Sorry, but the new forum bites!

Other than the secret code that was supposed to be in the December issue that wasn't (April in December?) and the locked topics,
The new forum works just as well for me as the old one did.
I run Windows XP with Mozilla/Firefox. No slowdowns no font changes.

Don

I'd just like to add, that the WYSIWYG editor is horrible. I sometimes use word to spell check and if I take text from a word doc into the editor screen, then all formatting hell breaks loose.

And why can't I single space?

Linking to images is painfull...becuase the WYSIWYG treats any http://... text as a link and embeds god knows what behind the scenes. adding the [ img ] [ /img ] brackets wont cut it unless you take it into notepad first.

...and why can't I single space?

This is worse than MS Front Page.....

...did I mention not being able to single space is annoying.

One more thing...the smilies...text descriptors only? Seems like a step backwards. (BTW, they are not even in alphabetical order.)

And lastly, CS does not seem to be optimized for Firefox...(image resizing issues, post formating, etc) IE is the devil, incase anyone wants my opinion...

I thought we moved to CS becuase of there superior "supportability"...well, let's put the perverbial "money where the mouth is" and get some things fixed.

That being said, I am still very loyal to FSM and it is free (for the most part), so I'll be treadging along with most folks, but it is pretty painful...   :(   too frustrated to search for the angry? grumpy? sad? whatever it is called now, smiley..

 

 

 

I'm not sure IE is the devil, but it is on a first name basis!

What do you mean you can't single space? Your post looks single spaced to me. Or do you mean a hard enter should only single space? Personally I find that looks crowded, and the hard enter double space formats nicely on my screen. Or are you talking about when you are actually typing out the post? It appears double spaced then, but converts to single.

I've yet to have any issues with images, but then I use Photobucket and cut and paste the img formatting they provide. I've tested the WSIWYG editor and it works as it should, perhaps as a MS Office user I'm just used to bad HTML coding... I'll have to test pasting into Word to see what you mean.

I've had some image resizing issues, they seem to come and go as they please.

Finding the Smileys is easy, I prefer the new drop down menu to the old popup window. It also inserts the smiley where you want them, rather than at the end. I have the tendency to type out my post, then format just before posting (helps catch those spelling mistakes) and hated having to cut/paste the darn smileys where I wanted.

One thing I have noticed and have yet to hear back on is the missing functions I'm supposed to have in posting. I'm sure David is busy matching up re-registered users with their old nicknames, so I'll be patient, but it would be nice to be able to attach files etc.!

Bgrigg wrote:

What do you mean you can't single space? Your post looks single spaced to me. Or do you mean a hard enter should only single space? Personally I find that looks crowded, and the hard enter double space formats nicely on my screen. Or are you talking about when you are actually typing out the post? It appears double spaced then, but converts to single.

This is what I mean:

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3

Not so much for discussions but rather lists and such....i had to do that in notepad and bring it over.

Bgrigg wrote:

I've yet to have any issues with images, but then I use Photobucket and cut and paste the img formatting they provide. I've tested the WSIWYG editor and it works as it should, perhaps as a MS Office user I'm just used to bad HTML coding... I'll have to test pasting into Word to see what you mean.

The WSIWYG works for the most part, if you are only using it....but I tend to bounce around, cutting and pasting...and the WSIWYG just adds to the frustration. It's mostly formatting issues that seem to not function. Bottom line is, the embedded formatting messes with things. I'd prefer a setting where you could use BBcode exclusively. This way I know excactly what I'm going to get.

Any web developers out there know what I mean...WSIWYG = Bad news

Bgrigg wrote:

I'm not sure IE is the devil, but it is on a first name basis! Finding the Smileys is easy, I prefer the new drop down menu to the old popup window.

I do like the dropdown vs. the popup. I just wish they were visable graphically or at least organized.

Bgrigg wrote:

I'm not sure IE is the devil, but it is on a first name basis! It also inserts the smiley where you want them, rather than at the end. I have the tendency to type out my post, then format just before posting (helps catch those spelling mistakes) and hated having to cut/paste the darn smileys where I wanted.

That was something I found was only happening with Firefox....IE inserted it correctly. (Yes, I am forced to use the tool of the devil at work...) 

Hmmm, I have to try that list thing...

line 1
line 2
line 3

Each line is done with a hard enter (I still think of them as carriage returns!).

Interestingly enough that worked without having to edit in notepad. Have they change the hard enter double spacing?
Yes, I think they have!

Bgrigg wrote:

Hmmm, I have to try that list thing... line 1 line 2 line 3 Each line is done with a hard enter (I still think of them as carriage returns!).

Now matter how hard I hit the enter key...

1

2

3

I can't get it....But if I shift+enter: (for those who are wondering what the heck we talking about)

1
2
3

viola!!!  - Thanks!

Well, this is getting weird! I'm getting single space returns without having to resort to shift+enter.
Merely tapping the enter button does single spacing, as you would expect.
You seem to still be getting double spacing. What is going on?

Well, I'm back home and using Firefox...and
line1
line2
line3

...seems to be working fine with Firefox. Man, can CS make up it's mind on what browser it's more compatible with?

LOL I think they're messing with our minds Vinny!

Yep it bites, though the WSYWIG is the least of my issues.

Hit return gives me double

space

as well!

I can't be arsed to go through looking at each section looking for new threads, so for the meantime, I'm not even checking threads or posts apart from the feedback one. I hope they get it sorted soon as I miss the forums, and don't want to go looking for a new home.

I find this forum opertaes much better with my firefox server than the other one. (The smileys were really a pain on the other one) Also, the adds are not cut off on the top when I use firefox now.

I'm with Tankmaster7, this forum is more Firefox friendly. As with any new software, there will be a period of adjustment, and there is supposed to be an upgrade in the near future.

Which of course will solve many problems, and cause many more.

Vapo, what browser are you using? Firefox gives me a single space, and the WYSISYG works pretty much as advertised (except for highlight which doesn't work for me at all, though I care but little!).

I want the old way back, Not counting the hte lack of access code, the hunt for it and finially (this AM)

findig out there wasn't one. I don't like the lack of "instant repy" or whatever it was called. I don't like

this double spacing i'm getting as I type this. AND I feel discriminated against because I don't

subscribe when Kalmbach has never fixed the fact that you don't get your magazine for weeks after

its on the stands. Sorry to gripe so much but this morn was very frustrating getting this far. At work they are tryingto get us to reduce stress and this just built much more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

            Good Hunting,

                         G.W.

Yes this new forum bites, it takes so long for each page to load it does not leave me much time to read near as many posts as the old forum. My time for visiting the forums and modeling is very limited and I won't be able to waste time with this new forum and will be forced to look at only the threads I know will be of interest to me instead of looking at many of them like I did with the old forum.

As I type this I do not see any way to post pics as I was able to do in the old forum. Why make it such a secret?

During weekdays the FSM forum was a place I visited at least once a day but that will now change and will be forced to visit mostly on weekends only, I will check things out during weekdays but sometimes I just won't have the extra time to waste waiting for a page to load. This really sucks! It is bad enough the ARC forums got hacked this week and I see these changes to the FSM forum as a form of getting hacked, the good news is that the ARC forum will be repaired, the bad news is the FSM forum will not be repaired and I really miss it.

 

Matrixone

 

I worked for years as a consultant for a major hospital conglomerate in the SE and then when I realized I could make a salary that would pay for food/clothing/shelter, AND fun stuff I became a travelling consultant working anywhere from Cincinatti to San Diego to Georgia and beyond with a private company.. even with these systems on "go live" night you would find several glaring errors and then the little ones would become apparent.  Sometimes it took a week or two, or even more to fix some of them.  Basically it boiled down to the support we were given by the software manufacturer and their response time.  I see a lot of blaming of FSM, but it is a new system and understandably it doesn't work like we like it yet... but give it a little time and one by one the problems will disappear.  But basically their hands are tied by the support they get from the company that makes the software... It's not totally controlled entirely by FSM on how this all works out.

But definitely let them know what the problems are so they can address them with the company that wrote the software... otherwise it wont get fixed!

Jeeze Tom, don't go getting all reasonable on us!

David has been pulling some long hours getting this set up and responding to our incessent complaints, and now I hear he's been feeling under the weather. I'm all for cutting some slack.

I would like to see a limit on sig and avatar sizes so the people on dialup can get decent load times. Also the ability to not view the avatar and sigs would benefit them.

I know Bill.. used to happen in the Navy a lot... get a good gripe session going and someone has to go and spoil it..

 

 

I would be all for cutting FSM some slack except for the fact that all these problems have been self inflicted, FSM chose to change the forums not us or the company that supports this new software.

For many years I have been a loyal FSM reader and subscriber and when I bought my first computer two years ago I used to visit this forum several times a day, but these changes to the forum are not progress and I see no advantage in making any changes at all. Why ruin something that was a success?

This is an example of fixing something until its broke!

 

Matrixone

matrixone wrote:

I would be all for cutting FSM some slack except for the fact that all these problems have been self inflicted, FSM chose to change the forums not us or the company that supports this new software. For many years I have been a loyal FSM reader and subscriber and when I bought my first computer two years ago I used to visit this forum several times a day, but these changes to the forum are not progress and I see no advantage in making any changes at all. Why ruin something that was a success? This is an example of fixing something until its broke!   Matrixone

I feel the same way but I think the change was a calculated one designed to incourage people to subscribe to the magazine. I have been a reader of the mag since issue one(which I still have) and feel a bit uneasy with this new forum. It seems more like a sales tool and less like the community I joined nearly four years ago. I also noticed that my post count is inaccurate now Not very happy about that either..

well i have gotten used to it but no i don't care for it i like the old forum

BUT we (I) are stuck with it  so use it the way it is or go away

right

also hey as they say

don't look a gift horse in the mouth [aka] its free

Where did David Voss go? Haven't seen him post much...

Just one thing, DURR .... we ARE paying for this, through our subscription fees. But I'm not sure Finescale is listening.

thevinman wrote:

Where did David Voss go? Haven't seen him post much...

I believe he is sick.. I seem to remember someone mentioning that.

tho9900 wrote:

thevinman wrote: Where did David Voss go? Haven't seen him post much... I believe he is sick.. I seem to remember someone mentioning that.

LOL - I'm the one who mentioned it...

http://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/547371/ShowPost.aspx

(I was browsing the Community Server forums and saw that Dave mentioned he was not feeling well...)

I figured I'd send out a "feeler" post to see if he, or anyone else, has heard from him.

I hope I didn't start a rumor or...give Dave an excuse for an unscheduled vacation.

thevinman wrote:

tho9900 wrote:  thevinman wrote: Where did David Voss go? Haven't seen him post much... I believe he is sick.. I seem to remember someone mentioning that. LOL - I'm the one who mentioned it... http://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/547371/ShowPost.aspx (I was browsing the Community Server forums and saw that Dave mentioned he was not feeling well...) I figured I'd send out a "feeler" post to see if he, or anyone else, has heard from him. I hope I didn't start a rumor or...give Dave an excuse for an unscheduled vacation.

 

haha yeah I saw that shortly after I posted that... I was thinking "Who DID post that..."  Maybe it's bird flu.  (talk about starting rumors haha)

mfsob wrote:

Just one thing, DURR .... we ARE paying for this, through our subscription fees. But I'm not sure Finescale is listening.

 

sorry i was not thinking of it in terms of the money from subscriptions

it just to me anything over and above the magazine itself that the subscription pays for is " free"

but i see your point mfsob

mfsob wrote:

Just one thing, DURR .... we ARE paying for this, through our subscription fees. But I'm not sure Finescale is listening.

Not really. The forums are provided free of charge to anybody who registers. You could cancel your subscription and refuse to buy the magazine and STILL be able to access the forums. What then?

Your subscription slash newstand cost pays for the publication of the magazine and earns you the priviledge of certain web access. If I understand the publishing world (and I work in a related field so know a bit about it) the subscription fee doesn't even cover the cost of printing and distribution, which is why they rely on paid advertisors, and why you see ads on the finescale website.

You can be sure they are listening, they just might not be in a position to do anything right now, or ever. You might think that paying the piper gives you the right to calling the tunes, but that is only if you hire the piper yourself. Pay your money on a ticket to see a band with thousands of others and you'll quickly find the band picks the songs. It's up to you to enjoy them, or not.

I'm hoping that the upgrade in January will allow the forum members to turn off avatars and sigs for those who still rely on dial up. I'm hoping that they will eventually work out the bugs in photo resizing and rich text editors so that all OS and browser users have equitable access to the forum. NONE of those issues affect ME, but I do know that they can affect YOU, and I certainly don't want to see you leave our community. Be patient and give them time. They've done a major sea change in software and need time to sort out the issues.

bgrigg, I sure hope they can fix the system in Jan as I run the Mac OS X which I seem to have some problems with the forum here. I didn't have these problems in the old forum outside of a resizing issue. Now, it's worse & when I try to quote someone, I end up with all kinds of tags throughout the quote!!. I can ride it out until then & then we'll see how it goes. (I hear AC-DC beginnin' to play...)