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Forum Update: vbulletin 4.0 (brand new version)!

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    Forum Update: vbulletin 4.0 (brand new version)!

    Hi guys,

    as you can see on the main page - we got a brand new vbulletin 4.0 (publishing suite)!

    New design + i will "activate" some brilliant features like a blog system or a complete content management system (integrated in the forum) the next year

    Happy New Year!

    Stefan

    PS: Feel free to ask anything you want to know about the new forum/features etc.!

    #2
    Hi Steve,

    Looks very good.

    Happy New Year !
    0.6180339887
    Rest In Peace, Sam!

    Comment


      #3
      coolness! it's new cookie time
      Its: Belongs to "It"
      It's: Shortened form of "It is"
      ---------------------
      Lose: Fail to keep
      Loose: Not tight

      ---------------------
      Plurals do not require apostrophes

      Comment


        #4
        A comment after some days practice :
        This forum has become significantly slow in building up the pages.
        I almost made a duplicate post, because I thought the first one didn't arrive,
        but it was a matter of waiting.
        And I think Mij had some trouble like that too, when trying to remove a post.
        0.6180339887
        Rest In Peace, Sam!

        Comment


          #5
          Possible bug/misconfiguration: the search tool doesn't look in threads older than the update date (no pun intended ); can someone else confirm?
          Last edited by MItaly; 05.01.2010, 11:28 AM.
          IrfanPaint developer
          The latest stable IrfanPaint version is the 0.4.13.70.
          IrfanPaint is now open-source (released under BSD license).

          Comment


            #6
            Yes, I can confirm that also!
            • "search function" = it's unable to find threads or single posts before vBulletin® Version 4.0.0
            • "View Forum Posts" or "Find all posts" = it's unable to find threads or single post before vBulletin® Version 4.0.0

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Sam_Zen View Post
              A comment after some days practice :
              This forum has become significantly slow in building up the pages.
              I almost made a duplicate post, because I thought the first one didn't arrive,
              but it was a matter of waiting.
              And I think Mij had some trouble like that too, when trying to remove a post.
              Originally posted by MItaly View Post
              Possible bug/misconfiguration: the search tool doesn't look in threads older than the update date (no pun intended ); can someone else confirm?
              Happy New Year everyone!

              I'll admit I like some elements of the new design, but it seems to be a step backward in many respects. Not being able to find old chronological posts is a real problem for me, since often that is how I search and remember. And what has happened to the multi-quote reply button? I used that repeatedly, and there seems to be no replacement for it.

              I would not mind at all going back to the old forum design, it was simpler, faster, easier. It almost seems like I'm forced to relearn something I already should know. Plus, the graphics looked a lot better, too (even better than other forums). For example, those new emoticons are quite ugly! Frankly, I don't see what improvement this new design is supposed to bring. It actually is more difficult to read. Until some of this is resolved, I have a feeling I probably won't be logging in too often.
              Last edited by Skippybox; 07.01.2010, 03:36 PM.

              Comment


                #8
                I like how this version looks, and it fits so comfy in my browser window (size limited to make reading easier), but there are so many things missing or mutated that I would almost trade for a horrorzontal scrollbar. Almost. Eh, it beats the heck out of some forums, so I shouldn't complain too much. But I'm a SMF fan at heart so I have to whinge.
                Its: Belongs to "It"
                It's: Shortened form of "It is"
                ---------------------
                Lose: Fail to keep
                Loose: Not tight

                ---------------------
                Plurals do not require apostrophes

                Comment


                  #9
                  Happy New Year everybody! Yess, the Forum looks reeeal cooool now! I'm yet to see first-hand the reported issues since this is my first visit in Twenty-Ten!
                  Download IrfanView Help Manual from:
                  IrfanView Website - Here
                  Sam_Zen's Website - Here
                  Author's Website - Here

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Well, I decided to take a look across the web at other user's perceptions of the new VB4. It seems the response is indeed mixed, but a lot of people are not fans of the new design. They say that it feels too much like FaceBook or other forums and consequently uninspired. Numerous posters seem to prefer the VB3 skin/style over that of the new one, and this is coming not just from users, but designers and administrators as well. In fact, some are going as far as not upgrading to VB4 just because of the new look, and also due to the poorer performance in certain areas. They find the upgrade rather useless since it is being rolled out over several versions and VB3 already runs very smoothly, whereas VB4 is still quite buggy and has no overwhelming new features.

                    Impressions

                    vB4: Are you impressed
                    VBulletin 4 is like Vista
                    What does 4.0 have over 3.8.4?

                    Even vbulletin.org (not to be confused with vbulletin.com) has not upgraded yet (still using Version 3.6.12, in fact), so maybe they know newer is not always better. What's interesting is that the preliminary shots of VB4 looked awesome when presented by the former lead developer. Sometime after that, it seems the team tried to update all the beautiful graphics and design elements that were already so attractive.

                    First Look: The vBulletin 4.0 Style

                    Even so, I still find VB3 to be a more impactful design, even if it isn't considered the most contemporary. But, unfortunately it seems the goal of the new graphics/layout was just to provide something different from the old one, instead of truly making it stunning.

                    Should I downgrade?
                    Who's not upgrading?

                    Users have said many of the things I have, pointing the poorer readability due to the cluttered layout that has less contrast with odd fonts/colors. They are hoping in the coming weeks that better themes will come out for us to pick from. If I find it bad with my great eyesight and young age, I can imagine how others must be dealing with it with handicaps. Many of the elements have been toned down to the point that they are virtually nondestinctive. For instance, the Online Indicator is so small and dull it gives so little indication. The reputation indicator is actually brighter!

                    Smilies

                    Post Links

                    Something I've discovered that is particularly annoying is the new post linking. It seems that we finally have the ability to link to posts within the context of the thread using anchors, which I have longed for. However, the improved functionality seems to be at the expense of the older way linking to a single post. IMO that is bad choice, since in many instances you want to be able to point to only a single post exclusively to avoid reader confusion or avoid loading a long or heavily graphical thread. So, both linking options should be available for times when you want to invite discussion and times when you don't want users to read irrelevent information. I've already discovered that all my single posts links are redirecting to the new way, which is awful since that is not how I wanted them presented when I created them.

                    Here's an example of one forum that uses both types - a single post link and a contextual permalink:

                    Post #5
                    Permalink

                    Replying

                    Strangely as well, the Reply to Thread button doesn't even directly take you into Advanced Reply anymore. Instead it forces you wait for the Quick Reply box to generate and then you must click Advance, which is a major time waster. Before you could choose one or the other with just one click, giving you twice the functionality. The buttons should really be renamed for clarity, but better yet, reverted to the original behavior. If people like synced buttons and defaulting to the quick reply box (which I admit is theoretically a good idea), then maybe there should be a setting in the user control panel for that. Unfortunately, I think VB4 made the mistake of making Quick Reply strictly an on/off option in the administrator options, so having different dedicated buttons like VB3 may be out of the question. I have found double-clicking (quite odd and unintuitive for a webpage!) the button (at least in Firefox) gets you to Advanced, so I suppose that works for me. Still, not all browsers probably support that, so it still is no grand solution.

                    Quote and Reply With Quote and WYSIWYG editor
                    Reply to thread button and Quick Reply

                    Internet Explorer 6 (and many other browsers, too)

                    Even if this release is all about cleaning up the underlying code, I think it is a real mishap that it performs so badly on IE6. Even though I use Firefox, IE6 is still the most popular version of IE with 20% of the browser market. It seems ridiculous to abandon support for this browser with such a large userbase, especially when VB3 looks great on it. Heres's how VB4 looks on IE6:

                    ..

                    Notice the posting date/time doesn't even appear! Nor do any of the formatting controls. Other pages have similar graphical and misalignment issues. But it seems like VB4 is giving almost all the browsers problems.

                    Wanna see just how bad vb4 is with IE6

                    Slowness

                    I have noticed that some have mentioned the slowness that you mentioned Sam_Zen, but it could just be an isolated event on the server or your browser. I use Firefox, but I haven't really noticed a real slowdown so far, though. However, I have read about some time-out issues with vBulletin and even experenced them in VB3. Sometimes the browser doesn't get informed that your post was successful and times-out. I have had that happen to me, where the preview doesn't respond correctly, and even the submission seems to not take, but in reality it has. In theory VB4 should be faster, but through more use perhaps it will prove not so.

                    Searching

                    Probably the worst problem right now is the lack of searching. What good is the forum's wealth of knowledge if user's can't find anything before 2010? Administratively, the forum needs to be re-indexed so that all the results will display.

                    Is it just me or is the search feature a huge fail?
                    Search feature not yielding results?

                    Comment


                      #11
                      The searching issue needs to be fixed. It is vital to have access to old threads to provide relevant information.
                      Before you post ... Edit your profile • IrfanView 4.62 • Windows 10 Home 19045.2486

                      Irfan PaintIrfan View HelpIrfanPaint HelpRiot.dllMore SkinsFastStone CaptureUploads

                      Comment


                        #12
                        vB4 and Opera Browser

                        I use the SHIFT+ arrow keys to navigate between links on a page. There are two issues here with the new vB version

                        1) in the main forum the RSS feed icon does not "highlight" when in focus. Only when I look at the status line I see where my focus is.

                        2) On any (sub-)forum the focus disappears when I want to move down the list of threads. Only when I move to the right, the focus is set to the "last post" icon or to the forum title link.

                        Now, I am using Opera 9.1 because of an unresolved bug in higher versions.

                        If you are using the current Opera 10.1, do you still get the same behaviour?

                        currently running 4.56 / 32 bit

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Bhikkhu Pesala
                          The searching issue needs to be fixed. It is vital to have access to old threads to provide relevant information.
                          Definitely the biggest crisis on the forum right now. If you thought users didn't search enough before, you can imagine the problems were going to get now.

                          Originally posted by jazzman View Post
                          If you are using the current Opera 10.1, do you still get the same behaviour?
                          Bhikkhu uses Opera, perhaps he knows.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            We've already had a few posts that need not have been made at all - posts that new members wrote, since their search did not reveal any existing information or posts on their keywords!

                            However, it is always time-consuming, performing an upgrade - so, Best of Luck, Steve!
                            Download IrfanView Help Manual from:
                            IrfanView Website - Here
                            Sam_Zen's Website - Here
                            Author's Website - Here

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by jazzman View Post
                              vB4 and Opera Browser

                              I use the SHIFT+ arrow keys to navigate between links on a page. There are two issues here with the new vB version

                              1) in the main forum the RSS feed icon does not "highlight" when in focus. Only when I look at the status line I see where my focus is.

                              2) On any (sub-)forum the focus disappears when I want to move down the list of threads. Only when I move to the right, the focus is set to the "last post" icon or to the forum title link.

                              Now, I am using Opera 9.1 because of an unresolved bug in higher versions.

                              If you are using the current Opera 10.1, do you still get the same behaviour?
                              I do not use Opera regularly, for it displays pages a little differently from how I design them... However, I do follow the progress of a handful of Browsers on my website, and that includes Opera, for it has a small but fierce fan following and basically, is a sound, innovative and light Browser!

                              I do not face the issues you mention - here is an Opera screenshot of this very page, where I am navigating links by using Shift and Cursor Arrows. You can clearly see that the PDF-XChange Link under Bhikkhu's post is highlighted too!
                              Attached Files
                              Last edited by WellOiledPC; 14.01.2010, 05:31 AM.
                              Download IrfanView Help Manual from:
                              IrfanView Website - Here
                              Sam_Zen's Website - Here
                              Author's Website - Here

                              Comment

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