# ASF Mark III



## Joe Blow

Good evening all! 

In the very near future ASF is going to undergo some signficant changes, so I thought I should give you all some advance warning.

Quite soon I will be upgrading the forum software to a newer, more sophisticated version that offers more features that I am hoping many of you will find useful. I will also be introducing a brand new website design.

In brief, some of the additional features that the new forum software will offer are:

*1. Groups*

In the past, many ASF members have expressed a desire to organise groups of like minded individuals based on particular interests or geographical location. The current forum software does not really support this, but the new forum software will. Any ASF member will be able to start a group that can be public or invite only. There will be a special "Groups" area where people can browse existing public groups and an area devoted to each particular group where members can have discussions specific to their group and organise get togethers. 

Individual groups will be moderated by the person who created it. The group creator will also be able to send out notifications to other group members, although like most options this can be turned off should you not wish to receive them.

*2. Albums*

ASF members will be able to create their own personal image collections in the form of albums. 

These can be charts, photos or any other images you would like to build a collection of. They can either be public, private or accessed only by your friends (see *Friends and Contacts* below). Individual images can be captioned by the owner and others who have access to your album images can comment on them. The owner of the album can remove any inapproriate comments or report them if they are in violation of the site rules. 

Images in your albums can be easily be added to forum posts by using the now familiar BB code.

*3. Friends and Contacts*

A friendship is a mutual, two-way relationship between two ASF members. It is initiated by one user and accepted by the other.

A contact is a one-way friendship. This could be where the other person does not accept the friendship, a friendship request is pending, or you do not wish to be friends at this time but want to show them as a contact only.

Your friends and contacts are displayed on the 'Contacts and Friends' page in your User CP. Your friends are also displayed in your profile page.

I will be trialling a Facebook style footer chat that will enable ASF members to chat directly with their ASF friends, either one on one or as a group, although this may not appear immediately.

*4. Facebook integration*

ASF will be introducing Facebook like buttons to individual threads so those who use Facebook can let their Facebook friends know about particular threads on ASF. Those who don't use Facebook can simply ignore these.

*5. Support for iPhones and other mobile devices*

At the moment, ASF is not easily navigated by those browsing the site with their iPhone or other mobile device. This is about to change. There is one existing app called Tapatalk that enables the easy browsing of forums using supported forum software. There is also a dedicated app on the way designed specifically for the forum software ASF will be using. More details on that as they come to hand.

*6. Twitter integration*

All new threads created on ASF will be published to ASF's Twitter page so those who use Twitter can follow us to keep up to date with new content. ASF members and visitors will also have the option to "tweet" ASF threads and posts to their own Twitter feed.

*7. Tags*

Tags are a useful way to search for threads with similar subject matter and content. This complements the normal search system, which searches only for certain words or phrases and/or posts by specific users.

To use tags, you add words or phrases to threads to help describe the content. For instance, if the subject matter is 'technical analysis' then you can add the tag 'technical analysis' to the tag list. But you could also add tags like 'support and resistance', and 'pivot point' (depending, of course, on 
the nature of the thread).

This will categorize this thread with all other threads that have matching tags, whether or not they have the word 'technical analysis' in them.


As I mentioned above, this is just a brief overview of some the new features that ASF will be offering in the very near future. Once they are introduced you will be free to explore them at your leisure and I will be starting a new thread where I will be answering questions from those who have specific concerns or queries. 

I expect there will be minor teething problems when the new forum software and website design is introduced and probably a transitional period of a week or two where minor tweaking and small adjustments will need to be made. I ask everyone to be patient during this time. 

I imagine the new website design will also take a little getting used to, although I done my best to ensure that it is simple, clean and easy to navigate. There are, however, some significant differences from the forum as it currently exists.


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## ParleVouFrancois

Sounds like exciting stuff Joe, the forum was getting a bit old in the tooth, so any upgrades (as long as there aren't too many bugs) sounds good. I assume all the old threads are going to be imported into the new software?


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## Lucky_Country

Sounds good Joe glad I got my new iPhone on order !!

ASF is a great place to share education, research,and ideas we all thank you and look forward to the new website.

Is that enough characters now ? LOL


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## Joe Blow

ParleVouFrancois said:


> I assume all the old threads are going to be imported into the new software?




Absolutely. All existing threads will be present after the upgrade.


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## Joe Blow

Hi everyone,

Well as you can all see, ASF has a new web design. We have also upgraded to the latest version of the forum software, so there are many new features that were not previously available with the old version.

I'm currently very busy tweaking the settings and making minor changes but I thought I would open the forums up so you can all take a look around. Things have changed, but not all that much. Most of the changes that you will notice are cosmetic in nature.

I realize that it is going to take some time until we iron out all the issues with this new design, so if you notice anything strange going on please let me know about it in this thread. This is the largest single change ASF has experienced in its six and a half years of operation so please bear with me. Please note that right now this is all very much a work in progess, but I thought I should open up the forums and let you all back in to have a look around.

I am open to feedback and suggestions regarding the new design. Please post any comments that you may have in this thread.

For those who regularly embed YouTube videos into their posts, please note that the old


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## roland

well, it's quite different, I sort of liked the older one

missing the quick search by title, now have to go the Advanced Search and fill out a form 

Like the new logo Joe.


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## joea

Hey. Joe Blow

If you fellows can make these changes to the ASF and they all work.

Whats the chances of coming to Qld. and sorting out the Qld. health software problems?

I got more faith in you blokes doing it, than Bligh.

Cheers. p.s. the new look is great!!!


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## Joe Blow

roland said:


> well, it's quite different, I sort of liked the older one
> 
> missing the quick search by title, now have to go the Advanced Search and fill out a form
> 
> Like the new logo Joe.




Quick search by title will be back momentarily. Lots of tweaking to do yet!


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## Joe Blow

joea said:


> Hey. Joe Blow
> 
> If you fellows can make these changes to the ASF and they all work.
> 
> Whats the chances of coming to Qld. and sorting out the Qld. health software problems?
> 
> I got more faith in you blokes doing it, than Bligh.
> 
> Cheers. p.s. the new look is great!!!




Many thanks for the kind words! 

The new look is still very much a work in progress. Still lots of little annoying bugs to iron out!


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## Joe Blow

There are also still some minor issues with the site search that are being worked on. Should be fixed soon.


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## Joe Blow

Joe Blow said:


> There are also still some minor issues with the site search that are being worked on. Should be fixed soon.




The search index is currently being rebuilt from scratch so it may be a couple of hours until your searches return the results you are looking for.

The site may also experience a little slowness during this time as rebuilding the search index is a very server intensive process.


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## pixel

*Congrats, Joe!*

As an IT fossil, I can appreciate the amount of preparation that must have gone into this change-over. And to find it's all been done in one short night - *A**Mazing!*

As regards wishes: I'm often using the "New Posts" option and find, the list is sometimes extremely short. It would be very handy if we could have an additional selector - maybe a drop-down - "since yesterday", or even more specific.


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## Joe Blow

pixel said:


> As an IT fossil, I can appreciate the amount of preparation that must have gone into this change-over. And to find it's all been done in one short night - *A**Mazing!*




It has been literally months of non-stop hair pulling with frustrating delay after frustrating delay. A lot of planning went into this changeover as I wanted to minimise website downtime and any inconvenience to ASF users.

However, there are still a lot of bugs to be ironed out and hopefully about a week from now we should have gotten rid of most of them!



pixel said:


> As regards wishes: I'm often using the "New Posts" option and find, the list is sometimes extremely short. It would be very handy if we could have an additional selector - maybe a drop-down - "since yesterday", or even more specific.




Click on the "Today's Posts" option in the "Quick Links" drop down menu.


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## tech/a

Very pretty.
Ill be able to work it all once I pass my IT degree.

Nice job very prof.


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## derty

Looks great Joe, I'm a fan. Congratulations. 

One bug I found is the link for the December leader-board for the stock picking comp just links back to the home page for some reason.

edit: I just found the working link to the leaderboard in the top right of the home page


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## DB008

Looks great Joe.


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## Joe Blow

Thanks for the positive feedback! 

However, I have also picked up on around a dozen bugs of varying annoyance that I am in the process of making a list of for the designer to deal with tomorrow.

Unfortunately, doing a massive software upgrade and design change like this is kind of like bulldozing a house only to immediately build another one right on top of the wreckage. Inevitably there are pieces of broken glass and shattered concrete sticking out from all kinds of places. So I ask everyone to please be patient and bear with me. I am very determined to identify and fix every single issue as quickly as possible.

Most importantly the new forum software is working fine. Virtually every issue I have picked up on is directly related to the new design. This version of the forum software is brand spanking new and thankfully we are no longer stuck in 2007 but are completely up to date and the new software updates (and new features) will be coming thick and fast.

To those who want to access ASF from their iPhone or other mobile device, a whole new world has opened up to you. A dedicated app is coming soon, but for now take a look at Tapatalk, which is free if you just want to browse ASF. If you want to post from your mobile device it costs a couple of dollars.


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## Joe Blow

derty said:


> Looks great Joe, I'm a fan. Congratulations.




Thanks! 



derty said:


> One bug I found is the link for the December leader-board for the stock picking comp just links back to the home page for some reason.




Yes, the URL of this page has changed permanently. Tomorrow I will do a global search and replace of the entire forum database and change every instance of the old URL to the new URL.


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## BrightGreenGlow

Gotta say Joe, not a fan at all.. seems too tiny.. like the font and the front page the middle column should be wider I feel. I guess I just really liked the old one and it worked fine. Only constructive criticism though!

Thanks Joe.


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## Joe Blow

BrightGreenGlow said:


> Gotta say Joe, not a fan at all.. seems too tiny.. like the font and the front page the middle column should be wider I feel. I guess I just really liked the old one and it worked fine. Only constructive criticism though!
> 
> Thanks Joe.




Fair enough. I expected negative feedback would come in as well, and I understand that not everyone is going to prefer this new look. 

There is still a lot of tweaking to be done and I think there is room for improvement. I have a list of about a dozen design issues that I will be emailing to the designer today, so I appreciate all feedback, good and bad.

To those who aren't sure about the new design, please give it a few weeks. There are quite a few minor changes to come and there is a good chance that it will grow on you as the bugs are ironed out. I've been a member of quite a few forums that have changed their design unexpectedly. Initially, it was a bit of a hassle to get used to a new way of doing things, but in all cases after a month or so I found I could barely remember what the old design was like and had completely adapted to the new one.


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## joea

Joe Blow

I think people will soon start to realize that " ASF Mark III" is unique when compared to other forums.
I for one am intriqued as the changes roll out before us. 

Cheers... to your crew for Xmas


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## IB12

I like the old version better in terms of how you could see the most recent forum posts.


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## Joe Blow

IB12 said:


> I like the old version better in terms of how you could see the most recent forum posts.




This is something that is on my list of design changes that I will be emailing to the designer today.

All feedback is useful in helping me decide what is fine the way it is and what needs to be improved.


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## sails

Joe Blow said:


> ...To those who aren't sure about the new design, please give it a few weeks. There are quite a few minor changes to come and there is a good chance that it will grow on you as the bugs are ironed out. I've been a member of quite a few forums that have changed their design unexpectedly. Initially, it was a bit of a hassle to get used to a new way of doing things, but in all cases after a month or so I found I could barely remember what the old design was like and had completely adapted to the new one.




Joe, I agree that the brain becomes accustomed to change over time.  The funny thing is that I really didn't like the green font initially when you changed last time.  I got used it it and now I find the darker blue font almost dazzling!  Thankfully, it's just a time thing to adapt again.

Thankyou for the effort you put into ASF.  I can only imagine the workload that has gone into this major upgrade and appreciate your dedication...


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## IB12

Joe Blow said:


> This is something that is on my list of design changes that I will be emailing to the designer today.
> 
> All feedback is useful in helping me decide what is fine the way it is and what needs to be improved.




The new site design actually lets you see new posts, but you have to click on Forums --> New Posts. And then it only shows you like a max of 6. 
I would rather see like 20-30 of the most recent posts. And there are new "new" links i.e. New posts, new group messages, new events and new articles.

not sure which is better, but keeping it simple is definitely better and seeing 20 of the new/recent posts is better. One button or link should do the trick.


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## nulla nulla

Hey Joe

Looks good so far. Noticed that the cookie has changed. Was there a problem with having the aussie flag as the cookie? kinda liked it myself showing up in the search box at the top of the screen and on the favourites list.


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## Trembling Hand

Hey Joe luv the phone connectivity. I'm tapping this out on my HTC Desire using Tapatalk.

Looking forward to seeing how you use twitter.


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## Trembling Hand

Here is a little bug. If you edit a post the edit doesn't change on the homepage post. I was so excited about posting for the first time on my Droid have a look at how I spelt Twitter on the home page.


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## Joe Blow

nulla nulla said:


> Looks good so far. Noticed that the cookie has changed. Was there a problem with having the aussie flag as the cookie? kinda liked it myself showing up in the search box at the top of the screen and on the favourites list.




Will check into this. It should still be there, and is on my browser, but it could just be that it's still in the cache.



Trembling Hand said:


> Looking forward to seeing how you use twitter.




Once I get it figured out I'm planning on publishing new threads to the feed. Same with Facebook. Am always open to suggestions though. 



Trembling Hand said:


> Here is a little bug. If you edit a post the edit doesn't change on the homepage post. I was so excited about posting for the first time on my Droid have a look at how I spelt Twitter on the home page.




Will check into this as well. Thanks for the heads up!

I think I need a nap... been burning the candle at both ends!


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## Agentm

Joe Blow said:


> This is something that is on my list of design changes that I will be emailing to the designer today.
> 
> All feedback is useful in helping me decide what is fine the way it is and what needs to be improved.




i agree on that point

the forum design looks great joe

the sites colors dont clash with my avatar   which of course it critical and your first consideration..

still trying to get used to it all.. very scary high tech stuff from the way you make it sound..

my screen is much wider than the sites format. so feel free to spread it out width wise any-time you want..

cheers


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## shinobi346

IB12 said:


> I like the old version better in terms of how you could see the most recent forum posts.




+1

Same here. the older scheme was easier to read and much easier on the eyes. Everything is too spaced out in this one which is not too good when many are moving to smaller screens eg netbooks, smartphones, ipods etc.


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## Miner

IB12 said:


> I like the old version better in terms of how you could see the most recent forum posts.




Hi Joe
Thanks for briniging the change.
Change is always good. 

Changes driven by IT many a times frightens those living in comfort zone of an old system. That is me and I agree with IB12. The new one is not as appealing as the old one. 

The others are IT saavy, clever and love changes as a challenge.  That is you Joe and few others have already endorsed the change

To me bottom line is please keep the changed site as Beta Testing for few more days and let us understand the functionality and give you feedback. My guess the Aussie sign is much bigger to frighten the POMs in Ashes. That strategy is working. But after Ashes finishes, the symbol is too loud and IMO should be reduced to look sexier.
One comment I can not see private messages icon in the new system or the chance to put different symbols to express some expression next to a comments
Spell checker could have been nice to be introduced. It is long overdue 

I will return to this thread and see how the experience is mine and others

Regards


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## Trembling Hand

shinobi346 said:


> +1
> 
> Same here. the older scheme was easier to read and much easier on the eyes. Everything is too spaced out in this one which is not too good when many are moving to smaller screens eg netbooks, smartphones, ipods etc.




When we went from the standard forum skin to the one we just changed many of the coments  were the same as now. "I don't like the size/color/contrast". Guys give it time. You have just woken up to find your partner of 5 years has had a face lift. Still the some gal, just a few changes to get use to.

Just a note when you use a smart phone you are more likely to use an app rather than a traditional browser. So the layout will not be what you see on a computer screen.


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## Sean K

I'm liking this more than the last upgrade Joe. It's instantly pleasing to me.


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## ParleVouFrancois

One suggestion I can think of is an increase in the amount of "recently posted" posts, I used to just cruize though the recently active ones, maybe double the amount currently on offer?

Love the rest of the site, a bit more bandwidth hungry but I think the new look is a good thing, again just the recent posts things is annoying (I usually rely on it to see what threads to visit).

PVF.


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## Solly

Hi Joe

Great evolution, good to see ongoing change, ASF is a great community.

I'm even starting to upload my pics.

Looking forward to a turbo charged NBN driven Mark IV. 

S


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## Happy

Hi Joe!
Hope you don't get too stressed out with change of Webpage.

Just wander, why new design had to be so difficult to implement?

Was this Web Forum specifically developed for you?
Or it was one off the shelf and all the changes that make you tear hair out are some improvements that were not part of original design?

Hope all goes well for you.


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## Joules MM1

joe, 

great hub and I hope the traffic contnues to grow......

cheers and merry christmas

may we all have a prosperous 2011

julian


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## Joules MM1

Trembling Hand said:


> .... Still the some gal....




freudian ??


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## Julia

Miner said:


> One comment I can not see private messages icon in the new system



Agree here.  On the old format you didn't have to use the drop down box to see if there were any private messages.  Now you have to specifically think about checking this.  If we have previously enabled notification via email of PM's, will this continue?



> Spell checker could have been nice to be introduced. It is long overdue



Agree absolutely.  It becomes so annoying to see repetitive spelling and grammar mistakes.  If there were some sort of spell/grammar check, it might actually help the people who have trouble in this respect.

Joe, what is the purpose of this upgrade?  Presumably it offers additional features which I have yet to discover.

It seems to be overall slower than the previous version.  Is this likely to change?


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## Julia

Joe, scrub my comment about the slower speed.  It's fine.  Maybe just needed to get warmed up or something.
(I'll now duck for cover after such a technologically illiterate remark).


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## roland

Joe, the "New Posts" link changes positions when you go into a thread, so the menu selections alter their positions depending on where you are.


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## shinobi346

Trembling Hand said:


> When we went from the standard forum skin to the one we just changed many of the coments  were the same as now. "I don't like the size/color/contrast". Guys give it time. You have just woken up to find your partner of 5 years has had a face lift. Still the some gal, just a few changes to get use to.
> 
> Just a note when you use a smart phone you are more likely to use an app rather than a traditional browser. So the layout will not be what you see on a computer screen.




What app do you use to browse this site? I always use the built in browser.


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## Joe Blow

shinobi346 said:


> What app do you use to browse this site? I always use the built in browser.




There is a dedicated app coming from the developer of the forum software soon, but right now you can use Tapatalk.


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## Joe Blow

ParleVouFrancois said:


> One suggestion I can think of is an increase in the amount of "recently posted" posts, I used to just cruize though the recently active ones, maybe double the amount currently on offer?




The amount of recently posted posts was designed to fit the new website design. For more, click on the "New Posts" link in the navigation bar. For even more posts than that, click on the "Quick Links" drop down menu and select "Today's Posts".



Solly said:


> Hi Joe
> 
> Great evolution, good to see ongoing change, ASF is a great community.
> 
> I'm even starting to upload my pics.
> 
> Looking forward to a turbo charged NBN driven Mark IV.




Great to see you'e found the new "Albums" feature. The new image uploader is quite sophisticated too. It will take a little getting used to but it is much more powerful than the old one.



Happy said:


> Hi Joe!
> Hope you don't get too stressed out with change of Webpage.
> 
> Just wander, why new design had to be so difficult to implement?




Primarily because I was upgrading from a very old version of the forum software. ASF was stuck in 2007 in terms of the software we were using and now we have the latest forum software available. It was quite a challenge to make ASF seem vaguely familiar (menus etc.) but have a completely new look and also to convert all the customisations that the old ASF had to the new ASF.



Happy said:


> Was this Web Forum specifically developed for you?
> Or it was one off the shelf and all the changes that make you tear hair out are some improvements that were not part of original design?




This new design is an original design made specifically for ASF.



Joules MM1 said:


> joe,
> 
> great hub and I hope the traffic contnues to grow......
> 
> cheers and merry christmas
> 
> may we all have a prosperous 2011




Many thanks, and same to you and yours! 



Julia said:


> Agree here.  On the old format you didn't have to use the drop down box to see if there were any private messages.  Now you have to specifically think about checking this.  If we have previously enabled notification via email of PM's, will this continue?




Julia, you will continue to be notified of any private messages via the notifications box at the top of the page. You will also be notified of any comments others leave on your profile (this can be disabled in Settings) as well as any "friend" requests (this can also be disabled in Settings). This new forum software is a lot more customisable than the old software and I encourage you to go to your Settings - you will notice the link next to the "Notifications" box above - and spend some time working your way through all the options to ensure you have everything customised the way you like. 



Julia said:


> Agree absolutely.  It becomes so annoying to see repetitive spelling and grammar mistakes.  If there were some sort of spell/grammar check, it might actually help the people who have trouble in this respect.




This is coming very soon and would not have been possible with the old forum software.



Julia said:


> Joe, what is the purpose of this upgrade?  Presumably it offers additional features which I have yet to discover.




The old forum software was like owning a car that nobody made parts for anymore and nobody wanted to service. In short, it had no real future. This upgrade was necessary and was something I have agonised over for months. There is still a lot of work to be done and that it why I decided to do it over the Christmas break, as it is traditionally the slowest time of the year.

For a quick look at some of the new features click back to the first page of this thread and take a look at the first post. I give a brief overview of some of the most important ones there. Another way is simply to work your way through the options in the drop down menus. You will notice that all the old options are still there but there are also quite a few new options.


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## Joe Blow

Julia said:


> Joe, scrub my comment about the slower speed.  It's fine.  Maybe just needed to get warmed up or something.
> (I'll now duck for cover after such a technologically illiterate remark).




The host has been optimising the server for the new forum software and it is running quite well now. You should find that it is just as fast as the old software, if not faster.



roland said:


> Joe, the "New Posts" link changes positions when you go into a thread, so the menu selections alter their positions depending on where you are.




Yes, this is true. However, you should have access to the "New Posts" option in most places except the "Blogs" area, as it has its own options that need to be displayed. It still should be there when are reading threads. 

Can you post a link to show me where the "New Posts" link changes position as it shouldn't be doing that.


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## Joe Blow

roland said:


> missing the quick search by title, now have to go the Advanced Search and fill out a form




The search index has now been rebuilt and this function has been restored.


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## nulla nulla

Hi Joe

Do we still have a "chat" room? 
The access tab used to be on the top tab bar, is there a new link?


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## outback

Well I like it. New fresh design, more goodies, 'm still sticking my nose into the nooks and crannys, and looking forward to the new ones.


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## Trembling Hand

Joe Blow said:


> The amount of recently posted posts was designed to fit the new website design. For more, click on the "New Posts" link in the navigation bar. For even more posts than that, click on the "Quick Links" drop down menu and select "Today's Posts".




Joe I really really really liked the change when you excluded the general chat forum from the Home page on the last layout. We have now lost that feature? Especially in the new posts section?


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## Joe Blow

nulla nulla said:


> Hi Joe
> 
> Do we still have a "chat" room?
> The access tab used to be on the top tab bar, is there a new link?




The complaints that always came in about the old chatroom is that people would come in and cause trouble or there would be personality clashes. For this reason I am trialling a Facebook style footer chat.

You will have to add those you wish to chat with to your friends list and then they will be able to see you online and chat with you. It is possible to chat with more than one person, but they will all have to be added as friends. People can organise this themselves via PM. This way, everyone can chat with whomever they want to chat with and I won't have to field complaints about people causing trouble in the chatroom. It got quite ridiculous at one point and hopefully this will solve the problem.

Those who do not wish to use the chat feature can simply hide the chat bar in the footer by clicking the down arrow on the far right.

I would be interested in any feedback on this feature.



Trembling Hand said:


> Joe I really really really liked the change when you excluded the general chat forum from the Home page on the last layout. We have now lost that feature? Especially in the new posts section?




This is coming back - for the front page at least - as soon as I figure out how to do it.


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## nulla nulla

Joe Blow said:


> Will check into this. It should still be there, and is on my browser, but it could just be that it's still in the cache.




Thanks Joe

Problem was in my laptop. Cleared cookies, history etc in IE7 and back to coorect cookie.


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## sails

Joe,  is there a bigger limit now on private messages?  I was just over 90% full on the old system a couple of days ago, but can't see anywhere to tell if I am near capacity now?


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## Joe Blow

sails said:


> Joe,  is there a bigger limit now on private messages?  I was just over 90% full on the old system a couple of days ago, but can't see anywhere to tell if I am near capacity now?




It should be the same as no changes have been made. Check down at the bottom of the page of your inbox and you'll see details of what % you have used in a section labelled "Folder Controls".


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## sails

Joe Blow said:


> It should be the same as no changes have been made. Check down at the bottom of the page of your inbox and you'll see details of what % you have used in a section labelled "Folder Controls".




Thanks Joe.  I have found it at the bottom of the inbox - not quite as convenient as before...


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## OK2

Nice site. It will take me a couple of years to work it out completely but I like a challenge.


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## Garpal Gumnut

kennas said:


> I'm liking this more than the last upgrade Joe. It's instantly pleasing to me.




Good work Joe. So nice to see this upgrade after the last downgrade. As a chartist I understand the sine wave of development.

Overall an intuitive site and so nice to see that Good written English is being encouraged, even for those what can't spel or youse gramma proppa.

gg


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## gav

Hi Joe, loving the new look.  

Now that it has the whole facebook intergration thing, I was wondering if we could "Like" a post, like how you can on Facebook?

PS.  Looking forward to a dedicated ASF iPhone app!


----------



## Joe Blow

gav said:


> Now that it has the whole facebook intergration thing, I was wondering if we could "Like" a post, like how you can on Facebook?




You can "like" a thread but there is also a "Share with Facebook" link on each post that will achieve the same thing (i.e. Post about it to your FB wall). 



gav said:


> PS.  Looking forward to a dedicated ASF iPhone app!




Coming early in the new year.


----------



## Joe Blow

Just a brief note to everyone: the designer will be back working on the site tomorrow fixing up various bugs that have been identified, most of which are on the front page. I am hoping that by the end of the year, which is only a week and a half away now, that the new ASF will be pretty much bug free.

I appreciate all feedback, good and bad, and I hope that if you are one of those who is having difficulty adapating to the new design that you will find that over time things will become easier.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask them in this thread.


----------



## BradK

Looks great! Well done Joe.


----------



## Tink

Yep looks great Joe, well done : )


----------



## satanoperca

Like the new interface but where has the chat room gone?

Cheers


----------



## jimmyizgod

Hi first off new website looks awesome.
The only thing i liked better about the old one was the recently updated threads. i thought the old website was good showing the last 15 or so threads that had been commented in, rather than the last 15 or so comments that had been posted in the threads (if that makes sense)

anyhows nice job


----------



## awg

jimmyizgod said:


> Hi first off new website looks awesome.
> The only thing i liked better about the old one was the recently updated threads. i thought the old website was good showing the last 15 or so threads that had been commented in, rather than the last 15 or so comments that had been posted in the threads (if that makes sense)
> 
> anyhows nice job




Hi all,

I prefer that too.

Is, or will there be a way, for me to configure it to display in the "old-fashioned" manner ?


----------



## Lucky_Country

This is a great improvement and a well presented website.

Thanks for everything...


----------



## matty77

I really like the new look, well done.

Would be really good though if you had a quick reply box!


----------



## Trembling Hand

Joe Blow said:


> Coming early in the new year.




I hope your going to release an Android one as well. More of us than IPhone jockeys.


----------



## Joe Blow

Trembling Hand said:


> I hope your going to release an Android one as well. More of us than IPhone jockeys.




Of course.  The dedicated app from the forum software developer will cover all of the major mobile device operating systems.

Now, if only the designer would wake up and come and fix up the bugs on this new design.


----------



## Joe Blow

satanoperca said:


> Like the new interface but where has the chat room gone?




I need to start a thread about this, but unfortunately probably won't get to it until tomorrow.


----------



## explod

Agree the main front board is insignificant compared to that previous.  I am finding my way but not picking up on news stuff as before.  This needs to be recitified fast or ASF will implode.

On the old one you could look down the board at the last 15 to 20 posts/threads and see what was going on with stocks etc of the day and that is the bread and butter stuff.  We are all here in the first instance only becase of trading.


----------



## Whiskers

Why am I getting that little box with a cross in it on the home page when I first open the site, but when I log in the pic appears properly?


----------



## Joe Blow

Whiskers said:


> Why am I getting that little box with a cross in it on the home page when I first open the site, but when I log in the pic appears properly?




ASF is still a construction zone and will be for a few more days yet as we identify and fix any bugs. I'm hoping to have everything sorted out by Christmas.


----------



## Whiskers

Joe Blow said:


> ASF is still a construction zone and will be for a few more days yet as we identify and fix any bugs. I'm hoping to have everything sorted out by Christmas.




Ok Joe. I thought I might need some extra software or something to display a different type of pic format. We'll see what happens.


----------



## MovieManiac

I thought I had clicked the wrong bookmark link for a second there!

Looks good ;-)


----------



## Trembling Hand

Front page now showing the first Post of each thread


----------



## Joe Blow

Trembling Hand said:


> Front page now showing the first Post of each thread




Still working on it. Unfortunately the designer is working on a number of projects at the same time and, as a result, it has been a slow, frustrating process.

It should be all sorted out soon.


----------



## Garpal Gumnut

Its a much better site , Joe.

All the minor problems will be sorted by IT

gg


----------



## Happy

If quote has to be Italic, so be it, but does it have to be narrow?
Bit hard to read


----------



## Joe Blow

Happy said:


> If quote has to be Italic, so be it, but does it have to be narrow?
> Bit hard to read




Is anyone else finding the quoted sections of posts hard to read?


----------



## Julia

Joe Blow said:


> Is anyone else finding the quoted sections of posts hard to read?



No.  I like it very much, Joe.


----------



## explod

Joe Blow said:


> Is anyone else finding the quoted sections of posts hard to read?




The divisions visually between the threads are hard to define, more often I click the wrong thread and have to go back.  I am unable to find my personal profile, wanted to do an update today, could not.   Lost my buddy lists.

I do not know what was wrong with the old system or what you objectives were for change but the old sitre was very easy to read and navigate.  The light colour of blue is lost and having had commercial art training can say it is a bad colour for definition.

I do not like saying negative things when overall you do such a very good job
but the current site is a disaster at the moment in my view.


----------



## Joe Blow

explod said:


> The divisions visually between the threads are hard to define, more often I click the wrong thread and have to go back.  I am unable to find my personal profile, wanted to do an update today, could not.   Lost my buddy lists.
> 
> I do not know what was wrong with the old system or what you objectives were for change but the old sitre was very easy to read and navigate.  The light colour of blue is lost and having had commercial art training can say it is a bad colour for definition.
> 
> I do not like saying negative things when overall you do such a very good job
> but the current site is a disaster at the moment in my view.




Many thanks for the feedback. The designer is on a Christmas break at the moment but will be back this coming week to deal with any remaining issues. I will mention your feedback to him and see if any changes can be made. However, you may find that the longer you browse ASF with the new design the more you get used to it, so please give it some time.


----------



## nulla nulla

Hi Joe

One small thing I have noticed that makes navigation a little harder than before. The opening pages have the main menu at the top: 
"Home", "Forums", "Blogs", "Shop", "Radio" & "Competition". 
Underneath this is a sub menu which includes (among others) "New Posts" & "QuickLinks". 

If you open "New Posts" the original submenu is replaced with a "New Posts" related sub menu and the ability to go directly to "Quick Links" is gone. You have to navigate back to the main menu to bring up the sub menu with "Quick Links" on it.

Given the purposes of being able to access "Quick Links" from pretty much anywhere in the ASF site, can we change the menu access system so that when "New Posts" is clicked on, it opens a further sub menu, below the sub menu containing "Quick Links"?


----------



## Joe Blow

nulla nulla said:


> Hi Joe
> 
> One small thing I have noticed that makes navigation a little harder than before. The opening pages have the main menu at the top:
> "Home", "Forums", "Blogs", "Shop", "Radio" & "Competition".
> Underneath this is a sub menu which includes (among others) "New Posts" & "QuickLinks".
> 
> If you open "New Posts" the original submenu is replaced with a "New Posts" related sub menu and the ability to go directly to "Quick Links" is gone. You have to navigate back to the main menu to bring up the sub menu with "Quick Links" on it.
> 
> Given the purposes of being able to access "Quick Links" from pretty much anywhere in the ASF site, can we change the menu access system so that when "New Posts" is clicked on, it opens a further sub menu, below the sub menu containing "Quick Links"?




I will raise this issue with the designer in the next couple of days and see what can be done.


----------



## pixel

Joe Blow said:


> I will raise this issue with the designer in the next couple of days and see what can be done.



 While you're at it:
On the main menu, the "New Posts" option is on the Left; when a thread is open, it's in the middle. Which can be confusing. Having the same arrangement of menu options everywhere would make navigation much more user-friendly.


----------



## Calliope

explod said:


> The divisions visually between the threads are hard to define, more often I click the wrong thread and have to go back.  I am unable to find my personal profile, wanted to do an update today, could not.   Lost my buddy lists.
> 
> I do not know what was wrong with the old system or what you objectives were for change but the old sitre was very easy to read and navigate.  The light colour of blue is lost and having had commercial art training can say it is a bad colour for definition.




It's a piece of cake. Some people find it hard to cope with change.


----------



## nunthewiser

Personally i like the layout

i miss the old chatroom setup( new one sucks)
i keep losing old threads when i click on " new posts" and it makes it hard to continue arguing with people as i often forget the thread title to find it in search.

other than that its hunky dory

cheers Joe


----------



## explod

Calliope said:


> It's a piece of cake. Some people find it hard to cope with change.




Rubbish.   The rationale for change and the objectives would help us to critic objectively and to improve in the process.  And as Joe has said it has some way to go yet.  And I am sure any help we can offer would be appreciated

And I have no problems moving around or using the site but aesthetically we have a long way to go.

The green lettering on the old site was much clearer to scan with the eye.

*And*, some people may not understand the process of change is.


----------



## sails

Joe, one thing I am missing on the new version is the notification of the time and date last visited which used to be found on the home page and then would appear on the upper right side of the screen on other pages (together with useful private message information).

When I haven't logged on for more than a day, some of the threads have more than one page of unread posts.  However, the second page and beyond automatically seems to mark all posts as read, so I like to check the time (& date if necessary) I was last logged in and then read back to that time and date.

Other than that, I am getting used to the change in format...


----------



## doogie_goes_off

Sails,
Gotta agree mate. The look and feel changes are nice, but please don't downgrade the functionality Joe or you can kisss goodbye old members. This is my favorite time of year to browse as I'm usually tied to a desk at work, so onward and upward Joe... with baggage, it's the only way to travel. Keep up the good work @ ASF.


----------



## Naked shorts

I would like to suggest adding a like button for posts


----------



## Buckfont

Hi there Joe, and a Happy New Year to you and all your colleagues.

On the Home page, `recently updated threads,` every thread has the starters name, but not the persons name that last posted. Short of remembering the no. of replies, I find I revisit the post only to reread the same post.

Is it possible to have the name of the last poster on each thread on the home page.

I find it not that straightforward. Cheers Bf.


----------



## Joe Blow

sails said:


> Joe, one thing I am missing on the new version is the notification of the time and date last visited which used to be found on the home page and then would appear on the upper right side of the screen on other pages (together with useful private message information).




I've submitted this request to the designer and hopefully something can be done.



Naked shorts said:


> I would like to suggest adding a like button for posts




There is a "Share with Facebook" link on each post that pretty much serves the same purpose. 



Buckfont said:


> Hi there Joe, and a Happy New Year to you and all your colleagues.




Same to you. 



Buckfont said:


> On the Home page, `recently updated threads,` every thread has the starters name, but not the persons name that last posted. Short of remembering the no. of replies, I find I revisit the post only to reread the same post.
> 
> Is it possible to have the name of the last poster on each thread on the home page.
> 
> I find it not that straightforward. Cheers Bf.




Have also submitted this request to the designer. Will see what can be done.

Things are going a little slow right now because of the Christmas break but I am hopeful that we will have everything sorted out by new year or thereabouts. Fingers crossed.


----------



## Naked shorts

Joe Blow said:


> There is a "Share with Facebook" link on each post that pretty much serves the same purpose.




I meant so that others on this website can see posts I like, not everyone here is my facebook friend.

The new design looks good anyhow


----------



## sails

Joe, I am wondering why there is a message in the bottom left of my screen that says: 
"*Connecting to chat.aussiestockforums.com*" - this keeps flashing across about every 2-3 seconds and is quite annoying.  

Is there anyway to turn this off?  Thanks...


----------



## Joe Blow

sails said:


> Joe, I am wondering why there is a message in the bottom left of my screen that says:
> "*Connecting to chat.aussiestockforums.com*" - this keeps flashing across about every 2-3 seconds and is quite annoying.
> 
> Is there anyway to turn this off?  Thanks...




I have temporarily disabled the footer chat and will re-enable it after new year. Let me know if you continue to get the message you mentioned.


----------



## doogie_goes_off

Hi Joe,

A quick comment on the new style, I am finding the array of blues quite distracting especially the lack of contrast, perhaps you could just stick to 3 blues in in the text.

Also, I wouls stick with a plain white for the login and search boxes.

Hope you think about these, but up to you to change, after all it's your site


----------



## sails

Joe Blow said:


> I have temporarily disabled the footer chat and will re-enable it after new year. Let me know if you continue to get the message you mentioned.




Thanks Joe - it's gone for now.  Will let you know if it re-appears in the new year...


----------



## sails

doogie_goes_off said:


> Hi Joe,
> 
> A quick comment on the new style, I am finding the array of blues quite distracting especially the lack of contrast, perhaps you could just stick to 3 blues in in the text.
> 
> Also, I wouls stick with a plain white for the login and search boxes.
> 
> Hope you think about these, but up to you to change, after all it's your site




Doogie, it can take the brain a little time to adjust to a new format.  I have a bit of trouble whenever various forums change colours and other formats but find that, after a couple of weeks, I don't even think about it any more.  Initially, I didn't like the green on blue on Joe's last change, but became used to it in the end, I didn't initially like all the blue either.  But the colours are fine for me now and really wouldn't like to see it being changed again so soon!

As an example, the last pair of multifocal lense glasses gave me awful trouble with headaches.  I'd had multifocal lenses before, but had to change brands as the other had been discontinued.  Prescription was the same as previous pair.  Returned to the optometrist to have them checked and the prescription was correct.  She suggested giving it at least three weeks.  Taking glasses off for a while when the headaches got too bad.  And she was right, after persevering for about three weeks and trying to ignore the problems as much as possible, they were fine.  

That taught me to give things time.  By not focusing on the areas of change we find difficult, it will speed up the brain's ability to accept those changes.


----------



## awg

Buckfont said:


> Hi there Joe, and a Happy New Year to you and all your colleagues.
> 
> On the Home page, `recently updated threads,` every thread has the starters name, but not the persons name that last posted. Short of remembering the no. of replies, I find I revisit the post only to reread the same post.
> 
> Is it possible to have the name of the last poster on each thread on the home page.
> 
> I find it not that straightforward. Cheers Bf.




Agree with above

This has beeen mentioned and is on yout list of fixes hopefully, but I think it is critical to get rid of the general chat "pollution" on the main page.

The reason I say this is that, under the new format, less new posts are visible anyway.

As Nioka ( I think) campaigned, this is a stock forum, and many want to quickly check NEW STOCK chat.

I do personally "contribute" to general chat, but its a distraction really.

Thanks for all your work Joe, I enjoy this forum greatly.

Seasons greetings to all contributors

Go LYC


----------



## Julia

Joe, in the old format Private Messages was clearly highlighted if there was a PM there.  It doesn't seem to be the same now.  If members had not elected to receive an email when there was a PM waiting, I doubt they'd be aware of that.

This is reasonably important as most people do want to know if they have a PM there.


----------



## Joe Blow

Julia said:


> Joe, in the old format Private Messages was clearly highlighted if there was a PM there.  It doesn't seem to be the same now.  If members had not elected to receive an email when there was a PM waiting, I doubt they'd be aware of that.
> 
> This is reasonably important as most people do want to know if they have a PM there.




Hi Julia, it's still highlighted, it's just in a different place. Right at the top of the page you will notice where it says "Notifications". When there is a PM waiting, or (for those that have the option enabled) a profile message or a friend request, a number will appear to the right of "Notifications" indicating how many new notifcations you have.

Just click on "Notifications" and a drop down menu will appear and you can then easily enter your PM inbox. The link to private messages in the "Quick Links" menu is just for added convenience.


----------



## Julia

Yes, I know, Joe, but imo the notification is something you have to look for.
It simply doesn't stand out as it used to.


----------



## nunthewiser

i actually find the notification notifier easier to spot to notify me of PM,s these days... it is higlighted rather well compared to before where i used to miss them constantly.

different strokes for different folks it seems

i do not use email notifiers


----------



## Slipperz

nunthewiser said:


> i actually find the notification notifier easier to spot to notify me of PM,s these days... it is higlighted rather well compared to before where i used to miss them constantly.
> 
> different strokes for different folks it seems
> 
> i do not use email notifiers




I don't get many messages ...maybe I'm not as good as stirring people up us you are :


----------



## nunthewiser

Slipperz said:


> I don't get many messages ...maybe I'm not as good as stirring people up us you are :




 mine are either abusive or from seedy characters trying to chat me up.

i do get the odd ones from the mods and Joe but i try and ignore them as they usually infractions ....

And no nomore4,s i will not wear that saucy red gstring when i come up to the NT for fireworks week


----------



## tech/a

Really Really Really like the Chart up load facility.


----------



## Joe Blow

Many thanks to all for the continued feedback, both positive and negative. Small changes are occuring regularly as a result and I am still in the process of investigating several of the issues raised. Work on the new design in an ongoing process.

To those who may not be aware, due to the recent software upgrade ASF now has quite a sophisticated Groups area. If you are someone who has wanted to create a trader's group in your local area, a group based around a particular form of analysis (e.g. TA, FA, EW etc.) or a group based around a popular product (e.g. Metastock) you are now invited to do so. Please note that the usual forum rules apply in this area.

The usual link to the Groups area can be found in the "Community" dropdown menu in the navigation bar below the tabs.

For those interested, the Groups FAQ can be found here: https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/faq.php?faq=vb3_user_profile#faq_vb3_social_groups


----------



## sails

Joe, thanks for displaying the last visit time...


----------



## Joe Blow

sails said:


> Joe, thanks for displaying the last visit time...




No problem.


----------



## Solly

Joe, I notice this morning that the tweets they are 'a tweeting'


----------



## sails

Joe, I can't work out what the red and blue/grey envelopes mean.  Some are open, some are closed and it doesn't seem to make any difference if I have opened the thread.

My apologies if I have missed something obvious here...


----------



## Lone Wolf

sails said:


> Joe, I can't work out what the red and blue/grey envelopes mean.  Some are open, some are closed and it doesn't seem to make any difference if I have opened the thread.
> 
> My apologies if I have missed something obvious here...




The icon legend is at the bottom of the page on most pages. Don't worry, I missed it too until I went looking for it after you posted this. It's not at the bottom of the "new posts" page or search results page. 

If you mouse over the icon in the legend it says hot threads have more than 50 replies or 500 views.


----------



## sails

Lone Wolf said:


> The icon legend is at the bottom of the page on most pages. Don't worry, I missed it too until I went looking for it after you posted this. It's not at the bottom of the "new posts" page or search results page.
> 
> If you mouse over the icon in the legend it says hot threads have more than 50 replies or 500 views.
> 
> View attachment 40692




Thanks Lone Wolf... 

I've tried to work it out for a while and couldn't find a legend.  But then I usually click on the "new posts" link and had looked on that page - so that explains why I couldn't find it.

But that said, the open and closed envelopes still don't seem to correspond with threads I have or haven't read.


----------



## Lone Wolf

sails said:


> But that said, the open and closed envelopes still don't seem to correspond with threads I have or haven't read.




Perhaps Joe can confirm. But rather than simply read or unread, it seems that the system is informing you of any "recent" unread posts. If you ignore the thread long enough it gets marked as read whether you read them or not. Then if a new post is made it marks it as unread again.


----------



## sails

The screen shot below shows all with open envelopes and yet I have never read the SEA thread...


----------



## Lone Wolf

sails said:


> The screen shot below shows all with open envelopes and yet I have never read the SEA thread...





I believe you should get an open envelope whenever a thread contains new unread posts. You may never have read the SEA thread before, but someone recently posted in it and you haven't read it yet. So you get a new unread post envelope.


----------



## Joe Blow

sails said:


> Joe, I can't work out what the red and blue/grey envelopes mean.  Some are open, some are closed and it doesn't seem to make any difference if I have opened the thread.




An open envelope simply means that the thread contains new posts that you haven't read. It doesn't matter whether or not you have ever opened the thread before. A closed envelope means that you have read all posts in that thread.



Lone Wolf said:


> If you mouse over the icon in the legend it says hot threads have more than 50 replies or 500 views.




Yes, the red envelopes mean the thread is a "hot" thread and has received more than 50 replies or 500 views. Although these values can be altered and I'm beginning to think that given the size of ASF it should probably be 100 replies or 1000 views.



Lone Wolf said:


> Perhaps Joe can confirm. But rather than simply read or unread, it seems that the system is informing you of any "recent" unread posts. If you ignore the thread long enough it gets marked as read whether you read them or not. Then if a new post is made it marks it as unread again.




Yes, this is basically how it works. You can also manually mark all forums as having been "read" by clicking the "Mark Forums Read" link.



sails said:


> The screen shot below shows all with open envelopes and yet I have never read the SEA thread...




This just means that the SEA thread contains posts that you haven't yet read. 



Lone Wolf said:


> I believe you should get an open envelope whenever a thread contains new unread posts. You may never have read the SEA thread before, but someone recently posted in it and you haven't read it yet. So you get a new unread post envelope.




Yes, this is correct.

Please let me know if anyone has any further questions.


----------



## sails

Thanks for the help Joe and Lone Wolf...

I have since found that the envelope only closes to signify a read thread when clicking on the a link such as "new Posts" and doesn't work when clicking the "back" button on the browser.

In the previous version, I think the little yellow "unread posts" icon would change even when clicking the "back" button.  Perhaps it was activated at the time of opening the thread.

So, that is why I was questioning why the threads in the screen shot I posted showed ALL opened envelopes even though I had read some and not others. I was using the "back" button and now realise that's why none of the envelopes had changed.

All sorted now...


----------



## Adam A

Gday all
There are certain posters i like and certain posters i dont wish to hear from 
Is there an ignore button and also how can i highlight when my favorite posters have posted
Thanks in advance


----------



## sails

Adam A said:


> Gday all
> There are certain posters i like and certain posters i dont wish to hear from
> Is there an ignore button and also how can i highlight when my favorite posters have posted
> Thanks in advance




If you click on "settings" found near the top right hand corner of the page, then scroll down that page a bit, you should find the "ignore" link on the left hand side. 

There is also a "friends and contacts" link but not sure if you are notified should someone in your list post.  Hopefully someone else can help you with more information on that one.


----------



## Whiskers

Buckfont said:


> Is it possible to have the name of the last poster on each thread on the home page.
> 
> I find it not that straightforward. Cheers Bf.




Yep, I like the last poster noted as well Joe, thanks.



doogie_goes_off said:


> Hi Joe,
> 
> A quick comment on the new style, I am finding the array of blues quite distracting especially the lack of contrast, perhaps you could just stick to 3 blues in in the text.




Also on the home page, could the thread titles be highlighted more with a darker colour and bolded more or a tad bigger font.

Maybe it's just my colour vision weaknesses, but the light blue in particular is hard for me to pickup, particularly if they are in heading that ought to be more prominent.


----------



## Logique

That's my comment also. I'm struggling with all this *blue* on the screen.

Joe this new version is clearly more powerful and versatile, but I find myself yearning for the white screen backgrounds of the previous one.


----------



## Buckfont

Joe, I`ve noticed that on the home page the are 5 posts on `The future of Aust Property.`, by Quincy, then robots, vicki, robots then greebly. as of 2.58pm

Seems a waste of space when  the last post is important.

That would then give posts to other threads the chance to be read.

Does that make sense? Bf


----------



## Wysiwyg

Logique said:


> That's my comment also. I'm struggling with all this *blue* on the screen.
> 
> Joe this new version is clearly more powerful and versatile, but I find myself yearning for the white screen backgrounds of the previous one.



 After many years screen time, I find brightness strains the eyes after awhile. On all my charts I uses light to medium greys and have personally experienced less eye strain than with the bright, reflective white background.

I use New Posts and Today's Posts nowadays on ASF to find material of interest.


----------



## Joe Blow

Whiskers said:


> Also on the home page, could the thread titles be highlighted more with a darker colour and bolded more or a tad bigger font.
> 
> Maybe it's just my colour vision weaknesses, but the light blue in particular is hard for me to pickup, particularly if they are in heading that ought to be more prominent.






Logique said:


> That's my comment also. I'm struggling with all this *blue* on the screen.
> 
> Joe this new version is clearly more powerful and versatile, but I find myself yearning for the white screen backgrounds of the previous one.




I tried to make this new design easy on the eyes - not too bright and not too much contrast. Unfortunately, issues of colour are ultimately a matter of personal preference and this kind of feedback is the hardest to make decisions about because what one person dislikes, another may like. What one person finds hard on the eyes another may find clear and easy to read.

I would be very interested in the views of other ASF members on what aspects of the current colour scheme they like/do not like, as once I can detect some kind of consensus or general agreement it's much easier to decide what changes to make.



Buckfont said:


> Joe, I`ve noticed that on the home page the are 5 posts on `The future of Aust Property.`, by Quincy, then robots, vicki, robots then greebly. as of 2.58pm
> 
> Seems a waste of space when  the last post is important.
> 
> That would then give posts to other threads the chance to be read.
> 
> Does that make sense? Bf




Yes, to be honest I'm not entirely happy with that aspect of the front page either but at the moment I am somewhat limited by the code that already exists for each module on the front page. I am currently looking at getting some additional custom coding work done in an attempt to improve that section of the front page. It is just a matter of tracking down someone who knows this forum software intimately and can code what I require.

Many thanks to all for the continued feedback. It is all food for thought and very useful in helping me make decisions about any changes to the current design.


----------



## Happy

Joe Blow said:


> ...
> Many thanks to all for the continued feedback. It is all food for thought and very useful in helping me make decisions about any changes to the current design.
> ...




Glad you appreciate my comments (  )

But you did not change this "italic quote" thing.

I have 26" screen but "il" or "ll" letters next to each ohter almost blurr themselves into blob not only in quote insert window, but also on reply area, especially that letters are not much darker than the background.

Human mind is great thing and can read with some crap in it even if letters are misplaced, but it is not as pleasurable as it could be.


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## Joe Blow

Happy said:


> Glad you appreciate my comments (  )
> 
> But you did not change this "italic quote" thing.
> 
> I have 26" screen but "il" or "ll" letters next to each ohter almost blurr themselves into blob not only in quote insert window, but also on reply area, especially that letters are not much darker than the background.




I would be interested in knowing if this is an issue for anyone else. Are there others who prefer the italicised text in quotes in posts?

I'm not yet convinced that this is something that needs to be changed so I would be grateful for any additional feedback on the issue.


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## Julia

Joe, I really like the italics.


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## ParleVouFrancois

It may be just your screen, I'm on a 15 inch laptop screen and the quotes are clear as day.


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## Whiskers

Joe just a thought on colours and colour blindness.



> There are two major types of color blindness: those who have difficulty distinguishing between red and green, and those who have difficulty distinguishing between blue and yellow.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness




It seems the shades of blue may be a pretty common problem... if I'm reading this right and... well, maybe I should do a colour blindness test before I comment further!


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## Logique

Joe Blow said:


> I would be interested in knowing if this is an issue for anyone else. Are there others who prefer *the italicised text in quotes in posts*?
> 
> I'm not yet convinced that this is something that needs to be changed so I would be grateful for any additional feedback on the issue.



Joe I think it would depend a lot on the monitor size people are using. I have a 19" monitor, but any smaller and I would have problems reading the italics. But italics in quotes has a certain literary elegance that I like, and avoids unintentional plagiarism. Cheers, Logique


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## WaveSurfer

Nice job on the site Joe. She looks very snazzy


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## Garpal Gumnut

For some reason, on my iPad, i get a bar going across the middle of the "New Posts" page.

Anyone else have this problem?

It has a little men at work sign at the right side of the bar. 

gg


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## Whiskers

Logique said:


> Joe I think it would depend a lot on the monitor size people are using. I have a 19" monitor, but any smaller and I would have problems reading the italics. But italics in quotes has a certain literary elegance that I like, and avoids unintentional plagiarism. Cheers, Logique




Have you tried a different screen resolution or display size? I am using my max 1,600 x 1,200 resolution but have the 'Display' set at 125% for best viewing for me... except for all those shades of blue... I think they are blue... they look like blue... I recall I was told as a kid I had mild colour blindness and a quick online test suggests it's Red, Green.  

PS: The darker blues are good for me, such as this page layout, although the white background woud be a better contrast and probably a bit less eye strain. Checking the home page again, the main issue for me is the black fonts stand out way above the light blue and green headings.


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## nulla nulla

Hi Joe

In the "Quick Links" "Subscribed Threads" list, is it possible to squeeze in the *"Number of Posts "Views" *information displayed in the "New Posts" and "Todays Posts" lists?

regards 

nulla


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## jimmyizgod

Garpal Gumnut said:


> For some reason, on my iPad, i get a bar going across the middle of the "New Posts" page.
> 
> Anyone else have this problem?
> 
> It has a little men at work sign at the right side of the bar.
> 
> gg




yes i get the same. its the chat bar that i dont think is compatable with the ipad. might use flash or something similar


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## jimmyizgod

jimmyizgod said:


> Hi first off new website looks awesome.
> The only thing i liked better about the old one was the recently updated threads. i thought the old website was good showing the last 15 or so threads that had been commented in, rather than the last 15 or so comments that had been posted in the threads (if that makes sense)
> 
> anyhows nice job






awg said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I prefer that too.
> 
> Is, or will there be a way, for me to configure it to display in the "old-fashioned" manner ?




Hi Joe, noticed that the last updated section switched back to recent posts instead of recent changed threads - is this deliberate?


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## Joe Blow

nulla nulla said:


> In the "Quick Links" "Subscribed Threads" list, is it possible to squeeze in the *"Number of Posts "Views" *information displayed in the "New Posts" and "Todays Posts" lists?




Will look into this and see if it's posible.



jimmyizgod said:


> Hi Joe, noticed that the last updated section switched back to recent posts instead of recent changed threads - is this deliberate?




Yes, I changed it back as I wasn't happy with the Recently Updated Threads widget because I wasn't able to get it to show a preview of the last post in the thread rather than the first. I am not satisfied with the Recent Posts widget either and am looking to get a custom solution coded but it may be a little while coming.


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## Julia

Hi Joe

In the old format I'm pretty sure on the calendar the actual day was highlighted.
Is it possible to have this back on the current calendar?


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## Joe Blow

Julia said:


> Hi Joe
> 
> In the old format I'm pretty sure on the calendar the actual day was highlighted.
> Is it possible to have this back on the current calendar?




Hi Julia, will look into this and let you know.


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## Captain_Chaza

Joe Blow said:


> Hi Julia, will look into this and let you know.




In the Good Old Days I could scroll down  through the day's recent/ ollder posts 

Am I  missing out on something?l

Seems to me like Two steps forward and Four steps Backward IMHO
Cheers!


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## Joe Blow

Captain_Chaza said:


> In the Good Old Days I could scroll down  through the day's recent/ ollder posts
> 
> Am I  missing out on something?




Captain Chaza, just click on the "New Posts" link in the navigation bar above. 

Alternatively, click on the "Quick Links" drop down menu above and select "Today's Posts" from the options.

"New Posts" will give you a list of all the threads that have been updated since your last login, while "Today's Posts" will give you all the threads that have had posts added in the last 24 hours.

Hope that helps.


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## Logique

Whiskers said:


> Have you tried a different screen resolution or display size? I am using my max 1,600 x 1,200 resolution but have the 'Display' set at 125% for best viewing for me...



Hi Whiskers, yes set to max resolution 1280 x 1024 pixel. Display at 100% is usually fine, but I do need to zoom in to 125%, sometimes 150%, when reading the italics in quotes.

Changing the subject, could use your opinion over on the _Bicycle Helmets Kill_ thread, regarding a way forward, following GG's slight contretemps:  https://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14713&page=8


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## Happy

Logique said:


> Hi Whiskers, yes set to max resolution 1280 x 1024 pixel. Display at 100% is usually fine, but I do need to zoom in to 125%, *sometimes 150%, when reading the italics in quotes.*....




I thought I was alone with *italics * difficulties.

It is OK to fiddle with zoom in and out, but for me it is pain in butt, never had to do that before and don't have to do that with any other site, so room for improvement here for sure.


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## Joe Blow

Julia said:


> Hi Joe
> 
> In the old format I'm pretty sure on the calendar the actual day was highlighted.
> Is it possible to have this back on the current calendar?




Hi Julia, my apologies for the delay in getting back to you regarding this.

I have looked into it and was hoping that it was going to be just a software setting that needed to be altered. Unfortunately it didn't end up being that simple and will require some coding, so it has been prioritised on my list of things to do and I will get to it as soon as I can.


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## nulla nulla

nulla nulla said:


> Hi Joe
> 
> In the "Quick Links" *"Subscribed Threads"* list, is it possible to squeeze in the *"Number of Posts "Views" *information displayed in the "New Posts" and "Todays Posts" lists?
> 
> regards
> 
> nulla






Joe Blow said:


> Will look into this and see if it's posible.




Hi Joe

Any update on the possibility of including this information in the Subscribed Threads list?

regards

nulla


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## Joe Blow

nulla nulla said:


> Hi Joe
> 
> Any update on the possibility of including this information in the Subscribed Threads list?
> 
> regards
> 
> nulla




I haven't heard back from the designer on this yet. Now that the basic design has been finished they're working on other projects and there are a bunch of modifications/improvements that I've requested that they haven't even had time to look at yet. 

Will let you know when I hear more.


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## barney

Happy said:


> *I thought I was alone with italics  difficulties.
> 
> It is OK to fiddle with zoom in and out, but for me it is pain in butt, never had to do that before and don't have to do that with any other site, so room for improvement here for sure*[/B]





Have to agree with you "Happy" ............ the italics are difficult to read when "quoting" previous posts ..... Maybe we are just getting old and the eye sight is a bit dodgier than it used to be 

ps ... Bolded your post up and it reads a bit better when re-posting  ..... might have to do that in future !!


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## Buckfont

Hi there Joe, 

Don`t know if others have this problem, but have found that after I`ve logged on and don`t revisit the site for a while I am no longer logged on. Is there a time limit to the `log on` period? It`s just a bit of a pain.

Thanks Bf


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## sails

barney said:


> Have to agree with you "Happy" ............ the italics are difficult to read when "quoting" previous posts ..... Maybe we are just getting old and the eye sight is a bit dodgier than it used to be
> 
> ps ... Bolded your post up and it reads a bit better when re-posting  ..... might have to do that in future !!




Barney, I thought it wasn't a problem either until one of my PCs with XP went to PC heaven recently and then replaced it with a new Win7 tower (keyboard, monitor, etc all the same as previously).  I had a look at ASF on it and found the italics were very difficult to read.  So I now mainly log into ASF on the lap top (XP) and where the italics are OK to read.

So whether it's to do with Win7 or a combination of Win7 & a large monitor, I'm not sure, but saw the difficulties that others have mentioned.


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## Whiskers

Joe, just another little detail that will help make navigating a bit easier for those like me who tend to have a reflex action to where a button is (or usually is) rather than litterally reading them every time.

Could we have the same name button, such as 'New Posts' in the same position on both pages as Quick Links button is?

Save me going damn, wrong button again, when I get New Events instead of New Posts.


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## Slipperz

Just FYI Joe.

 I just switched back to the latest version of firefox from google chrome which was crashing on me left right and centre.

I find the pages are not rendering properly in firefox 

The site is still usable but not perfect in firefox for me. Running windows 7.


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## Joe Blow

Buckfont said:


> Hi there Joe,
> 
> Don`t know if others have this problem, but have found that after I`ve logged on and don`t revisit the site for a while I am no longer logged on. Is there a time limit to the `log on` period? It`s just a bit of a pain.




Hi BF, if you don't interact with the forums for 30 minutes your session expires. If you check the "Remember Me" box when you login you will remain logged in until you manually log out.



Whiskers said:


> Joe, just another little detail that will help make navigating a bit easier for those like me who tend to have a reflex action to where a button is (or usually is) rather than litterally reading them every time.
> 
> Could we have the same name button, such as 'New Posts' in the same position on both pages as Quick Links button is?
> 
> Save me going damn, wrong button again, when I get New Events instead of New Posts.




This shouldn't be too difficult. Will get onto this right away.



Slipperz said:


> Just FYI Joe.
> 
> I just switched back to the latest version of firefox from google chrome which was crashing on me left right and centre.
> 
> I find the pages are not rendering properly in firefox
> 
> The site is still usable but not perfect in firefox for me. Running windows 7.




Hmmmmmm. That's strange because I'm also running Firefox 3.6.13 with Windows 7 and am not experiencing the issue that you mention. I wonder if a Firefox add-on could be causing the problem? Do you have any add-on's installed? If so, try uninstalling or disabling them and then see how things go.


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## Captain_Chaza

Hi Joe 
Thanks for your help with my query and the solution of using the Navigation Bar
Seems very simple and it was

Once  you can read it
I have read before many complaints with your NEW  colour schemes and add my discomfort

It certainly does not suit "Older Eyes"

My suggestion is to Use darker shades of blue /green 
Or 
Change the Background colour to Black

Those light colours only work well with a Black background

Cheers


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## Captain_Chaza

Hi again Joe

I hope it is permitted to be honest here?

I would just like to add that I would sack your colour co-ordinator immediately for total incompetence

If a newspaper printed in those colours they would go broke in only a matter of weeks

I think you should attend to this disaster as a matter of urgency!
BOLD is also another technique often used in newspaper print

Yours faithfully
Captain Chaza


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## Whiskers

Joe, another little detail... I hadn't noticed this before, but looks like the "Last Post" column needs widening a tad... or is it my pc.


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## Joe Blow

Captain_Chaza said:


> Hi again Joe
> 
> I hope it is permitted to be honest here?
> 
> I would just like to add that I would sack your colour co-ordinator immediately for total incompetence
> 
> If a newspaper printed in those colours they would go broke in only a matter of weeks
> 
> I think you should attend to this disaster as a matter of urgency!
> BOLD is also another technique often used in newspaper print
> 
> Yours faithfully
> Captain Chaza




Many thanks for the feedback Captain_Chaza. I am considering changing a couple of the colours but have not made any definite decisions yet. Is there any colour combination in particular that you find hard to read?



Whiskers said:


> Joe, another little detail... I hadn't noticed this before, but looks like the "Last Post" column needs widening a tad... or is it my pc.




Hi Whiskers, this is definitely on the to-do list and will be fixed as soon as the designer manages to get around to working on ASF again. They keep telling me how swamped with work they are so it may take a little time for them to get to it.


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## MovieManiac

On the old forum, when searching in a particular forum - there used to be a check box to search titles only. Is this coming back?


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## Joe Blow

MovieManiac said:


> On the old forum, when searching in a particular forum - there used to be a check box to search titles only. Is this coming back?




This has now been put on the "to-do" list.


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## Julia

Joe, can the software be tweaked somehow so that if a member has a PM waiting he/she automatically gets that little notification box flashing up on the screen, rather than them having to specifically tick the box requesting this.

I'm repeatedly getting replies to PM's where the member has not seen there is a message there for some days, so obviously quite a few people are not noticing that small "Notification" link at the top of the page.  I know that I never look at that part of the screen myself.

Members:  have a look at the Notification header:  you may have a PM about which you are unaware.


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## Joe Blow

Julia said:


> Joe, can the software be tweaked somehow so that if a member has a PM waiting he/she automatically gets that little notification box flashing up on the screen, rather than them having to specifically tick the box requesting this.
> 
> I'm repeatedly getting replies to PM's where the member has not seen there is a message there for some days, so obviously quite a few people are not noticing that small "Notification" link at the top of the page.  I know that I never look at that part of the screen myself.
> 
> Members:  have a look at the Notification header:  you may have a PM about which you are unaware.




Hi Julia, unfortunately this change cannot be made retrospectively, only for those registering at ASF from this point on. However, I have gone ahead and made this change for those who register at ASF from today onwards. It can, of course, be turned off in the "General Settings" section of their user settings should these members wish to receive notifications by another method.

For those ASF members who are already registered I can only suggest the following:


Please try and remember to check the "Notifications" section at the top of the page for PM (and other) notifications regularly.
If you a prone to missing your PM notifications, please consider changing your notification options by visiting the "Messaging & Notification" section of your "General Settings". You can then choose to receive notifications by email or by a pop-up notification box.


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## Julia

Thanks, Joe.


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## Logique

Joe for some reason the header menu (Log out..Settings...New Posts..FAQ...etc) is resolving up and down the left side of the pages in my browser (IE), instead of previously, and preferred, across the top. It just started doing it yesterday.


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## Joe Blow

Logique said:


> Joe for some reason the header menu (Log out..Settings...New Posts..FAQ...etc) is resolving up and down the left side of the pages in my browser (IE), instead of previously, and preferred, across the top. It just started doing it yesterday.




Is this still happening, or is anyone else experiencing a similar issue? Everything seems fine from my end.


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## Logique

Looks like its client-side Joe. I'll check my browser settings.


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## Slipperz

Hi Joe. Could we have a  drilling rig or derrick emoticon  Maybe a nice gush of oil out the top of a rig... being the eternal optimist that I am I could really use one in a few of my posts


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## Joe Blow

Slipperz said:


> Hi Joe. Could we have a  drilling rig or derrick emoticon  Maybe a nice gush of oil out the top of a rig... being the eternal optimist that I am I could really use one in a few of my posts




Have spent some time looking for something like this but have been unable to find it.

If you track one down, let me know and I'll add it.


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## Logique

Logique said:


> Looks like its client-side Joe. I'll check my browser settings.



Now fixed Joe, menu header displaying across the page as before.


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## Logique

ASF is back up here Joe, just got the email from you. Such a massively influential site for us traders and investors, naked without it.
Cheers, L.


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## Joe Blow

Logique said:


> ASF is back up here Joe, just got the email from you. Such a massively influential site for us traders and investors, naked without it.
> Cheers, L.




I cannot tell you how embarrassed and disappointed I am that the forums were down for most of today. 

Normally I am monitoring the website most of the day but today I wasn't, and today of all days ASF goes down! Unbelievable. 

My sincere apologies to all for the inconvenience. 

In almost seven years of operation this is the first time anything like this has happened... so hopefully it won't happen again for another seven years!


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## sails

Good to see it all fixed again, Joe.  I sent you an email in case it was ISP issues again - no need to reply to that email and nice to know it wasn't bigpond's fault again...


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## mr. jeff

Joe Blow said:


> I cannot tell you how embarrassed and disappointed I am that the forums were down for most of today.
> 
> Normally I am monitoring the website most of the day but today I wasn't, and today of all days ASF goes down! Unbelievable.
> 
> My sincere apologies to all for the inconvenience.
> 
> In almost seven years of operation this is the first time anything like this has happened... so hopefully it won't happen again for another seven years!




ASF had the 7 year itch and took a day to scratch it, leaving us all in the dark.

good its back!

I wonder what it got up to...


----------

