nikolas

New forum features / Νέες λειτουργίες του forum

67 posts in this topic

Hello to all!

As you may have noticed, we have a new Club now! Some key features are:

you have a wealthier profile but you have to edit it!

Great messenger service with contacts, folders and also the ability to block messages from a specific user

option to attach files in a post -nothing to worry slow connected people, the files don't appear with the post!

the emoticons became clickable, so you don't need to remember the codes!

you can use bold, italics etc with flexible buttons

you can use post icons describing the nature of your topic

you can view member lists!

search page is much better and quicker!

you can send an email to a member directly through the club without your email having to appear on the web (security update, no bots will capture your email, he he :))

Encrypted Passwords for greater security

you can choose interface language (not yet but the support is here, greek will be soon implemented, this weekend I will do it)

You can use your own avatar

Ability to block avatars, signatures and board images (good for slow connections)

You can override default sorting order and limits

You can track topics via email, go to your control panel (CP)

You can create a poll inside a topic or just a poll!

And also a fully searchable help system for everything!

And much more that you will discover...there is a small poll in this forum. The question is New Club vs Old Club...

p.s: and new emoticons!!!!

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Ouch, Nikola, you've been doing a lot of hard work here!

But I'm afraid I'm going to cause you more... And seem ungrateful on top of that, which I'm not! I do appreciate your work, only I get into big trouble in the new club...

1. every time I open a topic or a reply or anything, I get this java error message about an illegal character (I'll send you the precise err.mess., I'm sure you can fix it)

2. all the letters (buttons, posts, everything but the reply as I'm typing it) appear again on my screen in this horribly ugly font, badly legible, and too big! and this time, it's not my Netscape settings...

3. the clickable bold/ital etc don't seem to work, quite; at least in the message I got on my messenger today they didn't.

4. I get this discouraged feeling at the thought of all the new features to get used to and lost in... this will probably pass quickly, but I expect the less computer-litterate among us will feel even more daunted...

5. the windows are too large and too crowded for my small laptopscreen. I have to scroll all the time and never can see an entire window (not even the width, let alone the height). All the emoticons and buttons and thingies overcrowd my screen terribly, I have to scroll past them all the time to get to the part I'm actually using.

FOR THE MOMENT I miss the old club very much...

BUT if you can do something about questions 1, 2 and 3, I think 4 will solve itself for me. As for 5., let's see what others think?

I DO apologize for being so un-enthusiastic!!

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Geeske I am very sorry about your problems and I will try to give some answers here, my numbers refer to your questions.

1. This is absolutely your problem, I mean of your computer! I tested the new version under all main popular browsers (IE, Netscape, Mosaic) and didn't face any problems. In fact, there is no piece of Java in the Club at all so this problem is weird! I have to admit though that the Club is a lot more "beautiful" in terms of colors, fonts etc in Internet Explorer, although I would prefare another browser to be...the reason is that I have implemented "Styles" which are not fully supported in Netscape.

2. Weird once again, the font is the same as before, didn't change it at all! Only some sizes. Do you have the Arial font installed? I just use Arial font again and only Arial!

3. This has to be a bold word and this an italic one!. Are you sure you understood how it works? You press it once, you type what you want to be bold, then you press it once more. It is a little advanced, yes, but it is not that difficult if you understand it once!

4. Geeske, categories are the same, forums are the same, posts are the same, members are the same, features are almost the same. Difference when post is that you have the emoticons ready to handle with a click. The first page has even less information than before. All those that changed are not visible on the first views. If someone never used messenger (don't you find it better?) or viewed profiles before and used it only for posting would not find it much different. I was asked for member lists and here they are. There was a request for some help through the forum and there is a full help system. Search is better also...

5. I hope you can do it by yourself....:mad::(

Anyway, if other people have similar problems I would like to hear them and it is not impossible anytime to return to the old one...

By the way, lots of people ask me about the old messages in the messenger. Although there is no way to import them in the current system (now everything here, not only the messages, is handled through databases), they were not lost. You can go to http://www.dalaras.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/messenger.cgi and save them in the next few days. Then I will disable the system but will still have all the messages in case anyone asks for them!

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Well, I'm lost at sea here...

I've been using the new club a bit now, and I think most of my trouble comes from the fact that it is badly readable, and that it is badly readable because of that

:razz: font, and that the font problem and the cause of the err.mess. are related. I do have Arial installed, both latin and greek.

Now my Netscape is on the same settings as for the old club, which worked fine...

My version is almost certainly an older one that what you tested, btw. My problem. But any hint will be appreciated.

The bold/ital that didn't come through was in a message sent to me, I hadn't tried it yet. It works rather like the codes in the old WordPerfect, doesn't it? Is it normal that I get jumped back to the beginning of the reply when I press the e.g. the "bold" button?

Having gone around the club a bit, I am finding more and more stuff I like - starting with the the new messenger, and its neat filing system! Cool!

And the profile looks good too.

And I've tried the sorting tricks on the forum topics, NEAT!

And the members list is just GREAT, exactly what we need!!

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I am not happy with the smaller sized fonts.

And I am sorry to tell but those post icons ..................

       .............Actually I hate them.

I hope nobody uses them in a reply to one of my messages because primarily I dont understand the meaning of them.

I did not try out what "IMAGE" means. May I suggest you can add a picture in JPEG to a message?

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Nikola, great job! I actually have no problems at all, I think it is an upgraded version of the previous forum.

Just one question...where did the "notify by e-mail (for replies)" option go? It was very very useful!

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Odysseus

Yes you can add images attached to a message. Pay no attention to the image button because it doesn't behave as I wanted so I will remove it. But you can attach any file with the message and then when we read it, there will be a link to the file (it will first be uploaded to dalaras.com) so it doesn't cause problems to slow connections. For example, I attach an image of how the Club looks in my PC and what I intended it to look in all yours...

By the way, you all must have noticed that all your old messages in the messenger are now present in your new one! It worked with me, I hope it worked with everyone, if there is a problem let me know!

post-18183-club.jpg

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Nikolas,

To tell you that I think it's a very excellent job you did.

If only this middle-ages computer of mine would work as it should. Sometimes it makes me reall  :razz:

But as long as it works.

I have a question though. The time on which the messages ae posted are so weird. Belgium is one hour behind of Greece but it seems now four to five.

Or should I change something in my profile??

Greetings,

Micki

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Nikolas,

Trying again to post here.

First of all, I find you did an excellent job.

If only my middle-aged computer would work a little just one little bit faster

I have on question though. When I log in the timesettings don't fit anymore. The time mentioned behind every post is very different from my time. And Greece is just one hour ahead of Belgium.

Should I change something in my profile?

Micki

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Nikola,

I just want to tell you that you did an excellent job. It may take some time to find my way in it but hey, how else will I learn?

I have a question about the time indication. It's not matching with the real time. Greece is one hour ahead of Belgium but it seems more. Should I change something in my profile?

Just one other thing. While posting, when I get a private message my post gets lost. This is the third time I try to post this. But the one who is sending, please don't stop, I like your messages.

Micki

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This should be funny.

First of all, Nikola, I think you did an excellent job, really I do.

It will take just some time to find my way here but hey, how else will I learn.

Allthough, I have tried to post now this for the fourth time. Everytime I hit Add reply, somebody sends me a private message (and to that person, please don't stop because I like it) and my post gets lost. Must be the slowlyness of my computer.

I wanted to ask something about the time indicated next to the posts. It doesn't match anymore with the real time. Belgium is only 1 hour behind of Greece but it seems many more. Should I change something in my profile now?

Go on with the good job.

Micki

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Hey, the attachment thing is neat!!

The picture though told me I REALLY have a problem here, my screen looks nothing like. So I'll have to do something about it.

About the messenger: yes, I found all the messages i nmine.!

About the time: I had to change mine in my control panel too, I don't think the base time is Greece at all, is it?

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OK, I've gone over to MS explorer and it HELPS, things look a lot neater now!! In fact it looks GREAT and it works real well so far.

I have found a curious problem though: some topics seem to be incomplete; the last posts made (typically one or two) don't appear when I read the topic, only when I post a reply! Anyone else noticed this?

(the last that did this is "heart's desire").

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Geeske

That is weird but for 2-3 hours I had locked all the forums that is maybe why or else you should try a refresh...

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Nikola great job!

The new forum works great for me

Just one question...where did the "e-mail notification for replies" option go?

I saw that there is a "tracking" option

How does it work?

I still think that the e-mail notification box should be an option to select

post-62317-dalaras_army.jpg

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Geeske,

I had the same problem. I was trying to post in this thread. Everytime I wanted to hit the "Add reply" somebody was sending a private message and my post got lost. I thought it was just because of my slow computer. So I gave up trying to post.

But now I want to ask my question to Nikola. What happened to the time indication? I say so strange hours that I put posts in. Belgium is only one hour behind of Greece but it seems more. Should I change something in my profile?

BTW, excellent job you did here.

Micki

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Micki

Exactly as you say! Maybe your time zone was reset but you can go to your profile and adjust it, by the way, the difference you see is not between you and Greece but between you and US where the server is based...so, go to your control panel, account options and do it to match your time...

Astron, yes, topic tracker is exactly for this purpose....

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And I have just noticed that yesterday we had the record if 16 members being online at the same time! Last one was 12!

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One new feature I like is the 'on-line members' listing, it works better than in the old forum and the privacy thing at login is a nice refinement (I haven't tried it but I trust it).

Now a question:

The names in the listing (bottom of the main page) are all underlined, which just means clickable I think - but though most of them are blue, a few appear in black.

Does it mean something, and if so, what, please?

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Yes, in fact it means that your browser is very old...

(Geeske you are over limits when it comes to browser, I wrote 30 pages in my thesis project to explain why a website has to be the same in all browsers and versions but I can't make it work for you, what a pity)

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I went and had a look and it surprised even me - Netscape 4.04, 1997. But then, I never needed a Netbrowser much, before! And anyway, it does work. All of it - I even got the pop-ups back! And the clickable smilies! (my msexplorer blew itself up though).

Never mind, I had already decided last Thursday that I'm going to get me a new computer, cd-rom, adsl line, the works. Even some legal software maybe. This little toy is not up to the newer translation software, so I'll call it an investment and it will be tax-deductible! :)

Anna predicted this... (is her middle name Cassandra, I wonder).

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The privacy thingie

Nikola, either I misunderstood what it is supposed to do, or did not get it to work.

I tried logging in without my name appearing in the list at the bottom of the main board page, by ticking that box on the login page, but - there I was, in the list!

I didn't mind as such (I was trying out the feature, not hiding from you folk) but

did I do something wrong, or does it simply not work?

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Geeske I have just read your message...

I suppose it works ok, but I am afraid you can't hide from yourself... :)

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