New Forum Features

Tools    





Alright, I know it's been about a month since I upgraded the site's forum software, so chances are most of you already know about the majority of the forum's newer features, but for posterity's sake, I'll spell out some of the more noteworthy ones:
  • Quick Editing
    Previously, hitting the "Edit" button on one of your posts would load a new page wherein you could edit the message in question. Now, a form loads almost instantly inside the post itself, and the post updates right in front of you when your changes are submitted. No page loading (or reloading) is necessary.
  • Quote Linkbacks
    When quoting someone, you'll now see a number next to their username while composing your reply. This number is the ID number of the post you're quoting. It creates an icon () at the end of the "Originally posted by..." line on your posts that links to the post you're quoting. This should be helpful when trying to catch-up on a discussion you've missed, as it makes it much easier to see the context of a previous statement.

    Unfortunately, this statement is not retroactive; it should appear on all quotes from here on out, except for those in which the quote tags are entered manually.
  • Multi-quoting
    To the right of the "Edit" and "Reply" buttons on each person's post is the Multi-Quote icon (). Clicking it will "select" that post. Your selection will be indicated by a lighter icon with a minus sign (instead of the initial plus sign) on it, which looks like this: . When you reply to the thread, all the posts you've selected will be automatically quoted in your reply.

    Selected posts will appear in your next reply regardless of which thread it's in. In other words, you can go to a thread, select a few posts, go to another thread, select a few more, reply to any thread, and all your selected posts will be saved. However, if you do this, a notification just below the message box will display, informing you that some of your selected messages are from other threads, and asking if you'd like to include them.
  • New Message Posting Options
    You should notice a few new options on the message posting box, such as a button which prompts you to download a built-in spellchecker (), buttons which allow you to expand or contract the size of the text box (and ), and a button which allows you to toggle between the full-scale, mid-level, and bare-bones message posting interfaces ().
That's about it. There are some other features which my various tinkering appears to have caused some trouble with, but I'll be sure to post here if and when I get them all to live in harmony.



You should notice a few new options on the message posting box, such as a button which prompts you to download a built-in spellchecker
This one slipped by me as I haven't noticed it till now. It's nice to have for sure. I used to go to another site to do this if my posts were long enough. Now it's right on here after you download. Very nice.



http://www.movieforums.com/community...ad.php?t=13071

What happened to needing 20 posts before starting a thread? And can we have it back...
It was 25, and yeah, I'd have to reapply it, given the upgrade. I'm still pondering whether or not to do so. The post minimum did cut back on any number of spam threads, but those who did spam went around posting filler all over the place, which takes just as long to delete. Also, we've done a pretty good job of getting the spam off the boards quickly.

I think the best compromise is to implement a modification wherein users cannot post links until they have a few posts under their belts. It'll still have some of the problems of the old minimum (people posting filler), but it'd probably cut down on the bulk of the spam, which is one-and-done, and it wouldn't present any real hurdles to new members, which is obviously something I'd like to avoid.



Are the reviews new or has that been around forever and I'm just now noticing it.
Both, actually: they existed a long time ago, then laid dormant, and I've just revived them lately. Previously, they were written for the area itself; those are still there, but a handful of reviews from the forums have been added (with the permission of each author).

In case anyone's wondering, the two primary criteria for addition to the reviews area are length (most of the reviews on the forums are just a paragraph or two) and polish (most of the reviews on the forums are more casual and conversational).



Yeah I just followed your link to your review of those ninja turtle-thingies and was a little confused as to where I actually was. It's cool, but you should definitely change the upper corner of the page, the buttons are completely indiscernible...It'll die again if you don't make them more visible.

Edit: Well come to think of it, I think it's a little redundant. We have a reviews subforum that is perfectly visible, and a small linky-type thing on the right side already, another section for reviews seems like overkill really. Maybe that's why it died the first time.



Yeah I just followed your link to your review of those ninja turtle-thingies and was a little confused as to where I actually was. It's cool, but you should definitely change the upper corner of the page, the buttons are completely indiscernible...It'll die again if you don't make them more visible.
I don't quite follow; you mean the word "Reviews" at the top above the image of the popcorn? If so, are you using a very high resolution?

Edit: Well come to think of it, I think it's a little redundant. We have a reviews subforum that is perfectly visible, and a small linky-type thing on the right side already, another section for reviews seems like overkill really.
The linky-type thing is to help people find the newest reviews. It serves the same purpose as the links on the homepage that show recently posted-in threads. I tend to think of these sorts of things as convenient, rather than redundant.

Anyway, I think there's a significant difference between traditional movie reviews and reviews posted on the forum. Forumgoers don't always want to worry about comprehensiveness, structure, or even grammar and spelling. Sometimes they just want to share their thoughts with their friends. That's perfectly cool, and the site needs that, but I think it benefits from having more traditional reviews, too, for new visitors who perhaps want the more dettached, objective take that traditional movie reviews strive for.

Maybe that's why it died the first time.
Well, by "died" I don't mean that people ever stopped using it. Just that I stopped updating it; along with the other areas of the site. The fault is with me, rather than the basic structure, I think.



I don't quite follow; you mean the word "Reviews" at the top above the image of the popcorn? If so, are you using a very high resolution?
I'm using 1024x768, that isn't too high I think. I mean the word and the button under it, they're too low key. I'm speaking from the user point of view, I remember it took me a long time to notice those things when I first joined...I think that maybe if the buttons were the colour they change into when you hover the mouse over them it would be better.



OK, I keep opening my User CP. That use to be the home button. You deleted that, and added the "new posts" button, didn't you? Either that, or I am just now noticing that one. Either way, the home button is gone, and I need more sleep. heheh



The People's Republic of Clogher
I'm using 1024x768, that isn't too high I think. I mean the word and the button under it, they're too low key. I'm speaking from the user point of view, I remember it took me a long time to notice those things when I first joined...I think that maybe if the buttons were the colour they change into when you hover the mouse over them it would be better.
I kinda agree. I find the colour scheme a bit dull and easily missed for the casual reader (and me for the first 6 months of membership), to be honest.


Maybe if the normal and highlighted state of the links were inverted?

EDIT - Doh! The colour change is exactly what adi is talking about...
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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan



I gotta say, I'm pretty surprised at this. For one, the design's been up, oh, 5-6 years, and no one's ever said anything like this before, to my memory. And the buttons are far larger (and more prominent) than the navigation on the overwhelming majority of sites.

Having them highlight all the time is an interesting idea, but I'm pretty sure that would look rather over-the-top; I mean, that's six very bright colors side-by-side, after all. I might throw together a test page of sorts over the next couple of days (might not be back at my home desk until tomorrow) to see how it looks, however, to be on the safe side.

There's also the issue of the designer; he was a brililant designer who never really steered me wrong, and knew design inside and out. Even if I did not trust his judgement (and I most emphatically do), but I'm pretty poor with graphics, myself, which limits the degree to which I can make most changes, anyway.

All that said, I'll mess around over the next few days and see what I can come up with.

Destiny: you're not crazy. The "New Posts" link has always been there, but yes, I removed the "Home" link. I may need some more links there in the near future, and it occurred to me that there's already a "Movie Forums" link immediately beneath the "Home" link, as well as the "Forums" button along the top, so I figured we could do without it. If it's any consolation, I've hit the User CP link by accident a few times, too.



How long do reviews need to be and how polished roughly? Last time i looked there were couple reviews for the same movie and only about 6 up, which in my opinion, isn't such a good thing.
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How long do reviews need to be and how polished roughly?
It really depends. If a review gets its point across and is comprehensive and interesting, then just a couple hundred words should do. I'd say, ideally, reviews would be 400 to 500 words.

I should point out that I'm more than willing to do some minor editing for people who'd rather not worry too much about grammar, and don't mind me fiddling with the occasional sentence structure.

Last time i looked there were couple reviews for the same movie and only about 6 up, which in my opinion, isn't such a good thing.
There's actually over 80 in the archive; it just displays the last 6 more prominently. You can see the rest in their respective categories (links on the right). Categories are also linked from the bottom right-hand side of each item, too.



Noticed the other reviews when i went back there a few times later, but was just an observation from kinda outsider view that 33% of reviews you're introduced to are for the 300 that most people have probably seen anyway already, and that turned me off initially.



Noticed the other reviews when i went back there a few times later, but was just an observation from kinda outsider view that 33% of reviews you're introduced to are for the 300 that most people have probably seen anyway already, and that turned me off initially.
I'm open to suggestions, but I'm not sure how else to go about it. Highlighting the latest additions to the area is pretty standard, and in this case two good reviews for the film exist. And obviously I'm not going to omit a review of a popular film because most people have probably seen it; heck, just the opposite, I'd say.

Anyway, I'll change the settings so that it displays 8 instead of 6, which might have been a little low, now that you mention.

Most of these comments are just fine and all (I welcome them, even if I don't always agree), but perhaps I should start another thread for them, as this one is largely about the forum upgrade changes, rather than the changes to the rest of the site.



I gotta say, I'm pretty surprised at this. For one, the design's been up, oh, 5-6 years, and no one's ever said anything like this before, to my memory. And the buttons are far larger (and more prominent) than the navigation on the overwhelming majority of sites.

Having them highlight all the time is an interesting idea, but I'm pretty sure that would look rather over-the-top; I mean, that's six very bright colors side-by-side, after all. I might throw together a test page of sorts over the next couple of days (might not be back at my home desk until tomorrow) to see how it looks, however, to be on the safe side.
Seeing as how the buttons are the same colour as the banner, I never paid much attention to them.

Don't be afraid of a little colour Chris.... I think it'll be grand...



Destiny: you're not crazy. The "New Posts" link has always been there, but yes, I removed the "Home" link. I may need some more links there in the near future, and it occurred to me that there's already a "Movie Forums" link immediately beneath the "Home" link, as well as the "Forums" button along the top, so I figured we could do without it. If it's any consolation, I've hit the User CP link by accident a few times, too.
Oh, yeah, sure, take down the one that I actually used. Now I have to retrain my brain.
This is funny. I almost suggested a 'new posts' button the other day.



Two small improvements: now, when you hold your mouse over the recently posted-in threads under the "This Just In" heading on the home page, you can see who posted last.

Similarly, you can now hold your mouseover over the featured Member Review threads in the Movie Reviews forum and see when the last post was. The latter was necessary because, since they're at the top of the forum and laid out differently, there was formerly no way of seeing who last posted in them from that page.

I'll probably make changes like this, and not necessarily announce them. Generally, though, holding your mouse over a link on the forums should -- fairly often -- yield more information.



Similarly, you can now hold your mouseover over the featured Member Review threads in the Movie Reviews forum and see when the last post was. The latter was necessary because, since they're at the top of the forum and laid out differently, there was formerly no way of seeing who last posted in them from that page.
Aye, this I like...