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Spare Parts
For non-modeling topics and those without a home elsewhere.
Hosted by Jim Starkweather
New format sucks...
acav
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Auckland, New Zealand
Member Since: May 09, 2002
entire network: 517 Posts
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 02:42 AM UTC
All,

IMHO, the new site forums suck and suck big time

Prior to the change, I (and I suspect many other site users) could return to a bookmarked 'Latest Network Posts', sort the posts by Forums, and scan through all the latest posts in all sectors of the site - not just Armour, but Figures and Dioramas, Autos, Planes, Boats on down to gripes about games, movies, ANZAC Day and beer; I have wide ranging interests and can always find inspiration in the work of others, even if they do build planes.

Everything I needed to see was avaiable from one page.

Now however, I have to load three separate pages to access the same information and there is no option to sort posts by forum.

Thank ghod I can still use smileys...

Staff, please find a way to sort this out.

Personally, I can see no reason to have changed the forum formatting - an explanation of the rationale behind this latest imposed change might be in order, doncha think..?

$0.02

acav out
markm
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California, United States
Member Since: September 11, 2005
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 03:57 AM UTC
Hmmmm, when I click on public I see all posts from all sites all in one page. I even logged out and tried it. Still see all posts. Works better for me.

I also see a multi colored row of buttons that lets me see posts for each site.
acav
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Auckland, New Zealand
Member Since: May 09, 2002
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 04:06 AM UTC
And before The Change, you could see all new posts on one page, which is my point.

Why should I have to click new tabs to get all the info I used to get from one click.

Web rule - simple is better.

$0.02 again

acav out
airwarrior
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New Jersey, United States
Member Since: November 21, 2002
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 07:55 AM UTC
I agree, it would be really nice to have a "All Network Posts" button again. It would be even nicer if it was on the front pages too.
Tarok
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Victoria, Australia
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 10:18 AM UTC
Each to their own.

I like the new format as I found all the other gumpf annoying.

IMO... keep it the way it is now.
JackFlash
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Colorado, United States
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 12:13 PM UTC
Out with the old in with the new.
Gunny
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Pennsylvania, United States
Member Since: July 13, 2004
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 02:42 PM UTC
Change is good, change is good, change is good. . .

The load speed of the LP pages have been increased dramatically since the change, mates, which was an ongoing problem (and gripe) of many, many, members...any changes that are made here onsite always have reason, and always for the bettering of the site overall.

Personally, I think the change rocks, and on the whole is a dramatic improvement. . .just like the ole' saying goes, "you can please some of the people some of the time, but. . .
~Gunny
acav
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Auckland, New Zealand
Member Since: May 09, 2002
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 02:47 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Change is good, change is good, change is good. . .

The load speed of the LP pages have been increased dramatically since the change, mates, which was an ongoing problem (and gripe) of many, many, members...any changes that are made here onsite always have reason, and always for the bettering of the site overall.

Personally, I think the change rocks, and on the whole is a dramatic improvement. . .just like the ole' saying goes, "you can please some of the people some of the time, but. . .
~Gunny


blah blah blah, so it doesn't matter what individuals think, we're stuck with it because it's "faster" and "change is good"...

Well, that's all fine and dandy I'm sure - but give those of us who don't particularly care if they spend an extra fifteen seconds waiting for a page to load the option to "View All Latest Network Posts" again.
Please.

acav out
Gunny
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 03:10 PM UTC

Quoted Text


blah blah blah, so it doesn't matter what individuals think, we're stuck with it because it's "faster" and "change is good"...

Well, that's all fine and dandy I'm sure - but give those of us who don't particularly care if they spend an extra fifteen seconds waiting for a page to load the option to "View All Latest Network Posts" again.
Please.

acav out


Once again, you can please some of the people some of the time, BUT. . .

You're obviously not pleased. . .I can respect that. . .but there are others that are quite pleased, and those that aren't, should respect those that are, as well, blah, blah, blah. . .
Cheers,
~Gunny
Henk
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England - South West, United Kingdom
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 06:36 PM UTC
Gentlemen, please..

The new lay-out will take some time to get used to, and will not be to the liking of all. But once you get used to it, the benefits outweigh the cons.
For those who want to see all the latest posts for the whole network, the 'public' button top left on the latest post page will show just that. It can than be sorted by the various sites and forums with the buttons above.
Ohh, btw, IIRC the bookmarking of the 'latest posts' page was not a good idea. I used to do that myself, but JimS requested some time ago that members change that, as it was interfering with the internal gubbins somewhere...

Cheers
Henk
Gunny
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Posted: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 06:43 PM UTC
Internal gubbins?.....
Love it when you talk dirty, Bro..........
Cheers!
~Gunny
acav
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Auckland, New Zealand
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 01:02 AM UTC
**yawn...**
wbill76
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Texas, United States
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 02:26 AM UTC
As the site(s) grow, so does the load on the infrastructure behind it. While it seems mundane, things like query loads, DB management, user interface, etc. can cause tremendous strains and to keep up with the growth and keep things flexible, changes have to be made from time to time which in turn means that some features that made sense when the site(s) were smaller, now have become more of a liability and need to be modified/altered. The LP characteristics are just such a feature and, being widely used in the old format, produced a large and growing strain on the site and DBs across the entire network. While we'd like to think that simple requests such as "put it back!" are just that, simple, they in fact have pretty far reaching effects to the site as a whole...boring as that may seem, it doesn't change the reality of the site structure and maintenance needs.
markm
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California, United States
Member Since: September 11, 2005
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 02:50 AM UTC

Quoted Text

As the site(s) grow, so does the load on the infrastructure behind it. While it seems mundane, things like query loads, DB management, user interface, etc. can cause tremendous strains and to keep up with the growth and keep things flexible, changes have to be made from time to time which in turn means that some features that made sense when the site(s) were smaller, now have become more of a liability and need to be modified/altered. The LP characteristics are just such a feature and, being widely used in the old format, produced a large and growing strain on the site and DBs across the entire network. While we'd like to think that simple requests such as "put it back!" are just that, simple, they in fact have pretty far reaching effects to the site as a whole...boring as that may seem, it doesn't change the reality of the site structure and maintenance needs.



What he said
acav
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Auckland, New Zealand
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 05:13 AM UTC

Quoted Text

... some features that made sense when the site(s) were smaller, now have become more of a liability and need to be modified/altered...


Things like user friendliness then..?
HeavyArty
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Florida, United States
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 06:43 AM UTC
Get over it man. Or, if you are so pissed, just go someplace else. The look of the site changed, big deal. If you can't deal with a minor change on a modeling website, you must have real problems in life where things can change in major ways daily.
acav
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Auckland, New Zealand
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 08:27 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Get over it man. Or, if you are so pissed, just go someplace else. The look of the site changed, big deal. If you can't deal with a minor change on a modeling website, you must have real problems in life where things can change in major ways daily.


Now there's absolutely no need to get personal - I suspect if you were anybody but a Big Armorama Name, you'd be hauled over the coals right smart...

I find your remarks somewhat insulting and presumptuous.

FYI, the fact that I deal with internet users and websites worldwide on a daily basis gives me some insight into site functionality - and all I was saying that it's my experience that simpler is better; the current set-up is not simpler, the older set-up was 'better' subjectively, because it was simpler.

The 'look' of the site has not changed, but user access to a wider range of topics has been made more difficult.

Instead of being able to view ALL latest network posts and arrange them by forum, we are now expected to visit multiple tabs and, once in a tab, cannot arrange posts by forum - how is this progress?

I thought we were all fuzzy-huggy about modelling bringing the world together and how we were all just lovely plastic lovin' geeks under the skin and one big happy family and so forth - some family, if I have to drive fifty miles (metaphorically) to visit my brother, when he used to live on the same street last week.

If you can't handle criticism, maybe it's you who should go someplace else.

And I think I'm due an apology BTW.

acav out
markm
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California, United States
Member Since: September 11, 2005
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 08:44 AM UTC
Please Gentlemen, I can feel a lock coming on.
staff_Jim
Staff MemberPublisher
KITMAKER NETWORK
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New Hampshire, United States
Member Since: December 15, 2001
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 11:40 AM UTC
I don't understand why you felt the need to start a new topic (rant) when you had already posted this complaint in the topic announcing the change to the latest posts page.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/98161&page=1

And I answered your issue about the forum sorting there. This site is a work in progress and it changes to meet the needs of the users. You may see a need to sort by forums and while having a fully dynamic page allowed us to do that, having a cached page does not. Perhaps you would rather the Latest Posts feature just didn't exist and we had what a majority of forum sites have, that being browse by forum. For example...

Missing-Lynx (no latest posts page)
HyperScale (no latest posts page)
Aircraft Resource Center (no latest posts page)
Planet Figure (today's posts on multiple pages, but no sort by forum)
Timelines (today's posts on multiple pages, but no sort by forum)
ModelWarships (no latest posts page)
SteelNavy (no latest posts page)
FineScale Modeler (active topics on multiple pages, no forum displayed)

You say the "the new site forums suck and suck big time" yet there is nothing changed with the actual forums. Those display in exactly the same manor they always have. Your comments seem incendiary and frankly rude and I am not really surprised that some members have taken offense. I haven't though. Not everyone understands the real-time dynamics involved here and the fact that we moved 450GB of data through the network last month (a record btw).

Your complaints, poorly worded as they are, are noted. I fully intend on adding additional functionality to the new LP page as I am able.

Best wishes,
Jim
HeavyArty
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Florida, United States
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Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 05:10 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I suspect if you were anybody but a Big Armorama Name, you'd be hauled over the coals right smart...


I doubt it. Based on the above replies, I am of the majority opinion.


Quoted Text

If you can't handle criticism, maybe it's you who should go someplace else.

And I think I'm due an apology BTW.


Don't worry, I am not offended and I can take criticism just fine. I just think your petty little rant is quite ridiculous and over nothing of importance. No apology sent, BTW.
wbill76
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Texas, United States
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Posted: Thursday, May 03, 2007 - 06:38 AM UTC
I've found the solution and explanation for any site changes going forward.

markm
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California, United States
Member Since: September 11, 2005
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Posted: Thursday, May 03, 2007 - 06:41 AM UTC
acav
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Auckland, New Zealand
Member Since: May 09, 2002
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Posted: Friday, May 04, 2007 - 04:05 AM UTC
Okay, for the last time...


Quoted Text

I don't understand why you felt the need to start a new topic (rant) when you had already posted this complaint in the topic announcing the change to the latest posts page.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/98161&page=1

And I answered your issue about the forum sorting there.


Well, good for you - unfortunately, I couldn't find my way back to the original post.


Quoted Text

Your complaints, poorly worded as they are, are noted. I fully intend on adding additional functionality to the new LP page as I am able.

Best wishes,
Jim


Love you too, Jim.

Thanks for the snide comment about the 'poorly worded complaints' too.
staff_Jim
Staff MemberPublisher
KITMAKER NETWORK
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Posted: Friday, May 04, 2007 - 07:50 AM UTC
Snide remarks beget snide remarks. Basic human behaviour 101.

Perhaps I should have said poorly chosen words.

Jim
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