Suggestions, changes, what's working and what isn't so far?

Thought it might be a good time to discuss what features are working and not for folks up to this point.

Got to love all the great folks here so far. And the discourse has been wonderful. Keep it up everyone!!

I love the way unread and new topics are posted right below when finishing a thread. This makes it very easy to catch up on everything.

I also like the fact that when clicking back on an old thread we are directed to the first unread post, Wonderful and one thing I requested on Houzz.

Still haven’t figured out how to post pic on avatar but haven’t tried too hard. I think maybe I need to size and square up a pic before uploading.

Don’t see how we add zone and location info after name. When we get more posters I won’t know or remember where everyone is located.

Had one person who wasn’t comfortable in PM mode because it looks like regular mode. Maybe we weren’t private. So question there: if notification appears top right are you in PM mode? Can anyone other than maybe Scott tap into that?

I’m really pleased so far!! Hope others are as well.

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This site sure has a lot of options, doesn’t it? I keep finding more features, sometimes by accident.

Re: accidents with the PM mode, it should say “Private Message” on the button you press to send a private message, then you know its private. If it says Reply on the button, its going to post a followup. If you make a mistake just clear out your post, below each post there is a pencil to edit it.

The zone info is not shown unless you click on someones full profile page. What I did is put it at the top of “About me” in my preferences, then it shows up right away. There isn’t any better way to do it unfortunately.

One handy feature I recently found is if you select some text in a post with your mouse you get an option to make a reply with that text quoted. Its very easy to use but is not like how usual quoted reply features work.

Scott

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Hey Scott that is pretty neat!! If I can do it anyone can.

At least one person was smart enough to add zone to their screen name. But then to change I guess you’d have to register again.

I’m still just getting comfortable.

And I earned a “quote” badge! Wonder what else I can earn?

Scott

Is there a way to just add another field tied to the poster’s user name.

Mike

Mike, I did add zone as a custom field, it’s in everyone’s profile. But it won’t show right next to their name. This is the one downside about this discourse format, it has limited customization options.

The one thing we can and should add is a logo along the top of the page.

Scott

Ditto on the zone listing would be nice.

Otherwise - in all aspects - I am LOVING this new forum. Thanks everyone so very much.

One issue I ran into today, I was adding information on my profile page about tree varieties I am growing, had to shorten it, was told there was a 3000 character limit. Unless I am missing something, you have to scroll down in the dark background section to read information each persons page. Is there some other way or another place to post information on your profile page?

Overall, new forum is great, so much more user friendly, Chris

Chris, I had the same experience w/ the characters limit.

So did I, I tried to move over my long list of varieties and it wouldn’t fit. I tried to find out if that value could be upped in the admin preferences but it couldn’t.

At some point down the road if there are some things we really want to change it can in theory be added to the raw code: its an open source project which means anyone can change the code. But, its a lot of work to get into the sources, and if you make a change you need to keep patching it into each update. This summer I may be able to look at the source to see how easy it is to change.

Scott

I’m really liking this format so far. I like it better than the old GW and much better than Houzz. Kudos to Scott for building it, I sincerely appreciate what you’ve done. I use this forum on my iPhone mostly and find that it scales wonderfully to the mobile browser.
I too wish the zone info were displayed with the name, maybe it will be possible in the future.
I see a place in the profile page to link to a personal web site but how cool would it be if each person could have a complete web page with lists and pictures of their orchards etc. right within the profile page.
One thing I did like about Houzz was the projects feature. That could be useful for anyone wanting to document a particular project they were working on or maybe share a tutorial about something.
Scott, you are doing a wonderful job, please keep at it.

The zone thing is pretty much it for me, and it’s really not a big deal to just click on the persons “avatar” to see zone information. Other than that…I think it’s acceptable just the way it is.

Also…for me…the background could be “toned down” just a bit more also, maybe a very light shade of green or something. It isn’t bad like Houzz or anything, just something more subtle and natural. It would be more energy efficient also.
Actually for me, the slightly darkened background would be my #1 improvement.

OK…sorry…now I’m very clearly sounding like a complainer.

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How do people like the color now? Hit reload to see it if you are not seeing a green background. Maybe its a little too green now, more white?

Scott
Edit: I couldn’t take it myself so I just lightened it a bit. Hit reload to make sure you have the latest color.

Looks better. There’s now some contrast. Thank you!

As for color perception my eyes are, what I was told, are “color ignorant” and the effect is magnified when colors are very light (washed out) and too dark at which time they meld into just “dark”. I can’t tell if the screen is light green or light tan. ( My main problem is differentiating between green & brown, and then between blue & purple and between green,brown, red when they are deep and dark. The brighter the color the easier for me to differentiate).
Too bright and it bothers mine just like anyone else’s eyes

My problem is “contrast” and a small “want” for me would be to be able to, on my screen to be able to have the font be a bolder font. It would just make it easier for me to read. NOT A BIGGIE !!!.

Otherwise the CLEAN format here is great.

JUST AN ITEM FOR THE BUCKET LIST. Photos are sometimes needed within the thread to I.D. a problem or to visualize a solution and those are within the specific thread.

How about a new section labeled PHOTO ALBUM (each member has one) into which a member could upload favorite photos that they themselves took that are just to look at (not every photo someone finds on the internet), related to their own fruit growing experience whether of their own, topography, weather conditions, orchard or fruit tree or not, the only proviso being that they are their own photos, It might add to the sense of community . We’d have to look at the storage issues it could create for Scott.

Mike

Mike, both of those features would have to be coded up since they don’t seem to be there now.

One other good thing about this forum format though is its very actively being improved now, and there could be a photo album type thing coming down the road. I looked around this morning and found it already has wiki and polling features we could use.

Scott

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All in good due time. Feeling very good here.

Thnax
Mike

Scott,

I was just thinking:

Might be nice to add some kind of “Zone Buddies” feature, or “Regional Buddies” feature.

-Matt

Before I make any suggestions, let me first say how wonderful this site is in every way. The old “Keep it Simple Stupid” adage applies here and I love it. I shouldn’t have to put in hours of time just to learn how to navigate a site when all I care about is the information, not the style (Houzz should learn that). Any suggestions I have are just minor ones.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but I do miss being able to see what zone someone is in at a glance within a thread without having to go look it up. I also like the idea of somehow denoting people in my same zone, as Matt is suggesting. One additional category I might like to see is one for cooking, preserving, juicing, canning, cider making, and otherwise USING the fruit we are here to grow. AS someone who enjoys cooking, I’d love to see a place to share recipes that are centered around various fruits and tips on how to make other things, from Apple Cider to fruit spreads/preserves, apple butter, pear honey, poached figs in honey, and so on. That being said, others may feel that is too far removed from the purpose of this site (GROWING) and that would be a valid argument. Anyway, thanks for a great site!

I like a lot of your ideas cityman. Brady