Forum UI

[Victoria_La]

The forums user interface is pretty outdated, here is my suggestions

1) Increase page size from 10 to 100 or 500. I don't know any modern browser that would have problems with that.
2) The forum table itself looks 90ish. You should remove borders around table, make nice clear rows, and maybe less pink?
3) The "user" information on the right of the post always thew me off
Posts: 111
Joined: 27 March 2014, 12:21 << ---- This is really not needed on the forum posts I always confuse it with forum post date
Contact: Contact []
I would remove all of it, leave picture and name (and name is link to their page). Also should be on the left like in other forums

i.e. something like that on top level

[Liallan]

Not sure what #1 means. If you mean the number of posts, I would prefer having pages. Having a ton of posts makes it more difficult to find things and requires a ton of scrolling. And yes, in some cases it can cause things to load slowly so that as you scroll you have to wait for more to load. The first place I ever saw do this was Yahoo email, which was basically when I finally started using an email client because I couldn't handle all that scrolling and slow loading. (Unfortunately my ISP now uses their email so no option on that.)

The really appropriate thing to do there is having an option of how many per page, so that each user can do what works for them.

The forum itself is phpbb, and this is the basic setup it has. While someone with php knowledge can make changes to it (I don't know how limited that is), that basic layout is the way it's made, and the way I see it everywhere else that uses this. So I'm not sure we can say putting the user to the left is the way "all other forums" do it. A lot of forums have it exactly like this. (Although I can see why the join date is a bit on the useless and confusing side. I'm never going to be interested in that unless it's related to the post they made, i.e. just seeing that on the thread name isn't very useful.)

I don't think it looks outdated at all, but even if it does, I prefer it that way. I don't mean I prefer everything here exactly the way it is, but rather that a lot of the current styles on the internet I find very, very difficult to read. (I find a lot of things here difficult to read as well.) In order to dump borders you have to have a way to separate items to tell them apart, and that usually results in big white spaces, which leaves, well, a lot of white space and more scrolling. I'm not sure what is wrong with borders in and of themselves. They can be done badly, certainly, but I don't see why there's anything wrong with their existence.

I also find it amusing when someone complains that something is "so 90ish" when so many things are going back in time and using old styles, like clothes, furniture, hairstyles, etc., but at the same time a web site can't be 90's.

Although it could do with a bit less of the pink. But that is probably more personal taste than anything, though it can also be a difficult color.

[Liallan]

I misread. I thought the "join date" thing was on the forum list, and I was just looking at that and realized that was not the case. You were saying on the post.

I like having that on there. Sometimes it can be important to know how long someone's been around. I do also sometimes get confused and end up thinking it's some very old thread someone dragged up, just to realize I'm looking in the wrong spot. But I'm not sure there's a way to set up both post date and join date to avoid any confusion. Since the join date is on their name at the side, and the post date is at the top of the specific post, it seems logical as is.

[Victoria_La]

Not sure what #1 means. If you mean the number of posts, I would prefer having pages. Having a ton of posts makes it more difficult to find things and requires a ton of scrolling.

I am not sure what you are talking about now. If its paginated you cannot find anything at all because text is could be on on next page.
I am suggesting to increase the page size to value appropriate to 2017, even though common web trend now days is no pagination at all.

And yes, in some cases it can cause things to load slowly so that as you scroll you have to wait for more to load. The first place I ever saw do this was Yahoo email, which was basically when I finally started using an email client because I couldn't handle all that scrolling and slow loading. (Unfortunately my ISP now uses their email so no option on that.)

You are talking about 90is right? Because currently even simplest BGA game would contains 1000 more data then 10 pages of text
and it loads in seconds.

The really appropriate thing to do there is having an option of how many per page, so that each user can do what works for them.

Not really, its old days solution too, its just clutters the interface.

The forum itself is phpbb, and this is the basic setup it has. While someone with php knowledge can make changes to it (I don't know how limited that is), that basic layout is the way it's made, and the way I see it everywhere else that uses this. So I'm not sure we can say putting the user to the left is the way "all other forums" do it. A lot of forums have it exactly like this. (Although I can see why the join date is a bit on the useless and confusing side. I'm never going to be interested in that unless it's related to the post they made, i.e. just seeing that on the thread name isn't very useful.)

Where user goes on left or right does not really matter, but joining date really bother me. Trend now it to be clear and simple.

I don't think it looks outdated at all, but even if it does, I prefer it that way. I don't mean I prefer everything here exactly the way it is, but rather that a lot of the current styles on the internet I find very, very difficult to read. (I find a lot of things here difficult to read as well.) In order to dump borders you have to have a way to separate items to tell them apart, and that usually results in big white spaces, which leaves, well, a lot of white space and more scrolling. I'm not sure what is wrong with borders in and of themselves. They can be done badly, certainly, but I don't see why there's anything wrong with their existence.

Everybody have their own opinion about style and its ok. I expressed mine. I also edit css to have a look I attached as picture.

I also find it amusing when someone complains that something is "so 90ish" when so many things are going back in time and using old styles, like clothes, furniture, hairstyles, etc., but at the same time a web site can't be 90's.

Yeah, as amusing as it is, being retro for website is not cool, and admins are fixing it as we speak, I notice better changes every day.

Although it could do with a bit less of the pink. But that is probably more personal taste than anything, though it can also be a difficult color.

[Liallan]

Yes, we're referring to the same thing with having pages, what you're calling "paginated." It sounds like I interpreted everything you said just fine, so now it's just a matter of differences of opinion. As to loading times, you cannot tell me about that because you don't know my experiences. Like you cannot tell me that searching is easier when it's one long page, just because that's your experience.

And no I'm not talking "90ish". But you seem to only be talking about "trends" and I'm talking about practicality. Being a "current trend" does not make something better. I've lived a lot of years and been through a lot of trends, and some of them are not so good. So current is not always better. And if "not having options" so you can set preferences is "not the current trend," well then that's a terrible trend. I don't get what is good about not allowing people to set preferences. It's not always practical and they sometimes may be harder to code, which is an entirely different issue. But because it's not the current trend???

You're saying it's OK for people to have different styles and wishes, but at the same time am basically telling me mine are wrong because they aren't the "trend." It's just too bad that you can only think about what is a current trend and not dare to be any different than that. I guess the freedom to just be who you are just went out style as well.