Why proboards... Why...?

[Martyn Dale]

Something else that you may find interesting is the Chrome Frame:
www.google.com/chromeframe

It will (in short) run Chromes new web page loading system inside IE. This means you can still use IE, with the setup, bookmarks etc that you are familiar with, but it will allow your computer to use new more advanced functionality that IE8 can not ever support.

Also as I quoted a statistic in my previous post, I should cite that:
www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

[Camille]

Jan 17, 2013 14:58:53 GMT -8 Ryan Roos said:

Jan 17, 2013 14:33:16 GMT -8 Camille said:

So, if v5 is compatible with IE8, why does my Beta Test forum look like this:
mackdaddyslounge.freemessageboards.com/

Instead of the way the forum actually looks like:
www.mackdaddyslounge.proboards.com/index.cgi

Is the Side Table problem a bug that can be reported and fixed?

I'm loyal to IE because it displays everything (at least to me) more artistically, and it has the feature of being able to refresh the page when it is loading slow.  My version of Firefox doesn't allow refreshing while the page is loading.  (And I have about 500 favorites saved on IE!)

Why does your forum look like what?
I see your v5 Beta forum... and I see your v4 forum...

Is there something specific that is broken? I see you're running a different theme. And I notice you do have a sidebar. So yes, you would need to take the time to make your sidebar in v5. Though it sure looks like you've gotten close already. You appear to be running a different theme (based on color and images). Your forum looks great in Firefox and Chrome.

In Internet Explorer 8 the sidebar plugin looks like it has a bug in it which is preventing it from running down the let side of your forum, it's all at the top. But that's a bug with that single plugin. So... What exactly about v5 can you not use? If a plugin is broken then you need to ask the author to fix it. The fact that it can be fixed so quickly and easily is reflective of the power of v5. You could literally have the exact same issue in v4 with a sidebar code. There is no difference.

I feel like you are just saying that because your forum isn't pixel for pixel identical in every way that it is somehow broken or incompatible with your browser. It looks like it's working correctly to me (with the exception of something you added to the forum). I feel like you're judging v5 based on a broken addition which could just as easily have happened (if not more easily) with a code in v4.

If a plugin isn't working how it's advertised then go ask for a fix (update). Or go ask for a different plugin. There will be a hundred sidebar plugins by this time next year. All of them made by different authors. Please don't immediately discount v5 in it's entirety because the very first plugin you used during a beta didn't work right away (and then still, only in a single browser which already notoriously breaks things across the internet). If it's the ProBoards Sidebar Plugin I can tell you we would love nothing more than to get feedback so that we could get a fix out.

This is how I see my Beta Test using IE8:


What you are saying to me gives me encouragement about the future of my forum once the final conversion is made.

I've poked around the Admin Panel myself and I don't know where to go for anything.  As an example, I wanted to change the font of the whole Beta Test board and I couldn't find the spot.  The board descriptions are all double-spaced and I couldn't find how to change that.  The double-spacing caused my icon picture to be too small.  It wouldn't be so bad if I could just whip into the Admin Panel and fix something and get out.  It doesn't seem to be as user friendly as the v4 Admin Panel. 

So, all these things just disheartened me.  I do want things pixel by pixel to be the same as v4.

[Camille]

Jan 17, 2013 15:02:04 GMT -8 JJ said:

Ladyauburn, I suggest you start a new file folder in either your documents or pictures called V5 Plugins, and when you are asked to 'save as' or whatever term your computer offers, select 'save as,' and when it asks "where?" then go find that folder and store all your plugins in there. I also suggest that when you save each one, you right click on it and rename it to something you will know what it is, if it isn't already named something that makes sense. It takes longer to type this than it does to do it.

That is a great suggestion JJ!  Thank you!

[Camille]

Jan 17, 2013 15:09:42 GMT -8 Martyn Dale said:

As a side note from the discussions of what browser you use, please also factor in other visitors to your forum.

If you use the forum just for yourself, as personal storage space then of course this will not be an issue. The issue is, is that if you have any other users on your site, using things that are IE8 only will cause significant problems for them. As of December, only 6.8 % of internet users are still on IE8, others either use something newer, or an alternate newer browser.

The reason things work in IE 8 but not in others, is because IE8 actually does things incorrectly. The trick is to design it for everything else, then tweak it for everything else. If you make it look right in IE8 as a primary goal, you will never get it working for everyone else and is why you get strange results.

An example is rounded corners for example. If you view this forum in newer browsers you will see nice rounded corners where in IE 8 you will not.

If you target IE 8 only, users who can benefit from the "eye candy" wont be able to see it. This is why its always good to target the majority browsers. This way those that can get the eye candy get it, and those that cant, still have it appearing in an acceptable way. If you start by targeting something old, you can never predict what will happen.

You make a very important point, Martyn Dale!  Our member participation is down quite a bit on the forum at this particular time.  But, yes, if I want to get more members active I do need to be thinking about what browsers they may be using.  (v4 in Firefox is off just a little bit in how it is displayed compared to IE8.) 

Well, it does seem that I need to first get a new computer and then go from there to select what browser to build the forum with.

Thanks so much for all the information.  Lots to think about.

Sincerely,


ladyauburn33

[JJ]

You are very welcome, Ladyauburn. I feel a bit overwhelmed too. I find the admin section very confusing, and the settings mixed and mingled in easy, medium and advanced don't seem well laid out to me. So I do a lot of searching and hunting for how to do things. I know you are getting some flack about using IE8, and I'm sorry about that. I use IE myself, but did finally have to go to IE9 because I could see that IE8 wasn't going to work right with all sites and coding. I did try Chrome, but had more trouble with that than I do with IE9... different strokes for different folks. I would encourage you to please try IE9. If you really don't like it, you can revert back. My husband did not like 9 and I set him back to 8 and he's a happy camper.

I suggest anyone working on their Beta site to try and understand that it is not the Proboards they are used to, it is not even close. I know you may have spent years gathering codes to do exactly what you want, well, that's not wasted years. You know what you want, you just have to figure out how to get it. I get annoyed too. I spent many hours here at Proboards and other sites getting codes made for me and tweaking them and getting a look I like. Now I have to start over. I don't care what any of the coders and staff here are saying, it IS starting over. We are being sent back to Kindergarten, and we don't really like it when we get told "It's so easy, it's great, it's better." Well, good for you. I'm glad you are thrilled. Not all of us are as at ease with this transition as you are. Pleaase try to have some understanding.

[Camille]

Jan 17, 2013 15:17:14 GMT -8 Martyn Dale said:

Something else that you may find interesting is the Chrome Frame:
www.google.com/chromeframe

It will (in short) run Chromes new web page loading system inside IE. This means you can still use IE, with the setup, bookmarks etc that you are familiar with, but it will allow your computer to use new more advanced functionality that IE8 can not ever support.

Also as I quoted a statistic in my previous post, I should cite that:
www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

I checked out the chromeframe link.  I have a Windows XP computer.  The chromeframe works on these:

For Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8 and 9 on Windows 7 / Vista / XP SP2 or greater.

I also checked the link to the browser stats.  Wow!  IE is falling in popularity.  Glad you posted that link!

[Camille]

Jan 17, 2013 15:42:34 GMT -8 JJ said:

You are very welcome, Ladyauburn. I feel a bit overwhelmed too. I find the admin section very confusing, and the settings mixed and mingled in easy, medium and advanced don't seem well laid out to me. So I do a lot of searching and hunting for how to do things. I know you are getting some flack about using IE8, and I'm sorry about that. I use IE myself, but did finally have to go to IE9 because I could see that IE8 wasn't going to work right with all sites and coding. I did try Chrome, but had more trouble with that than I do with IE9... different strokes for different folks. I would encourage you to please try IE9. If you really don't like it, you can revert back. My husband did not like 9 and I set him back to 8 and he's a happy camper.

I suggest anyone working on their Beta site to try and understand that it is not the Proboards they are used to, it is not even close. I know you may have spent years gathering codes to do exactly what you want, well, that's not wasted years. You know what you want, you just have to figure out how to get it. I get annoyed too. I spent many hours here at Proboards and other sites getting codes made for me and tweaking them and getting a look I like. Now I have to start over. I don't care what any of the coders and staff here are saying, it IS starting over. We are being sent back to Kindergarten, and we don't really like it when we get told "It's so easy, it's great, it's better." Well, good for you. I'm glad you are thrilled. Not all of us are as at ease with this transition as you are. Pleaase try to have some understanding.

Thanks for the encouragement, JJ.  I liked the array of choices for the task I wanted to perform in the v4 Admin Panel.  Simple.  The v5 Admin Panel seems "scattered" to me.  I know part of my frustration is the lack of time I now have.  (I'm waiting on a handy man today to come light the pilot light on my wall heater, and so I've had a few minutes to be on the computer.)  I guess if I want to keep my forum, I am going to have to adopt a "start over" frame of mind, and just do a little at a time, as time permits.

[AshFR]

Jan 17, 2013 16:04:49 GMT -8 Camille said:

Jan 17, 2013 15:42:34 GMT -8 JJ said:

You are very welcome, Ladyauburn. I feel a bit overwhelmed too. I find the admin section very confusing, and the settings mixed and mingled in easy, medium and advanced don't seem well laid out to me. So I do a lot of searching and hunting for how to do things. I know you are getting some flack about using IE8, and I'm sorry about that. I use IE myself, but did finally have to go to IE9 because I could see that IE8 wasn't going to work right with all sites and coding. I did try Chrome, but had more trouble with that than I do with IE9... different strokes for different folks. I would encourage you to please try IE9. If you really don't like it, you can revert back. My husband did not like 9 and I set him back to 8 and he's a happy camper.

I suggest anyone working on their Beta site to try and understand that it is not the Proboards they are used to, it is not even close. I know you may have spent years gathering codes to do exactly what you want, well, that's not wasted years. You know what you want, you just have to figure out how to get it. I get annoyed too. I spent many hours here at Proboards and other sites getting codes made for me and tweaking them and getting a look I like. Now I have to start over. I don't care what any of the coders and staff here are saying, it IS starting over. We are being sent back to Kindergarten, and we don't really like it when we get told "It's so easy, it's great, it's better." Well, good for you. I'm glad you are thrilled. Not all of us are as at ease with this transition as you are. Pleaase try to have some understanding.

 The v5 Admin Panel seems "scattered" to me. 

That's pretty much exactly how I felt, but I got use to it, it took sometime though and using it a lot more(mainly because I had to since my forum is upgraded early), but it did feel much more scattered then V.4.5 I understand completely now, maybe you'll get use to it the more you use it?

[JJ]

That is what I do, Ladyauburn, "a little at a time." I'm busy too, with my own place and a few others where I am staff, so I do understand the pressure. I could not do this and work full time. Now that we have an extension, doing it slowly will take some of the pressure off. Especially when you start seeing your progress and have some 'aha' moments. Hang in there.

[Camille]

Jan 17, 2013 16:10:08 GMT -8 AshFR said:

Jan 17, 2013 16:04:49 GMT -8 Camille said:

 The v5 Admin Panel seems "scattered" to me. 

That's pretty much exactly how I felt, but I got use to it, it took sometime though and using it a lot more(mainly because I had to since my forum is upgraded early), but it did feel much more scattered then V.4.5 I understand completely now, maybe you'll get use to it the more you use it?

I hope so.  I have a couple of other private forums that I can experiment with as time permits.  Thank you for cheering me up a bit, AshFR.    

[Camille]

Jan 17, 2013 16:13:08 GMT -8 JJ said:

That is what I do, Ladyauburn, "a little at a time." I'm busy too, with my own place and a few others where I am staff, so I do understand the pressure. I could not do this and work full time. Now that we have an extension, doing it slowly will take some of the pressure off. Especially when you start seeing your progress and have some 'aha' moments. Hang in there.

*hugs*

[dno]

When you got a calculator did you know what all the buttons were for?
Of course your abacus still worked (and you were used to it)
Do you still use your abacus?

[Martyn Dale]

Jan 17, 2013 15:49:25 GMT -8 Camille said:

Jan 17, 2013 15:17:14 GMT -8 Martyn Dale said:

Something else that you may find interesting is the Chrome Frame:
www.google.com/chromeframe

It will (in short) run Chromes new web page loading system inside IE. This means you can still use IE, with the setup, bookmarks etc that you are familiar with, but it will allow your computer to use new more advanced functionality that IE8 can not ever support.

Also as I quoted a statistic in my previous post, I should cite that:
www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

I checked out the chromeframe link.  I have a Windows XP computer.  The chromeframe works on these:

For Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8 and 9 on Windows 7 / Vista / XP SP2 or greater.

I also checked the link to the browser stats.  Wow!  IE is falling in popularity.  Glad you posted that link!

If you have XP, you have SP2 (service pack 2). If you do not have SP2, its a free upgrade for Windows XP that typically would be installed automatically (and likely did for you), and does not need a new computer etc.

[Camille]

Jan 17, 2013 16:30:20 GMT -8 dno said:

When you got a calculator did you know what all the buttons were for?
Of course your abacus still worked (and you were used to it)
Do you still use your abacus?

Excellent comparison!    Actually, I still do my mathematics with paper and pencil!  *laughs*  (But it is tedious figuring percentages that way!)

[Camille]

Jan 17, 2013 16:31:58 GMT -8 Martyn Dale said:

Jan 17, 2013 15:49:25 GMT -8 Camille said:

I checked out the chromeframe link.  I have a Windows XP computer.  The chromeframe works on these:

For Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8 and 9 on Windows 7 / Vista / XP SP2 or greater.

I also checked the link to the browser stats.  Wow!  IE is falling in popularity.  Glad you posted that link!

If you have XP, you have SP2 (service pack 2). If you do not have SP2, its a free upgrade for Windows XP that typically would be installed automatically (and likely did for you), and does not need a new computer etc.

Okay, I'm off to give it a try!  Thank you!