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Larry Heiges
2-Mar-2009, 04:29 PM
I've been trying...

How do I do I see all the new posts?
How can I navigate without a mouse?
How can I read without internet access?
How can I read different topics without constantly having to re-adjust my screen?
How can I just browse without looking for anything specific?

As an observation, the other sites I've been to don't have nearly the volume of this site. Is the volume of this site going to drop to their level?

I'm pretty much completely lost and frustrated.

Dennis Piccioni
2-Mar-2009, 04:47 PM
Hi Larry,


I've been trying...

How do I do I see all the new posts?

You can see all new posts by clicking on the New Posts link at the top of the page.
You can see new posts in individual forums by visiting each individual forum and looking for threads in bold (my personal preference).


How can I navigate without a mouse?

This item is on my research list.


How can I read without internet access?

I don't think you can.


How can I read different topics without constantly having to re-adjust my screen?

I'm not sure what you mean by having to re-adjust your screen. Check the different Display Modes. You can access these from the Display Modes menu at the top right of a thread. My personal preference is Threaded Mode.


How can I just browse without looking for anything specific?

I'm not sure what you mean by that. You can go to any forum and view any existing post. It seems like this is very similar to how it worked in newsgroups.


As an observation, the other sites I've been to don't have nearly the volume of this site. Is the volume of this site going to drop to their level?

I hope not!


I'm pretty much completely lost and frustrated.

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure after some getting used to the forums, you'll be as comfortable with them as you were with the newsgroups, it's just a bit different.

We will also continue to try to improve the usability of the forums and will certainly listen to everyone's feedback and suggestions.

Larry Heiges
2-Mar-2009, 11:49 PM
I'm not sure what you mean by having to re-adjust your screen. Check the different Display Modes. You can access these from the Display Modes menu at the top right of a thread. My personal preference is Threaded Mode.

If I am looking at a post, then change to another thread, the text area moves down (again) so the text is cut off. I then have to move the screen down so I can read the postings. Change topic, repeat. Need to give the option of move all the top heading stuff somewhere else... and/or having side by side screens.


I'm not sure what you mean by that. You can go to any forum and view any existing post. It seems like this is very similar to how it worked in newsgroups.

I could just press the N key and go to the next new new and not need to do anything else. If I wanted to see the other posts, I could just press the up and down arrow keys to quickly navigate and see the posts.

BTW, the keep prior text option only works for one level of reply... so the original questions you answered do not show. Kinda like flying blind.

I don't know about anyone else, but with my experience with the MapPoint forum (also using vBulletin) and this one, I don't think anyone not a full time employee will be able to keep up if we (you) maintain the volume of postings. This format does not seem conductive to "casual browsing"... and along with that "casual replying".

Dennis Piccioni
3-Mar-2009, 10:02 AM
I'm not sure what you mean by having to re-adjust your screen. Check the different Display Modes. You can access these from the Display Modes menu at the top right of a thread. My personal preference is Threaded Mode.

If I am looking at a post, then change to another thread, the text area moves down (again) so the text is cut off. I then have to move the screen down so I can read the postings. Change topic, repeat. Need to give the option of move all the top heading stuff somewhere else... and/or having side by side screens.

Oh I see now. I've just made the Welcome notice at the top of the page non-persistent, so it only shows up once on each forum visit, so that should create more space at the top of the screen and reduce the need for scrolling.

Also, I personally use the Space, PgUp and PgDn keys for scrolling, so no mouse needed for that. I also often keep a forum thread list open and open individual threads in new tab pages. I don't know if that helps you, but I'm trying to offer some suggestions.


I'm not sure what you mean by that. You can go to any forum and view any existing post. It seems like this is very similar to how it worked in newsgroups.

I could just press the N key and go to the next new new and not need to do anything else. If I wanted to see the other posts, I could just press the up and down arrow keys to quickly navigate and see the posts.

BTW, the keep prior text option only works for one level of reply... so the original questions you answered do not show. Kinda like flying blind.

I don't know about anyone else, but with my experience with the MapPoint forum (also using vBulletin) and this one, I don't think anyone not a full time employee will be able to keep up if we (you) maintain the volume of postings. This format does not seem conductive to "casual browsing"... and along with that "casual replying".

I actually have not seen the "keep prior text option", where did you see this? However, I agree that this is the one downside to Threaded Mode, that you don't always see the original post or even the message being replied to. This is why I'm keping up the habit of quoting what I reply to.

Garret Mott
3-Mar-2009, 10:38 AM
However, I agree that this is the one downside to Threaded Mode, that you don't always see the original post or even the message being replied to. This is why I'm keeping up the habit of quoting what I reply to.

Yup - in this forum setup quoting the original is crucial - because one doesn't see the original post (either in threaded where it doesn't show at all, or in the straight line mode (forget what it's called) where it will be scrolled above the current post).

In the NG's it was just "good form" - here it (IMO) goes way beyond that - to being a necessity.

Cheers -

Larry Heiges
3-Mar-2009, 05:51 PM
Oh I see now. I've just made the Welcome notice at the top of the page non-persistent, so it only shows up once on each forum visit, so that should create more space at the top of the screen and reduce the need for scrolling.

This helps quite a bit... just a single mouse click instead of a scroll each time.


Also, I personally use the Space, PgUp and PgDn keys for scrolling, so no mouse needed for that. I also often keep a forum thread list open and open individual threads in new tab pages. I don't know if that helps you, but I'm trying to offer some suggestions.

I'll be trying these... and I do appreciate all suggestions. Thanks.

[color=blue]

I actually have not seen the "keep prior text option", where did you see this? However, I agree that this is the one downside to Threaded Mode, that you don't always see the original post or even the message being replied to. This is why I'm keping up the habit of quoting what I reply to.

It's just the quote button instead of the reply button. Not much good for inline answers because you would need to hand edit HTML. Is there an option to quote each paragraph? That would allow easy inserting.

I can feel there is white paper (white topic?) coming on a forum framework so anyone's "good tricks" can be spread around. Somehow, keep it edited down (votes to keep?) so it stays small enough to actually be readable.

Larry Heiges
3-Mar-2009, 06:04 PM
Yup - in this forum setup quoting the original is crucial - because one doesn't see the original post (either in threaded where it doesn't show at all, or in the straight line mode (forget what it's called) where it will be scrolled above the current post).

This is a color test.
This is a color test.
This is a color test.
This is a color test.
This is a color test.
This is a color test.
This is a color test.
This is a color test.
This is a color test.
This is a color test.
This is a color test.
this is a color test.


In the NG's it was just "good form" - here it (IMO) goes way beyond that - to being a necessity.

Cheers -

But you must put something at the bottom because any characters inserted in the quote area don't count as the minimum characters in a message.

Larry Heiges
3-Mar-2009, 06:07 PM
Yup - in this forum setup quoting the original is crucial - because one doesn't see the original post (either in threaded where it doesn't show at all, or in the straight line mode (forget what it's called) where it will be scrolled above the current post).

:)1


In the NG's it was just "good form" - here it (IMO) goes way beyond that - to being a necessity.
:)2

Cheers -

:)1 This is a test

:)2 This is a second test.

Garret Mott
3-Mar-2009, 06:22 PM
But you must put something at the bottom because any characters inserted in the quote area don't count as the minimum characters in a message.

And.... as seen here - a quote does not include any previous quote.

Didn't know about the "must add text outside the quote" requirement - thanks!

Dennis Piccioni
3-Mar-2009, 06:33 PM
But you must put something at the bottom because any characters inserted in the quote area don't count as the minimum characters in a message.

Yes, this is intentional so that whetever your quoting doesn't count against your message's character limit.

Dennis Piccioni
3-Mar-2009, 06:36 PM
It's just the quote button instead of the reply button. Not much good for inline answers because you would need to hand edit HTML. Is there an option to quote each paragraph? That would allow easy inserting.

I can feel there is white paper (white topic?) coming on a forum framework so anyone's "good tricks" can be spread around. Somehow, keep it edited down (votes to keep?) so it stays small enough to actually be readable.

We're working on putting together some things.

It's a learning curve, but we'll all be experts soon.