Forum Update 2019

[James]

You may have noticed things look a little generic around here! I've just updated the forum software to the newest version. Normally I would wait to do something like that until after I had done all the AV styling first. But due to a ton of spam posts lately I decided to update first, and make it pretty later!

Most things should work as before, but I'm sure there will be some small adjustments to get used to. Let me know of any major issues!

[Randall]

It's very disorienting! Where am I?!?

I think you made the right call. Best to get 'er done.

[EricJ]

Ahem, "Ton of spam posts", Randall?
Who decided to be friendly, and told our new "registering" Russian/Baltic comrades "Great! Join in the conversation!"?

[Randall]

Me. But I did so with extreme cynicism.

[Ben]

Yeah...thems are the ones I just delete without thinking about. We had around seven of those last week. I still think we should delete all the users that ever only made one post. Pretty much all of those are spams or bots that I just deleted quickly without going through the whole removing user routine.

Very strange around here without our usual look! I can take the lack of styling but having the posts on the left is really throwing me! Still, good to get done what needed doing!

[ShyViolet]

Very cool! . Along with the new blog-like look of News and Views, the site is looking great! . (Although I was a BIT disoriented at first. Lol. )

[James]

VI: Don’t get used to it! It’s just the default style of our forum you get as soon as you install the software. I’ll be customizing it to match the new AV styling soon.

BEN: Not a fan of that either. I like to see the name of the person who wrote the post I’m about to read first.

[Ben]

[droosan]

I'm still seeing some spam posts, FWIW (but they always seem to get deleted, pretty quickly).

I just posted in the Missing Link thread, and used the 'hide' feature to keep some spoiler details hidden from view. However (at least on my end), clicking the "click to reveal content" text does not seem to work properly; the hidden portion remains hidden.

Just FYI, since you'd asked to be informed of any forum issues.

[James]

We can't stop all the spambots but we're getting a whole lot less since updating to the latest version of the forum software.

The spoiler tag was something we added not a default feature of the forum so I'll have to manually add that code back in. Thanks for the reminder!

[Daniel]

Just posted elsewhere and when I used the url link code it underlined the words. Don't remember it being that way.

[James]

I've started retheming the forum to match our new style. Still lots to do but I was tired of that generic look so went live with what's done!

Still do to:
- spoiler button fix
- search engine
- fix google ad size
- finish redesigning some pages (new/edit post, profile, etc...)
- install chat room
- make the header shrink when scrolling
- fix a few things that aren't responsive on mobile devices
- minor design fixes I haven't gotten around to yet (buttons)
- custom fonts look fine on my Mac but wrong on my iPad

Let me know of any other errors or things that you just don't like!

[Ben]

Okay, you’ve probably seen Dacey and my mentions of the top banner on the other post, and it looks like you’re on that already!

Nothing else immediately jumps out!

[Daniel]

Well, I'm happy the avatars are back on the left. That was the worst.

The new "look" will take some getting used to. I'll miss the shades of blue wraparound.

The "online" display placement.

Our usernames use to be on top of our avatars now their under. And both used to be centered.

The font looks a tad bigger in that section.

Not sure I'm fond of any of these changes.

[James]

The "blue wraparound" is gone for good! It was a great framing device when we did it, but with screens coming in so many sizes from tiny to huge it was time to go with something less limiting.

For some reason I can't get those avatars to center align! I spent a long time on it and couldn't figure it out. Because I couldn't get the image centered, I decided not to center the profile text. And because the avatar was in the way, I had to change how the online tag appears. I'll keep at it, but I did spend a lot of effort trying to get the profile info centered again!

I forgot the name used to be above the avatar. Might set that up again.

Making the text larger was a big part of the site upgrade so I decided to implement it here too. It will take getting used to, but I think it is a change for the better.