Traditional Muzzleloading Association
The Center of Camp => The Campfire => Topic started by: Spotted Bull on July 09, 2020, 04:22:45 PM
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Hey folks! I need to know what difficulties or complaints everyone has about using the forum, from posting to reading or navigating or whatever. What do we need to fix? What just isnt working for you? Please don't be shy!
Thanks
Spotted Bull
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Well, there may not be very many that will post complaints, as they've already left.
I will mention what I've been told over time... Posting pictures are a PITA,,, and they are. Eventually some get it worked out, while others simply give up and move on somewhere else, and some just flat out don't like this current layout... We've had this conversation before and it doesn't end well.
Bottom line is that if those you want to like your Forum - don't like your Forum - you're not going to get them back. That's just the facts...
Don't mean to step on anyone's toes, but this is what I've heard more then once.
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I agree with Joe.
When someone has been on the Forum, as long as I have over the years, you develop friendly relationships. Some that last a lifetime.
Over the years folks begin to confide in you, share thoughts with you, and even quite often voice their complaints. And, some even become lifelong friends.
Sometimes I could act on and resolve their complaints but, when it came to the Forum itself, and not being user-friendly in their minds, I was at a loss, and I often tried to appease the member by using the same mumbo-jumbo I had been told.
In essence their complaints went unanswered and those Supporting Member soon found a "home" where they did feel more comfortable.
This is by no means directed to any Admin, present or past, it's just the nature of the business, as practically everyone has set in their mind what they personally feel is a user-friendly Forum.
Again, agreeing with Joe, we have lost more paying members, by way of the Forum itself, than anything the Board of Directors has ever done.
I know the complaint, I know it well, but what to do about it is beyond me.
The Board of Directors, right now, has more talent and more experience than any time I can recall, short of our start-up back in 2004/2005. They are to be commended for this feat, and I'm sure they will all see this post and act accordingly.
Respectfully, Uncle Russ...
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Ok I read that posting pics is a PITA, Rob D's tutorial on it is pretty self explanatory and simple to follow even with screen captures on how to do it, unfortunately we have no magic photo hosting add on that makes it easier than it is, Uncle Russ, and all, feel free to send me a pm on whatever problems that your having navigating the forum or prior complaints that you think need fixing, I think our forum is as easy as navigating Claudes place or the ALR site!
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I agree about post pix being a pia as compared to years ago, simply because( imo) you have to resize everything.,then try n keep it seperated from full size stuff. But it is what it is. I also, kind of , understand big pictures taking too much room or storage on the forum. The first thing I do after logging on is hit,"unread posts since last visit" tab. And they seem to disapear sooner than they used to and if I dint finish reading,replying or studying it then I have to try and find it,(not remembering what category it was under)
ALR, imo is the very easiest to navigate but no easier in pix posting.(perhaps worse) Easy navigation due to the simplicity of the layout.?
That all being said, ALR and the TMA forum are the only two black powder forums I go to, and will continue being a part of. Are they always easy? No but they are both worth the effort. ( all of this observation more so than complaint)
Frontier Folks forum is dead and COHT forum is pretty dead as well,I think both due to fb.
I dont know who claude is but if its an old forum im thinking of, I havent been there since 08 or before,no need or desire to from what I was seeing.
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Dan, it's the forum your thinking of!
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First off, thanks for the thread. If ya don't know sumthin is broke, ya probably will never try to fix it...and if no one will speak up, how will ya ever find out? So post the thread asking for positive criticism and complaints is a good start to making things better. It also shows our willingness to listen and make changes. :bl th up
That said, I have always had a real issue with trying to post pics...but that is due to my limitations, and I will readily 'fess up to that. But, other than that, I have had absolutely no problems in the year and a half or so I have been active. Everything is clear and easy to access. I have been consistently impressed with the wealth of knowledge on the forum and the ease in accessing it.
Added to that is the unbelievable friendliness of all the members with which I have interacted. Don't think I can remember another group that I am a part of that is so accepting, so helpful, and so consistently friendly... :toast
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I have never liked the setup here. I'm on muzzleloadingforum.com and find it much more user friendly.
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I have never liked the setup here. I'm on muzzleloadingforum.com and find it much more user friendly.
Can you be specific about what parts of the setup you dislike please?
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Forum navigation has been a complaint over time; "a'lot of complaints"
It's preferred by many to have individual boards for certain topics, Such as;
Flintlock Muzzle Loading Firearms
Percussion Muzzle Loading Firearms
Muzzle Loading Handguns
Archery
Bladed Weapons (Knives / Hawks / Other)
When folks say they have to search for something, the above is 9 times out of 10 what they'er talking about as they have one Board with all muzzle loading firearms in it and they have to sift through it until they find what they were looking for - other then being able to narrow their search to (example; Flintlock Long Guns) or (Cap Lock Revolvers) or (Archery)...
This has been one area (aside from the picture posting) I've heard the biggest complaints about from folks over the years.
If they want to search for Flintlock Rifles, they would like to be able to go to a Board dedicated to just that... People like a quick reference to what they are looking for - we don't have that anymore... This (IMHO) has led to more member exits then anything...
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I, on the other hand, really like this site for ease of use. I have pretty well given up on GBO because it just s-l-o-w-s down my (old) computer. Other sites I used to be on have had their issues also or I would visit them more often.
Posting photos here is no worse in my experience than at other sites. The size limit is a bit of a pain but understandable. And I like the emojis we have!
~Kees~
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With regards to the photo posting, is there such a thing that the webmaster could install that self adjusts the photo to the correct size as its be loaded onto the forum page?.
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Forum navigation has been a complaint over time; "a'lot of complaints"
It's preferred by many to have individual boards for certain topics, Such as;
Flintlock Muzzle Loading Firearms
Percussion Muzzle Loading Firearms
Muzzle Loading Handguns
Archery
Bladed Weapons (Knives / Hawks / Other)
When folks say they have to search for something, the above is 9 times out of 10 what they'er talking about as they have one Board with all muzzle loading firearms in it and they have to sift through it until they find what they were looking for - other then being able to narrow their search to (example; Flintlock Long Guns) or (Cap Lock Revolvers) or (Archery)...
This has been one area (aside from the picture posting) I've heard the biggest complaints about from folks over the years.
If they want to search for Flintlock Rifles, they would like to be able to go to a Board dedicated to just that... People like a quick reference to what they are looking for - we don't have that anymore... This (IMHO) has led to more member exits then anything...
I have to agree with Joe.
This is the very thing that I have received the most complaints on over the years.....layout, can't find the posts that interested them most and, they wanted more information on whatever that subject was, but can no longer find that particular thread.
Plus, we have to remember, "Those members who have already left and moved on, will not be answering here",
And that is most unfortunate!
They are the only ones that know "EXACTLY" why they left. And I am just repeating what many of them have told me over time.
Uncle Russ...
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We are working on a solution to the navigation issues. It will probably take several days to iron out and move on, but it's in the works.
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Those that have moved on and wont be commenting are not the reason we are making changes. Let's make changes so the ones that are here and the ones that will be coming here, are more likely to stay and comment and find what they are looking for and be happy enough to pay that $15 a year and get access to the members area and make thousands and thousands of posts and comments!
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With regards to the photo posting, is there such a thing that the webmaster could install that self adjusts the photo to the correct size as its be loaded onto the forum page?.
Dan, that's something to look into, I'll get back to you on that!
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Since finding imgbb.com, I have not had any trouble posting photos. I find it pretty easy to use and it works.
Problems with the board? I find it is kinda difficult to find threads that have not been used in a while, especially figuring out what general topic they were included under. Else, not too many problems. The new, improved format (if that's the correct word) took me a while to catch on to, but I make no claim to being very computer literate. 30 or 40 years ago, I thought I was pretty sharp, but computers have moved on since then but I haven't. And I don't really care.
John (Bigsmoke)
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I have never liked the setup here. I'm on muzzleloadingforum.com and find it much more user friendly.
Can you be specific about what parts of the setup you dislike please?
It's just the overall feel. Others have sufficiently pointed out the differences with other forums.
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Stick with us brother! Changes are afoot!
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With regards to the photo posting, is there such a thing that the webmaster could install that self adjusts the photo to the correct size as its be loaded onto the forum page?.
Dan, that's something to look into, I'll get back to you on that!
Dan, here is the answer from our forum administrator;
Rob is there anything in the forums hosting board that has an automatic picture sizing that can be added to the photo attachment upload?
in a word, no. ALR links to a 3rd party image archive that's similar to imgur. this means that images that are in ALR forum threads are not stored on the ALR forum server, and if that 3rd party archive server goes belly up, or pulls a fast one as pukebucket did, all the ALR posted images from that 3rd party source are gone. not a good thing, and imho this is not the way to go.
the problem with using attached post images, that are stored on the TMA server, is that most of these images are mega large. for the most part we can blame that on cellphones and digital cameras, where the idea is that large images are needed to make prints. i doubt that even .1% of users are interested in hard copy images.
so you have a 4000 wide image that runs 8megs or so to upload as an attachment and what might happen is the the upload will browser time out because of YOUR poor bandwidth connection. no one wants to edit their images, or cares to, or knows how to create more meaningful digital dimensions. 1024 (hex) width is really quite large enuf, and most would be better off with 800 pixels wide. the other issue with large uploaded images is that they eat up server space.
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So using imgur.com is the beat way to go. I use my phone a lot on the forum, and they have an app that I use.
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Good news folks! There's been some behind the scenes work going on that I wanted to let you in on. Currently, we are going through the boards and removing old posts with broken links or photobucket crashed pictures and the like. This is freeing up space on our server. Robd has added the capacity to attach gigantic pictures to your posts.
And most importantly, once the cleanup has been done, the entire forum (mostly) will get an overhaul that will make finding what you are looking for much easier! New boards and new categories and all that jazz.
We are even looking into adding a new coat of paint and changing the color scheme and window dressing and what-not. Make it prettier, I reckon.
But you will have to pardon our dust during construction. The BOD is excited about. We hope that you will be as well!
Watch your topknot!
Spotted Bull
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:hairy It sounds exciting! I'm glad we have Rob (and others) to do all this technological stuff. A BIG thank you from this technophobe! :yessir:
~Kees~
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Yeah Kees, me too. Especially the technophobe part.
And to think, I used to be a programmer. Man, that was a while ago. Now, if my keyboard and my mouse work, I'm just as happy as a clam in the sand.
John (Bigsmoke)
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Now, I just looked at that previous post and it got me to wondering - what happened?
By comparing my starting 6/20/2020 number of posts to my current posts, it appears that I have lost 289????
Man, at this rate, I'll be back to 0 posts in no time at all.
But, this is all computerish so I do not understand what is going on one little, tiny bit. :bigsmile:
John (Bigsmoke)
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John with all the pruning of posts that has been going on, we never thought about it impacting this contest. We will talk about that directly.
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OK, thank you David. Appreciate your looking into that.
Also, it seems like I have been registered here as Bigsmoke since day 1, and then a little while back (maybe when I paid my dues) I reverted to my actual name of John Shorb. If'n I had my druthers, I'd rather be listed as Bigsmoke. ??????
Be well.
John (Bigsmoke)
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I can fix that.
I think.
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By comparing my starting 6/20/2020 number of posts to my current posts, it appears that I have lost 289????
Worse than that, now! You went from 4577 to 4180, so you're down another 108 posts. :o :o :o
And to think, I used to be a programmer. Man, that was a while ago. Now, if my keyboard and my mouse work, I'm just as happy as a clam in the sand.
Me too! I learned machine language programming when I got a two-year degree in electronics technology. When the PCs came out I learned to program in Basic. I've used confusers at work for years until I retired, and taught others how to do so as well. Now I am still using Windows Vista because I don't want to have to learn how to use the latest, greatest upgrade.... :Doh! :laffing
~Kees~
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Visually it's not the easiest to use....and I got good vision!
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Visually it's not the easiest to use....and I got good vision!
Hawken, would a different color scheme make it any easier? If so, what colors?
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(https://i.imgur.com/4iIlcdmm.jpg)