Announcement Welcome to the RPF's Forum Upgrade Support Thread

[Art Andrews]

Thanks.
Also, my Alerts drop-list keeps getting longer. Is there a way to clear it out once it's been viewed?

These will now clear out 4 hours after being viewed.

 

[Art Andrews]

Has anyone tried posting in the revised junkyard yet? Whenever I try to create a sale thread it keeps telling me that I must “create a sales thread” after I press the create thread button... very lost and confused.

Let me take a look.

 

[Manhattan]

I know right! The new site is kinda retina burning.

It was nice to see the banner at the top, & when I got sick at staring at a bland forum site for too long it was refreshing to visit this one, with a different look.

 

[Kylash]

Where do we find the Watched threads list and did they carry over from ones we were already subscribed to before?

 

[Art Andrews]

Thanks for reading and replying. I don't disagree with anything you've said, and it's true that the content on the site should be more important than the site itself, which is to say that usability should be prioritized over looks.

As far as suggestions go, I do have some and i'll try to stay objective about it, but ultimately this is just my own preference. I'd like to see a fixed-width layout like the old site brought back as an option for desktop users because it can be more comfortable to browse on certain resolutions and some people simply prefer it. As far as I know, XenForo has a built-in style selector that allows members to choose what theme they see when they're logged in, so it could be added as an option that users would have to manually "opt-in" to and wouldn't affect the default appearance of the site. vB had a similar style selector. Along the same lines, if the colors could be adjusted to be dark / dark grey like the old forum i'd really like that. Members could choose what they want to use, from the outside the default site remains unchanged, everybody wins.

Speaking a bit more broadly I also liked the old banner because it instantly told you what kind of site you were on, the low-key logo as it is now could be, well, anything really. Could be a cooking forum! I don't think the full name "Replica Prop Forum" is actually written anywhere now, and that in and of itself isn't a big deal but there's nothing in the design anymore that communicates where you are to people who don't already know. I know design is a lot more subjective, i'm sure there are people who find the new simpler layout refreshing, and you could probably say that the sites purpose is self-evident from the content. Still, I think the arguement could be made that a little personality goes a long way. Consistency is great, as a designer I like when everything has a cohesive theme, but making the design so unobtrusive that it becomes forgettable can be a problem in and of itself.

Likewise I could keep going down that road for a while, but ultimately that isn't the hill I want to die on here. The first two things are, I think, realistically achieveable and would be (maybe) appreciated by a lot of people like me who were more comfortable on the old site.

As much of what you have written is personal preference, so is a lot of what I would respond with. When I first started here, almost 20 years ago, customized styles were all the rage. When we created TDH, we made more than a dozen styles and it distresses me even now to think how much of my life was spent on those stupid things. Now... truth is, styles and nested styles have come a LONG way since then, however, the fact remains that the more options you offer, the more you are introducing the possibility of issues and troubleshooting does become an issue. While we aren't a world-class site like Amazon or Facebook or Google, none of those have major style choices. They are what they are. We try to follow suit for simplicity sake and so we are all on the same page. Could we offer options? We could. We could give a fixed width option. We COULD even do a dark theme (very very unlikely to happen)... but then where does it end and what happens when someone is complaining and we come to realize it is because they are on some theme that 99% of the membership doesn't use.

With your second suggestion, I can get more on board. The site IS very plain and I wouldn't be opposed to trying to do something that gave more of a sense of who we are. Basically that would take artwork and I wouldn't be opposed to commissioning some. Not at the top of the list, but I am not opposed.

 

[PropReplicator2]

Where do we find the Watched threads list and did they carry over from ones we were already subscribed to before?

The “watched threads” button is in the top bar under the RPF logo. Mine carried over from ones that I have watched over the past years I’ve been here.

 

[Art Andrews]

Now I don’t know if this is some sort of glitch, but apparently, no one has ever liked any of my posts...

There is an issue with this. We are working on getting likes migrated.

 

[Art Andrews]

Are we going to get the “Banned” tag back for those whom couldn’t play nice? I noticed it was gone.

On my punch list (as are many of the banned members ) but pretty low in priority.

 

[enterprise0216]

We use to be able to leave feedback for Seller and Buyer has that gone away and now use “Like” instead? Like anything new the new site will take some getting use thanks Art and Fellow developers that worked hard into making the new site.

 

[blastmaster]

So bummed, where is my dark theme mellow escape. Loved the old junkyard also, oh well.........

 

[JD]

Wow, the site is lightning fast. It will take some getting accustomed to things... but, I'm sure it will be home in no time.

The font and color scheme work great together and there all kinds of new toys to try out. Congratulations on the roll out, it's well done.

As always, there are a few nits to pick. Please don't take them as criticisms - the good definitely outweighs these small bits...

I'll echo the thoughts that it's a little bland and I hope some creativeness is included soon - the rotating banners of the last site we're nice and and seemed relatively simple - if something like that is possible here, I don't know.

As mostly a desktop user on a fairly wide monitor, the wide/responsiveness of the site is taking a little getting used to and might be causing some eyestrain. Funny, I remember the old site and it not being responsive being a bit of an issue.

I miss the menu bar at the top with the links to the various sub forums, it made navigating the forum incredibly easy and fluid. The lack of it makes the site seem smaller than it really is.

The copyright footer isn't centered.


Cheers!

 

[TomVDJ]

We use to be able to leave feedback for Seller and Buyer has that gone away and now use “Like” instead? Like anything new the new site will take some getting use thanks Art and Fellow developers that worked hard into making the new site.

I had the same question: what happened with the feedback functionality. I really liked this and it also showed nicely which members you could trust with your eyes closed and which ones you had to be careful with. Very valuable information. I hope the feedback from the old forum is migrated to a feedback system on this forum too.

For the rest: things look good! It's a matter of getting used to it, but I think you guys did a great job. I already posted an item in the junkyard and this is much less a hassle than before (less fields to fill out).

 

[3DImpact]

Okay, first test post since the migration. I notice that none of my Likes were transferred and I'm not seeing my Premium Member tag on my previous posts in old threads (I'll watch this post to see how it appears. ETA - I do see it here now!).

Thanks for all the hard work behind the scenes to migrate over - we'll all get used to it in short order I'm sure .

Dan

 

[robn1]

...I miss the menu bar at the top with the links to the various sub forums, it made navigating the forum incredibly easy and fluid. The lack of it makes the site seem smaller than it really is...

Borrowing this pic, if you click the highlighted button it will oped a list of sub forums, works just like the old drop down but requires a manual click.

 

[3DImpact]

I miss the menu bar at the top with the links to the various sub forums, it made navigating the forum incredibly easy and fluid. The lack of it makes the site seem smaller than it really is.

Agreed - that was a really nice feature.

Dan

 

[Vivek]

Going to take awhile before this place feels cozy again, but I'm digging the new look including the new RPF logo.

I am hoping the franchise rotating banners are eventually implemented again or something along those lines and I think one of the banners could highlight the full name Replica Prop Forum.

 

[Title]

Is there anything that can be done to fix old links to specific comments? I have a bunch of currently broken links

At the moment they don't seem to work unless the comment is on page 1, and even then you need to manually add a dash in the url to make it work.

Here is one link I have as an example:

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=253252&p=3869972&viewfull=1#post3869972

It redirects to:

https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/esb-tfa-lightsaber.253252/#post3869972

That link doesn't go to the specific comment, but it does if I add a dash before the post number:

https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/esb-tfa-lightsaber.253252/#post-3869972

The problem is links have the page number in them before the post number, but old links don't get that added to them. A lot of my links go to the 139 page long TFA Graflex Research thread, so it's a bit hard to go find it all again

 

[Remote People]

Already getting used to the new look and feel. Well done - even like the junkyard better. What an undertaking! Thank you for the time and effort you put into it.

I do miss the ever changing screen top banner images very much indeed. Please is there any way these can be introduced into the new environment?

 

[bondoking]

I seem to have ALOT of adds everywhere. Is that my phone or the new site?

 

[JOATRASH FX]

We have had some issues with this properly placing members. I am manually moving you up.

First off, while I usually run under the sofa and shiver when the word "change" is aired, I think it's awesome that the site will be easier to use on mobile (even though I use it mostly on PC). And first impressions seem to be that making new posts, and posting images and such, will be a lot faster to do which is great! I would also add my voice to the idea that it would be nice to have some identifying feature on the site, so that when newcomers arrive, they directly get a sense of what is going on here!

Second, much kudos to Art, Montagar and the diligent RPF staff. Huzzahs all around!

Third, I don't even see a "start new thread" button in the "runs" section. I see one in the regular Junkyard though.