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Site improvements I'd love to see - part 94

30 replies

tech · 28/08/2004 16:23

Hello all,

I've been having a look at the "Site improvements I'd love to see" threads and I think this is what we are going to do:

  1. Buy a third-party forum package.
  2. Customize the layout pretty radically to keep it really simple and not lose "Active converstations" and all that stuff and also not end up with one of those "boxy" layouts that most forum software uses by default, and which mean it can be hard to follow threads. A lot of forums (fora? - surely not these days) do things like only display five messages per page, which I find really aggravating.

The main drawback with Talk the way it is now is that I wrote it and so I have to programme any improvements. This made sense when we first started and the available forum packages weren't great (and all ended up looking the same) but the latest ones seem quite good. We in fact started with a third-party package then replaced it with this one when we started to run up against limitations.

I think the one we are going to get will be vBulletin (have a look at www.vbulletin.com ) if you are interested.

Once we are up and running with the new one, we'll more easily be able to support things like private messages in place of contact another talker - we have to forward those emails at present - and little extras like youse being able to set up proper profile pages with pictures and so on if you wish.

vBulletin also lets you have those avatars and all that jazz, but I think we might leave all that switched off (it's the puritan in me). All the messages are stored in an openly-specified database struture, so we can still add in things it doesn't do out of the box - like the ebay-style "threads I'm watching" stuff that a few people have asked for. Not sure about displaying "who's online" either. A lot of people seem to find that a bit creepy.

Anyway, I'll give you plenty of notice before we go ahead and make any changes. It will probably mean taking talk down for a few hours - probably overnight one night.

Love,
Tech xxx

OP posts:
Twink · 28/08/2004 16:34

I only use 2 other sites regularly and one of them is Vbulletin based. Personally I like it and it's easy to navigate & not miss stuff.

Sounds like a good idea to reduce the reliance we all have on you as an individual too. Heaven forbid you should ever be ill, you have far too much control over the mental health of us all

Miaou · 28/08/2004 16:59

Hi tech

Just shown your message to my dh who is also a "techie type" and very particular about bulletin boards - he was quite excited by the prospect of vbulletin and thinks it is a brilliant tool. He suggests going here and contacting Newt (good friend of dh) who will answer any technical questions you may have or point you in the right direction for answers. If you mention that dh is NickInTheNorth he will bend over backwards to help you!!

V. excited by prospect of new bulletin board, btw - have seen it on other sites and like it a lot.

melsy · 28/08/2004 17:10

ooHHHHHHH lots more changes. I like the birthdays bit at the bottom on vbulletin , very nice little touch.I also like the statistics bit at the bottom, goes with the virgo in me , very satisfying. Wow this really is a growing machine !!! Agree it should stay simple and not get to layered , as thats why so many of us love mumsnet. Its easy to use and not to many things to navigate. Only members should be able to access the profile pages with photos on though.

Twiglett · 28/08/2004 17:23

message withdrawn

WideWebWitch · 28/08/2004 18:01

I so agree with you about the avatars, hate 'em meself. And the 'who's online' thing, I wouldn't want it to display my name either.

Twiglett · 28/08/2004 18:09

message withdrawn

melsy · 28/08/2004 18:13

its all the jumpy up and down emoticons i think

tamum · 28/08/2004 18:18

Definitely not avatars or "who's online". Pleeeeease???

(psst, Twiglett, they're little pictures that you can set to appear by each of your posts- could be of you or of something else, but they get v. boring and v. repetitive IMHO )

tamum · 28/08/2004 18:19

Not that photos of you would be boring of course ... digging myself into a hole here.....

WideWebWitch · 28/08/2004 18:21

It's a picture or emoticon that is sometimes attached to your name and usually waves or is animated in some other way. Do you know the ones? Like these irritating ones here

WideWebWitch · 28/08/2004 18:22

Gawd, took so long to do that that others had already answered the question.

jodee · 28/08/2004 18:22

Avatars & Who's Online - No thanks!

Vbulletin - Yes Please!

Thanks tech.

melsy · 28/08/2004 18:25

Oh yes those post signature images and wot not. I have them on another site which is appropriate for that site. Problem is they take up far too much of the screen space and not enough chat. SO PLEASE NO AVATARS on here.

tamum · 28/08/2004 18:27

Ahh, www, but you provided a link whilst I just unwittingly insulted Twiglett....

LunarSea · 28/08/2004 18:33

I'd be very sad if we lost the latest messages view where you can see what is being discussed in all areas, and even a preview of each message without having to go in and out of every subject area and thread. Personally I reckon it's that which is the outstanding feature of mumsnet forums, and it does meant that I'll sometimes read threads under special needs, for example, where I probably wouldn't be looking at that section if I had to go into each general category, then into each sub category, then into each thread to see what had been written.

ks · 28/08/2004 18:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Miaou · 28/08/2004 18:37

I echo that, LunarSea.

WideWebWitch · 28/08/2004 18:42

Ha ha, very kind of you to put it like that Tamum!

tamum · 28/08/2004 18:43

Hear hear, Lunarsea (and Miaou)

coppertop · 28/08/2004 19:11

Also can we not have anything that displays how many times individual members have posted? Let me at least pretend that I've hardly been on MN all week.

bayleaf · 28/08/2004 20:43

Totally agree with Lunarsea ( as usual! ) Please don't change mumsnet too much - it is already soooo much better than other sites with little clicking and waiting for those of us who can't have broadband.

lou33 · 28/08/2004 21:18

Doesn't the "whose online" have an option to be seen as offline, for those who want to go incognito?

Tommy · 28/08/2004 21:32

Agree with Coppertop! Also, have no idea about all theother stuff you're talking about but I have ventured into a couple of other website chat rooms (I know, I'm really sorry )and they all seem really complicated compared to dear old MN. Actually I'm only thinking of Cbeebies (very sad) and Bounty (the parenting thing, not the chocolate unfortunately)

Piffleoffagus · 28/08/2004 21:51

Mmmm cannot see at least from my POV that the who is online option would work on MN really.
I come here to court hundreds of opinions not just one or two,
no avatars, puritanical tech? more like repressive dictator, WE (and yes I speak collectively yet spontaneously) need emoticons here!!!
cough cough
PS option for photos good too...

tigermoth · 29/08/2004 07:56

definitely no who is online facility. If a discussion gets heated, knowing who was lurking around reading it could really fan the flames.

I'm not a big fan of avators. Now we have emoticons, isn't that enough?

Please tech, whatever you do, don't make the screen too jazzy. I can only just get away with reading MN at work, as it is.

Hope the improvements end up making YOUR life easier. LOL at Twink's point - yes you do have power over our mental state!