Plans for updating the archaic forum?

Whilst not wanting to appear a Luddite or a 'stick in the mud' any change of software might lead to issues like this arising. With the only revenue stream being from advertising, which has to pay for hosting, paying for a professional rebuild and then fault finding for an indeterminate time could be an expense too far.

Having seen many amateur websites in the day job the option of someone creating a replacement without the constraints of a commercial contract appeals even less!

As previously mentioned

Anyone wanting a "better" forum only needs to code a sooper-forum emulator program to go on top of the standard issue forum which serves most of us

Aye, lad, let's not be hasty. Nowt wrong wi' quill pens and pigeons - Bard's work has endured...

[This posting has been removed]

I don't think the site needs major changes but there a number of things that could be improved to make it more usable. Here's another that bugs me.

When threads are updated, as long as they stay in the "latest posts" list, if you clock on them it goes to the most recent page. But if you go to "more latest posts" and click on a thread it opens at the first page. The expected behaviour ought to be that it opens at the last page too.

In fact I just tried the other way of viewing "latest forum posts" using the link at teh top of the page rather than the pane to the right, and it bahes the same way as the "more latest posts"....

And I only just found that in Settings you can change this...who knew?

Edited By John Haine on 11/02/2021 09:53:42

Edited By John Haine on 11/02/2021 09:55:34

John I've had mine set to last page and have said it many times over the years when it has cropped up.

For me the format of the forum is quite OK as it is. Ebay could learn a lot from the steady plod of this old nag!

Rik

It may be worth keeping an eye on the thread: Welcome to RCM&E's new forum! to understand how things could develop if MTM decides to take ME forum in the same direction.

Ketan at ARC

I still think this forum layout is much beter than Ketans link

Everything I need is on the opening page. No need to have to search around and change pages for ads, latest posts etc. If it aint broke dont fix it. Also on that forum everyone can see what you are reading or searching for. Not that I have anything to hide but that seems very invasive to me.

regards

I have just taken a quick look: NO.

I agree that this forum could be improved but all forums can be. I feel that most of those who want changes or a completely new look are in the software business.

As a user there is little wrong. My main criticisms are the poor search facility and the large white margins which could hold recent photographs from ablums etc. I do like that fact that the index of latest forums posts remains visible.

I am certain that all this was said a few months ago in this posting.

JA

I just checked it out and it is horrible. Never going back there again!

Trying to emulate faecesbook it just lost a lot of subscribers, ad's popping up between posts is one turnoff, at least on this forum it's easy to drag the right side window to rermove the flickering distractions. Not found the need to do sit so far as the advertisers are fair dinkum and support the site.

I suspect that a lot of people would be mightily p**ssed off and go away if change for change's sake was pushed down people's throats just to satisfy a web developer whom is more used to flogging their wares to kids with mobile phones than us old farts whom are pretty happy with things as they currently are using our ancient lathes ans pc's.

Kids with mobile phones just don't log into sites sucjh as this and changing the format/interface is not going to attract them. Get real MTM, you just got sold a pup by a smooth talking sofware developer, good on them..

So this forum has it's idiosyncrasy's, we learn to live with them! Sideways photo's - blame your phone and learn how to use it properly.

To repeat the mantra for the N''h time " If it ain't broke then don't try to fix it "

Regards * danny *

I'll only answer Danny's comment:

" If it ain't broke then don't try to fix it "

This forum has effectively, been broken for years and people have been complaining for years:

It's hard to use on phones.

It's hard to use on apple devices.

The editor is hard to use and non-standard.

Putting up gallery photos and managing them is difficult

You can't quote more than one post

Selective posting is hard

Embedding links is difficult and different for different types of content.

Some content wrecks the layout

Messaging isn't very flexible

The search is next to useless

Avatars are hard to use

Managing your profile is difficult.

No reaction mechanism

Now the key thing is we get weekly, if not daily, complaints and requests for assistance with things on this list.

If that isn't 'broken' what is?

There will be complaints and a period of adjustment, but I very much doubt that after a month the complaints will be anything like those that we have had.

Neil

Incidentally, a forum I use has recently changed over to this system:

www.backyardastro.org/topic/677-new-forum-and-features/

Neil

That blue background is a lot easier on the eyes than RCM&E Neil, not sure about the black one on the other site but I suppose OK if you are used to looking at a dark sky.

I've had a play with some dummy posts on RCM&E and quite a few things are easier an more like other forums, as you say will take a while to get used to it

I also see that you can stay logged in on several devices at once, that must please a lot of members.

Edited By JasonB on 11/02/2021 13:38:26

Fair comments Neil.

So as a compromise, why not monitor the RCM&E site for a few months and note the number of postings to ascertain if this is/was a wise move,

I understand whom is pulling the strings so you are betwen the proverbial rock and a hard place.

Best of luck Neil.

* danny m *

Edited By Danny M2Z on 11/02/2021 13:54:59

There's a Spanish proverb to the effect that 'All new things are bad', and in my distant youth I remember a senior citizen saying 'They should wait until all the old people are dead'. She was talking about decimalisation and the end of £sd.

I hate change because it means something is wrong and I'm going to have to tackle it. Yuk. Good grief, it might mean work and I'd rather be taking a nap.

This isn't the best of all possible forums and we've mostly learned to live with it. Not a total wreck by far, but it has several shortcomings. I'd welcome an upgrade.

The trouble is anything new will be different. Not worse or inferior, just different! Reminds me of starting secondary school. Suddenly demoted from almighty big boy at Primary School to insignificant squirt surrounded by gigantic hairy brutes and likely to be roasted by Flashman. Luckily every cloud has a silver lining and growing-up turned out to be an adventure. Not easy - took ages and a dose of acne before any ladies fell for my charms!

Before rejecting anything new, I suggest thinking carefully about one's reasons. Emotion is a rotten master. Write lists of pros and cons. Be honest: are objections just gut reaction to stranger-danger or is there a real problem? What exactly are the shortcomings? Maybe they can be designed out or the benefits outweigh them.

When objections turn out to be just differences, ignore them and count benefits instead. For example, Neil's list of this forum's problems didn't mention it's inability to host PDF documents, which are highly useful for publishing technical material of all sorts. Whatever else might be wrong with the RCME forum, I notice it can do PDFs. Lucky them!

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 11/02/2021 15:11:18

Not just PDFs but also spread sheets, CAD files, word docs and a whole lot more.

Also a lot better for us Moderators, watch out we can keep tabs on you all now!

Edited By JasonB on 11/02/2021 15:17:21

Like G code....oops!

I don't think we need to change the "look and feel" of the site much, it's just that some features need improving and some need adding. If there was a competent web designer with a maintenance/update contract these could be done on a rolling basis. Software is seldom finished, there are always bugs to find and fix and features to add if possible, Rather like a Myford really, some people think PXF was when the marque went to pot, some can't do without it. They didn't have to ditch the whole design and start again to add it.

It's not my photo's that I (and many others) complain about - it's other peoples'. How would learning to use my phone fix that?

Edited By Peter Greene on 11/02/2021 15:30:12

Neil,

You said and I quote

"The editor is hard to use and non-standard"..............surely this cannot apply to our esteemed editor !

Derek