Thread Format Changed? Suggestion for Better Visibility

[Crake2]

trollcast, thanks for the suggestion, but I am trying to stay away from anything bulky like that.

Honestly, I kind of like how it is right now, with the number of posts hidden.

However, I don't like the width of the window and the indicator of the online status. I think it should be by the name, as it was before.

EDIT:

Now that I think about it, I don't like where the 4 buttons (Thanks, Report, Edit, Quote) are. They kind of look like they're part of the message. I think there should be some kind of line separating the message from those buttons.

 

[trollcast]

Ok maybe that example was a bit big and cluttered but 1 line looks a bit silly imo something more like this is better:

The red box is where an avatar would go. Also I had to make the top box solid blue as I cba faffing about with the texture but the texture is actually quite good.

 

[phinds]

The whole effort strikes me as trying to fix something that was not in any way broken.

 

[robphy]

Honestly, I kind of like how it is right now, with the number of posts hidden.

I actually would prefer to see at a glance
the number of posts (or at least some indication of how active the poster has been).

I think that the Thanks, Report, Quote buttons could be in a column on the right-hand side (instead of the bottom row) of each post.
(The thanks and report buttons are too close to the name of the next poster, rather than the intended poster.)

My $0.02.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I actually would prefer to see at a glance
the number of posts (or at least some indication of how active the poster has been).

For the moment the number is in the username drop down menu

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The whole effort strikes me as trying to fix something that was not in any way broken.

You can always make things better. Typical forum skins are not a holy grail of usability. If you guys want to keep damning me for trying, then go ahead, I'm going to keep trying.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Thanks for everyone's patience. I spend a lot of time just thinking so tweaks can take time. If in a couple weeks I don't get my changes to be positive I'll consider going back. In the mean time please give it a chance and remain patient as I fix problems and make tweaks.

 

[Evo]

I think that when Borek returns from vacation, this is going to turn his hair white!

Ok, I will be patient and am sure it will all be great when you're finished.

 

[Nugatory]

Has the multi-quote feature disappeared? I needed it a few minutes back and I couldn't find it.

 

[Borg]

The whole effort strikes me as trying to fix something that was not in any way broken.

You can always make things better. Typical forum skins are not a holy grail of usability. If you guys want to keep damning me for trying, then go ahead, I'm going to keep trying.

I'm with phinds on that. I'm not damning you for trying but I feel like I showed up to work to find that the office had been completely rearranged without any warning.

BTW, I had to manually assemble this one - what happened to the multi-post? I didn't read through all of the posts that have occurred in the last 24 hours to know if that's been discussed. Definitely a hot topic..

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I'm with phinds on that. I'm not damning you for trying but I feel like I showed up to work to find that the office had been completely rearranged without any warning.

Sounds exciting :)

Has the multi-quote feature disappeared? I needed it a few minutes back and I couldn't find it.

It's broken and should be back on sunday. Sorry about that :(

 

[Dembadon]

I like the move towards a more content-focused format. Finding the right look takes time; thanks for keepin' at it, Greg.

 

[Pythagorean]

I too like the focus on the content

 

[dlgoff]

... I feel like I showed up to work to find that the office had been completely rearranged without any warning.

Funny you should mention that. When reality finally sunk in earlier today (i.e. all's okay), I was wondering how the "resistance to change" that comes out here at PF might be used for some good. Then I though of an old Engineering Management book I have somewhere and wanted to see how that particular feeling was addressed in the chapter on "Conflict Resolution". Go figure.

 

[Simon Bridge]

While we are fiddling things - I'd like to have some indicator for the original poster.
In long threads, I can lose track.

I'm guessing that something indicating how many posts someone has made will reappear?
Mostly I use it as a check for newbies ... if the posts=1, then they get a "welcome to PF" at the start and a low post count gets more diplomacy since they may not know how things work here so much.

I've read through the other comments...

The colors stand out OK for me - but different machines can render the colors differently.
I cannot read the poster names in the mobile app for eg.
But here (on the desktop) I see the title-bars as 2-tone blue with a light-blue name for the regular members.
Most machines seem to handle lots of shades of blue quite well but maybe that's changing.

I'd have gone for the avatar first (before the username, where the "online light" is now - put the light last) which would be in line with trends in the mobile world ... but I see others don't like that. I'd be in favor of less bold badges too ... a set of letters without the colored background should be fine: it would look like academic qualifications.

A wider post-space is quite nice - especially for long equations or larger pics and diagrams ... but is nasty for actually reading text. LaTeX folk have a lot to say about this and their 80-character textwidth works well.

A lot of browsers will let the user override the websites display instructions ... but I've never tried to rework a forum before. I don't know how useful it would be to have more extensive display options in the user profiles.

My main interests are the top two:
... an "original poster" indicator
... a post-count.

 

[Evo]

Oh, this looks nice!

 

[dlgoff]

Oh, this looks nice!

Yes it does indeed.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Still making little adjustments

 

[Crake2]

I think the nicknames are not visible enough. I also think that this new layout is particularly bad for accounts without avatar (I much prefered, like 6hours ago or so).

The 3 buttons (Thanks, Report and Quote) should have some kind of separation, from the message.

 

[Mentallic]

The 3 buttons (Thanks, Report and Quote) should have some kind of separation, from the message.

Agreed.

I'm still not convinced that removing the post count from obvious display is a great idea. Post counts give us an insight into how our replies should be structured. I don't think some high post counters that I may not recognize would appreciate being lectured on their simple typos, simply because I may have confused them for being legitimate errors for example.

 

[phion]

I rather like not seeing post counts. If you want to know someone better you can always look at their public profile. This is much cleaner, and centralizes our responses without too much "personality" credit, being read for what the post really says.

Realizing someone as prolific or long-time-user shouldn't add any pretense to posts, IMO.

 

[Saitama]

How about increasing the posts per page?

 

[Redbelly98]

I'm guessing that something indicating how many posts someone has made will reappear?
Mostly I use it as a check for newbies ... if the posts=1, then they get a "welcome to PF" at the start and a low post count gets more diplomacy since they may not know how things work here so much.

If you left-click on the membername, the post count appears at the top of the drop-down list.

(At least for now. )

 

[Mentallic]

I'm sorry about having to argue a point here in this thread, but I just feel too strongly on the subject.

I rather like not seeing post counts. If you want to know someone better you can always look at their public profile. This is much cleaner, and centralizes our responses without too much "personality" credit, being read for what the post really says.

Realizing someone as prolific or long-time-user shouldn't add any pretense to posts, IMO.

Whether a post count should or should not inherit any preconceived notions should be a choice that the readers can make for themselves. Not every member on this forum is on equal footing, and rightly so. We distinguish the paid members from the free members, the homework helpers, the science advisors, the mentors etc. Why? Because they've earned their status and should be treated appropriately. But what do post counts show? High post counts usually represent the veterans, the dedicated and possibly even the no-lifers. Why should these qualities be ignored?

Now, this doesn't mean that a low post count automatically disqualifies the poster from having his or her voice heard. A quality post can be written by a low post counter just as easily as a thorough and accurate scientific explanation can be given by a non-science advisor, and quite interchangeably, there do exist some pretty sloppy - and even just plain wrong - homework help posts (by myself included) while many untitled posters have put their best foot forward in helping out (and of course, this is how many end up earning the title themselves).

I just feel as though removing the post counter from plain view is like removing a detail about a poster's life on this forum.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I just feel as though removing the post counter from plain view is like removing a detail about a poster's life on this forum.

It is temporary

 

[OmCheeto]

I always saw two eyes and an evil smile. Now it's just dots...

Oh dear. That's his daughter!

And here, all along, I thought I was looking at a distorted version of the id monster, from Forbidden Planet.

ps. Things appear to be nearing completion.
multiquote: check!
postcount: check!
avatars not microscopic: check!
online users display not funky: check!

 

[krash661]

i move to motion for chat on saturdays also.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I'm still messing with the postbit area, but I need to leave for a wedding. I should have it complete sometime tomorrow. Thanks for the patience!

 

[Mentallic]

It is temporary

Ok, thank you.

And may I add that it was a good choice to go with the gold name.

 

[sankalpmittal]

My supporter membership "SM" looks really tiny ! I think this is the case with everyone. However I am quite ill at ease for having endured changing looks of PF.. :(

Well keep doing experiments Greg ! :)

In my "friends list" , names are not visible except those who are mentors/admins.

 

[Crake2]

My supporter membership "SM" looks really tiny ! I think this is the case with everyone. However I am quite ill at ease for having endured changing looks of PF.. :(

Well keep doing experiments Greg ! :)

In my "friends list" , names are not visible except those who are mentors/admins.

And for those that have no avatar, the badge and the number of posts are wayyyyy too close!

Bah. It's worse than it was ://

 

[OmCheeto]

I'm still messing with the postbit area, but I need to leave for a wedding. I should have it complete sometime tomorrow. Thanks for the patience!

Is that today?

hmmmm... Come to think of it, I didn't open my last wedding invitation until after the wedding was over.

Does anyone know where Wisconsin is?

 

[verty]

The avatar with the posts below is fine. However, the awards look a bit odd. I wonder if the awards could appear below the white box, each a separate square with a black border, that might look okay. Or not.

 

[WannabeNewton]

Bah. It's worse than it was ://

You've literally been complaining non-stop since the changes started. Why not just let him finish? You do realize it's just one guy working on the changes right?

 

[lugita15]

On some posts, the "HH" or "SM" designaton is right next to the letter P, with no room in between.

By the way, I preferred how "Homework Helper" and other badges were displayed prominently before. (I'm talking about before the change that happened a while back when PhysicsForums got a whole new look.) That made it easy, when skimming a long thread, to pick out at a glance posts written by Science Advisors and Mentors.

 

[reenmachine]

I really like it better now that the avatars are on the left side instead of on the blue bar ! It's much more clear who wrote the post that way (at least for usual suspect you recognize with their avatars).

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

At a wedding all day. I know it's still broken. :)

 

[cristo]

At a wedding all day. I know it's still broken. :)

Enjoy the wedding! You deserve time off!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The member postbit is pretty much final now. Still a few more small tweaks involving username color to finish.

 

[Mentz114]

I just wanted to see how I look in my new livery.

[edit]Cool. Cheap at twice the price.

 

[dlgoff]

The member postbit is pretty much final now. Still a few more small tweaks involving username color to finish.

Awesome. Looks great.

 

[lugita15]

I like how the badges are displayed now.

 

[LCKurtz]

Looks OK to me Greg. My only observation at this point would be that newbies might not notice that they need to hover the mouse over the multi-quote button to see what it does. It isn't as self-explanatory as the Quote button is.

 

[Simon Bridge]

I'm no sure about the badges as displayed now ... perhaps they could be presented more as glowing rings about the top of the avatar instead?

I liked having pips along the top but thought they would look better if they were flatter (shorter than wide) ... the full meaning could be displayed in mouseover text. (Probably would only need colors then - they'd be like medal ribbons.)

 

[turbo]

I wish we could set to way-back machine to 6 months or so. I liked the older format. Change is normal, but I don't always like it.

 

[reenmachine]

Looks very good right now!

 

[epenguin]

There are these little squares with thick letters in them - I have to guess what's they mean, maybe N new, H hot? But I can't see them listed.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

There are these little squares with thick letters in them - I have to guess what's they mean, maybe N new, H hot? But I can't see them listed.

Mouse over them. Your instincts are correct :)

 

[dlgoff]

How about a mouse over on Admin => "The Man"

 

[epenguin]

Mouse over them. Your instincts are correct :)

OK now I see that on computer, but not on IPad which I was accessing with yesterday, and still don't. But that's like some other things on iPad.