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New Update Today. Site downtime. - Page 5

post #121 of 221
10/26/09 at 5:37pm
Yes, we realized that it should behave more like the New Posts stuff, and I think it will be more convenient as well... this way, you only need to hover if you really want the first or last post links... and just clicking the title will take you to the last unread post. I hope this makes it easier to use.
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post #122 of 221
10/26/09 at 5:44pm
Mike

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Frezon View Post

And...I guess the bug with the "more" button to display more threads has been fixed.  The threads now seem to display correctly.  No duplicates and in correct order. 

This has not been fully addressed yet... we're working on finishing up a fix for this.
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post #123 of 221
10/26/09 at 7:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by benjamink View Post

Mike
 

This has not been fully addressed yet... we're working on finishing up a fix for this.

You're right.  I guess I spoke too soon.  I see the duplicates now.

Maybe it was wishful thinking on my part. 
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post #124 of 221
10/27/09 at 5:20am
Huzzah!
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post #125 of 221
10/27/09 at 7:33am
Now that the thread title on the home page has been reconfigured (again) to take the user to the "first new post"...do you suppose thought should then also be given to changing the behavior on the subforum index pages so that the same holds true there? 

This was an issue that was raised in the first few days after the switchover.  One of the great inconsistencies of the board is that protocols vary from layer to layer. 

On the subforum pages, clicking the thread title takes a user to the "first post" in the thread.  To get to the "first new post" one needs to click a separate, unlabeled icon to the left of the title.

And, frankly, I'm also concerned that maybe some users don't know what the little red numbers mean on the home page design.  Maybe I'm not giving people enough credit.  I just liked the way the home page was designed up until last week.  As I suggested in the side-by-side  images I posted earlier in the thread, it was much easier before to understand what was going on and it was simply easier to read. 

"4 New Posts" in the "New Update Today. Site Downtime" thread is a very user-friendly interface.  I'm still wondering what the purpose behind this change was designed to accomplish. 
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post #126 of 221
10/27/09 at 12:07pm
Hi Tony,

Thanks for the info.  Running Firefox 3.5 on Mac OS 10.5.8, I'm not able to replicate the issue myself but I have passed along your report to the engineering team.  Are you still seeing the spinning icon appearing?  Is it only attached to the quote button?  Are you also still seeing the string of code appearing at the bottom of every page?  Thanks!

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD View Post

I use latest firefox and mac os 10.4.11

Oddly that is the only place that spinning circle appeared.
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post #127 of 221
10/27/09 at 12:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stins View Post

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the info.  Running Firefox 3.5 on Mac OS 10.5.8, I'm not able to replicate the issue myself but I have passed along your report to the engineering team.  Are you still seeing the spinning icon appearing?  Is it only attached to the quote button?  Are you also still seeing the string of code appearing at the bottom of every page?  Thanks!
 


the spinner was only in that one post and no more code at the bottom.
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post #128 of 221
10/27/09 at 12:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD View Post


I see this......" getGlobal('userId') > 0) { $gaSetVar = 'logged-in'; } else { $gaSetVar = null; } ?>"
at the ottom of everypage.
and now to the very left of the word quote I see a spinning circle, hmm.
Quote:
 
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post #129 of 221
10/27/09 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by benjamink View Post

 

This has not been fully addressed yet... we're working on finishing up a fix for this.
 

I realize I am sounding like a johnny one-note on this subject (and I apologize for that)...but here's what I'm finding.  If I'm away for a few hours and the number of my subscribed threads with new posts extends past the first page, I have to click the "More" button several times in order to find the rest of those threads which should ordinarily fall onto the second page.  They are scattered all over the place.  It's really a hassle.
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post #130 of 221
10/28/09 at 8:38am
This may have already been mentioned. I decided to try "subscribe" and I did this with  5 threads. I get many more in the list plus repeats of 3 or more of a post?????? I would expect that I would get at most 4 posts, one for each subscription. I must say that this new software is good IF YOU know it and poor otherwise! As an example the poor option "more forums" is not obvious whereas the drop-down menu is. Wjhat is supposed to be listed on the home page????   I have Fiorefox 3.0.14  and XP Prof
Edited by Sumnernor - 10/28/09 at 9:04am
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post #131 of 221
10/28/09 at 9:24am
Quote:
This may have already been mentioned. I decided to try "subscribe" and I did this with  5 threads. I get many more in the list plus repeats of 3 or more of a post?????? I would expect that I would get at most 4 posts, one for each subscription.

Can you post a picture of the duplicates so we can see? You will need to filter the list by subscribed threads if you only want to see subscribed threads.  Click the subscribed threads link underneath the blue box on your home page to turn on the subscribed threads filter.

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post #132 of 221
10/28/09 at 9:59am
I think maybe what he means is that it is not showing the "summary" view by default. The "default" behavior (at least as it was before the last update) is not user friendly. Until the filters are customized, it is not very useful and is probably even confusing to new users.

Honestly, I think the default home page filters should be subscriptions only in summary view. Also I think the tab layout I proposed earlier would be a lot easier to understand for new users. And easier to work with in general.
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post #133 of 221
10/28/09 at 10:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Buklis View Post


Honestly, I think the default home page filters should be subscriptions only in summary view. Also I think the tab layout I proposed earlier would be a lot easier to understand for new users. And easier to work with in general.

I pretty much agree with you, but Sumnernor isn't a new user, and his question has been thoroughly covered in the preceding page of discussion.
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post #134 of 221
10/28/09 at 10:30am
The duplicate issue is a known issue and the fix is being worked on now. I apologize for the confusion it can create, but the duplicated posts in the expanded thread area just duplicates... they aren't incorrect or evidence of any larger problem... they're just updates showing up more than once. As I said, I apologize for the confusion this may be causing, and we are working on a fix that should go out over the next week.
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post #135 of 221
10/28/09 at 10:38am
Maybe Sumner is also set to subscribe to all threads in which he posts and doesn't realize it.

======================

Another inconsistency in this new home page design (when compared to the subforum index pages):

In both places threads in which we have posted are set off by being blue while threads in which we haven't post are white.

On the subforum index pages, when you place your cursor over a white thread, it highlights by turning darker.  Same with the blue.

On the home page, when you cursor-over a thread in which you haven't posted it highlights by changing color (just like on the other pages) BUT when you cursor-over a blue thread nothing changes (except the hidden links appear). 

I haven't done a close study, but the blue color used on the home page to represent threads to which we've posted seems darker than the blue used to represent threads to which we've posted on the index pages. 
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post #136 of 221
10/28/09 at 10:45am
I think you're right on all counts, mike. I'm wondering if you see this as an issue? It seems like the hover feedback on the update blocks is strong enough (with the links uncovering) without also darkening the blue color... but if not, please let me know your thoughts.
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post #137 of 221
10/28/09 at 11:22am
Quote:
I think you're right on all counts, mike. I'm wondering if you see this as an issue? It seems like the hover feedback on the update blocks is strong enough (with the links uncovering) without also darkening the blue color... but if not, please let me know your thoughts.


The issue I have (and why I bothered to mention it in the first place) is I would think you would want consistency across all the pages of the forum.  There's a huge "comfort factor" involved for us users to know that no matter what part of the forum we are in that the controls are all going to be in the same place and do the same thing. 

The early feedback thread after the switchover was riddled with examples of these inconsistencies--most of which are still very much in place.  Buttons which appear in different places depending upon which forum area they exist, forum navigation that is in some area but not others (home & PM, for example), and on and on. 

Another example:  Click on a thread title in one section you get taken to the "first new post."  Click on a thread title in a different section and get taken to the first post.    It's unbelievable. 

It's jarring and confusing for users--even us experienced ones.  I can only imagine what new users must think when things "look different" from one page to the next...and "act different," too. 
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post #138 of 221
10/28/09 at 1:07pm
In principal i agree... and we should have done a better job making those things consistent. Sometimes in implementing new stuff, it's difficult to know what's right from a consistency standpoint versus an innovation standpoint. Our goal is to be on the right side of that line with every feature, but sometimes we don't hit the bullseye right away, and I appreciate your candor in letting us know where we missed.
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post #139 of 221
10/28/09 at 1:15pm
Oh I'm chock full of candor, Benjamin... 

Sometimes I'm afraid I don't know when to give it a rest. 

I hope my comments here are helpful.  And, I'm always glad to elaborate when unclear. 
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post #140 of 221
10/29/09 at 10:55am
Your comments were extremely helpful, especially in the initial launch helping us identify the big problems and bugs so we could fix them! I've been thinking more about your consistency comments, and i'm going to propose to the team that we do a minor revision of the all new posts page to match the linking approach of the home page feed.
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post #141 of 221
10/29/09 at 11:01am
Thank you.

Do a lot of members use the "All New Posts" page?

Would you then also consider making the same changes to all the Subforum index pages? 
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post #142 of 221
10/29/09 at 11:23am
The all new posts page is the most trafficked page on the site! Much of that traffic is from natural search, but yes, members definitely use it!

To answer your question, yes, we could then make the same changes to the subforum index page potentially.
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post #143 of 221
10/29/09 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by benjamink View Post

The all new posts page is the most trafficked page on the site! Much of that traffic is from natural search, but yes, members definitely use it!

I'm personally fascinated by that.

Whenever a group of members starts comparing how we approach the forum (that is, navigating and usage) I find there are always differences in approach.

For the life of me, I cannot understand (and maybe this is simply a result of a difference in linear vs. deductive thinking.  I don't know.) why members would navigate via "All New Posts" or the "Latest..." anything.  I guess I'm more driven by certain subject areas and while I want to remain current on those subjects, I would rather do it from within the comfortable boundaries of those areas rather than go to a single page which has a jumble of all the latest posts made on the forum.  I have a hard time thinking outside of my own approach to the forum and would love to have someone explain to me why their approach makes sense to them. 

So, naturally, the subforum index pages are much more important to me than the "all new posts" page. 
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post #144 of 221
10/29/09 at 2:03pm
Well, i think your perspective is natural for a long time forum user... but think about people searching on the internet for keywords and then seeing something very fresh that matches a thread title on the all new posts page... that's how people get to it... i don't think it's counterintuitive that long terms users like you would not use it to find fresh stuff--you pretty much already know your way around.
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post #145 of 221
10/29/09 at 3:31pm
As a relatively long-time user, I go to "all new posts" with every visit. Almost everything on this site interests me, so I take a sort of vacuum cleaner approach to viewing what's been happening here. If I'm looking for specific information on a topic I will go directly to that forum (e.g. Mike's Weekly Roundup), but if I'm just coming to see "what's going on around here" I go to all new posts. I think I used to go through my favorite forum areas systematically, but as my interest in more forums expanded, there didn't seem to be much point in being so methodical. Going to all new posts ultimately takes away a step (or, I suppose, several steps).
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post #146 of 221
10/29/09 at 6:39pm
 I have always been an all new posts kind of guy on the HTF. But it was WEEKS before i saw the new link for it. It was lost in a maze, and the type is a bit small. But now i know where to look.
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post #147 of 221
10/30/09 at 12:08am
I don't use the All New Posts page -- don't even where it is, LOL.  However, I might start using the Recent Activity section of the Home page for something like that (by temporarily turning off subscriptions only) on occasion as I find time since that section can be used to include *all* types of HTF content, not just forum posts -- and I can also opt to switch off certain types of content as well in the process.

I'm considering using that section for that purpose in part because the new enhancements have added enough features to make it worth trying for that, eg. extra info about the various new/updated content, being able to (un)subscribe right there, selectively filter out content types, etc.  But mainly, since I already use it to quickly check for new activity in subscribed content, I might as well also use it on occasion for "All New Content" (in a more configurable form).

FWIW, in the old HTF, I never bothered to use whatever similar feature to check subscribed threads.

_Man_
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post #148 of 221
10/30/09 at 7:57am
Is it my imagination, or did there used to be a "last visited on (date)" bit near the user name when you went to the home page? It just struck me that it wasn't there when I read the forum today, but with so much tinkering I lose track of what disappeared when.

The sad thing is with all these changes, is that some useful things (changing the 'Mark Forums Read' link to a 'Forums Read' unclickable box once clicked, for example) get thrown out with the bathwater.

And can you tell us if an option to let us have the dropdown box for navigation is on the 'roadmap' at all?
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post #149 of 221
10/30/09 at 8:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong View Post

I don't use the All New Posts page -- don't even where it is, LOL.  However, I might start using the Recent Activity section of the Home page for something like that (by temporarily turning off subscriptions only) on occasion as I find time since that section can be used to include *all* types of HTF content, not just forum posts -- and I can also opt to switch off certain types of content as well in the process.

I'm considering using that section for that purpose in part because the new enhancements have added enough features to make it worth trying for that, eg. extra info about the various new/updated content, being able to (un)subscribe right there, selectively filter out content types, etc.  But mainly, since I already use it to quickly check for new activity in subscribed content, I might as well also use it on occasion for "All New Content" (in a more configurable form).

FWIW, in the old HTF, I never bothered to use whatever similar feature to check subscribed threads.

_Man_
 

BTW, would be much nicer though if we could further config that Recent Activity section (on the Home page) to filter out certain sections of the forums, particularly when we have "subscriptions only" turned off.

_Man_
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post #150 of 221
10/30/09 at 2:57pm
When one is on the "home page - it appears to be a flip-flop. "Subscriptions only" - when you want the other mode - you click on "subscription onöy" there should be another text. I am not clear what is to be listed in the "non subscription only mode.

Like many people, I am not a fan of "more forums" - one can also have the originally drop down menu which reading this thread and other threads is what the members want. The name "more forum" is terrible - it does not convey what its function is like the drop down. Instead of "more forums" perhaps "Change forums" or "Other forums" etc
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