*** New Messageboard Format ***

Re: *** New Messageboard Format ***

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Let me be the first to say that I don't like it at all. I hate having to go back and forth between the list and individual messages. I hate having to read all the power tool ads. I hate having the clutter distracting me from reading messages. It was the way I wanted it, with the ability to display a single frame of listings that opened into a single frame of message. Bah. Happy Thanksgiving?

Pam

And...

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>I hate it that after following a thread through n messages, I now have to backtrack n screens plus one. Still bah. What can you guys have been thinking? Without even asking us before hand?

Pam

What's up with all the ads?

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond, CA

>I'm on dial up at home and it takes forever for these to load.

Must be a blue moon because I agree with Pam.

They Help Pay for The the Cost of WC

Garrett in Victoria

>

Re: And...

Brent in Montreal

>Seems to me that there is no need for Ellis to ask anyones permission to do what he wants with WC. The ads help pay for this board, a board which anyone can use for free. I think Pam, as with anything else in this changing world, you'll get used to it and in no time won't even notice the difference.

My thoughts on the new layout......way to go Ellis!!!!

Pam, a possible fix for you...

Denny

>If you use Firefox, get the CoolIris add-in that will allow you to pop up links in a temporary window (and allow you to easily browse through a full thread). When you're done reading the thread, move your mouse away and the temp window closes automatically.

Hope that helps,

Denny

You're WHAT?!

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>On dialup?! Dude...

The pages load a little smlower for me, but after I read through a thread, clicking the handtool forum on the left doesn't seem too hard to get me back to the listings...

Re: Suggestions

Dave Mount

>First, whether overall reaction is positive or not, thanks for the effort to improve the board. I'm going to give it a while before deciding whether it like the new style, but I see some positives in it already and if that's true right off the bat, I'm likely to like it even more in a few days.

In the meantime, there are a couple new things I find very distracting. When viewing messages in the guestbook style, the text is centered rather than left justified. I'd much prefer the latter. Second, the size of the surrounding box (red lines around each message) changes with the size of the lines in the message. I would prefer if the width of the box for every message was the same -- more like the pages in a book which are the same size regardless of what's printed on them. Maybe these are settings that are under my control and I'm just too stupid to realize it. . .

Thanks,

Dave

She's jokeing . . . right ?

Steve Mackay

>

Re: *** New Messageboard Format ***

Paul M.

>I also prefer having a preview pane and a message pane. I think this new format is a step back. I've been using WC as a model for usability with other online forums that I frequent. Now WC has the same poor usability as the other forums. This is sad,

Re: *** New Messageboard Format ***

Kevin French, Antrim, NH

>Don't mind the chages, but

The site does load slow, for me, the rest of my bookmark are fine, this site is a lot slower.

What happened to the read posts showing up in green?

Horrible

Warren in Lancaster, Pa

>Just awful. I'm spending 4 to 10 seconds waiting for the content to come up. Then the distractions keep flashing while I'm trying to read. I think if I read ROCK SOLID REBATES one more time I will vomit.

Re: *** New Messageboard Format ***

Michael Brady

>Got to say "Not lik'n it", so far. Maybe some sort of tutorial is in order. Don't care about the ads because I don't read 'em...unless they are the cause of the slowness, of course. I have relied on this forum greatly for sharing information. I hate to see that hampered.

Re: Suggestions

Paul Kierstead

>When viewing messages in the guestbook style, the text is centered rather than left justified. I'd much prefer the latter. Second, the size of the surrounding box (red lines around each message) changes with the size of the lines in the message.

Seconded on those ones. Now single message format is a bit too slow to load and guest book is kind of hard to read. I also often read on a very small screen, and ads on 4 sides are going make that more difficult. These aren't fatal flaws, just tweaks..

The problem that I'm experiencing...

VTAndy4

>is that it no longer seems to be marking which messages I've read. I can deal with the ads and the slower speed, but I was used to being able to see the unread messages displayed in a different color. This is inconvenient.

-Andy

Re: *** New Messageboard Format ***

Dean J in MN

>Ugg, I'm in the "don't like" camp. Having to go 'back' X times from a deep thread is bad enough, but if you use the side menu to get back to the index (rather than clicking 'back' X times) you are returned to the top of the index rather than where you came. Losing context is not a plesent user experience.

Re: *** New Messageboard Format ***

Peter Evans in Sydney

>I much appreciate the service provided, just a couple of comments:

* I liked the old thread layout because it was quick to use, and to see what looked interesting. Disappearing threads was not rally a problem

* the new layout is very slow to load

* back and forth is cumbersome; perhaps two windows - one with thread, one with messages side-by-side?

* the ads are fine, they pay for the site after all.

Cheers, Peter

Re: *** New Messageboard Format ***

Darrin

>I don't have any real problems with it. At first I thought it was going to be an inconvenience, now, I just right click on the message and read it in a new window. You can then click on each response to read it. Close the window and move on to the next message. I am just a visitor here in Ellis' house, so if this is what he wants, more power to him.

Darrin

New Messageboard Format is just fine.

Stephen Shepherd in the State of Deseret

>Ellis just didn't up and do this, it has been in the works and some of us were allowed to see the new format. At the time I liked it and will get use to using the new board.

We are all guests at Wood Central.

Stephen

Re: *** New Messageboard Format ***

Dale Warder

>Count me as one who hates it.

Messages load VERY slowly. Navigation is laborious. I liked the old format better.

Re: The problem that I'm experiencing...

Ted Owen, Pittsburgh

>Andy, mine's showing unread messages in blue, and read ones in green. Maybe feature fixed since you posted? Or are you still showing no indicator?

Best, Ted

And an honor it is !

Steve Mackay

>

Re: New Messageboard Format is just fine.

Jeff

>We are all guests at Wood Central.

More accurately, we are all potential customers.

It's a personal thing... *LINK*

David Barnett - SW Florida

>Although I generally fret and grouse about every little change, this format works for me.

READABILITY

An old but useful rule of thumb is the 66-character line for maximum readability (given 'proper' leading, 'ems', font density, and way too many other things about which to quibble and/or tweak). I now get this without having to adjust my window size, making for faster scanning. Again, for me. Research on tracking suggests that longer lines increase the chances of returning to the beginning of the same or skipping two lines ahead*.

This may also involve differing and personal reading styles and speeds, of course, as comprehension is uncorrelated and not easily predictable. The jury's been out on this for the last few hundred years, so what works for you is what counts. As for returning to where one was, I use multiple windows, so it's easy -- but I have a wide monitor. A year ago I might've felt entirely different.

NAVIGATION, DISPLAY, MARGINS, ADS

I prefer default UBB sort order and I don't use guestbook display, so others may find it awkward. All in all, I find the new format clean, better organized, easy on the eyes, and nothing to spoil MY Thanksgiving, heh.

As for those margins and ads, try thinking of the page as 'illuminated'. Of course, ads work. They make me want things, for better or worse. I've already succumbed to one just today. Beyond that, as these ads enable the free use of this board and sustain this community, I see them as serving my own ends and am rather grateful for them. It's how enterprise works. It's how things get done. Ever lust over a Soviet handplane?

Oh, and while I'm a handtool enthusiast, I'm not offended by pictures of powertools.

Happy Thanksgiving!


*readability study