DrummerCafe Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 Well, I must say that I don't particularly like the new look and feel of this bulletin board. I know that it's been down from time to time to work out the bugs ... which, by the way, still has. I can tell that this lastest version is to allow the average person be able to use UBB Code, etc., but I think it's cheesey ... and not THAT much of improvement in that regard. I'm going to sound like an old guy here and say that I like the way it was before. Here in Texas we like to say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I've seen similar bulletin boards which has far more features, such as numerous Graemlins, where as this board has less than a dozen. Unless you are really going to make some BIG changes and add ALL NEW FEATURES, please don't change the layout. MusicPlayer.com has got the spirit MicroSoft on them or something ... who is notorious for doing similar things. Anyone else feel this way about the changes? Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 yah, it sux pretty much...it's slower, but I'm getting used to it...I'll have to do posting from my home puter...we have dsl there plus one can only use 8 gremlins at a time felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 Hey, Guys: I just moderate! I will pass along your thoughts to the powers what be! Don't go away BART and Felix! You guys (as everyone) are important here! LOL DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlhubley Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 It really is way too SLOW. This needs to be addressed. Plus, the old way had a smoother look and feel. It WAS one of the better forums I've seen , including layout, ease of use, and participation. With this new change, this forum has dropped considerably in all 3 of those catagories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudyba Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 As for the speed issue, well, yes we are aware of that and are working on it. I've made mention of it in other forums, such as Craig 's. We're testing a PHP module that will increase our efficiency and eventually going to use a dedicated server just for forums. Keep in mind we are getting additional traffic since we've redirected some of the magazine sites (so far Keyboard, Bass and MC2) so that is slowing things down too. But all we did was upgrade the software. The layout is pretty close as are the colors. There's more features such as private messaging, ability to see who made the last post (from the forum home page), a new member greeting (ok so it's a little cheesy), the ability to log in once and not have to log in again (which used to mess people up when they used the back button if they typoed something and all of their text disappeared) and performance WILL be improved...just give us a little more time. I appreciate the comments/feedback and understand the resitance to change but we're doing this to give YOU guys more features as well as enhancing your experience... Thanks for putting up with the growing pains. We're rather short-staffed and working with a shoe-string budget... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 Does everyone really need to know where I'm from? After the next "upgrade" you'll probably all be able to see that I post in my underwear. Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 Originally posted by sidereal: After the next "upgrade" you'll probably all be able to see that I post in my underwear. You do really? Can I watch, or does that require another upgrade? --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlhubley Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 Although I'm not happy with the new changes, YET, I would like to applaud this forum for striving for the best. I'm sure it will be much better once the bugs are out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passeist Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 Working in accounting, "upgrade" is a dreaded word. Every upgrade eats more resources, resulting in a slower and more error prone system. It makes no sense to upgrade the software before upgrading the hardware that supports it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted October 31, 2001 Share Posted October 31, 2001 I thought all guys from san franciso ran around in their underwear Your cool, for a west coast guy felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted November 1, 2001 Author Share Posted November 1, 2001 DJ, I have no plans on leaving; I just wanted to voice my opinion with the "upgrade" and was surprised that no one beat me to the punch. I guess my point was that I didn't really see the need for the upgrade. It's basically the same thing ... only re-packaged ... which makes it very frustrating when they things that used to work no longer do OR are much slower. To be honest, this "software upgrade" reminds me of MicroSoft's ME ... which is a joke and a pain in the ass. oooo ... my first curse word I guess that's what I meant by the "don't fix what isn't broke". If you are going to upgrade, wait until it's REALLY an improvement. A 1-5% change isn't an improvement to me ... and sure isn't worth the headache of getting to work properly. I never upgrade my software unless it's been clearly documented that there are bug fixes OR there is at least a 40-50% feature / performance increase. I too appreciate MusicPlayer for wanting to stay on the cutting edge, and for providing this wonderful bulletin board. But I also want them to know that the change doesn't really help ANY of us that I can tell. They automated some of the UBB Code and moved things around ... and that's about it. They guy over at NiceDrums.com has a cool little bulletin board, although it's slow, slow, slow; largely due to it being on a free server (and in the UK ... LOL). The Graemlins are cooler, as well as a few other features that the software being used here doesn't have. When I saw that MusicPlayer was upgrading, I got excited thinking it would have the cool little toys ... but alas, I was wrong. So my advise is don't change until there is significant improvements and/or reasons to upgrade. If you are paying for the update ... it was a total waste of money ... IMHO. Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Thank you Felix from Cleveland... go Steelers! Lee, you're such a flirt. Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernDrummer Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Yeah, it takes WAAAY to long now to bop from screen to screen. Musta got that 'upgraded' software out of the clearance bin! And I've had some problems with this new forum NOT remembering my log in. I don't know if this has happened to anyone else yet, but it never happened with the old format. Perhaps it IS supposed to be easier and faster to use. I imagine that it could take a bit of time and work. Right now though, I don't think it's near as efficient, or as user friendly as the old one. Just some thoughts. If you always do what you've always done, you'll always have what you've always had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Hello administrator, sorry but here's my input. 1.The response screen is way too small, needs to be wider, waste of space. Add 2 more inches to the screen if you can. Looks like a seeing eye chart. 2.Where the hell is spell check? Used to have one. 3.Still too slow. I changed my link to what was suggested and the same screen still comes up asking me to change the link. 4.Too many log on, log off screens. What does this do for us? I don't mind logging in one time and staying with all of the forums then log off, but do we need to log on and log off if I want to go to another forum within music player, what is the correct way of doing it? Explain. I think one log on to get into the forums is appropriate, and maybe one log off to get back out, that way if a mistake is made you don't loose your thoughts and work because yor faaaaat fingered the keyboard. 5.Can't review the original topic to refer back to like before(to be able to pan back and forth between question and response on the samesheet). 6.I don't think it is necessary to post everyones location, although it does add some flavor. 7.I'd rather see the number of posts next to the name, rather than the position of everyone. 8.If I make a mistake in my code and try to send it in for the reply, the screen states that it cannot find that person, which is right, but when I would go back to the reply screen, all of my discussion is lost. Does this still occur with this new setup? I havn't tried this out to see if this still happens yet. I'm not one to complain, but some basics are missing. I appoligize if I misspelled anything! Just my thoughts folks...... Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Interesting........ I think my computer had a brain fart before, I now can pan back and forth, but.... 9.It was better before when I could read the question and my response on the same screen and not have to pan the entire page to see the person to whom I want to respond to. There used to be two scrolls one under the other which made it convient to scroll on the same page to review at a glance. 10. You don't get what you see. I set up these paragraphs so that the words don't go under the numbers and when I went back to the thread after I sent in the reply, the words go back under the numbers again. What year is this revision. Again just my opinions..... Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Didn't Samson kill a 1000 philistines with the jawbone of an ASS??? felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted November 1, 2001 Author Share Posted November 1, 2001 Originally posted by felix stein: Didn't Samson kill a 1000 philistines with the jawbone of an ASS??? Why yes, yes he did. He also got taken to the cleaners by some chick, had his long hair cut off, and his eyes gouged out so what's your point?! LOL just kidding [ 10-31-2001: Message edited by: Bartman ] Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudyba Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Originally posted by Jazzman: 1.The response screen is way too small, needs to be wider, waste of space. Add 2 more inches to the screen if you can. Looks like a seeing eye chart. You are referring to the text box area width on replies? You'd like that bigger/wider? I'll look into it. 2.Where the hell is spell check? Used to have one. Yeah I was ticked about that but the company that was providing the free spell check said they were not going to support a free version any more so the forum software developers didn't bother to integrate it in with the upgrade. They're looking into alternatives. I mentioned this in Craig's forum a few weeks back but most people didn't seem to mind. 3.Still too slow. I changed my link to what was suggested and the same screen still comes up asking me to change the link. Yeah we're working on that. I mention that above. We're looking into getting PHP installed and we're testing in in our development area. There's a module in there that purports to increase speed/efficiency, i.e., better cachingg, by 30-40%...give me a week... 4.Too many log on, log off screens. What does this do for us? I don't mind logging in one time and staying with all of the forums then log off, but do we need to log on and log off if I want to go to another forum within music player, what is the correct way of doing it? Explain. No need to log off..stay logged on...you won't have to worry about having to reenter your username/password from the same machine for an entire year! 5.Can't review the original topic to refer back to like before(to be able to pan back and forth between question and response on the samesheet). Sure there is--if I know what you are referring to, I believe, in IE, there's an IFrame below the Instand Graemlins that allows you to review the entire topic. 6.I don't think it is necessary to post everyones location, although it does add some flavor. Just a feature that comes with the upgrade... 7.I'd rather see the number of posts next to the name, rather than the position of everyone. Again it's a feature that I don't think I have much control over... 8.If I make a mistake in my code and try to send it in for the reply, the screen states that it cannot find that person, which is right, but when I would go back to the reply screen, all of my discussion is lost. Does this still occur with this new setup? I havn't tried this out to see if this still happens yet. This has to do with a particular server set up. But by logging in this is avoided since you'll never have to worry about hitting the back button since you're logged in...bug advabtage IMHO... Thanks for all of your comments...we're getting there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1642605905 Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 I feel like I've come home after a long trip and my wife greets me at the door sporting a new "bad" perm and she has rearranged the house and I can't find anything! LOL! It's not THAT bad but close... ian* ian* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve LeBlanc Posted November 1, 2001 Share Posted November 1, 2001 Does everyone really need to know where I'm from? No. At the top of the page to the right, click on "my profile" and change your preferences to say Location="Uranus" or something. [ 11-01-2001: Message edited by: Steve LeBlanc ] http://www.youtube.com/notesleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwarf Posted November 2, 2001 Share Posted November 2, 2001 Hey Steve, what If I'm not on Uranus? What If I'm speaking from Myanus? Sorry, I love bad jokes -- Rob I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted November 3, 2001 Share Posted November 3, 2001 Thanks Rob for clarifying all points. I notice a much improved speed tonight. DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted November 3, 2001 Share Posted November 3, 2001 yes, it's flying this morning job well done felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernDrummer Posted November 3, 2001 Share Posted November 3, 2001 kudyba - Well, I believe the review capability to which Jazzman is referring is being able to stay on the same screen and scan down, etc. and re-read something some has posted. So you can review what they said as you type their response. I too find this really helpful, as sometimes I'll need to re-read their words while I'm responding to avoid misunderstandings. Currently, in I.E., I have to pop up a new window then hit the back button to do this. If this feature is currently available, it's not popping up on my monitor, either. Underneath the Instant Braemlins is an 'Options' frame which has check boxes to show a signature or disable smilies in this post. Under that is just the Expert Forums frame. If you always do what you've always done, you'll always have what you've always had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted November 4, 2001 Share Posted November 4, 2001 Thanks for reviewing the issues kudyba, I appreciate it. Here is some clarity: ITEM #1 Yes make the text box wider if you can. ITEM #2 Same comment. ITEM #3 It still takes way too long to get back to the topics. I now use the link at the top of the screen to get back to "Drum Talk". This needs to be fixed. ITEM #4 Thanks, I now log on at the begining. This is ok once you get on the forums, no real problem. ITEM #5 I'm using this function now. It might be a good idea if you can consoldiate "Instant Graemlins" and "Instant UBB Code" under the "Message:" area, and place the "Options" next to the right of the "Add Reply" button under the text box. This will save space on the working screen and have the thread screen within an eyeballs reach(all on one sheet or screen, no need to pan down below). You can still do this and still increase the width of the text box to the right. BTW, why are there 2 "Add Reply" buttons on this screen? ITEM #6 This is cool for me, "youranus", wish I had spell check folks. This makes us all look good! ITEM #7 I understand, no problem, was just a preference. ITEM #8 There was a time when I spent a lot of time answering a topic, hit the "Add Reply" button, it had taken me to another screen, once in that screen, it thanked me for posting, I hit the "Log Off" button, and lost response. Man was I mad. ITEM #9 Seems to be better, see my Item #5 above in this response. ITEM #10 No change. Again thanks kudyba for your time in responding to these issues. I hope I'M not the only one with these problems. Sorry just my response and support to Bartman. MD, you were correct in your assumption, thanks. Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudyba Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 Originally posted by Jazzman: ITEM #1 Yes make the text box wider if you can. Done on both posts & replies... ITEM #3 It still takes way too long to get back to the topics. I now use the link at the top of the screen to get back to "Drum Talk". This needs to be fixed. I'm hoping to have the PHP module installed on this box by the end of the week. We're testing it on development now. Also, note that and new posts or replies to posts now lead back to the list of topics. Saves a click... ITEM #5 I'm using this function now. It might be a good idea if you can consoldiate "Instant Graemlins" and "Instant UBB Code" under the "Message:" area, and place the "Options" next to the right of the "Add Reply" button under the text box. This will save space on the working screen and have the thread screen within an eyeballs reach(all on one sheet or screen, no need to pan down below). You can still do this and still increase the width of the text box to the right. BTW, why are there 2 "Add Reply" buttons on this screen? All of this stuff is something that is not easily adjustable and is stock with the software. I believe there are 2 Add Reply boxes just for conveneniece, i.e., if you click "Show Singature" you can click the 2nd Add Reply button. ITEM #6 This is cool for me, "youranus", wish I had spell check folks. This makes us all look good! In the next version due mid-Dec. there will be a "post-preview" feature, where you can preview what you've written before submitting.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudyba Posted November 10, 2001 Share Posted November 10, 2001 Originally posted by rlhubley: It really is way too SLOW. This needs to be addressed. It's been addressed and you guys should now be seeing an improvement in speed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted November 10, 2001 Author Share Posted November 10, 2001 Thank You!!!!!!!! Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudyba Posted November 14, 2001 Share Posted November 14, 2001 Originally posted by Jazzman: 2.Where the hell is spell check? Used to have one. Well I added a "partial" spell check. It's not that complete of an addition as it's a partial hack but hey it was free. When posting New Topics or making replies, take a look on the left side under the word "Message:". The 3rd option is "SpellCheck". What you have to do is click it and it pops up a new window. In the new window, wherever a pull down menu appears is a suggested list of replacement words for the potential typo. Make all of your changes, click "Apply Changes" and then you have to copy and past the entire message into the text area where your post is, i.e., in the "Message:" body. Seems that paragraph breaks aren't "remembered" in the spell check though... It's the best I could do for the time being and it's way faster than the old one... Let me know what you guys think... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted November 14, 2001 Share Posted November 14, 2001 kudyba, a tremendous improvement over how it started. Thanks for the spell check, and the wider text box A very fine job, it helps us a lot. I've also noticed a speed change for the better. Thanks for sticking to it! Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.