Looks like for some reason, over the VBulletin issue, the forum’s given itself a problem which other trading forums don’t have.
It’s not just this problem, tho, is it? It’s part of a wider issue here. So many have moved on that it’s become self-fulfilling that that’s what others do, too.
[quote=“Ingot54, post:20, topic:105561”]It may nave been easier to take members along with you on the journey
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And not only over the “forum interface” issue but in loads of other ways, too, looks like.
Thanks for the clarification. There is a lot going on with the new platform, so we definitely need to provide more guidance on where things are and how to get around.
As for a Search function, that’s definitely available in the form of a magnifying glass, right next to your avatar and hamburger menu (three horizontal lines).
If you search “rainbow”, your thread is the first search result.
As for finding your own stuff, whether it’s a topic/thread you created, or a reply you made, those can all be found from your user page, under the Activity section. To get there, click on your avatar in the top right of the page, then click your username, and the select Activity.
You’ll see a list of your account activity, so topics/threads you created, replies you made, likes given, and your bookmarks.
Your INGOT’S RAINBOW thread will be listed there when Topics is selected.
As for capturing a user’s attention, Discourse displays as much, or maybe more, than vBulletin did from the forums homepage, minus some thread or post-specific information. So I think we’re fine giving members different avenues to explore. Something vBulletin didn’t do was give members immediate access to Unread threads and posts that they are contributing to or watching.
[quote=“Ingot54, post:20, topic:105561”]
so I do not buy that you could not continue with the old format. The other forum seems to be managing ok with it.
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We could have absolutely continued on the old forums. But why use something less secure, less stable, less configurable, slower from a performance perspective, more expensive to maintain both from a financial and human capital perspective, with less features, and less room to grow?[quote=“LaughingCharlie, post:21, topic:105561”]
Looks like for some reason, over the VBulletin issue, the forum’s given itself a problem which other trading forums don’t have.
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Please explain. You’ve said it several times with no other information detailing exactly what you mean.[quote=“LaughingCharlie, post:21, topic:105561”]
So many have moved on that it’s become self-fulfilling that that’s what others do, too.
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Yet you are still here. What is your motivation to providing feedback and continuing to contribute?
Too Bad, Too sad. . . your updated/re-designed webiste is sad.
I cannot recommend it to beginners nor can I waste my time with it anymore.
good luck.
I am out of here.
Well I at least intend to stick around. I recognise the leap of faith (and of necessity) that Baby Pips management has taken here.
I can see by your responses to questions that you are really trying very hard to restore our faith and our user-experience, and on that basis you have my support.
It just would have been nicer to get a bit of warning and the thoughts of many members before the move, but I apologise in advance if that was done.
I have not been trading these erratic markets (in my view) and have not been on the forum much at all for quite some time.
Pipstradamus - I think you’ll find that a lot of members are just a bit miffed that they have to do a bit of work to re-establish familiarity with the new format. In my case it is an annoyance, but in the next few days I am going to spend a bit of time going through the links and reading a few threads. That way I think I will be in a better position to make a judgement.
I am hoping the user experience will turn out to be better, and I will be better able to mentally say goodbye to the original format.
I still think it is a shame that the whole thing has gone - many members - perhaps all - loved the way it was. So easy to get around the old forum.
But maybe the new one can feel like that in time.I’m prepared to put in the effort to find out.
Just another note: When we post replies, the background changes briefly to that old familiar green.
Suddenly I feel like I am back on the old forum.
But then it fades away again, and we are left with the white background.
The font is still that grey colour which strains the eyes. Black is the preferable font for me.
Is it going to be possible in time to set up the colours as described above?
ie black font on green background?
PS - thanks for the pointers to the search function - silly me for not spotting that magnifying glass - of course it is the logical search function. And thank you for the other stuff too - appreciated.
You’ve written much about the problems with VBulletin. Other forums using VBulletin haven’t done that and are still using it. It’s therefore perfectly reasonable to surmise that you have problem that other forum administrators don’t have.
No point in asking me to give details of what I mean. You were the one with the problems, according to what you say in several places. It’s legitimate to mention that these problems seem not to be shared by other forums.
You’ve started off threads asking your members for feedback.
I’m a member. I’m offering feedback.
Do I really have to justify that? You should be thanking me for supplying feedback, when you’re the one who invited it.
I notice that Ingot54 said several of the same things that I said, but you chose to challenge me on them and not him. Why?
I’ve been dipping in & out of BabyPips since the update & I have to be honest: I’m not feeling it. I’m tech savvy & yeah, I can navigate round the site but for me, the user interface just isn’t cutting the mustard. It’s actually quite an awkward site to navigate around now. Ease of use should always be the number one priority in development.
Are there any plans for a new app? Prior to the update, I did all my forum browsing through the app & in this technological age, I feel an app (assuming the interface is smooth & fluid) is a must.
I’ll try sticking with it but I’m making no promises. Out of curiosity, are you willing to share the decline in traffic or the average stay time on the site? I used to love BabyPips & I really hope that you can recover from this & return to the glory days.
Publicly accessible information (e.g. at alexa.com) shows that the site’s traffic and rankings have been deteriorating throughout 2017, and more sharply so over the last month.
Most of the visitors come from the US, UK, South Africa, India and France.
I don’t know if average visit duration information is available anywhere other than from the site’s server logs, but the decline in numbers of forum posts made (which might be roughly proportional to it, I guess) is apparent.
I’m glad to hear that. And we didn’t give our best effort in communicating the changes, that’s for sure. We’ve learned a big lesson there. But we had a vision that was somewhat “locked in” by some of platforms we decided to use, and how and what we wanted to offer in the way of a new design. We knew the changes were major, and did our best to work within the new structures. , But it’s great to hear that you’re giving it a chance.[quote=“Ingot54, post:26, topic:105561”]
Is it going to be possible in time to set up the colours as described above? ie black font on green background?
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There are limitations with the current version of the platform that we have to deal with today. There are already changes in store in the next version, that we hope to upgrade to in the near future. That will introduce themes to Discourse. Once we’re on the new version, we will review our options. Since we now support mobile/tablet devices, make changes to the colors and fonts becomes a bit more complex, and takes a bit longer to release. But rest assured, we’re looking into it.[quote=“LaughingCharlie, post:27, topic:105561”]
Other forums using VBulletin haven’t done that and are still using it. It’s therefore perfectly reasonable to surmise that you have problem that other forum administrators don’t have.
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vBulletin has been around for ages and it’s issues and problems are well documented. We can’t speak for other forum operators. We had our issues with maintaining it and extending it through custom code and plugins, and long term, it wasn’t something that was going to work for us. But vBulletin is what most people are familiar with. It’s had a majority of the forums software market share for 10+ years, but that is coming down significantly. It just wasn’t working for us any more.[quote=“baz1982, post:28, topic:105561”]
It’s actually quite an awkward site to navigate around now. Ease of use should always be the number one priority in development.
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Can you elaborate on this a bit more? Is it just in the Forums or sitewide? We still have the category/forum listing, plus new navigation options like Unread and Top. You can also still see the Latest posts from the Forums homepage, and you can always get back to it from the top left icon or elsewhere using the breadcrumbs.
No apps are necessary as the entire website is now mobile friendly, including the Forums. In the past, our apps only supported the Forums, and nothing else. Give it a try and tell us what you think. We think that, with the new Forums features, the mobile experience is much improved.[quote=“baz1982, post:28, topic:105561”]
Out of curiosity, are you willing to share the decline in traffic or the average stay time on the site? I used to love BabyPips & I really hope that you can recover from this & return to the glory days.
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Overall website traffic has actually increased double digits since the relaunch, which we’re definitely excited about that. Time onsite is about the same with a slight increase. Our content helps, with longer content in our News and Insights section, and with the Forums in general. And our quizzes have been a positive surprise. Forums traffic is down a bit, in the single digits, with Forums posting down. We’ve had the departure of a few super active members right before and after the launch, so that’s definitely affected activity. Anonymous visitors to the Forums have always outpaced logged-in members, and we continue to see that increasing week over week. There’s definitely an opportunity to get those “readers” converted over to active and contributing members. We’ve got some initiatives planned in the coming weeks to hopefully bring them over into the light.
What’s the idea of having this system of posts removed and their content substituted with the words “This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden” when there’s a link right underneath that text saying “click to view hidden content”?
And wouldn’t it serve its purpose better without that inviting link, which makes sure people read it anyway, even if only out of a natural curiosity to see what was removed?
“Yet you are still here. What is your motivation to providing feedback and continuing to contribute?”
I’ve asked myself that very same question many times, in truth I have no answer.
Perhaps it’s some sort of misguided loyalty to a site that has provided a sense of community over this past 6 years, although many of the community have gone.
When I see the above comment to a community member I begin to wonder is this truly for me.
Anyways, time will tell, I mentioned earlier that you need to convert ‘browsers’ or ‘readers’, i.e. non members to become regular site visitors, the school is still the ace but only as long as no one else notices the potential.
It’s about creating a flow of conversation, rather than taking your focus away from what you’re reading when another member or members post something off-topic or inappropriate. Posts can also be hidden for various reasons, whether that be automatically flagged by the system (a “robot” detection if you will), flagged by a moderator, or flagged by another member(s). And in certain situations, those posts can become unhidden.
There are instances where users may not agree with a point of view and flag content. If enough flags come in, depending on the user, the community is deciding that the post is not valuable enough in that situation to be visible. However, as a checks-and-balance, in the the situation where the post is flagged incorrectly in the eyes of other members or the moderation team, readers still have the option to see the content. But they are making the effort to see it.
If posts stay hidden for 30 days without being changed by the author or moderation team, they are deleted.
As for Alexa data, let’s just say they don’t give you the real picture. If you read over an Alexa website profile page, you’ll also see the word “estimate” in several places. Unless a 3rd party has software running on our servers collecting data, which Alexa doesn’t, the information will always be an estimate. For larger site, with huge volume, they might get a tad closer to real-world metrics, but still nowhere near actual results.
We’ll continue to improve our design, content offerings, and initiatives to keep and bring in more contributing members. Thanks for the feedback.
What you said didn’t address the point I was driving at.
That’s my fault for not making it clearly enough, so I’ll try again.
The idea of hiding content is to prevent people from reading it, surely, until either a moderator’s checked it (with a view to either its removal or its reinstatement as he or she deems fit)?
Which one do you think serves that purpose better: hiding the text and leaving it actually hidden until that’s been done and the issue’s resolved, or pretending to hide it while actually drawing attention to it and effectively promoting it by substituting for it a prominent link saying, in effect, “click here to see what we’ve hidden”?
My point is that what you say you’re trying to do is confounded by the way you’re doing it.
You’re pretending to conceal something while actually drawing attention to it.
Don’t you think it might serve your stated purpose better if you removed this link saying in effect “click here to see what we’ve hidden”?
In practice, that’s bound to attract a lot of curiosity and attention, human nature being what it is, isn’t it?
That feature is surely designed to allow things to be temporarily hidden while a moderator makes up his or her mind about the questionable post? But that isn’t how you’re using it.
The result of the way you’re doing this is that far from promptly and efficiently moderating the spam, you’re actually drawing attention to it (for up to 30 days).
After a decade of reading, is BP buying me a new pair of glasses? Whoever designed this interface is trying to get all members myopic. Made me sign up to post a critique, what gives.
Thanks for the feedback. The content is being hidden. You can’t see it unless you decide that you want to see it. In some situations, mainly where members are flagging content, we’re taking potentially inappropriate content directly away from the viewing public, some times without the need for a moderator to be around. You, as the reader, have to decide to take action to view it. It’s a departure from the remove-now-ask-questions-later approach from vBulletin, or spam or inappropriate posts not getting immediate attention from staff . Blatant spam still gets deleted after moderator review. Also, clicking to view hidden content allows members to have the confidence that posts are not being flagged and hidden inappropriately by the community. And if you feel posts are being hidden inappropriately, you can cite the hidden post content and make a case that it should not have been hidden to begin with. This is a solution to what many members have asked for repeatedly - giving community members more power to police the forums for questionable content.
We think it’s a great feature, giving members that ability to hide objectionable content, but still giving readers access to that content if they feel the need to see it. Once the reasoning behind the feature is explained and experienced longer term, we think it will make more sense when you see hidden posts.
But we can absolutely review the 30 day setting and determine what other Discourse communities are doing with the notification text. The 30 days was the system default, shipped with the new platform, so if can be changed. Thanks again for the feedback.
