1. Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1406 views
What are features that you would like to see in this forum? Here are a list of features I know needs to be added:
- User accounts and preferences (login and stay logged in via cookie)
- Name
- Signature
- Editor Height/Width
- List Order (new messages at top or bottom?)
- Advanced search (Author, Subject, Body)
- RSS/ATOM feed
- Tracking last visit date and making new messages appear as bold subjects or some other indication (including in thread view).
- Preview before posting
- Better styling (not sure what this would totally look like, but would remain simple and clean)
- Better navigation
These things really are not hard. Many people need a simple forum such as this and do not need something as complex as phpBB. Written in Euphoria and being able to translate may make the forum an application that will give Euphoria further exposure. To setup this forum, it's easy. Just put the binary in a directory w/cgi permissions and access! It'll create the database if necessary. It accesses all themed files in the local directory (head.html, foot.html, list.html, thread.html, message.html). It'd take someone on Linux literally 2 minutes to have a running forum. That's a real selling point w/Eu apps.
Jeremy
2. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by bernie Jul 02, 2008
- 1441 views
I would like to see someway to adjust the size of the text and display to a smaller size. It is 4 or 5 times too large.
3. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1420 views
I would like to see someway to adjust the size of the text and display to a smaller size. It is 4 or 5 times too large.
Ok. I am not sure why it's 4-5 times larger though. I do not actually set the font size anywhere, so it should just be using the default font size. You can look at the stylesheet: http://www.openeuphoria.org/EUforum/style.css ... Maybe I should not be using Verdana?
Jeremy
4. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1412 views
I would like to see someway to adjust the size of the text and display to a smaller size. It is 4 or 5 times too large.
Bernie, I changed it to use Arial first, if available. Did that fix it for you? The font size?
Jeremy
5. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Matt Lewis Jul 02, 2008
- 1398 views
What are features that you would like to see in this forum? Here are a list of features I know needs to be added:
- Better styling (not sure what this would totally look like, but would remain simple and clean)
Built-in alternate styles. Allow community contributions to be used by all (this is probably something for the admin to allow.)
Also, move the spam answer to near the post button. I always miss it the first time.
6. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Dan Moyer Jul 02, 2008
- 1455 views
I would like to see someway to adjust the size of the text and display to a smaller size. It is 4 or 5 times too large.
Ok. I am not sure why it's 4-5 times larger though. I do not actually set the font size anywhere, so it should just be using the default font size. You can look at the stylesheet: http://www.openeuphoria.org/EUforum/style.css ... Maybe I should not be using Verdana?
Jeremy,
This is *very* nice! Good job! :)
I like the font size as it is, so if you do change it, I hope you make it adjustable (and stored, so once reader sets it, stays like that for next time).
Also, one tweak would make the threads display even better: when a thread is read (well, selected, & presumed all read), can you make all those just looked at also show as read in the main Message List? That way a person can know which message to resume reading by threads *at* as new posts to that thread come in.
Dan
7. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Chris Jul 02, 2008
- 1417 views
A thread only view, the thread with the most recent post at the top, not the original post, the most recent reply.
And if you want to quickly change the size of the font, just press control and scroll the mouse wheel (if you don't have one, I don't know what the alternative is, apart from GET A NEW MOUSE
Chris
8. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1414 views
What are features that you would like to see in this forum? Here are a list of features I know needs to be added:
- Better styling (not sure what this would totally look like, but would remain simple and clean)
Built-in alternate styles. Allow community contributions to be used by all (this is probably something for the admin to allow.)
Also, move the spam answer to near the post button. I always miss it the first time.
Ok, I did not add choosing styles, but I did:
- Add better styling. The message list still looks awkward, but I think the message view and thread view is starting to take shape.
- Move the spam question near the post button. I suppose I could use JavaScript to validate that you at least entered something in the spam question box.
Jeremy
9. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Fernando Jul 02, 2008
- 1422 views
Great job, Jeremy!
My suggestion is to include a message views counter. Some reasons: 1) To know how many people viewed our posts. 2) To know how appealing is the message's subject. 3) To have a sort of measure of Euphoria's popularity (many people don't post messages, but they could be reading).
- Fernando
10. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Matt Lewis Jul 02, 2008
- 1408 views
A thread only view, the thread with the most recent post at the top, not the original post, the most recent reply.
And if you want to quickly change the size of the font, just press control and scroll the mouse wheel (if you don't have one, I don't know what the alternative is, apart from GET A NEW MOUSE
Ctrl +/- works, too.
11. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1393 views
Great job, Jeremy!
My suggestion is to include a message views counter. Some reasons:
- To know how many people viewed our posts.
- To know how appealing is the message's subject.
- To have a sort of measure of Euphoria's popularity (many people don't post messages, but they could be reading).
Ok, I can handle updating a message counter for views when viewing a single message, but what about when viewing the thread? Should all messages in the thread be incremented by 1?
Jeremy
12. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Matt Lewis Jul 02, 2008
- 1395 views
A thread only view, the thread with the most recent post at the top, not the original post, the most recent reply.
And if you want to quickly change the size of the font, just press control and scroll the mouse wheel (if you don't have one, I don't know what the alternative is, apart from GET A NEW MOUSE
Ctrl +/- works, too.
Hmmm....broke it somehow....What I said was, Ctrl and plus or minus works, too...
13. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1423 views
Hmmm....broke it somehow
That seems to be a problem with the creole formatter. When you posted a follow up it all appeared. I'll look at the source and figure out what happened causing it to disappear. The creole formatter is used in our new doc system as well.
Jeremy
14. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Fernando Jul 02, 2008
- 1409 views
Great job, Jeremy!
My suggestion is to include a message views counter. Some reasons:
- To know how many people viewed our posts.
- To know how appealing is the message's subject.
- To have a sort of measure of Euphoria's popularity (many people don't post messages, but they could be reading).
Ok, I can handle updating a message counter for views when viewing a single message, but what about when viewing the thread? Should all messages in the thread be incremented by 1?
Jeremy
Supposing that usually the entire thread is viewed, then I think that all messages in the thread should be incremented by 1. However, I'm not completely sure about this, since I have little experience with forums. - Fernando
15. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 02, 2008
- 1415 views
And maybe put the "threaded" column back over on the right, so date is on the left next to the post title where you had it originally? (not important, obviously, I just liked it that way)
Dan
16. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1412 views
And maybe put the "threaded" column back over on the right, so date is on the left next to the post title where you had it originally? (not important, obviously, I just liked it that way)
I moved it because it was many times hard to track across and click the right "threaded". I think in the near future we can change it to an icon, thus, not taking up so much room and look cluttered.
Jeremy
17. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 02, 2008
- 1428 views
And maybe put the "threaded" column back over on the right, so date is on the left next to the post title where you had it originally? (not important, obviously, I just liked it that way)
I moved it because it was many times hard to track across and click the right "threaded". I think in the near future we can change it to an icon, thus, not taking up so much room and look cluttered.
Jeremy
Makes sense; I do like having ability to hit "threaded" *at* a post, that's nice.
And how about making all posts "read" via a thread view show up as "already read" in the main list (that is, different color than unread post titles, just to make it easier to find where you may have left off reading a thread as new posts to it come in)?
18. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1416 views
And how about making all posts "read" via a thread view show up as "already read" in the main list (that is, different color than unread post titles, just to make it easier to find where you may have left off reading a thread as new posts to it come in)?
I am going to have to play with that. The reason being is what makes it appear in a different color right now is nothing more than your web browser recording that you've visited that page already. A thread view is obviously a different URL than a single message view, so... I'm not yet sure how to handle it, but I know there is a way 
Jeremy
19. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 02, 2008
- 1408 views
And how about making all posts "read" via a thread view show up as "already read" in the main list (that is, different color than unread post titles, just to make it easier to find where you may have left off reading a thread as new posts to it come in)?
I am going to have to play with that. The reason being is what makes it appear in a different color right now is nothing more than your web browser recording that you've visited that page already. A thread view is obviously a different URL than a single message view, so... I'm not yet sure how to handle it, but I know there is a way
Jeremy
Good to know! I wondered if it wasn't something like that (the browser, rather than forum via cookies making the different colors), but wasn't sure.
Dan
20. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Greg Haberek Jul 02, 2008
- 1440 views
Is there any harm in using some images to clean up the layout? Silk icons are great for this sort of thing.
http://www.famfamfam.com/lab/icons/silk/
-Greg
21. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1439 views
Is there any harm in using some images to clean up the layout? Silk icons are great for this sort of thing.
Greg, are you good at this sort of thing? If I gave you some HTML templates, think you could plug some images in, do any other cleanup you see fit?
Jeremy
22. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Greg Haberek Jul 02, 2008
- 1408 views
Greg, are you good at this sort of thing? If I gave you some HTML templates, think you could plug some images in, do any other cleanup you see fit?
Jeremy
I'd say I've got a knack for that sort of thing, yes. Fire away, I'll do my best!
-Greg
23. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1427 views
I'd say I've got a knack for that sort of thing, yes. Fire away, I'll do my best!
Greg, I am a technical person with seemingly no artistic ability. Anything that I make that looks pretty has come with hard, hard, hard labor. I can organize it well, but make it appealing? Um, yeah.
Anyway, templates are located: http://jeremy.cowgar.com/files/forum-templates.zip
I've included the html templates plus the css file. I am sure you will see how it all fits together. Now, for naming, I'll probably change the names a bit, but you do not have to worry about that. As it stands now:
| template name | usage |
|---|---|
| list.html | message list (main page you see) |
| message.html | single message view |
| thread.html | threaded message view |
| post.html | posting a new message and/or replying to a message |
| redirect.html | use for things such as "Message has posted, continue..." |
| head.html | common header |
| foot.html | common footer |
If you have any questions let me know. You can email me results at jeremy (A) cowgar dot com...
Jeremy
24. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Greg Haberek Jul 02, 2008
- 1442 views
- Last edited Jul 03, 2008
Greg, I am a technical person with seemingly no artistic ability. Anything that I make that looks pretty has come with hard, hard, hard labor. I can organize it well, but make it appealing? Um, yeah.
Anyway, templates are located: http://jeremy.cowgar.com/files/forum-templates.zip
I've included the html templates plus the css file. I am sure you will see how it all fits together. Now, for naming, I'll probably change the names a bit, but you do not have to worry about that. As it stands now:
| template name | usage |
|---|---|
| list.html | message list (main page you see) |
| message.html | single message view |
| thread.html | threaded message view |
| post.html | posting a new message and/or replying to a message |
| redirect.html | use for things such as "Message has posted, continue..." |
| head.html | common header |
| foot.html | common footer |
If you have any questions let me know. You can email me results at jeremy (A) cowgar dot com...
Jeremy
Wow, I didn't know we could make tables, too! That's awesome! :D
I'll get cracking on in the next few days. Does this Creole markup support smilies (or "emoticons"), too? I've got a handful we could use that match the other icons I'll be laying down.
-Greg
25. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1427 views
- Last edited Jul 03, 2008
Wow, I didn't know we could make tables, too! That's awesome! :D
I'll get cracking on in the next few days. Does this Creole markup support smilies (or "emoticons"), too? I've got a handful we could use that match the other icons I'll be laying down.
Thanks Greg. No, it does not, but I was going to make it part of the forum. Can you send me the smily icons? I'll do that here tonight yet.
Oh, about tables...
|| Table Header || Another Header ||
| Column | Another column |
You do not have to align things, but I usually do for clarity.
Jeremy
26. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by bernie Jul 02, 2008
- 1417 views
- Last edited Jul 03, 2008
Jeremy: What if instead of the search box at the top you used the google search box so a user could search for a messages or search on the Web.
27. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 02, 2008
- 1428 views
- Last edited Jul 03, 2008
Jeremy: What if instead of the search box at the top you used the google search box so a user could search for a messages or search on the Web.
Bernie, I have no experience w/using embedded google search. It does sound attractive though, i.e. not writing my own search interfaces, if it will allow the same control. I am not sure though, will it allow us to search for just an author or just a subject? That's what I would fear.
Jeremy
28. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Kat Jul 02, 2008
- 1434 views
- Last edited Jul 03, 2008
Jeremy: What if instead of the search box at the top you used the google search box so a user could search for a messages or search on the Web.
That means google will bang on the site a lot more often to stay current with it's cached mirror.
Kat
29. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Ryan Johnson Jul 02, 2008
- 1423 views
- Last edited Jul 03, 2008
Does this Creole markup support smilies (or "emoticons"), too? I've got a handful we could use that match the other icons I'll be laying down.
Hey, I'd like to do that for EuWikiEngine, too.
30. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by CChris Jul 03, 2008
- 1424 views
Concerning the "Advanced Search" item:
One thing I have often missed is the ability to search for adjacent words. Lately, I needed to locate a group of posts that had "return Window" in it. I got all posts with both words anywhere as exact matches, which makes a huge difference.
Having .and., .or. and perhaps .andnot. would also help a lot.
CChris What I like most in this forum is the removal of Google ads, as some of them would considerably delay and sometimes prevent the displaying of next/prev post.
31. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 04, 2008
- 1472 views
My suggestion is to include a message views counter.
Fernando, they are added!
Jeremy Cowgar
32. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by euphoric (admin) Jul 04, 2008
- 1490 views
If I view a post 8 times, it should only count once. :)
33. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 04, 2008
- 1455 views
If I view a post 8 times, it should only count once. :)
Yes, yes, yes... Give me some time! Whew. I'll have to create a table to record IP/Post ID's then each time someone views it, compare to that table and their IP and decide to increment the view counter or not.
Jeremy
34. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by ChrisB (moderator) Jul 04, 2008
- 1480 views
Well, its been at least 10 minutes!
35. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Matt Lewis Jul 04, 2008
- 1446 views
How about a cheat sheet below the entry? I can never remember what the markup accepts.
36. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Greg Haberek Jul 04, 2008
- 1449 views
I'll get cracking on in the next few days. Does this Creole markup support smilies (or "emoticons"), too? I've got a handful we could use that match the other icons I'll be laying down.
-Greg
Jeremy,
I've sent you an update as promised. Check your e-mail.
-Greg
37. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Greg Haberek Jul 04, 2008
- 1450 views
Why not use cookies? We should have a cookie that saves our name, too. :D
-Greg
38. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 04, 2008
- 1449 views
Why not use cookies? We should have a cookie that saves our name, too. :D
I guess because I was thinking of having user accounts by now, but too much RL. I'll get something figured out soon.
Jeremy
39. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 04, 2008
- 1456 views
I've sent you an update as promised. Check your e-mail.
It's online! Thank you, it's looking great!
40. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by ne1 Jul 04, 2008
- 1431 views
I've sent you an update as promised. Check your e-mail.
It's online! Thank you, it's looking great!
in message list view the center div containing threaded, links, subject,author,views are shifted right, off the screen requiring a vscroll to see. thread view is ok.
firefox 1024x758 win9x
anti-spam question is confused by trailing space.
41. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 04, 2008
- 1432 views
in message list view the center div containing threaded, links, subject,author,views are shifted right, off the screen requiring a vscroll to see. thread view is ok.
Hm, I am not sure what you are talking about, can you expand?
anti-spam question is confused by trailing space.
Fixed on my local copy, it'll get updated on server soon.
Jeremy
42. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Greg Haberek Jul 04, 2008
- 1424 views
It's online! Thank you, it's looking great!
Yes, looks awesome, I must say. The biggest thing for me was getting rid of the word "threaded" on every single line!
-Greg
43. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 04, 2008
- 1438 views
How about a cheat sheet below the entry? I can never remember what the markup accepts.
Done.
44. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by ChrisB (moderator) Jul 04, 2008
- 1439 views
Hi
Th Google ads were something Rob did to create a bit of 'click thru' revenue - while not having them is nice, I certainly don't begrudge their presence if they provide an additional income stream to Eu's creator.
Chris
45. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 04, 2008
- 1439 views
It's online! Thank you, it's looking great!
Yes, looks awesome, I must say. The biggest thing for me was getting rid of the word "threaded" on every single line!
Greg, Smilies should now work 
- } = }
- : -) =
- : -D =
- : -) =
- : -O =
- : -P =
- : -( =
- ; -) =
With no spaces between the chars of course. I am not up to date on my smilies, so if any are wrong, let me know.
Jeremy
46. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Fernando Jul 04, 2008
- 1361 views
My suggestion is to include a message views counter.
Fernando, they are added!
Jeremy Cowgar
Many thanks, Jeremy!
The forum is becoming very nice and powerfulIt seems we have around a hundred views per message in the last hours.
Great job!
Thanks again,
Fernando
47. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1310 views
It's online! Thank you, it's looking great!
Yes, looks awesome, I must say. The biggest thing for me was getting rid of the word "threaded" on every single line!
Greg, Smilies should now work
- } = }
- : -) =
- : -D =
- : -) =
- : -O =
- : -P =
- : -( =
- ; -) =
With no spaces between the chars of course. I am not up to date on my smilies, so if any are wrong, let me know.
Jeremy
I have to agree, this new forum is looking *very* nice!
Two observations though: 1. those "silk" emoticons are too pale for old eyes to discern well; 2. why does "previous" take you to *new* pages? Shouldn't it be "new" on the left side and "pervious" on the right side??
Dan M.
48. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1300 views
argh! "previous", of course, not "pervious"
Dan
49. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by bernie Jul 05, 2008
- 1385 views
Jeremy:
Why is it necessary to have quoted replies now that the Forum supports threading. On the old Forum it was necessary because there was no way of following a discussion. Quotes just clutter up the screen and make it confusing to read.
50. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1205 views
If I view a post 8 times, it should only count once. :)
Ok, done. It also tracks which messages you have read and unread messages appear in bold. I may change the formatting as bold seems a bit too much.
Jeremy
51. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1200 views
If I view a post 8 times, it should only count once. :)
Ok, done. It also tracks which messages you have read and unread messages appear in bold. I may change the formatting as bold seems a bit too much.
Jeremy
I think bold for unread gets the point across fine
And:
- those "silk" emoticons are too pale for tired old eyes to discern well
- on the main messages list page, why does "previous" take you to *new* pages? Shouldn't it be "new" on the left side and "previous" on the right side??
- how about, as a step up from the list of common formatting tags, a list of some of the more common formatting commands, like bold etc, such that when poster hilights some text and then clicks on the formatting words, the tags are applied to the highlighted text? (yes, I realize that programmers should have no difficulty learning & inserting the tags, I'm just suggesting)
(Now lets see if those numbered list tags did what I meant them to)
Dan
52. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1189 views
I think bold for unread gets the point across fine
I changed it to a new icon, one of the silk ones you like
those "silk" emoticons are too pale for tired old eyes to discern well
Greg added the icons to the theme and I personally think it looks pretty good. I did the overall theme. Are you speaking of the actual graphic images, the < arrow and the > arrow or are you speaking of the text labels, "Prev", "Next" ? I can make them have more contrast, they are a bit light.
on the main messages list page, why does "previous" take you to *new* pages? Shouldn't it be "new" on the left side and "previous" on the right side??
I guess it's working like pages. Page 1 contains the earliest messages so when you click Previous, your page numbers go down in value. Next, they go up in value. I wonder if Newer or Older would make more sense?
how about, as a step up from the list of common formatting tags, a list of some of the more common formatting commands, like bold etc, such that when poster hilights some text and then clicks on the formatting words, the tags are applied to the highlighted text? (yes, I realize that programmers should have no difficulty learning & inserting the tags, I'm just suggesting)
Sounds good, although I am no JavaScript guru. Do we have any here that would be willing to make a JavaScript tool bar to integrate w/the textarea and formatting codes?
Jeremy Cowgar
53. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by CChris Jul 05, 2008
- 1207 views
Hi
Th Google ads were something Rob did to create a bit of 'click thru' revenue - while not having them is nice, I certainly don't begrudge their presence if they provide an additional income stream to Eu's creator.
Chris
They prevent posts from appearing sometimes, have to click refersh a few times. Not counting the delay in displaying posts, even when no referesh is needed.
CChris
54. Re: Features for the forum?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1198 views
those "silk" emoticons are too pale for tired old eyes to discern well
Greg added the icons to the theme and I personally think it looks pretty good. I did the overall theme. Are you speaking of the actual graphic images, the < arrow and the > arrow or are you speaking of the text labels, "Prev", "Next" ? I can make them have more contrast, they are a bit light.
No, I mean the emoticons, the smilies; they're so pale/light that it can be hard to tell if one is a smile, a frown, etc, which kinda looses the point of them.
on the main messages list page, why does "previous" take you to *new* pages? Shouldn't it be "new" on the left side and "previous" on the right side??
I guess it's working like pages. Page 1 contains the earliest messages so when you click Previous, your page numbers go down in value. Next, they go up in value. I wonder if Newer or Older would make more sense?
Well, as long as Newer took the reader to the next newest page of messages, and Older took to next older page of messages, that would be fine.
Jeremy Cowgar
Now lets see if my editing your quoted reply works like you've done; if it does, I have to say that it's lots harder than just cutting and pasting the > & >> markers of quoted replies from original EuForum, though there's no question that this looks much spiffyer! If it doesn't work, well, that's because it's much harder!
Dan
55. Re: Features for the forum? ... Quoting
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1190 views
Now lets see if my editing your quoted reply works like you've done; if it does, I have to say that it's lots harder than just cutting and pasting the > & >> markers of quoted replies from original EuForum, though there's no question that this looks much spiffyer! If it doesn't work, well, that's because it's much harder!
Hm, that is true! I wonder, maybe in the JavaScript editor, we could have a "Split Quote" function. Just put your cursor there and click the button, it'll end the quote, start a new quote and place your cursor in the middle. I'm not thinking of a better way of doing it, you?
56. Re: Features for the forum? ... Quoting
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1200 views
Now lets see if my editing your quoted reply works like you've done; if it does, I have to say that it's lots harder than just cutting and pasting the > & >> markers of quoted replies from original EuForum, though there's no question that this looks much spiffyer! If it doesn't work, well, that's because it's much harder!
Hm, that is true! I wonder, maybe in the JavaScript editor, we could have a "Split Quote" function. Just put your cursor there and click the button, it'll end the quote, start a new quote and place your cursor in the middle. I'm not thinking of a better way of doing it, you?
That sounds perfect!
Dan
57. Re: Features for the forum? ... "New" icon too pale?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1192 views
I think that bold to indicate an as yet unread post is better than that pale "new" icon, which, to me, tends to disappear into the background. I noticed that new messages were not showing in bold anymore, but it took me a while to see that there was something between the thread icon & thread title.
And it's interesting (probably good?) that a thread can be "split off" by adding text to the thread topic, (like this), and still be recognized as part of the original thread.
Dan
58. Re: Features for the forum? ... Threading
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1182 views
And it's interesting (probably good?) that a thread can be "split off" by adding text to the thread topic, (like this), and still be recognized as part of the original thread.
The way threading works is each message has an id field. When you click the Reply link, it then places the id of the message you are replying to into the parent id field. Threading is not based on subject. This is both good and bad, but I hope more good than bad. It gives freedom in choosing a subject that best fits our message. The possible side effect is someone will click Reply, change the subject and type in a body that has nothing what-so-ever to do with the thread. This happens much more on mailing lists, someone simply pressing Reply instead of typing in the mailing list address itself to create a new thread/message.
So... time will tell.
Jeremy
59. Re: Features for the forum? ... "New" icon too pale?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1193 views
I think that bold to indicate an as yet unread post is better than that pale "new" icon, which, to me, tends to disappear into the background. I noticed that new messages were not showing in bold anymore, but it took me a while to see that there was something between the thread icon & thread title.
I think the bold was too much. I am open to more suggestions. The means of tracking/indicating is there. How it appears is the easy part. We can try different methods if people have good idea.
Jeremy
60. Re: Features for the forum? ... "New" icon too pale?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1189 views
I think that bold to indicate an as yet unread post is better than that pale "new" icon, which, to me, tends to disappear into the background. I noticed that new messages were not showing in bold anymore, but it took me a while to see that there was something between the thread icon & thread title.
I think the bold was too much. I am open to more suggestions. The means of tracking/indicating is there. How it appears is the easy part. We can try different methods if people have good idea.
Jeremy
I can live with having an icon instead of bold, though having a more saturated color icon that would stand out more might not be a bad idea?
Dan
61. Re: Features for the forum? ... "New" icon too pale?
- Posted by Kenneth Rhodes Jul 05, 2008
- 1184 views
I think the "New" icon is too small and too pale. It is not clear to me what it actually represents as I view the message list some items in the message list are not marked by the "new" icon that appear to be unread and "old" while others which are "newer" and unread are not. Perhaps the icon label was lost as a result of viewing the message in the thread view? Actually, I think the an icon which reads "New" is a misnomer and therefore misleading. Perhaps the icon should read "unread", if that is what it purports to indicate. "New" seems redundant in the message list view which reports messages sorted with the most recent message posted from the top down together with a time notation.
62. Re: Features for the forum? ... "New" icon too pale?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1189 views
I think the "New" icon is too small and too pale. It is not clear to me what it actually represents as I view the message list some items in the message list are not marked by the "new" icon that appear to be unread and "old" while others which are "newer" and unread are not. Perhaps the icon label was lost as a result of viewing the message in the thread view? Actually, I think the an icon which reads "New" is a misnomer and therefore misleading. Perhaps the icon should read "unread", if that is what it purports to indicate. "New" seems redundant in the message list view which reports messages sorted with the most recent message posted from the top down together with a time notation.
It's indicator means unread indeed. The system tracks if you have read a message or not. How is a star? Or maybe Greg can come up with a better icon. Or suggestions?
Jeremy
63. Re: Features for the forum? ... "New" icon too pale?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1190 views
I think the "New" icon is too small and too pale. It is not clear to me what it actually represents as I view the message list some items in the message list are not marked by the "new" icon that appear to be unread and "old" while others which are "newer" and unread are not. Perhaps the icon label was lost as a result of viewing the message in the thread view? Actually, I think the an icon which reads "New" is a misnomer and therefore misleading. Perhaps the icon should read "unread", if that is what it purports to indicate. "New" seems redundant in the message list view which reports messages sorted with the most recent message posted from the top down together with a time notation.
It's indicator means unread indeed. The system tracks if you have read a message or not. How is a star? Or maybe Greg can come up with a better icon. Or suggestions?
Jeremy
<chuckle> looks like you gota turn off the double dashes meaning overstrike, too! And that's why a "preview" button would be good
Dan
64. Re: Features for the forum? ... Preview
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1265 views
<chuckle> looks like you gota turn off the double dashes meaning overstrike, too! And that's why a "preview" button would be good
Preview will come.
Jeremy
65. Re: Features for the forum? ... Preview
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1252 views
<chuckle> looks like you gota turn off the double dashes meaning overstrike, too! And that's why a "preview" button would be good
Preview will come.
Ok, you now have preview.
Jeremy
66. Re: Features for the forum? ... Preview
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1242 views
<chuckle> looks like you gota turn off the double dashes meaning overstrike, too! And that's why a "preview" button would be good
Preview will come.
Ok, you now have preview.
Jeremy
Ok, I'm gonna go now, as you can implement changes faster than I can make suggestions!
Dan
67. Re: Features for the forum? ... Preview
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1264 views
Ok, I'm gonna go now, as you can implement changes faster than I can make suggestions!
Well, I wish I could wrap up 2 bugs. Berines post that says download index.cgi has me baffled and then some threads you click on for threaded view causes an Internal Server Error, however if you view each message independently they view fine 
Hm, I just found another bug during preview! My favorite smile face does not work! Too bad!
Jeremy
68. Re: Features for the forum? ...
- Posted by Greg Haberek Jul 05, 2008
- 1238 views
It's indicator means unread indeed. The system tracks if you have read a message or not. How is a star? Or maybe Greg can come up with a better icon. Or suggestions?
Jeremy
The star icon gets my approval. Where did you get it? Looks like one of the silk icons I've been handing you. Did you download the whole set?
-Greg
69. Re: Features for the forum? ...
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1257 views
The star icon gets my approval. Where did you get it? Looks like one of the silk icons I've been handing you. Did you download the whole set?
Yup. They are not all online, only the ones we are currently using.
Jeremy
70. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1230 views
- Last edited Jul 06, 2008
The star icon gets my approval. Where did you get it? Looks like one of the silk icons I've been handing you. Did you download the whole set?
Yup. They are not all online, only the ones we are currently using.
Jeremy
Actually, I find the otherwise spiffy smileys in particular way too pale for tired old eyes to discern which smiley I'm seeing, at least in contrast to other presentations of smileys. And that kinda looses the point of them for expressing an emotion.
(And they all seem to have that pale blue background, which is not necessary/useful, particularly for a smiley?)
Not an important problem, I know, but everyone is getting older, so you never know who's butt something like that will bite.
Dan
71. Re: Features for the forum? ...sub-threads
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 05, 2008
- 1233 views
- Last edited Jul 06, 2008
And, since you asked, it seems making "sub-threads" might(?) be a generally useful idea, but sometimes some of us, like me, can mean to do that, but hit "Post" too quickly. So I wonder if you might add a button & edit box that allows for splitting off a sub-thread, right down by or before "Post"? (There is a question as to whether sub-threads are desirable or not, though, I guess.)
Dan
72. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1251 views
- Last edited Jul 06, 2008
Actually, I find the otherwise spiffy smileys in particular way too pale for tired old eyes to discern which smiley I'm seeing, at least in contrast to other presentations of smileys. And that kinda looses the point of them for expressing an emotion.
(And they all seem to have that pale blue background, which is not necessary/useful, particularly for a smiley?)
Not an important problem, I know, but everyone is getting older, so you never know who's butt something like that will bite.
It's not tired old eyes (I hope) because I have the same problem. If we go w/a larger smiley though, the text begins to get spaced out vertically and looks pretty funny to me. Anyone with suggestions or a better smiley icon set?
Jeremy
73. Re: Features for the forum? ...sub-threads
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 05, 2008
- 1264 views
- Last edited Jul 06, 2008
And, since you asked, it seems making "sub-threads" might(?) be a generally useful idea, but sometimes some of us, like me, can mean to do that, but hit "Post" too quickly. So I wonder if you might add a button & edit box that allows for splitting off a sub-thread, right down by or before "Post"? (There is a question as to whether sub-threads are desirable or not, though, I guess.)
Can you give me a bit more detail on how this would work? Post wise and view wise?
Jeremy
74. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by Kenneth Rhodes Jul 05, 2008
- 1262 views
- Last edited Jul 06, 2008
The star icon gets my approval. Where did you get it? Looks like one of the silk icons I've been handing you. Did you download the whole set?
Yup. They are not all online, only the ones we are currently using.
Jeremy
Actually, I find the otherwise spiffy smileys in particular way too pale for tired old eyes to discern which smiley I'm seeing, at least in contrast to other presentations of smileys. And that kinda looses the point of them for expressing an emotion.
(And they all seem to have that pale blue background, which is not necessary/useful, particularly for a smiley?)
Not an important problem, I know, but everyone is getting older, so you never know who's butt something like that will bite.
Dan
Never thought that I'd ever have to admit to having my butt bitten by a pale smiley.
It might be a good idea to add the formatting codes for available icons to the Common Formatting list.
I'm tickled pink at all the formatting styles we now have access to.
I like the stars and the smiley's, but, bigger, & brighter is better, believe me.
The forum is looking really great. Thanks again for all the good work!
75. Re: Features for the forum? ...sub-threads
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 06, 2008
- 1224 views
And, since you asked, it seems making "sub-threads" might(?) be a generally useful idea, but sometimes some of us, like me, can mean to do that, but hit "Post" too quickly. So I wonder if you might add a button & edit box that allows for splitting off a sub-thread, right down by or before "Post"? (There is a question as to whether sub-threads are desirable or not, though, I guess.)
Can you give me a bit more detail on how this would work? Post wise and view wise?
Jeremy
View wise it would be just like this sub-thread, that is, showing an addition of the name of the sub-topic just after the main topic in the subject of the post. (You indicated that this doesn't interfere with the threading of the original topic, right?)
Post wise, I'd think a button added just above the Preview & Post buttons, "Make Sub-Thread", or, "Start Sub-Thread", maybe with an edit box to its right, (or maybe edit box only show up after button pressed, to make it not interfere visually with the anti-spam button; don't want to promote accidentally putting the anti-spam answer into the sub-topic box!), such that whatever is added into edit box is tacked onto end of the subject line with "...", like you've been doing (or just a colon, for space?).
If edit box not show up until sub-thread button pressed, then whatever is there would be added to subject as Post or Preview pressed, otherwise if the edit box is always there, it would maybe be added either when the "New Sub-Thread" pressed, or again when Post or Preview pressed. May want to allow ability to alter it, say if Preview makes sender want to have it be/say something different.
I hadn't thought of making sub-threads until I saw you doing it, & it looks like it can be helpful.
Dan
76. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by Dan M. Jul 06, 2008
- 1215 views
The star icon gets my approval. Where did you get it? Looks like one of the silk icons I've been handing you. Did you download the whole set?
Yup. They are not all online, only the ones we are currently using.
Jeremy
Actually, I find the otherwise spiffy smileys in particular way too pale for tired old eyes to discern which smiley I'm seeing, at least in contrast to other presentations of smileys. And that kinda looses the point of them for expressing an emotion.
(And they all seem to have that pale blue background, which is not necessary/useful, particularly for a smiley?)
Not an important problem, I know, but everyone is getting older, so you never know who's butt something like that will bite.
Dan
Never thought that I'd ever have to admit to having my butt bitten by a pale smiley.
It might be a good idea to add the formatting codes for available icons to the Common Formatting list.
I'm tickled pink at all the formatting styles we now have access to.
I like the stars and the smiley's, but, bigger, & brighter is better, believe me.
The forum is looking really great. Thanks again for all the good work!
I think it would be even better if the smileys AND at least some of the formatting options were displayed in some "extra space", so poster could just position the cursor in text, maybe highlight a space or words, and then select an item from the displayed items by clicking on one (or more, like bold and italic, for instance), and the formatting tags would be auto added to the post at position of highlighting.
Yeah, Jeremy is doing a wonderful job with it!
Dan
77. Re: Features for the forum? ... Preview
- Posted by CChris Jul 06, 2008
- 1217 views
Ok, I'm gonna go now, as you can implement changes faster than I can make suggestions!
Well, I wish I could wrap up 2 bugs. Berines post that says download index.cgi has me baffled and then some threads you click on for threaded view causes an Internal Server Error, however if you view each message independently they view fine Hm, I just found another bug during preview! My favorite smile face does not work! Too bad!
Jeremy
I did get the "download index" box once, perhaps yesterday, or the day before, but it is completely gone now.
One little thing that would help is, having alternating colors on the left side of the Reply page, instead of the uniform beige. This would help separate elements on the page and helps not forgetting any that matters (like Author or Spam).
And the preview is great! Thanks.
CChris
78. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by CChris Jul 06, 2008
- 1216 views
The star icon gets my approval. Where did you get it? Looks like one of the silk icons I've been handing you. Did you download the whole set?
Yup. They are not all online, only the ones we are currently using.
Jeremy
Actually, I find the otherwise spiffy smileys in particular way too pale for tired old eyes to discern which smiley I'm seeing, at least in contrast to other presentations of smileys. And that kinda looses the point of them for expressing an emotion.
(And they all seem to have that pale blue background, which is not necessary/useful, particularly for a smiley?)
Not an important problem, I know, but everyone is getting older, so you never know who's butt something like that will bite.
Dan
Never thought that I'd ever have to admit to having my butt bitten by a pale smiley.
It might be a good idea to add the formatting codes for available icons to the Common Formatting list.
I'm tickled pink at all the formatting styles we now have access to.
I like the stars and the smiley's, but, bigger, & brighter is better, believe me.
The forum is looking really great. Thanks again for all the good work!
Don't make it bigger, because this will disrupt text alignment and stuff.
If the icon had a plain white background, it would certainly help it standing out. Of course, the ideal would be a transparent smiley, so that the background would be the current background, which changes with the "degree" of the reply. Hmm, changing the transparent color of an icon isn't too hard, is it?
CChris
79. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by Greg Haberek Jul 06, 2008
- 1242 views
Don't make it bigger, because this will disrupt text alignment and stuff.
If the icon had a plain white background, it would certainly help it standing out. Of course, the ideal would be a transparent smiley, so that the background would be the current background, which changes with the "degree" of the reply. Hmm, changing the transparent color of an icon isn't too hard, is it?
CChris
The smilies are PNG files and they ARE transparent. If you're seeing a background color then you're using the wrong browser. IE < 7 does not support transparency for PNG files, which is lame, because it very well should. Microsoft could at least release a patch or something.
There are a few various methods of "fixing" this via JavaScript. Namely, this one: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bobosola/pngfix.js Jeremy, if you could be so kind as to work that into the header template so it is included in every page.
-Greg
80. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by Matt Lewis Jul 06, 2008
- 1195 views
Actually, I find the otherwise spiffy smileys in particular way too pale for tired old eyes to discern which smiley I'm seeing, at least in contrast to other presentations of smileys. And that kinda looses the point of them for expressing an emotion.
(And they all seem to have that pale blue background, which is not necessary/useful, particularly for a smiley?)
Not an important problem, I know, but everyone is getting older, so you never know who's butt something like that will bite.
It's not tired old eyes (I hope) because I have the same problem. If we go w/a larger smiley though, the text begins to get spaced out vertically and looks pretty funny to me. Anyone with suggestions or a better smiley icon set?
Personally, I've never liked transforming them into graphics.
Matt
81. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by Greg Haberek Jul 06, 2008
- 1193 views
Personally, I've never liked transforming them into graphics.
Matt
Perhaps that could be a user option? "[x] Expand smilies to graphics" or something. Jeremy?
-Greg
82. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by Unkmar Jul 06, 2008
- 1225 views
some alternative smiley options.
83. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by Unkmar Jul 06, 2008
- 1185 views
some alternative smiley options.
84. Re: Features for the forum? ...silk smileys too pale?
- Posted by Jeremy Cowgar Jul 06, 2008
- 1216 views
- Last edited Jul 07, 2008
some alternative smiley options.
There are quite a few smiley sites, however, I do not have the time to sort through 30,000 smileys to find 10 that are consistent in appearance, small enough to fit in a line of text without causing some lines to be larger than others and clear.
If anyone wishes to find a collection of the 10 smileys that we use, that are better, I'd be all for it
Jeremy
