Here are some more observations and notes.
Good Navigation Options - Thank all you guys for your time and all your various posts. That has provided a lot of places to go and jump around to get a feel for what this will look like with more than a dozen different forums and, hopefully, 84k posts. This has a good display of stats and ways to jump around, and indicators of new posts. Of course it takes a little getting used to but there are no real surprises.
Emoticons - The emoticons are wimpy, but they have paid add-on for another $29 to add a beefy set of larger emoticons. I might get that as I think that would be a significant addition for our users.
"Jump to the top" link - Still no jump to the top link in this forum application. Unfortunate. I just changed the setting for 'posts per page' from 5 to 10 so it would be nice to be able to jump back to the top quickly. As a workaround, note you can click and link at the bottom and jump to another forum or click on "next post."
Testing on various devices - I have tested this on my Windows desktop PC, an 8 inch Android tablet, and my Android cell phone. I have tested in Chrome, Firefox, Vivaldi, and Edge browsers. I have read from you guys it apparently works ok on iPhones and a Macbook Pro. Anything else to test?
Support - The company is based in Italy so support questions take overnight to get answers. Not the best situation but they have competent responses and write decent English. 🙂
Next Steps - I have a little more work to do before this is ready for wider exposure. I need to work up the costs (minimal) and build a proposal to take to the full Board of Directors. With their approval, and if not full approval yet, then maybe invite the general users to see it and get more feedback. In any case, I would offer this to be used like we are using it now - running at the same time with an independent posts database. At some point, I will need to attempt to convert the old forum application (Asgaros) to this new forum (WPForo) and then freeze the old one, so no more changes. And then, once everything 'cooks' for a while, remove the old forum (we need the server space).
Comments?
Jerry
I fly (and ride) to free my mind from the tyranny of petty things. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Thanks for inviting me to participate. It has been fun, and I've learned a few tricks that can be used on other platforms.
This software package seems intuitive and easy to me. Very clean on a cell phone, and easy on the laptop (Win 10 on an acer PC based).
Agree with the improved emoticon package. That would be helpful.
Do they have a broader package for the post "like" function? Example from a different forum:
This, like the emoticons is a great feature (much better than ADV Rider).
I've been using the home button and then using the Forums menu bar to get back as few or many steps as needed. So navigating around hasn't been an issue.
Thanks again Jerry. Sincerely appreciate all you do to keep the lines of communication open. 👍
Scott
Hold my keyboard and watch this! 🙃
Just a thought here, Most of the forums have a little button under the name of the last person to post in a thread on the main page, this allows you to jump right to the last post, If you just click on the thread title it will take you to the first post and you can read though it from the beginning. on this set up it takes you to the last post automatically, this is great for those that have been staying up with it, But what about someone new that wants to read it from the start, they will have to open it to the last post then manually go back to the beginning. I know it's a little thing but little things can make a big difference.
That is a concern I have for new or non-technical users. I invited you guys here to build some content and poke all the buttons. You all have performed magnificently! I really appreciate all the time you have spent. But I wonder, and have commented, about the change and potential 'friction' and grief we (I) will get about how everything looks different and people can't find how to do things. Ace points out one particular thing, but how many other subtle changes are there that you guys could figure out that others may not?
That's not really a reason not to change, but he has a good point. I think my answer is, to the extent I can, I will answer those kinds of questions and maybe post some 'how-to' posts or maybe some videos. But you guys also can help by recognizing when these things come up and answering the concerns that will arise.
There is a potential for frustration and some snarky comments with this change. I have been so impressed with the congeniality and friendliness of the forums during my time here. I have read many old posts where it wasn't always this way. It takes some restraint and discipline sometimes to answer someone's emotional comment or question with a straight and helpful answer.
Jerry
I fly (and ride) to free my mind from the tyranny of petty things. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
I just bought a new car. I looked at a bunch of different makes and models before making my final decision. Some had three different stalks coming out of the steering column while others had just one. Some had complicated shifters with several onboard buttons while others had no shifter at all -- just a dial. Some had touchscreens that were intuitive while others had real head scratchers.
My conclusion was that while each car was unfamiliar at the git-go, by the time I'd driven the car for a few days (or weeks) all the controls would seem normal. So, sure, you give 1000 Jeep owners a BMW and a bunch of them will complain that the BMW doesn't have the same buttons and stalks as a Jeep. Nothing you (or BMW) can do about that.
At this point, the only thing I really don't like is the reply within the reply within the reply. Other than that, everything in this forum seems pretty intuitive. Some of the buttons are different, or not in the same location as previously, but that's inevitable and not even a nit.
There are so many pluses. The speed. The image posting. The blue emoticons LOL.
I will echo Drone's concern about the nested replies. I hope it doesn't become an issue and that is one thing I really appreciate about ADVRider's format is that a reply quotes the desired post and makes a new one at the bottom. Lets see how this plays out to see if we need to make a recommendation going forward.
Illegitemi non carborundum est!
