Infocenter

[tunescool]

is this the final infocenter on the default theme? i dont have a hard drive rite now but im still online and pages wont load and i cant change to a different theme. i just get that uhhh page

all that is different is the Recent Threads Recent Posts which is a big step from v4.5. theyre in the wrong place on the forum they should be on top so when you come on you can hit new posts rite away. not go all the way to the bottom of the page to get to what you want to. there isnt a New Posts with a thread list which every and any forum on the internet has and most everyone uses, just new posts that show up as posts not threads. and Recent Threads doesnt show the newest posts since your last visit. there has to be a View New Posts link on any forum, since last visit. proboards will always be looked bad at because of this. EVERY forum has and needs one. and it needs to be rite on top

and the View members online in the last 24 hours

i have to open a new tab to see them? noone wants to open a new tab everytime they want to look at this. another thing every other forum will have, another reason people will not like proboards

the infocenter to me just looks blah and is the same as the last version

if i missed a thread on anything new or cant see different themes i apologize, but BIG BIG BIG plans for v5, but it lacks a ton on the main page. it doesnt have stuff every forum on the internet has and people dont even think about or expect, they should just be there, theyre no brainers

[VS Admin]

You can easily add your own custom links into the top menu, it takes two clicks and typing the URL / page name.


You can click on Recent Posts to see the most recent posts made on the forum.

Here's the link to the members online in the last 24 hours, which is also easily accessible. You don't need to open a new tab for this.

If you don't like how the info center looks, that's fine - it's very easy for you to customize by editing the template. You can make it however you want, because we are giving you direct access to the HTML.

[tunescool]

alrite, but isnt proboards losing millions of potential forum owners, long term admins that know and understand the internet and SEO that could create huge forums with tons of members. and proboards would be more popular and visible to the public.

just by not having these simple, necessary features on every proboards main page by default. serious and average forum owners will take one look at it and never think again of proboards. the obvious is not there. thats working in the wrong direction. you work to better your product and widen your customer base. not were gonna far surpass any forum host on the inernet now but lets just skip over everyhing any forum owner or member wants to see on the top of every page

[Ryan Roos]

Hi Tunescool,

I'm really trying to understand what it is you are specifically requesting.

Could you please list the feature(s) that you don't think we have?

I would very much like to make sure that we have these important features. Everything that you mentioned though I believe we already have. It simply seems to be a debate of button placement. Which we have created tools to accommodate button creation and placement, allowing anyone to easily customize their Navigation Bar however they see fit. If they want to add a View New Posts button or a Recent Threads button at the top it couldn't be simpler.

I understand that you want certain information displayed automatically, but part of why things open in new tabs is to help page load. Information that isn't being used on every page load doesn't need to be displayed or loaded. This significantly speeds up the forum. And all the information is just a click away.

At the current time in the beta the themes are not converting yet. So you can't switch them right now. That wont be the case later on.

We are always open to feedback and we appreciate your opinion and feedback. That being said we also think that the v5 software is years ahead of any other forum service free or paid. It is entirely possible that in one of our other launch themes that we will place buttons at the top like you want. Your request may even influence that. Again, if there is something that you think we should have that we don't I would appreciate a list, because I feel we have everything that you've already mentioned.

Thank you.

[tunescool]

1. Recent posts or View New Posts. currently the link takes you to a page with the posts open and all posts are viewed in full, not a thread listing of the new posts. i think the majority of people would rather see a list view of the new posts and choose what they want to look at and see the replies to their threads rite away and not have to go thru every post. its more convenient and every person who uses the New Posts link does not want to have to scroll thru hundreds of open posts and even have to see things they may not want to, something may be offensive to them or just plain obnoxious. personally i dont want to HAVE to see all the pics everyone has posted, youtubes, long posts, avatars, signatures. i have avatars and signatures disabled for that reason, i dont wanna see it.

again, and ill probably repeat myself again, im not too constructive when it comes to writing anymore

every forum on the internet has one, in list form, as well as a New Threads link. which i think is just new threads when you hit that link on v5, not every new post in list form, correct me if im wrong.

it is an internet norm, if most of the major forum hosts have these links forum goers are accustomed to them and expect those features to be there. theyre not going to choose or even want to join a proboards forum

i get hell all the time about proboards on forum promotion sites from other forum owners or just people about what it lacks now in v4.5. theyd never use it or even join a proboards forum. i started wih proboards, find it much easier to customize even now in v4.5 than any other host with the current headers/footers, i have like 250 codes. so i know the new plugins, im just really stating my dedication to proboards now and in the future. i always make a nice comment about proboards and the v5 update as a beta tester when someone talks bad about proboards

but these very links i think and most people would think, are necessary, at the top of every page, both in list form. you open the forum and its the first thing you do, see the new posts since youve been on last. ive been using View New Posts everyday for 10 years and its always irked me that proboards doesnt have one, even the new posts that proboards is capable of now. it has to be default on any theme, prospective forum owners and members will be like, wheres View New Posts. its a feature every forum goer has on any other forum, and im pretty sure every forum does. a forum owner or new forum owner will not see that you CAN add a link if you want if its just left as an option for proboards owners to add. they will just see what they need and want isnt there and there outta here

any member who agrees with what ive said, please feel free to post so

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2. proboards v5 has the View Members Recent Posts or Threads on the profile page which serves its purpose, i can view my posts and other members can too. i use it often to see if i missed someones reply or bump one of my old topics. alot of forums have a link for this on every page(View Your Posts) but i think proboards is more in the proper place. its just unnecessary on every page, its in the profile.

but again, View This Member's Recent Posts is every post open and not in list form. its inconvenient to have to go thru or look at every post to get to what im looking for or just notice something i mite want to see while going thru posts. in fact i mite miss what im looking for while quickly going thru every post and image thats in every post when its much easier to just notice the thread title and open the thread

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3. Mark As Read, obviously a forum needs one. all navigation and links should be at the top of the forum where all organization of links and forum features should be located. not some on the top and some on the bottom. all focus should be to one area, where a member knows anything is gonna be

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4. proboards has the menu buttons and thats about it, you cant be adding a ton of buttons to the menu. i never liked the buttons or any other buttons on a forum, i use text links everywhere on my forum. but thats the way proboards is and i can change anything i want to text no problem.

so we could add a second set of buttons or links(Global) for default links and features with the capabilty of adding more just like the new menu. underneath the main menu buttons or offset them under the welcome and logout or wherever. it makes more sense to me to have them as just text links(the second set of links), probably because ive been looking at them as text links on other forums for years

so under the main menu buttons or off to the rite, probably should be in the admin panel to be able to move them where you want, buttons or text.

a button or link for View New Threads or Recent Threads, a button or link for View New Posts or Recent Posts, a button or link for Mark As Read. admins could add how much forum money you have with the button or text leading to the record of all the members forum cash transactions or the forum store

New Threads - New Posts - RSS - Mark As Read - Whatever Else - $Forum Money Amount

im not sure about how Mark As Read would work. maybe just have it only for the main page and have it not show up in boards, or just add one button or link in the header somewhere for the main page and a button or link near Create Thread or put it in the actions drop down in each board

very simple, one line, not taking away from the integrity of proboards' vision, and its not adding much more at all to the existing format
everything is in one place at the top, the main page looks more professional. and after posting for an hour or two, you can easily hit New posts rite at the top because they are global links and see whats been posted since youve been posting.

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4A. the time. i always thought the date and time should be on any forum, its professional and is nice to have it there while youre on the forum. maybe add the date and time across from the links on the oppsite side of the forum. or next to Welcome Screenname

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5. will i be able to have the same View members online in the last 24 hours and Birthdays like in v4.5 wih a plugin or a custom infocenter? i just wanna see it there as it is now, not link to another page or open another tab to see it, or have to go thru pages to see any member

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6. will it be possible now to make plugins to show the last 5 or 10 posts made, in a sidebar or wherever else

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7. is that bottom ad there to stay? isnt one enough, theyre obnoxious anyway

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8. will i be able to take off that permanent You are currently logged in as [e-mail] on the bottom rite corner and relocate it somewhere with a plugin?

[VS Admin]

So far, everything you've listed in your post is already a part of v5.

1. v5.proboards.com/threads/recent (layout is messed up right now due to a bug)

2. When you are logged in, on the right side of the navigation tree, it will say "Participated" which you can click to view the topics you have participated in. It will even say "new" next to it if one of the topics has been replied to.

3. There is a "Mark All Boards Read" link in the Info Center when you are logged in.

4. The menus in v5 are text, and if you look at the screenshot above, you can remove any link from the menu just by checking the box. It's that easy. You can also add links into the menu by clicking the "Add Custom" button in the screenshot, and you can re-order them in any order you want. You can even add a 2nd menu if you wanted by editing the template, since you have direct HTML access.

4A. When you get a notification there is a bubble that appears over your profile that tells you how many notifications you have. When you click it, it takes you to your notifications.

[tunescool]

recent threads yes, Recent Posts, but not in a thread list

i wasnt aware of the notification bubble, i havent seen it used

participated in ill never use and ill just remove it from my forum. i personally think its just a big mess the window that pops up. i can see all my threads or threads ive posted in Recent posts or Threads or Recent in my profile

[VS Admin]

Sept 10, 2012 22:30:24 GMT -8 tunescool said:

recent threads yes, recent topics, but not in athread list

i wasnt aware of the notification bubble, i havent seen it used

participated in ill never use and ill just remove it from my forum. i personally think its just a big mess the window that pops up. i can see all my threads or threads ive posted in Recent posts or Threads or Recent in my profile

Recent Threads and Recent Topics is the same exact thing, in terms of forum lingo. Topics = Threads. If you are saying "Recent topics that I participated in" then that's what the Participated button is for. If you are asking for a list of posts/topics you have made, there are two links for that from your profile page, and it would be very easy for a coder to make a code that linked those in the top menu.

[tunescool]

i meant Recent Posts

[Ryan Roos]

5. I already explained why we don't load a bunch of extra data that isn't being used on every page load. It is a single click away to anyone who needs the info.

6. We have widgets that do this for custom pages. I'm not positive but I believe it will be possible to accomplish this with plugins as well.

7. v4 has 2 ads. We aren't changing our revenue structure. We haven't added a ton of ads to v5. We've maintained the 2 banner setup of v4. We offer ad-free in v5 as well as v4 if you find the ads intrusive.

8. The PBN bar is a placeholder. I am currently redesigning it right now. When I am finished it will be minimizable and out of the way, and a fraction of its current size. Its actually a useful tool in v5. The text that annoys you so much will be gone (at least in my current design).



As Pat said pretty much everything you mentioned is already in v5. It seems to come down to button placement, which you can easily edit, because we give you the tools to do so. And disputes over loading data on every page that isn't being used. Part of v5 is about being faster and more efficient than v4. Everything is still accessible and easy to access.

Recent Threads - In a thread list view. Forum's recent threads.
Recent Posts - In a post list view. Forum's recent posts.
^Same data displayed two different ways.
Participated Button - Shows anything you've participated in and notifies you when there's an update.
View this member's recent posts. - In your profile shows your most recent posts you made. Post view.
View this member's recent threads. - In your profile, shows the most recent threads you've made. Thread view.

Everything you request is in one of the 5 views above. And there are still other features for tracking and organizing data. Like the new amazing search page, the search filters in boards or the bookmark system. We've also added the new notification system for tracking and organizing so many things. Bottom line is, it sounds like we have everything you're concerned about and more.

Edit: Also you mentioned wanting to remove the Participated button. You can do this in v5 in about 10 seconds by modifying your forum template. Super easy. ;D

[tunescool]

well not really, i went into a full length description of why i wouldnt like Recent Posts and Recent Posts in the Profile all in post view. will i be able to modify them to thread(the open posts) list view wih a plugin myself? its not rite to have recent posts all in open view, its like a violation of every member. we just wanna see the titles of the threads that the new posts are in. we dont want to have to scroll thru 8 pages with everybody posting grover and kermit pics to get to a thread we wanna see in 2 pages easily in a list form

but can i myself still have the members in 24 hours viewable with a plugin or custom infocenter

ok so buttons or links can be added, the whole purpose of my original post was because, it is going to be a fact, its very obvious people want those links at the top that they are accustomed to, they will just see an improper forum. theyre not going to stick around to learn that they can customize it, and millions of people will not start proboards forums. because i care is why i bring this up

[Ryan Roos]

Sept 11, 2012 7:51:30 GMT -8 tunescool said:

well not really, i went into a full length description of why i wouldnt like Recent Posts and Recent Posts in the Profile all in post view. will i be able to modify them to thread(the open posts) list view wih a plugin myself? its not rite to have recent posts all in open view, its like a violation of every member. we just wanna see the titles of the threads that the new posts are in. we dont want to have to scroll thru 8 pages with everybody posting grover and kermit pics to get to a thread we wanna see in 2 pages easily in a list form

Recent Threads

Sept 11, 2012 7:51:30 GMT -8 tunescool said:

but can i myself still have the members in 24 hours viewable with a plugin or custom infocenter

No.

Sept 11, 2012 7:51:30 GMT -8 tunescool said:

ok so buttons or links can be added, the whole purpose of my original post was because, it is going to be a fact, its very obvious people want those links at the top that they are accustomed to, they will just see an improper forum. theyre not going to stick around to learn that they can customize it, and millions of people will not start proboards forums. because i care is why i bring this up

Thank you for the concern.

[tunescool]

Sept 10, 2012 21:17:28 GMT -8 tunescool said:

every forum on the internet has one, in list form, as well as a New Threads link. which i think is just new threads when you hit that link on v5, not every new post in list form, correct me if im wrong.

i was unaware if recent threads was actually all recent posts made since my last visit or just recent threads started. i thought recent threads was just the most recent threads started. and the recent posts link was the recent posts since my last visit

its not in real time i didnt know, which is why i added the correct me if im wrong. it was still unclear to me that recent threads is actually all new posts and not just new threads after patricks post and yours