Welcome to the newly remodeled Forum!

[admin]

Welcome to the newly remodeled Forum.

Here is what we did:

1. We eliminated a lot of "sections" by combining the display of many related Boards so they show all on one line in the main Forum display. This drastically shortened the main display, eliminates a lot of scrolling, and makes it much easier to find the board you want.

All the Boards and posts have been preserved. Generally, we renamed the "Other..." board in a category as the main listing and tucked the other boards under it. You can click on any of the Board links to go straight to that Board. If you click on a main link, like "Food," you'll see the other boards in that section listed above the posts.

2. We renamed the remaining sections to reflect the contents of each one.

3. We renamed some boards. Most important was "General" which is now "Conversations" in the Homesteading section.

4. We split the Humor board in two and moved the "Adult" humor to a new "Adult Humor" board in a restricted section. The Humor board in the "After Sunset" section is now restricted to family-friendly humor.

And that brings is to the biggest change:

5: We moved all three "political" boards, the Lifestyles/Sexuality, and the new Adult Humor board into an "Extended Access" area.

We did this because we wanted to segregate the boards that are not always family-friendly.

Any adult, Confirmed member can request access. Just go to your Member CP and click on Group Memberships in the Networking section. One of the mods or I will have to approve it. When your access has been activated, a Red Star will join your Green stars.

I'll check in as often as I can for a few days so existing members will, hopefully, not have to wait too long to get back in.

This only has to be done once, unless a member breaks the rules, in which case we can remove access to the Extended section while leaving access to the rest of the Forum.

NOTE: You can request access even if you are a New/Unconfirmed member (Blue stars). We'll approve it, but you still will not be able to see or access the area until you've participated enough to be automatically promoted to Confirmed. (Green Stars)

You will notice that two of the "New/Today's" links in the dark green menu bar have changed names.

The "New Extended Access" link will only return results if you have requested and been OK'd for such access. We hope to have that link display only to folks with access as soon as we can make time.

PLEASE - if you notice anything amiss or anything that does not appear to function correctly, please PM me with the details. Everything tested out fine here, but we certainly might have missed something.

Thanks!


Oliver

[Teg]

Looks good so far, is it just me or are some threads missing from the political area, or will I see them once I am added to the group down there?

[johnny]

Still cannot get PMs turned back on. Went thru directions as Paul stated numerous times and no luck.

Could me being on 'dial up' cause this as the section for PM will not accept me?

I had it before and somehow managed to shut it off and now cannot get it back...

Thanks
Johnny

How will confirmation on requests to join in restricted sections be answered--PMs? Or?

[admin]

Teg: No threads should be missing as nothing was moved from those boards.

johnny: You had PMs turned off. I enabled them so try to send me one.


Oliver

[Teg]

Teg: No threads should be missing as nothing was moved from those boards.

Oliver


When I first went down and looked prior to getting my group membership the newest post showing was from 29 Oct, everything is fine now just a weird glitch I suppose.

[Techstuf]

God bless Backwoods Home in Yeshua, Jesus Christ.

[johnny]

Teg: No threads should be missing as nothing was moved from those boards.

johnny: You had PMs turned off. I enabled them so try to send me one.


Oliver


yep
works like a charm now
[providing you get the one just sent]

thank you

[JarDude]

When I click NEW POSTS all I get is HELLOS and BIRTHDAYS.

[DiggingDogFarm]

Yeah, "New posts" isn't working correctly.

[admin]

Thanks for letting me know. I'll check it out.

Oliver

[S2man]

I like the new layout. I'm finding new forums and threads which I hadn't seen before.

[Proud_Poppa]

When I click on any of the "Extended Access" stuff I see only threads I've started.

When I click on the "Extended Access" area across the top in the ribbon next to Member CP I get an error message telling me to inform an administrator.

Wouldn't it have been easier to just boot the people who couldn't follow the rules to begin with?

[Laura]

Thank you for providing and maintaining this site.
I appreciate it.

[rantinraven]

Teg,
I think what you were seeing before approval is the threads you started. Thats what I see since I haven't been approved for the boards yet. (just now figured out how to get to my control panel lol) When I click on the political board all I see are threads I started and wow, all the way back to June 2009.

[admin]

When I click on any of the "Extended Access" stuff I see only threads I've started.
When you logged in, a notice should have displayed directing you to the Welcome to the newly remodeled Forum! (http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/vb/showthread.php?t=23538) thread in the Forum News & Announcements board which contains how to request access to the new area.

When I click on the "Extended Access" area across the top in the ribbon next to Member CP I get an error message telling me to inform an administrator.Once you've requested and gained access, that link will display posts normally.

That link should only display to members who have access to the Extended area, but I've not yet figured out how to accomplish that.

Wouldn't it have been easier to just boot the people who couldn't follow the rules to begin with?This change was not just about rules.

We're basically a homesteading and self-reliance Forum and that is what we want new people checking us out for the first time to see.

Too often, new members ventured down to the political boards and were dismayed to find they were not as...let's say peaceful...as the rest of the Forum. This new arrangement makes it easy to avoid those board.

In addition, it makes the rest of the Forum family-friendly. We do have a number of members who let their children read the Forum and there were certain boards that were not appropriate for kids. In that vein, it also let us move all the "adult" humor to an area where kids cannot access it.

Oliver

[admin]

I think the New Posts and New After Sunset links should be displaying properly now. If not, please let me know.

Thanks.

Oliver

[cinok]

[QUOTE=Proud_Poppa;247721]When I click on any of the "Extended Access" stuff I see only threads I've started.

When I click on the "Extended Access" area across the top in the ribbon next to Member CP I get an error message telling me to inform an administrator.

QUOTE]

When I click on extended acess board it only shows threads I started. If I cick on the shortcut on the main bar I get "Invalid Forum specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator"

[ScrubbieLady]

I tried to join the extended access group and was told that "it does not appear to be a public access group".

Sorry I checked back and it said public "user" group.

[admin]

cinok - Did you read the first post in this thread? The line in bold explains what to do to gain access to the Extended area.

ScrubbieLady - Please send me a PM and include, step by step, what you clicked on and the exact text of any error message you get so I can try to trace the problem.

Thanks!


Oliver

[patience]

I can't find anything.

I'm sure this will work out nicely for most people, though. I have a problem "unlearning" what I've been used to. (Found this area only through a link by S2man who kindly provided it.)

So far, all I've been able to find is the Homesteading forum. Everything else appears to me to be gone. This is a personal problem based on how my mind works. I have a near photographic memeory, which is great most of the time. But when something changes, like moving something in a store to a new aisle, I have to start all over and learn the store again. This is a mental problem, based on how I process information, and related to epilepsy. I can "add" new info just fine, but my "delete" function isn't there. So, it is very hard to process changes when MOST of the appearance of things remain the same.

I hope I can adjust to this, since I like the forum very much. But at this point, it doesn't look good for me. :(

[BonnyLake]

I can't find anything.

I'm sure this will work out nicely for most people, though. I have a problem "unlearning" what I've been used to. (Found this area only through a link by S2man who kindly provided it.)

So far, all I've been able to find is the Homesteading forum. Everything else appears to me to be gone. This is a personal problem based on how my mind works. I have a near photographic memeory, which is great most of the time. But when something changes, like moving something in a store to a new aisle, I have to start all over and learn the store again. This is a mental problem, based on how I process information, and related to epilepsy. I can "add" new info just fine, but my "delete" function isn't there. So, it is very hard to process changes when MOST of the appearance of things remain the same.

I hope I can adjust to this, since I like the forum very much. But at this point, it doesn't look good for me. :(

Me too! It all looks familiar but doesn't make sense yet. I'm wandering around the aisles lost too.

[ldsparamedic]

After reading the discussion I agree with limiting access. It would have been a nice courtesy to shoot an email to everyone advising them of the changes. The only problem I have is that I now have to scroll from "side to side" to read all of any message. That never happened before. Is there a way to correct it?

[admin]

I can't find anything.

I'm sure this will work out nicely for most people, though. I have a problem "unlearning" what I've been used to. (Found this area only through a link by S2man who kindly provided it.)

So far, all I've been able to find is the Homesteading forum. Everything else appears to me to be gone. This is a personal problem based on how my mind works. I have a near photographic memeory, which is great most of the time. But when something changes, like moving something in a store to a new aisle, I have to start all over and learn the store again. This is a mental problem, based on how I process information, and related to epilepsy. I can "add" new info just fine, but my "delete" function isn't there. So, it is very hard to process changes when MOST of the appearance of things remain the same.

I hope I can adjust to this, since I like the forum very much. But at this point, it doesn't look good for me. :(
patience,

Most everything is still grouped together as it was. The only difference is how they are listed. For example, on the main Forum page, instead of all the Food-related boards being stacked on top of each other, they are listed on the bottom line of the main Food board.

I hope the transition will not be too difficult for you.


Oliver

[admin]

After reading the discussion I agree with limiting access. It would have been a nice courtesy to shoot an email to everyone advising them of the changes.
Sorry. I didn't think an email blast was necessary as we'd been discussing these changes in the Forum for some time. And in early October I'd posted a notice in the News & Announcements board explaining what was going to happen.

The only problem I have is that I now have to scroll from "side to side" to read all of any message. That never happened before. Is there a way to correct it?
Another member is having the same issue and I'm not sure why. The Forum should spread across the whole width of the viewer's monitor. However, there is some minimum size beyond which it cannot shrink the width.

If possible, have you tried increasing the screen resolution? Or would that make things too small to read?

Oliver

[sissy]

Trying not to complain, but since it was mentioned. I have to scroll side to side also. If I make the print smaller so I don't have to scroll, it is a little hard to read. I really don't have to scroll much, but I didn't have to before. (Not since I got a new computer anyway lol)
Still getting use to it all.
sissy

[BigOBear]

I was having to scroll side to side yesterday. Then, right after I clicked on a post to read, I walked away for a bit. When I came back, the page had automatically moved so that the thread was centered. I guess I wasn't waiting long enough for the whole page to load?

[esh]

The cellar is a place of which I believe I will choose to stay out.

[admin]

The problem appeared to be the new posts links. The way they were structured, they could not wrap to a new line the way message text does.

As you will have noticed, I moved the new posts links to their own line in the menu bar and now the Forum width can shrink about 10% more than it did before.

Please let me know if solves the problem for those who've been scrolling.


Oliver

[sissy]

No more scrolling for me & can make print as big as i want. Thanks Oliver
sissy

[12vman]

"Please let me know if solves the problem for those who've been scrolling."

Thank You! Looks great! Better than before the change! ;)

[kamont]

:) looks good :)

[rAcErRicK]

:) Guess it's human nature to resist "change", especially since we have had such a large dose of it from DC. ;)

I too didn't like it at first, but after giving it a chance, it is quite a bit faster, and better Oliver, and moving the catagories down to the second row was a welcome relief too ! The only thing that seems to slow everything down (IMHO) is the wait 20 seconds before switching to another of the 3 catagories. When there are "no new posts" on a catagory the 20 second wait is a PITA. Is it really necessary ?

Overall, a huge thanks for all your efforts here, and for the privelege of using this forum. We all have a good thing going here, thanks again.

rr

[femmesteader]

I am easily adapted to change, regardless if we're moving or if i get another job...i see and understand the changes, and i kinda really like how the forums are grouped.

i totally agree that it reduces all the downward scrolling. i like the sub-forum categories.

Thanks Oliver.

[admin]

Rick,

The 20-second wait was the default. It's meant to foil bots and spammers. But since we screen all new members, it's not likely we'd have such trouble, but we could, so I compromised and cut the wait in half to ten seconds.

I hope that helps.


Oliver

[admin]

And thanks to all who posted and PM'd with kind and enthusiastic words about the changes. I'm happy they are so well received and am glad they are working as intended -- making navigating the Forum easier and faster.

Oliver

[chero]

Thanks for the email. I'll keep posting.

[BigOBear]

...so I compromised and cut the wait in half to ten seconds.

Thank you soooo much for this!

[Vidman]

Thanks for letting me know. I'll check it out.

Oliver

ok...I am not smart enough. Just someone please turn me on. I am not going through all this crap. members CP? where is that? I just want to click on the dang room and enter and debate the topics of the day. DO NOT MAKE IT HARD FOR ME!

[rAcErRicK]

ok...I am not smart enough. Just someone please turn me on. I am not going through all this crap. members CP? where is that? I just want to click on the dang room and enter and debate the topics of the day. DO NOT MAKE IT HARD FOR ME!

What is it that's giving you trouble Vid ? Let me see if I can help.

[Teg]

ok...I am not smart enough. Just someone please turn me on. I am not going through all this crap. members CP? where is that? I just want to click on the dang room and enter and debate the topics of the day. DO NOT MAKE IT HARD FOR ME!

Member CP should be right at the top of the forum page on the right, next to the FAQ and Community buttons.

[rAcErRicK]

I believe it is in the dark green bar that goes all the way across the screen, but on my machine, it's on the left Teg.

But why does he need that ?

[Deep South]

Have y'all noticed since the change, the threads in the Extended Access areas are no longer showing like 20 viewers at one time. Cut down on the drive by viewers. Now they gotta go through the trouble of registering, getting to know you period and getting approved for access. I write that like it is a good thing.