Feedback about new Discourse Forums

[Pipstradamus]

I mean come on, it's just word after all.

That's your problem right there. Word is notorious for adding additional formatting and syntax, which becomes part of the the copy and paste. Perhaps you could paste the copied text to Notepad first (comes with Windows OS), or some other bare-bones word processor. I think macOS might have something called TextWrangler that provides the same "sanitizing" of text.

[Pipstradamus]

Is there a way to filter my notifications, messages, activity etc to show in ascending order instead of descending?

Sorry, I missed this. There is no option for that, unfortunately.

[o990l6mh]

Just adding my 2 cents. After trying to use the site for a bit since the update, I have to agree with many others that the lack of pagination makes it very hard to orientate yourself in threads. I also have a harder time now viewing different threads.

Usually saying it was better in the past is just memory playing tricks on you, but in this case I preferred the forum before the tech upgrade.

[anon88459104]

I think that's the general consensus - at least from the comments made by others here who have had adequate experience of the 'old' and 'new'. From a members point of view, the only issue the old layout had was the increased random bombardment of spam (health products and the likes, very strange). It's anyone's guess as to what the potential issues were back of house, but I suspect it's these issues that certainly made way for the change to Discourse. I feel BP has certainly lost it's uniqueness from an interaction point of view, which is a shame - however, times change, for better and worse.

[SimonTemplar]

Hi all,

Sorry, I posted a comment on the new layout in another thread, having missed this one. Not sure whether that is down to me or the new navigation..! (I only found this owing to the 'new posts' list on the right hand side of the main page, thank you @RISKonFX)

Anyway, as I have said elsewhere, but will repeat here as it seems to be the proper place for it. Apologies for cluttering up the forum.

1) I seriously don't get on with the lack of pages, to the point where it might be a deal breaker. Surely there should be a way of users locally editing the layout to get pages back? Each thread just being an endless mass makes things very hard to follow, I just can't easily see which threads have real momentum behind them. There are many lesser fora on the internet, which now look quite like BP in terms of not really being accessible and not really having a clear style or centre. Pagination would really help with that.

2) I really miss being able to see users' likes and post count readily. I used to learn a lot from established posters who actually trade real money. Post count and like count, when taken together, gave a good initial steer as to who was worth listening to. Now I find I can't tell a clueless trader from a good one very easily at all. So I can post what I like, but from a learning point of view I'm finding the new setup quite inaccessible.

There are many traders like me who have been on quite a long time (I joined in 2010, had thousands of posts and likes) but who come and go (I stepped away to set up a business, build a house and shepherd my last kid into full time school (Alice, 4, started this week)). When they're here, it's good to be able to spot them easily. When I can't spot them I'm stuck wading through umpteen samey threads looking to form a view on each poster's merit. It's simply too time-consuming without being able to cross-reference against a poster's past, imho.

I'm now back, but struggling to find quality posters and not liking the lack of pagination. It is giving me a wheat/chaff conundrum, and it oughtn't really to be this hard. It never used to be. I am all for a level playing field, but this is now so level that I never know whether I am passing to Messi or a clown. Sorry.

ST

[anon85101737]

The two previous posts certainly seem typical of the consensus of opinion.

I'm now back, but struggling to find quality posters and not liking the lack of pagination.

I'm newly here, but was attracted here in the first place by a quality poster (not realising that the member had already left).

It seems that almost all the quality posters (whose input seems almost impossible to find anyway, given the peculiar platform) have actually gone, I think not because of the platform but mostly for only minor variations of the reasons set out very recently in this now locked thread.

[Manxx]

Surely there should be a way of users locally editing the layout to get pages back? Each thread just being an endless mass makes things very hard to follow, I just can't easily see which threads have real momentum behind them.

It certainly is a very different approach, and can be frustrating at first, but one does get used to it (like with most changes). I guess you have noticed by now that when you revisit a thread the system does remember where you last were and returns you there and not to the start each time?

It is more difficult to find specific previous posts within a single thread, but I guess one has to evaluate how many threads there are on a BP-type forum that one actually wants to frequently refer back to earlier posts? In my experience the majority of threads here are more "living for the present" than building and forming a reference-type history. There are threads like the 3 Ducks which are surely the type that especially newcomers may wish to browse and refer back to, but maybe not so many........

I no longer have any issue with the paging on my laptop, but I do still find it clumsy on mobile.

My main concern used to be the depersonalisation of the members here. It felt like all members were stripped of their "ratings" and reduced to an anonymous blobby avatar. But I've got used to that too and, I guess, sometimes it is preferable to just be a low-profile blob!

[speed_bump]

The two previous posts certainly seem typical of the consensus of opinion

I love it.
It's fresh, modern, with fast efficient navigation & posting options.

Regards the quality posters, it's a constant churn mate.
Been the same from day one & the cycle will continue on & on.

To repeat a quote: forums are like revolving doors, constantly in motion.
Wait long enough & the next genius will appear in a cloud of enthusiastic optimism

[TradeViper]

Lidle, Lidle ??, ha we just got ours in Wake Forest, it is a bit of a drive from the Palatial VIPER Ranch And Estate, but Mrs. Viper loves it, and I find that the Chiles are fresh and hot.

Now to the rest of the Screed

As far as Trust Levels, I don't know why Social Media calls them that. If you look at the "metrics", a stupid corporate concept if I ever heard one, or shall we say "The Arbitrary Trust Level Rules", Mikey would be the most trusted poster in the whole Universe. Yup, Mr. can't trade, had no self control, blew up, "liar, liar, pants on fire", guy, would be the most trusted name in BabyPips, a guy who thought there were actually liquidity gaps in Spot Currency.

Gads, I think quality is far more important than quantity, so there you go. Don't ask me how to fix it, I am not a web guy and did not stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

Also I like "Pagination", hehhehee, I learned that word in this thread, so now it looks like I know sumpin. I find it easier to "navigate", see there, two, count um, two internet terms. But it is the way things are.

I also wish they had a nice BIG, "Back To The Home Page' button, in red with flashing lights, that way when I get a quarter of the way through Mike Ws new journal posts, and I am hemorrhaging through my ears, I can click back to the main forum page and get some relief, and live to read some more in a day or two. (Just kidding MW wherever you are).

Oh yeah, and the pin this topic feature doesn't work, so there is that also.

The Ever Disgruntled VIPER

An image of Goldman - Sachs, and the world economy, and "Doing gods Work"

[TradeViper]

Hello SR, could you translate that into Cantonese, or Purépecha, I cannot decipher the language you are speaking. It looks like some obscure dialect of English.

The Ever Multilingual VIPER

[anon85101737]

The way that's handled is just as counterproductive as everything else, here: what's allegedly "hidden" is in fact made much more prominent and tempting with a "view hidden content" link!

[TradeViper]

Did I mention the PIN feature does not function.

The Ever Mentioning VIPER

[Pipstradamus]

Did I mention the PIN feature does not function.

Hey Viper, I cover the answer in another thread for you. Check it out.

[Outsider]

I just popped in after many years absence. I have to agree, for better or worse. I think this is worse. The old system was far easier to navigate. Missing pages is a real killer.

[TradeViper]

Ok, used bookmark, it works so I can find my stuff quickly.

Thanks

The Ever Looking For Easy VIPER

[anon88459104]

Getting popup adverts on every page when using a tablet - is this expected?

[TradeViper]

Hey R, do any of them feature a snake or pentacle, I use my tablet all the time here and have no Pups. but it is a Darwinian Capitalist Lenovo miix.

The Ever Snake Like VIPER

[Pipstradamus]

That's definitely not normal. Can you confirm your operating system and web browser for me?

Thanks!

[TradeViper]

OK gurus of glitch, doctors of DOS, necromancers of net, I would like to be able to "MUTE" new threads immediately without having to open them, then scroll down, and then select "MUTE". Can anyone throw a Snake a Mouse, even a dead one.

The Ever Ignorant Of The Internet Of Things VIPER

[Pipstradamus]

Hey Viper,

What notification is it that you want to mute? There are notification settings that you can change under Preferences that might get you closer to what you're looking for. For example, you can turn off the automatic tracking of topics you enter, turn off tracking on posts that you contribute to, and turn off notifications when someone likes one of your posts. Finally, if you have Desktop Notifications enabled, those can also be turned off.

Pipstradamus