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Original poster

Request for Tech.

111 replies

meanmum · 08/05/2003 21:27

Is it just me or do others wish they didn't have to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the thread to add a comment. I don't know if having broadband makes it easier but on the PC I use it can take ages for the thread to open up and for me to be able to scroll down to the comments box. It works the same for when I want to add a new conversation into a topic as if it is in the Other topics it takes ages before I can get down to the create a new conversation.

I thought I would see if anyone else thought the same thing before I asked Tech if they could maybe change it. If it's just me then I'll let it be but if it's not I'll ask tech to see if they can do something about it.

OP posts:

Original poster

meanmum · 09/05/2003 18:28

Thanks Mr Pie. Can't you come and visit even without us asking for your advice?

I don't mind what we use as I have no idea what you are talking about. I should learn so there is no excuse and maybe one day I will sit down to try and understand all of what has just been said.

Thanks again Pie and Mr Pie for keeping us informed and letting us know the facts. I'll leave it up to others to decide as I am a novice in this area.

OP posts:

katierocket · 09/05/2003 18:59

yes, thanks to those that explained what UBB is, wish I've never asked

I would just echo the posts of others though - having contributed to lots of other similar boards mumsnet seems to have the best useability.

pie · 09/05/2003 19:09

Scummy, so now the truth is out you are the woman behind The Black Mask...is it my fault he is on TMO?

Hahahahahahahahaha

ScummyMummy · 09/05/2003 19:13

It certainly is, Pie! You linked to seethru from here many moons ago and I foolishly let him have a look. He liked it...

pupuce · 09/05/2003 19:48

I use a PhPBB board on a daily basis and I really find Mumsnet easier and makes me want to read far more as I can see all the threads and its first line.... EXCEPT that Mumsnet is now getting VERY big and I think a technical solution might be needed...

Marina · 09/05/2003 19:53

Wow, thanks Mr Pie. My experience of the UBB format is limited to Babyworld and I do think they are not using what sounds like a pretty flexible package to best effect. On that site I could not see any way to customise it so that I could choose how messages were displayed...better go and stand in the dunce's corner

tigermoth · 09/05/2003 20:08

marina, I'm in the dunces corner already.We can have our own little party! I can't make head of tail of this conversation, unfortunately.

Mum2Toby · 09/05/2003 20:11

Party? Did someone mention a party???????

bayleaf · 09/05/2003 20:37

OH PLEASE don't change the way Mumsnet is - it is SOOOOOOOOO much better for those of us without broadband - not nearly so much clicking and waiting!

WideWebWitch · 09/05/2003 23:13

I agree, mumsnet doesn't need changing IMO and is one of the most user friendly boards around. Don't change a thing (except let us preview in create conversation but even that's get aroundable) please, it's great as it is.

griffy · 09/05/2003 23:21

It's all just fine as it is - please don't change a thing.

Demented · 09/05/2003 23:27

I don't have Broadband but find Mumsnet very useable I don't understand all the techie bits (only have an IQ of 113 ) but maybe we have a fast modem or something as I don't find it takes long to open at all. I had a look at one of these UBB boards posted by pie's DH and much prefer the way Mumsnet works.

pie · 10/05/2003 02:14

Hubby again:

re: broadband

A 'barebones' site will load just as quick as this one if you turn off avatars (those naff animated gifs on handbag) and don't allow images in signitures (handbag again)...

If the site is kept low on images, like it is now, it'll be just as fast... It'll also have organisation and the ability to edit posts and quote individual posters so a conversation will be much more coherent.

This software being used now is meant for very slow boards or as a guest book... That's why it's streamlined but lacks 'navigatibility'

re: Babyworld's boards, those are UBB, that's why you can't see the options I was talking about. It's some sort of ASP bulletin board and is very much like this one, but instead of sections it's nested...

re: my own account... I don't think that'd be a good idea... I'm kinda opinionated, I'll just stay in here so I can be techy and that's it!

(sorry for spelling, it's 2:10am... Not really 'with it' )

pie · 10/05/2003 02:16

see?? This needs an edit button, I meant to say that Babyworld ISN'T UBB... Sorry

pie · 10/05/2003 08:18

right I'm gonna have to change my password...DH is outta control!!!!

JayTree · 10/05/2003 08:41

Although i like to think that I am pretty internet savvy (DH is a programmer) I must admit, Mr Pie that only about 80% of your detailed explanation has hit home and so may well be missing a few relevant issues so excuse any bloomers I am about to make - however, I am a bit worried about possible changes to the present format.
Like a lot of people, I love the present thread system as I cans ee all of the topic in one go and can choose to read the latest couple of postings or follow up previous points just by scrolling up and down. Navigating back to the main activve conversations page and/or the topics page is so easy to do that it far makes up for any waiting time (we have a fast connection so i do recognise that for some it may be much worse). Those sites that just show titles and then ckick to see the first response, click to see another etc. makes looking at threads so stilted and time wasting that I give up and dont bother. Here everything is so accessible and easy to find what you are looking for. Pleeeeeeeese dont change - I have quit other sites because they make you click to see each posting in full and it is too tedious....
If you are seriously thinking about changing the thread system tech, can I suggest you do a survey and/or vote of mumsnetters first to check that you aren?t making a mega mistake.

WideWebWitch · 10/05/2003 10:54

Mr Pie, you can quote other posts by using copy and paste.

susanmt · 10/05/2003 10:58

Another vote for leaving mumsnet as it is. I like it better than any of the other boards I use (which is probably why I spend more time here than anywhere else). I love not having to click to see every single message. I don't have broadband but still find it loads quicker - probably because it doesn't have all the extra images.

suedonim · 10/05/2003 12:31

And I like Mumsnet as it is, too. The other boards I've visited are sooo annoying as you have keep on clicking back and forth and so on.

willow2 · 10/05/2003 12:59

I find this the easiest board to navigate too - don't have hundreds of pages to go through, much easier just to scroll down.

pupuce · 10/05/2003 13:34

Pie - get Mr Pie to have his own nickname and password....

Rhubarb · 10/05/2003 16:52

Why do men always have to 'tell us women how things work'? It's very patronising of them!

Tech - could we see your piccy pleeeeeease! Bet you know more than Mr.Pie don't you?

pie · 10/05/2003 17:04

Rhubarb, the fact that this is mainly a womans board had nothing to do with DH posting, there were simply some things written that weren't 100% accurate. I'm sorry that you feel that my asking DH to explain things better than I could was so patronising.

I accept that the overwhelming feeling is to keep things as they are, but I just felt with people asking what UBB was an uninformed decision was hardly a fair one so wanted to offer an explanation.

I will keep my supposedly inferior techy DH away.

tallulah · 10/05/2003 17:46

I could do with a more refined search. If you use the top box you can search all topics or specific individual ones. I don't need to read pregnancy or conception or bf etc. If we could have blocks of topics perhaps?

Also when you go in to read a thread then use the back button to return to the search results, I don't know if it's just my machine (or me!) but it often goes back to the top again & I have to scroll through pages of behaviour etc to get back to where I was. Once I've done this a couple of times I've had enough, & only go into the threads I'm really interested in.

MNHQ

tech · 10/05/2003 18:41

Lordy daw. Who'd a thunk...... We will look at making some enhancements now the threads are getting so big. I don't think we'll be switching to UBB though. We looked at it once before, when we switched from Discus Pro which we used to use - we wrote our own in the end (this one). We hope to come out with a new and improved version some time soon ish, or buy something, depending on lots of things. Maybe we'll put the add message box in a popup at the top or something. We've also thought about allowing 10-minute edit - where you can edit your own messages to fix mistakes, but only for 10 minutes after posting them. If you allow it indefinitely it leads to micschief.

I'm interested to know what people find restrictive. Is it that you can't put in your own pictures etc? That was kind of a conscious decision by the mums executive committe (Carrie, Justine and Rachel) which must be obeyed, by me at least. We have talked about making adding smileys easier and having a wider range of them.

Talullah, an enhanced search page is already on the drawing board and should be in place soon.

Best,
Tech

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