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    Enjoy.

New Site Software

Greggers

SAOCA Vice President
Platinum Level Sponsor
Welcome to the new, new forum. You won't notice much in the way of changes, but it will work better and should run smoother. Though not much has changed, there are a few enhancements.

1. There are new options for the site style inspired by the colors of our Sunbeams – Click on "Site Style" in the bottom left-hand corner, choose one, see what you like best, and feel free to reach out with readability suggestions.
2. Higher resolution images – You should be able to upload bigger images to the forum.
3. Email enhancements – We've changed the way alerts are handled, so if you weren't getting emails before for some reason, you <should> be getting them now.
4. More to come – The new software allows a lot more flexibility, so we'll be adding and adjusting functionality as we go. Please send me a private message if you have a suggestion/request.

Remember, we're volunteers, not web developers, so please bear with us as we make this transition. I'm excited to finally be able to share it with everyone, and I hope that everything runs as smoothly as a well-tuned 1725.
 

nsbluenose

Silver Level Sponsor
Nice improvements.
New fonts are pretty cool. Especially the Red and the Big Print ones.
Nice ‘crisp’ format.
Great work guys.
 

Greggers

SAOCA Vice President
Platinum Level Sponsor
OK, we have our first real "That ain't right" issue. Some folks are pointing out that when clicking on a thread, it sometimes goes to the first post rather than the most recent. It seems that the Xenforo folks designed the software that way.

The way the software authors think it should work is this:
  1. For threads with new posts, it should go to the first new post.
  2. If for some reason there are new posts but you've still been dumped to the first post, click on "Jump to New" in the top right.
  3. Once you've viewed all posts in the thread, clicking back on the thread goes back to the first post in the thread (even if it's years old, like Sunbeam 2000 build).
  4. If you want to go back and look at recent posts in that thread, you have to click on the last page in the page list.

This isn't really ideal behavior, so I'm going to continue finding solutions. It looks like there's an add-on available for $20 that will work like this:
  1. New posts go to the bottom of the thread, and you go there automatically when you click on the forum.
  2. Once you go back into a thread where you've read all posts, it takes you to the bottom of the forum, showing the newest post.
Should the club pay the $ and add the feature?

There is a workaround, but it requires a habit change. Instead of clicking on the thread title, you can click on the time the last post in the thread was posted, circled in red below. More to come.

NewPostExample.png
 

Alpine 1789

SAOCA President
Diamond Level Sponsor
Great work, Greg! I don't know what this club would do without you! Thank you!

As for the $20, I think we should pay it, if only because it will probably mean you will receive a few fewer emails/messages asking about the problem. Something that makes your job easier is definitely worth $20.
 

Greggers

SAOCA Vice President
Platinum Level Sponsor
Well, good news and bad news. And medium news. I've installed the add on. It turns out it's $20 for the first year and $10 for renewal. (that's none of the above news)

The good news is that I was able to install it on all the "Rootes Group Vehicles" forums (the rest will have to wait). The bad news is that it doesn't take you to the newest post wherever it lands, it simply makes page 1 the newest post, meaning new posts appear on top and older posts get pushed down. And it looks like you can't change that. It's either all or nothing for every body. Either I turn it on and everybody sees posts with page 1 being the newest, or I turn if off and page 1 is the oldest. So I'll keep researching.

Perhaps we'll have to start a poll to see how many want the reverse order thing.
 

hartmandm

Moderator
Diamond Level Sponsor
I view the site by first viewing all new posts. When I see the list of threads, I open each thread in a separate browser tab. Before installing the add-on, I was jumping to the newest post in each thread. The behavior was the same as prior to the latest forum software update.

With the add-on, page 1 is newest and most recent post is at the top of the page. Personally I find it hard to scroll down a while to find what post is the latest I haven't read in a thread and then read posts from bottom to top.

Mike
 

Greggers

SAOCA Vice President
Platinum Level Sponsor
I view the site by first viewing all new posts. When I see the list of threads, I open each thread in a separate browser tab. Before installing the add-on, I was jumping to the newest post in each thread. The behavior was the same as prior to the latest forum software update.

With the add-on, page 1 is newest and most recent post is at the top of the page. Personally I find it hard to scroll down a while to find what post is the latest I haven't read in a thread and then read posts from bottom to top.

Mike
Personally, I think this plug-in takes us in the wrong direction. It solves a minor inconvenience for some but turns it into a major hindrance for most. I'm going to recommend we remove the add-on and go back to the way it was. Hopefully they'll add the jump to latest thread/page feature back into the software.
 

spmdr

Diamond Level Sponsor
Funny thing about the Timing of this thread.

I was JUST about to Donate/Join, as a form of bribery

to get the SAOCA web master to make some changes to the log In/Log Out process.


I had other suggestions but they ALL have been fixed recently.

So my suggestion is:


1-On log in, change the default to NO "stay logged in".

...If you stay logged In/auto log In, you set this one time.

If you want to Log Out, you change this EVERY time.

(not sure what the setting, "stay Logged In" buys you, ...IF you Log Out?? )


2- On Log Out, change to a ONE Button process.

Currently, for me, it is a 2-3 hit process.

It was a 3 hit until the "Log in banner" JUST got changed to Not scroll off the screen.


BTW, the Log Out button location (on the Mail PM page) would work GREAT IF it was on the same line
as the logged In avatar.


Also, I'm sure the donation/Join process can be made Easier IF you Don't want to use PP.

-starting with Donation levels clearly obvious without having to go looking for them.

My $.02 ....for now

(Dan R, get ready for the "check in the mail")

DW
 

spmdr

Diamond Level Sponsor
OK, having Just trotted around the NEW Forum, It is WAY different Re Page 1 on top or bottom.

And, not consistent!

I am a member of 8 Forums, None work this way, ....last time I was on them anyway...

So, new tricks to learn.. not a fan of that activity, ...just for change sake?

BTW, the Last odd way this Forum worked Re other Xen Forums, is the hit of the Logged avatar.
All Others need a Click-on... I'm Happy to see this change to follow other Forums.

DW
 

Greggers

SAOCA Vice President
Platinum Level Sponsor
I was JUST about to Donate/Join, as a form of bribery

to get the SAOCA web master to make some changes to the log In/Log Out process.
On behalf of the club, I'd like to thank you. I guess I'm the closest thing we have to a webmaster. I am not a webmaster. I'm not a computer programmer. I'm a volunteer who inherited Xenforo and researches things way beyond his skillset to manage this site alone. The fact that it hasn't imploded in the past 5 years is a testament to the quality of Xenforo, hundreds of hours of unpaid work done by volunteers, and not a small amount of dumb luck.
I had other suggestions but they ALL have been fixed recently.
Great!
1-On log in, change the default to NO "stay logged in".

...If you stay logged In/auto log In, you set this one time.

If you want to Log Out, you change this EVERY time.

(not sure what the setting, "stay Logged In" buys you, ...IF you Log Out?? )
Sorta yes, sorta no. The "Stay Logged In" buys you the ability to close your browser window and not have to log back in.

Stay Logged In Checked
  • If you close your browser window, you can visit the site again without logging back in. How long that works is a bit of a mystery. (Note it doesn't work if you have Private or Incognito mode activated)
  • Because most people log in on their personal computers, this is the expected behavior. So box checked is the default setting.
  • If you click "Log Out," you'll have to log back in on next visit regardless of checked/unchecked.
Stay Logged In NOT Checked
  • If you close your browser window, you have to log back in, even if it's two seconds later.
  • If you visit the site on a shared computer, such as at the library or hotel business center, definitely uncheck this box.
  • If you click "Log Out," you'll have to log back in on next visit regardless of checked/unchecked.
So essentially, if you want to:
  • Log out automatically when you close your browser window, uncheck the "Stay logged in" box (1-click)
  • Not have to log in every single time you visit the site, do nothing, leave the box checked
  • Log out every time you leave the site, ignore the box, as it's of no use to you
Either way, if you want to be 100% certain you've logged out when you log out, you'll have to click on your username and click the "Log Out" link (2-clicks).

2- On Log Out, change to a ONE Button process.

Currently, for me, it is a 2-3 hit process.

It was a 3 hit until the "Log in banner" JUST got changed to Not scroll off the screen.


BTW, the Log Out button location (on the Mail PM page) would work GREAT IF it was on the same line
as the logged In avatar.
Back to the previous thing, if you want to log out whenever you're done with the site, uncheck "Stay Logged In" (1-click) and simply close your browser window.

Adding a button is not as simple as it sounds. It requires adding custom code into the Xenforo back-end. I've done some research on adding a logout button, and when people ask how, once you wade through the "Don't, because this is the way it works on Facebook and everything else" responses, you get to a vague, "You'll have to program that yourself." We're always looking for volunteers to help research how things like this can be done. I'd be more than happy to add the code snippets if you can find a solution. Thanks!

Also, I'm sure the donation/Join process can be made Easier IF you Don't want to use PP.

-starting with Donation levels clearly obvious without having to go looking for them.

My $.02 ....for now

(Dan R, get ready for the "check in the mail")
Yes, admittedly, donation can be easier if you don't want to use PayPal. You can make credit card payments through PayPal without having a PayPal account, but without involving PayPal, the only current solution is pay Dan. For another solution, the club would have to get a merchant account through a new payment processor, which seemed like a lot of work the last time we explored it. The ones that are integrated into Xenforo out of the box are:
  • Braintree (which is part of PayPal)
  • PayPal (which is also PayPal)
  • Stripe
  • 2Checkout (which on first glance doesn't seem 2Legit)
If you have time to help research Stripe as well, I'd personally appreciate it.


OK, having Just trotted around the NEW Forum, It is WAY different Re Page 1 on top or bottom.

And, not consistent!

I am a member of 8 Forums, None work this way, ....last time I was on them anyway...

So, new tricks to learn.. not a fan of that activity, ...just for change sake?
This, as mentioned in an earlier post, was caused by an add-on plug-in that didn't work out. It's gone now. And the inconsistency is because it takes some time to implement forum by forum by forum, and I needed to get to bed. Again, we're volunteers. Now if I could just find some volunteers to help me with my Sunbeams....


Anyway, enjoy the new site. I hope the concerns that have been solved outweigh the concerns that we can't.
 

spmdr

Diamond Level Sponsor
Greg, Thanks for your time posting and DOING!

It's too bad a lot of web stuff appears to be built and tested

by those who live a way different life than those who use the sites.

User Friendly seems to Not be a goal with some sites/software.

One thing I was wondering, And this is a BIG "look in the Mouth of the Gift horse"...

this site does Not have the Pesky cookie info banner (thank YOU!!) constantly displayed if you don't Log In,

as Most other Forums do,

What did you do to eliminate that pesky banner?

And, does the cookie banner show up for SAOCA UK users?

BTW, it has been 40 years since I wrote any computer Machine code, at work,

But I do have connections in the computer programing world.
 

Warren

Bronze Level Sponsor
There's things that happen here but seems to be impossible on the same software platform. For instance the display of membership banners and the yearly renewal to levels of membership Bronze etc.
The donation time banner is a good reminder for those who don't subscribe. I have usually sent to friends and family because PayNotPal
Is to big to care and I love gypping them out of 2.9% I'm at the bottom Bronze level because I'm a paying member too many places.
I remember telling a good friend here that IDK where my $ goes either so I'm a little hesitant to toss it about.
 

MikeH

Diamond Level Sponsor
Is it just me, am I remembering it wrong? I thought that when you picked a topic out of one of the forum sections, such as this one, the title of the thread appeared above the first post. So along with the path, the topic, New Site Software in this case, was also displayed. Not a big deal, just noticed it.
 

hartmandm

Moderator
Diamond Level Sponsor
It looks like the thread title is now part of the breadcrumb trail at the top of the page:

1675214362276.png

Mike
 
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