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New Look A&R Forum, and it's not my fault this time!

  • 09-06-2021 6:49pm
    #1
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,524 CMod ✭✭✭✭


    Hi,
    Anyone else try out the new look Boards experience yet?

    They've migrated to a new platform, the same one getting rid of :pac: , and I was having a look-about there.

    Not loving it!

    It doesn't seem to be up-to-date with the present system yet, so I have to assume it's still in the beta phase.

    Here's a link
    https://boards.vanillacommunities.com/categories/arcade-retro


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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 10,844 ✭✭✭✭Tom Mann Centuria


    Not great is it, not a fan at all at the moment, and I dare say it'll look a lot worse when advertising gets added to the whole experience. (Or even the empty space where adverts should be if adblocked)

    Oh well, give me an easy life and a peaceful death.



  • Registered Users Posts: 34,275 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    I was wincing clicking into that...

    Yeah, not a fan of how it's currently looking. It's completely unusable on my phone, looks far too zoomed in (bloody responsive sites!) and you cant fit nearly enough threads on the screen at once.

    On the plus side, it sounds like someone actually listened to the point I brought up (or at least, that's what I'm going to think :pac:) about trying to get the different categories and forums/sub forums displayed better so people browse them, rather than having them all tucked away under one 'topics' button.

    Doesn't come up on the phone but you get a list of all the forums on your computer. Needs a lot of work to get it right but it's at least heading in the right direction.

    They do need to bold unread threads in a forum, seems a bit odd not having them there when you click in.


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,117 ✭✭✭✭Jimmy Bottlehead


    Not great. I still use the touch site and quite like it (apart from limited functionality), but this isn't awful either. I'm willing to give it a chance. New things almost always suck until you get used to them.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,524 CMod ✭✭✭✭CiDeRmAn


    sugarman wrote: »
    Thankfully thats only a snapshot beta of the Vanilla forums default theme, theres a custom Boards.ie one in the works thats practically identical to the current site. Have a read of the thread over in the Mods Forum if you haven't already Ciderman, goes into good detail about all the proposed changes / updates / new features etc..

    I see what you mean, seems far more familiar.
    Still, it seems we will be continuing with the old forum for a little while longer, while they get the bugs out


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,930 ✭✭✭Doge


    Good to hear about a custom theme being built.

    What I don't like about that preview the most is that the Sub Forums just look like normal threads, very hard to tell them apart besides the order they appear in.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,418 ✭✭✭Inviere


    CiDeRmAn wrote: »
    Not loving it!

    The modern day approach to 'responsive web design'

    Huge swathes of empty space - check
    Enormous/largely empty banner - check
    Require loads of new/additional scrolling - check
    Throw delineation out the window - check

    Yep, seems about right. I know there's skinning options, but I won't hold my breath :(


  • Registered Users Posts: 30,123 ✭✭✭✭Star Lord


    Inviere wrote: »
    The modern day approach to 'responsive web design'

    Huge swathes of empty space - check
    Enormous/largely empty banner - check
    Require loads of new/additional scrolling - check
    Throw delineation out the window - check

    Yep, seems about right. I know there's skinning options, but I won't hold my breath :(

    Text dense/smaller typeface is deemed to be too overwhelming/unfriendly.
    I get some of that from an accessibility standpoint, but provide options for those that would like it to appear differently.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,057 ✭✭✭MontgomeryClift


    Inviere wrote: »
    The modern day approach to 'responsive web design'

    Huge swathes of empty space - check
    Enormous/largely empty banner - check
    Require loads of new/additional scrolling - check
    Throw delineation out the window - check

    Yep, seems about right. I know there's skinning options, but I won't hold my breath :(

    I looked this up recently to see what people in web design were saying, because I was puzzled as to why there is still so much empty space and scrolling in web sites.

    The consensus seems to be that scrolling is good, and the more scrolling there is the better, because people expect to scroll now, and following links to other pages is bad. That's why we have sites that load content dynamically and essentially scroll forever.


  • Registered Users Posts: 34,275 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    I looked this up recently to see what people in web design were saying, because I was puzzled as to why there is still so much empty space and scrolling in web sites.

    The consensus seems to be that scrolling is good, and the more scrolling there is the better, because people expect to scroll now, and following links to other pages is bad. That's why we have sites that load content dynamically and essentially scroll forever.

    It's a pain in the face isn't it?

    I don't know how people enjoy that endless scrolling you get on Reddit, Instagram and Facebook. Each item only gets a few seconds of your time and then it's on to the next. Nothing of real value added by 99.9% of people using the platform, just everyone sitting around flicking their thumb up like drones.

    I know I'm probably sounding like a dinosaur and I'll happy embrace that :pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,418 ✭✭✭Inviere


    I looked this up recently to see what people in web design were saying, because I was puzzled as to why there is still so much empty space and scrolling in web sites.

    The consensus seems to be that scrolling is good, and the more scrolling there is the better, because people expect to scroll now, and following links to other pages is bad. That's why we have sites that load content dynamically and essentially scroll forever.

    I actually don't mind (too much) the dynamic scrolling, only on the basis that when you click 'back', you're not landed at the beginning again (that's just **** design). More often than not I find myself right clicking to open links in a new tab, rather than risk losing where I am on the dynamically loaded page.

    What bothers me far and above dynamic scroll, is having to scroll because of endless wasted space. Again, that's just **** design. But hey, if the pro's say the **** way is the new best way, who am I to argue :rolleyes::pac:


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,418 ✭✭✭Inviere


    Seems this transition is starting tomorrow AM.....goodbye working boards, you'll be missed!


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,524 CMod ✭✭✭✭CiDeRmAn


    Inviere wrote: »
    Seems this transition is starting tomorrow AM.....goodbye working boards, you'll be missed!

    Bugger


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 50,693 CMod ✭✭✭✭Retr0gamer


    See you on the otherside!


  • Registered Users Posts: 34,275 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    So long and thanks for all the fish!


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,780 ✭✭✭eddhorse


    Fair thee well brave knights


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,524 CMod ✭✭✭✭CiDeRmAn


    Well, it seems to be working again....



  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,524 CMod ✭✭✭✭CiDeRmAn


    Just, no one else can see it....



  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 19,254 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sam Russell


    Well some can



  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,035 Mod ✭✭✭✭Andrew76


    Someone remind me again why we upgraded? This new site is a mess so far, can't find the forums I follow (My Forums does not list them), page layout looks horrible, no dark mode and the mobile version is worse than the previous touch version. 😥



  • Registered Users Posts: 7,418 ✭✭✭Inviere




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  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,035 Mod ✭✭✭✭Andrew76


    Indeed. I want to be positive about it especially since it's only gone live but the entire process has been badly managed from the get go. The worst issue for me so far is not being able to find anything. 😁



  • Registered Users Posts: 30,123 ✭✭✭✭Star Lord


    Yeah, desktop is ugly and bloated, with way too much blank space showing in and between posts, and touch site does away with some of that but replaced it with barely discernable differentiation between posts.



  • Registered Users Posts: 10,844 ✭✭✭✭Tom Mann Centuria


    The mobile version doesn't look anything like the desktop version. There's an agree and lol button (which you can't tell if you have previously pressed before or not), which don't exist on the desktop site. I have no idea how to find my followed threads or forums, there doesn't appear to be a way to search for a forum alphabetically, or a search at all.


    Maybe I just haven't found them yet. I know they've managed to put some nice big adverts on the mobile site so that's good isn't it.

    Oh well, give me an easy life and a peaceful death.



  • Registered Users Posts: 7,418 ✭✭✭Inviere


    It's pretty much unusable for me as it stands. I know this is likely a bare bones version just to get the site live again, but it's barely functional....not at all nice to use yet. More time needed before I try again



  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,035 Mod ✭✭✭✭Andrew76


    Mr. Crispy over in the Gaming thread might have found how to access your followed forums - although the page loads an error. 😂

    On desktop - go to the home page then Categories, you have a View filter option that defaults to All, change that to Following - maybe that should list our followed forums (if it was working). Maybe the whole 'Follow' process is broken atm as I can't see how you can follow or unfollow. Think I saw a bookmark option somewhere.

    Don't like you can't use kb shortcuts for emojis anymore, can't edit quoted part of my post, all the free space on desktop and the scrolling. At the bottom of the page there used to be an option to jump to the Top, that's gone too looks like. Fun times ahead.


    /Edit: Now the Categories page doesn't even load for me. 🙄

    Post edited by Andrew76 on


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,700 ✭✭✭geotrig


    its a bit odd and looks to be fairly buggy so far, seen a few oddities , looks wise ill get over it and used to it but it will take a bit of time ,none of its seems to fit right and trying to mimick the original look seems to have faltered they should have redesigned it totally :edit saying that i havent been near the mobile touch site yet !🙈 its no pac !


    also cidermans initial post here seem extraordinarily disproportioned ...like he's trying to compensate for something !



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,700 ✭✭✭geotrig


    having to scroll all the way back to the top to click on a&r or whatever forum is a pain as well when you have gone more than a few pages through



  • Registered Users Posts: 10,844 ✭✭✭✭Tom Mann Centuria


    Haha he looks very shouty doesn't he. Also can you crop or highlight a bit of a quoted post, I can't find a way of doing it.

    Oh well, give me an easy life and a peaceful death.



  • Registered Users Posts: 1,700 ✭✭✭geotrig


    haha no idea ,this is getting worse the more I use it !

    THE Caterorgies section is horrendously bad, they should have been rowed across with drop down or scrollable or something better than going down the whole list



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  • Registered Users Posts: 34,275 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    It's not quite there yet but I'm happy enough that the desktop version hasn't completely deviated from the older site.

    The touch site is currently unusable though, endless scrolling and scrolling through what feels like empty space.



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