forum complaints & constructive criticisms

Jerseyrain wrote:

This little trend people seem to have of showing off the shows they've been to by listing them in their signature is getting a bit ridiculous. Once you've been to like 15+ shows and these are listed everytime you comment it takes up most of the thread. Especially if you're involved in a discussion and therefore commenting frequently on the same page. Im sure some of you know what Im on about. Am I just speaking in riddles or do you feel what I mean?

completely agree, just haven't bothered saying anything.

Only just found this thread, so i appreciate i'm a little late to the discussion. But regarding this:

enola wrote:

steady now steady now wrote:

Matt L wrote:

Technical Concern: I don't like how links are the same font color as normal font. How are people supposed to tell they're links?

Thanks. I have now made links show up in light blue, but it affects all links on teh forum, including names etc. Too much? I tend to just copy URLs into the posts, rather than create links as such. Any thought on the new link look?

Funny, I tried the same thing this morning but thought it was too much already looking at the index page. So I changed it back. Unfortunately I couldn't find a solution that only shows posted links in different colour.

... Does this article help?

EDIT - Haha, forgot to highlight the link (oh, irony!).

Labhras wrote:

bringiton_ty wrote:

Jerseyrain wrote:

This little trend people seem to have of showing off the shows they've been to by listing them in their signature is getting a bit ridiculous. Once you've been to like 15+ shows and these are listed everytime you comment it takes up most of the thread. Especially if you're involved in a discussion and therefore commenting frequently on the same page. Im sure some of you know what Im on about. Am I just speaking in riddles or do you feel what I mean?

yeah i definately get that. can be annoying

give over. it takes you longer to scroll down? is that your complaint? wise up.

Actually you've convinced me, I have now seen the error of my ways...

Jerseyrain wrote:

This little trend people seem to have of showing off the shows they've been to by listing them in their signature is getting a bit ridiculous. Once you've been to like 15+ shows and these are listed everytime you comment it takes up most of the thread. Especially if you're involved in a discussion and therefore commenting frequently on the same page. Im sure some of you know what Im on about. Am I just speaking in riddles or do you feel what I mean?

I had a similar thought a while back and was surprised there's not a board setting available for showing signatures. After a little investigating, I found that they can be ignored entirely using Stylish (an add-on for Firefox/Chrome) with the following style:

Code:

.signature_div { display: none !important }

ral wrote:

Jerseyrain wrote:

This little trend people seem to have of showing off the shows they've been to by listing them in their signature is getting a bit ridiculous. Once you've been to like 15+ shows and these are listed everytime you comment it takes up most of the thread. Especially if you're involved in a discussion and therefore commenting frequently on the same page. Im sure some of you know what Im on about. Am I just speaking in riddles or do you feel what I mean?

I had a similar thought a while back and was surprised there's not a board setting available for showing signatures. After a little investigating, I found that they can be ignored entirely using Stylish (an add-on for Firefox/Chrome) with the following style:

Code:

.signature_div { display: none !important }

Ahh good find!!!

Jerseyrain wrote:

Labhras wrote:

bringiton_ty wrote:

Jerseyrain wrote:

This little trend people seem to have of showing off the shows they've been to by listing them in their signature is getting a bit ridiculous. Once you've been to like 15+ shows and these are listed everytime you comment it takes up most of the thread. Especially if you're involved in a discussion and therefore commenting frequently on the same page. Im sure some of you know what Im on about. Am I just speaking in riddles or do you feel what I mean?

yeah i definately get that. can be annoying

give over. it takes you longer to scroll down? is that your complaint? wise up.

Actually you've convinced me, I have now seen the error of my ways...

you're welcome

Hello,
I am a big TGA fan, and have been browsing this site for quite awhile, but haven't decided to register until recently.

I am a web developer and have some ideas to really fix up the fan site. The ads are quite annoying, and the layout can be frustrating to use. I'm not sure why it is still being run on "bigforumpro.com" either. Perhaps I can help. I'd be willing to pay for any server costs or maintenance costs.

I'm not sure of the plans with the site, but I'd be interested in helping improve it. I have quite a bit of experience in discussion forums, and I think I could help here.

I've setup a separate site (using phpbb3) with my thoughts/ideas for the improvements. I won't link to it here until I hear from the admins, but I've posted some images of the site below so you can see what I've made:
Forum home: https://2img.net/r/ihimg/photo/my-images/846/13334863.png/
Show thread: https://2img.net/r/ihimg/photo/my-images/89/70003449.png/

There is obviously a lot of room for expansion/development, and I have a lot of ideas.

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for your time.

The only problem would be moving all the historical pots over which I would say is pretty impossible to do considering they're opposing platforms.

I agree that the bigforumpro is a bit messy but you can get in via dimestoresaints.com

Daire wrote:

The only problem would be moving all the historical pots over which I would say is pretty impossible to do considering they're opposing platforms.

I agree that the bigforumpro is a bit messy but you can get in via dimestoresaints.com

In an event where the admins did want to move posts, that wouldn't be a problem. All I'd need is a database dump and I could do it relatively easy.

I have thought of moving the forum over to its own main forum before. But forumotion under no circumstances will release forum post/info. Kinda their way to keep you trapped here. So you would basically be forced to start from scratch. New users, new posts etc.

Labhras wrote:

Labhras wrote:

Klown wrote:

Labhras wrote:

could the post a video option be available in the quick post thing pls? so that you don't have to press "preview"?

seriously!

lads i'm going to keep bumping this post till someone answers me.

pjk wrote:

Hello,
I am a big TGA fan, and have been browsing this site for quite awhile, but haven't decided to register until recently.

I am a web developer and have some ideas to really fix up the fan site. The ads are quite annoying, and the layout can be frustrating to use. I'm not sure why it is still being run on "bigforumpro.com" either. Perhaps I can help. I'd be willing to pay for any server costs or maintenance costs.

I'm not sure of the plans with the site, but I'd be interested in helping improve it. I have quite a bit of experience in discussion forums, and I think I could help here.

I've setup a separate site (using phpbb3) with my thoughts/ideas for the improvements. I won't link to it here until I hear from the admins, but I've posted some images of the site below so you can see what I've made:
Forum home: https://2img.net/r/ihimg/photo/my-images/846/13334863.png/
Show thread: https://2img.net/r/ihimg/photo/my-images/89/70003449.png/

There is obviously a lot of room for expansion/development, and I have a lot of ideas.

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for your time.

what is actually so wrong with the fourm that it can't be changed here?

steady now steady now wrote:

pjk wrote:

Hello,
I am a big TGA fan, and have been browsing this site for quite awhile, but haven't decided to register until recently.

I am a web developer and have some ideas to really fix up the fan site. The ads are quite annoying, and the layout can be frustrating to use. I'm not sure why it is still being run on "bigforumpro.com" either. Perhaps I can help. I'd be willing to pay for any server costs or maintenance costs.

I'm not sure of the plans with the site, but I'd be interested in helping improve it. I have quite a bit of experience in discussion forums, and I think I could help here.

I've setup a separate site (using phpbb3) with my thoughts/ideas for the improvements. I won't link to it here until I hear from the admins, but I've posted some images of the site below so you can see what I've made:
Forum home: https://2img.net/r/ihimg/photo/my-images/846/13334863.png/
Show thread: https://2img.net/r/ihimg/photo/my-images/89/70003449.png/

There is obviously a lot of room for expansion/development, and I have a lot of ideas.

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for your time.

what is actually so wrong with the fourm that it can't be changed here?

well there's the whole "video/quick post" issue.

I remember a life without internet forums.


*grabs cane and hobbles along*

Debonair wrote:

I have thought of moving the forum over to its own main forum before. But forumotion under no circumstances will release forum post/info. Kinda their way to keep you trapped here. So you would basically be forced to start from scratch. New users, new posts etc.

Really? Are you positive? I know most forumhosts like this one will release the database, but you typically need to pay for it though. In an event where you can't, then posts would be lost (or maybe they could be archived). Moving users wouldn't be too difficult though since active users would easily transition, and you can email all members telling them. Then you could setup a redirect so people who view the old forum are redirected.

The guess the better question would be: if forumotion won't give you a db dump, do you want to continue developing this site for the next few years on this platform, or do you want to expand to better things on a different one? If you ever are going to make the transition, the sooner the better obviously. Picture the site in 2 years, what do you want it to be? As it is now?

steady now steady now wrote:

pjk wrote:

Hello,
I am a big TGA fan, and have been browsing this site for quite awhile, but haven't decided to register until recently.

I am a web developer and have some ideas to really fix up the fan site. The ads are quite annoying, and the layout can be frustrating to use. I'm not sure why it is still being run on "bigforumpro.com" either. Perhaps I can help. I'd be willing to pay for any server costs or maintenance costs.

I'm not sure of the plans with the site, but I'd be interested in helping improve it. I have quite a bit of experience in discussion forums, and I think I could help here.

I've setup a separate site (using phpbb3) with my thoughts/ideas for the improvements. I won't link to it here until I hear from the admins, but I've posted some images of the site below so you can see what I've made:
Forum home: https://2img.net/r/ihimg/photo/my-images/846/13334863.png/
Show thread: https://2img.net/r/ihimg/photo/my-images/89/70003449.png/

There is obviously a lot of room for expansion/development, and I have a lot of ideas.

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks for your time.

what is actually so wrong with the fourm that it can't be changed here?

I gave my opinion in the original post. The ads are overwhelming (and you have no control over what ads are shown), the layout is very poor, the buttons are hard to navigate, but more important piece is that the forum is run on a free forum host, so they basically own the site. They could shut it down tomorrow and you couldn't do anything. Their server could go down and you can't do anything. You are also limited by the platform they use. You can't explore other platforms or expand outside of it. The list goes on and on. Maybe it is just me and everyone else is fine with it, but this site is very poorly laid out and the usability is very weak. There is no doubt the site can be improved if it is moved off of this free forum host.

I just checked again and yep it's 100% true. They will not give out any info. Like I said I was researching this avenue for the similar reasons as you. But when it became apparent that you would completely lose all your info I decided against it.

Now if design is your main problem, I have done different redesigns learning within forumotions restricted code. My latest one works on chrome, Firefox, Safari, and I.e. as well as android and iPhones (smartphones/devices). The only problem is "dumb" phones or basic Internet phones it seems to break. Which is why I decided against sharing, because I believe there is a portion of users who access by that means.

Yes- learning to work around forumotion was tough and was why I initially did look at possible self hosting. I also knew someone who would be able to get free hosting for me. (no clue if thats still valid, but it should)
But personally with, this being a free forum, all the "history" that is here. I decided against it, if that meant loosing all the data.

Debonair wrote:

I just checked again and yep it's 100% true. They will not give out any info. Like I said I was researching this avenue for the similar reasons as you. But when it became apparent that you would completely lose all your info I decided against it.

Now if design is your main problem, I have done different redesigns learning within forumotions restricted code. My latest one works on chrome, Firefox, Safari, and I.e. as well as android and iPhones (smartphones/devices). The only problem is "dumb" phones or basic Internet phones it seems to break. Which is why I decided against sharing, because I believe there is a portion of users who access by that means.

Yes- learning to work around forumotion was tough and was why I initially did look at possible self hosting. I also knew someone who would be able to get free hosting for me. (no clue if thats still valid, but it should)
But personally with, this being a free forum, all the "history" that is here. I decided against it, if that meant loosing all the data.

Thanks for the info, and your thoughts. In that case, if the forum was upgraded and moved, you could leave this forum here as a reference/archive, move as much info as possible manually over time (since you have no other choice if you did want to move). Users will gradually transition, and it would happening relatively fast. A few years ago I was in a similar position, and I opted to upgrading and having the users move. In hindsight now, 6 years later, there is no doubt I made the right choice - the site is 10x larger now, and I've done tons of things that wouldn't have been possible if I didn't move. And more importantly, I have full control of the site instead of someone else (who is making money off you by bombarding users with ads).

The main problem isn't design, though this design is pretty bad (and the issues with browsers and mobile phones are relatively easily solvable if you can control all the code/software and have access to the server). The main problem is more the lack of function due to someone else owning and hosting it. As you pointed out, you can't even get a db dump, and you're using restricted code.

I guess the question that comes now is - is it worth upgrading for all the few future years and benefits of the site, or is it worth stuck on this free host? To me the answer is clear, but it is ultimately up to you guys.

If you need a server, I'd gladly host this for free and help with any transitions/upgrades in the future.

-Pat

For what it's worth, as a non-tech person, I have no issues with this site as it is (I check from my computer or an iPod touch if I'm traveling).

And also I have no idea what a db dump is or how it would improve our lives.

A "db dump" or "data base dump" is where all the forums (or websites in general) info is stored. So in the case of this forum that means usernames, posts, post counts, private messages, you name it. Everything and anything that has been put on here is stored there basically. With out access to it you are unable to move data to different websites and are very much restricted to what you can do in general.

Now from an average user stand point does this matter? Na probably not.

From a design/admin stand point? absolutely.

For the people who brought the idea of an app for this forum months ago: The reason designing an app for this place is kinda impossible is because you don't have access to that information.

I will not deny that having the forum on its own free hosting would be better, functionality wise as pjk pointed out. But there is four almost five years of information and history on this place. At this point you would effectively be hitting the restart button on everything. All the users would have to re sign up. Pick new user names etc. which I could see being a nightmare of "that guy stole my username" and other blah blah blah.

If there was enough backing to this I would gladly start researching again and moving in that direction. But something tells me there really wouldn't be and people will be content to stay where we are.

Who/what deleted my post? The one i made about half an hour before this one, that is.

Censorship! Let the man speak!

CapedAvenger wrote:

Who/what deleted my post? The one i made about half an hour before this one, that is.

Whoops man looks like it got deleted by accident but to respond to one of your main points I remember



Forumotion is just the hosting company. The admin, Chris (kroptikin) is the one who actually set it up. Technically if he wanted to he could shut the whole place down right now since hes the owner. It would probably just out of fairness and respect have to be under him. Unless he felt it was time to pass it off. But this is also just one of the things I thought about . Who would own it and it would probably be an issue trying to figure all of it out.

Personally just be happy with what you have - I say. This place does what it's needed to do. And if gaslight ever sets up that official forum like they said they would, this place would probably die down quite abit.

Debonair wrote:

CapedAvenger wrote:

Who/what deleted my post? The one i made about half an hour before this one, that is.

Whoops man looks like it got deleted by accident but to respond to one of your main points I remember

OK, no big deal if it was an accident.

Another point i made was about people being happy to move if the thread history could be retained. A quick search revealed that there are tools out there that can do it (with some limitations such as losing PMs and passwords).

I think that was about it.

CapedAvenger wrote:

Debonair wrote:

CapedAvenger wrote:

Who/what deleted my post? The one i made about half an hour before this one, that is.

Whoops man looks like it got deleted by accident but to respond to one of your main points I remember

OK, no big deal if it was an accident.

Another point i made was about people being happy to move if the thread history could be retained. A quick search revealed that there are tools out there that can do it (with some limitations such as losing PMs and passwords).

I think that was about it.

Yeah sorry about that.

Send me a link to what you are talking about.

Debonair wrote:

From a design/admin stand point? absolutely.

For the people who brought the idea of an app for this forum months ago: The reason designing an app for this place is kinda impossible is because you don't have access to that information.

There are countless things that are impossible, hence why most forums that grow move away from free hosts like this. And the near future will bring countless more. I do understand your concern about the transition, but I think you should look at the big picture and where you see the site in the future.

Quote :

I will not deny that having the forum on its own free hosting would be better, functionality wise as pjk pointed out. But there is four almost five years of information and history on this place. At this point you would effectively be hitting the restart button on everything. All the users would have to re sign up. Pick new user names etc. which I could see being a nightmare of "that guy stole my username" and other blah blah blah.

I think you're making a bad assumption in the difficulty of it. The older posts wouldn't be lost, they would still be available to read right on here. And discussions could easily continue once the site is moved. There are some cons to it (such as having users re-signup), but think about all the benefits.

Can you send mass emails from this forum?

Quote :

If there was enough backing to this I would gladly start researching again and moving in that direction. But something tells me there really wouldn't be and people will be content to stay where we are.

The average user likely won't have much say, and few understand why a move would happen in the first place. It is up to the developer or owner of the site to make things happen and develop the site. If you're content with having the site the way it currently is in 1, 2, or 3 years, with even more information stored on the free forum which you can't export, then that is your choice, it is your site. I would highly advise against it.

With all of this said, this is just my opinion, and perhaps it is a bit stronger since I genuinely would love to see a transition, and that I'm a developer so I've seen it done countless times. At the end of the day, it is up to you. If you need my help, or have any questions, I'd be glad to help.

Cheers.
-Pat