Board Change Announcements

I went in and unhid a large section of the forum on the test server so you guys can check out more functionality.

In answer to some of the questions:

• The "View active topics" is replaced by the "New Posts" link at the top of the forum.

• The new forum has a responsive layout, so there's no difference between the desktop and mobile versions. Everything that's available on the desktop is available on mobile, you just might need to tap an extra time to get to nested menus.

• I'm looking into adding some more functionality to the "Conversations" system, which is the new forum software's version of PM's.

• All threads, posts, PM's, profiles, etc. will be transferred to the new software. The only thing that we'll definitely lose are avatars, but I will leave a closed backup of the existing forum up for a while so people can grab their avatars if they want.

• I'm still tweaking some of the font sizes in the forum layout, so things might be a little more compact after I mess with it more.

• The main reason I'm working on changing forum software is in order to breathe some life into the forum. Several people have pointed it out, but a lot of discussion of new toys has moved off of SB and into the social media world. I think part of that is that people miss things that happen here. The new forum is fantastic at tagging users in posts and notifying people when they've been quoted or tagged. My hope is that notification system will help people not miss what's going on here. Dislike social media all you want, but there's some things that can be learned from it. Other than the pointed out missing folders for organizing Conversations (PM's), zero functionality should be lost in the transition. Yes the board will look different. But I'm working on adding significant functionality, and I'm hopeful that we can embrace the change and see this as a good thing.

 

I could see that being pretty negative, so I just disabled that being shown under the names next to posts.

 

Well stated, sir.

o So there really is nothing that can be done with the messaging over there to bring it a little closer to the system we have here?

o Will a banner be part of our new home?

o Fonts of Colo(u)r are your friend!

 

I still need to do some more playing around and exploring over there, but one thing I don't think you mentioned James - though I might have missed it - was when the temporary shutdown/switch was going to take place.

 

• So there really is nothing that can be done with the messaging over there to bring it a little closer to the system we have here?
- Looking into it still. That upgrade that I mentioned to you might do what we're looking for.

• Will a banner be part of our new home?
- Check it out now.

• Fonts of Colo(u)r are your friend!
- Still working on colors too.

• When is the temporary shutdown/switch going to take place?
- I had hoped to do it soon (in the next week or so), but David helped me discover a bug with how links were imported into the new board that is a pretty big issue. I chatted with someone from the company who makes the new software, and they said that I may need to wait until the next update to the import function is released, which could be a month or more.

 

Interesting idea, like 'Go to last/latest post.' I can appreciate that. You might miss some (I don't really know how the software currently handles keeping track of what you have read) when there has been a lot of activity in a thread since you visited, but jumping to the end is a nice feature.

 

^ I believe that's how it works after you've read the thread and then someone posts a new post. Unfortunately the "last read" doesn't transfer over in the import, so everything over there currently seems unread until you read it once. I just posted a new post in the Mo Buta thread, I think you can click the little circle button and it'll take you to my post.

 

Ah, I got it. Thanks fellas. I though you meant clicking through on the name took you there. I did try the little circle next to the topic, and while it wasn't initially working for me, it is since you posted James. Thanks! Maybe the dot should be a slightly different colour to differentiate it, not necessary blazing red or anything, but on my (shitty) monitor it is not that clear (the grayscale with the dates is similarly very faint, but I assume that is on purpose and in this case an improvement).

 

Alternatively, if you're viewing the forum and click on the date under the most recent poster's username on the right, that will take you to the last post.

 

Not to stir the pot here further... oh, who am I kidding, I love to mix up some emotions!... has anyone given any thought or made requests to sections that could be maintained as 'dark' unless you are logged in as a member, similar to the way the Sales threads are handled now. I am not saying there is even any need for such a move, just wondering aloud.

 

^ Yep, there's lots that's hidden unless you're signed in. Sales / trades / wants forums, SSSS (if you're a member of the SSSS), member lists, profiles, etc.

 

Before I forget - I mentioned it over there, but switching the number of posts per page back to 25 is one of those essential tweaks. Flow, yo.

Not a huge concern for me, but will it still be possible to hide your online status through preferences or button clicks?

Will ranks crumble under the weight of trophies and likes?

 

Ranks will be reestablished after I do the actual import.

I already set the posts to 25 per page.

You can hide your online status by unchecking the "Show your online status" option in your preferences.

 

Well that, and I assume to establish SB as the latest top-secret, invite-only board where all the super cool kids gather to talk about their über rare toys.