Forum changes

[Halichoeres]

Boy, I'm not sure I can even experience this many emotions!

[DinoToyForum]

Boy, I'm not sure I can even experience this many emotions!

         

[DinoToyForum]

Quoting @CharlieNovember from elsewhere

The problem with DTF is that... it is highly addictive !
If you've missed the discussions for two days, you'll need about twice as long to catch up with the delay

PS It is just an idea that popped up, but I was wondering if it would be possible to add 5 more lines in the « recent topics » section, so 20 lines instead of 15, or to display the 2 most recent topics of each board, which would allow to find more easily the latest discussions we've missed ?^^

The recent topics section was met with scepticism when I first introduced it because veterans preferred navigating via the boards, and didn't like scrolling past the recent topics. So, I reduced the recent topics down to 15 from 20 upon request. I also experimented with a two column arrangement. See earlier in this thread (https://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=24.msg331140#msg331140 and subsequent discussion). Now that members have gotten used to it, there may be more willingness to expand the recent topics list to 20 again. Personally, I think it's better with 20, or even more, and it's much easier for new visitors, especially because many have never used a traditional forum before. I've set it to 20 to see what people feel.

[DinoToyForum]

Yeah, 20 is too much I'd say. 15 would be a sweet middle spot between a reasonably updated list of topics and one that's just too much.

How about the following arrangement, which might please everyone? I can set it to 15 on Mondays, Thursdays & Sundays, 10 on Tuesdays & Fridays, 20 on Wednesdays & Saturdays, and I can put the Recent topics list in the side bar on weekdays and at the top of the page on weekends and bank holidays?

Spoiler

  kidding!

[close]

I made myself lol going back through this conversation. 

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

I preferred the sidebar, myself. That way no one has to scroll past that section to get to the main boards.

I use the recent topics section and I have been as long as it's been around. I used to middle mouse click everything and open them all in new tabs to read, but have since stopped opening threads that don't interest me (such as those for brands I don't collect). Now I just open a few, but it's still the main way I see new posts.

EDIT: Unrelated, but I just noticed we passed our "most users online" on March 19th. It was previously December 27 or 28? 2020. Figured people were sharing Christmas acquisitions, looking into 2021 models, and otherwise had downtime during the holiday season. Especially with it being 2020 and lots of us were probably keeping to ourselves that year. Weird since I don't think there's an apparent reason for it this time, is there?

[DinoToyForum]

I preferred the sidebar, myself. That way no one has to scroll past that section to get to the main boards.

I use the recent topics section and I have been as long as it's been around. I used to middle mouse click everything and open them all in new tabs to read, but have since stopped opening threads that don't interest me (such as those for brands I don't collect). Now I just open a few, but it's still the main way I see new posts.

EDIT: Unrelated, but I just noticed we passed our "most users online" on March 19th. It was previously December 27 or 28? 2020. Figured people were sharing Christmas acquisitions, looking into 2021 models, and otherwise had downtime during the holiday season. Weird since I don't think there's an apparent reason for it this time, is there?

But there is no sidebar on a mobile at all any more. That's the trouble with any layout discussion, it's different for different devices.

I looked into that 'most online' record breaking anomaly back in March at the time. It came from suspicious activity, a huge influx of traffic from Brazil, all within a short period of a few hours, so it was probably a brute force hacking attempt. I'm confident it wasn't genuine traffic. If I can work out how I'll delete it from the database.

[Protopatch]

Now that members have gotten used to it, there may be more willingness to expand the recent topics list to 20 again. Personally, I think it's better with 20, or even more, and it's much easier for new visitors, especially because many have never used a traditional forum before. I've set it to 20 to see what people feel.

Cool, thank you for adding those additional lines !
Actually, it seems that with 20 lines, we have an overview on almost all the topics posted in the past 24 hours so this is great.

My first reflex is usually to use the "recent topics" section to keep up to date with the latest discussions.
I only use the "forum board" in order to check older posts.

[Faelrin]

When I click on my post to modify it, my post is just gone. Like as if I was starting a new post. i wanted to fix the formatting, but yeah can't. It's weird.

Edit: Although I can edit this one just fine. Worth mentioning I did save the prior post as a draft before finishing it and posting it. The other post is still showing up blank though.

[Libraraptor]

When I click on my post to modify it, my post is just gone. Like as if I was starting a new post. i wanted to fix the formatting, but yeah can't. It's weird.

Edit: Although I can edit this one just fine. Worth mentioning I did save the prior post as a draft before finishing it and posting it. The other post is still showing up blank though.

It does work for my posts, so sorry I can´t be of any help.

As to the extended "recent topics" list, I am fine with it and helps me to catch up quicker - although, as I said, this forum and its style are a welcome antidote to fast-paced social media which basically only screams at you nowadays

[DinoToyForum]

I noticed this happens to any post with the word Amazon in it. I set a piece of code to automatically turn the word into a link. This is obviously causing the glitch. I'll fix it...

[Faelrin]

Still having the issue with amazon in a post prevents it from being edited.

Edit: Actually, might be working if its not uppercased. Let me see if I can edit this if I add it capitalized. That said I just ran into the issue earlier with one of my Mattel Jurassic World posts where it was.

Edit: Amazon

[Faelrin]

Yep having it lower case means I can edit the post. After adding it into the above post with it capitalized, it cannot be edited anymore. Whole post appears to be wiped out as before with this issue.

[DinoToyForum]

Yep having it lower case means I can edit the post. After adding it into the above post with it capitalized, it cannot be edited anymore. Whole post appears to be wiped out as before with this issue.

Thanks, in the end I just decided to remove the autolink code completely. So, this is fixed now.

[DinoToyForum]

I've just installed a forum software update, which contains some bug fixes, including some related to the search facility. I don't know if this will actually fix the search problems that have been raised here in the past. Try it out and let me know.

Also, please let me know if you notice anything else is broken following the update today. Everything seems to be in working order at first glance, but you never know.

[Halichoeres]

The search function seems to be working correctly! Great news, thanks for letting us know!

[ceratopsian]

I had a quick search too. Looked right. Too short of time to investigate in depth.