Storm Australian Severe Weather Forum
Want to Join or provide feedback? => Instructions to join, feedback and notices => Topic started by: Jimmy Deguara on 03 February 2009, 09:24:16 AM
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In the past day or so (1st February 2009), we have been experimenting with a new theme for the website consistent with the website. We apologise for the inconvenience since the updates were done live. Anyway, it seems like everything is back to normal but your feedback is appreciated.
Regards,
Australian Severe Weather Team
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Hi Jimmy,
The new scheme is looking okay so far. It's definitely easier on the eyes!
Would there be a way to possibly blend the header image into the full width at all? I'm using a widescreen monitor and it tends to make it look a little small and lonely lol ;)
I look forward to seeing any further changes/colour schemes that may evolve.
Kindest regards,
Shauno
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I am not sure if it is at all possible to cater for all screen resolutions. I am aware of that but it would probably require a special add on.
Also take into account that most members see this:
http://www.australiasevereweather.com.au/australian_storm_chasing.html
as compared to this:
http://www.australiasevereweather.com/forum/index.php
This makes it a touch more complicated again.
There was a rotating banner concept that possibly could work but that I have to try first.
Regards,
Jimmy Deguara
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you done an excellent job, it is a lot easier on my eye's, I am still finding my way around things, can/will do a bit from now on,
take care Ursula
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I like this theme a lot more than the old one, it also seems to load faster for me.
I agree that you have done a great job. Thank you.
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I'm afraid I have to disagree. While it looks nice as I get older I find reading light coloured text on a dark background a lot harder than dark text on a light background. Yes, I probably need reading glasses.
An example is that if I am trying to read cooking instructions on something these days printed in white on colour I have to take it somewhere the light is really good, preferabbly outside if the sun is still up.
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Although not new, it is probably important for most to know a particular feature that could get annoying. A new feature inserted a few months ago was the news section. When news is hot, many topics of news are added per day. This means there are many 'new topics' for members to sift through. If you have little time to deal with these topics, simply only read the new topics you wish and then in the "Unread" topics option, click the "Mark All Messages as Read" tab. This will clear the rest of the messages you wish to clear from the unread items. I hope this helps.
Jimmy Deguara
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Hi everyone,
As you can see, a new template design has been implemented but there are still a lot of quirks that need to be addressed. During this time, I will be working to correct many of them and getting some of the additional functionality working again. This might cause hassles but it shouldn't directly affect the way members try to post or access the forum.
Both Jimmy & Michael have longed to have the forum looking as uniform and consistent with the rest of the site, but of course due to time constraints, they were often not able to make the changes themselves, hence why I come in to help them achieve this goal.
One aspect that needed special attention was the multiple attachments bug. If you attach weather photos, chances are you might have more than one you would've liked to attach but couldn't as the screen would go blank. Although there was a workaround, it was still very annoying and needed to be fixed. It now has and members can attach as many photos as the forum permits.
I'd like to hear your feedback as it is crucial.
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One problem I have incurred while writing a post is that the parameters of the reply box fall outside that of the web page, as you are writing ,the right hand side of the post disappears from sight and it is not until a preview is performed that you are able to see what errors you may have made. Once returning from preview to rectify any mistakes you once again are typing blindly.
The whole Webb page does not seem to be centered and is drifting to the right of the monitor. I have checked this on all three computers I am running and all have the same problem, I thought this may be an issue on my side.
This may already have been one of the issues you are trying to resolve, but thought it was better just to mention it.
Thanks
Col
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Interesting Col. Although I haven't been able to reproduce the rendering bug, it must be a browser specific thing as different browsers render web pages a bit differently. Are you using Internet Explorer by any chance?
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No, I am using Firefox but I will swap over and check internet explorer. If no one else is having the problem it is something with my server . I'll check it out.
Thanks
Col
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Thanks Steven, I have tracked down what seems to be a glitch in my system. It seems to be on my side and I should have it fixed shortly. Everything was working fine in the morning then with the afternoon log on that co coincided with your upgrade of the forum, produced a fault, it only seems to be highlighted on this forum.
PS. ran both internet explorer and Firefox, same problem, so it is not the browsers.
Thanks again
col
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Well done on the new layout!
Looks clean and simple to follow.
I thought I was on a different forum yesterday when I logged in for the first time after being away for a few weeks lol.
I still get the weird yellow diamond shapes with a question mark inside, alongside the emoticon name using firefox above the reply/text box however.
Other than that it's tops!
Take care,
Shauno
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Glad you're liking the new theme Shaun. :)
In regards to the smilies not displaying properly because of the funny characters, yeah it's an issue related to the database. It doesn't appear to be easily fixed, but on the upside I have mitigated problem (by editing the settings), so the smilies should be working (for the first time I think).
Col,
Also glad I could help, even if I didn't fully understand your problem. It seems all too common that client side server networks cause problems as they cache frequently accessed content (to save bandwidth that is).
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Hi all.
I do like the fresh new look also. I have the same problem as Col with typing replies..
it's too far to the right hand side...I can type away madly and see the words disappear into thin air..
hence why my sentences are shorter ! I had the same problem with the older version of the forum of late
i found I had to scroll down all the time to locate the slide bar to move the page to the left..now I don't have a
slide bar to do that. I think it's called 'proportion constraint' isn't it when this happens?
I have a large monitor so that's not an issue, but have found it to be so even on the work computer using either
Firefox or Explorer.
On a positive note...the grey is nice and everything looks clean and well spaced, a lot less color sometimes
is a good thing. You guys seem to have reverted back to what is a standard design with most forums now?
Thanks for you efforts. It's not a quick or easy fix by any stretch - but in a nutshell apart from the screen issue
I do like it.
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You too Mike? It looks as if you'll need to figure out a workaround.
I suggest to type your post in a word processor and copy it over to the post box so you don't lose track of where you're going. That's about the best advice I can give you.
As for the design. It's all about aesthetics as far as I'm concerned. People hate busy and crowded looking interfaces, and this is one of the things I want to set straight when working on the design.
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Mike,
That issue which I think you are referring to may be related to the latest version of internet explorer 8. I cannot the bottom line once it is longer than normal - very annoying - it keeps boucing back to the top. There may be some settings in ie8 perhaps that may reset this or perhaps some override that Steve may have to look for to deal with in the forum. It is definitely not the new layout that does this.
Regards,
Jimmy Deguara
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G'day Steve and all
I have reset all computers, 2 work fine on the forum while one of the laptops (less than 2 years old) still persist with the problem. I did a full recovery on it and restored it to original factory settings. I have run Firefox and I still have the problem of the reply box being too far to the right and losing text as you type. The laptop in question will not support this sight on internet explorer, the page layout is a mess and very difficult to navigate.
Mike,
That issue which I think you are referring to may be related to the latest version of internet explorer 8. I cannot the bottom line once it is longer than normal - very annoying - it keeps boucing back to the top. There may be some settings in ie8 perhaps that may reset this or perhaps some override that Steve may have to look for to deal with in the forum. It is definitely not the new layout that does this.
Regards,
Jimmy Deguara
I did not have this problem before the sight upgrade. In saying that, I am in no way blaming the upgrade, it could just be an absolute coincidence that this has happened at the same time.I will continue to investigate dipper into my side of the issue to see if there is a resolve. The reason for mentioning this matter again is just in case there may be a glitch somewhere on the forum. I have no issues with any other Webb page, and I visit many every day.
Now for the good news: the sight looks absolutely brilliant and very professional, it is a job well done. All should be proud of an excellent forum here.
Cheers
Col
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The matter of the screen disappearing whilst I type is of no real headache to me...i used to be a court transcript typist so I just keep typing untilt he words reappear in the box!! (like just now!). Like I said, excellent upgrades guys...kudos to all your hard work.
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Is anybody else having a log in error occur as they return to the forum? When I return to the site after a morning session or later through out the day , I have to log out then log back in, the password fails on the first prompt and I have retype the password the second time. I have set the page to "always stay logged in" but it always returns the error on the next visit. Just cant seem to solve this one and was wondering if I am the only one.
Cheers
Col
Edit: I left the site for 2 minutes and had the same error
An Error Has Occurred!
Session verification failed. Please try logging out and back in again, and then try again.
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I've seen the error but in my experience, it has been rare, especially on this forum.
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It is continually happening, trying to see what the cause is
Thanks Steven. I seemed to have developed a load page error, so I opened the forum from the http address, logged in, deleted the old bookmark and then created a new bookmark page on Firefox and it seems to have solved the issue. Just unfortunately, in all seriousness, this is the only forum I have problems with, but there is always a way around it and I end up laughing at the end of the day. Its all cool :cool:
Cheers
Col
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Col I'm also running Firefox (think mines the older kitty version..) and I have had a similar fault.
If I enter via the rest of the ASW site and click on the Severe Weather Forum Tab, the quick login on that page always comes up with a "You have not entered a password" error no matter what I do or how I get to that page. I have to click on the Login Tab on the same page and use that login which works fine. I just bookmarked that login tab page and it's all good. ( the quirk only appeared after the latest fourm update)
Cheers,
Paul
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Col I'm also running Firefox (think mines the older kitty version..) and I have had a similar fault.
If I enter via the rest of the ASW site and click on the Severe Weather Forum Tab, the quick login on that page always comes up with a "You have not entered a password" error no matter what I do or how I get to that page. I have to click on the Login Tab on the same page and use that login which works fine. I just bookmarked that login tab page and it's all good. ( the quirk only appeared after the latest fourm update)
Cheers,
Paul
Hi Paul,
The fault that you speak of happens because your log in details aren't being filled out automatically like they are on the 'full' log in page (your browser automatically does this if you log in more than once). A workaround is to manually re-enter your username and password, then log in. It is something I'm working on along with a tonne of other updates that are bogging me down at the moment. I do apologise for the inconveniences.
Hey Col, you still having that Session Verification error?
Regards
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Hi Steven
I have solved that problem, as I posted before, I entered the site via www. and logged in, I deleted the old bookmark in firefox and set up a new bookmark. It works fine for the time being.
Still have problems with Internet explorer on this forum so I just don't bother using it.
The log in error that Paul spoke about happens no matter which way you try, either by entering your username and allowing it to automatically load your password, or by filling both in manually. Either way, it will always take you to a error page and you have to resubmit your username and password.
The Gremlins are hiding somewhere ;D. Pesty little mongrels,they will be destroyed. :afro:
As I said before, there are ways around for the time being .
Cheers
Col
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Hi Col,
Still have problems with Internet explorer on this forum so I just don't bother using it.
Versions older than Explorer 8 have trouble rendering websites that adhere to web standards. Not that IE was ever built to comply like every other browser out there was, but Microsoft has been forced to change their ways so it should get better with 8 and 9.
The log in error that Paul spoke about happens no matter which way you try, either by entering your username and allowing it to automatically load your password, or by filling both in manually. Either way, it will always take you to a error page and you have to resubmit your username and password.
You're not wrong there, I just tried logging in via the top and I got the error, which is funny because it appeared to be working when I tested it a few weeks ago. Thanks for letting me know about this.
Regards
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G'day Steve'
Your welcome. This is just such a good forum and if everyone can provide needed feedback to help iron out the few bugs that are left it would be excellent. Yourself, MB, JD are doing a great job and it is appreciated.
Thanks
Col
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By reverting back to some of the older format it has ironed out most of the problems I was having. It is now back to normal with Internet explorer.
Well done.
Col