New look

[Justa Lol]

its fantastic! i like it, very good job.

that was all

[techgnome]

At first I wasn't so sure that I would like it. But I do too. It doesn't feel quite so. .... old. OOOooooh.... and I just saw there's an AUTOSAVE in the quick reply? Hmmmmm..... Overall, I like... I have found one thing..... woah... make that two things I don't like.... making a list, will post in the gripes thread.

-tg

[dday9]

I love it. The gems assosiated with rep looks sleeker, the quick reply seems a lot easier to use. I love the auto-save. Also, I don't even mind the ad right by the login, if it generates more mulah for the forums and it's outta the way then why not. It's a great update :]

[Niya]

Aesthetically its nicer but its feels different to actually use. My major gripe is that my beloved highlight tags aren't working. My minor gripes are the slight differences in behaviour between the old one and this one like this reply box which no longer word wraps but letter wraps or the fact that I have to get used to going into settings in the upper right instead of User CP in the upper left. "View first unread" is now more to the right than to the left. Code tags annoyingly wraps long lines of code now which can make code difficult to read.

Overall, I like the change. Once they fix the code and highlight tags, I'd be satisfied. I can learn to live with the other stuff. I'll get used to the stuff they moved around.

[RhinoBull]

This "new look" realy sucks - it's slow (and I already test it on super fast machines/networks and not so), each part requires more real estate, some feature don't work anymore (quik reply, 'what's going on", etc parts are not collapsible so for me it's a dead space that could be used for something else)...
And that is just quick observation... If intention is to make it better then it must be better...not somewhat better...

[brad jones]

Rhino - You're slipping.... you're usually one of the first to chime in!

Look and speed are two different things. Your comments are note though.

Most are noted by others in the main feedback thread as well. We are working on the speed issue. I was told today that we are getting vBulletin support involved with the speed issues as well. I expect improvements to be coming in that regard.

[RhinoBull]

Super busy these days so forgive me for being one of the first.

Anyway, by "new look" I meant "new release" and I'm glad to hear you guys are working on the speed issue. As far as "new look" (this time I really mean "look") it's a bit strange so it'll take a bit of time to get used to it I guess.
I'll post my findings in a day or two - let me use it first.

Thanks Brad.

[FunkyDexter]

I'm not mad keen on the new look as it feels a bit washed out for me. The old colours just 'popped' more. That said, it does seem to be the way the world at large is headed so fossils like me should probably be ignored on that one.

There are two things that are starting to really grate on my nerves though:-
1. I used to insert formatting tags (italic, bold etc) by using keyboard shortcuts (ctrl i, ctrl b etc). That no longer seems to happen and instead these call up functionality in IE itself. That feels like something I could probably adjust as a setting in IE but I don't know how. And worse, there no longer seemes to be a pane to mouse select these from either so the only way to insert them is to remember my html tags. Probably no biggy on a programming forum but just seems a bit of a step backward.
2. The navigation links (ie the bit that's currently reading "VBForums>Community>Forum Feedbak>New Look>Reply to Thread" as I type this) used to appear at the top and the bottom of a thread, now they're only at the top. This might seem like the obvious place to have them but they were actually more useful at the bottom. I used them most commonly to jump back to a forum from a thread and I typically want to that when I've just finished reading it. At that point I'm at the bottom of the page, not the top. Having to scroll back to the top is a minor irritation but it's one I'll hit dozens of times a day and they all add up.



edit> Just noticed, there is a pane for formatting tags. Has that just been added back in or was I just being blind as a bat earlier? It's entirely possible I just didn't see it because round edged bubbly buttons and the washed out colours may have thrown my eye off.

[RhinoBull]

Can control panel be moved to the left side - it just doesn't belong where it's now on the right.

Can "show your signature" check "remember my previous selection - it's annoying to keep unchecking it every time.

Can "Thread Information", "Tags for this Thread", "Quick reply" and "Posting Permissions" all be collapsible and also remember the last setting?

[RobDog888]

RB, Settings link is now standard location top left in the vB software.

Thread Information, Tags are standard to not have a collapseable button but could if they want to modify the code.
Quick Reply is either shown by default or takes a click on the post you want to reply to to show it. Its a site wide setting. Up to Brad and majority to change.
Posting permissions is collapseable and cookie based, just have to collapse it first. Top right corner of the section

Hope this helps

[dday9]

@RB
I know it's off topic, but isn't New Amsterdam New York?

[RhinoBull]

Posting permissions is collapseable and cookie based, just have to collapse it first. Top right corner of the section

Yea, I did see it but it just doesn't work..and I cleared cookies too. Also, the quick reply MUST be optional just like it used to be. This is god damn annoying and will very likely make me to come here less and less.
Thanks but no thanks.

[Shaggy Hiker]

I didn't know quick reply was EVER optional. Since I don't use anything else, I guess I didn't care that it was always there. However, for me, it is always located at the bottom, after all the threads, so why does it matter if it is there? By the time I get there, I already know whether I am going to add something or just move on.

My biggest gripe is with the colors. I guess I'm a fossil, too, but the difference between read and unread is a faint shade of blue. I can barely see it at the best of times. I realize that I could start looking at the icon itself, as they are different, but that's pretty lousy feedback, since the difference in the icons is still indistinct.

[honeybee]

The new look is better for me, the quick reply is bigger and the whole screen kinda cleaned up and seems to cram more info in it. Not just the thread, but also the forum listings. Yet to notice any speed issues, so far things are loading up pretty decent.

.

[SJWhiteley]

Have been away a few days, and the look is very 'washed out', in addition to be a lot slower: this was a nice feature of the old one - speedy to click through links and threads. It may be the connection, but it doesn't seem so.

The read/unread doesn't stand out - the icon is huge compared to the actual relevant data, but that seems to be true for everything: what is important is washed out by 'the look'.

[And it is lucky that the feature to auto-save actually is present, because i pressed 'Reply to thread' to, well, reply to this thread, and it blew my comment away...].

[RobDog888]

Quick Reply is for replying inline basically (as we know) and if you click Reply to Thread button instead then it will not save what you typed to load into the advanced reply page. You should be clicking the "Go Advanced" button to preserve your quick reply content into the Advanced Reply page.

The way it is working is correct and standard vB technic unfortunately

[SJWhiteley]

Quick Reply is for replying inline basically (as we know) and if you click Reply to Thread button instead then it will not save what you typed to load into the advanced reply page. You should be clicking the "Go Advanced" button to preserve your quick reply content into the Advanced Reply page.

The way it is working is correct and standard vB technic unfortunately

I understand exactly what you are saying, but with a 'quick reply', the 'grayed out' reply buttons are, well, grayed out, whereas the large, prominent, 'reply to thread' is closer, prominent, and states exactly what you want to do: but it doesn't.

Also, since 'reply to thread' actually does nothing except take you to the quick reply section, I'm not sure why it's there (?). Is this a bug or feature?

[ForumAccount]

Hate the new look. You would think as programmers we would understand "don't fix what ain't broke" the best. I am not an old-timer like some of the posters that have mentioned that should make their comment irrelevant, so by that logic my comment is relevant. I love helping people on this forum, now this interface just adds another layer I have to show patience for. And yes, it is definitely slower, at least 30-50% slower. My 2 cents.

[Niya]

I like this new look. Its very modern however its a little too bright. I'd prefer darker tones in some places, like a dark blue or gray in place of white as the general back colour.

[RhinoBull]

Quick Reply is for replying inline basically (as we know) and if you click Reply to Thread button instead then it will not save what you typed to load into the advanced reply page. You should be clicking the "Go Advanced" button to preserve your quick reply content into the Advanced Reply page.

The way it is working is correct and standard vB technic unfortunately

Few questions Rob:

1. prior to upgrade clicking on "reply" button would take you directly to "advanced" edit mode - any good reason why it doesn't now?
2. clicking "reply" now simply takes you to "quick reply" mode - any good reason why?
3. and why "should" we be clicking more than once to go to advanced edit mode? "Should" it not be default?

Thanks for answering...

[techgnome]

My response to #3 ... single click the Go Advanced button... takes you right there.

As for how the reply and others used to work vs now... I like how it is now... it's more in tune with how I use the site ... 99% of my replies are of the quick variety (in that I use the quick reply... but there have been times when I'll spend 15+ minutes on a "quick" reply) .. one thing I definitely like is if I do use the reply with quote next to a specific posting, it not only drops me down into the quick reply but then automatically quotes it for me... something I hated about the previous version was I'd often forget to hit the "Include quote with reply" checkbox... and then my response looks idiotic (more than usual) ... especially when there are intervening posts.

I suppose the answers to #1 & #2 is "That's how the software works" ... This last upgrade was a huge jump... so we haven't seen the "benefits" of the intervening minor upgrades, so there's a lot that's new to many of us...

-tg

[cevem]

Everyting is good but please change the top var like this forum. (e.g. colors) Topbar is so bigger.

[brad jones]

Everyting is good but please change the top var like this forum. (e.g. colors) Topbar is so bigger.

We can shrink the height of the top by moving things to a right rail.... Most people have wider screens, so it might be a good time to shift the tall ad and article links to the right rail....

Brad!

[techgnome]

Do we even still need those featured articles? they haven't even changed in months...

-tg

[brad jones]

Do we even still need those featured articles? they haven't even changed in months...
-tg

Note that they are "sponsored".

They do need to change though.....

[Arve K.]

Really getting used to this new look now. At first I was like , but now I'm like

To bad it's so slow sometimes though...

[RhinoBull]

Really getting used to this new look now. At first I was like , but now I'm like

Do we have a choice to be all the time?