When things change, it's human nature (sometimes) to wait awhile, observe, and get used to the new settings. I suspect there are others who have not yet logged on to the new board. My message is - don't hesitate any longer - the board is a lot easier to use than before.

hi Mark, thanks.

now i understand, it was a mental thang to get back into it.

i thought you meant that you had trouble physically logging back in and was worried for a minute that maybe the login process gave you trouble.

glad you dig the new board.

yes, i agree, it is a big change but it is for the better in the long run and i am seeing (via my stats) things go back to the way they were (re visits and such) pretty fast considering the big change.

saludos,
jer...

Jer, questions!!! (yes, I can see you sobbing...oh no, now what does she want )

When I refresh the screen to find out if anyone has posted lately, the "20 last board posts" is the last thing to show, and if these include words with accents, these show as square blocks. If I am on the "spain forums" page, the actual forum post shows the word/s correctly, even though the little box at the top still shows the squares.

So, am I doing something wrong? Can I get the 20 last posts boxie thingie to come up first? Cos my refresh is taking a long time?

hi sue.

1) because it is the last thing to show should not be a problem, keeps you on your toes that way. the last 20 posts box is of interest but should NOT be the main attraction of the board. what would you do if i removed it alltogether the 20 post box loads last since it is not part of the board software but is rather an add-on put there by me for your convenience but do not come to depend upon it. if the refresh is slow, it is most likely an internet connection problem on your end since the new board software is much faster than the old and the pages are a lot lighter (less heavy images and quicker to load).

2) the words with accents only show as square blocks if the content is from before the change of boards. please see my explanation of this to Santi on the other thread at http://spaintalk.multimadrid.org/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/5501053511/m/2361010811 . if new content (post board changeover) is showing as blocks, then it is a local visualization problem with your pc.

i think i covered it all.

saludos,
jer...

Thanks!!!!

Point (1) I would really have to cry! Please don´t take it away (begging on knees graemlin here!!)

Point (2) Thought that was the case as I had already read Santi's post and realised I was better off than him, but then I don´t post in spanish!!!!

Does your software have the ability to show who is reading a thread? Some can even show who is writing a reply (usually at the bottom). Also, can it let people lurk--or do we have to show up on the front page?

Also, I really like the new "reply" window (though I do have to hit ctrl when I click "reply" to disable my pop-up blocker). The tools are a lot easier to use than before. And everything (except those last 20 posts--but please don't take them away!!) is a lot faster now. Down with those bad meanies at the old host.

hey mariposita...

1) never seen a board that showed when people are typing a response. that is a chat and instant messenger function but i have instant messenging turned off here as it would be bad for the board. people would just enter into ims instead of posting stuff that we want to have posted for future reference. i can have who is on each and every forum at any given moment show up but that seems overkill to me and just loads the pages down.

2) no lurking. the board has a "allow members to hide" function but it is turned off as i do not see the need to have it on. there are already enough lurkers on the board who never post, don't want to encourage even more to lurk.

3) gonna have to insist that the reply windows are not pop ups. i mentioned this before and have gotten confirmation from the board programmers that pop-up blockers do not affect the board. again, my pop-up blockers are always on and i have no probs.

if you are having pop-up probs, no need to hit ctrl every time, just set your browser to allow pop-ups for this site and you will not have to go through the ctrl thang every time you hit reply.

oh, and i figured out why the last 20 posts window loads slower than it used to. it is because on the old board, it was only the last 10 posts, now it is 20. the system has to look for 10 more posts and that slows it a bit. i could take away 10 and make it the last 10 posts instead of 20, may do that as 20 seems excessive.

thanks for the feedback

salduos,
jer...

Jer--

I'm using the Panicware Pop-up Blocker and it blocks the reply window. It considers any page that loads in a new window (via "target=new" or javascript or other script) as a pop-up.

Like I said before, no big deal at all--easy enough to disable--and I think it's a lot better to have the original message behind to refer to. Just mentioned it in case any others had problems with it.

One forum that lists the users on a given thread and who is writing a message can be seen here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?s=aa41fcf242ebe56e24ecc4bf7000b4dc&showforum=38

People writing messages appear at the bottom with a dotted line under their name. This isn't chat or IM software... I'd imagine that they use cookies or sessions to do it. Though I'm not sure what software they are using these days.

Personally, I think it's a bit big-brotherish, but in a sort of cool way...

hmmmmmmmmm... may want to get yourself a more intuitive popup blocker.

one that can tell the diff between a solicited popup and an unsolicited one.

quote:

It considers any page that loads in a new window (via "target=new" or javascript or other script) as a pop-up.

that must be a nightmare!!! there are sooooo many websites that are programmed with "target=new" or "target=blank" in the html. for example, the VAST majority of external links on sites use "target=blank" since the site owner does not want the visitor to lose sight of their web if they click an external link (eg. advertiser, interesting link, etc...).

thanks for that link, off to scope it out

saludos,
jer...

> that must be a nightmare!!!
> there are sooooo many websites
> that are programmed with "target=new"
> or "target=blank" in the html.

It's not so bad--I've got a strong left pinky. And it saves me from having to see all those artificially big-bosomed pop-up chicas...

On a totally different subject...

Is there a way to do a wild-card search of the board? As in typing something like "homolog*" to get results for "homologar" and "homologación" and "homologacion"?

Mariposita,

What browser are you using?

- Roland

hey mariposita.

now sure about a search like that. you can try at the advanced search page --> http://spaintalk.multimadrid.org/eve/forums?a=srchf

i tried with putting "homolog" in the "with at least one of the words" field and it came up with tons of results, including some with "logo" in them

i'm not sure a wild card search would be a good idea on this board with soooo much info and sooo many threads.

saludos,
jer...

Hey Roland--
IE 6.0, mostly...

What´s the difference between lurking, and being a guest?

hey sue, not much really but we call a repeat guest (someone who comes time and time again and just reads but never particpates) a lurker.

so, one starts as a guest (everybody does at some point when they discover the forums) but after many visits, one either becomes a member or remains a guest/lurker.

lurker may sound like an ugly word but it is not necessarily a negative thing but we obvioulsy prefer that they join up and be come members of the community

saludos,
jer...