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[quote user="Will"]Now a question for the mods. Previously, any major changes to the forum were tested by the mods and admin team in a beta version before it was made live. Not all the bugs could be fixed, I recall, and once a new version was released there was still plenty of adverse reaction from many users to the changes. But this time the adverse comments cannot all be put down to conservatism and dislike of change. Why was the new version not tested in advance on a variety of different browsers, different operating systems and different computers? What could Archant hope to gain by not going through this stage?[/quote]

I'm not sure why you expect the mods to know WHY this was done the way it was done.

The mods were informed 10 days ago of a relaunch and were told nothing else.

Now you know as much as we do! [:)]

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I'm sorry to see some users are leaving, but understand their frustration.

But for my part, I'm staying. I am sure that this will be sorted out, might take time and some gnashing of teeth , but I'll stick in there.

This forum has been invaluable to me ... both before my move to France four years ago and also since then, with all the niggling little problems that you need answers to and the excellent advice I have received. And now, being a 'veteran' I've felt able to pass on some wisdom to other newbies.

So I'm hanging in there because this is a valuable source of information and also friendship. Never met you guys but feel I know some of you.

If you're thinking of leaving, please reconsider. Or take a week's break and come back ... perhaps this blip will be sorted. I do hope so.
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Hurray

OK thanks for the tips from all you other guys and gals.

 

I have now moved from not being able to post, reply, quote or open a new thread to being at least able to post.  I even openned a new account but nothing doing there either

 

For those on XP and IE8 - and no fancy roaming device - this is your "user friendly" way to post.

 

Click the compatability button to on - gives you miles of white page.

Press reply

now post a reply as normal.

Now press preview button below (top does not work)

More acres of white page but your message is there somewhere

Now either edit or post

 

This is not the way to run a railway chaps.

 

As for the mods having to apologise, I do not think they have had anything to do with this fiasco, so no apology required from me.

Indeed I would like to public thank them for making contact though back door means when nothing on the forum would work.

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I think the decision to make this look more like a blog than a forum was, perhaps, ill-advised. I'm using FF on Windows 7 and can access and post without problems. Some judicious use of Adblock plus has rid me of the flower arrangements down the sides, and most of the adverts, which has given back the "forum" feel, (personal choice, of course), but the large white spaces either side and particularly at the top are distracting, and lead to the need for increased scrolling to reach the "meat" of the forum: the posts. The RSS feed ticker thingy at the top is INCREDIBLY annoying and distracting and might just be less so if it had anything different to say, but it appears to be repeating the same two or three things ad nauseam, so if it has to remain, perhaps it might benefit from being slowed down a bit?

None of this is especially easy on the eye: perhaps a point to bear in mind remembering the demographic? I'd like to bet that the majority or readers and users are of an age where eyesight isn't what it was at 20, and stark white is quite draining...not all that condusive to sticking around for a good read.

I'm NOT change-averse. The old CF forum was looking a bit dated, and it's good IMO to refresh and change things. However, with so many parts of the package not working properly, and a lot of the remainder failing to find favour with lots of users, perhaps some amendments would help to soften the blow. Some of those amendments are, of course, essential, but some of the cosmetic ones are, I feel,  still important.

Sensible hat OFF

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[quote user="Russethouse"]Will, the mods were told that the forum would be 'moving' to make it accessible from mobile devices[/quote]Very laudable but please not at the expense of PC and laptop fixed users who I fancy outnumber them by a factor of several 100:1 !

Q: Not sure I deserved your little tirade earlier but I have a very thick skin so I won't take it personally [:D]

Just For the record though my post DID did contain POSITIVE information about the post buttons [;-)]

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For info:

I can view the forum without any white space by using Firefox 10, Firefox 11, IE9 and Safari on my iPad.

I can post a reply, add smileys and quote without any difficulty using the same except when using Safari, as above (I had the same problems with Safari before the change to the forum.)

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[quote user="woolybanana"]Well, I suppose the plus side is that I have had to discover Firefox in order to post at all but it is so small I'll need a magnifying glass to use it which is a pity.[/quote]

To enlarge the page:

press ctrl and + on your keyboard (ctrl - will decrease the page size)

if you have a mouse with a wheel, press ctrl and roll forward.

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[quote user="Russethouse"]Will,  the mods were told that the forum would be 'moving' to make it accessible from mobile devices, we were not told, and not consulted about other changes.[/quote]

And the mods are now taking the flak as a result!

I would have thought it appropriate for a member of Archant's IT team to have forewarned of the change, with a seperate thread where problems could be aired and dealt with in a more direct manner than through a third party i.e. the moderators who are obviously having the same problems!

Is it just coincidental or was this 'new' image churned out knowing that one of Archant's competitors also intends a similar revamp within the next few days?

Sorry, but I feel the answers should be coming directly from Archant.

Edit.

You will note that the 'quote' of RH's post resembles gobbledeegook. While whoever may have decided FF is the way forward, the reply function is not very compatible with Safari.

Further Edit.

It is impossible to log in using Opera.
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 [quote user="Salty Sam"]

[quote user="Russethouse"]Will,  the mods were told that the forum would be 'moving' to make it accessible from mobile devices, we were not told, and not consulted about other changes.[/quote]

And the mods are now taking the flak as a result!

I would have thought it appropriate for a member of Archant's IT team to have forewarned of the change, with a seperate thread where problems could be aired and dealt with in a more direct manner than through a third party i.e. the moderators who are obviously having the same problems!

Is it just coincidental or was this 'new' image churned out knowing that one of Archant's competitors also intends a similar revamp within the next few days?

Sorry, but I feel the answers should be coming directly from Archant.

Edit.

You will note that the 'quote' of RH's post resembles gobbledeegook. While whoever may have decided FF is the way forward, the reply function is not very compatible with Safari.[/quote]

Re Safari, I had that problem when posting from my iPad before the change, and they remain the same.

Thank you for the comment [:)]

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[quote user="Gardener"]I thought I had posted but apparently not.

Is it possible ( as it was before) to arrive directly at the forum from google without having to go through the magazine home page etc first?[/quote]

Use this link to access the Active page (I use this as a shortcut to access the forum from the bookmark toolbar):

http://services.completefrance.com/forums/completefrance/cs/forums/TopicsActive.aspx

Edit: Sorry, I see you want to access from Google; but I have never had the need to do that, as I keep the forum on my bookmark toolbar.

I suspect Google hasn't yet caught up with the new url.

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[quote user="Chrissie"]Am using XP with IEChrissie (81)

1) At 100% screen size I get the kitsch lavender view at the sides, at 125% I lose the lavender but the forum is shouting at me.[/quote]

You do not have to choose between 100% and 125% screen size you can write your own value - say 110% - in the box and your presentation size will adjust to your choice. If I am forced to use IE then this is what I do ... I find 108% fine for most pages.

Sue

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[quote user="Russethouse"]Will,  the mods were told that the forum would be 'moving' to make it accessible from mobile devices, we were not told, and not consulted about other changes.[/quote]

I think that in that case the mods are completely justified to be somewhat upset with Archant for that shabby treatment. You put in quite a lot of time and effort on the publisher's behalf, for no reward, and are left to take the flak for their IT people's cockups.

As I am involved in magazine publishing, and have experienced IT-induced problems not within my control, I have a certain amount of sympathy, but I would never leave my (mostly paid) contributors in the proverbial in that way.

Incidentally, it looks like quotes are working OK for my combination of Windows 7/Firefox 11.

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[quote user="Clair"][quote user="woolybanana"]Well, I suppose the plus side is that I have had to discover Firefox in order to post at all but it is so small I'll need a magnifying glass to use it which is a pity.[/quote]

To enlarge the page:

press ctrl and + on your keyboard (ctrl - will decrease the page size)

if you have a mouse with a wheel, press ctrl and roll forward.

[/quote]

Clair, thanks a lot for that. I now have no lavendery edges, which added to my discomfort with the colour/contrast. However, I now lose the names at the side. Better to lose the lavendery edges, though, as it lessens the giddiness.

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[quote user="NormanH"]This is what I see. Doesn't seem too dreadful

[IMG]http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh80/bfb_album/Screenshotfrom2012-03-20131044.png[/IMG]

[/quote]

Norman, for me that really is awful; the picture is very pretty and I like it a lot (it's just like that here in summer!)- just not with the forum superimposed. It's too distracting.

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[quote user="gardengirl "][quote user="Clair"][quote user="woolybanana"]Well, I suppose the plus side is that I have had to discover Firefox in order to post at all but it is so small I'll need a magnifying glass to use it which is a pity.[/quote]

To enlarge the page:

press ctrl and + on your keyboard (ctrl - will decrease the page size)

if you have a mouse with a wheel, press ctrl and roll forward.

[/quote]

Clair, thanks a lot for that. I now have no lavendery edges, which added to my discomfort with the colour/contrast. However, I now lose the names at the side. Better to lose the lavendery edges, though, as it lessens the giddiness.

[/quote]

Glad it helped...

If you use ctrl 0 (that's the zero, not the letter O), it will restore the original zoom. You can then change the zoom step be step by using ctrl + or ctrl -.

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Thanks again Clair. I've just tried adjusting the zoom via 'View' on the toolbar, and got in a right pickle; back now to too wide, but no lavendery edges! And of course, I can't read the full width of posts. But ................

Plus, I've emailled Archant - hope they've had pleny of other messages from posters outlining their main problems. I'm not aginst some change - we all have to adapt (but I do wonder who thought it a good move to alienate posters who might buy their magazines and use their advertisers) and why the changes had to be so many and so sudden - with no notice at all.

I must say that I didn't think the mods were to blame for any of this - sorry they've received some flack.

Does anyone know yet what it WAS designed to work on?

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