dissapointing

[ash]

I find this new style bland and not easy on the eye, looks alot like other photo forums.:eek:

[Ian]

Hi Ash, you haven't read:

http://dpnow.com/forum2/showthread.php?p=80&mode=threaded#post80

The forum will be re-skinned. It will, aesthetically, look very different to now, though the fundamental structure and user interface will be much the same as it is now.

See one example of a vBulletin forum that has been re-skinned here:

http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/

I rate that as a moderate re-skin, there are more advanced ones too.

Ian

[DTD]

I'm afraid I really don't like it. In my opinion there are too many boxes,
I found the old 'open' style easier to flick through.
I'm not a big one for posting, although i like reading other people's posts.
Personally, I would prefer just a couple of sections to the forum say 'photo' and none 'photo'. It puts me off keeping up with debates if I have to visit a number of different sections.

[Ian]

vBulletin is pretty much state of the art when it comes to Web-based discussion forum platforms. The aesthetic look of the forum will change, I'm still working on the design.

But you don't have to view the forum as it is presented, by default. We're experimenting with an alternative portal - maybe this would be better for you - make a note of this URL:

http://dpnow.com/cmps_index.php

Do let me know what you think. The layout of that page is customisable, so any suggestions would be welcomed though I can't promise anything.

Ian

[DTD]

That does look better. Hope this doesn't sound too much like moaning, but to me it's still too busy.

What do other people think about not having so many sections?

I know photo/non-photo/and say 'Help' might not suit a forum that has dozens of posts a day, but it would make it easier to see what's going on and take part.

Cheers

[Ian]

That does look better. Hope this doesn't sound too much like moaning, but to me it's still too busy.

What do other people think about not having so many sections?

I know photo/non-photo/and say 'Help' might not suit a forum that has dozens of posts a day, but it would make it easier to see what's going on and take part.

Cheers

You can also monitor the latest posts now via RSS:

http://dpnow.com/forum2/external.php

Ian

[Stephen]

That does look better. Hope this doesn't sound too much like moaning, but to me it's still too busy.

What do other people think about not having so many sections?

I know photo/non-photo/and say 'Help' might not suit a forum that has dozens of posts a day, but it would make it easier to see what's going on and take part.

Cheers

I am suprised you take this opinion, we used to get plenty of comments about the old forum being not so user friendly and difficult to navigate etc. Generally speaking people like this style of forum and is why its regarded as the most popular. In my opinion it is far more user friendly and from an admin pov much more customisable.

If you are finding it harder to navigate the various boards may I suggest clicking on New Posts, or Quick Links then down to Todays posts

[DTD]

If you are finding it harder to navigate the various boards may I suggest clicking on New Posts, or Quick Links then down to Todays posts[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the suggestion, that does help, but generally I'm still of the same opinion.

[Stephen]

Thanks for the suggestion, that does help, but generally I'm still of the same opinion.

Well I hope you stick around and post some more, maybe you will grow to like it more, but you know the old saying. "You can't please all of the people all of the time" ;)

[Pol]

As Stephen said, the "New posts" link is always a good way to keep up with the various postings.

This particular forum software (vBulletin) offers a whole host of options that can be used to enhance what the forums have to offer so it's well worth while getting to know how to use the various tools so you configure it to display things they way you prefer.

I felt the same way as you the first time I encountered this style of message board - but once I'd 'played around' with it for a week or two I began to realise how much better it was than anything I'd used previously.

Try clicking on all the options along the top - have a look at "quick links" and see what all the options do, where they take you. Also try the various "forum display" options and set yours to the one you prefer - I prefer linear as it opens the full thread, but others prefer 'hybrid'. Depends on how you like to read/view a specific thread or forum.

Also _ have a look around your "User CP" (user control panel) and test out all the options available to you in there. The user CP is another quick way to follow any threads or forums you've subscribed to. New posts for that thread will show up from your CP.

You can't 'break' anything if you just click around and see what the various options do to the display so go ahead and experiment to see if you can make it more enjoyable for your personal taste.

Hope that helps a little. I also hope you'll stick with it now that you've 'come in from the cold, so to speak, and joined in posting and expressing your views.

Pol

[DTD]

Thanks, I'll certainly have a play around.
I've visited the old forum for several years. I stopped my occasional posting as 'David Dunnico' because I didn't like the way Google would include my posts if someone searched for my name. I became 'DD', but the new forum wants a 3 character name, hence DTD (my full initials).

[Pol]

Thanks, I'll certainly have a play around.
I've visited the old forum for several years. I stopped my occasional posting as 'David Dunnico' because I didn't like the way Google would include my posts if someone searched for my name. I became 'DD', but the new forum wants a 3 character name, hence DTD (my full initials).


ooOOooo I remember you now that you've mentioned your previous username. :)

I used to have the same problem when I used my full, real-life name a few years ago. That's why I changed to 'Pol' (short for Polonius) - my real life occasional nickname.

Polonius was 'bestowed' on me' by my husband - because he said I waffled and should speak with "more matter with less art, please" (quoting Gertrude from Hamlet)

So - I nicknamed him "Gert" - short for Gertrude and told him "Art matters, Gertrude - so there! :p

So - we've been 'Pol and Gert' for a few years now ..... and Google has never sussed us as far as I can tell.


Pol

[DTD]

Blimey! That's a very learned way to get a nick-name :) And to think my partner calls me 'Butty' because I'll stick anything betwixt two slices of bread!

[Stephen]

Thanks, I'll certainly have a play around.
I've visited the old forum for several years. I stopped my occasional posting as 'David Dunnico' because I didn't like the way Google would include my posts if someone searched for my name. I became 'DD', but the new forum wants a 3 character name, hence DTD (my full initials).

Heck, if you search my name on Google, there's loads of stuff, its just one of those things I have to live with I'm afraid

[Pol]

Blimey! That's a very learned way to get a nick-name :) And to think my partner calls me 'Butty' because I'll stick anything betwixt two slices of bread!

Yeah well ........ #2 son was to blame. He was doing Hamlet for GCSE, or maybe it was A level, and he was always quoting from it at the time so some of the quotations stuck :D

Incidentally - if you want to edit your pevious posting, the one where you iserted your real name, just go to that posting, click on "edit" and change it to something like "David Dunn-etc" then Google won't find you alongside your new username.

See how that 'editing' function is another good thing about this type of forum interface. :) You can edit your own posting for up to 24 hrs afterwards (it is 24 hrs isn't it, Ian?)

Pol

[Pol]

Heck, if you search my name on Google, there's loads of stuff, its just one of those things I have to live with I'm afraid

Yep - but you don't have a lot of choice about using your real name as you need to do so for your commercial work and copyrights.

Google can still find the occasional reference to my real name but very few and none of them inportant. My paid for and 'posh' email addy was spammed out of existence when one person posted it on hs website links. :mad:

Pol

[Ian]

Thanks, I'll certainly have a play around.
I've visited the old forum for several years. I stopped my occasional posting as 'David Dunnico' because I didn't like the way Google would include my posts if someone searched for my name. I became 'DD', but the new forum wants a 3 character name, hence DTD (my full initials).

Actually, I do sympathise - I have always disliked the conventional 'phpboard' and similar style of forum - boxes everywhere and limited threaded view support (sometimes none at all) and that is one reason why I stuck with WebBBS for such a long time. vBulletin is packed with features, but it's not perfect. I'd prefer the thread view to be below the post, for a start, but one thing that I'm looking forward to is customising the look of the forum. I certainly want to get away from the boxy style of the default style.

There is a lot of potential with the forum portal (http://dpnow.com/cmps_index.php) and I've not yet had a chance to reconfigure this yet.

So I take on board what you say and I think I see where you are coming from. There are some changes I think you will like, but you may have to adapt to some other aspects of vBulletin you may not like so much, just as I have.

Ian

[Ian]

Yeah well ........ #2 son was to blame. He was doing Hamlet for GCSE, or maybe it was A level, and he was always quoting from it at the time so some of the quotations stuck :D

Incidentally - if you want to edit your pevious posting, the one where you iserted your real name, just go to that posting, click on "edit" and change it to something like "David Dunn-etc" then Google won't find you alongside your new username.

See how that 'editing' function is another good thing about this type of forum interface. :) You can edit your own posting for up to 24 hrs afterwards (it is 24 hrs isn't it, Ian?)

Pol

Yes, it's set for 24 hours, but you only have 30 minutes to edit your post before an 'Edited by' note gets added. Currently the time for editing the title of new threads is limited to 5 minutes.

Ian

[Ian]

If you are finding it harder to navigate the various boards may I suggest clicking on New Posts, or Quick Links then down to Todays posts

Thanks for the suggestion, that does help, but generally I'm still of the same opinion.[/quote]

Hi David,

You can customise the forum front page by clicking the double-chevron buttons on the right of the category headings. These will hide category bodies you aren't interested in. The choices will be remembered (via cookies) on the computer's browser next time you access the front page.

I've toned down the busy-ness of the default style a bit and moved to a neutral grey to show off images better. Plenty more can be done.

Ian