Welcome to the New Forum

[IanG]

Totally agree

[Alex Brandon-Smith]

Autobackup, thanks for the feedback. Firstly let me apologise for not coming back to you on the PDF thing. I mentioned briefly in passing this end but never fully started investigating it before we realised we had problems with the old images not coming across and that needing to be dealt with. I shall look into the PDF thing asap.

I have to admit, you are not alone in finding some of the functionality of phpBB slightly frustrating and less intuitive but we do gain added benefits like being able to use the Tapatalk platform which is really quite easy to use on mobile devices, As moderators, we also get better backups, more flexible permissions and wider choice of plugins, amongst other things. We have lost some functionality too (is anything ever perfect?) and of course the problem with email etc is not ideal but I'm sure much of it can be sorted with tweaks as they arise. As with any change, much of the issue is in simply trying to adapt to a new platform.

More than anything, we appreciate the continued support whilst trying to make improvements. We are, of course, trying our best with a great bunch of guys who are giving their time and expertise freely so things may sometimes take a little longer to get right.

John, the image restrictions have been lifted on both image size and quantity within posts. It's better for us to regulate it a bit so we don't get hit by spammers at some point trying to fill us up with images etc.

Alex

[Alex Brandon-Smith]

PDF's can now be added to the forum posts.

Cheers Phil!

Alex

[John Scherrer]

Thanks Alex
A lot of these things are straight forward to fix, just a question of configuring the right bits !

I agree that navigating around seems not so easy as the old forum, more down to the forum application than the web design as others have already said.

I'm sure as we address these issues and get used to the 'new broom' it will be fine.

Appreciate the work the guys have put in !

[autobackup]

Thanks Alex - I'm sending a PM

P

[Bruce Fielding]

I can't be the only one who thinks that the forum looks a bit pants... specifically, a little bare bones - especially when compared to the website (which is also pretty sparse, but at least it's stylishly sparse).

However, I don't believe in criticism without a solution

It's really easy to change the look of a phpBB forum. Here are some designs:
http://www.phpbb3styles.net/db/?sid=546 ... 7b9dbc1d6f

And some more:
https://www.frip.in/vbulletinvanilla-an ... -template/

There are loads more of these sites. It just takes someone to browse through and pick a look. Plus it's not difficult to create a custom look. The benefit of a phpBB forum is that it's really flexible. What we have here is an unopened box of plasticine. Someone needs to play with it.

Also, by changing the theme, one can often release better functionality which would address many of the issues raised in other posts here.

[Alex Brandon-Smith]

Hi Bruce thanks for the feedback and the ideas.

I'm going to take a look at some of these skins over the next few weeks as I'm definitely open to changing the look. We needed to get the forum running, and then we can tweak away after that so anything the members can bring to help improve things is always open to put on the table.

Alex

[GraemeW]

I think we need to do something. It seems a lot quieter compared to the old one?

[Bruce Fielding]

I think we need to do something. It seems a lot quieter compared to the old one?

A few reasons, I think. The key one being that it's Winter, and that's not the most popular time to be thinking about your Atom (or whatever)

The admins need to make an effort to post things to gee people up. That's tricky at this time of year, which is why it's best to keep it lively with other non-Atom (sorry, non Ariel) stuff - jokes, topicals etc. This forum has got a bit too vanilla for my tastes. Not a decent argument in months! For example, It's GIBBO's BIRTHDAY today!!! Let's tease the hell out of him (or wish him a happy birthday - either will do)!

Another reason is almost certainly the Facebook group, which detracts and distracts from this forum. If you've posted something on facebook, why put it on the forum? The trouble is, Facebook is pants. Facebook is for lazy people (not excluding myself there either). For example, there's a Summer Event mentioned on Facebook, but not here... It should be that the facebook group sends people to the website and the forum. That's what it's for from a management perspective...

One more could be the look of the new forum (which I addressed). If it looked less like an accountant from Winchester, people might spend more time looking around.

There may be other reasons, but that's my twopenn'orth.

[GraemeW]

Thanks Bruce. I have been looking at the forum more perhaps, because it is winter, and the car is locked up in the garage for the winter

I have been posting stuff around two tours this year to gee us up a bit in these bleak winter days; Border Blast in May and Italy trip in August/September, but I don't think many will have seen them as they are not as "in your face" as the old forum, but easily found if you look. So I may also post a link back to them on the facebook group. It seems whenever I log onto the forum Im the only one there, whereas before there were always 4 or 5 others.

PS Have you sold your car now?

[Bruce Fielding]

PS Have you sold your car now?

Not yet. Stored for the Winter. Will be marketing more aggressively in the Spring.

[Flying Phil]

I like the new look...!

[cvjoint]

I have an issue with the technical side of the forum. I can see it when I'm not logged it, but once I log in I can no longer see it and as a result cannot write in it either. It appears to be backwards according to this snippet from the first post:
"One change of note is that the more technical areas of the forum (like track atom) have been locked down for membership use only. This type of data is the forum's biggest asset and, as such, it should be encouraged to become a member to access these more in-depth areas of the forum."

[John Scherrer]

That's not right! You can see the forum when you're not logged in, but when you log in you can't see it and can't write posts?

How did you post this then?

[phil4]

Thanks for pointing that out, shouldn't be the case any more.

I'll be honest, the permissions stuff behind this forum is really quite complicated, made more fun by the large number of forums and sub-forums we have.

I'm not complaining, but will take a while to get it all sorted. For now, technical is out of bounds to non-members, and that should include people who aren't signed in. I've also had a go at removing the moderator approval that was required for those forums, which shouldn't be needed for members any more.