This may be a bit premature (and not taking into account bugs) but so far as one in a sea of users, I like the new forums. Though a little bit hard to find at first, the new layout and wealth of user perferences is great.
A couple of suggestions:
That's all, so far so good.
steve
steve.k said: I've liked forums that list a "number of times viewed" column. It helps to know what other users have looked at, what they have found helpful, especially threads I have started.
Yes, I see what you mean. There is a "Popular Discussion" widget at the top-level forum thread listing, but we will look into showing the number of views (first to see if that is possible :)
steve.k said: Probably not suitable for a company forum, but I also like a Thanks feature, that you can thank a user and it is a user statistic - I think it encourages user contribution more.
Hmmm... that is an interesting suggestion. Not sure if this system provides that, but it will be looked into also.
steve.k said: Is the "answered" category similar to the "solved" feature in other forums? Ie where the user who posts the thread can tick a "Is Solved" box when the question is answered.
Yes, that is precisely what that is for. It existed in the previous system, but was only engaged in a couple of forums there... we did not think it looked that good, and what exists now is so much nicer.
Answer Verified By: steve.k
I'm finding the new format to be cumbersome and confusing so far. It is NOT intuitive. Is there a tutorial to help us get familiar with the site?
The links to the home page should be more prominent (they are tiny hyperlinks along the top of the page). The links to my favorites are also not easy to find as they are small buttons at the very top edge of the page. I would really like to see the community in some sort of tree format. Right now it is difficult to find what content is available. As for the list of My Favorites, I am seeing my favorite forums and my favorite threads mixed together in the list. I think we should keep favorite forums and favorite threads seperate. Otherwise the list is going to bloated and cumbersome.
Lastly, is there a way to stop getting email notifications to my own posts like the old site was?
Neil Wilson (aka Neilw)
Power Civil v8i 08.11.07.245
AutoCAD Civil 3D 2018
Unknown said:Lastly, is there a way to stop getting email notifications to my own posts like the old site was?
I find this irritating as well. Now that there is no more NNTP service it might be neccessary.
Thanks to bring the new forum alive. I think that there was huge work behind the scenes to migrate that.
I'm also confused by the new interface. Took some slices of a day to find information, "my discussions" and even this thread here! It's so unusual, and the way how it's organized now is hard to grab. Also this very modern presentation is very different from all other forums I know (generally a problem in Internet). Need to learn yet another handling.
But I think the new search engine is worth all the hassle. I'll give it a chance to mature more and see good discussions and FAQ/Tech Articles to browse through.
THX again, guys. Bigean
Try Customizing your Home Page.
Place a "Generic Content" widget and build your own html link list.The following are links to various Forums - Unread page which canbe copy-paste & edited to your taste:
AskIngaBeCommunities FeedbackBentley LibraryCivil Site DesignEverything ElseMicroStation
MicroStation V8 2004 EditionMicroStation V8 2004 Edition - DWGMicroStation V8 2004 Edition - PrintingMicroStation V8 2004 Edition - ProgrammingMicroStation V8 2004 Edition - VBA
MicroStation V8 XM EditionMicroStation V8 XM Edition - DetailingMicroStation V8 XM Edition - DWGMicroStation V8 XM Edition - PrintingMicroStation V8 XM Edition - ProgrammingMicroStation V8 XM Edition - VBA
MicroStation V8iMicroStation V8i - DetailingMicroStation V8i - DWGMicroStation V8i - PrintingMicroStation V8i - ProgrammingMicroStation V8i - VBA
Road DesignersShare & Show OffWorkspace Wizards
There are a few new good things about the new forum - one specifically being able to filter a forum for posts that I have contributed to - something that was sorely missing from the old one.
In general I do like the look, but think there is way too much wasted space, taken up with BIG headings and lots of blank space.
I also think there needs to be a link back to the forum at the bottom of the page, not just the top. For people like me who like to read logically in descending order of posts, we get to the bottom of the page and then have to scroll all the way back to the top to get back to the forum (unless we shortcut by using 'Back' keys or mouse gestures).
Thanks for posting that Roy - was unaware I could do that! Have just played around and made it much better - I still wish I could get rid of that huge banner that asks me to log in or join - when I'm already logged in!!
Yes please :-)
The other thing I have done is to remove all Groups and Forums from my Favorites so that I can use the Favorites to link to threads of current interest. I hope this will be temporary and that better seperation of Favorite Groups, Forums & Threads can be accomplished. The Groups are already available via the "Group List" widget. I think it would be great if there were several seperate Favorite Places Drop-Down lists at the top of the page: Blogs, Forums, Wikis & Groups. Perhaps all under the one Drop-Down & each with its own Fly-Out List. I would also like to configure the default Tab for the Forums (Unread). I still would like one page which would consolidate all Unread threads from ALL Favorite Forums.
Yes please! Since I will be rarely looking at blogs and wikis, and even files, I would love to be able to put them 'out of the way' somewhere so my focus can really be on Forums.
Unknown said: Yes please! Since I will be rarely looking at blogs and wikis, and even files, I would love to be able to put them 'out of the way' somewhere so my focus can really be on Forums.
One of the significant aspects of the way things are organized now is to put wiki, blog, and file content alongside forums. Put those "out of the way" and you will miss out on information that is likely to answer questions before you even have to ask them.
Phil,
What I am looking for (and I think many others - Richard included) is quick access to the content need from all pages. With the current organization of the "Favorite Places" it is difficult, at best, to discern which link goes to which Blog, Forum, Group, Wiki or even Thread. The Titles are truncated to the point they only show the Sub-Forum & Threads are interspersed withing the Forums also I find that trying to display Groups, Forums & etc. at the same time most of the time will require the user to use the # more link and even then sometimes need to click through several pages to get to a SHORTCUT to their Favorite Forum.
Even though it appears I have nothing but criticism for the site, for the most part I like the new layout and the abiltiy to customize the home page. It would be nice If we could specify which widgets should be persistent throughout the site. Also the fixed width / size of the pages seems to be a waste of space (you can hardly buy a monitor w/ a 4:3 aspect anymore). It would be nice if the "main" frame would resize with the window and the leave the supplementary frames a fixed width.
Thanks - Roy