Official Request Thread

[thejeff]

Wrong concept, I think. It's not that having these bookmark/tag boxes help the search engines. We're supposed to use the Bookmarks, which, by linking to Shrapnel's pages, will boost it's rankings.

I suppose as marketing concepts go, it's not too annoying. I won't use them, not out of malice, but just because I don't use that type of site. I'm not really convinced that ignoring the requests of your current users in favor of marketing concerns is really a good policy, but this is a minor issue.
It really does feel like bad design, though. Separating the reply section from the thing you're replying to with unrelated boxes. I'd probably have put them at the top. Maybe more obtrusive, but easier to get to for those who are interested and not disrupting the conversation.

[Annette]

Originally Posted by lch

The quick reply box only shows up for logged in users, so it shouldn't impact crawlers from search engines or visitors at all if you move it, I think.

Again, I'm not the internet marketing expert on the team, but my understanding is the benefit comes in when users choose to utilize the bookmarks and tags. Therefore, we want their availability to be obvious and easily accessible to our users.

[Amhazair]

This is very, very (very!) minor, but personally I like(d) it when you can see the last pages of a long post displayed on the forum page, instead of only the first few.

As in: Threadname 1,2...7,8 instead of the Threadname 1,2,3... last page, as it is now. (Unless this can be set by personal preference? I couldn't find it, but then, I have been known to be blind on occasion. )

[Annette]

Originally Posted by thejeff

Wrong concept, I think. It's not that having these bookmark/tag boxes help the search engines. We're supposed to use the Bookmarks, which, by linking to Shrapnel's pages, will boost it's rankings.

I suppose as marketing concepts go, it's not too annoying. I won't use them, not out of malice, but just because I don't use that type of site. I'm not really convinced that ignoring the requests of your current users in favor of marketing concerns is really a good policy, but this is a minor issue.
It really does feel like bad design, though. Separating the reply section from the thing you're replying to with unrelated boxes. I'd probably have put them at the top. Maybe more obtrusive, but easier to get to for those who are interested and not disrupting the conversation.

Saying we will not be making the requested change is not the same as ignoring the request. When Mindi opened this thread she clearly stated that we will not be able to meet all the requests which will be posted here. We are happy to consider your requests and are interested in your suggestions, but our decisions are made with many factors in mind. We hope you will come to accept what's been described as a minor annoyance in hopes it will help achieve our marketing goals.

[Annette]

Originally Posted by Amhazair

This is very, very (very!) minor, but personally I like(d) it when you can see the last pages of a long post displayed on the forum page, instead of only the first few.

As in: Threadname 1,2...7,8 instead of the Threadname 1,2,3... last page, as it is now. (Unless this can be set by personal preference? I couldn't find it, but then, I have been known to be blind on occasion. )

I'm not sure I understand completely what you have in mind, but I'm pretty sure there is a setting in your User CP which will make the adjustment. Try reading through this part of the FAQ and let me know if that doesn't answer your question:
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/faq.p...aq_vb3_user_cp

Scroll down to the Thread Display Options under Other Settings and Options if my link doesn't take you straight to that section.

[JimMorrison]

Originally Posted by Annette

The theme is an integral part of our complete site design and corporate branding - also not subject to change.

So I was thinking about this one, it's something I'm told I do too much.

Anyways, I wondered what the harm is in allowing custom themes for existing users? Obviously you want this look for the newcomers and the surfers and wanderers(and you've put a lot of thought and effort into it), but we've already purchased products from Shrapnel, I think. So I just sort of thought if there was a built in theme customizer that perhaps it could be opened up just so that we could play with it, and make it more attractive in relation to our own personal desktop/browser themes.

For example, I'm using a kind of minty layout right now, and while these blues are perfectly serviceable in most ways, they're just not very attractive on my setup.

Again, not trying to interfere with your efforts, it's just something I'd like to see implemented for those of us who already believe in the Shrapnel method. <3

[Annette]

Well, you present a persuasive argument...and I can see how that would be a cool feature. We wouldn't want to use standard vBulletin presets, though, which would mean designing these ourselves. Something that labor intensive isn't likely to happen in the near feature, I'm sorry. Cool suggestion, though.

[llamabeast]

Originally Posted by Amhazair

This is very, very (very!) minor, but personally I like(d) it when you can see the last pages of a long post displayed on the forum page, instead of only the first few.

As in: Threadname 1,2...7,8 instead of the Threadname 1,2,3... last page, as it is now. (Unless this can be set by personal preference? I couldn't find it, but then, I have been known to be blind on occasion. )

I was missing that as well, although I agree it's extremely minor. It was nice to see 1,2,3..17 and think "wow! 17 pages!", whereas now there is no indication of the size of the thread.

Anyway, if anyone finds out how to change this, please post and let us know!

[Annette]

Originally Posted by Amhazair

This is very, very (very!) minor, but personally I like(d) it when you can see the last pages of a long post displayed on the forum page, instead of only the first few.

As in: Threadname 1,2...7,8 instead of the Threadname 1,2,3... last page, as it is now. (Unless this can be set by personal preference? I couldn't find it, but then, I have been known to be blind on occasion. )

Originally Posted by llamabeast

I was missing that as well, although I agree it's extremely minor. It was nice to see 1,2,3..17 and think "wow! 17 pages!", whereas now there is no indication of the size of the thread.

Anyway, if anyone finds out how to change this, please post and let us know!

Okay, I understand what you're asking now. One thing to keep in mind is that the number of posts per page can be adjusted in your User CP. If you go into Edit Options, then Thread Display Options you'll see a menu for Number of Posts to Show per Page. The range is 5 to 50. So if I refer you to what I see as page 4 of a thread, for someone else that may be page 1. That's kind of an aside to point out we need to get in the habit of referring to post numbers rather than thread pages.

If you go to Display Mode, also under Edit Options (or you'll also find it in the black menu bar across the top of the page when viewing the forum home page), try selecting Hybrid Mode. Then at the top you should be able to see Page 1 of 8, etc. Does that do the trick?

[Herode]

First of all : thanks to Shrapnel team for the work. I've been trying some of the new V-Bulletin's options these last days and they are cool. As well as the in-process tuning I can see.

My request : when I read a thread, I would like to see at the bottom of each post a small button linking to the top of the page. That's because I'm very lazy and typing Ctrl-Home can really exhaust me to death. Moving the cursor on a near and nice "go to top" button, on the other hand, could save my life.

One alternative : a button / link to the forum hosting the thread I'm reading (in the old forums, you had an 'index' link that was doing this job). This will be ever cooler than the first option because I take the risk of typing Ctrl-Home for the only purpose of clicking afterwards to the forum's link.

I may name my next pretenders Annette, Mindi, Richard and so on if you can handle this