New version of the site comments and concerns

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  #1  
Old 01-08-2020, 06:55 AM
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Default New version of the site comments and concerns

The white background with dark text is fatiguing on my eyes. Please tone down the background color so it is not so stark.

Also.........when scrolling through the thread titles, the banner that pops up to give a "preview" of the first post is very annoying. It blocks the next thread on the page so looking though the threads is not very user friendly. I will have to scroll all the way to the right of the page or to the left of the page to avoid seeing the banner. This is not a comfortable feel for me.
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Last edited by coffeebean; 01-08-2020 at 07:08 AM.
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Old 01-08-2020, 07:06 AM
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Just went on the new version on my iPhone 7. The text size is perfect and so much easier to read than the old version. That is a wonderful improvement to the site. Thank you.
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Old 01-08-2020, 07:54 AM
theruizs
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Why the new website? Are the actual users of the site complaining? I don’t have a problem with necessary change to solve a specific problem. What are the problems this is trying to solve? A complete redo of the website is not necessary to solve small mobile device readability issues. I use an iPad Air 2, an iPad Pro, and an iPhone X. The old site works just fine on all three. Readability issues on other smartphones can be addressed without an entire redo, and often by settings on the device itself.
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Old 01-08-2020, 08:22 AM
OrangeBlossomBaby OrangeBlossomBaby is offline
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I can't speak for the folks running this site but I can say that the old forum was designed on a system that is outdated. Some of the modules in it would not work on future technology, especially now that we have smartphones and VR. One has to keep up to date if one wants to continue communicating with life outside your own personal reach. Functionality with current technology is pretty important. Even things most people do without thinking - like inserting a picture of something in a post - relies on the picture coming from a source that CAN be inserted into the post. If the picture's source location is an advanced tech location, then you might not be capable of loading it into an obsolete forum post.

And so - admins on fora worldwide have to occasionally update, recreate, retcon, and tweak new or existing systems to keep up with current technological requirements.
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Old 01-08-2020, 08:52 AM
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Maybe a background shading of every other thread.
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Old 01-08-2020, 09:08 AM
John_W John_W is offline
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So you need to update the software, why not just copy the old design and layout? I foresee the new board will be the end of TOTV as we know it. I can't look at the new pages, it hurts my eyes for more than 5 minutes. The colors were fine before, use the same color numbers. Use the the format style. I love just going to 'quick links' and hitting 'new posts', the new board doesn't have that button and my posts took hours to show up under 'New Posts', it seems only under Quick Links they show up immediately. That was a problem we found until Quick Links solved that problem.
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Old 01-08-2020, 09:27 AM
Two Bills Two Bills is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby View Post
I can't speak for the folks running this site but I can say that the old forum was designed on a system that is outdated. Some of the modules in it would not work on future technology, especially now that we have smartphones and VR. One has to keep up to date if one wants to continue communicating with life outside your own personal reach. Functionality with current technology is pretty important. Even things most people do without thinking - like inserting a picture of something in a post - relies on the picture coming from a source that CAN be inserted into the post. If the picture's source location is an advanced tech location, then you might not be capable of loading it into an obsolete forum post.

And so - admins on fora worldwide have to occasionally update, recreate, retcon, and tweak new or existing systems to keep up with current technological requirements.
No one is complaining about keeping up with technology, or any updating of functionality with current technology.
The majoriy of complaints are about fussy layout, navigation, and the lack of contrast in the color.
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Old 01-08-2020, 09:30 AM
stan the man stan the man is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby View Post
I can't speak for the folks running this site but I can say that the old forum was designed on a system that is outdated. Some of the modules in it would not work on future technology, especially now that we have smartphones and VR. One has to keep up to date if one wants to continue communicating with life outside your own personal reach. Functionality with current technology is pretty important. Even things most people do without thinking - like inserting a picture of something in a post - relies on the picture coming from a source that CAN be inserted into the post. If the picture's source location is an advanced tech location, then you might not be capable of loading it into an obsolete forum post.

And so - admins on fora worldwide have to occasionally update, recreate, retcon, and tweak new or existing systems to keep up with current technological requirements.
I am not impressed with you IT knowledge "If the picture's source location is an advanced tech location" What would be and example of advanced tech location???? How many people have access to advanced tech location??
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Old 01-08-2020, 09:31 AM
Polar Bear Polar Bear is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby View Post
I can't speak for the folks running this site but I can say that the old forum was designed on a system that is outdated. Some of the modules in it would not work on future technology, especially now that we have smartphones and VR. One has to keep up to date if one wants to continue communicating with life outside your own personal reach...
Most of the complaints I’m reading are related to appearance. Tech can be updated as needed without total change in appearance if so desired.

Plus, where is that Mark all messages ‘read’ button??
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Old 01-08-2020, 07:44 PM
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Wasn't there a thread by the TOTV IT department that listed all the items that have been fixed so far? I can not find it. Has the thread been pulled by the IT department?

One of the items that IT claimed they had fixed was the background color. I don't see much of a difference. The page that lists all the threads still looks very white to me however, the page with the comments looks to be changed to a very pale tan. So pale it is barely there. I would like to suggest the background color be the same tan as the old version. It is so much easier on the eyes. I would like to see the quoted area another color. How about keeping the same color scheme as the old version?
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Old 01-08-2020, 07:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by coffeebean View Post
Wasn't there a thread by the TOTV IT department that listed all the items that have been fixed so far? I can not find it. Has the thread been pulled by the IT department?

One of the items that IT claimed they had fixed was the background color. I don't see much of a difference. The page that lists all the threads still looks very white to me however, the page with the comments looks to be changed to a very pale tan. So pale it is barely there. I would like to suggest the background color be the same tan as the old version. It is so much easier on the eyes. I would like to see the quoted area another color. How about keeping the same color scheme as the old version?
I agree.
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Old 01-08-2020, 08:35 PM
OrangeBlossomBaby OrangeBlossomBaby is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stan the man View Post
I am not impressed with you IT knowledge "If the picture's source location is an advanced tech location" What would be and example of advanced tech location???? How many people have access to advanced tech location??
That is a super rare phenomenon known only to the most elite of tech-savvy geeks as a "brain fart." In layman's terms, I was thinking of the word location, and typed it out instead of typing the words I actually wanted to type. I don't even remember what words I was intending to type.

But one thing comes to mind - flash software. It is no longer supported, so software that relied on it will not be able to update anymore, or get support for it anymore. It has become obsolete. There are still sites that use it. Eventually, there won't be. It's being phased out.

Another is HTML, which is slowly going the way of the dinosaur and being replaced by HTML5.

Another is the http, which is being replaced by the more secure https.

This isn't "IT knowledge." It's the knowledge of someone who has been a regular computer user for a couple of decades and paid attention when there were changes.

As for people questioning my posts about this, it was in answer to someone who wanted to know WHY the change was made at all. It was made because the forum was created using software that is becoming obsolete.
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Old 01-09-2020, 08:36 AM
Rzepecki Rzepecki is offline
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Default Great Improvement

I like the brighter format. It’s easier to read and follow the thread
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Old 01-09-2020, 09:32 AM
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Most other forums I follow have several optional themes that the user can choose what works best for them.
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Old 01-09-2020, 09:41 AM
OrangeBlossomBaby OrangeBlossomBaby is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NoMoSno View Post
Most other forums I follow have several optional themes that the user can choose what works best for them.
Yes the "skins." I really hope we are able to select from a variety of them.
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