taiga forum

najzere

2010-08-14 12:15:00 pm

Naw, you have to click them or the play button to make them play.

Flip

2010-08-14 12:24:41 pm

1-Up!

Okay, after a few hours of playing around, here are my thoughts as to possible improvements:

- I'd like it if admins could announcement/ deannouncement existing threads

- It'd be nice if we could make private threads that weren't one-on-one. right now I believe sending a private thread to multiple users creates multiple one on one threads. I think there is a use for "group private threads" If nothing else I'd like to know if a pm sent to me was also sent to anybody else to avoid redundancy passing around information that others already have.

- I think we should have a more pronounced link to the news page. In smf the sda logo linked to the news page, but now it is the "triumph of the commons" text, which is less obvious imo. A few times already I've tried to click the sda logo to go to the front page.

Hmm that's all i can think of for now. Love the new forum, guys. Good work!

ps also thanks for putting sigs in the profiles instead of on every post. Wink

arkarian

2010-08-14 12:33:27 pm

gamelogs.org

Quote from Flip:

I'd like it if admins could announcement/ deannouncement existing threads

heh yeah we were just talking about this last night (this morning?). something i sort of overlooked then never got around to doing. it'll be in soon.

Quote from Flip:

It'd be nice if we could make private threads that weren't one-on-one. right now I believe sending a private thread to multiple users creates multiple one on one threads. I think there is a use for "group private threads" If nothing else I'd like to know if a pm sent to me was also sent to anybody else to avoid redundancy passing around information that others already have.

this is a stickier situation. due to the way private threads work in tf this isn't possible atm but i've been thinking of ways to do it. basically, have "channels" like in irc where only invited users are allowed to view that channel. so when creating a private thread, you'd type all the usernames you want, then check a box "Create channel" (or something). then, only one thread will appear, and within that thread there will be a section "Invited users" in the userlist where you can see who's allowed in and add/remove users.

does something like that sound good?

Quote from Flip:

I think we should have a more pronounced link to the news page. In smf the sda logo linked to the news page, but now it is the "triumph of the commons" text, which is less obvious imo. A few times already I've tried to click the sda logo to go to the front page.

currently only the url for the forum subtitle can be edited (admin cp -> global settings), but we're going to add another input box to change the link for the forum logo.

Quote from Flip:

Hmm that's all i can think of for now. Love the new forum, guys. Good work!

thanks!

[quote="Flip"]I'd like it if admins could announcement/ deannouncement existing threads[/quote]
heh yeah we were just talking about this last night (this morning?). something i sort of overlooked then never got around to doing. it'll be in soon.

[quote="Flip"]It'd be nice if we could make private threads that weren't one-on-one.  right now I believe sending a private thread to multiple users creates multiple one on one threads.  I think there is a use for "group private threads"  If nothing else I'd like to know if a pm sent to me was also sent to anybody else to avoid redundancy passing around information that others already have.[/quote]
this is a stickier situation. due to the way private threads work in tf this isn't possible atm but i've been thinking of ways to do it. basically, have "channels" like in irc where only invited users are allowed to view that channel. so when creating a private thread, you'd type all the usernames you want, then check a box "Create channel" (or something). then, only one thread will appear, and within that thread there will be a section "Invited users" in the userlist where you can see who's allowed in and add/remove users.

does something like that sound good?

[quote="Flip"]I think we should have a more pronounced link to the news page.  In smf the sda logo linked to the news page, but now it is the "triumph of the commons" text, which is less obvious imo.  A few times already I've tried to click the sda logo to go to the front page.[/quote]
currently only the url for the forum subtitle can be edited (admin cp -> global settings), but we're going to add another input box to change the link for the forum logo.

[quote="Flip"]Hmm that's all i can think of for now.  Love the new forum, guys.  Good work![/quote]
thanks!

Manocheese

Edit history:

Manocheese: 2010-08-14 12:43:18 pm

Manocheese: 2010-08-14 12:38:36 pm

2010-08-14 12:35:04 pm

Yes, a cucco riding the ground.

For everyone who doesn't like the bars: you can remove them with the Firefox extension Remove It Permanently. Using the Iphone theme seems like the best option, though, because removing the bottom bar takes away your ability to post.

A few things:

There is now no link to the SDA front page except "triumph of the commons". No one is going to think to click that when they're looking for the front page, especially when they're used to clicking on the logo. I'm not sure what it's even there for.
I am unable to uncheck "Automatically show post box on the last page of threads" in Appearance. When I click it, the Appearance menu disappears; the next time I go there, nothing has changed.
Like kuja killer said, the links to Digg and so on do nothing but take up space for 99% of users. Using the Iphone theme to prevent the bar from always showing up mitigates this, but the links should be removed completely; if people really want them, they can use the customizable links in the top bar.
The line that says "Unread[x][in tabs]" etc. cuts into the page: http://a.imageshack.us/img20/7611/sdaforumtext.png
Page links and links to reply at the top of every message list (like in the old forum) would be very useful. Same thing with topic lists.
Can video embedding be made to require a special tag? People have linked to videos for years thinking that the links wouldn't automatically be changed to embedded videos. Now there are tons of posts with unintentional embeds (e.g. in the middle of a paragraph). I realize it's possible to prevent this from happening with the url tag, but people aren't going to go back and edit all their previous posts to do this. It seems like requiring a special tag to embed videos is a much better solution. Note that I'm not looking for a way to not see embedded videos on my end; I'm talking about requiring a special tag for a video to be embedded in the first place.
Even if there are no plans to remove those bars, can we at least get a separate post page? That would be a lot more convenient than using the box at the bottom of the page. Same for editing posts; having it in the middle of the thread is a pain and seems completely unnecessary.
The preview feature makes it look like you're posting; the post shows up under the posts that are already in the thread. It made me think I accidentally hit post. Having a barrier between the real posts and the previewed post would be nice (although a separate post page would be the best solution).

That's all I've noticed so far (aside from the lack of sigs, which is a shame). I really hope the "chat-like" features of the board don't degrade the quality of posts or encourage people to double post.

EDIT: Something else I've noticed is that each board on the board list takes up a ton of empty space because of the information about the last post on the right. Increasing the width of the box for that information in order to decrease the height seems like a good idea.

EDIT2: On the topic lists, it would be nice to have links to the last few pages of a large topic instead of just a link to the first and last pages and a big drop-down for the rest. Let's say I last checked a topic when it had 105 pages and it's now at 106 (a frequent occurrence); I would want to go to page 105 before page 106, so it would be nice not to have to scroll all the way down to 105.

For everyone who doesn't like the bars: you can remove them with the Firefox extension [url=https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/521/]Remove It Permanently[/url]. Using the Iphone theme seems like the best option, though, because removing the bottom bar takes away your ability to post.

A few things:
[list][li]There is now no link to the SDA front page except "triumph of the commons". No one is going to think to click that when they're looking for the front page, especially when they're used to clicking on the logo. I'm not sure what it's even there for.[/li]
[li]I am unable to uncheck "Automatically show post box on the last page of threads" in Appearance. When I click it, the Appearance menu disappears; the next time I go there, nothing has changed.[/li]
[li]Like kuja killer said, the links to Digg and so on do nothing but take up space for 99% of users. Using the Iphone theme to prevent the bar from always showing up mitigates this, but the links should be removed completely; if people really want them, they can use the customizable links in the top bar.[/li]
[li]The "disable per-post random avatars" option doesn't work correctly; when you're viewing a thread and a new post comes up, that post will have a random avatar.
[li]The line that says "Unread[x][in tabs]" etc. cuts into the page: http://a.imageshack.us/img20/7611/sdaforumtext.png[/li]
[li]Page links and links to reply at the top of every message list (like in the old forum) would be very useful. Same thing with topic lists.[/li]
[li]Can video embedding be made to require a special tag? People have linked to videos for years thinking that the links wouldn't automatically be changed to embedded videos. Now there are tons of posts with unintentional embeds (e.g. in the middle of a paragraph). I realize it's possible to prevent this from happening with the url tag, but people aren't going to go back and edit all their previous posts to do this. It seems like requiring a special tag to embed videos is a much better solution. Note that I'm not looking for a way to not see embedded videos on my end; I'm talking about requiring a special tag for a video to be embedded in the first place.[/li]
[li]A way to disable smileys would be very, very useful, especially given the strange nature of smileys with this software. A capital D after a quotation mark now shows up as a smiley, for instance.
[li]Even if there are no plans to remove those bars, can we at least get a separate post page? That would be a lot more convenient than using the box at the bottom of the page. Same for editing posts; having it in the middle of the thread is a pain and seems completely unnecessary.[/li]
[li]The preview feature makes it look like you're posting; the post shows up under the posts that are already in the thread. It made me think I accidentally hit post. Having a barrier between the real posts and the previewed post would be nice (although a separate post page would be the best solution).[/li]
[li]Previewing posts doesn't seem to work properly when you have a thread open in more than one tab. Pressing "Preview" does not update the preview.
[li]Can the profile and "private thread" links be moved underneath people's names? Those links relate to the user, not the post, so it makes more sense to have them underneath the user's name than next to the links related to the post (the link to the post itself and the quote link). It's also less confusing, since every other forum (that I've ever seen, at least) does it that way.[/list]
That's all I've noticed so far (aside from the lack of sigs, which is a shame). I really hope the "chat-like" features of the board don't degrade the quality of posts or encourage people to double post.

EDIT: Something else I've noticed is that each board on the board list takes up a ton of empty space because of the information about the last post on the right. Increasing the width of the box for that information in order to decrease the height seems like a good idea.

EDIT2: On the topic lists, it would be nice to have links to the last few pages of a large topic instead of just a link to the first and last pages and a big drop-down for the rest. Let's say I last checked a topic when it had 105 pages and it's now at 106 (a frequent occurrence); I would want to go to page 105 before page 106, so it would be nice not to have to scroll all the way down to 105.

InsipidTooLazyToLogin

2010-08-14 12:43:07 pm

^ Just for the record, I don't think they should make a separate page for posting. Takes away completely from their intention to make the forums more chat-friendly.

Also, you seem to be experiencing some glitches I haven't noticed yet, as with the Appearance tab or previewing.

arkarian

2010-08-14 12:43:20 pm

gamelogs.org

manocheese: it looks like you're using internet explorer 7, which taiga forum does not support. seems like most of the interface problems you're seeing are because of that. we don't currently plan on supporting ie7.

Quote from Manocheese:

A way to disable smileys would be very, very useful, especially given the strange nature of smileys with this software. A capital D after a quotation mark now shows up as a smiley, for instance.

check "Disable graphical smilies" in the appearance menu while viewing a thread.

Quote from Manocheese:

The preview feature makes it look like you're posting; the post shows up under the posts that are already in the thread. It made me think I accidentally hit post. Having a barrier between the real posts and the previewed post would be nice (although a separate post page would be the best solution).

hmm, it's a different color already but sounds like it should be more pronounced in willow dark. i'll do this today.

Quote from Manocheese:

Previewing posts doesn't seem to work properly when you have a thread open in more than one tab. Pressing "Preview" does not update the preview.

it's working properly for me in firefox. sounds like a problem with ie7, which tf doesn't support.

manocheese: it looks like you're using internet explorer 7, which taiga forum does not support. seems like most of the interface problems you're seeing are because of that. we don't currently plan on supporting ie7.

[quote="Manocheese"]A way to disable smileys would be very, very useful, especially given the strange nature of smileys with this software. A capital D after a quotation mark now shows up as a smiley, for instance.[/quote]
check "Disable graphical smilies" in the appearance menu while viewing a thread.

[quote="Manocheese"]The preview feature makes it look like you're posting; the post shows up under the posts that are already in the thread. It made me think I accidentally hit post. Having a barrier between the real posts and the previewed post would be nice (although a separate post page would be the best solution).[/quote]
hmm, it's a different color already but sounds like it should be more pronounced in willow dark. i'll do this today.

[quote="Manocheese"]Previewing posts doesn't seem to work properly when you have a thread open in more than one tab. Pressing "Preview" does not update the preview.[/quote]
it's working properly for me in firefox. sounds like a problem with ie7, which tf doesn't support.

Paraxade

2010-08-14 12:44:44 pm

ark: given the fact that he referenced a firefox extension and the screencap he took is in Firefox I don't think he's using ie7.

Mystery

2010-08-14 12:45:05 pm

Quote from arkarian:

this is a stickier situation. due to the way private threads work in tf this isn't possible atm but i've been thinking of ways to do it. basically, have "channels" like in irc where only invited users are allowed to view that channel. so when creating a private thread, you'd type all the usernames you want, then check a box "Create channel" (or something). then, only one thread will appear, and within that thread there will be a section "Invited users" in the userlist where you can see who's allowed in and add/remove users.

does something like that sound good?

As I see it, don't you already have a system for this?
I mean, you already have a hidden staff board, right?
And you probably have control over what users or usergroups can do what, where (reply, edit, delete, etc).
So how how about extending that system to work with individual threads, and then granting individual users right to view it? That should do the trick, I think.

arkarian

Edit history:

arkarian: 2010-08-14 12:46:33 pm

2010-08-14 12:45:21 pm

gamelogs.org

oh i missed the firefox logo at the top, lol. looks like firefox 2 or something then which tf also doesn't support. ff3+ should all work fine though.

najzere

2010-08-14 12:46:48 pm

Regarding preview vs. post looking similar, this will likely only happen once (if at all; i immediately saw preview was a different color) before you learn how it works. Not that big of a deal, in my opinion.

arkarian

Edit history:

arkarian: 2010-08-14 12:47:32 pm

2010-08-14 12:47:13 pm

gamelogs.org

i agree. can't hurt to make previews a little lighter though. in styles besides willow dark it should be more obvious.

Mystery

2010-08-14 12:49:25 pm

Quote from Manocheese:

The line that says "Unread[x][in tabs]" etc. cuts into the page: http://a.imageshack.us/img20/7611/sdaforumtext.png

Upgrade your browser!

Quote from Manocheese:

Even if there are no plans to remove those bars, can we at least get a separate post page? That would be a lot more convenient than using the box at the bottom of the page. Same for editing posts; having it in the middle of the thread is a pain and seems completely unnecessary.

I quite like it. So if anything, do make it an option. I'm just throwing it in here to make it obvious that not everyone wants that.

Quote from Manocheese:

The preview feature makes it look like you're posting; the post shows up under the posts that are already in the thread. It made me think I accidentally hit post. Having a barrier between the real posts and the previewed post would be nice (although a separate post page would be the best solution).

Another "no" for the separate page Smiley

The live update must be preserved!

Also, the whole reply box expanding is a problem when people are making new posts! I have to constantly minimize it to see what people write! This needs to be fixed IMO.

[quote="Manocheese"][li]The line that says "Unread[x][in tabs]" etc. cuts into the page: http://a.imageshack.us/img20/7611/sdaforumtext.png[/li][/quote]
Upgrade your browser!

[quote="Manocheese"][li]Even if there are no plans to remove those bars, can we at least get a separate post page? That would be a lot more convenient than using the box at the bottom of the page. Same for editing posts; having it in the middle of the thread is a pain and seems completely unnecessary.[/li][/quote]
I quite like it. So if anything, do make it an option. I'm just throwing it in here to make it obvious that not everyone wants that.

[quote="Manocheese"][li]The preview feature makes it look like you're posting; the post shows up under the posts that are already in the thread. It made me think I accidentally hit post. Having a barrier between the real posts and the previewed post would be nice (although a separate post page would be the best solution).[/li][/quote]
Another "no" for the separate page :) The live update must be preserved!

Also, the whole reply box expanding is a problem when people are making new posts! I have to constantly minimize it to see what people write! This needs to be fixed IMO.

najzere

2010-08-14 12:49:35 pm

In Willow, preview is a very light gray which isn't all that different from the very light blue of half the posts. Also in preview the info and icons in the top right corner are missing as is the info arrow next to the username. Maybe more stuff is missing? (I have avatars and text disabled.) Anyway, it's easy to spot once you've done it once.

Flip

2010-08-14 12:51:44 pm

1-Up!

Quote from arkarian:

Quote from Flip:

I'd like it if admins could announcement/ deannouncement existing threads

Quote from Flip:

It'd be nice if we could make private threads that weren't one-on-one. right now I believe sending a private thread to multiple users creates multiple one on one threads. I think there is a use for "group private threads" If nothing else I'd like to know if a pm sent to me was also sent to anybody else to avoid redundancy passing around information that others already have.

this is a stickier situation. due to the way private threads work in tf this isn't possible atm but i've been thinking of ways to do it. basically, have "channels" like in irc where only invited users are allowed to view that channel. so when creating a private thread, you'd type all the usernames you want, then check a box "Create channel" (or something). then, only one thread will appear, and within that thread there will be a section "Invited users" in the userlist where you can see who's allowed in and add/remove users.

does something like that sound good?

That would work, but tbh I'd be happy just knowing who all was sent the thread. That way if you really want to "reply all" you can just send another pm.

[quote="arkarian"][quote="Flip"]I'd like it if admins could announcement/ deannouncement existing threads[/quote]
[quote="Flip"]It'd be nice if we could make private threads that weren't one-on-one.  right now I believe sending a private thread to multiple users creates multiple one on one threads.  I think there is a use for "group private threads"  If nothing else I'd like to know if a pm sent to me was also sent to anybody else to avoid redundancy passing around information that others already have.[/quote]
this is a stickier situation. due to the way private threads work in tf this isn't possible atm but i've been thinking of ways to do it. basically, have "channels" like in irc where only invited users are allowed to view that channel. so when creating a private thread, you'd type all the usernames you want, then check a box "Create channel" (or something). then, only one thread will appear, and within that thread there will be a section "Invited users" in the userlist where you can see who's allowed in and add/remove users.

does something like that sound good?
[/quote]

That would work, but tbh I'd be happy just knowing who all was sent the thread.  That way if you really want to "reply all" you can just send another pm.

arkarian

Edit history:

arkarian: 2010-08-14 12:54:09 pm

2010-08-14 12:53:24 pm

gamelogs.org

Quote from Mystery:

Also, the whole reply box expanding is a problem when people are making new posts! I have to constantly minimize it to see what people write! This needs to be fixed IMO.

do you mean when it expands automatically when you load the last page of a thread? if so you can turn this off in the appearance menu (i personally like this turned off too).

Quote from najzere:

In Willow, preview is a very light gray which isn't all that different from the very light blue of half the posts.

thanks, i'll have to take a look at preview in every style then.

Quote from najzere:

Also in preview the info and icons in the top right corner are missing as is the info arrow next to the username. Maybe more stuff is missing? (I have avatars and text disabled.) Anyway, it's easy to spot once you've done it once.

well it's just a preview right? only the relevant stuff is shown. it's not a real post yet which is why you can't quote it or anything.

Mystery

2010-08-14 12:54:01 pm

There also seems to be some problems with the whole live update business. Stay long enough in a thread for new posts to appear and switch a new page. Then, say, close your browser and open it again. A lot of posts will be "gone". The only way to get them is to refresh the page and switch page.
I'm not 100% sure about when it actually happens, though.

arkarian

2010-08-14 12:54:49 pm

gamelogs.org

live updating only works when you're on the last page of a thread. does that explain what you're seeing?

Mystery

2010-08-14 12:54:59 pm

Quote from arkarian:

Quote from Mystery:

Also, the whole reply box expanding is a problem when people are making new posts! I have to constantly minimize it to see what people write! This needs to be fixed IMO.

do you mean when it expands automatically when you load the last page of a thread? if so you can turn this off in the appearance menu (i personally like this turned off too).

No, I mean, if I click +/- size, type a reply and people post. The reply box takes up some of the space where actual posts are.

najzere

2010-08-14 12:55:14 pm

@arkarian: I was actually arguing that you don't need to change anything for the preview because it is so different from normal posts. Tongue

(Even the light gray/light blue thing.)

arkarian

2010-08-14 12:56:27 pm

gamelogs.org

@mystery: of course it does. just close it.

@najzere: oh gotcha. thanks. Tongue

arkarian

Edit history:

arkarian: 2010-08-14 12:57:25 pm

2010-08-14 12:57:02 pm

gamelogs.org

test

the expanded post box closes automatically when you post, so beyond that i'm not sure there's anything else i can do.

Mystery

2010-08-14 12:57:38 pm

Quote from arkarian:

live updating only works when you're on the last page of a thread. does that explain what you're seeing?

No, I'm already at the last page!
(I'm replying here, no? :p)
But try it. Wait a little until we hit the 7th page, then do something like closing the browser and opening it again or maybe refreshing the page. Some of the posts that happen on the 7th page will be gone. Furthermore, replies can appear underneath them, making it even weirder!
Refreshing the page fixes it, though.

najzere

2010-08-14 12:58:30 pm

If you just dynamically change the height of the textarea with the +/- size link, it would push down the page. This should be easier than using positioning to keep the bottom pegged in place and have the top expand up over the board.

arkarian

2010-08-14 12:59:25 pm

gamelogs.org

not sure what you mean. all the +/- size button does is change the height value of the post textarea via css. nothing easier than that.

Mystery

2010-08-14 12:59:35 pm

Quote from arkarian:

@mystery: of course it does. just close it.

Hmm? I'm not sure you got my point. My point was that if you expand the reply box, and someone replies, you can't read that reply unless you shrink it again. And you have to do it all the time when people reply in a fast pace!
It's rather annoying, actually. Not something that breaks the forum, though.