A few days ago I completed the upgrade of the forums from v. 3.0.2 to v3.0.8. While at the time my preliminary tests indicated that everything was working, it has become apparent that not enough testing was completed. Some of our biggest problems were that members could not vote in polls, when editing posts the cursor would jump around and other small nuances that together combined for a bad overall experience.

Given that the author of our last theme has not kept up with the project I decided to temporary install a new theme which has appeared to have fixed all known issues. If you experience any more issues please let the staff of RyPN know so we can address them as quickly as possible.

In the meantime our team is on the lookout for a new theme for RyPN and we would like to get your input as to what you, the membership, might prefer. Is there any themes already out there that you have a preference for, or any specific colors scheme that you feel would make RyPN easier to read?

I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the matter,

David

Edit: Update to Theme Change

For anyone who wishes to contribute to a poll or not have your cursor go crazy on you when typing a post I encourage you to try one of our other themes which eliminate the above issues. To change your theme you will need to do the following:

The only issue so far is the whiplash from the double-take I just did.

I assume others will have the same complaint.

WOW..... that was a shock first thing in the morning! I just changed back to the "bo2soft" board theme and got the old look back!

I actually perfered the other one better. It was easier to to see if a post had new replies or not. Do you think you could add a key to the bottem of the page to know what the symbols mean?

Edit: Nevermind...I got used to it...I like it.. :-)

Gosh this new format is horrible............please change it back.

Mike Pannell

I think I would like something similar to what www.practicalmachinist.com uses instead of this.

Oh, thank you.... I'm so much happier now, back in my old comfort zone!

:-)

Steve Hunter
Cardinal, Ontario

Select your "User Control Panel" near the top of the page.

Look on the left under "Options"

Select - "Board Preferences"

Select - "Edit Gobal Settings"

On the main screen go to the pull down menu marked "My Board Style"

Select - "bo2soft"

Click on submit......

Worked for me!

OK. I am one who abhors change that is made just for the heck of it. But in this case the new look is just that, a new look. The new board functions as the old one did so I have no problems with it.

I hate when a site is changed completly to one that is tough to manage.

Later!
Mr. Ed

So far, it looks OK to me. I do like the "view new posts" tab in the left margin--- can look at all updates in one click that way.

I like the light color scheme as well, easy on the eyes.

Thanks, David, for what you do to keep RyPN up and running (even though it seems like Eye Of Newt and bubbling cauldrons to me...).

Howard P.

[size=150]I admire your perseverance in improving our service, but I find this challenging to read. Perhaps something that delineates topics from replies in a clearer manner? [/size]

I'm with Howard - the "new post" button is great, and I'm very appreciative that now all text is wrapped narrowly in the vertical screen width no matter if the poster has included a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiide graphic. saves a bunch of side to side scanning.

dave

Given the feedback already received it appears that I was a bit in haste to choose a new default theme so quickly, despite the incompatibilities that were present in the bo2soft theme.

For now I have switched back to the bo2soft theme given the “whiplash of the eyes” that some have experienced. After reading the comments here it can be concluded that there are good and bad points to be made about the new theme.

Many members thought the location of the “view new posts” tab was a good improvement in the new theme. Posted images are now limited in their width and do not cause the screen to expand on the far right.

Some of the detriments were that the color scheme was too similar between different postings, along with icons that were hard to understand.

We did have one recommendation as to where to go after the bo2soft theme, which is “something similar to what http://www.practicalmachinist.com uses.” The theme there is more simple, though it is clearly defined and works together in a way that is easy to use and pleasing to the eye.

For anyone who wishes to contribute to a poll or not have your cursor go crazy on you when typing a post I encourage you to try one of our other themes which eliminate the above issues. To change your theme you will need to do the following:



For now I am still looking for comments regarding the new themes we are offering, as well as preferences for the future theme. At this time unless someone has the time to update the bo2soft theme to work with v.3.0.8, the compatibility issues with it will get increasingly frustrating over time. For now it will be left in place as the default.

The "View Active Topics" option is no longer functional. That was my preferred way to view the board as it allowed me to both skip the "stickies" and see new posts on both sub-boards at once. Perhaps this feature will return?

Thanks

It appears that the upgrade disabled the 'View Active Topics" automatically. It has now been reactivated.