This thread is for anything related to the Forum upgrade of 1/26/2023. Any issues, questions, suggestions, etc., post them here.
Forum Upgrade to V2.2
- Thread starter Dan Miller
- Start date
Gary
Canoe Grampa
Hello Dan, Benson and anyone else who has a part in the WCHA website. As we age we get more reluctant to change but that being said please accept my appreciation and a big thank you to everything you all do in making this forum the wonderful resource it is for all of us who love old wood canoes. I am appreciative of the larger font and size of things, less squinting on my part. Keep up the great work you do!
Thank you, Gary
Thank you, Gary
pklonowski
Unrepentant Canoeist
I agree with Gary... looks nice, and a refreshing look! Thank you!
I'm hoping I'm just missing it in the new format (I can be blind in really stoopid ways...), but is there a "return to top" button? Some of these threads get really long!
Edit, 10 minutes later: Found it! If you just start scrolling up, a little Up Arrow appears in the lower right corner. Click that and it takes you to the top!
I'm hoping I'm just missing it in the new format (I can be blind in really stoopid ways...), but is there a "return to top" button? Some of these threads get really long!
Edit, 10 minutes later: Found it! If you just start scrolling up, a little Up Arrow appears in the lower right corner. Click that and it takes you to the top!
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The incorrect link in the WCHA forum notification emails has been corrected. Please let us know if anyone sees other issues. Thanks,
Benson
Benson
I don't have privileges to post in the Announcements forum, but members should be aware that an Enhanced Search add-on program was activated this week as part of the forum upgrade process that was approved by the Board of Directors and begun in January 2023.
The most visible feature of Enhanced Search is "Similar Threads", which is a list of five supposedly related threads that will appear below any thread you are reading. Similar Threads will also appear when you are typing a title for any new thread you are starting, so as to possibly alert you not duplicate an existing thread on that very subject. I say "supposedly" because the Similar Threads algorithm is somewhat hit or miss; sometimes the listed threads are on target but other times they aren't.
On the whole, I've found Similar Threads to be a useful research tool when searching other Xenforo discussion sites including my own.
However, the search algorithm's effectiveness is highly dependent on how specifically and accurately members title their threads. For example, a generic title like "My New Project" is uninformative to the algorithm. Instead, be as specific as possible when titling the thread about your new project—e.g., "Restoring Stems on a Tom Mackenzie Birchbark Canoe". This gives the search alogrithm lots of specific words to grab onto.
This very same advice about thread titling applies to increasing the presence of this site within public search engines such as Google. More specific and meaningful thread titles will increase the site's Google rankings.
The most visible feature of Enhanced Search is "Similar Threads", which is a list of five supposedly related threads that will appear below any thread you are reading. Similar Threads will also appear when you are typing a title for any new thread you are starting, so as to possibly alert you not duplicate an existing thread on that very subject. I say "supposedly" because the Similar Threads algorithm is somewhat hit or miss; sometimes the listed threads are on target but other times they aren't.
On the whole, I've found Similar Threads to be a useful research tool when searching other Xenforo discussion sites including my own.
However, the search algorithm's effectiveness is highly dependent on how specifically and accurately members title their threads. For example, a generic title like "My New Project" is uninformative to the algorithm. Instead, be as specific as possible when titling the thread about your new project—e.g., "Restoring Stems on a Tom Mackenzie Birchbark Canoe". This gives the search alogrithm lots of specific words to grab onto.
This very same advice about thread titling applies to increasing the presence of this site within public search engines such as Google. More specific and meaningful thread titles will increase the site's Google rankings.
MGC
Scrapmaker
Glenn,
Thank you for raising the topic of "similar threads". I have not experimented with this "feature" enough to know if it behaves differently if you are logged in to the site. If you are not logged in and view new posts, the landing page now is occupied by the most recent post and the similar posts.
The thread topic and chronological sequence of the thread may only be viewed by scrolling to the top of the page.
I find this to be extremely annoying. I prefer to read through a topic from the beginning.
The presence of the similar threads may actually be quite useful, but it should not have priority over the actual thread.
I've been kind of living with this "feature" and scrolling to the top of each thread and wishing that I didn't have to. Is it possible to default the page to display from the top?
With your introduction, we now know that these similar threads will appear at the bottom, if we scroll further, presuming an interest in more related content.
Mike
I should add, I do not remain logged on this (any) site between sessions. I like to practice safe PC and log in only if I am going to post.
I should also add that this seems to behave differently if you are logged in....
Thank you for raising the topic of "similar threads". I have not experimented with this "feature" enough to know if it behaves differently if you are logged in to the site. If you are not logged in and view new posts, the landing page now is occupied by the most recent post and the similar posts.
The thread topic and chronological sequence of the thread may only be viewed by scrolling to the top of the page.
I find this to be extremely annoying. I prefer to read through a topic from the beginning.
The presence of the similar threads may actually be quite useful, but it should not have priority over the actual thread.
I've been kind of living with this "feature" and scrolling to the top of each thread and wishing that I didn't have to. Is it possible to default the page to display from the top?
With your introduction, we now know that these similar threads will appear at the bottom, if we scroll further, presuming an interest in more related content.
Mike
I should add, I do not remain logged on this (any) site between sessions. I like to practice safe PC and log in only if I am going to post.
I should also add that this seems to behave differently if you are logged in....
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Mike, I wanted to get back to you because, in rereading your post, I'm not sure I understand it.
First of all, "New Posts" should not be confused with "Latest Posts" or with "Similar Threads". These are all separate features.
"New Posts" are accessed via its link button or from the "What's New" drop-down menu, both on the action bars right under the logo. New Posts are posts that are new to YOU if you are logged in. So, all of us who are logged in see a different list of New Posts, customized to our past viewing; and the system will take you right to that new post because you already have read all the posts above it. If you are not logged in, the system doesn't know who you are, so it therefore can't customize a list of New Posts just for you. What it then does for the New Post list is to show you a list of threads having the most recent posts, and when you click on one of those threads you will start at the first post in that thread because the system doesn't know what you've read. Everyone who is not logged in will see this same uncustomized list of threads.
"Latest Posts" are displayed in a widget (box) on the right sidebar of the forums on a computer screen. On a phone the Latest Posts widget is under the list of forums. The Latest Posts widget displays a list of the five threads having the site's most recent (latest) posts in them. If you are not logged in, when you click on one of these threads, you will be taken directly to the Latest Post in the thread. Perhaps this is what you are referring to. If you are logged in, you should similarly be taken to the Latest Post in the thread. (However, I notice on my site I'm sometimes taken to the top of the the thread when I'm logged in, for reasons I don't understand. I'll have to research this on Xenforo.com.)
As far as I know, the Administrator can't change the presentation of Latest Posts for persons not logged in. However, for members logged in, the Administrator can choose to display in the widget a list of Unread Posts or Watched Posts instead of the list of Latest Posts.
The Similar Threads widget has nothing to do with New Posts or Latest Posts and there is nothing the user can "do" to affect what the algorithm presents. The Similar Threads widget is not displayed at all when you are viewing the list of threads under New Posts. It will only be displayed when you click on an individual thread.
To stay up to date on posts you haven't yet read, I believe the best way is to log in and click on New Posts.
MGC
Scrapmaker
Glenn, thank you for explaining the difference between, read, unread etc. Also, that it's OK for the site to display differently when you are not logged in.
The comment I made is not remotely convoluted. In fact, it's quite simple.
Since upgrade, the landing page for individual threads is occupied only by the most recent post and the similar threads listing. If one was not involved in the previous dialogue, it's like jumping in on the middle of a conversation.
Look at this one from today. New info says Howie. He inspected the canoe before ......... what? To find out what the discussion is about, the reader must scroll up to the top to find out that this is a thread about cracked paint.
Landing on the end of a thread instead of at the beginning is really annoying. Back in the day we would have called it a bug (a kinder euphemism for fat fingered design) and gone after an immediate fix.
Hey, I can live with it. It's just the WCHA site. No lives are at stake.
The comment I made is not remotely convoluted. In fact, it's quite simple.
Since upgrade, the landing page for individual threads is occupied only by the most recent post and the similar threads listing. If one was not involved in the previous dialogue, it's like jumping in on the middle of a conversation.
Look at this one from today. New info says Howie. He inspected the canoe before ......... what? To find out what the discussion is about, the reader must scroll up to the top to find out that this is a thread about cracked paint.
Landing on the end of a thread instead of at the beginning is really annoying. Back in the day we would have called it a bug (a kinder euphemism for fat fingered design) and gone after an immediate fix.
Hey, I can live with it. It's just the WCHA site. No lives are at stake.
Dan Lindberg
Ex Wood Hoarder
Well sense this came up as a "new" post for me* - and it's about the new system, is there an option to change the display, ie, colors and text size? For me it shows up as a light blue and is very hard to read.
Dan
* - I never log out, and always use the "new posts" feature, if there is nothing "new" or something that strikes my fancy, I'm on and off the site in seconds.
Dan
* - I never log out, and always use the "new posts" feature, if there is nothing "new" or something that strikes my fancy, I'm on and off the site in seconds.
Mike, I'm still unlear, but am trying to understand based on how the site operates for me and what you mean by "landing page".
First of all, your URL bookmark for the Forums here should be: https://forums.wcha.org/
If so, you will "land" on the homepage of the Forums, which is where most viewers want to land when opening a site. (One could bookmark New Posts or Latest Posts or any other sub-URL as site landing pages, either deliberately or mistakenly.)
If I am NOT logged in on this site and am on the homepage of the forum:
• The Latest Posts widget will show me the five threads that have the most recent (latest) posts. Howie's thread about "Why Paint Cracked?" is currently fourth on that list. If I click on that thread, I "land" on the latest (last) post in the thread, which is what is supposed to happen. This is what you seem to be describing, except you ascribe it as happening when you view "new posts", which is my next bullet point.
• If I press the New Posts button, I "land" on a list of 64 threads that have new (recent) posts, and that list is in reverse chronological order. Therefore, the first five threads in this list are exactly the same five threads that are in the Latest Posts widget. However, there is a difference when I click on Howie's thread: I "land" on the first post in that thread. This is what is supposed to happen because, since the system doesn't know who NOT-logged-in me is, it has no idea whether I've read any of the posts in any thread, so it takes me to the first post in every New Posts thread.
Does the site operate differently for you from what I just described for when you are NOT logged in?
If I AM logged in, clicking on New Posts will show me no list of threads if I've already read every post on the forum. Otherwise, it shows me (lands on) a customized list of threads that have posts that I have not yet read. When I click on one of those threads, I "land on" the first post in that thread I haven't yet read, which is not necessarily the first post in the thread nor the latest unread post in the thread.
Once again, Similar Threads has nothing to do with any of this. That is just a list of five threads that supposedly have content similar to the thread you are viewing (or creating), regardless of how old the threads are or whether you have read them or not.
I really don't know why a member would view the site not logged in because none of the customized features will then work, such as New Posts or Conversations or Alerts. If you don't want your online status to show up in the Members Online widget, you can do that in the privacy settings in your profile.
MGC
Scrapmaker
Dan,
If you remain logged in, the threads seem to open from the top down as one would expect them to. Logging in each time is what I would consider to be a PITA...but to each their own.
Staying logged in is an option that I avoid. If you ever spent any amount of time in Asia (and specifically China) you'd probably be more cautious. Or, of you ever worked for a company that had a keyboard monitor or email scanning, you might be more constrained. I never leave my computer logged to anything, not even a browser or Windows.
I looked through all of the settings and I do not see anything that would allow you to change the defaults.
It is possible that you could make your screen more legible by increasing the font size. Windows will allow you to do this but the simplest thing to explain is to hold the control button down while toggling the Plus sign button. That should do the trick for you.
If you remain logged in, the threads seem to open from the top down as one would expect them to. Logging in each time is what I would consider to be a PITA...but to each their own.
Staying logged in is an option that I avoid. If you ever spent any amount of time in Asia (and specifically China) you'd probably be more cautious. Or, of you ever worked for a company that had a keyboard monitor or email scanning, you might be more constrained. I never leave my computer logged to anything, not even a browser or Windows.
I looked through all of the settings and I do not see anything that would allow you to change the defaults.
It is possible that you could make your screen more legible by increasing the font size. Windows will allow you to do this but the simplest thing to explain is to hold the control button down while toggling the Plus sign button. That should do the trick for you.
MGC
Scrapmaker
Glenn, if the screen shot did not make my point, I'm not sure what else I can do to explain this to you. The landing page is any page I open. I'm not referring to the home page or the index pages.
Right now I'm on this one. I "landed" here by following this thread.
Because I was "logged in" to reply to Dan, the thread opened from the top, as it should.
I choose not to log in because unless I decide to post, it is a waste of time and keystrokes. There are no "features" I care to use unless I login.
Look at my reply to Dan for more details about that.
I don't try to hide my presence on the site when I log in.
Right now I'm on this one. I "landed" here by following this thread.
Because I was "logged in" to reply to Dan, the thread opened from the top, as it should.
I choose not to log in because unless I decide to post, it is a waste of time and keystrokes. There are no "features" I care to use unless I login.
Look at my reply to Dan for more details about that.
I don't try to hide my presence on the site when I log in.
Dan, a user can't change the Xenforo default color scheme, which has always been blue on white background. You can change font sizes via your browser or a browser add-on.
Mike, let's try just one more time if you would indulge me. I'm trying to understand whether the site operates differently for you and me when we're not logged in, which you state is your preference.
What I'm not clear on is HOW you get to the post you are viewing in a thread—say, this very post. You must have first seen the thread "Forum Upgrade to V2.2" in a list of threads before you opened the thread and landed on any particular post (first, last or otherwise).
Did you open this thread from (1) the list shown under New Posts, or (2) the list in the Latest Posts widget, or (3) the list in the "WCHA Website Suggestions" forum? That's what I want to understand.
If not logged in and I open this thread from the first or third of those lists, I land on the first post in the thread. If I open this thread from the second list, I land on the last post in the thread. Is it different for you?
To give a fuller understanding, the administrator of a Xenforo forum can change or add a different color theme, called a style. For example, if you go to my site, https://www.canoetripping.net/, and scroll to the bottom left of any page, you will see a paint brush icon called Style Chooser. Click on it and you will be presented with six different site color themes to try. Each one has some visual pluses, minuses and quirks, depending on the individual preferences of different users.
Dan Lindberg
Ex Wood Hoarder
Thanks Glenn, I guess it 's just "put up with it",
kind a like the Wooden Canoe with it's smaller text.
kind a like the Wooden Canoe with it's smaller text.
MGC
Scrapmaker
Glenn, sure. If you are game, one more try at it...I start here:
I scan latest posts and if there is one I am interested in, I open it.
This takes me to the bottom of that thread.
Dan Lindberg
Ex Wood Hoarder
Yes, I know, but then the next site will also be increased, which would then be too large.
Sense I try to spend as little time on a given site as possible, non-site specific changes are not good.
Sense I try to spend as little time on a given site as possible, non-site specific changes are not good.
