FBTB 3.0: Your feedback here!

[Firespray]

It looks pretty good. My only problem is I can't figure out the URL thingy. So maybe make a tutorial for that as this is new for me...the old one was easy though.

But overall 5/5.

Can you explain what you mean by "URL thingy"?

Think he meant the BBCode formatting, it's still the same coding as the old one.

[keds]

Just a minor laundry item, in the user control panel under profile it reads:
"Second, to make you're not a spammity bot."
It should probably be:
" Second, to make sure you're not a spammity bot.

[theJudeAbides]

Perhaps a post in the "Start Here" post explaining how to use the BBC code would be a good idea. Yes, it's the same style as the old forums and us veterans know how to use it, but it would be nice for new members who aren't familiar with the system. Granted, it's not that hard and is pretty intuitive (I like that you changed it so that now when you click the tag buttons at the top, they'll be put where your cursor is and not just at the end of the post). However, considering the age of some of our members, what seems easy and intuitive to us may not be to them.

Also, is the "List" tag new? I don't remember it, and given my fondness for lists, I'd think I'd remember it. I'll have to try that bad boy out soon.

[Darth Bizzle]

I'm not quite sure about the oddly balloon shaped smilies

Yes, those suck, we're replacing them soon. And by "we" I mean Nick.

It looks pretty good. My only problem is I can't figure out the URL thingy. So maybe make a tutorial for that as this is new for me...the old one was easy though.

But overall 5/5.

Can you explain what you mean by "URL thingy"?

Yea I can and I will.

I can't figure out how to embed a link in a word ie making "photopage" link to your photo page ect. I feel really dumb not being able to figure it out.

[theJudeAbides]

Darth Bizzle,

To answer your question:

The general form is:

Code: Select all

[url=actualURL]Nice name for URL[/url]

So, for example, if you wanted to link to Google:

Code: Select all

[url=http://www.google.com]Google Link[/url]

Turns into:
Google Link

[Solo]

Jude, I plan on finding or making an "Intro to Forum Code" thread. Someone might even beat me to the punch.

[onions]

no can we not do that please.

on the right hand side of the text entry box where you make your post, there are the smilies, and below that is a link for BBCode, click on it and it'll take you here:

http://www.fbtb.net/forums/faq.php?mode=bbcode

which will explain how to use bbcode.

I'm not going to make a special post about how to use bbcode. people should be able to figure out these sorts of things on their own.

[Morgan19]

(EDIT-) Nevermind! Continuing my conversation in the other WordPress thread.

m19

[Solo]

Ace: that's a nice built in link, I'll keep that in mind for further questions on forum coding!

[Master Fetty]

I have mixed feelings about the change as whole.

The main site is amazing. I liked the old design, but this is certainly a welcome change - the old site looked old. This new one is much more up to date and in tune with the 2009 Star Wars packaging. It's a shame to see the old banner go, but this new is definitely more in tune with the site and actually made me laugh out loud. Its a testament to the photography skill we have here and there's something nice about a smiling Palpatine, yellow heads and best of all - a ginger Anakin.
The archive is also a nice little addition that will be something I think I will find myself using a lot over time (although it is a shame some of the posts weren't salvaged and there's nary a trace of the exclusive 2006 sets preview, although that can't be helped).

The forum, I'm a bit unsure on. I'll just get it out of the way now that it will certainly to see a whole host of threads similar to that on the old forum that cover the same opinions/thoughts, but that is expected with any new forum.
The overall colour scheme is not bad - its slightly toned darker from the old site, but not majorly. The red text helps link to the main page also. However, while the red looks cool in some places, it proves a real annoyance on others, namely (as stated before) as the colour signifying a new post and the little tab you can click to take you to the newer posts. They both merge in just a little too much with the backgrouns and can be a pain to the eyes.

I'm a tad dissapointed with the downsizing. Although we are only down a couple of sub-fora, the site feels a lot more cramped, with things that previously were sub-fora now single thread (Software for example). I can see the reasoning, but it makes a lot harder for people who don't read every single post to differentiate between what will and won't interest them. On the old site, I would look at LSW, SW, LSW Software, BCS, then SW MOCs and LEGO, occasionally dipping into Minifig MOCs, Hello My Name Is... and Ask LEGO. Now I'm pleased to see some of them (HMNI) gone, but it just makes the whole process of visting the site a bit more arduous and overall a chore where I will skip large chunks.
The overall change in layout has also change how I view the site. Before, it was its own, thriving community tied slightly with the main site. Here, it feels like a comment section to a large blog (the main site). While this isn't bad, I feel its importance has been downsized.

I appreciate why the site needed a change and am glad to see something different, despite never being a huge fan of the notion myself. And, to avoid a load of people ranting at me, I'm perfectly happy with a change and am not suggesting it shouldn't have happened, just that I think a few, mainly visual, things have changed the overall role of the forum, which I wasn't prepared for.

[theJudeAbides]

Good point Ace. I totally missed that.

Oh, and you can scratch the part of my earlier post about not being able to create new topics in the BCS. I looks like its working now.

[Morgan19]

"Comprehensive" board search
Am I just blind, is there no longer a link directly to the board-wide Search function? I realize there's a section-specific "Search This XYZ" field that comes up for a thread or section, but where's the one for the whole board at once? (Interestingly enough, if you click "View New Posts", there's a link on that page back to the Search/Advanced Search page; I just can't find a direct link to it otherwise.)

"Tightness"
I'm finding that the section and thread listings can be hard to scan and read now– I think a lot of this is due to the fixed-width layout having more info crammed into a smaller space, but it also looks like there's less vertical space between cells. (On the main forum page, the Discuss! section's subsections look crammed together, for example.) Could adding a bit of padding to the boards be considered, so the listings aren't quite so squashed vertically?

Inline thread titles
Why in the world are the RE: versions of thread titles within the thread so freaking huge and bolded? It looks very goofy when paired with the teeny-tiny "everything else" info (like a poster's name), especially when it's repeated every post... Makes sense to have the main title in the top-left corner of the thread that size, but having it large in every post of a thread seems unnecessary.

Google Analytics
Was that code on the old site? I've noticed the site reloading and page refreshes getting hung up a few times "waiting for Google Analytics"– everything else seems to load quickly, until it gets to that.

m19

[Solo]

The search page is right here, but for the life of me I can't find a link to it. That definitely needs to be remedied.

[Heady]

I have to say, great site! Vastly different, but it's "Change we Can believe in"!
Also, the different smilies are somewhat disconcerting, but I'll live.

[Andi]

What is about Set Reviews? Are they included in the Lego or SW forums? Or are there no custom reviews allowed anymore only the ones made from someone who has access to http://www.fbtb.net/reviews?

[BigBenKenobi]

Honestly, I really like the new FBTB 3.0. However, I do miss the old forums a little bit with its color sceme and everything. I guess the new forums will take me a little while to get used to. But other than me missing the old forums, this place is great .

[Solo]

I'm already disliking the 10 posts per page limit, anyone else thinking the same thing?

[Big C]

Can't stand it. We need to bump it up to at least 30.

[Heady]

Yep, it's very annoying, and it makes me click on more links. Can this be fixed?

[Andi]

can you change the posts per site?
In the old forums it was over 20, wasn't it?