forum host / I hate this format

So maybe some of you dont frequent other forums much, but if you do you may relate.
This forum drives me nuts....not the content, the people, the crazy flash banner ad on top. It's the format of it.
The way you cant see the fist line of the thread by moving your cursor over the title, the way you cant tell what threads you've posted in, the way you have to post pictures, the way you have to re enter your screenname and so on.
Vbulletin and others are so much more user friendly.
Am i just being a baby (since b eye tch will get censored) or does anyone else hate browsing around all of this good information in such a innefficient way?
again, i love the site...just hate this format. Any future hope of change?
complainingly,
ty

(Message edited by wakeandsnow27 on April 30, 2007)

y0u are being a "b eye ch" Beggers cant be choosers.This site ROCKS..

this site rocks? really? because I didnt see where I said I love it.
Im saying the format, and asking if it will ever be changed.
p.s. now Im going to enter my screen name and password for the 3rd time in 10 minutes because Im posting a comment and the site cant remeber who I was 10 minutes ago, and because this site ROCKS. lol

the site remembers who i am.

There is supposed to be a WakeWorld Version 3.0 with an upgraded forum that should address some of your issues.

I remembers mine as well

Ty, you need to edit your profile and enable:

Preferences->Remember my username and password in a cookie

While you are at it, enable the spell checker for: innefficient and complainingly(?).

(Message edited by greatdane on April 30, 2007)

Ty- you having to re-enter your SN info is a browser issue, not site issue.

I do agree with you on the layout of the site. I hate not being able to use img tags. You'd think that Dave would LOVE to let people upload their attachments ELSEWHERE and then link them to this site...

oh well.

GD- you might wanna turn your spell check back on, too

Thanks evil....

I knew some ppl would get there panties in bunch regardless how many times I say I like the site and how good it's contents are.
GD- My preferences have that checked...maybe It's my comp.
And Inefficient had a double N, whoa there, so sorry. And complainingly is just fine. Thanks though.

Maybe you need to enable cookies. Sorry about complainingly.

i swear i didnt change anything and now that part is working. regardless, those that probably dont understand my other things dont know any different. Im just so used to VBulletin on many other forums.
t

Well, I'm not saying that this is the greatest discussion board format on earth, but it does have a lot of great features and, like any other format, you do need to learn to use it.

That being said, there will be a new version coming in 2008 that should be more powerful and more familiar to some of you that use stuff like VBulletin. However, don't expect too many bells and whistles as we rely on simplicity to keep the nonsense to a minimum and the content quality at a maximum.

I don't have a problem with the format at all. I'm a simple guy and don't need a lot out of a discussion board, format-wise. As long as I can talk to other WakeWorlders, I'm good.

I have never felt like there was a problem, I enjoy the simplicity of the site and look forward to seeing the same thing (or in 2008 an updated simplistic format).

Simple is definitely the key, but you should also allow those who want more to be able to have more.

It's so simple, even a caveman can do it....

I must say it's nice to be able to "preview" the post by hovering over the link. I find myself doing that quite often here and then grumbling when it doesn't work.

i like it how it is. i don't like change. apparently i'm one of those who just doesn't know any different. sigh!

I agree with a lot of the issues you are talking about.
1. Hovering over a thread title for a preview
2. Somehow "marking" threads that you have posted in.
3. Image posting using IMG tags

How about a couple more?

1. avatars... on other forums, I often recognize people just from their avatars
2. quote capability. I like to be able to hit a "quote" button and respond to a particular sentence.

Disclaimer: I do love this site, but I agree that there are MUCH better forum programs out there.

The one thing I don’t like on this forum is if a post has 50 or more replies I have to load the entire thread and pictures on one page. That can take a while to load especially large threads.

Other forum formats will number the pages so that way you don’t have to load the entire thread, just click on the page number you want to visit.

Love the site, content is what makes this site really good just the forum format could improve. Either way Dave does an awesome job with this site so the forum format is miniscule.

I just thought of another really nice feature...
Being able to see the forum member's post count and hometown without the need to click on their profile.

This site is called "old school" when it comes to format. I am sure there are a few people that have gotten use to MySpace.com or other Web 2.0 formats but this site has worked well for some people and has not worked out so well for others. I am sure Dave is asking for patience on the upgrade of this site and I feel we owe it to him. Change is coming.

If the new version of the site allows avatars and/or signatures please either censor them or allow an option in the user's profile to disable avatars and signatures. A lot of people browse the forums at work and it's not cool to pull up a thread that has an avatar of something that is not safe for work.

hahaha ive come to really like the way this forum works! i find myself going to other forums and getting frustrated spending more time trying to use all the features and not look stupid than i do taking in info..

SIMPLE IS BETTER!!

I don't share any of those frustrations. The only thing I disike is the picture upload, but, it's much better than it was a few years ago. We get occasional enhancements.

I guess my only complain would be the pic posting but I think I finally figured it out.


I'm kind of a fan the way it is now.

I 2nd what Richard said....SIMPLE IS BETTER!!

i also hate the way this forum works, i hate that a thread will be 100 post long and all on one page, especially if its picture heavy. and when you are at the bottom there are no links to go back you have to scroll back up to the top!

phpBB is the way to go

I think that this forum is so much easier to use. I don't post anywhere else because it seems to much work to figure out. This one was easy when I signed up.

Hey entrust clothing (entrustclothing)

Use the "home" and "end" keys to quickly get to the bottom or the top.

i guess i'm more of a wakeboard junkie than a geek. this format works perfectly for my needs. but, i've also noted how other sites completely suck. then i find myself back on WW.

a few threads with lots of pics can take a second, but i just pop open a new window. and keep browsing while it loads. pretty easy and I would rather have 1 page than 10 to go through. and it remembers who i am too. great site. Changes? if you must!

I agree, I love the format here. I can't stand the avatars, signatures, etc.

thats really easy, then leave the website.

it's funny how people say they hate this format or love that format. they may look different, but it all works the same way. to me, this forum isn't any easier or any harder.

its good and clean the way it is.

This forum rocks!!! I think this forum is what is helping to grow wakeboarding to americas favorite summer sport. rookies to advanced riders get all the information from here with no need to look anywhere else. The format doesn't make a difference. Again, this site helps progress the sport and helps wakeboarders of all types and age !!!!!!!!!!!

TJ, it's not the format they are talking about. It's the presentation of the format that I think people are frustrated with.

WHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

There sure are a lot of whiners in here.
The site is what it is.
You dont like it then go somewhere else to get your rocks off.

I am a fan of the format as well, i agree with nacho because we are all wakeboarders not computer geeks that need the latest version of WakeWorld to be happy.

Just be glad Dave does such a great job with the site and all the WakeWorlders who give so much great input for our sport.

It is entirely possible to create a site that is easy for the non-geeks to use, while still including a set of more advanced features for the computer geeks of the world.

Not that any of this changes the actual content of the site...it's just that it'll make it easier for some of us to post pictures, quote others' text, hyperlink and do a few other things that feel somewhat clunky on the current site. As long as the users keep the content good, this site will continue to kick ass. But since the layout of the site is apparently changing soon, why not improve it to include a set of features that will allow those who wanna do more advanced things to do them? If done well, the average novice user will never be affected.

Scott hit the nail on the head...twice. First, it's the users that make this forum great, not the software. Assuming I don't scare everyone off with the new version, the content will remain the same.

Second, our goal is to add features that can be turned off and on by the user based on his or her preference. I think we have a lot of that now, but we'll be taking it to another level.

I still wouldn't count on seeing things like user ratings based on post counts, avatars and other stuff that add clutter, but no value. I know I can't make everyone happy, but I think I've got a pretty good gauge on what the people want and I'll do my best to deliver.

Thanks to everyone for all the great input. It definitely helps!

ahhh, a relaxed and understanding moderator/owner is always nice. Thanks Dave.

I said it before but those that think the site is just perfect obviously want it to stay the same. Those that use other forums are the only ones relating.
I think with a change everyone will agree that the new way will be much easier if the above issues by me and many others are addressed.
I love WW but I find myelf avoiding it at times because it takes so much longer to participate here than it does on other forums.
regardless, keep doing what you do and thanks for a great place regardless.
ty

Maybe part of the redesign would be showing "experts" how to use the correct forum for their requests.

So if they had any ideas about changing the forum they'd know to post in the "Wakeworld Suggestion Box"

If this forum starting including giant avatars and 50 line sigs, such that less than 1/3 of the post was the actual post itself, then the simplicity and genius of this forum would be ruined.

ooo yeah, HATE is a pretty strong word.. if you really hated it you wouldnt be here

I like the format, it's very simple and you can actually read what people are talking about. Avatars are OK, but I like the profile pics better, then you can have a sweet shot in there and make a collage if you want etc. Avatars suck bandwidth too, this site is fast.

Maybe I missed it, but I like hotlinking photos from the web instead of uploading. I do like the uploading here as well though, maybe I missed hot to hotlink. Maybe doing both is the key.

Whatever the case, it's still the folks here that make it and thanks David for a nice place to be.

im a total geek mid fall- mid spring, and I say old skool forums totally pwn vbulletin... its too flashy and takes too long to load

Boards with avatars and custom sigs are cluttered and fully annoying. I hate waiting for a page to load because some jackass has to show off his cool sig or something. Keep it simple and informative just like it is.

my only complaint is that you have to hit post twice after replying or posting. I've forgotten this and lost a few messages that way. doh! I'm a one click kinda guy! :-)

When it boils down to it, forums are all about discussion... if ya want bells and whistles, there is always myspace. :-P

Simplicity is what makes this forum better than the rest. Here you don't have to scroll down half a page just to get to the second post...
If you want fancy crap and dancing signatures go to wakeboarder.com

Swami, check your preferences. You can turn off the Preview mode and then it's only one click.

David Williams wrote: I still wouldn't count on seeing things like user ratings based on post counts, avatars and other stuff that add clutter, but no value.

THANK YOU!

i like it the way it is as well, easy and quick to navigate, no clutter

Free is the best simple part of it all dont you think?

The knowledge and experience on this board is so vast and (free) that I would stay on this site if it was run in DOS.

My .02