A Shiny New Mac-Forums!

The updated design for the community has been pushed live! Thank you to the beta testers and everyone who provided feedback.

If you have any questions or comments, please share them here. Some elements are still on the agenda to tweak and refine, so we'll be making smaller ongoing improvements in the weeks to come.

I was confused for a couple of second as I just swiped back from another page and ... voila .... a whole new world.

Looks great.

Cheers ... McBie

Looks great thus far! One big annoyance though... On the home page, there is a link to blog reviews. Each time the subject page changes (there are 4 pages) it also shifts the entire web page away from where it was focused and you have to re-scroll to where you were.

Also, is there a reason as to why iPhone/iPad/iPod is part of the "featured discussions"? Is it the most visited section on the forums? Just seems a bit out of place IMO. Or perhaps a bit redundant, I dunno.

Doug

Looks great..though what happened to the Get New link??

I like it better than my first impression from the beta. But I still think the red font is a mistake. It should only be used for something that really needs to grab your attention. On real paper… red is more often used to indicate something of importance, or as a "correction" (think back to school… a red pen is used by teachers to show corrections).

It's also a bit too "white" all around. Perhaps a soft gradient could be used as a background for the sections to "float" on top of. White floating on white just doesn't work. And the spacing…. everything takes up twice as much space. Just browsing through a forum category takes twice as long now.

lifeisabeach said:

I like it better than my first impression from the beta. But I still think the red font is a mistake. It should only be used for something that really needs to grab your attention. On real paper… red is more often used to indicate something of importance, or as a "correction" (think back to school… a red pen is used by teachers to show corrections).

It's also a bit too "white" all around. Perhaps a soft gradient could be used as a background for the sections to "float" on top of. White floating on white just doesn't work. And the spacing…. everything takes up twice as much space. Just browsing through a forum category takes twice as long now.

Click to expand...

+1 for everything said.

Doug

Raz0rEdge said:

Looks great..though what happened to the Get New link??

Click to expand...

I think it has been replaced in quick links by "today's posts". Though I much prefer a static permalink such as "new posts"

Doug

Edit: Also, if you hover over "Forum", you get a drop down list, and there we also have "new posts". I would still prefer to be able to do it in one click though.

I like the idea of a softer gradient of some sort. That being said, it still looks great!

Doug b said:

Looks great thus far! One big annoyance though... On the home page, there is a link to blog reviews. Each time the subject page changes (there are 4 pages) it also shifts the entire web page away from where it was focused and you have to re-scroll to where you were.

Also, is there a reason as to why iPhone/iPad/iPod is part of the "featured discussions"? Is it the most visited section on the forums? Just seems a bit out of place IMO. Or perhaps a bit redundant, I dunno.

Doug

Click to expand...

The featured articles need to have consistent excerpts and featured images included, we'll be working on consistency there to ensure the re-sizing issue does not persist. For now it is a problem though.

The Featured discussion section includes the major forum categories from the forum homepage - general discussion, digital lifestyle, and ihpone/ipad/ipods. The categories can be tweaked in the future if there is consensus regarding the 3 best major sections of the forum to feature there.

Raz0rEdge said:

Looks great..though what happened to the Get New link??

Click to expand...

It is in the drop down when hovering over forums, there is also today's posts which gives a similar search when you hover over quick links.

I've requested a subnav be added below the main nav, for elements such as user control panel, new posts, etc. The stuff forum regulars use multiple times every day they visit - hovering is ok, but I like being able to directly click better as well.

Doug b said:

I think it has been replaced in quick links by "today's posts". Though I much prefer a static permalink such as "new posts"

Doug

Edit: Also, if you hover over "Forum", you get a drop down list, and there we also have "new posts". I would still prefer to be able to do it in one click though.

Click to expand...

Bingo, thanks Doug..that's how I use the forums..glad the link didn't go away, a permalink would be great..but the hover option also works just as long as I know where it is..

Matt, what exactly is the difference between "today's posts" and "new posts", if anything?

Doug

One bit of quick feedback. The "Please welcome our newest member" in the Site Statistics sidebar is non-op on forums. Works fine on the main page.

lifeisabeach said:

I like it better than my first impression from the beta. But I still think the red font is a mistake. It should only be used for something that really needs to grab your attention. On real paper… red is more often used to indicate something of importance, or as a "correction" (think back to school… a red pen is used by teachers to show corrections).

It's also a bit too "white" all around. Perhaps a soft gradient could be used as a background for the sections to "float" on top of. White floating on white just doesn't work. And the spacing…. everything takes up twice as much space. Just browsing through a forum category takes twice as long now.

Click to expand...

There has been a couple comments on the red, but nothing close enough to a consensus yet - there needs to be something of a color, and red was part of the old theme as well. As you would likely agree, design stuff can be difficult to appease everyone's tastes. If some sort of consensus emerges, we are always open to change however. These things are also discussed with site moderation and administration, to prioritize what needs attention, what is agreed upon, and get that consensus necessary to ensure we make good changes.

I've seen comments about the white/spacing go both ways - some have commented it looks cleaner and sharper, others think too much white on white. If we let this simmer, we may also get a better sense of consensus.

Doug b said:

Matt, what exactly is the difference between "today's posts" and "new posts", if anything?

Doug

Click to expand...

New posts will show you threads you have not viewed since the last time they were replied to - as you view threads and go back to new posts, the threads you just viewed or just replied to will no longer appear in new posts until they receive a new reply.

Today's posts will show every post, whether you have viewed it or not, in the order that it was posted to.

Every vbulletin forum like ours has both these searches by default, very few people recognize or are aware of the difference.

lifeisabeach said:

I like it better than my first impression from the beta. But I still think the red font is a mistake. It should only be used for something that really needs to grab your attention. On real paper… red is more often used to indicate something of importance, or as a "correction" (think back to school… a red pen is used by teachers to show corrections).

It's also a bit too "white" all around. Perhaps a soft gradient could be used as a background for the sections to "float" on top of. White floating on white just doesn't work. And the spacing…. everything takes up twice as much space. Just browsing through a forum category takes twice as long now.

Click to expand...

Doug b said:

+1 for everything said.

Doug

Click to expand...

Make that +2 for everything said. Right now, it looks like a beta version of something to come. That's my 2¢...

I am glad to see a change and I appreciate the efforts of all involved.

I.M.O.G. said:

There has been a couple comments on the red, but nothing close enough to a consensus yet - there needs to be something of a color, and red was part of the old theme as well. As you would likely agree, design stuff can be difficult to appease everyone's tastes. If some sort of consensus emerges, we are always open to change however. These things are also discussed with site moderation and administration, to prioritize what needs attention, what is agreed upon, and get that consensus necessary to ensure we make good changes.

I've seen comments about the white/spacing go both ways - some have commented it looks cleaner and sharper, others think too much white on white. If we let this simmer, we may also get a better sense of consensus.

Click to expand...

Could we perhaps get an official poll going then, perhaps? Maybe a long term one? Like say, over the course of a month or more, in order that even new members get a word in about it?

New posts will show you threads you have not viewed since the last time they were replied to - as you view threads and go back to new posts, the threads you just viewed or just replied to will no longer appear in new posts until they receive a new reply.

Today's posts will show every post, whether you have viewed it or not, in the order that it was posted to.

Every vbulletin forum like ours has both these searches by default, very few people recognize or are aware of the difference.

Click to expand...

Thank you for clarifying for us few then!

Doug

For some reason I still have the old look (not that I'm complaining).

Razormac said:

For some reason I still have the old look (not that I'm complaining).

Click to expand...

Cacheing, you may need to manually clear your browser cache, or force a hard refresh (shift + F5 in some browsers).

I.M.O.G. said:

Cacheing, you may need to manually clear your browser cache, or force a hard refresh (shift + F5 in some browsers).

Click to expand...

I had to go select the new skin, those with the ad-free skin option may have to do the same (since it's NOT default) ;D

Doug b said:

Could we perhaps get an official poll going then, perhaps? Maybe a long term one? Like say, over the course of a month or more, in order that even new members get a word in about it?

Thank you for clarifying for us few then!

Doug

Click to expand...

Sure, I think that makes sense. Probably best we hold off on any sort of poll for a bit though. We'll be making some adjustments on an ongoing basis for the near future - with more time and perspective, and a little time to stabilize, we should be able to make a more accurate and actionable poll.

I which there were more contrasting backgrounds to differentiate between thread topics/thread areas, and such. It kind of seems...like it's not finished yet...too much white.