Make it so CSS changes don't apply to the bugs forum

[JCase16]

It's a major issue in my mind that you cannot get to the bugs forum if you are using CSS modifications. Please change how the bug forum works so it ignores the changes and allows me to go. This seems like a very odd thing to do. Why block people using CSS modifications instead of just blocking their modifications and posting a message that CSS modifications do not apply to that part of the site?

[Tisaac]

It's a major issue in my mind that you cannot get to the bugs forum if you are using CSS modifications. Please change how the bug forum works so it ignores the changes and allows me to go. This seems like a very odd thing to do. Why block people using CSS modifications instead of just blocking their modifications and posting a message that CSS modifications do not apply to that part of the site?

To prevent players with custom css to report what they think are bugs that are in fact caused by the custom css

[JCase16]

It wouldn't be hard to know that the player has custom CSS when they log the bug. BGA could just set a flag for every bug post they make that they have custom CSS. They could even copy the CSS that they have for their own notes to know if it could only be replicated by applying their custom CSS. This is not a good reason to not allow them to log bugs.

[Jest Phulin]

Having the developers switch to a custom CSS (that might involve security risks and other unwanted activities) to track down a bug, rather than make the person reporting the bug verify that their custom CSS is not the problem, is a good reason to not allow custom CSS users to log bugs.

[JCase16]

Maybe we'll have to disagree because it's a hassle to remove it. Even adding a switch/button so I could toggle the CSS on and off during the games would help with this. As of now you get an error like this:

"Sorry, an unexpected error has occurred...

You cannot access this section because you are using some custom CSS (see Preferences > Advanced)"

If they are keeping us from getting there because they want us to validate our CSS doesn't cause issues then great. Say that. Make it easier to work with then too. Or make it so I can't log an issue with CSS on, but I see no reason why I can't participate in bugs that are already created. You can get to the page that shows the bugs being worked on but you cannot get into them to see further information. This user experience to me says they do not want me to use CSS modifications at all. If that's not true then they should provide a better experience with this. Again it would be great to be able to toggle these on and off even if I had to go to the settings window to do it. Currently, I need to copy and paste it somewhere and then save it blank. Then when I'm ready to use them again, I have to paste it back in and save it again. Just a very wonky user experience.

[Tisaac]

This user experience to me says they do not want me to use CSS modifications at all.

I think this is mostly true.

[JCase16]

If it is then get rid of it lol. Adding something to the bug reports that says "you have a custom css modification. please test your issue with this turned off before reporting a new bug" would be a better solution than breaking their site because I chose to use it's built in functionality.

[Dislexsick]

I'd like to +1 this suggestion.

I don't use custom CSS, but a friend asked me to help them make some for their account.
All that custom CSS did was removed the wood texture from the background, and made it a flat neutral grey colour since this texture moving up and down in certain screens was unpleasant.

They'd previously submitted bugs they wanted to check on, and noted their they couldn't when the custom CSS was active.

I agree there should really just be something appended to their bug report noting they use custom CSS, and if they haven't noted in their report that the issue still occurs with this disabled, then that may be the first avenue of investigation...

Of course some bugs are game logic bugs and are completely unaffected by custom CSS as well, I went to the bugs forum once when Saint Petersburg was in beta to report a bug; I had that custom CSS I'd made in place because I forgot to turn it off (and didn't mind it); anyone, with custom CSS or not, could have seen this bug with a link to the specific turn occurring on the table in question.

[paramesis]

As a developer, I can attest that making a good-faith effort to address a bug report can be time-consuming. At the very least, it requires attempting to recreate the issue, and failing that, attempting to understand how the issue described could have happened. Popular games in Beta testing can easily rack up dozens of reports every week. It is absolutely unreasonable to expect developers to go through that process for issues caused by code they didn't write. A simple note that someone was using this feature would not be sufficient.

I agree there should really just be something appended to their bug report noting they use custom CSS, and if they haven't noted in their report that the issue still occurs with this disabled, then that may be the first avenue of investigation...

This first avenue of investigation is entirely the responsibility of the person using the custom CSS. The measures currently in place are intended to ensure this to some extent. I agree that blocking the entire bug reporting page, preventing users from searching, voting, or even viewing reports, is heavy-handed, but I don't think it's accurate to say the experience was "designed" to discourage use of this feature. It's much more likely that it is a stopgap introduced shortly after the custom CSS feature was added, as there could have been an influx of bug reports in which the root cause was poorly written custom code.

There could certainly be a more refined experience around this interaction, such as allowing users to view and search bugs, adding a switch to turn on or off custom css in preferences, and presenting a more descriptive error only when someone with custom CSS tries to submit a new report. This is probably just one among hundreds of issues that BGA admins would like to improve once they have reached the end of their hiring process for a Metasite lead developer, but 2020 has brought an unprecedented level of attention and accompanying challenges to this site, so it's fair to say they have bigger fish to fry.

The bug reporting system is really the best place to raise these suggestions and increase their visibility to the admins. I have found an existing report and added the specific suggestions above to it: https://boardgamearena.com/bug?id=21141

[JPreto]

I am one of those users that has to "clean up all CSS" before making a Bug report, because it is not allowed to create BUG reports if you have "custom CSS".

Have the developers consider that anybody that knows about CSS is "probably" a bit more knowledgeable about reporting game issues. At least they have some informatic knowledge and, like in this ../Forum (where no custom CSS in the html Body is recognized) the same could be done to the ../Bugs page.