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G-ManBart
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Is there any setting to make this new format display differently? I thought the old format was great, but this new format is simply awful. I looked through all the user settings I could find and nothing seemed to address how the forum appears, but maybe (hopefully) I missed something? I don't think I'm terribly picky, and maybe this works fine on a mobile device, but on my laptops and desktop it's really bad...to the point I think about seeing what's new and I change my mind.

I really don't say any of that to make anyone working on the forum feel bad....I know it's a lot more work than people realize.
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kiwi2wheels
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@ G-ManBart

You are not alone ! ! ! Agree 200% !

The old format was as good as it gets, clean, uncluttered, and best of all, quick to go through.

Confucius say ; " If it's not broken, don't fix it "
Coldman
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Agreed
Flat out like a lizard drinkin'
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Why is it bad on your laptop/desktop? Seems fine to me. Different, yes, but fine altogether.
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kiwi2wheels
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The page is like a screen with stuff written all over it, there's no delineation between messages.

When writing on a laptop, the screen needs to be a 45 deg to see where the hell to write !

Not at all easy to read and too spread out.
G-ManBart
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Oscar wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 11:36 am Why is it bad on your laptop/desktop? Seems fine to me. Different, yes, but fine altogether.
Kiwi pretty much nailed it. The forum title/headline sections are very large, way out of proportion, so that just the TIG section takes up more than half of the screen (vertically). Then there's the large section on the right with the links to newer posts that takes up the right 1/3rd of the screen. Once you scroll below that you have a blank 1/3rd section on the right. In short, stuff is all over the place now when it was pretty orderly in the past. It's not as bad once you get into a particular forum section, but still not as clean, and even the colors and contrast aren't as easy to read for me...and I'm not overly picky about that (at least I don't think so).

There's also no longer a color difference/section between forums so they visually all run together. The old format has a horizontal line of a different color separating each forum.

I just find it really distracting and somehow it's like going back in time to an early forum that isn't well organized.
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click the little icon on the right that has the double arrows (left & right). That toggles the sidebar. That's all I can offer. :)
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G-ManBart
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Oscar wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:10 pm click the little icon on the right that has the double arrows (left & right). That toggles the sidebar. That's all I can offer. :)
That does help a bit...thanks!
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It sounds like it could be a CSS styling bug that happens when the site renders at certain resolutions. I tested the site at all the most popular resolutions with no issues, but there are always going to be some oddities. Any info like screenshots, device type, browser etc is helpful in diagnosing these types of things, so please attach them if you have the time. Also, the forum still functions through tapatalk for iOS and Android which has a fairly standard format/UI if you'd prefer to go that route.

Sorry for any confusion. For what it's worth I didn't want to change it, but our old style wasn't supported any more. We had to go with something new to update the board to the latest security standards.
Poland308
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I wish the activity section was closer to the top and allowed you to see more previous activity.
I have more questions than answers

Josh
kiwi2wheels
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Oscar wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 3:10 pm click the little icon on the right that has the double arrows (left & right). That toggles the sidebar. That's all I can offer. :)
I haven't got that icon showing on firefox or brave.............
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It's only on the home page. Once you go into a sub-forum, it's no longer there.
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kiwi2wheels
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Thanks Oscar. I tried it but it doesn't change the layout, at least on my screen, when I go into a sub forum.

Oh, well............ :|
cj737
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Odd, it works/looks perfectly normal for me on both laptops and mobile. Perhaps its the browser/version you are using?

There is a button at the top right, next to the Envelope icon that I use to jump to New Posts or Unread Posts. The only anomaly I've encountered is that PMs don't delete from my Inbox even after successive attempts to remove them.
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BillE.Dee
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cj, my screen looks nothing like you are showing. I can get along with the way it looks, a little difficult to see but I suppose I'm good.
cj737
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BillE.Dee wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 7:34 am cj, my screen looks nothing like you are showing. I can get along with the way it looks, a little difficult to see but I suppose I'm good.
Perhaps you'd be interested in buying my laptop? :lol: :lol: :lol: Offers always welcome ;)
G-ManBart
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admin wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 4:21 pm It sounds like it could be a CSS styling bug that happens when the site renders at certain resolutions. I tested the site at all the most popular resolutions with no issues, but there are always going to be some oddities. Any info like screenshots, device type, browser etc is helpful in diagnosing these types of things, so please attach them if you have the time. Also, the forum still functions through tapatalk for iOS and Android which has a fairly standard format/UI if you'd prefer to go that route.

Sorry for any confusion. For what it's worth I didn't want to change it, but our old style wasn't supported any more. We had to go with something new to update the board to the latest security standards.
No worries...I recall seeing it wasn't something you wanted to change.

Removing the sidebar as Oscar suggested has made a big difference. I still think it would be helpful to have some sort of color differentiation between sections, threads, etc...generally I think those are called banners, if my memory is correct. Right now it's pretty much all white with some very light purple and darker purple for buttons like "Save draft" "Preview" etc. The old format had something along those lines...a medium/dark blue header like you have now, then white sections and medium blue banners for each forum. I think it's mostly lack of contrast at this point.

I've tried Safari and Chrome on MacBooks, iPads and a regular Mac.
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Jack Ryan
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As people have mentioned, there is a lot of real estate used up by non-message stuff but it would be helpful if the main menu (three horizontal bars) would stay on the screen. Phones are covered but small laptops and tablets are in between and I have to scroll sideways.

(You can see the effect by making the window narrower - the menu disappears and comes back when the window is much narrower).

Probably can't do much about it as the modern "responsive" CMS caters to phones and is also usable on full size PC screens. Often with anything else you're out of luck.

Jack
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