New Forum Software and Design - Gone Live

[Stephan Whelan]

Retina?

Hey Simos - not to do with retina. The responsive design isn't folding all elements in correctly in mid sized screens. It's only overlap issues but want to get it sorted

 

[Simos]

It's so much easier to use it on the iPad/iPhone, I can actually read things clearly without even flipping the phone sideways

 

[Stephan Whelan]

It's so much easier to use it on the iPad/iPhone, I can actually read things clearly without even flipping the phone sideways

Glad you like it I specifically wanted to get designs done that worked well on mobile devices without needing a separate app like Tapatalk (brilliant as it is though!)

 

[kwtony]

I just tried using tapatalk a few minuets ago and I hated it. Ive always gone here and other forums on my phone but can't stand the way the app is laid out. Am I missing something or is there a "new posts" button, that I see to be missing? I also am a creature of habit, I enjoyed the older layout and am not a huge fan yet of the new.

 

[Apneaddict]

Tapatalk looks and feels the exact same to me as it did before.

 

[Simos]

Glad you like it I specifically wanted to get designs done that worked well on mobile devices without needing a separate app like Tapatalk (brilliant as it is though!)

Well I am on here for a few years and I never bothered downloading Tapatalk!

 

[Stephan Whelan]

Am I missing something or is there a "new posts" button, that I see to be missing?

The New Posts menu option is on the secondary nav bar as per the screenshot below.

https://www.monosnap.com/image/oIrIkDAAXM96lQCthhMaSPhMp#

 

[Stephan Whelan]

I've started a thread of useful features on the forums. Let me know in this thread here if you want any specific things covered.

http://forums.deeperblue.com/threads/useful-features-of-the-deeperblue-com-forums.98795/

 

[monkeyhatfork]

will take some getting used to, not really a fan of the general layout or design, annoys me somehow but i do like how much better it uploads photos and displays them better at full size

 

[Apneaddict]

Search engine is MUCH improved.

That's awesome - big improvement.

 

[Stephan Whelan]

Right - fixed some of the responsive design bugs so should look good at all sizes of screen

Search engine is MUCH improved.

Glad to hear the search is better - it's based on full-text search so should be better than the previous platform.

will take some getting used to, not really a fan of the general layout or design, annoys me somehow but i do like how much better it uploads photos and displays them better at full size

Well a positive and a negative Anything specific on the layout/design you don't like?

As for TapaTalk - it's used by about 30 people daily here so a core small contingent. Now we have a fully responsive design that works on all devices it's a little redundant but I know some people have enjoyed using it so we will continue to offer it as an option.

 

[Magpie]

On the old forum you could set it to show a topics most recent post first, instead of the original post first in a thread.

I can't see this function in the new version, have I just missed it?

 

[cdavis]

I'm with Kars, Broseidon and Monkey, Looks poor, hard to navigate, hard to read quickly, much less professional looking. If I sound old, crotchety and annoyed, I am.


Specific: How the hell do I send a PM? I know I'm not that dense, PMs should be easy to find.

Haven't tried the search function yet. A large improvement would be real nice.

Connor

 

[Stephan Whelan]

Specific: How the hell do I send a PM? I know I'm not that dense, PMs should be easy to find.

Two main ways - click on the inbox and Start a New Conversation...

Or you can click on a members avatar/picture and start a conversation from there

 

[landshark sa]

I don't think people realise how much effort goes into moving from one forum platform to the another one.

So Stephan, thanks and congrats! I think you've done a marvellous job of getting it up, running and stable in such a short time and with so little resources.

As a developer myself I'm more a function than form guy. From that point of view I think it works A LOT better than the old site.

I really like it!

 

[Stephan Whelan]

On the old forum you could set it to show a topics most recent post first, instead of the original post first in a thread.

I can't see this function in the new version, have I just missed it?

So there is no specific setting to change the way threads are shown - this is the way the platform has been implemented so I can't change it even if I wanted it to....

...however depending on how you get to a thread will depend on whether it takes you to the first unread post. The default functionality of the forums works the same - only difference is whether there is a user-settable feature which there isn't.

1. On the homepage if you click on latest thread title it takes you to the first unread post

2. Just clicking on a thread from the forum thread list will take you to the first post

3. If you use New Posts functionality it will take you to the first unread post in the thread

 

[Stephan Whelan]

@cdavis, @Broseidon, @monkeyhatfork - I appreciate the new design may not be what you are used to or like, equally the forum platform is different so there are changes that people need to get used to. However there are significant benefits to moving to the new platform which i'll fully describe in a seperate post to everyone but highlights are:

• Modern, flexible backend platform that is less server intensive
• Responsive, interactive and functionally rich front-end
• Search Engine Optimisation specific features and design
• Easy migration path from previous platform and retain 99% of all features
• Facebook integration
• and ultimately the previous platform we had (vBulletin) was forcing us down an upgrade path to an inferior product in version 4 and 5 of their platform. I was not willing to put more money into that platform

We've changed platform 3 times since these forums started and we stuck with vBulletin since 2000 through several major overhauls of that platform. This is our 6th design of the site and the first to truly bring a cohesive design across the whole site (editorial and community) that supports devices of any size.

I commit to helping any member through the transition and will provide support as well as starting to build up the FAQ and threads such as http://forums.deeperblue.com/threads/useful-features-of-the-deeperblue-com-forums.98795/

 

[Magpie]

Thanks Stephen, I'm going to miss the first post being the most recent but such is life.

For what its worth I couldn't give two hoots about what the forum, logo or anything else looks like, as long as it works. Thanks for all your efforts.

 

[drdb]

From a design point of view I think it is clean and I like the direction it has gone in. Design should not interfer with function. And in this case it complements it.
It is free from distraction. It is fresh and clean.

People will get used to it and before they know it they will see how easy it is to use.
Older members (not age wise) will find it difficult at first navigating becuase it is a new experience but new members will find things so much more straight forward.

Good job Stephen.
Love what your doing. We appreciate the hard work you put in.

Now lets talk new logo

 

[Azrael3000]

One thing that I have found to be slightly off is the following:
On the top you have Home > Forums > ...
I think Home should not be there really. But I can live with that. What actually should be fixed is, that if you go to your user panel you end up in
Home > Your Account
So there is no "Forums" there which I think is a bit inconsistent.