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#1 Grayson

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 16:03

Welcome to the new AUTOSPORT forums - I hope you didn't miss us too much during our 24 hours of downtime!

 

While the most noticeable change is the new design, the new forum is much more than a repainted version of the old one. Here are a few of the main points of the upgrade:

- The servers should now be able to cope better with periods of very high traffic. We don't want to give too many promises here as only a real life traffic peak will let us test this out, but we're more likely to be able to cope than we were before!

- The forums now have a working mobile interface. Anyone who used the forums on any sort of device that had a touch screen before will know that the experience wasn't ideal - the new version is an enormous improvement. If you visit from a mobile device then it should automatically recognise this and show you the new interface, otherwise you can select the mobile theme from the "Change Theme" menu at the bottom left of the page".

- AUTOSPORT+ subscribers (and AUTOSPORT magazine subscribers who have activated their subscription online) can now view the forums ad-free. As we still have separate logins for the main site and the forums, you need to be logged in on the main AUTOSPORT page and then visit the forums to view it ad-free.

 

You will also notice that there is modified functionality in various things that you do across the forums from starting new threads to formatting your posts. While some of these changes are subtle, they all add together to mean that the forum experience should be more intuitive and more similar to working in a modern operating system.

 

I would ask you to bear with us for the first few days as there are bound to be some teething problems as we switch the new forums on. We have gone to some efforts to test them, but there's only so much we can do on our development servers in comparison to inviting thousands of people to use the forums to see what bugs and oddities you might notice. If you want to report any bugs or if you need to get in touch for other reasons, you can post in here or contact me directly at simon.grayson@haymarket.com
 
Enjoy the new forums!


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#2 jimjimjeroo

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:02

I don't like change!!!

#3 steferrari

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:02

Well done !  :)



#4 pacificquay

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:04

Looks much better.

 

Clean and slick and much more Autosport-y.

 

A good move.



#5 Elliux

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:04

Nice job, definitely a huge jump using IPBoard! :clap:



#6 danmills

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:04

edited*


Edited by danmills, 20 August 2013 - 17:05.


#7 UPRC

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:08

Can we embed YouTube videos yet? :p



#8 jrg19

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:08

Could take a few weeks to get used to.



#9 madrocker

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:09

Any chance of tapatalk support?



#10 SanDiegoGo

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:10

A bit drab. The Atlas theme is a tad better, but needs more colour all round. Usability is fine but appetite is visual, too.



#11 UPRC

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:11

Oh! Just noticed that we have larger avatars. Kudos on that! A lot of the old forum features/limitations seemed to stem from back in the dial-up internet days. Small images, low functionality (compared to newer forums), etc. It's good to see Autosport moving forward.



#12 Risil

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:11

You've kept the emotes. Good.



#13 KWSN - DSM

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:12

Hi Grayson and Autosport techies.

 

Like an old dog I do not like change, however Spousal Unit have made me a better man and I cope much better than in the old days. It will take some time to find what I like and do not like with the new format, I know from work that no matter what we deploy to production all our users yearn for the old days, and as soon as we deploy again they have the same yearning for what they hated last week.

 

Currently I am at work, so can not devote to much time in learning the various ways the forum overall have been changed and upgraded, however as a first naturally new graphics, look and feel. I am certain we will all be able to cope, and once you have had a few days to stabalize the new environment we can either start congratulating that the speed and access issues are no more, or a vocal minority will explain in various (colourfull) language how they would fix the ills the perceive.

 

Likely you had a huge chunk of data which needed to be carried over, I know how that is not a trivial issue as well that there will be teething niggles which needs straightning out.

 

Looks good I look forward to try it out for real.

 

:cool:



#14 turin

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:12

oh....



#15 Gorma

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:13

The theme is horrible. Too much white. Huge contrast. Not good for eyes.



#16 Brawn BGP 001

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:15

Nice job, modern and slick. Might take sometime to get used to the colours etc but decent first impressions.



#17 Lights

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:15

Great, thanks for the effort!

#18 milestone 11

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:19

Looks good, clean and crisp. Won't pass judgement until I've used it a few days. :up:



#19 KWSN - DSM

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:20

Just realized that it is now Autosport Forums and not AtlasF1...

 

Understand that it is Autosport I am accessing, however I find that this is a shame in same way that a once proud F1 team now pedal around trying to make the public believe that they are Lotus. There is history in AtlasF1 and it being AtlasF1, that change I am NOT happy about.

 

:cool:



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#20 jrg19

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:22

You can change the the theme to Atlas at the bottom.



#21 fifi

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:26

You can change the the theme to Atlas at the bottom.

doesnt change the colour scheme off

 

 

also i want to be able to not see peoples avatars, which i cant find how to switch off now



#22 chdphd

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:32

It'll take a bit of getting used to, but it's looking good. Well done! I like the new content filters :up:

Can you make clicking the Autosport logo on the top left go to the main site instead of the forum home?

 

Same goes for the breadcrumb at the top of the page:

 

 

Cheers



#23 jrg19

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:33

Like for like anyone?  :D



#24 KWSN - DSM

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:33

You can change the the theme to Atlas at the bottom.

Thanks,

 

As I wrote in first post can't really devote time until later. Now that I changed to AtlasF1, I think that looks crummy but I am AtlasF1 and that is what counts.

 

:cool:



#25 Timstr11

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:34

I agree a bit drab in terms of colours but I'll get used to it.

 

Other than that it looks fine. Nice job!



#26 MrAerodynamicist

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:36

Sorry to be a grumpy guts, but I seriously dislike it. 

 

The main problem is the 'space bloat', with each dividual post takes takes up far too much real estate. Everything has excessive white space surrounding it; a single line post results in about 13 lines worth of vertical screen space. The black dividers between each posts are overbearing.

 

The old forum offered a choice of a few themes, one of which was the old white/orange and compact style. If you're set on this as the main theme, could we at least get the choice of some alternatives?

 

* edit * just seen that there are alternative themes. Hopefully a bit more work can be done on them.

 

* edit 2: font size for body text is 14px which is too big. 12px please!

 

* edit 3: the 'Like this' box ends up with a whole large line to itself. Seems to me its belongs on the same line as report/multiquote/quote.


Edited by MrAerodynamicist, 20 August 2013 - 17:48.


#27 Ross Stonefeld

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:39

Is there a way to adjust the markers for read/unread threads ? I'm sure I'll adjust to it but the contrast between threads I've posted in/read or not isn't immediately apparent.



#28 SanDiegoGo

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:39

I agree a bit drab in terms of colours but I'll get used to it.

 

Other than that it looks fine. Nice job!

 

Yeah, the colour helps get a frame of reference and is just as important as style. It will take time to adjust, but after the 2009 F1 regulations I found I can get used to sme pretty ugly looking things. :eek: :lol:



#29 Shiroo

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:40

horrible CSS. Whoever did that, you should fire him as soon as possible.

Though fast replies and such are better. Also it is shown that someone replied so you can new posts, and not find yourself responding to old posts.

Style should be improved. You could change white a bit to a color that will somehow less blinding at the evenings, especially if we consider that there are gray areas in forum style now.



#30 Ross Stonefeld

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:41

btw everyone recheck your profile settings, seems the default is to receive offers from Haymarket and share info with third parties...



#31 geoffd

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:41

I like it!  It's clear to read, and some other forums I belong to use the same software, so it's easy to use.  Thanks to the team.

 

Geoff



#32 Coops3

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:42

Looks good. The old one was starting to look a bit dated. I think the richer interface is a bit slower, but probably just my ancient machine, and if you've beefed up server side who cares.



#33 TT6

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:42

Meeh....
1. How to get to the first unread post in a thread?
2. How to know if there's unread post in a thread?
3. How to know if I have posted in a thread?

Looks like same black balls on ever thread.

#34 pRy

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:44

The dynamic "there are new posts" feature is quiet nifty.. they just load into the space above where you're writing without needing to reload the page.



#35 Coops3

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:45

btw everyone recheck your profile settings, seems the default is to receive offers from Haymarket and share info with third parties...

 

They're both set to "No thanks" on mine.



#36 RedBaron

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:46

I hate it I prefer it back in the 70s when it was real foruming.



#37 saudoso

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:49

Works waaaaay betteron the phoneee

 

EDIT: What obiously will do no good for the spelling around here.


Edited by saudoso, 20 August 2013 - 22:44.


#38 Coral

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:50

Hmmm...I don't know if I like this. But then I tend to be rather change-averse. But I can't work out how to do certain things, such as view unread posts, or see which threads I have posted in. 

 

Also, this may be a silly question, but are all our old posts still there? I checked the "posts" tab in my profile and it only showed about five posts. I would hate to think that nearly seven years worth of posts have been lost! Help...  

 

Edit...aah...I have just found where the old posts are...the "Find content" button. Phew what a relief!  :)


Edited by Coral, 20 August 2013 - 18:09.


#39 Elliux

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:57

Meeh....
1. How to get to the first unread post in a thread?
2. How to know if there's unread post in a thread?
3. How to know if I have posted in a thread?

Looks like same black balls on ever thread.

 

http://forums.autosp...lp&do=01&HID=22



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#40 SealTheDiffuser

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:57

my eyes hurt!

 

physically!!

 

and I m not over 40!

 

contrast is horrible,

 

the page numbers in the threads are unreadable :cry: 

 

please improve the readability a bit. :clap:



#41 August

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 17:58

I like this, thanks to the forum staff.

 

But where's the search function?

 

Edit: found it.


Edited by August, 20 August 2013 - 18:01.


#42 D A

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 18:00

The top of the page with the nav buttons are too glossy and doesn't fit with the flat-ish design on the rest of the forum. I like the flat design more, the gloss reminds me of designs of yesteryear.



#43 SilentKiller

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 18:02

Too many posts in one page.



#44 Vitesse2

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 18:03

I like this, thanks to the forum staff.
 
But where's the search function?

In that box top right. If you want advanced search click the gear wheel next to it.

As others have said, it's all a bit bright, but I'm impressed that you've finally actually come up with a search engine which will search for long words like Lautenschlager!

#45 Vitesse2

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 18:08

They're both set to "No thanks" on mine.

Mine too, but there's a new option under Notifications in your profile, which seems to be ticked by default. I've now unticked that too ...

#46 Ross Stonefeld

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 18:10

I've noticed at least one poster has a YouTube link in their signature, and it loads the viewing window within the thread. It doesn't play, but it makes their signature field awfully big.



#47 Fastcake

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 18:11

Excellent to hear you've finally upgraded the servers! I have thought the forums were a lot more stable over the past few race weekends, so I'm not sure if you've had them in place for some time now, but either way it'll be great to discuss after each F1 race. Also, I notice we now have our posts auto-saved, which is a feature I've seen and appreciated on other forums. Great to see our new one has it, and new posts popping up without having to reload :)

 

I have noticed that the "go to first unread comment" isn't working, but perhaps that data was lost in the upgrade?



#48 RedBaron

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 18:12

Works waaaaay betteron the phoneee

 

This! 



#49 TT6

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 18:13

http://forums.autosp...lp&do=01&HID=22


Thanks!

Can't find info on how to get to first unread post, thou. Other questions quite answered.

#50 Elliux

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Posted 20 August 2013 - 18:15

Thanks!

Can't find info on how to get to first unread post, thou. Other questions quite answered.

 

Just click on the black ball, or the blue star  :)