mbs Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Before the upgrade I had over 2000 posts now only have 1651 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I think there is a mix of actual issues and solvable ones here. There was a long thread explaining changes, how and why things work and great tips on how to set this up the way the old one worked but its likely many people missed it/was too much to take in at one go/etc. The posts drop is because the rules on what contributes to a post count were not properly implemented on the old skin but the software in the upgrade applied those. So all posts in the Welcome section for instance do not go towards your count. The reason is to prevent spamming of the forum to get for sale posts up and the like. This is an example of what I said above (that this questions has been covered a number of times but its just gotten lost in the mix of threads that appear on here - this is not a dig at you MBS by the way its a fault of ours for not somehow making it clear) where important info is not easily visible to give a better forum experience. I am going to put together a top ten tips (or whatever you like to call it!) that helps you use this forum for the time being in a way that it worked before. For instance I have mine set up so that when I click my shortcut to open the forum on my browser it automatically shows me the latest unread posts like the old forum did, I have seen this issue raised a few times already but it is something easily solvable and once you know how to do it the forum is your oyster for setting up endless custom search shortcuts. Clearly some things to fix are more technical, which Lexx has indicated we will look at as soon as we can/and is viable. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbs Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Apologies for not spotting the thread re post count, reasons noted, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexx Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Apologies in advance for the bluntness of this post. You use this forum free of charge. The Team work hard behind the scenes and on the front to provide the best service we can whilst maintaining the viability of a community that costs a significant amount every year to run for you all.....for free. Few people like change, but that's what we have. Like it or not this is what you have for at least the near future. My kids are off school and I'm on leave and for once the weather is nice. So I'm taking some time out to appreciate the things that matter in life. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRF4N Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I don't think anyone is complaining sounds more like constructive criticism if issues arent raised they can't be improved on 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin747 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I agree with LRF4N, the replies I've seen so far seem to be constructive criticism and have stated their appreciation for the work that the team puts in to the upkeep/updating etc. of the forum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 34 minutes ago, Lexx said: Apologies in advance for the bluntness of this post. You use this forum free of charge. The Team work hard behind the scenes and on the front to provide the best service we can whilst maintaining the viability of a community that costs a significant amount every year to run for you all.....for free. Few people like change, but that's what we have. Like it or not this is what you have for at least the near future. My kids are off school and I'm on leave and for once the weather is nice. So I'm taking some time out to appreciate the things that matter in life. Swine it rained on my week off, and will probable again on the next one in 2 weeks. Enjoy your time with the kids mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 If someone came up to you in the street and gave you a fiver for nothing, would you constructively criticise that a tenner would have been more useful? We are always open to ideas on improving the forum, there is a sub-forum for exactly this. We could spend all our time tinkering with the small things but to ensure that the overall experience is a good one we need to focus on the big things right now. Forum security was not only a big thing, but the biggest thing and that outweighs any changes to the nuances of how things come up on screen or how threads might appear. I appreciate for some its not what they like, but for others its not an issue. Sure if there is a quick easy fix we will implement it, but as above need to focus on what is really important at the moment (with the free time the team have available) which is forum security and stability and having a forum open and free to members to join and talk zeds and other cars on. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbs Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Sorry Lexx if any of the comments including mine hit a nerve, I accept that some of the comments have not been helpful but most, as said before, have been constructive. Re the free to all comment, I would suggest that as many members that are able to press the donate button and make a donation, as I have in the past. This will ensure an ongoing great forum. Forget the site for a few days and enjoy your holiday with the family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin747 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) 14 minutes ago, coldel said: If someone came up to you in the street and gave you a fiver for nothing, would you constructively criticise that a tenner would have been more useful? If someone came up to me and asked my opinion on something (as the OP has done by creating this thread) I would give constructive criticism. As I've said we're all appreciative of the work you guys put in and this shouldn't be taken as a personal slight by any means. Edited August 18, 2017 by Colin747 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Just now, Colin747 said: If someone came up to me and asked my opinion on something (as the OP has done by creating this thread) I would give constructive criticism. That wasn't the point, we have a sub forum for where you can post things you would like to change, and they may or may not be implemented. I am not sure its a fair comment to say that some small nuance of the forum dictates whether you use it or not when the advantages of using it far outweigh the nuance you dislike. That line there was making a separate point to remind people that all this is free, no members have to put in any effort for this to work, just a handful of people volunteering their time behind the scenes to make it work as well as it can do given the limited time they have and that there will always be improvements that can be made but A. the team have lives B. changes can be time consuming and not worth impacting on teams lives C. that a £5 note is a big bonus for doing nothing, a £10 note would be nice but I wouldn't complain about a fiver. I am pretty sure there is some part of this forum that every member doesn't like, but it is free, you can choose to use it as it is, or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payco Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 There are things I would change on the navigation around the site, however as Col has stated above this site is free and is run by dedicated folk, some of whom once owned z's and no longer do. Despite this they give their valuable time to making this arguably the best car forum out there to which we should all be very thankful for. Lets not forget the guys who run this have jobs, families and lives of their own yet still find many hours of their personal time to ensure the site is maintained. Keep up the good work team, the site is a credit to you and the members on it. Martin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATTAK Z Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 2 hours ago, mbs said: Before the upgrade I had over 2000 posts now only have 1651 All the welcome post now count as no post ... to stop people building up their post count 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I hate change. Hate it. Horrible thing. This forum is a billion times better than the old one. Takes 2 mins to adjust your eyes to where the new info is, and that's it. Anyone who says it's worse is wrong. Having to read for 0.00005 secs more to obtain a bit of data that's not actually relevant isn't a design flaw. I mean, who cares who posted the thread? If you've posted in it then it's starred and you can see that way, and if you haven't then surely you just read the thread title and decide if that's something you want to read or not? I love Lexx like a brother, but if he posts a thread about Eastenders then I'm not going to read it regardless. That said, if you want that info then it is there, it's just in a different place. Removing post count for Welcome posts is a genius idea. Also, megalols at Col for the free fiver/tenner comment 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Yeah I liked the tenner comment too. I felt the old design looked like every other forum I've been a part of, and even 13 years ago when I had my k reg Corsa SRi, the layout/skin was the same. This update feels modern. Plus any ideas put forward in the sub forum are being considered and implemented, or a reply with how it currently isn't working right and fix will be attempted, i.e the map function. It took me a bit of adjusting, and i wasn't as visible recently as I was away from work, as anyone who has tried to order a shirt will tell you. But i'm back now. All joking aside, its Dan's fault its quiet. No-one starts a thread like @Ekona, whether its politics or his body giving up on him, it runs forever. So if he could kindly start something again that'd be ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I'm on holiday atm dude, time difference and 12 hours walking around a theme park don't allow much for awesome postings! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy_Baton Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Echo... Yep I'm hardly ever on here. I just find it harder to quickly digest whats new, but I also feel that my Zeditis has run its course, so i'd naturally be on here less. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 2 hours ago, Lexx said: Apologies in advance for the bluntness of this post. You use this forum free of charge. The Team work hard behind the scenes and on the front to provide the best service we can whilst maintaining the viability of a community that costs a significant amount every year to run for you all.....for free. Hang on a minute, theres no personal attack on any of the staff going on here, whats with getting all defensive? I strongly dislike the new skin and it looks like Im not alone but Ive not seen any negative comments up until this thread, I imagine out of respect for the time someone has put into doing it. It just doesnt work with the way that I use forums so Im visiting less and getting less involved than I had been. If youre not interested in feedback then just delete the thread and move on, personally I think as a "club" feedback is essential and even if its not positive, if its constructive its worthwhile. r As for the fiver and tenner example, I see where youe coming from but without any users theres no forum in the first place, is there? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 Of course the club is interested in feedback, but subjective feedback i.e. don't like the look of something is not something you can really reasonably implement. You don't like it, Ekona does, so who do we pacify? When things clearly need sorting out i.e buttons missing, sub-forums disappearing, functionality going missing, even people on FB saying they are having trouble signing up logging in etc. then usually Lexx/Stu etc drop what they are doing and sort it out often within an hour - you wouldn't even get that sort of response from an IT support company you pay for let alone volunteers on a club forum. So yes, you get something for nothing and that is the prerogative of why this was set up, maybe you like 95% of it and not 5% but that will always be the case you cannot customise something to suit everyone. But its folly if you own a zed (or even not) to just not read this forum because you dont like a button, a feature, the colour, the layout of a thread, or whatever in my view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 I cant even remember the old format 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 (edited) 17 minutes ago, coldel said: Of course the club is interested in feedback, but subjective feedback i.e. don't like the look of something is not something you can really reasonably implement. You don't like it, Ekona does, so who do we pacify? You dont necessarily need to pacify anyone or change anything, you take the comments on board and move on, not start talking about how "you get this all for free so you shouldnt say anything negative". Quote But its folly if you own a zed (or even not) to just not read this forum because you dont like a button, a feature, the colour, the layout of a thread, or whatever in my view. No-one is saying they wont use it, just some people are saying its less user friendly. From this thread there seem to be a lot more anti than pro the change, Id at least take that on board. Edited August 18, 2017 by docwra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 There are a handful of people on here saying they don't like one thing or the other, there is a sub forum for change requests and we had a big opportunity for people to ask questions months ago when this all changed. We have addressed most of them that we could others you just have to live with, like restrictions we had to live with on the old forum. No one said do not say anything negative because its free, the point was that its free so you are going to have to live with how it is, if every member paid £500 a year for access then sure we would have paid for programmers on hand to sort out things to peoples wants and needs. The freeness of it dictates the service and the ethos is that its a free forum, it has its limitations but the most important thing is people have access to the information stored within for free - we should not be charging for it. Scrolling through this thread you will see people actively saying they visit less, some for personal reasons but others saying because they don't like the new layout. The thread is a thread about change, so only people that want change will post and is in no way an indication of how the forum as a whole feels - I am not sure you can justifiably show that people are more anti than pro change unless you can poll the entire forum. The team have thrown a lot of time in firstly saving the forum, then setting up a new one, testing it, revising it, taking on board feedback, changing it again and again. As I said, we appreciate constructive feedback that is something we can implement, but subjective views on what a single person likes or doesn't like is not something we can do much about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 17 hours ago, marzman said: I work in software and our company produces eCommerce websites, and i get involved in UX (User Experience) a lot, and I wouldn't want this flaw on one of our sites. vs 17 hours ago, marzman said: I've never logged on via mobile or tablet either so that doesn't benefit me... i'm a dektop user only How does the two go together? UX for websites involves mobiles, tablets, desktops etc, all kind of devices used to browse the websites you guys build. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian@TORQEN Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 17 hours ago, WINKJ said: This is my first post since it changed. I also have gone from logging in 2-3 times a day to once or twice a week. Echo all the comments made. You should thank the forum you're now so much more productive, less time wasted, I'd say that's an improvement 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted August 18, 2017 Share Posted August 18, 2017 OK, first post up in the forum guide section on how to utilise Activity streams, I suspect this will make peoples experience a whole lot easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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