Open test of new board software

Ian the Admin

Administrator
Donor
Later in January I'm going to upgrade the board's software to Xenforo 2. Right now I'm running a test of the new software, and I'd like you guys to check it out.

The test is using an old copy of the board, so you'll only see posts from April 2019, and it will only exist temporarily. When the test is finished, the test board will be deleted.

Please see if anything looks broken!

(Please note that when you log into the new forum, you will be logged OUT of the existing forum. Don't do it unless you remember your password).


The features of the new software are as follows:

1. New look! The site has been redesigned to look better on mobile, since over half of our visitors are now using smartphones and tablets. It should also make timelines look more readable and "professional", more like a normal web site than a forum.

2. Color schemes! The site now comes in white, grey, and black backgrounds (the grey background looks closest to the current site, but unfortunately it would be too much effort to make it look exactly like the current site).

3. Bookmarks! Each post has a bookmark icon, and you can view a list of your bookmarked posts in your account menu.

4. Threadmarks have been updated! For those of you who've used threadmarks on other sites, this should support all the latest features you're used to.

5. The editor now supports tables, as well as resizing images.

6. The like system has been expanded to include a "loves" option. Also, you will no longer see who has liked OTHER peoples' posts, only who has liked your own posts.

I realize that removing the ability to see how many likes other people are getting may be a bit controversial. However, Instagram has already done this, and a lot of people are starting to realize that putting a kind of "popularity score" on every single post encourages people to compete for likes rather than on real communication.


Check out the test forum here:

http://www.alternatehistory.com/forum2
 
Last edited:

Bleh

If we make a post or thread here, will it appear in the new forum and vice versa? And will we have to opt-in or will we all transfer over automatically when you update the forum in January?

I suppose I could have ironically shown this with a like, but I personally approve of the changes to the "like" system.
 

Ian the Admin

Administrator
Donor
Bleh said:
If we make a post or thread here, will it appear in the new forum and vice versa? And will we have to opt-in or will we all transfer over automatically when you update the forum in January?
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The test board will be deleted when the test is done. The real upgrade will include all of the latest content on the board. When the real upgrade happens, the site will be down for 2-3 days while all the content is migrated.
 

Ciryatur

Looks like logging into the test site ends the session of the production site. Not really an issue, I guess.
 
Worffan101

Worffan101

Not super fond of the new aesthetic but that could just be my fear of change, I'm sure that I could get used to it.
Ian the Admin said:
5. The editor now supports tables, as well as resizing images.
Click to expand...
I especially like this update.
Ian the Admin said:
6. The like system has been expanded to include a "loves" option. Also, each individual post no longer displays a list of who has liked it. You will still receive notifications when your posts are liked, but the general public will not see exactly who has liked what. This has the nice side effect of making posts look cleaner and easier to scroll through.
Click to expand...
I hope that the notifications for likes can still be turned off! I assume that this change will implement something like SV has where who liked what is not displayed but the number of likes is? Or will it only be visible to the original poster
Ian the Admin said:
A note on removing public display of likes… I expect that's pretty controversial. However, Snapchat has already done this, and other social media sites are starting to realize that people are competing to get the most likes and that's a distraction from real communication. I think this site should focus on doing good work and getting good feedback on it, not on having every single post display its popularity score.
Click to expand...
I've got several conflicting thoughts on this.
  1. IIRC the like system was implemented to cut down on contentless "I like this" posts; wouldn't there be a risk of that coming back under this system?
  2. At the very least hiding the names of posters who like a particular post is a good idea, because that definitely exacerbates the popularity contest problem and encourages performative clique behavior that I feel is bad for the climate here, especially in Chat where there's been a consistent echo-chamber effect (and I say that as a left-wing person on a left-wing board).
  3. On the flip side, speaking from experience here, people who create content really do make more of it when it gets a response, and the louder the positive part of that response the more likely we are to create more of it. On the plus side, hiding likes might encourage more people who wouldn't otherwise leave a post with positive feedback to do so, but on the minus side, it might discourage creation as people might feel like they're getting a less positive response.
Not really sure if I'm for or against this.
 
Georgepatton

Georgepatton

I understand the point you're making about public display of likes on posts and how that shifts patterns of conversation, but if even the author of a post can't see how many likes or reactions it specifically has, that does really degrade the functionality of a likes system as a method of gauging feedback and audience appreciation of a post, which comes up in every discussion I've ever seen about a like or reaction system. I don't see how it interferes with real communication to be able to look at, say, this post and know specifically how many people liked it, even if that's only available to me and not to everyone else. Instagram, which is the site that's been experimenting with hiding likes this year, does still let users see them on their own posts.
 

Ian the Admin

Administrator
Donor
It's probably possible for me to show the specific likes on your OWN posts, but not on anyone else's. I'll take a look at that.
 
Talwar

Talwar

Ian the Admin said:
Later in January I'm going to upgrade the board's software to Xenforo 2. Right now I'm running a test of the new software, and I'd like you guys to check it out.

The test is using an old copy of the board, so you'll only see posts from April 2019, and it will only exist temporarily. When the test is finished, the test board will be deleted.

Please see if anything looks broken!

(Please note that when you log into the new forum, you will be logged OUT of the existing forum. Don't do it unless you remember your password).


The features of the new software are as follows:

1. New look! The site has been redesigned to look better on mobile, since over half of our visitors are now using smartphones and tablets. It should also make timelines look more readable and "professional", more like a normal web site than a forum.

2. Color schemes! The site now comes in white, grey, and black backgrounds (the grey background looks closest to the current site, but unfortunately it would be too much effort to make it look exactly like the current site).

3. Bookmarks! Each post has a bookmark icon, and you can view a list of your bookmarked posts in your account menu.

4. Threadmarks have been updated! For those of you who've used threadmarks on other sites, this should support all the latest features you're used to.

5. The editor now supports tables, as well as resizing images.

6. The like system has been expanded to include a "loves" option. Also, each individual post no longer displays a list of who has liked it. You will still receive notifications when your posts are liked, but the general public will not see exactly who has liked what. This has the nice side effect of making posts look cleaner and easier to scroll through.

A note on removing public display of likes… I expect that's pretty controversial. However, Snapchat has already done this, and other social media sites are starting to realize that people are competing to get the most likes and that's a distraction from real communication. I think this site should focus on doing good work and getting good feedback on it, not on having every single post display its popularity score.
Click to expand...
1. I'll check that out later. I generally thought the current layout was fine on my phone, though.

2. These look okay but it wasn't a strong issue for me.

3/4. These would be useful, I'm sure.

5. Excellent. I can see in my test thread ("Talwarmageddon") that it works, whereas the current board software just displays the coding for it.

6. I see your points on the like issue. When I'm posting content in Alternate History Writer's, though, likes are pretty encouraging and when I put together multi-chapter pieces, it can be useful to see which chapters get a bunch of likes and which get one or two. I agree that it's a good substitute for "I like this" posts, which is sometimes all the feedback one has or gets.

Having turned off notifications for likes - because that would drive me batty - I'd rather see the like count on my post than have to re-activate the notifications and scroll through them all.

Is it an option to disable likes in Chat and leave them in place for the more creative-content fora, or does board software require a one-size-fits-all approach?
 
Jasen777

Jasen777

Donor
I changed my password before trying the test forum (to prove I could remember my password). Had to use my old password to log in on the test board though.
 

frustrated progressive

Don't especially like the color scheme options, (I find the light grey essentially indistinguishable from white) but I already got used to that in 2016, and overall these seem like good changes.
 
Komodo

Komodo

I noticed that the ignore-list seems to have gone back to the old school board, where you can still see that someone on it has posted (and exactly where in the thread they did) and there's a box that says "this content is hidden because you have X ignored." Is that going to be how it works (as opposed to the current system, where the users and their posts are completely masked), or have you just not had the time to mess with that yet?
 
Ming777

Ming777

Monthly Donor
Will there be an additional theme that will match the current colour schemes? I know at least one board that switched to xenforo that had to add a theme resembling the old theme out of popular demand.
 

Ian the Admin

Administrator
Donor
Ming777 said:
Will there be an additional theme that will match the current colour schemes? I know at least one board that switched to xenforo that had to add a theme resembling the old theme out of popular demand.
Click to expand...

Looking exactly the same would be a giant pain in the ass. The current board's color scheme is heavily customized and I don't want to go through that again with a new site.
 
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