What's up with the V-Bulletin?

[HighBarSHO]

Not a fan of this layout myself. Is this a transition or temporary thing? ...

[casperl878]

I agree not a fan of the new layout, hoping its only temp.

[BIGFOOT]

yea, this is bad.

[SHOdded]

Meh, transition/growing pains, I am sure. Do add to the Admin's thread about the vBulletin update so that the issues/complaints are all in one spot.

 

http://www.ecoboostownerforums.com/forum/ecoboost-owners-forum/user-support-resources/2261-important-forum-changes

[mjhpadi]

This is a permanent change I believe. I'm still having a bit of trouble navigating around the new set-up, but given a little time I think we will get acquired with the change. I know the problems with the old and the spammers made a lot of work for staff.

[gpfarrell]

So far no likely, but do appreciate the Mods taking care of us.

[sweetair]

My issue is that there seems to be no new post button to click to see the new posts in all forums. Anyone else agree?

[mjhpadi]

My issue is that there seems to be no new post button to click to see the new posts in all forums. Anyone else agree?

 

This seems to be the biggest complaint so far...just FYI...I never knew there was a "New Post" button on the old forum! :fear:

[SHOdded]

The New Topics button on the home page seems to come closest to the old New Posts button. The ultrasmall double-down-arrow icon to the left of the topic/thread name gets you to the last post in that topic/thread. For now, still running into the need for a manual refresh if the post count exceeds 15 (max/page).

[FLIP-4-SHO]

Not a Fan of it. I'm sure we will get use to it. But I do believe it is permanent.

[Leadfoot]

My issue is that there seems to be no new post button to click to see the new posts in all forums. Anyone else agree?

This seems to be the biggest complaint so far...just FYI...I never knew there was a "New Post" button on the old forum! :fear:

 

I used it every time I signed in. It was great, and would show all posts since you last logged in no matter where it was in the forum. You didn't have to click each topic to see if there were multiple "new" posts.

 

[Leadfoot]

Not a fan yet, but if it keeps the spammers out and make the job easier for the admin, I'll support it.

The page display doesn't show the correct number of pages in the thread (defaults to 1 to show the first 15 posts). If you put a higher number in, then it will show the other pages.

 

[goblues38]

Just a story. Nothing kills a car forum easier than an unwanted software package.

 

I was a part of a car community in the early 2000's. www.audiworld.com[/url=http://www.audiworld.com] It was started by enthusiast and quickly grew. What was unique about this site is it used a software package KAWF. basically made the site read light an open chat room. we all loved it.

 

Well, the site got huge and had all kinds of traffic. Which got the attention of INTERNET BRANDS, a conglomerate of on line web sites. They bought the site, and annopunced right away, they would switch from KAWF to VB for their software. Changing the look and feal of the site.

 

No matter how much we the community protested, they made the change. Over night, many 100,000 users left the community and started up a new site with the KAWF software at http://www.quatro.com

 

I say this all because, the community wants what the community wants.

 

 

You can read all about it here.

 

[url=http://www.lasnark.com/2009/05/08/audiworld-quattroworld-internet-brands-2/3535]http://www.lasnark.com/2009/05/08/audiworld-quattroworld-internet-brands-2/3535[/url=http://www.lasnark.com/2009/05/08/audiworld-quattroworld-internet-brands-2/3535]

 

 

[Administrator]

Hi guys, please see the thread in user support section for updates on this new software. I have added a new tab at the top so you can see all the new posts. I'm going to try and find us a more aesthetically pleasing template with better colors and layout, as well as fix out logo at the top of the page. I've also added Tap-A-Talk for all you mobile users.

 

 

So far the transition has been a bit of a headache. I know it will take some time to get used to but I think it's a step in the right directly. Eventually most forums are going to be designed to more of a "Social Network/Facebook" feel. It's just the way our society and technology is trending. Please understand this is brand new to me as well and I'm trying my best to keep it user friendly for all of us. I appreciate your patience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[83racecrew]

This is the same forum software that the forum has always been using, it is just the latest version. Everything you used to use is still here, just in a different place.

 

Make sure your shortcut to get here is http://www.ecoboostownerforums.com (nothing after it).

You will see a "New Topics" item near the top and that will show you all the latest posts since the last time you visited.

If you prefer to browse by forum, the index is there just like it always used to be listing every forum.

When you click on a forum, all the stickies and the latest threads within the forum are still listed just like they used to be.

 

The difference is that this is a default install right now. Administrator just has to find out if any of the templates that were used before are compatible with the new version, if they are, they can be reverted. I have been through 4 or 5 major revisions of vBulletin and each one does break some things that people are used to. Please give the staff time to adapt to the new version.

The info and people are still the same, the interface is just different, why does that mean there needs to be an exodus from the site?

[Administrator]

This is the same forum software that the forum has always been using' date=' it is just the latest version. Everything you used to use is still here, just in a different place. Make sure your shortcut to get here is http://www.ecoboostownerforums.com (nothing after it). You will see a "New Topics" item near the top and that will show you all the latest posts since the last time you visited. If you prefer to browse by forum, the index is there just like it always used to be listing every forum. When you click on a forum, all the stickies and the latest threads within the forum are still listed just like they used to be. The difference is that this is a default install right now. Administrator just has to find out if any of the templates that were used before are compatible with the new version, if they are, they can be reverted. I have been through 4 or 5 major revisions of vBulletin and each one does break some things that people are used to. Please give the staff time to adapt to the new version. The info and people are still the same, the interface is just different, why does that mean there needs to be an exodus from the site?[/quote']

 

 

83racecrew for president.

 

[mjhpadi]

83racecrew...Thanks for the words of support. As far as myself, you hit the nail on the head. I sure need a bit of time to get acclimated to the new look, since I've never claimed to be computer savoy, so I hope everyone will bear with us. You guys have no idea how much the spam and spammers had attacked to old look, it was almost impossible to keep up with them.

[gpfarrell]

I'll vote for 83racecrew.

 

I'm admittedly no fan of change, but I also don't take life or even this site for granted. Somebody makes it go. If they didn't make it go, it wouldn't go. I'm not one to stand in their way or find fault with their efforts so long as their motives remain pure.

[SHOdded]

This is a forum where the Admin cares about the feedback the users provide. Give freely, be patient, and the rewards shall be ample.

[BIGFOOT]

sadly, this new layout has really dampened my love of this board. i was always instantly opening a tab and headed here. now i find myself not doing so. i hope the layout gets fixed soon, this board was already so slow moving that a major overhaul like this was kinda odd imho.

 

i just spend 45 mins trying to do what i used to do in 5 on here.

 

[bpd1151]

Sorry you feel that way there BigFoot.

 

Although admittedly there were a lot of kinks at the beginning, most of the issues have been ironed out.

 

Not sure what you were doing (or attempting to do) that somehow took you an alleged 45min to complete? :noidea:

 

Appearance stuff, like the forum header, and other things, are merely templates that require creation by the developers (of VB5) and are out of our control.

 

Tap-A-Talk is still being addressed, and I would say in today's day & age, most of us have "smart" phones with internet capability, and the site can be accessed by that means.

 

Although you fail to understand why the upgrade was performed, it has been discussed previously why that change occurred......

 

Essentially, when the site was upgraded about 6mo.'s after it's inception back in Dec of 2011, it was discovered (albeit much later) that there was/were a string, or strings of damaged code that were allowing a sh!t load of spammers to sign up in a auto-register type of manner.

 

In any given 12hr period, we were seeing spammer registrations of 150-200 individual profiles. This was wreaking havoc for your EBOF staff to mitigate for lack of better terms. There were times, that due to the volume of the crap these spammers were posting, that it would eat up all remaining available bandwidth and in turn, cause a temporary shut down of the site itself.

 

As a result of the above, a decision was made to lock down ALL registrations in their entirety. Which, in turn, prevented even legitimate members from signing up (just ask a few of the recent one's about it).

 

As much as your candid opinion is appreciated, please understand there were legit reasons that compelled us to upgrade to VB5, even though we were warned ahead of time (by the developers), that the platform wasn't fully integrated and/or functional.

 

Not sure what you mean by EBOF is a "slow moving" site either? As far as I an aware, EBOF is one of the sites (as it relates to the Ecoboost platform) that has a fairly healthy degree of activity, contributions, posts, info, etc.

 

Most (but not all) the other Eco based sites I've seen are not anywhere near as active (again thanks entirely to the membership here).

 

It is a work in progress, and I believe that we never tried to "be like all the other forums communities". We do strive to be different, and a big part of that is our membership. I believe your EBOF staff to be as responsive as we can be, and rest assured, we will continue to be (responsive) well into the future.

 

IDK what else to tell you, or provide you, as far as an explanation.

 

As a Moderator, I don't have direct capability to make forum changes so all I can suggest is, is if you have addt'l concerns, and/or suggestions, either post them here, or PM ADMIN directly, and give them some time to work on it.

 

Thanks in advance :thumb:

 

Mike :yo:

 

[SHOdded]

I am all for the upgrade, it was necessary, and it's a fact of computer life. I just think VB developers should have done a better job of doing the BASIC things that a website is supposed to do, e.g., page navigation & searching. Messing that up is a BIG no-no. And the problem is that, BECAUSE this site is so active, there is so much interesting reading material. I know I read every post, and appreciate the time fellow members take to share their lives, opinions & experiences. But, because of the aforementioned 2 issues, the site is being weighed down.

 

Again, not the moderators fault, not the Admin's fault either. If the developers choose to release software, they should do so responsibly.

 

Plus, I'd really like to keelhaul the spammers, maybe go all Braveheart on them. Why can't they spend their time making a useful contribution to society???

[mjhpadi]

First off, this isn't a "for profit" site. Rather it was developed as a place for the new Ecoboost SHO owners could get together and discuss their cars without the hassles that were happening on other sites. None of the staff are profitting from this site, just doing it out of love to have a place to discuss things Ecoboost. I haven't been wild over the new Vbulletin but it seems that things are improving...I wish the change over would have been "bing, bam, and it's done" but there has been some problems. Hope you remain loyal and a member here. Believe me the spam attacks we were seeing was almost beyond belief.

[SHOdded]

Seems like the multi-page threads are working as expected now. I am super excited about that :car: Hope this stays fixed w no workaround required!

 

12SHOMAN: You are right, ideally that is the way things would be done. But frankly, there is a difference between pointing out issues and flat out complaining. If one has an idea that can help resolve a problem, the idea should be put forward. In this case, if you wish to work with the Administrator directly, that would be great! As we all know, software upgrades/platform changes are not a minor task. If all goes well, nobody knows how much work went into it; if issues pop up, well, no one is stepping forward to help resolve them.

 

BTW, I became a premium member simply to support the site. Nobody twisted my arm to do so. I am not independently wealthy, I don't get "Executive Lounge" benefits, nor am I a snob that needs to show "Premium Member" in his profile. I simply believe that if you find something useful, and you appreciate it, you should support it if you can. Kinda like the concept of freeware/shareware. Yes, I have a vested interest in this site running well. Nothing wrong with that that I can see.

[bpd1151]

Looks like the "fans" of the site changes and work effort are the premium members and moderators, both who have a vested interest in the the site doing well.

 

For us regular users the change has been horrible and no taptalk.

 

The key to a good upgrade is copying the site to a new location and testing the upgrade to see what happens not just forging forward and see if it works.

 

If there's so many spammer issues I would think other sites on the same software would be hollering as well, if that's the case then moving off this platform would have been the best case scenario.

 

Here's the bottom line though, if you want people to pay to be premium members and vendors to pay to be a part of the site then as the Admin you need to pay to have some professional services done to take care of the site not just wing it and then apologize for the issues.

 

If you have made this a for-profit site then it needs to support itself by paying out when the issues are beyond the technical capabilities of the site management.

 

 

I'm not necessarily a fan either. It's been a struggle to say the least. The same navigational issues are, and have been experienced by all people here, not just what you term "regular users".

 

The only vested interest your Moderators, and Premium Members have here is for the site to continue to do well, day in, day out.

 

EBOF has never charged for people to be members here. Back in Feb/Mar of 2012, a small handful of people brought it to my attention that they wanted to contribute monetarily for all the great info posted here, and couldn't figure out a way to do so. I brought those concerns to ADMIN's attention, and thus, the Premium Membership package was created.

 

Don't want to be a Premium Member, well then don't. No harm, no foul. Besides, I hardly think $10 per year, is a wallet breaker and surely isn't profit making by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I completely agree on the copying / testing of the new platform before just forging ahead and throwing it out there.

 

Plenty of other communities that I have both visited, and have been members of over the years, do in fact have their own Spammer Registration issues. It is just a fact of the wonderful little thing we call the internet. Most communities, including EBOF, have staff and/or software features that mitigate the Spam postings and registrants.

 

In our case, after mjhpadi and I spent literally hours, upon hours, upon hours, "handling" all the Spammers, we whined to ADMIN that something needed to be done, and it was only then that ADMIN found out (in conjunction with the host provider of our community) that there was a string of damaged codes that was allowing the Spammers to bypass the then in place security protocols.

 

I also agree in part with your statement that if some of these issues are beyond the technical ability of ADMIN, then perhaps an outside source should be consulted. Whether that will happen, remains to be seen I guess.

 

But as can be seen since the upgrade, the issues are being worked on, and continue to get addressed. Some (like Tap-A-Talk for instance) require more involved finagling and finessing.

 

Bottom line as you put it, change is inevitable and is a given constant. Often time, changes occur with the best of intentions at heart, but sometimes requires an adjustment period.

 

I too wish the change over would've been "bing, bam, boom, done" (nicely worded btw mjhpadi) but that hasn't been the case. I sense your angst, and am right there with 'ya 12SHOMAN.