[CLOSED] Improvement: Lets get critical :)

[mark]

Fantastic work getting the new site up and running guys

It's early days and you guys are probably still hard at work honing the design...

The front page seems to be a waste of space. The crucial information we all come here for.. the forum activity is even less accessible than before. Then on every thread you have to scroll down to get to the information you need, with all the carp at the top.

I'd like to see us adopt a model similar to that of vbulletin site HotUKDeals. No rubbish in the way of the content: Latest posts listed newest first with excerpt, fast links to all topics unobtrusive at the top of every page, and a hot list of the most popular threads.

[russdev]

Problem is while forum is most popular part it is not only part used and as we add more content having access to everything will be important.

As for newest post first I am not sure what do other members think?

Russ

[mark]

Yes there is the news section, that I do read, but it seems so infrequently updated next to the forum threads, and crucially, it obscures content.
Fair enough if we had a lot of news, but we don't. News items are just like stickied threads anyway. Perhaps we could have a news forum and display _that_ in it's own container??

Problem is I suppose users are going to bypass the home page and just bookmark the content. If that's not a problem then fair enough. News is always accessible across the site from the top menu bar.

By newest post first I was referring to the layout of the latest threads/posts page and not every forum page as I think you were thinking. That's an option in vbulletin for every user already.

[FN-GM]

I wouldn’t want to see newest posts at the top but I would like it as it used to be on the old site. When you accessed a thread it took you to the last page. Now it takes you to the first page although you may have several other pages.

[meastaugh1]

I'd also like the front page to display the last 10-20 updated threads, if that's what the op is proposing.

As for the behaviour when opening a topic, I suppose one solution would be to have (automated)/bookmarking. eg when you visit a thread the first time it takes you to the first post. On subsequent visits it could take you to the newest post since your last visit...?

[Joedetic]

When you see the topic in the forums there are the page numbers next to it in subscript in brackets. But it could do with a last page button...I've seen that on other forums.

[tech_guy]

Yes, I much prefer the last page of a thread to be displayed rather than having to scroll down, or work my way through multiple pages.

[steve]

You can customise the thread display to have the latest post at the top if that's what you prefer.

User CP - Edit Options - Thread Display Options - Thread Display Mode


I fell the site needs a front page, while the main attraction of the site are the forums, I see the wiki, chat and media sections becoming an important resource.

However I agree the front page may need some tweaking in terms of content.

I also hope to see the secondus references and the forum notice disappear soon as I feel they may be confusing to new users.

(Under no illusion, these things take time especially when done voluntarily)

In the interests of balance, two things I believe are a big improvement are:

A far more professional appearance
Far superior forum search facilities

Keep up the excellent work

[witch]

I agree, taking you to the last page would be better if possible.

Originally Posted by WITCH

I agree, taking you to the last page would be better if possible.

I'll add my vote to that.

[ZeroHour]

Hi
Basically we had time constraints that meant I had to get the site up and running for BETT. I am in the process of rewriting the module for the frontpage that displays the last threads to allow users to get to the last post quickly. The module running there is one I hacked to work asap. Its not perfect by a long way but it got the content at least on the frontpage. As for the number of posts shown we dont want to effectively replace the vbulletin "new posts" page so it will be limited to a point but I am trying a couple of modules out that could be very useful for you, the user, to have. I also may allow user selection of how many are displayed on the frontpage (it will be limited to a maximum though as per the "new posts" page).
We will be doing a lot with the frontpage/news page to make it much more useful for members in the future but like I said before, we wanted to go live before BETT and also I wanted to see what effect the new system would have on server load. We had to learn to walk before we could run basically.
We have a good few new features that are in the last stages of testing which should help make the site more useable for members. More info will be posted soon as they are added so watch this space
The top banner that has the display messages was really just to stop the "where is it gone" topics appearing and they will be getting removed next week.
I love getting feedback as we do want to keep you all happy. Its you the users that make this site what it is and we dont forget that. Right now I am posting this from the airport waiting for my flight back home from BETT but once I get back home I will be changing a few things and possibly launching part of the chat system (probably tomorrow sometime if it all works).
Also this forum will probably get locked as more posts like this should now be in our suggestions/comments area as secondus is live and this was primarily for suggestions/news about the "upcoming" launch. I will move all the topics that are after our launch into the correct area and leave redirects here so you can find them again anyway.

Keep up the good work posting and helping users but rest assured I am listening to all your feedback and we really do want to help make this site all you want it to be

Cheers

[mark]

That's great ZH. Great job then getting the site up and running ready for BETT.

You'd think you could just place the vbulletin new/ latest x no of posts page into a centre block. The old site layout was good in that respect (I hate to say it! damn that Russ!!! lol )

I wonder what HUKD use tho' - is that a front end??

[EduTech]

Originally Posted by richard

I'll add my vote to that.

I agree with that too

And thank you Z you and the rest of the Admin team are doing a grand job

regards
James

[john]

Viewing threads is end user configurable in VB, just change it in your user CP options, so long as the back end has been set to allow it then you can do it. I personally prefer that Page 1 post 1 is the oldest post its like reading a magazine article backwards from the last sentence to the start, makes no sense and is confusing.

I personally just use the "last page" option that is on multi-page posts so its not that bad to go to the final page in a long paged set of threads, or when you do "New Posts since last visit" click on the little "First New" Button at the edge of the thread title, that will take you to the first post that is new since your last visit to that thread, and read on from that point.

[SYSMAN_MK]

Have to agree that the Edugeek site is turning into something more than just a forum, which is why the site have gone over to Joomla. I think what has been done in such a short space of time is fantastic, and if BETT was a little later then the look of the site would have been more fine tuned. As it stands ZeroHour had done black magic to go from beta to live in the time it has, and hats off to him. I couldn't find the time to do what has been done, and I am sure not many other people here could too.

Alot of the 'look' issues are down to Joomla theme, so once that has been tweaked, these will be fixed I'm sure. Again this takes time, especially when the site is running on 1.5 which has a new templating system and is still RC4.

I think the site is going in the right direction. As the site evolves more news / scoops will be found by our members, and the front page of the site is the best place for these.