Feedback about new Discourse Forums

We appreciate that this move is a huge change for everyone. We’ve worked really hard to make it as easy as possible, but we know there will be plenty of things that you want to discuss. Please use this thread to voice your questions, concerns and feedback, but please make it constructive.

Thanks!

Some of the link in the forums is not working. When click it shows the page doesn’t exist or is private.

Can you provide me a URL to an example link that I can review?

Thanks!

Most of the link post by the author inside this forum cannot be access.
Example:

Hello Pipstradamus,

I am happy with first impressions in terms of navigability (especially on a mobile device) and look; the only issue is that, as a frequent user of longer threads, the lack of separate page buttons makes the scrolling up and down a laborious process.

Another question: Is there any way to split long threads? The problem also is the lack of a URL for separate pages: I like to refer people to specific URLs for a page within a thread, whereas with the continuous scroll mode this is impossible as far as i can see.

Thanks!

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Ps: another thing that is no longer visible is who last posted to a thread, its rating, etc.

Pps: not that we need some kind of ‘status’ but are we doing away with the Senior Member, Master Contributor, FX-(Wo)Men Honorary Member labels next to members’ names, and if so why?

How do I get the page option? I was reading a thread, was at page 27. Now there’s no pages, just one really long page.
Thanks

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Will be hard to get used to, hopefully now it will be possible to post images that can actually be seen?>

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I also asked the same - seems we are all starting on a level playing field, once again. Kind of annoying as a good handful of us invested quite a lot of time in the previous version.

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Thanks @zw1220. This is a bug that we’re actively working. We’ll update you once it’s resolved.

Hello @PipMeHappy. Thanks for the comments. Regarding your feedback,[quote=“PipMeHappy, post:5, topic:104670”]
as a frequent user of longer threads, the lack of separate page buttons makes the scrolling up and down a laborious proces
[/quote]

The “pageless” pages, or lack of pagination, is a thing call infinite scroll. It’s purpose is to actually make viewing less laborious, with less clicking need to move to more posts. We think it’s pretty smooth, but can understand that for some, especially if you don’t have a scroll wheel on your mouse, it could make things harder. But infinite scroll is here to stay. Did you happen to try the timeline feature to the left of the replies? The green bar can be moved up and down to move you from the top of the thread to the bottom. Perhaps this will make your navigation through the thread a bit easier. Please try that out, and let me know what you think.

This is still possible. Simply click the Sharing icon at the bottom of any post/reply. The resulting URL will take you directly to that post position in the topic(thread)

Notice the end of the sharing URL. It’s appended with the post number.

We’re pretty excited about the notification system in Discourse, that allows you to follow users (@username), changes to topics (threads), mentions of your username or replies to your posts. It’s a departure from showing who last posted, but that information could change so quickly, that the value is short-lived. Regarding topic (thread) ratings, this is something we’re looking into. It wasn’t an available feature out-of-the-box, but we do feel it’s extremely helpful in identifying helpful and informative topics. We’re looking to bring this back.[quote=“PipMeHappy, post:7, topic:104670, full:true”]
Pps: not that we need some kind of ‘status’ but are we doing away with the Senior Member, Master Contributor, FX-(Wo)Men Honorary Member labels next to members’ names, and if so why?
[/quote]

Ah yes, status. It’s something we’re hearing a lot about already, And we knew we would. On the issue of titles, no there are not gone. We’re ironing out some bugs in how those transferred over, and looking at how to best integrate them going forward. We still know who is who, and we’re looking for the best way to honor past contributions, but do it in a way that works well with the new platform, Discourse, and how contribution, engagement and other’s value of your contributions are handled. In the past, on vBulletin, any promotion or elevation of rights and status was simply based on post count. The more you posted, the further along you moved in our “promotion ladder”, opening up a handful of abilities. There have been some good discussions about why that method might or might not be the best way to represent someone as having more experience or more valuable contributions to the community than someone else,at least from a beginner trader’s perspective. But that method definitely helps to add a metric to a member’s contribution over time, which we think is valuable (and can still be seen from a member’s profile page.by all). So titles are in the works and they’re work in conjunction with Trust Levels, which are at the heart of the Discourse discussion platform. I hope that helps explain some things.

Hello @PipsDearth. If by page option, you mean the old way of displaying that a thread has multiple pages worth of posts, that is no longer available. The thread simply scrolls down on a single page, whether there’s 10 posts or 100.

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We decided on a middle-of-the-road approach when it came to moving users over to the new system. Starting from scratch would mean putting all users ast Trust Level 0 (TL0), like a brand new user would be. We didn’t do this. Based on your previous contributions, you were added to the appropriate TL and already given, on day 1 of the new platform, access to advanced abilities like messaging, uploading and sharing images and files, and posting links in topics and replies and in you reply. As for contributions of the past, including your past post count, that is still visible on your profile page. We’re also hoping to bring over the likes given and likes received from vBulletin, but that’s still early. We’re looking to use the Badges system more to highlight milestones reached and actions performed by our community, as well as to give credit to where credit is due. While member titles aren’t fully implemented yet, we think there are plenty of other visual cues that will help members distinguish another member’s contributions. Thanks for the feedback.

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Thank you Pipstradamus, for this and your other replies.

I have tried the green bar to navigate but personally I like the separation of pages on threads - other forums I use have this system too, so it is what seems the norm.

I understand the badge system, a bit like for TripAdvisor reviews…I suppose a qualitative system will be more time consuming to administer while a quantitative one (e.g. post count) would be more easily automated.

Thank you for the URL share function tip, I did not see that.

I think people like Lexy and me (and others who have been here longer) feel that we should have earned some sort of website loyalty and that instead we are just a number…our threads are never stickied, the forum member interviews.by Ananais stopped being done long ago, and there is never an admin member ‘thank you’ for all the effort.

While the updates on the forum look great, it is sad that people who try to be here longer face a thankless task, a sort of ‘be here if you want but if you want to go nobody is stopping you’… What would it take to publicly value such contributors? I am not talking about post count or length of subscription: some newer arrivals have a lot of skin in the game (e.g. tried trading for years) and add some tremendous value in sharing their stories or systems. Why not make them feel like they are part of something special?

I know that the Badge system may try to do this, but let us say someone got all the badges (similarly to the FX-Men Honorary Member status): what next for them?

I think Lexy was right: this site does not do nearly enough to keep people around for the long term.

I feel I should say this because it shows one of the fundamental weaknesses in the management of this 400000-strong online community. While the School is great, I think the constant churning of new members and the lack of valuing ‘seasoned’ ones makes it less likely thay newbies can ever find experienced members to ask questions to…Given that the average forex trader can take at least four or five years to figure out a profitable trading method, would it not be good to keep those people interested in Babypips so that they would stay on and be featured when success came their way?

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As someone who’s been around here substantially longer than both you and Lexy, I have to disagree to some extent.

Sure, it’s always nice to get some recognition for your effort and the quality you provide.
But then again, being here should be something that you want, not something you do expecting to be thanked by the site owner/admins.

I’m not around much anymore, but that’s what happens to almost everyone here, some sooner and some later.

Most disappear because they lose interest or money, or both. But some disappear as they progress in trading and find that they’ve gotten all they could out of Babypips.

I’m kind of like that, but I’ll never forget where I started and that’s why I keep checking in every now and again.

So my point is, being around for the long term really is up to you and you alone.

Me, I’ve been here since late 2008… time flies huh!

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I totally respect that view too! It’s just a forum after all and there is no obligation to stay…as you say, most people get what they need out of BP forums and then leave, so it serves that function well. Still, i cannot help how I feel, so there you go! C’est la vie!

Ps: I don’t expect thank yous and hugs, but the odd one would not hurt!

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Don’t be too despondent. Let the dust settle first and see how things work out. You are already one of the most widely recognised and appreciated posted here and that won’t change. Sleep on it and see how the inevitable modifications start to unfold…:sunglasses:

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Guess so…thanks, Manxx.

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i like the forum now looks good to me :lollipop::tongue::peach:

How can I see which threads I have contributed to?