Forum Upgrade -- POST ANY ISSUES HERE

[Dixon Cannon]

Now that I've been back on a few times, I much prefer the black to the white background. I think it was much classier, fit our 'lounge' theme and was easier on the eyes.
This new look is the same look as so many other sites. In fact it's rather dull and washed out, now that I consider it. That just my contrarian view.

-dixon cannon

 

[Mario]

I was able to Google the site earlier this evening without problems.

Yes, you're right - Google did its thing and re-indexed the site. What a relief. I'm still not too happy with the new feel of the Lounge - I have to agree with Not-Bogart13 in that it's way too glitchy for my taste. At least now I can use Google again to do a proper full text search. With major software upgrades like this, things will always need some time to settle again.

 

[Tomasso]

Google Ads

Check out the one that popped up on the right.:eusa_doh:

This is some obnoxious stuff.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Check out the one that popped up on the right.:eusa_doh:

This is some obnoxious stuff.

You'll have to tell us what it said. These ads are targeted by our IP addresses, among other things, so chances are no two people will see the same ad.

Brad

 

[Tomasso]

You'll have to tell us what it said.

Here, see for yourself.

 

[Nathan Flowers]

Here, see for yourself.

OK, I think I have that fixed. It might take a couple of hours, but it shouldn't show up again.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Any chance we could get rid of the Google ads all together?

 

[lolly_loisides]

Any chance we could get rid of the Google ads all together?

:arated:
I agree, at least the previous ads on the old version of the lounge were unobtrusive. The Google ads are really in your face, it'd be really good if you got rid of them.

 

[Mario]

Any chance we could get rid of the Google ads all together?

:arated:

 

[fluteplayer07]

Any chance we could get rid of the Google ads all together?

:arated:

This is some crazy stuff.

 

[Warbaby]

So far, I like everything about the upgrade, except for all the crap that I have to wait for while it downloads every time I go to a new page - googleanalytics, google ads, doubleclick, facebook, etc. Is all that really necessary? There are sites that I used to frequent but won't go to anymore because it sometimes takes a couple of minutes before it finishes loading garbage and lets me scroll to what I want to read. The Lounge is my favorite place on the web and I drop in every day for a little respite from work and the world. Please don't let it turn into just another tracking and metrics wank.

 

[lolly_loisides]

So far, I like everything about the upgrade, except for all the crap that I have to wait for while it downloads every time I go to a new page - googleanalytics, google ads, doubleclick, facebook, etc. Is all that really necessary? There are sites that I used to frequent but won't go to anymore because it sometimes takes a couple of minutes before it finishes loading garbage and lets me scroll to what I want to read. The Lounge is my favorite place on the web and I drop in every day for a little respite from work and the world. Please don't let it turn into just another tracking and metrics wank.

Warbaby has a point, since google ads has appeared this site is noticeably slower.

 

[Aureliano]

Warbaby has a point, since google ads has appeared this site is noticeably slower.

:arated:Sloooow.

 

[Nathan Flowers]

Ads of some sort will have to stay, as the Lounge uses ~500 GB of data a month, and bandwidth isn't free. I don't know if we'll stick with Google or not. Depends on if they actually do anything.

Right now our host shows the pages loading about 5ms faster overall than it was a month ago, but I can see it might take some time if you're on dialup. We can work on optimization.

Google analytics has been active on the site for years.

As for Facebook, I wasn't sure if we would keep it around or not, but the statistics show that members are "Liking" a lot of posts, and sharing lots of things from their accounts. Over 300 people have shared about 2000 things via the Facebook integration since we turned it on.

 

[Nathan Flowers]

Before, on my bookmarks bar the lounge's icon was the logo. Now it's some weird thing, any way of getting it back? I don't use text for the bookmarks so the image was ideal...

I'm trying to find the old favicon.

I seem to be missing the subtle differences in the colours of the icons on the left in the listing of threads. Most of them (on my monitor) are kind of rose-coloured (whether I've visited them or not), but some are more of a tangerine shade.
What would be useful to me is one colour for a thread I haven't looked at, one colour for a thread I have looked at and which has new postings, and one colour for a thread I have looked at that has no new postings since my last visit to that thread.
Also, the difference between tangerine and rose on my monitor is not as striking as I would prefer.

I absolutely agree with you, and am trying to find a new icon set that will be less ambiguous.

I've noticed that the size codes are disabled for signatures. Is this on purpose, and is there any way to remove the restriction? I like my signature to be smaller than the default size. It's more subtle that way, and separates the signature message from my username sign-off. I am very thankful that the signatures can be longer now! Thank you! Now I can fit in a message or quote that actually makes sense!

Cheers,

I'll check out size tags in signatures.

I've been trying to find a way to state my issues in a constructive and concise way. I can't. So let me say this; The new look, the new organization, the whole dang barn is a cluttered mess. Too much stuff, too busy, to glitchy, and WAY too hi-tech looking. The mood is shot right along with the smooth functionality that I used to enjoy. Any chance we can just go back to the way it used to be? You know - "Vintage Fedora Lounge."

There's no way to go completely back to the way the site was. How I have it now is just a quick approximation I worked up just to get us up and running again.

Any chance we could get rid of the Google ads all together?

Maybe, if anybody knows of another way of helping to pay for the site. We've been getting some database errors related to too many connections lately, which may mean we need to upgrade to a more robust dedicated server as well. vBulletin license, custom theme, bandwidth costs, server costs-- stuff adds up.

The only thing I'd change is the color of the text in the box when you Search This Thread. Pale grey on white field = virtually unreadable.

Are there more skins in our future? Something a little more period-styled, perhaps with serif fonts, wood/paper effects, would be nifty.

The search thing I'll try to figure out. Might take some time digging through the fonts.

Yes, we are looking at getting a new overall theme. However, a custom-designed theme runs anywhere from $500-$1500.

 

[scottyrocks]

Im having a difficult time discerning some of the emoticons' facial expressions. Is there another acceptable style available?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I am still having trouble getting the search function on the site to work properly. Every time I go to search for something, I end up just haveing to search page by page until I find the proper thread. Searching via google is no better.

 

[fluteplayer07]

Some of the indexes for Google are still confused last time I checked, but they're getting there.

There's no way to go completely back to the way the site was. How I have it now is just a quick approximation I worked up just to get us up and running again.

So does this mean the current theme is only temporary, and it will be switched again? Or this is the final version, and you're polishing it all up?

Thanks for all the work you guys are putting into this. I know it must be pretty insane.

Cheers,

 

[HungaryTom]

My only problem is that after the reform the threads got endless odysseys - since one page features 5 posts or so. It is impossible to read through longer or older threads - a difficult exercise especially for new members.

Sorry

 

[Puzzicato]

Maybe, if anybody knows of another way of helping to pay for the site. We've been getting some database errors related to too many connections lately, which may mean we need to upgrade to a more robust dedicated server as well. vBulletin license, custom theme, bandwidth costs, server costs-- stuff adds up.

Paypal donate button? I'd chuck some money into the pot, and I am sure others would too. Whether it would be enough, I don't know. I have noticed people aren't always too keen to put their money where their mouths are.