Portal

[Gryzor]

So, I finally thought I'd give it a try. Been reading and looking into it all day yesterday and I woke up bright and early to implement it...


As you can see we have have a variety of stuff on the homepage, and it can be customised exactly how we want it.


What do you think? I know it may take a while to get used to, so please do give it a try, but in any case let me know!

[reidrac]

It is quite busy with some boxes that don't really add useful information (or at least not information that you need in first line all the time; like board stats or top posters).

Now that you're playing with new ideas, one of the problems of the forum is post discoverability. I think people used to browse the old box with the latest posts and when a post goes out to the 2nd or 3rd page it goes unnoticed.

Not sure how to improve that though

[Gryzor]

Thanks for your feedback. Yes, I'm still wading through the options the portal system offers in order to find a good balance. If you want you can take a look at what we can have here: http://simpleportal.net/index.php?action=docs;area=adding_a_block


Board stats and top posters (which was moved and made "this month" instead of "all time") is just a fun tidbit/trivia, but I agree, nothing earth-shattering.


Not sure what you mean by the 2nd-3rd page and going unnoticed - is there a way to have *everything* on page #1?

[reidrac]

The only downside of 3 columns, for me, is that I don't browse with the browser maximised so it really looks busy (boxes waste some space with borders and such).

Not sure what you mean by the 2nd-3rd page and going unnoticed - is there a way to have *everything* on page #1?

Not sure, but I suspect it could best to not have it at all so people can check the sections for posts. I don't know

[Gryzor]

Concerning the columns, I may remove one of them (the right one?). I think that at least one column is useful.


As for not having the section at all, I'm with you For some reason some people find useful though. Each to his own, I guess...


People! If you vote No, at least have the common sense to offer some feedback, please!

[Gryzor]

Ah, by the way, you can collapse the side columns by using the two small (tiny, actually!) buttons at the top right.

[ZbyniuR]

Any chance to change logo?

[Gryzor]

Any chance to change logo?

Eh?

[1024MAK]

First impressions - Oh! My! Am I on the right forum?

Then I tried out the new chat box... And it operated the other way round to what I expected. What's all this new stuff on a retro forum?!!!!

I've discovered the (very, very little) "-" icons to remove the side bars.

It's not a 100% hate, nor a 100% love, but a hmm, I will have to see how it goes...

So I voted on the last option, as there is redundant info in the side bars.

Mark

[seanb]

My first impressions is that I don't mind the look of the new portal.
But it is a bit cluttered.
Recent topics is on there twice as well 5 comments from the recent topics.
Also there is only access to the first page of recent topics.
Plus cpcwiki no longer has a mobile view. That isn't that important. The site loads quick and is responsive on a phone.


But let's see how Gryzor customises it further.

[SOS]

If i where new user:
I see an overloaded portal
Where are the sub-forums: I see only the recent posts, but here is something going on?
Or is it a closed forum?
I think, i will go away.

[Shaun M. Neary]

Sorry, but this one's a no from me. I'm on for change, but this is a little too much. It's just too cluttered.


Too much unnecessary stuff at the sides like who's online, top 5 posts, etc that were better suited to the bottom of the forum.


We've gone and fixed something that wasn't necessarily broken to begin with.   That being said, if most people like it, then cool. I only really post in the Games forum anyway so I'd probably just bookmark that, but the main portal is a bit of an eyesore unfortunately.

[||C|-|E||]

A bit overloaded as well in my opinion  I mean, it is cool because you can customize it but I think that, in this case, the simpler the better. Maybe is because I am already familiar with the old appearance of the forum! 

[remax]

I am against clicking another link to have access to the forum for little to no benefit.

[Gryzor]

Thanks for the feedback.


@SOS has got a point there, if you're a new user it's not easy to find out what's going on, which is something to consider...


About the clutter: as I said, I know, still experimenting. That's why I also posted the list of relevant building blocks, for people to see what could be relevant.


As for it replacing the forum homepage... people may have not noticed that the forum's usual page is still there. Just change your bookmark and you're already in (looking at you, @remax )! And of course, as I said, I'm trying to balance the benefit that other people are looking for.


Seriously, I'm a bit demotivated by now, by some people's absolute reactions. Honestly, I'm trying to balance the wants and different needs of different users, and the moment I try something I've got members jumping at me like I brought their world down. At this point I'm thinking of just going back to the default setup and say, fuck it, learn to use it as-is...


@seanb : the mobile view is a different thing altogether, will get to it...

[remax]

Just change your bookmark and you're already in (looking at you, @remax )! And of course, as I said, I'm trying to balance the benefit that other people are looking for.

I surf often on various places, and using bookmarks is not always easy, so i use the absolute adress.


Add to the fact that i really don't like portal.


You wanted feedback, of course you have it, with some negatives : my opinion is if you want to invest time in the forum (which i'm absolutely delighted you do),my personnal taste is i'd prefer seeing you work on other things. But after that, its up to you to make the choice and up to the users to show a majority. I won't be the kind of guy that will complain all the time about it.


I'm really happy by everything else you did here. But, even if i dit it one time, it's hard to report that everything is ok on a thread which is about reporting bugs.

[seanb]

@Gryzor you won't know if something works unless you try it.
Changes help keep a website feeling fresh.
As for the rest of us is only fair we give the changes a go beyond the initial appearances.


We might find something most of us like and want to keep.

[MissionComplete]

Hi grizor!!

Mainly, thank you for your efforts to improve the forum.

I'm a user quite new and I was not too familiarized with the older forum, so I think mine can be a clear view.

I like the most of windows, such user info, recent post, top topics and posters, etc, but I miss two important things: the list of the recent topics (no recent posts/topics, because if there is too much recent posts in one topic, the list can be filled). The other thing I miss is the menu of all topics in the front page. May be, at the bottom. I like the big picture when I just read the last news 

Thanks for being there and to experiment 

[TotO]

Is peoples wants shoutbox = NO 46.2% / YES 15.4 %
Is peoples wants shoutbox pay features = YES 2.6% (1 people)

So, we got shoutbox with pay features... 

[1024MAK]

Well, ignoring some of the less than helpful comments in this thread. The little icons do allow one, or the other, or both side bars / columns to be minimised. And this is remembered so you don't have to do it each time you visit  .

This "portal" is growing on me.

For the forum page that lists all the sub-forums / sections, click on the [Forum] link in the top line (under your avatar).

A link to the Wiki is missing, but I'm sure that can be fixed.

I'm not sure about the shout box, but this version at least has the input line in a position where it is less likely to be confused with a search input box.

Regardless of whether this feature is retained or not, thanks to @Gryzor for exploring ideas

For the record, on phpBB based forums, I always use a link pointing to the "Active topics page" and rarely use the forum's main index page (the exception being StartDot due to needing to keep an eye on the site, as I'm one of the moderators there).

Mark

[Shaun M. Neary]

Seriously, I'm a bit demotivated by now, by some people's absolute reactions. Honestly, I'm trying to balance the wants and different needs of different users, and the moment I try something I've got members jumping at me like I brought their world down. At this point I'm thinking of just going back to the default setup and say, fuck it, learn to use it as-is...

Try not to allow this to happen, hard as that sounds. You've put a lot of work into this forum especially recently, and miraculously it hasn't taken a hit in terms of downtime (that I've noticed anyway). It's just always going to be one of those things that you won't be able to please everyone all of the time. Especially if they end up suffering "too much at once" syndrome, which is probably happening to you as well because you've upgraded and added so much.Sadly it's what happens when you ask for feedback.

I did that for a while on my photography, and then it got to the point where I just accepted that one's pleasure was another poison. But it got to the point where some of the comments made me question why I bothered, and then I ended up hating myself for allowing that to happen. Things have to be tried first before they're either liked or hated.

I guess some peoples words are more cutting than others.But definitely don't let it discourage you. The last thing we want to see is you do a Malc Jennings on this place and turn it into another CPCZone tombstone... 

[Wanderer]

About the clutter: as I said, I know, still experimenting. That's why I also posted the list of relevant building blocks, for people to see what could be relevant.

Seriously, I'm a bit demotivated by now, by some people's absolute reactions. Honestly, I'm trying to balance the wants and different needs of different users, and the moment I try something I've got members jumping at me like I brought their world down. At this point I'm thinking of just going back to the default setup and say, fuck it, learn to use it as-is...

I guess some peoples words are more cutting than others.But definitely don't let it discourage you. The last thing we want to see is you do a Malc Jennings on this place and turn it into another CPCZone tombstone... 

Well, shall i start pulling what little hair have remained on my shiny head?  OK, let's take some deep breaths here.

@Gryzor, as you said you're trying things out. Don't worry about reactions "being absolute". You've already admitted to have made the biggest mistake of all, "trying to balance the wants and different needs of different users". You should have expected some complaints, other more mild, some other more aggressively phrased.

I agree with Shaun's opinion. Take everything with a grain of salt and keep trying! Just keep in mind that people have grown accustomed to how the site/forum was and after all, most users here are probably over some age, which means they may not react well to change. They may like things to remain familiar and simple. An idea could be to ask users what they think might be useful from all the available info shown in the link you posted. In any case, know that regardless of how the portal / forum turns out, your work here is greatly appreciated.

[alex76gr]

Overall i like the look of the new portal.
I voted for "needs customization" because the recent posts is not working as it should.

[Targhan]

I'm not against the portal. But *the* only thing I really need, whether on the portal or the forum, is the list of the 10 latest modified topics (not posts) at the top of the page (just like before on the forum). That's all I care about!

[CraigsBar]

@Gryzor I love it. Keep up the good work.