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May 7, 2013 at 6:59 am #11245CharlieKeymaster
Some major upgrades are being performed today, so Chengdu Living might act weird through the process. For now the forum is online but the blog is not. Everything will be restored soon. This is to upgrade the forum to a better platform which will fix a host of small problems, including spam.
May 8, 2013 at 9:36 am #31291CharlieKeymasterEverything is online but forum formatting and some other small things are still in progress.
May 8, 2013 at 9:45 am #31292Rick in ChinaParticipantHey Charlie,
Three quick formatting suggestions:
* The top notifier on “This topic contains…” seems unnecessary
* The icon in the “This topic was started by” also seems to create a lot of unnecessary spread on the topics display, maybe just the name without the avatar icon is enough
* I think it was easier to scan topics with a slightly larger text on the default topic size – so it stands out more relative to the less important info on the thread listOverall, ANYTHING to get rid of spam 😀
May 8, 2013 at 9:51 am #31293CharlieKeymasterHey Charlie,
Three quick formatting suggestions:
* The top notifier on “This topic contains…” seems unnecessary
* The icon in the “This topic was started by” also seems to create a lot of unnecessary spread on the topics display, maybe just the name without the avatar icon is enough
* I think it was easier to scan topics with a slightly larger text on the default topic size – so it stands out more relative to the less important info on the thread listOverall, ANYTHING to get rid of spam
Thanks for the suggestions Rick, I can say all of the things you mentioned will be handled (I agree with you). There are some new features which are already working now too, like file attachment and a quote button which works automatically. Within 24-36 hours everything should be complete.
May 11, 2013 at 6:50 pm #31356MeriorParticipantHaving serious difficulty whenever I try to log in now. How I managed to do it this time was just sheer persistence of trying again and again and again and …..
May 12, 2013 at 1:35 am #31362Chris ZiichModeratorHave we lost all of our old PMs?
May 12, 2013 at 11:21 am #31370VincentParticipantAnd avatars?
Btw, I just somehow got into the WordPress dashboard for editing a post and could mess around with settings. I assume this is not ment to be possible. I clicked the word “Edit” while I was already editing.
Also, the post disappeared, but that doesn’t really matter much.
May 12, 2013 at 12:07 pm #31374IanParticipantAnybody else having trouble with the login? Sometimes it works most of the time it does’nt.
May 13, 2013 at 5:12 pm #31400Michael MParticipantThe private messaging is a disaster for me! All old messages lost, can’t reply to new messages.
May 13, 2013 at 5:32 pm #31402CharlieKeymasterI’m working on it! I have a full backup of everything, so no data is lost, it’s just a matter of converting everything in the old system to the new one. I have someone that I’ve hired who is helping.
May 13, 2013 at 5:36 pm #31403Michael MParticipantThanks for the update Charlie! Hopefully everything is going smoothly soon.
May 13, 2013 at 7:02 pm #31408EricParticipanti have some qualms with the typefaces and how it somehow feels like the new layout is telling me, “hey you’re blind, lets make sure this is enormous so you can read it”, but like how facebook changes its layout 50 times a year, i’m sure it’ll blow over fast.
May 13, 2013 at 7:51 pm #31413MeriorParticipantTypeface too small??? I have my screen set at 150% for comfortable reading, perhaps you have yours at a higher setting and aren’t aware of it?
May 13, 2013 at 8:46 pm #31414BrendanModeratorThis is an improvement?
I’m sure there’s a reason, but whatever that reason is, it’s making the forum the slowest website in China.
Layout changes always seem off initially when you’re used to a format, but this one doesn’t feel as user friendly as before. Losing the HTML buttons for example.
One of the strengths of the forum was knowing who’d posted to a thread last, I personally think that’s helped boost postings by engaging more people. Without this I expect threads will either thin out, or lose their sense of humour, which again has been another strength when we’ve poked fun at each other. Many users new and old have commented on the ‘community’ on CL forum. It’d be a shame to lose that.
To quote the cat otherwise (formerly) known as Tigerkuma, the front page is looking and feeling a bit Windows 95 right now. No Bill Gates, no!!
May 13, 2013 at 9:05 pm #31416EricParticipantNono, the font size too big. I prefer things smaller. Right now this typeface feels very tall and makes everything scroll a lot longer The headings even look pixely~
Also, I agree with Brendan. If I see that Brendan has posted last, I can expect a long-winded answer with snotty remarks inserted. Inversely, seeing my post last will signify a snarky, unthoughtful, unrelated, whiney comment.
May 13, 2013 at 9:40 pm #31426MeriorParticipant@ Eric – my text looks like a regular Helvetic/Helios/Ariel style type face in the a letter O forms a perfect circle and is not given the illusion of height by reducing the character width.
Perhaps your browser has preferrences that have been set to change the displayed text because I cannot see any large, tall (compressed) or overtly pixelly headlines unless I sit close to the screen. Change the zoom settings in the bottom right of your page is probably easy enough to resolve the issue.
May 13, 2013 at 10:48 pm #31427CharlieKeymasterA few things:
– I loved the way the forum worked previously, and I didn’t want to change the design or function at all, just add a few things. It turns out, that by switching from standalone bbPress to the currently-active bbPress plugin, it’s not a simple switch.
– I’m restoring the design of the forum to how it worked previously, unfortunately it’s not a one-day thing.
– PM’s might be able to be restored, but they might not. Literally all of the posts, threads, and users were converted to a different system which is sustainable in the long run. If anyone requests any PM data (like Michael M) I might be able to help recover that, in the case that old PM’s can’t be restored.
– Mention anything that’s out of place here and I’ll add it to my list of things to fix/change. Keep it all in this thread.
This is an improvement?
In its current state, no! There are loose ends to be tied up and they will all be tied up. I appreciate anyone and everyone bringing issues to my attention, and I will fix them.
I’m sure there’s a reason, but whatever that reason is, it’s making the forum the slowest website in China.
I have noticed the same thing, I’m working on database optimization. If that doesn’t work, I will switch to a faster host if necessary.
Layout changes always seem off initially when you’re used to a format, but this one doesn’t feel as user friendly as before. Losing the HTML buttons for example. One of the strengths of the forum was knowing who’d posted to a thread last, I personally think that’s helped boost postings by engaging more people. Without this I expect threads will either thin out, or lose their sense of humour, which again has been another strength when we’ve poked fun at each other.
I loved the way the forum worked before, in terms of design I wouldn’t change anything, just add the most helpful features. The forum needs to be constantly improved as it grows but because the platform that it was based on has been out of development for years, it wasn’t sustainable. Adding things like a column for who posted last is no problem (and the “Voices” column will be done). There are a handful of small changes like that that are in progress. If you have any other suggestions, leave them here, anyone.
Nono, the font size too big. I prefer things smaller. Right now this typeface feels very tall and makes everything scroll a lot longer The headings even look pixely
Can you email me a screen shot? Nothing looks small or pixelated for me. The text size looks appropriate to me, but on the forum homepage I would like to display more posts. Basically return it to exactly the way it looked before.
May 13, 2013 at 11:21 pm #31428Chris ZiichModeratorThe line spacing is greater than before. I think this may be what Eric’s referring to and making the site more “scrolly”
May 14, 2013 at 9:31 am #31431Michael MParticipantLet’s be patient everyone, we should already be thankful to Charlie for creating and nurturing such an active and friendly forum!
The site is already looking better than it was a few days and I’m sure it will be working better than ever soon enough. Charlie as far as I know has a full time job, so I’m sure the changeover has been stressful for him too!
p.s.Charlie, Let me know when you can help me dig up the PM data. Thanks!
May 14, 2013 at 11:59 am #31432Vincent NLParticipantWould it be possible to add a button to go straight to the newest or latest unread post in a topic? I know some other forums have an option for this. This would especially help prevent a lot of scrolling in popular topics
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