Every time I open Wood Central I think I am on a speed boat in a race to dementia. I keep wondering how many others have responded to the post I read; I delete my post and go to Youtube entertainment. And then, I reopen WC and the posts are gone ... ? My comments are gone.
UBB? Ok, it's default list format. I will repeat, repeat, repeat. And, repeat what some other commenter has repeated. Because any preference change is a separate nightmare, slightly different. I don't expect to see this "new message" on this forum again. Entitlement has its perks. If not "I just don't like this 'new message'."
I am going to Youtube now. And, I am not tapping any other buttons, just "Post Message".
Maybe we should have a vote on preferences. I've been on Threaded List / Guestbook / Mixed Order as long as I can remember. That would be my vote for a default format. What are your preferences?
My take is that the old system made the forums look cluttered, but we were used to it and over time the familiarity was comforting. Change is never comfortable. But the new changes make the forums look very cluttered and, at first and second glance, the presentation is overwhelming. I want to avert my eyes and go somewhere else.
There is a fix, and it would be to do two things:
Firstly, create space and a way to separate the threads. There could be a line and gap between each thread heading along with a gap below the heading to state the number of posts altogether and the number unread.
Secondly, it needs to be clearer that there are unread posts. This is linked to the above, but also that a level of intimacy is missing. Add back the number if times the posts have been read to increase intimacy.
>Firstly, create space and a way to separate the threads. There could be a line and gap between each thread heading along with a gap below the heading to state the number of posts altogether and the number unread.
Added line break between thread topics.
There is a count of the number of replies in each thread, but doing a count on the number of times each message is read may not be possible. For example, if one is using the Guestbook mode, does that mean the read count for all messages in the thread should be incremented?
>Secondly, it needs to be clearer that there are unread posts. This is linked to the above, but also that a level of intimacy is missing. Add back the number if times the posts have been read to increase intimacy.
If one uses only one device to access the forums and does not clear the browser history or cookies, it should give good clues as to what is new and which links have been followed. The messages use the standard blue/black colors to show un-visited (blue) vs visited (black) links, and the cherries indicating new activity should display if the cookies have not been deleted. The cherries should display on threads in compress view anytime a new reply is made in thread, and then when displaying it, it will show cherries next to the new reply, or automatically jump to that reply if using Guestbook mode.
Of course, all this goes out the window if using multiple devices. Since there is no formal registration system with this software, the server has no way to keep track of what you have and have not read. That is all done locally on your device based on cookies and that device's browser history. Some browsers have a way to "register" your use of the browser and try to sync the history and cookies between devices, but I'm not sure how reliable that is, and if would require users to take that step.
Unfortunately for me, he lives in Siberia, and my Russian is near non-existent. I am considering that perhaps I need to abandon my obsession with finding a 19-year-old Island Girl and instead focus on finding a bilingual babushka.
Do I get Taylor Swift now?
Ummmm ... maybe, umm . . . No, too many on the forum are <.....>. Throwing a barb will have insane consequences.
Did your display style change when the forum default settings were changed? I don't think they should have, as the user preferences set by a cookie, always override any system settings, and I don't see why changing a default setting would cause that to change. Hmmm.
No changes for me. All the repair work you have done to the site has had the added benefit of not having to toss my cookies constantly because of quirky behavior on the forums.
Peter, thanks for all the improvements despite all the salty, ill tempered resistance you've had to endure!
my preference settings have never changed unless I accidentally (or intentionally) delete the woodcentral cookie, which I do on occasion just to clear my browser junk. One nice display setting that always remains also is the screen zoom setting. Whatever I set as the current zoom for text legibility is always remembered for the site as well. Not sure how that works, but I like it.
constantly because of quirky behavior on the forums.