# Mommy, hold my hand.



## MissToodles (Sep 29, 2005)

Is it me or is anyone else completely confused by this new format? Guess I'm on the learning curve. 

And not to appear to be an ingrate but can we liven up the color scheme?


----------



## Webmaster (Sep 29, 2005)

MissToodles said:


> Is it me or is anyone else completely confused by this new format? Guess I'm on the learning curve.
> 
> And not to appear to be an ingrate but can we liven up the color scheme?



Any new system takes some getting used to, so yes, there is a learning curve. As for colors and such, I wanted something that isn't overwhelming. I checked out a number of themes, and picked this one because it is quick and minimal. However, I also have a couple of other themes installed and may make them available as well (as a user-selectable option).


----------



## MissToodles (Sep 29, 2005)

Thank you and a few more ideas:

Edit post option after the message has been sent to the masses.

Can the image be 20k instead of 19.5 kb?

thanks


----------



## conradb212 (Sep 29, 2005)

MissToodles said:


> Edit post option after the message has been sent to the masses.
> Can the image be 20k instead of 19.5 kb?



Users should be able to edit their posts. That option is turned on. As for avatars, they can't be larger than 80x80 pixels. Apparently there is a 19.5 or 20k file size limit. I need to go see where it is.


----------



## Ned Sonntag (Sep 29, 2005)

Ooo my swanky new Cuenca Panama... photo courtesy Dr. Acula!


----------



## Missy9579 (Sep 29, 2005)

I am very confused as well,,,,,Im not very computer savy,,,and change scares me! Im sure in time I will master this, well I hope to, but for now, im slow learning!


----------



## MissToodles (Sep 29, 2005)

I love the editing tab. hurray for editing, as you know haste makes waste especially in the realm of English langauge.


----------



## GPL (Sep 29, 2005)

I'm also confused by this new board. I don't like it and the text is so small!!
Can't it be a little bigger, so it is easier to read??

GPL.


----------



## Geepy (Sep 29, 2005)

Wow! I just got through looking around the new board and so far so good. 
I like seeing the hits on each post and all the options available. 
It will take some geting used to, but I'm sure this new board will serve 
everyones needs for a long time to come.


----------



## Egbert Souse (Sep 29, 2005)

Geepy said:


> Wow!
> 
> Testing, testing........
> _Did i just agree not to be vulgar?_
> ...


----------



## AnnMarie (Sep 29, 2005)

I am THRILLED to be here, and look forward to transitioning over to something that's more useful and resource sensitive for Mr. B. 

I'm still putting all my bells and whistles in place... but so far, so good!  

Thank you so much, Conrad, for taking the time to invest in this upgrade. I hope it works out all around for you. 

*AnnMarie without a signature yet*


----------



## wtchmel (Sep 29, 2005)

I just love the new boards. I belong to other boards, and these are very similar, it makes it so personal for the poster, Thanks for putting all the work and effort into it.


----------



## Webmaster (Sep 29, 2005)

GPL said:


> I'm also confused by this new board. I don't like it and the text is so small!! Can't it be a little bigger, so it is easier to read??


The text is a bit small. I may be able to increase it by a point or so if I figure out where to make that change. Overall, I think the thing is really just a few tweaks and settings away from being pretty good.


----------



## Egbert Souse (Sep 29, 2005)

Good work, Chief!*
The possibilities seem limitless.* 

And it is fun !


----------



## AnnMarie (Sep 29, 2005)

Webmaster said:


> The text is a bit small. I may be able to increase it by a point or so if I figure out where to make that change. Overall, I think the thing is really just a few tweaks and settings away from being pretty good.




The text is great for me... people can always adjust the text size by using the option in their browsers settings (most now have a simple drop menu option to increase or decrease). 

Thanks again, Conrad.


----------



## Wayne_Zitkus (Sep 29, 2005)

HAIL TO THE CHIEF!!!

 

The new boards look great, Conrad.


----------



## MissToodles (Sep 29, 2005)

I thought my lj icons would be small enough. All I can attach is a profile picture. I want a neat avatar.


----------



## Cat (Sep 29, 2005)

I like the new format! Thanks for the switch.

That being said, it is pretty darn sluggish right now. Any one else having troubles with the time to load pages?

Oh, also, don't bother to change the font size. It's easy enough to change, as AM said, within the browser for each individual user.


----------



## AnnMarie (Sep 29, 2005)

Cat said:


> I like the new format! Thanks for the switch.
> 
> That being said, it is pretty darn sluggish right now. Any one else having troubles with the time to load pages?
> 
> Oh, also, don't bother to change the font size. It's easy enough to change, as AM said, within the browser for each individual user.




yay, Cat is here!  

I've had a couple of sluggish times (first loading was PAINFULLY slow), but it's pretty much ok now. I think he's probably still tinkering, so I was chalking up some of the lag to that? Dunno for sure.


----------



## Webmaster (Sep 29, 2005)

Cat said:


> I like the new format! Thanks for the switch.
> 
> That being said, it is pretty darn sluggish right now. Any one else having troubles with the time to load pages?
> 
> Oh, also, don't bother to change the font size. It's easy enough to change, as AM said, within the browser for each individual user.



I am accessing it from home right now, and at least on my Linux machine it is fast. Dimensions is totally bandwidth-limited. When I access the sites inside the building everything is virtually instantaneous. My hope is that this SQL-based forum will lessen the load considerably. It's possible that your machine first needs to download all the many little graphics and such, and then it gets faster.


----------



## HeatherBBW (Sep 30, 2005)

Webmaster said:


> I am accessing it from home right now, and at least on my Linux machine it is fast. Dimensions is totally bandwidth-limited. When I access the sites inside the building everything is virtually instantaneous. My hope is that this SQL-based forum will lessen the load considerably. It's possible that your machine first needs to download all the many little graphics and such, and then it gets faster.



This seems to be correct in my case. Earlier today it was painfully slow, now it is loading way faster and smoother without lagging. So I think people just have to get their machines to get the graphics stored etc for the little add-on tidbits like smileys etc.


----------



## wtchmel (Sep 30, 2005)

Strangly enough, dimensions online in general has alwasy been a slow website for me. I have a cable modem so i'm not sure what's up with it, it's just always been the slowest place I frequent. So, no biggie, i'm used to it.


----------



## HeatherBBW (Sep 30, 2005)

wtchmel said:


> Strangly enough, dimensions online in general has alwasy been a slow website for me. I have a cable modem so i'm not sure what's up with it, it's just always been the slowest place I frequent. So, no biggie, i'm used to it.



Definitely give the board a chance to catch itself up, I have a cable modem too and it was slow for me earlier, but after much posting and visting today it is working just fine  So hang tight.


----------



## Aliena (Sep 30, 2005)

Mr. Webmaster, I really, really, love this format!! I do have one question though, is there a chance that you will be able to increase the size load for the avitars? I had to resize my pic several times to make it fit, but eventually gave up because it wouldn't or didn't look right. I did finally just link to a free webhost. 

No biggie, I know your rather busy, but was just wondering.


----------



## AJ! (Sep 30, 2005)

... and I suppose now is as good a time as any!

For anybody who still remembers me, I'm sorry I've been away for so long. It's all been for a good cause (see profile) but I've been missing my fat girls something fierce! Anyway, since this would appear to be the unofficial "Help!" thread...

I really, really, really loved the aspect of the old boards that allowed you to see threaded listings of everything on the entire bulletin board all at once, with nice little notations as to which posts were new since your last visit. It allowed you to save time by scanning the page looking for new posts, clicking upon those with interesting titles or by people whose writing you enjoyed. Er... is there any way my control panels can cause the page to be configured like that?

Also, I used to enjoy saving the occasional post as a web document but it doesn't seem as if this new board offers that option. With the threaded configuration, there is not a unique URL for each individual post, thereby making it unlikely that individual posts can be saved. With the linear configuration, it looks as though you may be able to save the entire page but not individual posts. Again... is there perhaps an option or setting that I'm missing?

Okay, as you were, everyone. Thanks for letting my speak my peace and I look forward to seeing many of my old Dimensions friends again! Oh, and Conrad, thanks as always for giving us a place to call home!


----------



## missaf (Sep 30, 2005)

AJ,

I encourage you to fiddle with your User CP, and find the settings that fit your style. You can change to the threaded view if you like! You can even click on the link up at the top of the page that says "New Posts" so you can see them all, on any forum at a quick glance.


----------



## Cheryl05 (Sep 30, 2005)

AJ, welcome back - this is going to be a learning session for all of us. Conrad has done us all a great service by iinstalling the new software. He is still tweaking it and I'm sure there will be more instructional material going forward.

There are obvious adjustmennts needed. I for one have tried to adjust my browser for a larger font size to no avail. Apparently others are having similar problems. But not all difficulties are so intractable. What you are trying to do I think can be accomplished by selecting the "hybrid" option under the "display mode" pull-down menu at the top of this screen. Another problem that I have noted is that the "archives" link to the prior boards is not yet active; there is no way to access the old boards if you don't have them bookmarked. But all such difficulties at this stage goes under the heading of "growing pains."

What we have here is a system with a great deal more flexibility (such as the ability to re-visit a message and edit it for clarity or to correct spelling errors) and hopefully less bandwidth demand than its predecessor (time will tell). Earlier tonight Conrad was playing with colored logos that have now been turned off. Its a "work in progress" and a month from now will likely be far different than now.


----------



## Cheryl05 (Sep 30, 2005)

Conrad was playing last night with some color that tied in thematically with the rest of the Dimensions site. It was brighter than the blue and white defauilt standard and had unique fonts. It wasn't garish but in my opinion looked better than what is here right now. Personally I would appreciate larger font size so that I don't have to focus so much to read (I wear thick glasses already). But we probably all have different preferences.


----------



## conradb212 (Sep 30, 2005)

wtchmel said:


> Strangly enough, dimensions online in general has alwasy been a slow website for me. I have a cable modem so i'm not sure what's up with it, it's just always been the slowest place I frequent. So, no biggie, i'm used to it.



What's up is that we don't have enough bandwidth. The DImensions server has pretty powerful hardware that is plenty fast enough to handle the load. Inside the building where the server is, everything is very fast. From outside, all traffic has to go through that thin pipe (the quivalent of a T1) and that slows things down, often a lot. I've been trying to buy more bandwidth, but our (small) ISP, which is located in the same building, has long term contracts with SBC and they're paying a high price as well. I'll keep trying. 



AJ! said:


> For anybody who still remembers me, I'm sorry I've been away for so long. It's all been for a good cause (see profile) but I've been missing my fat girls something fierce! Anyway, since this would appear to be the unofficial "Help!" thread... etc



How could anyone forget you...?  Anyway, I totally agree with your assessment. That is why I kept the old WebBBS for as long as I have. But overall it was such a resource hog and so limited in its capabilities that I simply had to put it out to pastures. There is one thing you can do, and that is subscribe to threads you're interested in. The system will then automatically email you each new post. You can then peruse it and ditch it, or save it if it's a keeper. Overall, the more you'll use this software, the more you'll like it. At least, that's what's happened to me.



Aliena said:


> Mr. Webmaster, I really, really, love this format!! I do have one question though, is there a chance that you will be able to increase the size load for the avitars? I had to resize my pic several times to make it fit, but eventually gave up because it wouldn't or didn't look right. I did finally just link to a free webhost.


The problem here is that there are so many admin options that it sometimes takes me ten minutes just to find a setting.... And then I have to make decisions that I am unsure of. With avatars, for example, I have a choice of handling them from the database or moving them into the file system. Huh? As is, avatars have a max size of 80x80 pixels and 20k. That generally means a pic must be saved as a gif. Which often means a lovely pic ends up looking like crap (mine does). A few possible solutions are to a) increase file size, but that means slower loads, b) see if I can find some sort of automatic thumbnail/avatar creation program, or c) rely on helpful advice and assistance from nice people like Heather.


----------



## Boteroesque Babe (Sep 30, 2005)

Since this seems to be the whaddya-think thread, I'll use it to say it looks like a smooth move, Mr. B. And since you've asked for our impressions:

I'll second the suggestions that we individually control our titles, rather than everyone being a "junior member," etc. It's a concise yet uniform way to further personalize one's posts.

I also like the idea of allowing different settings for different boards, so the paysite ladies can put a URL in their signature without risk of accidentally forgetting to disable it when posting on other boards. 

I think offering alternate skins as an option is brilliant, as color tastes are highly subjective. The current colors make the boards very easy to read, but I do miss the warm scheme of the old Weight Board. Options are good.

Except for the "edit" option on posts. I hate that idea. But I'm sure I'm in the minority on that one.

And I had a thought. Might it be possible to add an "also known as" line to the profile template? I've noticed a lot of folks saying the new board software is prompting them to change names, and many of us used to be someone else. An AKA line on the profile would be a helpful reference for those of us who can barely remember current names, much less who used to be whom. 

It'll also encourage trolls to come clean about the many names under which they post.

Kidding!

Definitely gonna take some time to get used to the new look, but this morning I'm finding myself actually _reading_ the board. That's unusual for me. I'm the sort that looks in regularly, but doesn't often open any posts. With the new format, it still kinda takes a lot to get me to open a thread (that roll-over feature for the opening post is great), but once I'm in, I'm more inclined than before to read all the posts.

Haven't yet tried to embed a photo, or play with hybrid and threaded modes. And I'm looking forward to finding out what that little reputation knob thingy means.

Nice job, Chief. Thanks.

PS: Hurray for italics!


----------



## conradb212 (Sep 30, 2005)

Boteroesque Babe said:


> I'll second the suggestions that we individually control our titles, rather than everyone being a "junior member," etc. It's a concise yet uniform way to further personalize one's posts.


I basically agree. My sole concern is the potential for abuse. On some other boards I've seen people pick highly inappropriate labels which provoke strive, arguments, complaints. I know that's looking at the negative side. Perhaps I'll give it a try or use a poll on that.



Boteroesque Babe said:


> I also like the idea of allowing different settings for different boards, so the paysite ladies can put a URL in their signature without risk of accidentally forgetting to disable it when posting on other boards.


I am not sure yet if that can be done. It may be buried in some of the thousands of settings. I'll keep looking! 



Boteroesque Babe said:


> I think offering alternate skins as an option is brilliant, as color tastes are highly subjective. The current colors make the boards very easy to read, but I do miss the warm scheme of the old Weight Board. Options are good.


I actually searched far and wide for an appropriate skin/theme. The default look a bit too contrasty and cluttered, with graphics that were too large. There is a third party market for vBulletin skins, and they usually cost about $30. I bought two so far. This one because it's lean and quite clear, and a funky "gothic" one where all text is on a big parchment scroll and such. I played with them and fear that downloading different themes may slow things down. I can, however, make different themes user-selectable. If we're not hitting the bandwidth wall to hard, I may make some available. Ops, I think, have that option anyway.



Boteroesque Babe said:


> Except for the "edit" option on posts. I hate that idea. But I'm sure I'm in the minority on that one.


I actually like that, because I often bang out a post and then see embarrassing typos and inaccuracies. So I appreciate that I can fix them.



Boteroesque Babe said:


> And I had a thought. Might it be possible to add an "also known as" line to the profile template? I've noticed a lot of folks saying the new board software is prompting them to change names, and many of us used to be someone else. An AKA line on the profile would be a helpful reference for those of us who can barely remember current names, much less who used to be whom.


Not sure if that is possible. The new software shou;dn't ask anyone to change names as it is totally unrelated to the old software. So if someone was "enormous_cutie" on the old boards, she could pick the same moniker here.



Boteroesque Babe said:


> Definitely gonna take some time to get used to the new look, but this morning I'm finding myself actually _reading_ the board. That's unusual for me. I'm the sort that looks in regularly, but doesn't often open any posts. With the new format, it still kinda takes a lot to get me to open a thread (that roll-over feature for the opening post is great), but once I'm in, I'm more inclined than before to read all the posts.


I find that reading and answering posts becomes less of a conforntational thing. The whole format is less in-your-face, which means people will probably be more likely to state their real feelings. There can be "local" discussions within threads that won't immediately attract the attention of everyone.

Conrad


----------



## Boteroesque Babe (Sep 30, 2005)

conradb212 said:


> The new software shou;dn't ask anyone to change names as it is totally unrelated to the old software. So if someone was "enormous_cutie" on the old boards, she could pick the same moniker here.
> 
> Conrad



I didn't mean to suggest the software itself is prompting people to change their names (though that's exactly what I said). What I mean to say is that I've noticed people saying they're changing their names as they're setting up new profiles. Starting anew is noodging them into using that new moniker they'd had their eye on.

I guess if they want people to know who they used to be, they can put it in their biography.


----------



## Cat (Sep 30, 2005)

AnnMarie said:


> yay, Cat is here!



Thanks, AM. Always a pleasure see ya! You rock!


----------



## Tina (Sep 30, 2005)

For the same reasons as you, Conrad, I love the option to edit. The bad thing about it is if someone decides to leave and wants to delete their posts, it can sometimes be a problem, but all in all, I think it's well worth it.


----------



## Cat (Sep 30, 2005)

Ok, Conrad, how can I quote more than one person? You seem to be doing it with ease!
Thanks!

OH, and by the way, the board is loading a wee bit faster today.


----------



## Tina (Sep 30, 2005)

Cat, I'd copy the text, do a :quote: and :/quote: front and back of each one -- replacing the :colons with [ brackets ].


----------



## SoVerySoft (Sep 30, 2005)

AJ! said:


> ... I really, really, really loved the aspect of the old boards that allowed you to see threaded listings of everything on the entire bulletin board all at once, with nice little notations as to which posts were new since your last visit....



Hey AJ!! You don't even have to enter the thread to know if something is new - the threads with new posts since your last visit will be bold, and you can click the little down arrow to the left of the thread subject to have it take you to the first new post in the thread since your last visit



AJ! said:


> ... Also, I used to enjoy saving the occasional post as a web document but it doesn't seem as if this new board offers that option. With the threaded configuration, there is not a unique URL for each individual post, thereby making it unlikely that individual posts can be saved. With the linear configuration, it looks as though you may be able to save the entire page but not individual posts. Again... is there perhaps an option or setting that I'm missing?



Actually each post _does_ have it's own URL. See the little number in the upper right corner of each post? If you right click you can get the URL of that post, or you can click on it, and it takes you to that post and you can snag the URL from your browser's address line.

Good to see ya AJ!!


----------



## Webmaster (Sep 30, 2005)

Cat said:


> Ok, Conrad, how can I quote more than one person? You seem to be doing it with ease!



Manually. You just enclose whatever you want to quote in bracket-quote-bracket and bracket-slash-quote-bracket.



> OH, and by the way, the board is loading a wee bit faster today.



I am monitoring server load. The machine itself isn't even breathing hard, it's all bandwidth-related. In a few days I'll close the old boards entirely, so that load will be gone.


----------



## TallFatSue (Sep 30, 2005)

Cat said:


> Ok, Conrad, how can I quote more than one person? You seem to be doing it with ease!





Webmaster said:


> Manually. You just enclose whatever you want to quote in bracket-quote-bracket and bracket-slash-quote-bracket.


Hey, it worked! The Preview Post button sure is handy too. Yep, I'm getting the hang of this new software. Like anything worthwhile in life, it sometimes takes patience and perseverence. I'm trying to take baby steps, which isn't easy with my big feet.  

No need to change the font size or color scheme; I see that I can change the options to suit myself. I work on computers all day, so I like stuff that's easy on the eyes. One forum I briefly tried had a garish color scheme that almost made me crosseyed. Besides, the participants can liven up the board just fine with their friendly discussions. As my engineer husband says: keep it simple and reliable.


----------



## blueeyedevie (Oct 1, 2005)

speaking of nice people dose someone who is extremly nice think they could post , how exactly to do the avators.. Or rather how to make them / or where to get them from???


The problem here is that there are so many admin options that it sometimes takes me ten minutes just to find a setting.... And then I have to make decisions that I am unsure of. With avatars, for example, I have a choice of handling them from the database or moving them into the file system. Huh? As is, avatars have a max size of 80x80 pixels and 20k. That generally means a pic must be saved as a gif. Which often means a lovely pic ends up looking like crap (mine does). A few possible solutions are to a) increase file size, but that means slower loads, b) see if I can find some sort of automatic thumbnail/avatar creation program, or c) rely on helpful advice and assistance from nice people like Heather.[/QUOTE]


----------



## jonah-uk (Oct 1, 2005)

basically you need to resize a picture so that the height and width are no greater than 80 pixels. if it's a photograph (or something you've scanned) save it as a JPEG (.jpg), adjusting the picture quality until the file is under 20K in size. if it's clipart or other computer graphics save it as a GIF (.gif). you might want to use the selection tool to select just a small area of a picture (e.g. just the face).

i hope that makes some sense - afraid i can't really recommend any software, but imagine someone else will have some good suggestions. i use this: http://www.gimp.org/ which is free, but probably only for geeks!

i've attached the photo from your profile, resized to fit the avatar requirements, if that helps 

View attachment evie_avatar.jpg


----------



## Cat (Oct 1, 2005)

Tina said:


> Cat, I'd copy the text, do a :quote: and :/quote: front and back of each one -- replacing the :colons with [ brackets ].



Thanks Tina/Conrad. I was hoping for an easier way than messin' with codes. Dreamin'??


----------



## jonah-uk (Oct 1, 2005)

another forum i look at has a nice feature - you can select all the posts you want to quote in your reply before pressing the reply button. i guess it might be added to VBulletin at some point in the future...


----------



## ThatFatGirl (Oct 1, 2005)

MissToodles said:


> I thought my lj icons would be small enough. All I can attach is a profile picture. I want a neat avatar.




Miss T, If you want to email me a photo or two, I can adjust the size to fit 80 x 80 in Photoshop. [email protected].


----------



## eljay (Oct 1, 2005)

Does Adobe's Imageready do this sort of thing -resize etc?


----------

