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Old Index?

PostPosted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 11:48 pm
by PlatinumWeaver
Is there any way those who want it can view a copy of the old index, the one that breaks the forum up into more managable sections and shows which individual forums have new entries?

Obviously you've put a lot of effort into the new index, but personally I find it kind of pointless.. I prefer to know which forums have new posts, not just what the last 10/20/50 posts were.. I don't need a dedicated search box, a seperate box for my profile options and I never...ever... read the headlines..

The huge increase in the number of posts means that it's harder to watch what you want to watch.. unfortunately, for me the new index compounds this issue to the point that all I can do is scan the new posts for topics I might be interested in, rather than check those forums i'm interested in and view all the topics...

Hope i'm not offending anyone...

Sincerely,
Dean.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 11:50 pm
by Nnnnsic
There is but I'm unsure as to whether I should.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 11:53 pm
by PlatinumWeaver
Okay.........

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 10:25 am
by PlatinumWeaver
noticed there's a different theme installed so I checked that out.. all black and white.. unless you use the index page.. :(

Is there no chance of uploading a new skin ( like the original subSilver ) but without the index.php modification?

I just don't get why it would be bad.. :(

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:20 pm
by Nnnnsic
The issue isn't a skin.

And the other theme also has buttons like that of a D70.
And as far as I was aware, I'm the only one that uses it.

We can put more skins in if we want to, and I'm working on a few more, but the other index page is just that... a different index page. If I implement it, it will only be able to be access through a certain link and none of the links through the actual forum, the "D70Users.com Forum Index" at the top of this page and the D70 Forum LCD logo included, will take you back to that page but instead will take you back to the current index page.. which I will not change to the original.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:26 pm
by stubbsy
Dean

I understand where your coming from as it is getting harder to keep up to date with all the new posts, but I find the new layour more easy to use than the old - although I do miss knowing which part of the forum has new posts.

I just use the "new posts since last visit" link, scan down the list and for those that sound interesting right click and choose open in new window. When done I close the window and I'm back to the posts since last visit list.

When down I thenscan done the most recent posts list for newer stuff.

Cheers

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:31 pm
by Nnnnsic
You know, I do that but I just quickly open everything I like in new tabs.

Tabs... they're like the window function inside a single browser so your taskbar doesn't get all messy. Part of Firefox and Mozilla. :D

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:31 pm
by PlatinumWeaver
Yeah Peter I know what you're saying... I thought it'd be a simple matter of dropping the old index.php back as index-old.php or whichever and then going from there.. i've obviously offended Nnnnsic though.. so I'm thinking I'll drop it and just deal with the forum as is..

Sorry to cause troubles people..

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:37 pm
by stubbsy
Dean

I doubt you've offended Leigh and I don't think you've caused trouble for anyone. From my perspective I think its healthy for people to question change as that can stimulate valuable discussion about the value of the change. Who knows maybe 99% of people here are like you but haven't thought to comment. By posting you do a number of things
[*]find out how easy/hard it is to have both options
[*]solicit comments from others on the issue
[*]provide additional feedback to Gary & Leigh on how the changes are being received

Cheers

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:38 pm
by Nnnnsic
You haven't offended me, I just don't see it as necessary.

I can put it there, I just don't see a reason to, especially with only being able to be accessed through one link.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:42 pm
by stubbsy
nnnnsic wrote:Tabs... they're like the window function inside a single browser so your taskbar doesn't get all messy. Part of Firefox and Mozilla

Yeah I played with Firefox 0.9 and then when 1.0 came out I seriously looked at it. The tabs were one of the things that I really liked about it, but after using 1.0 @ work & home for about 6 weeks I went back to IE 6 since there were things I accessed regularly that weren't compatible with Firefox - Internet banking for example & Microsoft's site (doh!)

If it wasn't for my day job forcing my use of IE 6, I'd probably still be using Firefox, notwithstanding the occasional need to view a page in IE (& for that the View In IE addin solved that problem).

Sorry for wandering off topic.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 12:59 pm
by Nnnnsic
That's ok.
We do it all the time... or I do anyway... and it's not like I'm going to stop myself.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 3:56 pm
by MattC
I have to admit that I miss last post in each forum at the end of the forum description.

Cheers

Matt

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:28 pm
by MattC
Stubbsy,

The only sites that I have had problems with when using Mozilla are Windows Update and sites that require ActiveX before they will load (Vanbar was one of these until recently). ActiveX is really the only thing that is missing from Mozilla, and is a technology that is so exploited for malicious purposes that I am happy to be without it. I use the Microsoft Knowledge Base through Mozilla and it does a good job of handling Microsofts (non) standards.

The fact that IE6 is so full of exploited security flaws is enough to stop me from using it. Mozilla is probably, to some degree, a case of security through obscurity - I view any software which accesses the internet with suspicion.

When I started using Mozilla, I found that there was a period of adjustment. Now that I have been using it for the past 18 months, I cannot go back to using IE.

Cheers

Matt

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:42 pm
by stubbsy
Matt

Maybe I need to revisit this cos I really did like the look & feel of Firefox over IE. I think I might try it just at home @ first and see how I go.

Edit: Only other thing I missed was the google toolbar - the firefox replacement one (the add in, not the way it comes standard) just wasn't as good to use

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 6:43 pm
by gstark
Dean,

For this to half work, you'll need to wait until I'm back because I'd need to rename the file to something usable; at the moment, IIRC, it's named in a manner that disables it as well.

but it will be difficult to use, because the references within the scripts call for index.php, and there can only ever be one of those.

I do have one other thought that requires etting up a secondary (logical) host .... but that's also not going to work for you, because the script pulls the forum name out of the sql tables ... unless you want to put an entry into your hosts file ...

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 7:51 pm
by Nnnnsic
I can do it from here with no problems, but alas, it will only be available through one link.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:04 pm
by MattC
Stubbsy,

Google Toolbar in Mozilla is the address bar. Absolutely brilliant. Type in search parameters (advanced if you please) and down arrow and enter or just hit search. I do not know if there is a keyboard shortcut (ctrl+??) for this. I am fairly sure it is the same for Firefox, although I have not used Firefox for a year or so.

There are a lot of documented and undocumented tips and tricks for using Mozilla and Firefox. I did not read the documentation as I usually find out as I go. If I cannot find something which I would expect to find I assume that it is undocumented.

Cheers

Matt

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:08 pm
by PlatinumWeaver
Seriously guys, I thought it was just going to be a case of dropping a file back into the directory.. I appear to be only one who wants this.. it's very much not worth the effort on your end just so I can see the old stuff..

Please ignore my previous request :)

PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 4:50 pm
by gstark
Dean,

PlatinumWeaver wrote:Seriously guys, I thought it was just going to be a case of dropping a file back into the directory.. I appear to be only one who wants this.. it's very much not worth the effort on your end just so I can see the old stuff..


Unfortunately, it isn't quite that simple. What yo're asking for is dual index pages to operate in parallel.

Consider that the page is named "index.php". When you're navigating elsewhere through the forums, that page name is always referenced as the forum's home page.

Of course - and this is the critical point - there can only ever be one such page name within the directory. To put back the old page, we would simply drop in the old page, with a new name - say indexold.php.

The problem is though that whenever you click on a link to return to the index page, which page are you going to see? indexold.php doesn't exist in the scripts, but index.php - the new page - does.

So unless you explicitly type in that indexold.php page name every time you want to go there, you will end up getting the new page.

My other thought was to set up a secodary (logical) host - say forum0.D70Users.com. The issue here is that the sitename defined to the database is still going to be forum.D70Users.com, and the code will always be returning that as its root page name, rather than forum0 ...

PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 4:55 pm
by PlatinumWeaver
gstark wrote:Unfortunately, it isn't quite that simple. What yo're asking for is dual index pages to operate in parallel.

Consider that the page is named "index.php". When you're navigating elsewhere through the forums, that page name is always referenced as the forum's home page.

Of course - and this is the critical point - there can only ever be one such page name within the directory. To put back the old page, we would simply drop in the old page, with a new name - say indexold.php.

The problem is though that whenever you click on a link to return to the index page, which page are you going to see? indexold.php doesn't exist in the scripts, but index.php - the new page - does.

So unless you explicitly type in that indexold.php page name every time you want to go there, you will end up getting the new page.

My other thought was to set up a secodary (logical) host - say forum0.D70Users.com. The issue here is that the sitename defined to the database is still going to be forum.D70Users.com, and the code will always be returning that as its root page name, rather than forum0 ...


Hence...

Me! wrote:Please ignore my previous request :)


Thanks for explaining it all though :)

PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 5:05 pm
by Nnnnsic
Hold on... I'll try something for you tonight Dean.

PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 5:10 pm
by AlistairF
mattco6974 wrote:I have to admit that I miss last post in each forum at the end of the forum description.

Cheers

Matt


I also have to say that I do miss this feature. In addition to clicking on the D70 logo on the main page every now and again to see what's new... can't do that anymore.

Alistair

PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 5:13 pm
by Nnnnsic
Dad is right... it'd essentially be a bitch to do... but I'll try a simpler solution for ya'll when I get home tonight.

I'll post it when I'm done... don't worry... it's in my capable-plug-pulling hands. :lol:

PostPosted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 7:02 pm
by MattC
Now that the development of the new index page has settled down, I am quite happy to use it as is. Sure, I miss those last posts on the descriptions (mainly because of slooow dialup), but like most things I find another way of doing things. I get used to it and never look back.

Cheers

Matt

PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 11:57 am
by Nnnnsic
I'm not sure how long I'll leave this up... but here is the old index... just for you!!!

Well... you know what I mean.

http://forum.d70users.com/indexold.php

Now, keep in mind that everytime you try to go back to the home by either of the lcd or the text beneath it, you'll just get dragged back to the current home page...

That's not going to change, by the way. :)

PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 12:14 pm
by pippin88
Nnnnsic wrote:I'm not sure how long I'll leave this up... but here is the old index... just for you!!!

Well... you know what I mean.

http://forum.d70users.com/indexold.php

Now, keep in mind that everytime you try to go back to the home by either of the lcd or the text beneath it, you'll just get dragged back to the current home page...

That's not going to change, by the way. :)

I still like the old page with the orange markers for new posts etc. It also has the view new posts link, so it has all the functionality from the new + the old. If you could leave it up like that, as a secondary thing, I'd appreciate it.

PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 6:02 pm
by xerubus
pippin88 wrote:
Nnnnsic wrote:I'm not sure how long I'll leave this up... but here is the old index... just for you!!!

Well... you know what I mean.

http://forum.d70users.com/indexold.php

Now, keep in mind that everytime you try to go back to the home by either of the lcd or the text beneath it, you'll just get dragged back to the current home page...

That's not going to change, by the way. :)

I still like the old page with the orange markers for new posts etc. It also has the view new posts link, so it has all the functionality from the new + the old. If you could leave it up like that, as a secondary thing, I'd appreciate it.


I'm with pippin and platinum on this one, i like to see what i still have to read.... that being said the new layout is also great... i guess it's a personal thing...

if the 'old' layout can be there in the background that would be great...

cheers

PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 6:55 pm
by gstark
Thanx, Leigh

PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 7:22 pm
by MattC
Thanks Leigh,

I may have missed those last posts in the forum descriptions, but now I am totally cured after having the two up side by side. The new page really is so much better than the old in every respect that I will just forget about it.

Cheers

Matt

PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 8:36 pm
by Nnnnsic
I'll tell you what... don't get stuck on the url for that for too long... I'll integrate that link somewhere on the current index page in a few hours if I can, okie dokie?

I'll tell you when it's done. :)

PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 8:37 pm
by xerubus
you're a champion Leigh....

cheers

PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 8:40 pm
by Nnnnsic
Every so often, I get something done... usually between all that plug pulling and taking pictures of experimental Disney cash cows...

PostPosted: Wed Feb 02, 2005 8:49 pm
by Nnnnsic
Right-ee-oh... that's been done.

Look by the little information panel where the FAQ, Usergroups, and Memberlist is... and it's the very bottom one.

I'll make an announcement on the main page about it in a minute... it's about time we had something else to talk about on the index page.

PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 3:13 pm
by leek
Somewhere in this thread there was a reference to tabbed browsers...

If you want tabs, but have to use IE for compatibility reasons, try Crazy Browser which wraps around Internet Explorer and provides tabs and other features...

Stick with version 1.05 at the bottom of the page until version 2 comes out of Beta

PostPosted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 4:15 pm
by Nnnnsic
I'd ask why you'd ever you Internet Explorer for anything, but St. George's Internet Banking is an example of why you just have to for some reasons...

PostPosted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 8:23 am
by gstark
The problem with StGeorge's Incontinent Banking is that their web programmers are cretinous morons. And I'm being very kind. Try a Ctrl-V to paste your user ID or password in, and you'll quickly see what I mean.

Log in to their banking site, and then resize your active browser window for another insight into "Customer Focussed Programming Techniques Ignored 101"

But StGeorge seems to employ a bevvy of mindless fools in their programming departments - try making a deposit at one of their ATMs, and asking for a reciept from them, for your deposit. Something which, to me, seems both elementary and essential - you're handing their machine your money; you want/expect/need a reciept.

Their programmers however recite the creed that you can trust them, and issue the on-screen admonishment "No Receipt Neccessary". (A) as if, and (B) I'll make the decision upon when I deem a receipt necessary, thank you very much.

Getting back to the point, there are a great many web programmers in the world who have yet to learn and understand the meaning of the word "test', and they completely fail to undertake even the most cursory of testing procedures. To me, the minimum would be a regression test using no less than three different browsers, Mac + Win, and the three most current versions of each.

That's as a minimum, for a commercial site.