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Henry
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 10:10 am: | 
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It is time to start thinking about upgrading our forum again. We are getting more and more errors, as you undoubtably have noticed. We think most are spam, but not totally sure.
A few years ago we had this same discussion. https://kyp.hauslendale.com/classics/forum/messages/1/1775.html?1121801105
Clearly the simple format is very much favored. We will probably go to more modern software due to how cumbersome this old program is. What we would really like to know is what features would you like to see.
Features like... allowing only registered users, etc. Personally, I don't like avatars and other drivel. But this forum is for us...all of us.
So let the discussion begin. We'll know more as soon as the talking starts...
Henry |
Roy Randall
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 10:14 am: |
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For me, I wouldn't want to change a thing!
Roy. |
rick
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 10:18 am: |
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the simpler the better. there are some really good forums that i don't visit because they are either broken up into so many categories that i have to go 20 places to see if there's anything of interest, or because they require a logon and password that i can't remember, or something like that.
maybe a more prominent "search" button would be good, and maybe placing the "new discussion" button at the top instead of the bottom of the page. mainly i like it just like it is.
: ) = |
Henry
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 11:57 am: |
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Anytime I hear or read "new and improved" I think of several of my favorite products that suddenly boasted "new and improved" on the label and are anything but improved. In fact, I stop using them. I do not want this to happen.
Like Rick, I personally don't like logons and passwords. But we have recently had many trolls and other varmints. This present software has no means of restricting such things except with passwords, etc. |
Donnie Strickland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 02:31 pm: |
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Don't change a thing. |
paul ron
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 05:02 pm: |
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Along with new n improved comes slower, cluncky, unresponsive besides more complicated to run n maintain. Have you considered that as part of the equation?
Yeh, there is VBulitin and the other Groupie, all fine but is it really needed to get the same info accross? ummmm.... you're talking to a buch of guys that still use 75 year old cameras, CHANGE????? I don't think so!-: I'm on medication dude.
OH... We don't need no stikin pictures!... that's what e-mail followups are for.
butttttt.... it's your ball, I'm only a very apreciative guest here and I thank you for being so gracious this long. |
Michael Linn
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 06:50 pm: |
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What Rick said.
I don't think anything is really broken so why "fix" it?
That said I'm probably enough of a geezer to need a bit of a shake up once in a while so feel free to try whatever you think might help.
I agree in advance!
Mike |
Glenn Middleton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 08:51 pm: |
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As I have said before; this forum is so successful because of the clear and simple layout and the total lack of other useless crap on the screen.
You have only to look at the discussion pages on the Amateur Photographer site to see what I mean. The postings are full of stupid catch phrases, ID photos and other useless crap, a large percentage of the 'useful' content next to useless. They also make a great fuss of the number of posts the members make, unless you make about 5,000 plus you appear to be a 'newbie' and your information must be suspect. To me a first time poster with half a dozen lines of spot on instruction or even just a pointer, is far more use than hundreds of posts containing garbage.
Yes it is a great pity about the current mess of spam, most seem to be offering herbal sex aids or cheap medication at the moment!
Just keep it simple on the screen - As is, is OK by me. |
jon goodman
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 09:22 pm: |
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I would not change a thing. Not anything. This is a very comfortable, informative, no-nonsense, and well-designed site. Good job!
Jon |
M Currie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 09:34 pm: |
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I like the forum as it stands. It loads fast and works well enough. Many forums are set up to handle very long and complex threads, and I suspect a lot of the features of most forum software would be wasted here, where there is not a lot of drawn-out discussion. Simple is fine. Avatars and signatures and that stuff can be fun, but I don't miss it here.
I'd register if I had to, but I'd be kind of sorry to see it necessary. I'd hate to discourage anyone from either asking or answering questions here. Obviously, though, since Henry is the one who has to clean out the spam and maintain the thing, it's up to him. |
Roger Provins
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 10:19 pm: |
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Absolutely fine just as it is. Great job! |
Wayne
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 11:10 pm: |
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I'm happy with the forum just as it is - this place has helped me out of a tight spot several times, and the easy access to such a pool of knowledge in this field is unrivalled.
The only problem for me is that I have an apostrophe in my email address (from my surname) and the software doesn't seem to be able to deal with that. Don't know if there's a solution for that one... |
Howard
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 02:02 am: |
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I also have said before that I am very happy with this forum just the way it is. However, if it would ease your work load Henry to use a newer platform, I think we would all understand.
I'm sure that we are all very appreciative of your efforts, so if you feel that it's appropriate to upgrade then go right ahead. |
John Farrell
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 02:59 am: |
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I, too, prefer the simple style of this forum. I particularly dislike the avatars and signatures one sees elswhere. Keep focussed on the information, and personal interactions, rather than ego tripping. |
charlie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 04:36 am: |
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I too am happy as is. I don't seem to get any spam with this. You must do a good job filtering it out. |
Steve Roberts
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 05:59 am: |
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I'm very happy with the forum as it is.
If it ain't broke, don't mend it!
Steve |
Adrian
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 07:36 am: |
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I must agree with the majority here (though I am only an occasional user and, to be honest, tend to use it for finding out about the latest junk heap I've bought rather than actually repairing anything!).
The interface is extremely uncluttered (rangefinderforum.com used to look like the inside of a battleship - dodgy colour choice!), and easy to use. I don't think I've ever been spammed through here either, though that could be my spam filter.
Probably the biggest probs - certainly the things that get my goat most - are the number of people asking about digital cameras (mine is digital - I use a finger to make the shutter go!), and the ridiculous reactions of a few other users to that. Registration MIGHT sort that out, but it might also put off a few people with fairly casual questions who might otherwise be helped here.
I say change as little as possible.
Adrian |
dmr
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 08:50 am: |
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>I would not change a thing. Not anything. This is a
>very comfortable, informative, no-nonsense, and
>well-designed site. Good job!
Agree 110%!
It ain't broke, don't fix it!
(Wow, I seem to be saying that quite a bit, huh?)  |
Edwin
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 01:06 pm: |
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Just leave it as it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Will
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 03:32 pm: |
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This is a great forum as it is. However, I would like to see an upgraded search utility. This one seems to give somewhat strange results at times. (could be operator error though )
Additionally, without getting too crazy big - we could expand the topics a little? I would love to see more dialog from this group on collecting and collections of vintage cameras. Also modifications and upgrades of vintage cameras and equipment may be interesting? Just a thought. Thanks.
Will |
Richard Creviston
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 05:27 pm: |
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Puuleeze don't change a thing! I have often marveled at the simplicity of this forum and the education I have received from the exchange of information from the knowledgeable and unselfish contributors to this site. Scarcely a day passes without my visitation to learn something new.
Thanks to all who work so hard to keep the information flowing.
At 76 years of age it's not easy to adapt to new and more complicated procedures. Please keep it simple. Richard. |
Brian
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - 09:00 pm: |
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I really have enjoyed the forum, if registration was necessary, I would, but I can quickly jump over here, search, and post a question. In other words information is easy to find and discussion is simple. Simplicity is great. Also I appreciate the service being provided to our community of collectors and photogs. One suggestion is the disposable e-mail addresses many isp's are allowing their subscribers. Also there are some free spam filters that work like a champ.
Thanks!
Brian |
Olympfix
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 13, 2006 - 04:57 am: |
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Same as most of the others- " If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!!" All the rest say that so don't change a thing!!!! |
Richard Cook
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 13, 2006 - 02:07 pm: |
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This website is wonderful because it is so uncluttered and everything comes up very quickly.
I must confess that I have only recently worked out how to use the search facility correctly and feel that if this was explained slightly better there would be fewer repeated questions. |
Kar Yan Mak (Admin)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 13, 2006 - 09:36 pm: |
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Sounds like no change is already a good change. Thanks Henry for starting this thread.
My concern with the forum is that this version is obsolete already and the script writers do not provide support for it anymore, so if the forum somehow "breaks" (knocking on wood)...
After doing some more reasearch, it ends up that the new script does not require registration, however, the forum's layout may change a bit and the URL to the forum will change too, but it's easy for me to redirect you guys to the right place. The one major upgrade is the Search feature, here's a sample of the forum:
http://support.discusware.com/cgi-bin/forum/discus.cgi
It's really up to you guys, I can leave the forum as-is, until something really major happens (I'm not a programmer, so I don't know if I'm able to fix it, and again Discus does not offer support anymore on this version), or we can plunge for the upgrade.
Whether it'll be better/worse, no one exactly knows yet.
Also, Will mentioned that we should add a topic for collectors...which is a great idea. Any ideas/suggestions welcomed. |
Adrian
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 09:43 am: |
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Hmm, sounds as though a move may be forced by the lack of support for this version. After all, we'll all be in the manure if the forum breaks won't we?
The extra bit for collectors would be a good idea - I am already way ahead in terms of cameras I have over ones I have time to use!
Adrian |
Glenn Middleton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 - 10:51 am: |
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Just had a look at the sample forum. If you have to change, then I suppose we will just have to get to like it. The content of the forum is more important than looks. However the sample does contain my pet hate, that left hand column full of all that 'junk'. What's wrong with a line at top of post containing name, date and time?
We are not in this for awarding weekly prizes for the most postings, or even voting for participants who give the 'best' advice / most crap!
Obviously nobody wants to be in the position of the forum suddenly breaking down and disappearing. This situation would put too much workload on the administration as they tried to get things up and running.
We enjoy the forum because of the hard work of the administration. If changing to a newer version will make their workload easier in the future, then change it must be.
I am sure the administration will keep the process as simple as it can be, especially for those of us that only put our sliderules in the loft recently. |
Alex
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 04:02 am: |
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I like the clear layout of this forum, and the way that when you read a topic, all the messages are displayed in simple order with no clutter. I detest avatars and silly 'signature lines' with generally pompous and pretentious quotes I don't want to read over and over again at the end of every post, and the lazy habit of quoting entire posts within entire posts within replies ad nauseam. Tinkering with old cameras has taught me the virtues of being clear and methodical: simple is best.
Since I'm being asked (along with everybody else), however, the only things I'd think might be useful would be e-mail notifications of replies, and perhaps the ordering of topics being on the basis of most recent reply date. Or perhaps a library area for pictures and diagrams of the sort that Rick so generously e-mails to tinkerers who need a visual clue. But these are for sure things I wouldn't want to mess around with the forum as it is just to gain.
If you have to go with new software, and I can see why you would not want the admin side to become a heavier load than it already is, then I'd simply want to see the kind of simplicity of structure we have here. No avatars, no votes, no post-count status indicators. |
Glenn Middleton
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 15, 2006 - 09:14 am: |
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Alex,
I am glad to see that I am not alone in my negative feelings on many present day forums.
Your first paragraph is spot on, especially on the need to be 'clear and methodical'. One cannot hope to repair small, complicated mechanical items unless this approach is followed. For me it was part and parcel of my working environment. I just extended the approach into my pastimes - much to the annoyance of some folks I am sure - but there is really no other way. This is especially true if you need to ask for advice or indeed end up passing your knowledge on, by giving advice/help on a forum etc.
Glenn. |
Henry
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 16, 2006 - 10:16 am: |
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OK...all here are witnessing us getting terribly spammed right now. Kar Yan is trying to get it under control as I type this. She is such a super trooper. Hats off to her!
But this incident has certainly shoved me over the hump. We are spending $150 on Discus Pro today. It'll take a few days to learn and install it. But we may have to shut it down later today. Don't Panic... we'll get it back up as soon as possible.
We will have to require registration. But I promise we'll do our best to keep the forum as simple as possible.
More late... |
