New look to the board

spectragod · Post by **spectragod** » Tue May 29, 2007 1:48 am

WOW, looks pretty good, it also looks as though it will be like going from RSS to CPS

. Time will make this new look and features helpful.

Thanks to all who helped make this change,

SG

txshooter · Post by **txshooter** » Tue May 29, 2007 5:10 am

I second that. WHile the new look will take some getting used to, I think it will be better in the long run. Another thanks to those who helped make the change. Graphically things look much better.

Post by **alex** » Tue May 29, 2007 5:43 am

For people who really hate change - you can go back to the old "subsilver" look, but you know - I really didn't like the white on blue when I first set it up, but it's really grown on me.

Some of the logic as well - for example I discovered last night that if your reading a thread, and hit the PM button - it actually copies the users post in to the PM that you clicked the IM from...

Just some of that logic is great.

Regardless, I'm sure there will be some stuff that will continue to be a work in progress, but glad to see at least two people like it so far

-Alex

MT2000 man · Post by **MT2000 man** » Tue May 29, 2007 6:47 am

I third that. I love the new board, and wanted to take the time and thank everyone who made the Batboards even better !

Mike

bulletproof-791 · Post by **bulletproof-791** » Tue May 29, 2007 6:50 am

nice job.......good going crew

d119 · Post by **d119** » Tue May 29, 2007 7:46 am

The new look to the board is most excellent, kudos to the group that spent most of their holiday weekend working on it!

I will say that I eagerly anticipate the return of BatBlack as it's awful bright to look at, but I am confident it will return.

Good work!

Bruce1807 · Post by **Bruce1807** » Tue May 29, 2007 8:03 am

Took me while to get used to it but now its great.
Well done

fogster · Post by **fogster** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:16 am

I never knew there was anything but SubSilver on the old one. phpBB3 has a really spiffy new look, and I'm actually quite fond of the current state of the logo here.

The only problem I've noticed so far is that the old setup permitted < img > tags, whereas the new one uses BBCode [ img ], which breaks images posted the old way. Not that big of a deal, though.

Jim2121 · Post by **Jim2121** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:24 am

Nice work! Well Done... Jim

PS: Trying out the subsilver look ...
My hats off to alex and the crew that did the change...good job !!!

Batwings21 · Post by **Batwings21** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:31 am

Definite improvement, thanks to all who spent there time working in it.

WA3VJB · Post by **WA3VJB** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:35 am

Have picked around for five minutes and I'm already used to it, liked the look right away.
Thanks to Admin team.
Have you slapped an NLN number on the upgrade ?

phrawg · Post by **phrawg** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:55 am

I fifth, sixth, seventh (whatever) the vote. Looks good guys ! Like any new thing
I will have to relearn some almost automatic mouse moves, but time will deal with that.
Great job on getting it running that quickly. I didn't even have time to go into the
Batboard withdrawal syndrome

Thanks again, Phrawg

DPL · Post by **DPL** » Tue May 29, 2007 10:03 am

Me likes, too. Although, I'm on subSilver2 for now.

I'm glad those slacktacular folks over at phpbb finally got this version out (I know, it's free, don't complain, but they said they would have it out, like, 2 years ago). PHPBB2 was really getting old, tired, and had more bugs than an ant farm.

Max-trac · Post by **Max-trac** » Tue May 29, 2007 10:13 am

While you are working on BatBlack, can you look into having the color change on topics that we have viewed previously?
This was hit-and-miss on the previous Batblack (they would turn yellow,,,.. sometimes).
I REALLY like that feature!!! It makes topics I have read before stand out!

I really appreciate all the hard work keeping the board going, looks great!
....Keith

Post by **alex** » Tue May 29, 2007 10:47 am

Max-trac wrote:While you are working on BatBlack, can you look into having the color change on topics that we have viewed previously?
This was hit-and-miss on the previous Batblack (they would turn yellow,,,.. sometimes).
I REALLY like that feature!!! It makes topics I have read before stand out!

I really appreciate all the hard work keeping the board going, looks great!
....Keith

I merged your topic with this one, since most people seem to be posting to this one, and you may not be the only one with the concern. (see! used a new feature already!)

The icon on the left of the topic should change in color or look different - depending on which template you are using, I know pro silver's are red when you haven't read something, and are the normal blue/gray when you have already seen the topic.

You can also use http://batboard.batlabs.com/search.php? ... d=newposts to show you a listing of all new threads that have activity since you last visited (this is based on session, so if you close your browser and re-open it, log out/log in, it'll change that view). This will help quicker surf the board.

Additionally - I know people don't like the rules at the top of the screen taking up a lot of real estate. We are working on fixing this to some extent, and you will see that change as soon as a work around is achieved.

Still a lot of work to do just to get the information over, so expect to see the information here before some of the "bugs" are worked out.

-Alex

JAYMZ · Post by **JAYMZ** » Tue May 29, 2007 12:41 pm

Looks great guys!!

Nice to see things nice and shiny new!

oh2glg · Post by **oh2glg** » Tue May 29, 2007 2:34 pm

I'd like to contribute my 2 cents for this thread as well. I might be amongst those who hate big changes. Although new outlook and features are always good if there's something real to achieve.

The new look is pretty nice.. But few things bug me.

Is it really necessary that the "Forum rules" appear on top part of EVERY page? It's annoying when it takes room from the top. Unnecessary page down scrolling is needed now on all pages. Really frustrating..

Also another thing which I don't like is that font size can not be changed from the browser anymore (or was it ever?), since it is defined within the CSS code..

I'm probably the last one to educate Alex or all the others who keep this site running of the most basic rules of accessibility of the web page. But one must always keep in mind, that when making a webpage, html code is not ment to be used as definitive post script of the page layout. There must be some things adjustable from the web browser to suit end-user's own preferences (such as text size, fonts, how and in which colors hyper links are presented etc etc)

But as the bottom line of this new improwement I'd say that it really great if most users like what they see. I think I'll keep the old style on my personal settings in board .. since that is still available.

Post by **alex** » Tue May 29, 2007 2:39 pm

In terms of font size changes - if you are using the prosilver setup - look in the top right corner. You'll notice a letter "A" and it shows two arrows. Clicking one of those arrows should change the text size for you.

Additionally, I mentioned addressing the actual rules above.

All a work in progress.

oh2glg · Post by **oh2glg** » Tue May 29, 2007 2:48 pm

The letter "<A>" seems to be usable only when Board Style "Prosilver" is selected, but not on "Subsilver2". Also, it doesn't seem to have any affect on anything.. But maybe I have some settings wrong on my end.

Post by **alex** » Tue May 29, 2007 8:33 pm

oh2glg wrote:The letter "<A>" seems to be usable only when Board Style "Prosilver" is selected, but not on "Subsilver2". Also, it doesn't seem to have any affect on anything.. But maybe I have some settings wrong on my end.

Haven't tested it in subsilver2 - but it took a couple clicks for it to work right in firefox using prosilver on my end.

-Alex

fogster · Post by **fogster** » Tue May 29, 2007 8:56 pm

oh2glg wrote:Also another thing which I don't like is that font size can not be changed from the browser anymore (or was it ever?), since it is defined within the CSS code..

Others have pointed out the "v A ^" thing (at least in ProSilver) to let you change fonts. It's actually easier than in the old one, though I'm perfectly happy with the old one.

As an aside, though, I can change fonts via the browser without problems in Firefox. Ctrl-Plus and Ctrl-Minus work for enlarging and shrinking the font, even on the new one. (As Alex mentions, it took me a couple clicks for the font size selection on the page to work.)

Super nitpicky, but if the forum rules blurb stays where it is, the bullets are outside of the pink/red box they're supposed to be in. If it's being removed / redone, though, it's not worth piddling around with.

Post by **alex** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:04 pm

fogster wrote:Super nitpicky, but if the forum rules blurb stays where it is, the bullets are outside of the pink/red box they're supposed to be in. If it's being removed / redone, though, it's not worth piddling around with.

Yeah, I know. It's on the list

Post by **alex** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:06 pm

An FYI in case you guys miss it - if you know someone complaining that they once were registered - and are now nowhere to be found - and can't log in, please see this post.

Sorry... but it'll be fixed as soon as I can.

http://batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=69542

mr.syntrx · Post by **mr.syntrx** » Tue May 29, 2007 10:53 pm

What happened to the knowledge base?

Post by **HumHead** » Tue May 29, 2007 11:05 pm

http://batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=69468

The Knowledge Base transition is one of the loose ends of the upgrade that is still being worked on.

VR2WTF · Post by **VR2WTF** » Wed May 30, 2007 5:38 am

The change is good.....I like it~~~~

kf4sqb · Post by **kf4sqb** » Wed May 30, 2007 7:13 am

My only complaint so far is that I want Batblack back! Otherwise, it all looks good so far.

Oh, one other question. Would it be possible to identify which 'section' of the board, such as general discussion or hardware info, a post is in when using such features as 'view new posts', a little better? I would like to see something a little easier to identify than tiny print under the subject line.

Max-trac · Post by **Max-trac** » Wed May 30, 2007 8:33 am

I use the "newposts" link to see ALL new posts in ALL forums;
http://batboard.batlabs.com/search.php? ... d=newposts

I see the circle on the left changes from red to blue on topics I have read,
It is so subtle, it is hard to see. The topic TEXT is a link, could you let my browser handle that color? (like it used to). (My browser would know it was a previously visited link).

Also, today I notice the topic I read yesterday is now back to red again!
It would be nice it if once you read a topic, it would be highlighted from then on ( well, for at least as long as the setting inones browser, which I have set at 30 days)
Thanks!

Post by **alex** » Wed May 30, 2007 8:42 am

Max-trac wrote:I use the "newposts" link to see ALL new posts in ALL forums;
http://batboard.batlabs.com/search.php? ... d=newposts

I see the circle on the left changes from red to blue on topics I have read,
It is so subtle, it is hard to see. The topic TEXT is a link, could you let my browser handle that color? (like it used to). (My browser would know it was a previously visited link).

Also, today I notice the topic I read yesterday is now back to red again!
It would be nice it if once you read a topic, it would be highlighted from then on ( well, for at least as long as the setting inones browser, which I have set at 30 days)
Thanks!

Probably nothing I can do about letting your browser handle the color - You can always try the subsilver2 profile if you don't like prosilver.

The topic is probably red again because someone else replied since you last read it.

-Alex

thebigphish · Post by **thebigphish** » Wed May 30, 2007 8:49 am

i too, have just transitioned a board to phpBB3 recently, and the only real gripe i have had is how the themes (i have switched to subSilver) are so "big" even if i ramp down the type settings on my browser, the new themes for 3 are very spaced out, so that i used to be able to see the entire listing of forums on the index page, now i can only get 3, and i have to scroll...

i am sure it is only a matter of time before someone comes along and throws a slimmed down, compact theme for us all to use.

fire_master_21 · Post by **fire_master_21** » Wed May 30, 2007 8:57 am

I am running the subsilver2. I don't care much for the other right now. I think it is mostly due to the color scheme of it. I will give the other style a shot when there is a fix to go back to bat black.

Will · Post by **Will** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:29 am

So far so good...

I do get an error in IE:

Line: 155
Char: 1
Error: Object doesn't support this property or method
Code: 0
URL: http;//batboard.batlabs.com/viewforum.php

Keep up the good work,

Will

Post by **alex** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:33 am

Will wrote:So far so good...

I do get an error in IE:

Line: 155
Char: 1
Error: Object doesn't support this property or method
Code: 0
URL: http;//batboard.batlabs.com/viewforum.php

Keep up the good work,

Will

What version of internet explorer are you using?

Will · Post by **Will** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:37 am

Ver 5.00 on Win 95OSR2

I know, old software but all my RSS stuff works..

Max-trac · Post by **Max-trac** » Wed May 30, 2007 12:18 pm

OK, I switched to subsilver2 default.

I like it better because;
The topic TEXT changes from dark blue, to faded blue, if you have read it at all. (and the arrow goes away).
The arrow comes back if someone adds a post to it (but the text stays faded).
Maybe something similar could be incorperated into BatBlack!

(you have to refresh the page to see the changes if you right-click open in new window as I do)
Thanks!

apco25 · Post by **apco25** » Thu May 31, 2007 11:17 pm

Guess this is what happens when I don't come around much! Looks great and easy on the eyes. Hopefully I check here more often if I don't get stuck wtih too much overtime out here.

Victor Xray · Post by **Victor Xray** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:30 am

Alex, is there a dedicated bug report and feature-request thread, or is this one it?

My bug report is that external hyperlinks no longer open in a separate window.

Post by **alex** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:14 am

Victor Xray wrote:Alex, is there a dedicated bug report and feature-request thread, or is this one it?

My bug report is that external hyperlinks no longer open in a separate window.

Yeah, I've been merging the stuff in to one post here.

I have heard that as well with RE: Hyperlinks. I'm still fixing users from the other day, so I have that on the plate, but I want to get those who aren't even back on here yet back on!

It is on my to-do list to look in to it. It may not be as easy as one thinks.

-Alex

txshooter · Post by **txshooter** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:15 am

FEEDBACK prior to the board change.

What happened to all of the feedback theat was given and recieved prior to the board change. It has all dissapeared and it was a great resource to see what had been going on with others deals.

I like the new method of seperating positive and negative feedback better, but can't we have a locked section with all of the old feedback so it would still be easilly searchable and readable?

Post by **akardam** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 11:19 am

txshooter wrote:FEEDBACK prior to the board change.

What happened to all of the feedback theat was given and recieved prior to the board change. It has all dissapeared and it was a great resource to see what had been going on with others deals.

Uh... it's all still there, in the root feedback forum. Can't you see it?

txshooter · Post by **txshooter** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 11:47 am

akardam wrote:
txshooter wrote:FEEDBACK prior to the board change.

What happened to all of the feedback theat was given and recieved prior to the board change. It has all dissapeared and it was a great resource to see what had been going on with others deals.
Uh... it's all still there, in the root feedback forum. Can't you see it?

I that's what I get for trying to make a comment via Blackberry. I have sdone most of my board surfing via Blackberry lately and did not notice it. Had to scroll down too far....

Sorry

JAYMZ · Post by **JAYMZ** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:58 pm

Cool. looks like it has the ability to let you post from a mobile browser now.

txshooter · Post by **txshooter** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 2:07 pm

I often post to the board via Blackberry, especially answering PM's. It worked on the old board for me as well.

PhillyPhoto · Post by **PhillyPhoto** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:20 pm

fogster wrote:The only problem I've noticed so far is that the old setup permitted < img > tags, whereas the new one uses BBCode [ img ], which breaks images posted the old way. Not that big of a deal, though.

Someone who has access to the database could run a SQL command and fix that pretty quick.

The only things I've noticed function-wise, is it no longer defaults to marking all the topics read after you've closed your browser (including those you didn't read), and you can now lock messages yourself, which is a neat feature to have if you feel your issue is resolved and people are starting to flame it.

Other than that, everything looks good and "clean". At the risk of sounding like a heretic, I just might keep prosilver even if batblack is brought back!

JAYMZ · Post by **JAYMZ** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 6:58 am

txshooter wrote:I often post to the board via Blackberry, especially answering PM's. It worked on the old board for me as well.

Microshaft being who they are... I was not able to post with my MotoQ on phpbb Ver2 at all. This version is more than happy to let me post. So that'll be handy, now if only Hamsexy would do the upgrade then I would be set. I technically wouldn't need my laptop for the intarweb any longer.

Also as far as the threads not showing as read... what I have gotten in the habit of doing it going to the main page of the forums and clicking the "Mark Forums Read" link. That wipes everything out that is supposedly a "New Post" and when I come back it will show me the current new posts since the last time that I was here.

Post by **alex** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:07 am

I think if you are using the read new posts link - which is what I do - much easier - it is no longer completely session based. It seems to be time based. So if you don't hop on the board for 12 hours, it resets. But if you hop machines or locations in a certain time frame, the topic list won't reset.

Just an observation on my end.

On the old 2.x system, if you lost your session, you lost complete track for what you have and have not read - so this seems to be a bit better, it just works differently.

RE: HTML v BB Code, BB Code is used since it's become more of a security thing for the software - it's easier for it to parse and add the code, and add error checking. URL's and HTML is more of a pain for it, as you can encapsulate other commands and such in to it if your real smart. This better checks and processes code.

What can be done about the old stuff? Terry is right, a properly written expression could fix a lot of the old posts. Keeping in mind, there has to be a lot of testing and QC before that replace command is run across 230k+ worth of posts.

-Alex

JAYMZ · Post by **JAYMZ** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:33 am

You mean you won't go post by post and fix them all?

Post by **Grog** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 8:40 am

alex wrote:I think if you are using the read new posts link - which is what I do - much easier - it is no longer completely session based. It seems to be time based. So if you don't hop on the board for 12 hours, it resets. But if you hop machines or locations in a certain time frame, the topic list won't reset.

Just an observation on my end.

As someone who usually checks the board from two work and one personal computer within a few hours, I've noticed that as well. Good feature for me.

After changing the board preferences, it looks better, not quite as easy to read as the old style, but usable........

RR Spectra · Post by **RR Spectra** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 6:14 pm

Personnaly, I like the new look.

Max-trac · Post by **Max-trac** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 6:47 am

I don't see the link at the bottom of a thread to "Watch this thread for replies" or "Subscribe to this Thread" or something like that.....
That was handy.