Open test of new board software

TwisterAce

TwisterAce

Recreating the current AH.com color scheme would be a good idea, not just for familiarity, but also because it's easier for me to read black text on this website's current light-gray background than on a pure white background. It's easier on my eyes.

I like that quotes past a certain length are condensed into expandable boxes. That will alleviate the problem where users quote an entire wall of text and it takes a long time to scroll past it, whether on a computer or a mobile device.
 
Odinson

Odinson

I don't really care for the new forum layout. I think the way the thread marks on the current forum work better for mobile then the new version.
Also, I think that they way the website is currently is much more user friendly/easily accessible.
 
Red Wolfe

Red Wolfe

Question though what is the reaction score. Also the new fourm is ok other then general look, which I generaly like less the the current one ( though if I just set the theme to black, I can get used to it).
 
LeftsideLock

LeftsideLock

Others have already expressed feelings I have about some of the new features/design, but I would like to ask if it would be possible for custom user titles and locations to continue to be displayed on posts.

I think it allows people to display a little bit of personality and humor, and just adds a bit of "color" to the board. It's not a huge difference, but without them the board feels a little more bland, a little bit less like a distinct community and just more like we're merging into the greater internet at large.
 

Paulo the Limey

Watched Threads needs to be kept in the top navigation bar.
Changes to Likes are retrograde outside of Chat, and even there it is debatable.
The general flat, monochrome layout isn't more "professional", it's just dull, and hard to navigate.
Removing joining dates from posts is another retrograde step- all else being equal, the longer a poster has been a member the more likely I am to read the post.
Reader view is an improvement, but there needs to be a clearer option to exit from it.

Overall, not enough to be worth upgrading.
 
T_S_Kimball

T_S_Kimball

Some further comments after playing with it more:

-> An 'Old Forum Comparison' I was playing with included having the inverted CSS colors turned on (and I may make a pic for archival/wiki use, using a 'public' thread). That does make it look a lot like the new forum's dark color set, more than I thought at first.

-> I'm actually getting happier about the layout; the dividers aren't nearly as bad as their first impression, particularly when fiddling in Portrait mode on the Surface tablet. Its also faster to read and compose on large screens like the one I'm on now, and because of that also reduces eye and neck strain in the long term. This is the same reason why I learned to live with what Wordpress was doing to my site.

-> I found it interesting that the common denominator for the standard width appears to be a 13" notebook in landscape mode. Even my Surface Go (which would be considered 10" in the normal laptop config) was too small, and actually generated more lines in a paragraph. But at the same time, it was far easier to browse the site in portrait mode than the old one (just generally browse, not take any advanced actions like others have done).

-> Decided not to generate a set of shared pics, since its transient anyway, and I also felt that the differences (between the various screens, not between the forum views themselves) didn't warrant that level of comparison after all. If Ian specifically needs feedback on views like the Surface Go, he's welcome to ask, for which I'll PM him a link.

-> It should be noted that the removal of Location, Join Date etc on posts may eventually be required by laws like GDPR (depending on later interpretations), and later privacy/PII laws coming down the pipe; given the international readership, I certainly can't fault Ian for trying to future-proof any headaches down the line there. So long as the User Profile (requiring an account login) still has all these details, I don't see a problem with it. The removal of User Title is obviously less so, other than helping to compact the view; I can personally live with that by moving it to Profile and/or Sig.
 
SlyDessertFox

SlyDessertFox

TwisterAce said:
Recreating the current AH.com color scheme would be a good idea, not just for familiarity, but also because it's easier for me to read black text on this website's current light-gray background than on a pure white background. It's easier on my eyes.

I like that quotes past a certain length are condensed into expandable boxes. That will alleviate the problem where users quote an entire wall of text and it takes a long time to scroll past it, whether on a computer or a mobile device.
Click to expand...
The minimalist pure bright white background that most sites use these days is the worst trend of the decade.
 

Nofix

I don't remember liking the current board set up when it first debuted, but eventually I got used to it. I don't like the new style, but I'll probably eventually get used to it too.

I'll be honest, I don't really know if I dislike it, or I'm just hesitant towards change.

At the very least I think the current like system is fine, and I don't think it really needs too much changing, either splitting it up or hiding people's numbers.
 

Ian the Admin

Administrator
Donor
Changes made:
  • Added a wider separator between posts, similar to the current board
  • Got rid of floating menu
  • Fixed signatures in mobile
  • Fixed page buttons at the top of thread in mobile
  • Hid xenForo logo in mobile
  • Darkened the background behind quotes
 

AlexAerox

Ian the Admin said:
Changes made:
  • Added a wider separator between posts, similar to the current board
  • Got rid of floating menu
  • Fixed signatures in mobile
  • Fixed page buttons at the top of thread in mobile
  • Hid xenForo logo in mobile
  • Darkened the background behind quotes
Click to expand...
Looks a lot better now. Still dislike the amount of white space on the sides of the page, but it seems like that can be fixed just by zooming in so I'll probably just do that if it stays like that. The rest of the changes are just things that will take a few days to accustom to and then will be fine.
 

wilcoxchar

LeftsideLock said:
Others have already expressed feelings I have about some of the new features/design, but I would like to ask if it would be possible for custom user titles and locations to continue to be displayed on posts.

I think it allows people to display a little bit of personality and humor, and just adds a bit of "color" to the board. It's not a huge difference, but without them the board feels a little more bland, a little bit less like a distinct community and just more like we're merging into the greater internet at large.
Click to expand...
I want to second all of this.
 

RCAF Brat

Jim Smitty said:
While fun, I think there might be a reason Ian is doing away with them.
Click to expand...
Yes. While it will be sad to see all those creative and witty lines go, most people actually bother with them. I will miss that, and miss seeing the particularly clever ones, but they are just a small thing.

I've never thought that they took up much room, even though I almost exclusively view the site on my phone these days. But if they were more of an issue on the new software, then so be it. As I said, while I liked them, they're just a small thing.
 
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