What's great about the new forum?

[Scott Bails]

There's a lot of talk here about things we'd like to see here, adjustments that could be made, how do I do this or that, I wish we still had this, etc.

As I've played around here and explored, I've discovered a lot of neat features that we didn't have before. This is a great place to share them. Also a great place to share tips, too.

Don't get me wrong - I'm going to miss some of the features and charm of the old site, too, but considering that it's relatively unstable and cumbersome for our moderators, this is a pretty nice alternative.


So, one of the things that jumped out at me right away was the ability to hover over a thread title and get the first few sentences of the thread. Sometimes folks can't get a full description of what they're trying to say, so this is a nice feature.

Anyone else?

[Don Arnold]

What's great about the new forum?

Lots! I'll add some of mine...

1) As brought up in other threads, in both PE3 & PE2, the ability to jump to first unread post. Single most beneficial feature imo.
2) The Subscription feature, once ya get the clicking routine down, is really quite effortless and, combined with the jump to first unread post feature, makes it simple to do a 2 minute catch up on threads one is following (when 2 minutes is all you got!).
3) The options for spiffying up your post using the tool bar at the top of the reply field beats the old [bi/yt....] anyday. Though, a handy upgrade, at least for me, would be having the actual words italicized, emboldened, etc instead of the code being inserted for you. Small thing though.
4) Once you get used to the forum trees, I believe most will like how they are set up. Any of the subforums are just a click or two away, and I appreciate separating out some of the threads (ie bdays, RIP's, etc.) that tended to clog up the PE2 forums on occasion.
5) Oh, and one more while I'm typing....the "drag to resize" the reply field - needed it just now to be able to see my whole post!

If I think of any more, or tips that I've learned that I don't think I'm the last to know about, I'll post again.

[aplodon]

1) As brought up in other threads, in both PE3 & PE2, the ability to jump to first unread post. Single most beneficial feature imo.

Agreed!
Actually, this and point 3 in your post are the only things I've found so far that I think is better in PE3 than PE2.

The different colours on read and unread posts in PE2 were OK as long as the threads were only one or two pages. For very long threads it was a bit of a pain to find the first unread post.

2) The Subscription feature, once ya get the clicking routine down, is really quite effortless and, combined with the jump to first unread post feature, makes it simple to do a 2 minute catch up on threads one is following (when 2 minutes is all you got!).

Subscription feature was much easier in v.2., So I wouldn't call that an improvement.

In v.2 you could also see on the main page which threads you had bookmarked/subscribed to. Not possible here.

3) The options for spiffying up your post using the tool bar at the top of the reply field beats the old [bi/yt....] anyday. Though, a handy upgrade, at least for me, would be having the actual words italicized, emboldened, etc instead of the code being inserted for you. Small thing though.

Agreed, agreed, and agreed. I rarely use this feature, though. Too much of it may be quite annoying, and in, if used in excess, just make posts difficult to read.

4) Once you get used to the forum trees, I believe most will like how they are set up. Any of the subforums are just a click or two away, and I appreciate separating out some of the threads (ie bdays, RIP's, etc.) that tended to clog up the PE2 forums on occasion.

I suppose I'll get used to it, but I much prefer the easy navigation in PE2, where everything is available from the frame to the left, whichever page you are on.

At this stage I've found myself mainly navigating with the use of the browsers back button.

5) Oh, and one more while I'm typing....the "drag to resize" the reply field - needed it just now to be able to see my whole post!

You can do that on PE2, also.
And there you can also make the field smaller. That can actually be an advantage, as it's easier to read what you've written if the lines are shorter.

[Vic2012]

I just realized that if you edit a post within a certain time frame you won't get one of these:

Last edited by .......; 25 Minutes Ago at 06:48 AM.

Not sure how long the window is open on that but I'm glad that I can do some quick editing without getting that irritating message that "l'l ol me didn't get it right the first time cuz he's too stupid and impatient to get it right the first time."
I don't know why that bothers me so much but it just does. We've all got our little OCD quirkyness.

[Poisoned Youth]

So, one of the things that jumped out at me right away was the ability to hover over a thread title and get the first few sentences of the thread.

Love that feature.

[Mick]

Just found another "hovering" feature... in the huge list of "members posted in last 24 hours"
on the original opening page (which I've since changed from the default in preference to opening
ON the main music page), as you hover over each member, the TIME of their last VISIT pops up.....
..very cool.

[aplodon]

1) As brought up in other threads, in both PE3 & PE2, the ability to jump to first unread post. Single most beneficial feature imo.

Hm. It seems like this is not working for threads that are two days old, or more. Those are all marked as read, even those I've never opened! Must be something wrong! It's not supposed to be like that, is it?

[Mick]

Just realised another "hovering" click trick.... click on your OWN avatar to view ALL the posts you've made.
Likewise click on OTHER peoples avatars... to see everything THEY have posted.... a very cool feature
which makes it SO easy to find a thread you posted in, if you've lost or forgotten the thread title.

All in all, the list of plusses are adding up very quickly here. This PEv3 ain't rocket science folks!
.... but it IS "space exploration", because if PE2 was the spinning Earth, THIS is the entire solar system.
I can't wait for PEv4,.... "a universe" of Progressive Ears...

[Vic2012]

Wasn't sure where to post this. It's not really a "site issue" it's more of a "user issue." After a couple weeks now the only thing about v3 that I find a little frustrating is that I forget where certain threads are. I know I can subscribe to a thread (which I've tried and don't really see what its purpose is) but I still can't find certain threads, because I forget what sub-forum they're in. I've used the "New Posts" feature too, but it's kind of a haphazard way of trying to find stuff. Well, it's a very minor complaint. I think more than anything some of us here want this place to be like old PE as much as possible (as far as functionality, mechanics, and all) more than just having to get used to using a new system.

[aplodon]

... I forget where certain threads are. I know I can subscribe to a thread (which I've tried and don't really see what its purpose is) but I still can't find certain threads, because I forget what sub-forum they're in.

One of the purposes of subscribing to a thread is exactly what you are asking for - to find it easily. No need to know what subforum it's in.

[Duncan Glenday]

I forget where certain threads are. I know I can subscribe to a thread (which I've tried and don't really see what its purpose is)

Click "Quick Links"
Click "Subscribed Threads"

This lists the threads you've subscribed to, and shows whether there are any new posts in those threads.

If the link is in bold font, then click the icon immediately to the left of the thread title, and it will take you straight to the first unread post in that thread.

[Brian]

How does one PM, this is so pretty, why dont I like it?

[Brian]

I joined in 2012? Not true.

[Jerjo]

Anyone look at the stats? The number of lurkers is amazing.

[80s were ok]

i have a question which I'm sure was answered somewhere else- everytime I try to "Reply with a Quote", it quotes the entire posting instead of just the part that I'm highlighting - how do I just quote part of a post?

[Sean]

You don't. You go up there and edit out the part you don't want repeated before you hit Post. Sorry, it's kinda old school in that regard.

[aplodon]

Seems like it's time for a reminder, before this thread is going even more OT.

The title of this thread is: What's great about the new forum?

[Mick]

What's great.... is that after USING it for a week, the "comfortability" grows each time I log in.
Yes it's much bigger... more sub topics, more options, and yeah.. a few more clicks...
but WTF... although I still haven't explored everywhere on this site yet, I can view all the threads I would have formerly bookmarked on the old PE (with three strokes instead of two... big deal) and still have a further option of reading ALL new posts, ALL new threads etc. THEN explore!
A creature of habit only needs a "road closed" sign to discover a new way to get there...
it may take a little longer, but then again, life is a journey... riddled with interesting diversions.

[JKL2000]

The Display Options are great (top right menu). You can view the current thread in Thread mode, classic mode, or hybrid. Pretty cool.
I used to read a couple of forums in the threaded mode and it was pretty nice.

[Vic2012]

If it's been answered already I apologize. I might've missed it, but I'm just curious about the featured CD forum. I go to that forum and I noticed that all the threads of featured CDs have been moved to the main board. What's the purpose of having a separate forum for featured CDs then moving them to another forum? Why not just make it a sticky thread in the main forum, then after a day or two just unstick the thread.

[Duncan Glenday]

This way, you can easily see all of the past featured CDs.

The discussions are also on the main forum.

The mods are discussing the value of the featured CDs forum - there seem to be arguments for and against...

[Gruno]

This way, you can easily see all of the past featured CDs.

The discussions are also on the main forum.

The mods are discussing the value of the featured CDs forum - there seem to be arguments for and against...

Is there wrestling and food fighting within those alleged discussions?

[Vic2012]

Well, I just learned that clicking on "Mark Forums Read" makes every single thread on all the forums marked as being read. I only wanted to mark the forum I was in as "read."

[Poisoned Youth]

Is there wrestling and food fighting within those alleged discussions?

No, we just do a few rounds of rock/paper/scissors in odd time signatures to solve any internal issues.

[Duncan Glenday]

No, we just do a few rounds of rock/paper/scissors in odd time signatures to solve any internal issues.

DAMMIT - those negotiations are SECRET

(And rock always wins )