... why

What was the point of getting the new layout?

I used to be on a different forum (not reptile related) that was fine. Then they got this layout... :tears:

Ruined the site. Hardly anyone even posts now and it *stinks* because it was one of the most popular forums around that I know of...

It just makes stuff more complicated.

Plus I dont have a hot-rod layout now. :weirdface


Dislike


What does everyone else think of it?
There was probably already a discussion about it. I dont know.

Well the original templates had to go, they were not combatable. As stated a few times, they are working on new ones.

If a forum goes under because of a template change, I wouldn't blame the new template..................

I think there's more postings now than before the change, but that's just how it seems to me. It's no more complex that I can tell, except that when I want to go to the chatbox, I have to hit the general "forums" and scroll down. I liked having a jump button to the chatbox.

Otherwise, all the steps to post threads, search for new posts, etc, are all the same that I can tell. And they are working on new themes.

The old style used to lock up on me almost every day at work. This one doesn't, so far. There are a few bugs here-and-there, but I am sure they will work them out soon.

I absolutely love it.

I like it so far

I like it a lot better, to be honest. The old layout was rather outdated, and I was irritated when I first joined at how much more I had to do to get things to work like they did on the forums I frequent elsewhere. But this is all my opinion, and I can understand why someone who'd be used to the old way would dislike changes

I'm having some problems with it at work due to IE, new posts hardly works at all.
giving it some time....

Upgrades are more than visual changes, when you run a board that is as popular as this there are security concerns with back-end coding holes, and stability concerns.

I like the visual changes, and I appreciate the staff for taking the time in making sure the site is the best it can be.

Yeah...the only thing I don't really like about it is that I use IE and the postings didn't work well...It seems to be better/fixed now though! :D The only thing I don't like about the new "style" or layout (whatever you want to call it) is that there seems to be a lot more empty space now. Maybe it's just in IE...

do you get mostly white space when you use "New Posts"? I use it and it's almost unreadable now.

I enjoy it. After over 2 years of looking at the same thing, this is good change. Some people don't like change and expect things to work perfectly right away! Give it some time, it's been a whole 2 days or so.

I'm not sure how these whole forum sites work, if I'm wrong correct me, but isn't the site itself a template provided by vBulletin and everything else such as the sections/sub-sections and different forum areas the responsibility of the one paying for it?

Only so much people can do in a day. It's not as easy as people think it is.

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

What was the point of getting the new layout?

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The layout hasn't change at all. Same style portal, same style threads.

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I used to be on a different forum (not reptile related) that was fine. Then they got this layout... :tears:

Ruined the site. Hardly anyone even posts now and it *stinks* because it was one of the most popular forums around that I know of...

It just makes stuff more complicated.

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What, specifically, makes it more complicated? Change of location of some of the buttons?

I'm looking for feedback on what may be confusing - but I think ultimately, the goal of the new theme that vB provided was to make things easier.

You may think, right now - it's confusing, but give it some time to get used to some of the new elements and you may find you're navigating the forum quicker than you did in that past. I know I am - but I've been messing around on this version of vB for quite a few months now...
Perhaps that's why I'm missing some of the confusion.

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Plus I dont have a hot-rod layout now. :weirdface
Dislike

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We're working on it :)

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Originally Posted by fishmommy

do you get mostly white space when you use "New Posts"? I use it and it's almost unreadable now.

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That is a confirmed bug appearing only in Internet Explorer 6 and 7. I'm working on getting that fixed right now.

thanks for all your hard work Nate and the other staff! I know these upgrades are a real headache to implement - I will be patient :)

There are two things I do not like about it, but one hopefully will be changed.

1. I am color blind... the color blue gives me the most problems, so you can imagine my difficulty :p Now, the old forum did that as well, so its not the new style, it is simply the fact that I can not change the templates yet, which I think are being worked on. If anyones wondering what me affects me, for one I cant tell when a forum has new posts in it, because they are all the same shade of blue ( If I look hard enough though, I can tell that to the normal person, something has changed to tell them... I think it may get bolder?) And it gives me a slight headache.

2. The rep system is going to be unnoticed and hardly used now i think, its that little star thing next to thanks, I thought we had gotten rid of it to be honest at first, new members I do not think will find it and know what it is easily. Heck, maybe even the older members like me!!

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Originally Posted by Beardedragon

( If I look hard enough though, I can tell that to the normal person, something has changed to tell them... I think it may get bolder?) And it gives me a slight headache.

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yes - if there is a new post in a thread, the title is bolded to indicate a new post.

What do you think would make it easier for you to notice there is a new post? Happy to give it a try. Just let me know :)

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2. The rep system is going to be unnoticed and hardly used now i think, its that little star thing next to thanks, I thought we had gotten rid of it to be honest at first, new members I do not think will find it and know what it is easily. Heck, maybe even the older members like me!!

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I agree with you. It's not too user friendly - so we are looking into something else.

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Originally Posted by jfreels

Well the original templates had to go, they were not combatable. As stated a few times, they are working on new ones.

If a forum goes under because of a template change, I wouldn't blame the new template..................

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I think it was the temeplate change that did it. There wasnt a lot of poeple on it to begin with and im sure most of them hated the change (dont like change, theyre set in their ways etc). They made it look completely different, some people didnt even know it was the same site.

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Originally Posted by Wh00h0069

The old style used to lock up on me almost every day at work. This one doesn't, so far. There are a few bugs here-and-there, but I am sure they will work them out soon.

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What do you mean lock up? Ive never had any problems with it but then again I use my home computer and Firefox. I cant stand IE anymore, it always gives me problems.

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Originally Posted by Valentine Pirate

I like it a lot better, to be honest. The old layout was rather outdated, and I was irritated when I first joined at how much more I had to do to get things to work like they did on the forums I frequent elsewhere. But this is all my opinion, and I can understand why someone who'd be used to the old way would dislike changes

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How is it out dated? As far as I can tell the only big difference is how things look. The layout is basically the same except everything looks different. All the sections are in the same order etc, but it took me a while (just now) to find the User CP. I dont get why things are moved around when they dont need to be. I also hate the normal colors lol. Grey and blue is really really dull to me.

[QUOTE=jfreels;1411026]Well the original templates had to go, they were not combatable. As stated a few times, they are working on new ones.

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Originally Posted by Nate

The layout hasn't change at all. Same style portal, same style threads.



What, specifically, makes it more complicated? Change of location of some of the buttons?

I'm looking for feedback on what may be confusing - but I think ultimately, the goal of the new theme that vB provided was to make things easier.

You may think, right now - it's confusing, but give it some time to get used to some of the new elements and you may find you're navigating the forum quicker than you did in that past. I know I am - but I've been messing around on this version of vB for quite a few months now...
Perhaps that's why I'm missing some of the confusion.


We're working on it :)



That is a confirmed bug appearing only in Internet Explorer 6 and 7. I'm working on getting that fixed right now.

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Yeah I lost the location of half of the stuff that I use alot. (have to look for it)

I dont see how this will make anyone be navigating faster, besides that it doesnt open a new page to write your post you do it on this page, but im guessing ifyou have a slow computer its going to take just as long to load the text box as it would have been to open a new page to type the reply.

Im just used to the old layout becuase basically every forum I use has that style and I like it.

PS: another little problem I just had, I checked all the posts on page 1 to do a multiple quote. I wrote all my responses and POSTED IT. Then I just hit the multiple quote button on your post (wasnt sure if I would quote anyone else) and it brought back all of the quotes that I had already responded to on page 1.
Yet I already made a post about them.

Also I dont like how the text box you get to reply is so small and you have to scroll down to reply to every quote where on the old one you could just click below it.

I'm not a big fan of how wide the site is. I run 1024x768 and I have to scroll from side to side to see everything. Switching to 1152x864 fixes it. I'm not a big fan of websites getting wider since not everyone runs widescreen yet (my desktop runs 800x600 lol)

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

How is it out dated? As far as I can tell the only big difference is how things look. The layout is basically the same except everything looks different.

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To start with, performance.

The site loads much faster - and that is because the new theme uses more of todays standards to render the forum (CSS, rather than Tables)

Yeh, there are elements that are moved around and even smaller - but I think that was done in order to clear up some space. Forums, in general, have a lot of stuff - and it's hard to neatly present all that stuff.

My opinion on the old theme was too much stuff. Users that don't know how to use a forum are easily overwhelmed.

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All the sections are in the same order etc, but it took me a while (just now) to find the User CP. I dont get why things are moved around when they dont need to be.

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Don't need to be, maybe.

But this isn't necessarily a case of "if it aint broke, don't fix it" - I think if you give the new layout a chance, you may find that you navigate it quicker than before. I could be wrong - but time will tell.

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I also hate the normal colors lol. Grey and blue is really really dull to me.

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A majority of folks use the default, dull gray and blue. But we are trying to roll out some new themes right now for those that don't like the default. Patience. ;)

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Originally Posted by Nate

yes - if there is a new post in a thread, the title is bolded to indicate a new post.

What do you think would make it easier for you to notice there is a new post? Happy to give it a try. Just let me know :)

I agree with you. It's not too user friendly - so we are looking into something else.

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Changing the color would :D But im not asking for that, it would be silly to do that just for me, but I can give you my paypal and we can settle this in a better way :P

Jk, maybe outlining it in a dark color, like a dark grey or black, when there are new posts?

Its not that big of a problem, normally when I want to see if there is new posts, I click on the forum without even looking at that. If new style templates are made for us to choose from, ill have my wish with those :)

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Originally Posted by Nate

To start with, performance.

The site loads much faster - and that is because the new theme uses more of todays standards to render the forum (CSS, rather than Tables)
Yeh, there are elements that are moved around and even smaller - but I think that was done in order to clear up some space. Forums, in general, have a lot of stuff - and it's hard to neatly present all that stuff.

My opinion on the old theme was too much stuff. Users that don't know how to use a forum are easily overwhelmed.


Don't need to be, maybe.

But this isn't necessarily a case of "if it aint broke, don't fix it" - I think if you give the new layout a chance, you may find that you navigate it quicker than before. I could be wrong - but time will tell.


A majority of folks use the default, dull gray and blue. But we are trying to roll out some new themes right now for those that don't like the default. Patience. ;)

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lol I think this new version has just as much stuff, and a new member would be just as overwhelmed... Its not much more complicated, just they wont have to learn where everything is supposed to be again.

I got rid of the default colors the first day I joined lol... When ever I would go to the QT room I would freak out like whyyyy. (then realize... Oh yeah)

The new layout does seem too wide to me. I'm having to enlarge the window all the time to see without scrolling back and forth. I'd still like(LOVE) a chatbox button up on the bar, like the old layout had, as that was one of the things I used a lot.

Using IE, the site used to load perfectly fast for me, even when it was pictures or the main forum page. Now the forums page takes a LOT longer to load for me. Since I have to hit "forums" to scroll down to the chat, it's a little annoying. I don't know if that's temporary, or because it's IE, or just me.

I don't like new stuff just because it's new. But I'll get used to the new layout and I keep an open mind, because I know this new stuff is supposed to be better, especially for the site(how much bandwidth and stuff I think).

And I love the dull blue and grey, it's MUCH easier on my eyes. Thanks so much for changing that so quickly.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

The new layout does seem too wide to me. I'm having to enlarge the window all the time to see without scrolling back and forth. I'd still like(LOVE) a chatbox button up on the bar, like the old layout had, as that was one of the things I used a lot.

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So... is there a chat box? I think im missing something...

If not a chat thing would be awesome.

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

So... is there a chat box? I think im missing something...

If not a chat thing would be awesome.

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Look up at the top navigation :gj:

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

I think there's more postings now than before the change, but that's just how it seems to me. It's no more complex that I can tell, except that when I want to go to the chatbox, I have to hit the general "forums" and scroll down. I liked having a jump button to the chatbox.

Otherwise, all the steps to post threads, search for new posts, etc, are all the same that I can tell. And they are working on new themes.

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I agree, I think there are actually more posts. and with the new 'HOME' feature I can see exactly how much more.

Only issue I have is having to scroll back and forth to read some posts cause I also use an old computer and IE, but everything is working fine for me. Granted, I've had to look for a few things that I used to know where to find, but it hasn't been hard to find them. I had more issues trying to figure out how to use the site when I first found it versus now and scrolling back and forth isn't that big a deal, really. Great job Nate and thanks for working so hard trying to improve things!!

The facebook thing?

Registration denied. We check new registrations against a database of known forum spammers. At this time, we are unable to contact this database to verify your registration. We are sorry for the inconvenience but please do try again later.

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

The facebook thing?

Registration denied. We check new registrations against a database of known forum spammers. At this time, we are unable to contact this database to verify your registration. We are sorry for the inconvenience but please do try again later.

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hm.

Thanks for pointing that out. Probably gonna have to disable our anti-spam mod (just installed today)

I really like the changes. The layout is very nice and it is a welcome change!

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Originally Posted by I<3Dreamsicles

The facebook thing?

Registration denied. We check new registrations against a database of known forum spammers. At this time, we are unable to contact this database to verify your registration. We are sorry for the inconvenience but please do try again later.

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Alright - I found an updated version of it that is said to work with Facebook integration - could you please give that another shot and let me know your results?

Thanks a bunch :gj:

Nate, you rock! Thank you for the chatbox button, that speeds things for me considerably! You've been amazing with all the new stuff going up so fast. Lightning typing skills!

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

Nate, you rock! Thank you for the chatbox button, that speeds things for me considerably! You've been amazing with all the new stuff going up so fast. Lightning typing skills!

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:nerd:
:D

I think i'll be able to get used the change. Every site needs an update once in a while.

My biggest complaint, like most others, is the need to scroll across to read a whole page. If that would get fixed (and as soon as the new themes roll out) everything would be great :)

i also LOVE the medium grey color in the back now. That makes it a lot less blinding to read.

I said I loved the changes but forgot to thank the staff good jobs guys:gj:

I don't know if this means anything or not, but it's a little annoying and perhaps a bug. I think someone mentioned it earlier too.

Some posts have a LOT of empty space underneath the text, while others have none. At first, I thought it was the amount of text, but I started noticing it more and more with some and not others.

It's not that big of a deal, it just makes it harder to read and there's more scrolling involved.

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

Some posts have a LOT of empty space underneath the text, while others have none. At first, I thought it was the amount of text, but I started noticing it more and more with some and not others.

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This is due to the text box lining up with the avatar box to the left. If the avatar box has a big picture and a lot of info spelled out, it can get fairly tall. If someone just types a few lines of text, the rest of that space is empty until you get down to where the signature section starts. It was the same way in the old layout, but I think the signatures lined up a little differently, making it slightly less noticeable.

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Originally Posted by JLC

This is due to the text box lining up with the avatar box to the left. If the avatar box has a big picture and a lot of info spelled out, it can get fairly tall. If someone just types a few lines of text, the rest of that space is empty until you get down to where the signature section starts. It was the same way in the old layout, but I think the signatures lined up a little differently, making it slightly less noticeable.

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Ah, that makes sense. Thanks!

Nate, it seems like a few of us are having issues with the page being too wide. Scrolling back and forth is something of a pain.

Maybe you've addressed our concerns but I can't remember seeing a response. Can you tell me if this is something that you can cure or is this something we're going to have to live with.

Thank You!
Jim Smith

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Originally Posted by j_h_smith

Nate, it seems like a few of us are having issues with the page being too wide. Scrolling back and forth is something of a pain.

Maybe you've addressed our concerns but I can't remember seeing a response. Can you tell me if this is something that you can cure or is this something we're going to have to live with.

Thank You!
Jim Smith

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Hey Jim,

I made an adjustment to some CSS to remove the minimum width.

Can you please have a look and let me know if that has helped?

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Originally Posted by Nate

Hey Jim,

I made an adjustment to some CSS to remove the minimum width.

Can you please have a look and let me know if that has helped?

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Sorry Nate, nothing has changed. Is it possible to have the USER set their width within the UserCP?

Just to give you a little more information, I am using IE8.06 and have my resolution set at 1280 x 1024.

Is it possible to lock the programs width at 800 or 1024?

Thanks Again!
Jim Smith


PS Just thought of something. Let me clear my cache and see if that will change anything.

After clearing my cache and temp files, it appears to be working. I'll browse around the forum and see if everything is fine.

It's looking good so far!
Jim Smith

That's a good idea - actually.

I will work on creating a new Default theme that has a fixed width, rather than liquid (what we have now)

If time and simplicity allows, we will try to do that for all themes.

i just flat out dont like the way the new layout looks

Nate,
Thank you for fixing the scrolling issue. That was the only problem I was having with the new site!

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Originally Posted by BAMReptiles

i just flat out dont like the way the new layout looks

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Well - I'm no mind reader. Perhaps you could tell me what it is you don't like, as many others have, and I can address the issue.

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Originally Posted by Nate

Well - I'm no mind reader. Perhaps you could tell me what it is you don't like, as many others have, and I can address the issue.

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I dont like how every time I try to do something I get a pop up to link my facebook on here which I dont want to do but it pops up all the time anyway.

Also, any news on the layouts?

Check your options under...

Settings -> Edit Connections

Maybe there will be something that will allow you to get rid of any pop-ups related to the FB Connect feature.

Also, when new templates are available, they will show up as they always have in the bottom left of the browser. The Bruise template is now available as well as a fixed-width version of the default template.

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Originally Posted by jfreels

Check your options under...

Settings -> Edit Connections

Maybe there will be something that will allow you to get rid of any pop-ups related to the FB Connect feature.

Also, when new templates are available, they will show up as they always have in the bottom left of the browser. The Bruise template is now available as well as a fixed-width version of the default template.

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I went to settings and edit connections... the only thing that came up was the Facebook logo and it said CONNECT TO FACBOOK. lol... no way to edit it, You can just click it to set up your facebook connection.

Gotta love the changes.

Ill look for the templates now...