disagree. We don't have to get used to it if we chose not to. As another poster has suggested, we can vote with our feet.

Personally, I think Kalmbach has missed an opportunity here. Had they taken the time (and yes - the cost) to create a tutorial on how to deal with the new format, and put it front and center on the new website, then I think there would be a few less disgruntled forum users, or maybe a whole lot fewer less happy customers.

One thing I notice on the forums is that a post will be viewed by a whole lot of people, but very few will post a comment on the post. That means there is a silent majority out there who choose to keep their opinions to themselves. That is their choice and I respect it. However, in the case of the changes to the forums, I would ask those mostly silent members to speak up - please.

Dave

 

Dave,

I politely disagree.  I don't think that the lack of replies necessarily correlates to a "silent majority."

But I would respectfully request that the silent majority remain silent, if they're not going to offer advice, participate in a quality discussion, or ask questions.

The forums have changed, and I'm certain they won't be changing back.  We may be successful in getting certain features added or restored if we're polite and direct our feedback to our hosts instead of just griping.  From where I sit, this is just another change in the forums.  Every time this happens, there is much whining and gnashing of teeth, and yet most of us settle in to the new functionality and continue to participate.

So let's settle in, already.

[steinjr]

wjstix

It does bother me that I can't use my normal home PC browser, Netscape Navigator, with the new forums. I can read the posts, but when if I try to reply, I can't get my cursor to go into the reply box to write anything.

 Netscape Navigator was popular 10+ years ago. AOL stopped supporting it in 2008. Time to download a newer browser and install it :-)
 
 Smile,
 Stein

[steinjr]

doctorwayne

Any chance you know of some way to disable signatures?  I've done so in the "Advanced Options" under "Community Settings", but I'm still seeing them - even the best of them get stale after a few viewings.

 As far as I can tell, you are doing it right. Doesn't work for me either. Must be either a bug in the new version, or missing configuration somewhere where Kalmbach will have to deal with it.

 Smile,
 Stein

[Texas Zepher]

Hmmm, can't find a "reply" to the thread, looks like only replies to the post. 

Certainly seems to take up more screen real-estate than the prior format did.  I guess that just means more scrolling, but it was nice to have the messages take advantage of my wide screen format.  Maybe I can get it to default to a more space saving font.   But certainly is a lot of wasted white space also making me scroll up or down.    

Other than that I don't know why they continually change the thing.  This is what the 4th major change since I joined.  At least it doesn't look like they lost the message base this time.

Of course I am using Internet Explorer at the moment.   I might not be so happy with it when I get back to using a good network browsing software.   Internet Explorer 9 is the worst.  I can't believe people would use it by choice.   At work we have too because they are too cheap not to use the one that comes with the OS.

 

 

[HaroldA]

I haven't seen this number of negative comments since the NMRA changed their logo.  Seriously, I was willing to try it for a time - after finding answers to my questions - and I think these changes are, frankly, abysmal.  I say that because of the missing location of each poster and the number of posts by each one of us. To me, this made the foums a little more personal and made me feel part of a greater community.

Now we are all just disconnected names on a screen.  Sure there are places we could go find out the info, but why not just put it back.

[rrinker]

 Well, rather than two different 'replies' there is only one. A reply is a reply - it was kind of pointless to have 2 reply options before anyway. The option to quote is there but you don;t have to click it, that makes just a general reply. If you include a quote from a previous post, you are making a post-specific reply.

 Everythign actually works fien for me, with the exception fo the one thing I keep harping on - there is now ay to see which threads you've already read have new replies, without rememberign the approximate time you were last here and looking at the latest reply date and time. This to me is more annoying than a few extra emails or seeing signatures.

 As for "IE9 is the worst" Worst at WHAT? It is my one and ONLY browser, I've NEVER felt the ned to install anythign else, it works fine on EVERY web site I visit, including the old version of this one. It uses less memoery and is faster than any current version of FIrefox, and wroks on a lot more web sites then Chrome does. Plus Chrome nails you with automatic updates, like it or not. Definitely not suitable for a corporate or development environment. It is a MYTH that using IE causes you to get viruses and spyware. It is a MYTH that IE9 users are the only ones who get popups - I don;t get popups I don't want. I don;t even see the ads on the right side of the page here (by choice). Blockers are built in.

                    --Randy

[KRM]

Hey guys, how do you start a conversation with this new software? Or is that a thing of the past too? 

 I see where I can see my old ones now called messages. But how do I reply to a post as a conversation like we could do before??? What am I missing??

Tks,

 Kev

[KRM]

Thanks Jeffery

 Sure a lot harder than just having it at the bottom of the page.

[cuyama]

steinjr

Netscape Navigator was popular 10+ years ago. AOL stopped supporting it in 2008. Time to download a newer browser and install it :-)

It's a good idea to replace Navigator just for adequate security, let alone operation on any forum. The bad guys have been busy since the last support release