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Rod Terry
Joined: 19 Apr 2004
Posts: 58
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
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 Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 9:18 am Post subject: I like the old format |
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I don't like the new format.
It doesn't have the flow of a conversation. Before, I could scan the entire conversation of all issues, click into posts or responses as my curiosity would take me.
It was like overhearing a conversation at a party. I never know what I might hear that was of interest or what I might learn. And, I've learned a lot about PC and many other software products and events that I may have never found otherwise.
Now, it is necessary for me to travel to different rooms, in search of stuff I might not know I'm looking for.
And it is more time consuming. The old forum I could click to it and in one screen, I could see all the current conversations.
Yes, the old forum did need improvements. I would have preferred a remodel job instead of urban renewal.
Oh yea, I really, really, really, do just really love the little yellow faces. Please give me a break. javascript:emoticon(' ')javascript:emoticon(' ')
javascript:emoticon(' ')javascript:emoticon(' ') |
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ms
Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Posts: 613
Location: Naples, Florida
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| Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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Rod,
Yes, that's the feature of the old board that I liked the best, too. I'd see who responded, who started a thread, how long it was...like you described.
I'd like this new board to have less white space. I find the 'data-density' [!] too low.
Also I have yet to figure out how to mark a thread as 'read'. I know how to mark all of them read, though.
All in all it's an agreeable change, I suppose, and I want to support our amiable host, certainly. The old boards had an element of simplicity that I appreciated; and even though there was an occaisional spam, I liked the browsability of the ld board.
Yea. That's it: browsability. That's what I wish we still had.
Michael Spencer |
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Matt
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 350
Location: Sterling, Virginia
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| Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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well, the main page automatically shows you topics that have new entries since you last visited -- via the icons assoiciated with the topic. You can also request to be notified when specific topics are supplemented..
this format enables you to read an entire thread without loading fifteen pages, seems denser to me, more compact.
Are you looking at this page?
http://www.designcommunity.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=3&start=0
I think it is interesting to see the ratio of page views to replies as well. |
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ms
Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Posts: 613
Location: Naples, Florida
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| Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 12:57 pm Post subject: |
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Matt:
Yes I am. I know what u mean about loading 15 pages, but what I did was simply get 2 browser windows open, and drag the message that I wanted from one window to the other, which worked nicely.
I think that some of my apparent reisitance is due to inertia and some is laziness, and the rest is an actually good reason.
My basic attitude is thankfulness that it was not me spending all those hours getting the new board system up and running, and in this light, since those guys apparently thought long and hard about the issues we are discussing I think I'll go with the conclusions they reached.
Certainly more informed than my own.
ms |
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Kevin
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 1094
Location: Eugene, Oregon
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| Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:36 pm Post subject: evolution |
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Hey, thanks, it's nice to hear some recognition of the particular kinds of conversational "browsability" that we developed in the old-style DesignCommunity forums over the years! A fair amount of that browsability came from an accumulation of enhancement to the underlying forum structure that Artifice added over the years. Probably a bunch of those were already in place by the time the PowerCADD discussion joined in.
Over time we hope to be able to graft into this forum structure some of the same kind of finer "browsabilty" that had been gradually developed in the old-style forums. In addition to many specific new forum features - and to the fundamental defensibilty of a register-to-post system, which has sadly become essential - the new forum system here gives us a much more flexible toolkit for evolution.
One small thing I've found useful in getting to new messages efficiently in these new forums is to seek out and click directly on the "newest post" icon "  " when moving from from the listing of updated threads for a forum into each specific thread. Tends to save a lot of re-reading of earlier postings. |
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Mike Wheeler
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 50
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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The icon Kevin mentions is not really the "newest post" icon, more useful than that it could be called the "first new post" icon. It will take you to the first new post in the thread since the last time you read the thread. That way you can pick up the thread where you left off.
Mike |
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Kevin
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 1094
Location: Eugene, Oregon
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| Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 3:53 pm Post subject: "first new post" icon.... |
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Right, that's good clarification. The "first new post" icon:
Look for it in the updated thread lists for each forum. |
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jkl
Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:47 am Post subject: |
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Yes. The old was very user freindly..
The new not worth the time to visit each day. Not easy to follow, less conversational. Too "structured"
I will probaly will stop visiting altogether.
Sad to see "progress" again eleminate something once so nice.
With regret, JKL |
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Kevin
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 1094
Location: Eugene, Oregon
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:16 am Post subject: progress vs. patience |
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Interesting perspective.
Mine is that progress brought about the nuances of the old forums. And continued progress - assisted by your support and patience - will gradually bring those nuances (many of which, after all, were created by Artifice!) to these forums, too.
I'm asking for both progress, and patience. But then - I am a dreamer. |
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Mike Wheeler
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 50
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:30 am Post subject: |
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Personally, I think the new forums have the potential to make DesignCommunity more of a community than ever. Member profiles allow us to learn about one another. Private messages allow members to carry on personal conversations (just click on the "pm" link at the bottom of a post to send the poster a private message). We are able to create new forums very quickly as demand requires. And with requiring registration to post the number of junk posts has dropped significantly (it was mostly a problem in forums other than PowerCADD for some reason), and we can remove the junk much more easily. All of these, and more, should lead to a better forum experience, and a better sense of community.
Mike |
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philloheed
Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Posts: 139
Location: Somerville, MA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:47 am Post subject: I like it! |
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Mike,
I appreciate your efforts to improve the forum, and agree with your approach.
It is always hard to deal with change in this life, and it will take a bit of time to get accustomed to the new format with all of its additional capabilities...
But a bit of encouragement along the way doesn't hurt.
_________________
Phil Loheed |
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jasonlocher
Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Posts: 614
Location: Austin, Texas
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 12:56 pm Post subject: I like it -no more - potential abuse - and - forum abuse - ads |
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The spam on the old forum was getting annoying. Buy software from some russian - potential abuse - mortgage website ad nausem. If you don't like the emoticons, don't use them. There is a button to disable them if it is really an issue. I'm glad that Artifice is progressing, and this is going to put the community back in designcommunity. Profiles are great, and adding images / attachments without having to have a host is a huge step IMHO. Now we can share drawings, post screen captures of errors, bugs, and other queeries without having to save, downsize, upload to a host and link to said location.
Aloha |
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pbacot
Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Posts: 844
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2004 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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Why isn't the subject filled in for a reply?
this forum never logs me in automatically
Safari, G4 933 mhz, System 10.2.4
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Peter B |
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Rolando
Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 131
Location: Gainesville, Florida
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| Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 6:18 pm Post subject: I like the subject not being filled in |
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My speculation would be that it forces you to fill what you're going to talk about. One of my pet peeves with the old forum is that people would just leave the subject line with whatever was already there and the discussion of the thread could have turned to something totally different from what that initial subject was.
_________________
Mac Pro, 9 Gig RAM,
OSX 10.5.4
Pcadd v8.0.2 |
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Rolando
Joined: 23 Apr 2004
Posts: 131
Location: Gainesville, Florida
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| Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 6:36 pm Post subject: About not being able to see the whole thread at once |
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What about maybe being able to right-click (or ctrl-click) over a subject in the initial PowerCADD page (or click on an icon by each post, like the newest post icon {great idea that, BTW}) that would maybe open a new window with a listing of the responders and subject lines of all the replies to that post?
Maybe you could even click on a particular post you found interesting and the link would open that thread and take you to the location of that post in the thread. You could then scroll up or down from that reply as you wished.
Once you were done with that thread, you could just cmd-W that window away and you would still have the original window listing all the Pcadd posts and go from there to some other post.
That could bring back that "browsabilty" that some are yearning for.
_________________
Mac Pro, 9 Gig RAM,
OSX 10.5.4
Pcadd v8.0.2 |
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