Official feedback on new site DESIGN

[Jesse]

The purpose of this thread is to provide constructive criticism re the design of the new site, which launched 21st October, 2006.

[Flash Gordon]

for clarification, you are still tweaking it, right, or is what you see what you get?

[Jesse]

Very much still tweaking it. In fact the forums are changing on an hourly basis until we say otherwise. But the rest is pretty much set... Until we get enough comments to warrant a change or two :)

[astgtciv]

Ah, didn't notice this thread at first ;)

I like the design overall. My only comment would be: is it possible to tone down the orange of the top bar, so it's not as sharp/attention-drawing ?

[Assertnfailure]

It'd be heaps better if...

You refrain from narrowing the width of the forums. Makes things feel a little claustrophobic in here. (Also, the very message panel that I'm typing in is breaking the tables due to the width constraint)

[Flash Gordon]

yea....I do think the forums are a little narrow, but I think it is temporary. I think they will eventually be adjustable width. If it is possible, it might help moving the ads like the were in the old forum above the first post and above the input box.

Also, now that there is this nice fancy looking background and slick red bar at the top (sorry I kind of like it), are there any plans to skin the actually forums?

I'd also like to see the background image not fade out so soon. It looks great when you are at the first post, but very bland when I'm looking at post #2

[[Sx]]

Considering forums:
- return 'bolding' of unreaded/changed topics since the last visit.
- forums always lack width, I don't think narrowing them is a good choice

[astgtciv]

What's the reason for having the xxx bar on the left? It only steals width from the forums... maybe I'm just used to it but it was much better having horizontal ads on top/bottom vs. the new vertical ad leading to width loss...

[Doccie]

I agree with what has been said about the forums. The new design is something you need to get used to I suppose... I liked the orange, minimalistic design, but this one will definetely look equally good or better once we're used to it :)

[astgtciv]

I liked the orange
Location: Belgium

:D

[wintzell]

Like the colors but the background gives me migraine... Maybe a more matted background.. Otherwise it's good. Maybe another post reply button...

[pixelwit]

The banner on the left is a bit of a hog. Other than that, change is good.

-PiXELWiT
http://www.pixelwit.com

[senocular]

I feel most the same as everyone else; too much space taken up on left (none is ideal) and the background hurts the eyes (though thankfully its only at the top). I'm actually OK with the orange, but I don't like the new logo much, not just because its animated, but because... I think its just weird :p There's too much variation methinks. Thats just me, though, and I'll admit that I'm no logo designer ;)

[gromit]

Hi guys

Firstly congrats on finally getting the new design out...I know its been a long slog for you. I'm afraid though that I voted for "its ok but I preferred the old one", due to the following reasons:

1. Firefox seems to have issues with it. There is no horizontal scroll bar when the browser is too thin for the site.

2. I *hate* the google ads on the left where the menu should be. Thats not a dislike - thats *hate*.

3. My eyes just don't want to accept the top menu bar - I'm not sure why - it could be the colour, it could be the decision to split it into two...its confusing and I have to actually read every option rather than instinctively clicking.

4. The logo is completely lost in its current location.

5. That damn stripey background is doing my head in.

6. There needs to be variations in the orange colour scheme - currently the logo, the top bar and the links all have exactly the same colour. Its not friendly to the eye at all.

Sorry guys. I know the old site had its faults and wasn't exactly "sexy" looking - but it was easy to use, it was easy on the eye and it was instinctive without being overpowering.

EDIT: sorry to be a moaner, but I must also add (now I've had a good mooch around) that you've ruined the tutorials section. I know that it was just a bloody long list in the past, but it was easy to find stuff and it was easy to see whats new. Now there's just too much of everything - too little overall on each page and too much information to read through on the home page (ie. page 1 of 41??!!! As if I can be bothered to plough through that lot...??!! I just want to be able to click to the section and scroll down reading the titles, now I doubt that I'll ever be bothered to look at that section again).

All in all its just TOO FLASHKIT! (god i hate that site)

Also, when trying to search the tutorials section I discover that the search facility isn't working efficiently For example, I was looking for the following tutorial:

tweening tutorial (http://www.actionscript.org/resources/articles/170/1/Flash-MX-2004-Undocumented-TweenEasing-Classes-Documented/Page1.html)

and I knew that it was related to "mx.transitions"...so I searched for:

mx transitions
mx.transitions

which produced *nothing*...and then simply:

transitions

which again produced no results. Yet if you read the tutorial the word "transitions" appears 24 times. So if it isn't bad enough that we can no longer get straight to a tutorial via its title, the search engine proves fruitless too.

Reeeaally sorry about all of these criticisms, but I love your website having used it constantly for over 5 years now...and I think that you may have just ruined my whole experience of it. Its cumbersome, hard to read and extremely difficult to get to the information that I need - I don't have the time to be dredging through pages and pages of stuff to find something, which was the beauty of your old site.

[Colin Campbell]

I'd heavily reconsider that crosshatch background. It's much too sharp. If I were you, I'd lower the opacity of it, or do away with it completely and do a smooth gradient.

[Jesse]

Hi All,

Forum width issue is a temporary thing. It will be 100% again soon.

Gromit: you can still see al the tutorials in one huge list via the Site Map (http://actionscript.org/resources/sitemap.php) if you're into that kinda thing :)

More replies later today if I find a chance to read up.

[[Sx]]

About the design, I don't find the 'crosshatch' background too sharp or hard on the eyes. It looks just fine (at least on my nicely calibrated VP930), I even like it... But I do agree that the orange is a bit too strong - maybe desaturation of like 5-10% would help. Same goes for the new 'post reply' button. Don't know if it's optical illusion based on the rest of the forum theme, but it doesn't look even orange - it looks like 'lightly yellowed strong red'. Of course, we wont know how well it fits overall until the forum skin is redone.

Maybe I'm just a bull and my eyes are too sensitive to the reddish colors, even tho bulls are colorblind ;)

[Cota]

My issue is that I can not login from any computer other than my own, which has the password stored. Any ideas as to why? Over all things are coming along nicely. Of course everyone has their opinions, but I would like to thank Jesse and Strok for all their hard work!

[anonymous]

A tremendous number of movie links don't work anymore.

[Edit] For example...

3D -> No link works from page 2 through 7
Basics -> No link works from 2nd on page 2 through page 3
Interactivity -> No link works from page 3 through 8
Physics -> No links work from middle of page 2 through 5
Text Effects -> No links work from middle of page 1 through page 3

And on, and on, and on...

[[Sx]]

My issue is that I can not login from any computer other than my own, which has the password stored.

Ummm, you forgot your pass? :rolleyes:

I can login quite fine from anywhere...

[pixelwit]

Currently rolling over a user's name at the left side of every post causes a "freakout" if you hover over the right side edge of their name.

-PiXELWiT
http://www.pixelwit.com

[Cota]

']Ummm, you forgot your pass? :rolleyes:

I can login quite fine from anywhere...
no...wasnt that...though it had crossed my mind. When I login in on another computer is tells me, "Thank you for logging in Cota"....then sends me to the forum index asking me to login again...Now, if I type the incorrect password, it tells me its wrong..

[Flash Gordon]

i had this problem a while back but it was because actionscript.org does not accept cookies from actionscripts.org

[Cota]

but I had never been on Actionscript.org or actionscripts.org on this machine.

[anonymous]

Currently rolling over a user's name at the left side of every post causes a "freakout" if you hover over the right side edge of their name.

-PiXELWiT
http://www.pixelwit.com

Only happens on bigger size names... Doesn't on mine, Cota's, Flash Gordon's...

[Flash Gordon]

Only happens on bigger size names... Doesn't on mine, Cota's, Flash Gordon's...
does for me

[anonymous]

Ummmmmmmmh! It seems to change from thread to thread... Some names appear smaller than others and it's not consistent...
Just so that you don't all think I'm crazy...

[CyanBlue]

Hm... Maybe the forum knows who likes you and who doesn't, anonymous???

I see good amount of cosmetic issues which needs Jesse and Strok's attention, but the links in the Movies section, as anonymous stated earlier, and the login issue should be fixed first...

[FormerSwinger]

I'd have to agree that the bg is a bit too offensive. It's making my eyes hurt.
I like the orange top. Just waiting to see what it will look like with the new forum skin.
Keeping in mind that adds provide some income (hopefully) the one on the left fits nicely to the page. (I'm still not clicking it. sorry)

Theres something about the logo I don't like. It starts out nicely with the ACTIONScript and even the compass style O is fine but the rg is just too much.

[Jesse]

Hey everyone. Appreciate the feedback; no flaming, just quality input.

We will remove the left bar entirely from the forums in line with recommendations. It was intended that it would have much more than ads in it, but if you all hate it so much, it can go.

@ Pix: Freakout is an issue. We'll work on that. Prolly a CSS conflict. Seems that it doesn't happen on names you've already viewed the profile for (i.e. vlinks).
@ Cota: Yikes. Can't log in? I'm sure you've tired clearing you cookies and all that jazz right? I could always delete your account and you could start over ;) Seriously though, let me know if that keeps up.
@ Anon: Nice pick up. I think I have fixed most of them; it was a permissions thing on the directories after we copied them over. Some still appear not to work but I think that would have been the case on the old server as well as those ones have invalid width and height entries (like "0")...

Can I get some more opinions re the breakdown of the articles / tutorials section? We can hack it out so it has on long list of articles / tutorials like it used to... or we can change the index so it shows less of a spiel about each tutorial, and more tutorials per page, etc. Ultimately I see the value in the "one huge list" approach but I'd rather it be an option than the enforced way of viewing the tutorials listing...

[gromit]

Hi again

First off, apologies if my last post came across as a bit harsh, it wasn't intended to.

The tutorials section is an issue to me though, I'll try to explain why I liked the previous approach and then maybe you can incorporate my thoughts into the new version...

Although the previous tut section was just a big list it was easy to find what you wanted to find because the titles were self explanatory, the new tutorials were clearly marked as *new* and in many cases the version of actionscript was clearly marked as well. This made life a whole lot easier when trying to find out something specific.

In my opinion the new version falls down in comparison because certain things are needlessly taking up space. For example,

Tutorial Details:
Written by: Hasan Otuome
Time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Beginner Intermediate
Requirements: Flash 9/Flex 2/ActionScript 3
Topics Covered: XML
Assumed Knowledge: Dealing with XML in ActionScript 2


Could be cut down to:


Difficulty: Beginner Intermediate
Covered: XML


These two things are all anybody is interested in *until* they click the tutorial. Although all of the rest is interesting information and is on the whole very well laid out - there is no need for any more information other than this at this point. There is certainly no need for the user image or the further description. The purpose of the tutorial homepage should be to easily display the latest and greatest tutorials....Does that make sense?

Cutting down the amount of information for each tutorial as a "teaser" will allow you to get more on the first page - which I believe is important in this case...I would never consider flicking through pages and pages to get to the information I want.

Perhaps you could even colour code Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced? This would make it easier again for people to find something that is their level without having to churn through lots and lots of information.

Also, as I previously pointed out, the search engine needs seriously refining...it couldn't find the word "transitions" in a tutorial that covered transitions and mentioned the word 24 times. I would likely never use the search engine again if I knew that this hadn't been looked at...rendering it pointless. What is the current search criteria? Does it look at every word on the page?

I apologise for any negativity that I have caused, I swear that I'm only trying to help.

[Assertnfailure]

The tutorials section is an issue to me though, I'll try to explain why I liked the previous approach and then maybe you can incorporate my thoughts into the new version...

That's....a good idea....
A color-coded single list of all the tutorials would probably be the most convenient way to navigate it

[Flash Gordon]

I think kirupa tutorials are the best format out there right now.

By the way, did anyone else notice the fonts for the navigation and "Quick Links" got bigger?

And i think this might have been mentioned, but currently if you don't have a huge screen width, post are getting cut off on the right hand side because there is no horizontal scrollbar.

[Strok]

the NAME-size is fixed.
The left side menu is gone!

[CyanBlue]

That 2~3 seconds pause before the site load started to bug me alot... Anybody else noticed it??? :(

[Cota]

I started getting that too..

[pixelwit]

Regarding the Tutorials section, I'd like the option to see either a longer list of brief (1 or 2 line) descriptions or the current "verbose" descriptions, as both are convenient in their own way. The feature which I feel would add the most value would be the ability to sort the results based on the new CMS fields of info like Date Created, Most Recently Viewed, Most popular, Author, Difficulty, Rating, Topic, etc.

Organizing the Movies section in a similar fashion might not be a bad idea either.

Hope I'm not asking for too much but the above suggestions coupled with the current Search feature should make ANY content on AS.org easy to find.

Also thought I'd mention that I'm not experiencing the 2 to 3 second delay others have mentioned.

-PiXELWiT
http://www.pixelwit.com

[Cota]

guess its time for the burning question....what browser are you using CyanBlue..?

[MichaelxxOA]

Because we all know what MS made browser Cota is using :-P

I'm not experiencing the lag either, and I'm using Firefox.

I like it overall, I think that we just need time to make the little changes and stuff. I have nothing big to say about it.

Michael

[CyanBlue]

IE7 at home and IE6 at work both have same issue...

[gromit]

No lag problem over here in Firefox OR IE...bizarre.

One thing I would say is an issue though is that there is no horizontal scrollbar in firefox if the browser is too thin for the site, whereas IE has it.

[flaskvacuum]

Hey, i prefer an overview of a list of tutorials available under each flash levels( basic, intermediate , advance) just like the old website. Now i got to keep on clicking next , next , next to find a suitable tutorial when i am in need for one quick reference. Could u please bring that back?:( :( :( :(

[Jesse]

@ Pix; Totally agree with your "let them pick their poison" approach to displaying the tutorials. I'm working on a cutom page right now which will show the tutorials in their old format. In the interim I will add a link to the top of the article overview page which shows that people can get that view already via the Site Map page.

Keep the suggestions coming. I have absolutely no time to address them until the weekend but then we'll be working solidly. Having this thread as a central point of reference for improvements will be good for us

[pixelwit]

Normally I wouldn't bring this up (again), but you did ask for suggestions...

Here's a fairly new thread about an old chestnut of an idea...
http://www.actionscript.org/forums/showthread.php3?t=120287

-PiXELWiT
http://www.pixelwit.com

[gromit]

Thats an awesome idea. So simple, but so effective.

[FormerSwinger]

Thats the best idea I've heard in a while.
No more browsing through endless threds with n responces that only state: "I have the same issue" or "I still don't have and answer *bump*"

[TCA-eX]

I am glad to see the new ActionScript.org site in action!

The analyses from this post will be oriented on the ActionScript.org logo.

What I first noticed were the small changes to the logo made by Strok, very nice and original how the org extension is formed and, now it is more visible, more evident. But, there is a but; it seems to me that there are two separate parts in the logo, the ‘ActionScript’ word and the ‘org’ word, they are not connected, they are not ‘together’. I do not know, maybe this is only a personal opinion; anyway I worked a bit on the old release of the logo. What resulted was a combination between the previous logo released by me, and Strock’s idea. The new redesigned outcome has a smooth curve line which separates and connects the two words in the same time.

All the logo files, the new ones and the previous ones, can be found at the same links as before (this before was long time ago): here (http://www.tca-ex.go.ro/as/index.htm) or here (http://tca-ex.50webs.com/as/index.htm) (both links contain the same files, they are just free hosts and I cannot really rely on them). The new logo (http://tca-ex.50webs.com/as/as_logo_c_swf.htm)/logo (http://www.tca-ex.go.ro/as/as_logo_c_swf.htm) is made at three different dimensions, sizes, because space is always important, so: native 320x70 pixels (the original, the native size of the logo), medium 220x70 pixels (which represents the current distance, on the ActionScript.org site, between the left side of the logo and the left side of the adds), small 170x70 pixels (represents the size of the current on site logo).

Consequently, if the modifications worth their time, the new logo can be put live in seconds.

Another aspect that maybe could be fixed is the ‘Click to activate and use this control’ message that appears when you roll over the swf logo in Internet Explore. This can be fixed, as I believe you know, by using the SWFObject (FlashObject) JavaScript file made by Geoff Stearns. All the necessary files are here (http://blog.deconcept.com/swfobject/). It is completely free and, in plus, it can load a jpeg file instead of the swf file if there is no flash plug-in detected.

I hope that all this will help.

[CyanBlue]

Is it just me or not??? I get the JS error message on the IE status bar... :(

[Cota]

that one I think may just be you..Not getting it on IE7..

[CyanBlue]

I'll check on that on IE7 when I get home...

[Flash Gordon]

Not sure if you took the logo down or not, but on Mac OS X and FireFox I can't see it.

[Cota]

which pages is it missing from?

[Flash Gordon]

all of them

[Cota]

I think its only on a select few pages..do you see it on the tutorials page?

[anonymous]

Just noticed that posting time is +/- 40 minutes off... Even if the correct timezone is selected in my forums settings.

Actual posting time of this post was 1:21 AM.

[Cota]

Quick test...posting this at 2:16AM EST..

[edit] yea..its off

[Flash Gordon]

I think its only on a select few pages..do you see it on the tutorials page?
yes it is there

[Cota]

I dont think its on every page...

[gromit]

Looks to me as if the whole left column has gone - which included the logo.

The site actually looks remarkably better already. Maybe the logo should simply go at the very top above the menu bar?

[colfaxrev]

maybe i just haven't gotten a chance to aquaint myself better with the tutorials section... but I just don't get it yet. I liked the other setup better. Although I can see the new one working really well.

I should probably dive into the tutorials section for a bit and come back with a better argument.

[colfaxrev]

i noticed that... (im not sure if this is EVERY where on the site...) but on the tutorials section, the flash objects that you click on to view the email... you didn't impliment any fix for the EOLAS thing.

Oh yeah, and I think I could get used to the tutorial section. You know how people are... something changes and they freak out... (some people at least).

Is it now possible to add tutorials myself? I have a few tutorials I would like to put in there.

[Jesse]

@ Pix - the "resolved" thing is a great idea. Spent the last half hour looking into it but can't find an existing hack which does it for our software. Doesn't mean I'll stop looking. I've thought of this many times myself too...

@ TCA - I worked once with a graphic designer who I could tell vaguely what I wanted and she was able to come up with 10 perfect solutions in 24 hours. I'm happy to say I'd class you with her. Those new logos are an awesome combination of the new and old. I'll point Strok to them.

@ All: Re EOLAS; now that we're on a CMS I can batch hack the DB to make all Flash entries use a work-around I think. Another benefit from our side. I'll add it to the To Do list.

[pixelwit]

As italie pointed out in this thread (http://www.actionscript.org/forums/showthread.php3?t=120656):

There's something funky with the Forum's Search feature. If not logged in and attempting to search the forums with the Search drop down box, you're presented with a message "The string you entered for the image verification did not match what was displayed." and to make things worse, theres no image to verify.

-PiXELWiT
http://www.pixelwit.com

[anonymous]

And post times are still off by 40 minutes... ;)

[Flash Gordon]

and this:
http://actionscript.org/forums/showpost.php3?p=547670&postcount=13

[Flash Gordon]

Is it just me or when you go to upload files now, the pop up box is not large enough. I have to expand it to hit the upload button.

FF 1.5 Win XP MCE

[anonymous]

Copying code (surrounded by AS tags...) when pasted, is usually one long line again...

[Cota]

I havent run into that issue....are you referring to copying code from Flash into the forum, or from one post to another?

[anonymous]

From the post to Flash.

[scousehouse]

I don't want to knock effort that has gone into this but I'm not sure the purpose of the Image Verification when searching the forums.
It appears to be down at time of writing so I'm unable to search, but I'm also not sure as to why this area of the site would need a security check like this.
:confused:

[Flash Gordon]

try this:

//
//
//
function foo(Void):Void
{
for (var i:Number=0; i<10; i++) {
this.createEmptyMovieClip("foo"+ i, i);
}

}
//
//
//


but don't copy the comments. Pixelwit pointed this out a while back.

[wintzell]

Please change the background! I like the design but I just can't watch my monitor when the site is loading. Please!

[Cota]

The background has been getting some complaints. Maybe just tone it down alittle.

[stv]

nice change, guys
good job Jesse

ciao

[anonymous]

Why can't I upload an avatar? (within specs)

Why has the Movie section been down for the last 3 days?

[anonymous]

The movies section is currenlty having maintenance conducted for the next 24 hours!

How many 24 hours is there in a week?

[Cota]

Give it time. Jesse can only do some much!

[astgtciv]

Just to report, I am using IE6, and the wait times are sometimes (maybe 1/3 of the time?) quite fast, but a lot of times the background will load, and then I sit looking at it for 10-20 seconds before the page loads. This definitely takes something away from the site experience... some of the times I just give up and leave.

[anonymous]

Give it time. Jesse can only do some much!

Well then maybe the message posted should be changed to ...the next 24 weeks, months or years... :(

[Jesse]

Well then maybe the message posted should be changed to ...the next 24 weeks, months or years... :(

Been really sick. Movies section went down for apparently no reason and I haven't had the energy after work to try and address it. It's the weekend in 18 hours. I'll do it then.

Thx for your patience.

[Flash Gordon]

get well soon, mate.

Take your time. Your health is more important than some video section. Get some rest ;)

[astgtciv]

Yeah, I second that, Jesse... being sick myself ;) It's the flu season. Drink lots of fluids and try to stay in bed :D

[anonymous]

Movies are back. Thanks Jesse...

Now, what about uploading an avatar (within specs)... It doesn't work. I get an unable to save the image message?

[anonymous]

Still no avatar upload? :(

[Jesse]

Still no avatar upload? :(

Fixed. Sorry. That was a really simple fix, it was just a matter of getting to it :)

I've got a bit of time over the next few days so I'm making a few minor changes.

[anonymous]

Thanks! It worked! :D

Although I got this message after it was uploaded...

Upload of file failed.

[CyanBlue]

Who's that wicked old man??? :D

[anonymous]

Got it on a porn site!

[Jesse]

Got it on a porn site!

I wouldn't go blurting that around too proudly...

[Flash Gordon]

Looks like the french guy, Gaston, from "Beauty and the Beast"

[anonymous]

I wouldn't go blurting that around too proudly...

Like you never visited one such site yourself, right?

Same kind of smile as your's, no?

[anonymous]

If a picture is worth 1000 words... What about 2 pictures? :D

[Cota]

Who's that wicked old man??? :D
Give you 3 guesses and only the first one counts..:p

[MichaelxxOA]

All I've got on this one is lol, too good I have to admit. haha.

Michael

[anonymous]

Hey Cyan Blue, you're bound to recognize him now...

[Cota]

look, he has a new talent...not just preloaders and scenes...learned a photoshop trick too..

[anonymous]

I especially like the pink shading on the teeth!

Can't say if it comes from the hat or the pink cady though!

[Cota]

arent you supposed to be at webwasp working on getting banned...

[anonymous]

Webwasp? What's that?

This is unlike you Cota... You sound so sour... Having a Thanksgiving hangover?
Cold turkey unh?

Come on, spirits up! Xmas is just around the corner!

Have a nice December!

[Jesse]

Haha your new rendition of me somehow makes me look at my own image and think it looks sleezey!

[anonymous]

Glad to see someone here has a sense of humor!

You can use my rendition if you prefer it over your own! :D

[CyanBlue]

Ewwwwww~~~ :p

[Flash Gordon]

what's up with the layout
attached:

And the pop up box to upload stuff is still too small for me. I have to resize it.

[senocular]

seems like the table cells are set to resize - I think the left is supposed to be fit-width. For some reason this thread seems unaffected?

[Jesse]

OK gang, it’s been a month and we’ve been working on and off on addressing issues. I’m now going through this entire thread and building a list of things which were raised and our responses to them. I’d like to draw another baseline almost, and ask for updated feedback.

So here goes:


Sidebar on forums – Removed.
Menu color scheme – we haven’t changed it and don’t plan on doing so. At the time I thought people would simply take a while to get used to it. I’m keen to here if those of you who didn’t like it are used to it yet.
Stripy background image – as above.
Fixed width forums – Changed back to variable width.
No sideways scrollbars on forums when required – Strok’s working on it.
Tutorials index; this is a tough one; technically we have implemented a page which is exactly like the good old list. You can see it here: http://www.actionscript.org/resources/articles/ . My issue is, I don’t like it :) It’s a definite value add having a link to it from the other index, and I agree the current index needs to be shorter and sweeter, and less than 41 pages... but all the same I don’t think one monolithic page is the way to go, especially if we provide that as an aside, with a clear link on the top so people can search the giant (100kb+) page of death if they want to! (Note the slightly biased language ;) )
Movie links broken – Fixed.
Login to forum issues – People using old domain. Use www.actionscript.org and all problems should fade.
Username rollover causes “freakout” – Fixed.
Username size inconsistency – Fixed.
Forum skin – That’s with Strok.
Search engine sucks – Actually it kinda doesn’t. It works but you have to get all the settings right, so it’s more of a usability issue. We’ve tried address this by replacing it with Google Search which is what we used to have. Of course the issue there is that this searches the entire site, including the forums which dominate results and so tutorials sometimes don’t show up. For this reason we’ve provided (on the Google search results page) detailed information on how to better use the CMS’s own search engine. We’re also working with Google to see if we can get permission (yes, we need it contractually) to alter their search box to sub-search specific sections of the site. Finally, the CMS search engine is being rebuilt in version 2.0 but that’s a while off.
Color coded list of tutorials – Great idea but not entirely practical from our point of view. What we can do however is have multiple category associations. E.g. If knowing a tutorial is particularly relevant to Flash 8 or Flash 6 is important info, we can create categories like Beginner, Intermediate, etc. for the different versions of Flash. The CMS supports assigning a tutorial to more than one group so a tutorial could be assigned to both Beginner and Flash 8. It’s 2 seconds to create the groups but a while to do the assignments, so it’d have to be a value add. What say you?
Sorting tutorials by intro text (e.g. topics covered, etc) – Great suggestion Pix but those aren’t actually CMS fields. What you see at the moment in the Tutorials index is the Summary field for each tutorial, and we simply filled it with the “summary” which used to reside at the top of each tutorial on the old site.
Page load delay – I really don’t experience this and can’t think what might cause it.
Page restructure while page loads – We all see that nifty thing where the page kinda reforms and reshapes as the modularized content loads. Unfortunately I don’t think there’s much can be done about it.
TCA-ex’s new changes to logo – I love them. Will change that over.
JS error in IE – Cota, stop using IE. Problem goes away ;) Seriously though, I don’t get any errors.
Posting time is off – Fixed.
EOLAS patent issue – This is a tricky one. I can change the Movies section pretty quickly to make all SWF’s load via Flashobject or similar. CMS will be harder but possible. I’ll look into it but it’s low on my list at the moment (I’m hoping people won’t quit the site for the sake of having to click a Flash object once to make it run.)
Forum search and registration CAPTCHA not showing image – We’ve fixed up all CAPTCH related issues.
Pop-up box too small – Fixed. Sorry it took so long FG.
Copy & paste code results in one long line – Only known workaround is Pix’s “add a few comment lines before the code and don’t copy them all to the clipboard” one. I have no idea why this happens. There may be a new version of the highlighter out there. I’ll look into it.
Avatar upload not working – Fixed.
Movies section down – Fixed.
Page load times of 30 – 40 seconds – What the? I’ve really never hit this one, but I’m surprised we’ve only heard one complaint about it...
New issue with left cells resizing – Is this in fact a new issue? If so it could be caused by the hack I installed the other day to show Digg and Delicious links, etc. If someone can comment there I will have a look at whether there’s something in the hack that’s causing it, or it’s a more general issue.


Phew!

So now it’s your turn to comment on:

1. What’s still outstanding?
2. Feedback on the above.

[Flash Gordon]

New issue with left cells resizing – Is this in fact a new issue? If so it could be caused by the hack I installed the other day to show Digg and Delicious links, etc. If someone can comment there I will have a look at whether there’s something in the hack that’s causing it, or it’s a more general issue.


I'm not sure I noticed it before. At least i know i see a lot more thread that don't line up correctly now than I did.....but still not sure if that just chance or not.

And yes, pop up box is fixed now. Thanks! :)

[anonymous]

Page load times...

Rarely 30/40 seconds, but often 10/15 and on FF, not only IE.
And more and more occational timeouts.

[CyanBlue]

Don't forget that I was the first one who complained about the loading speed... For me, it does not matter what browser I use... It took somewhere around 10~15 seconds to load the thread... It does not happen all the time, but it does from time to time...

[Flash Gordon]

i don't have bad loading time, but I do get time outs kind of often.

[Jesse]

I'm wonderring if that could be a load thing...

CB: Would you mainly get it at what you consider "peak" times? Can you give me a time range? Do you get the same sorta thing on other sites at the same time of day? It could be at our end or yours...

This cell resizing thing is doing my head in. On some threads it's terrible while on others (like this one) it doesn't happen at all!

[Cota]

I have the same issue with the load time. Its completely random. happens in FF and IE.

[Flash Gordon]

I haven't ever noticed it in FF, but using IE right now. I'm getting much more lag.

[astgtciv]

Is there a reason you are not using an external css but instead outputting the whole style into the page every time? I bet the css would help with load times at least a little bit... :D

[CyanBlue]

I think the time is quite random... :(

[CyanBlue]

Um... Like NOW... It's wickedly slow... :(

I'm using home cable with IE7 and FF1.5...
10:10 PM ~ 10:30 PM EST

[Flash Gordon]

And this thread is now affected by the cell spacing issue.

[Cota]

Only for you..I'm not having that issue..though I have had it in other threads.

[Jesse]

You know, when I clicked the link in my email, the cell spacing issue did exist. Then I logged in to reply and it went away. I have absolutely no idea what could be causing this!

Re the speed issues; we're trying to set up something which monitors page load times and take automated action to remedy slow speeds if / when they arise.

[acolyte]

Hello all,

i havent experienced any problems with the Load thing but i have to agree with the Guy who said that external .css files also speed up the Sites performance .

Well i am using FF only
and i am using a T4 connection here in Europe / i dont know how to compare it to a home cable / and for me its the same speed than before

-i like the new style

thnx

[TCA-eX]

…
TCA-eX’s new changes to logo – I love them. Will change that over.
…
Only to remember: the swf and jpeg files of the logo can be found at the same here (http://tca-ex.50webs.com/as/index.htm); if you need the source files too, just tell me.



…
So now it’s your turn to comment on:

1. What’s still outstanding?
2. Feedback on the above.
It is still not resolved the problem, well not really a problem, more exactly a facet, a facet that I have also mentioned in a previous post; here it goes:

…
Another aspect that maybe could be fixed is the ‘Click to activate and use this control’ message that appears when you roll over the swf logo in Internet Explorer. This can be fixed, as I believe you know, by using the SWFObject (FlashObject) JavaScript file made by Geoff Stearns. All the necessary files are here (http://blog.deconcept.com/swfobject/). It is completely free and, in plus, it can load a jpeg file instead of the swf file if there is no Flash plug-in detected.
…
Why I am mentioning this aspect again, is because IE is still in front (at usage at least) of all other web browsers (shows the statistics (http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp)). And continuing, is because I think it looks strange, for that part of the visitors of the ActionScript.org site who do not have yet installed a Flash plug-in, to see no logo, to see no mark, no pointer (or at least not to see the most important one) about where they are.

[Jesse]

Does anyone still get that "left cell is variable width" issue? I think it might habe been caused by the hack with the Digg links, etc. so I disabled it... and now I can't replicate the problem....

But it's so sporadic I'm not sure if that's actually proof if it's fixed. Anyone still see it?

[Jesse]

It is still not resolved the ...

Fixed. It was on my list but I just wasn't getting around to it. Apologies, but thx for raising it again!

[Flash Gordon]

Jesse,

Can you fix the z-index of the drop down search and quick links vs. the flash advertising? Making the wmode=transparent would fix it.

[Flash Gordon]

Does anyone still get that "left cell is variable width" issue? I think it might habe been caused by the hack with the Digg links, etc. so I disabled it... and now I can't replicate the problem....

But it's so sporadic I'm not sure if that's actually proof if it's fixed. Anyone still see it?

Yes....it is happing in my recent thread about "bitwise and hex"

[Flash Gordon]

test

foo

[Flash Gordon]

attached:

[astgtciv]

I took a look but I just can't see where the css class "actionscript" which is referenced there for the as code is defined... it doesn't seem to be in the in-page css and it's not in clientscript/vbulletin_editor.css. Maybe I am blind ;D

[Jesse]

Jesse,

Can you fix the z-index of the drop down search and quick links vs. the flash advertising? Making the wmode=transparent would fix it.

Where are you talking about? Screen shot might help.

Thanks for info on the other issue still existing. I am almost ready to give up. It's so annoying but I can't find any reason for it or any references on the vB forums as to other people experiencing it...

[Jesse]

Re the "why embed the whole CSS in every forums page" question, the Forums are Strok's domain. I'll raise it with him.

[jsebrech]

On the left cell variable width issue... Cells are allowed to ignore their preset widths in some cases when the table-layout is not set to fixed, so you're best off setting a css rule on the table "table-layout: fixed".

[anonymous]

The left cell is variable width issue, that I still get now & then, is usually fixed with a simple browser page refresh.

[Strok]

test

[Flash Gordon]

Where are you talking about? Screen shot might help.


image attached

[Cota]

I was going to bring that up also. It makes it rather difficult to search the forums.

[MichaelxxOA]

I know that this isn't really related, but has anyone noticed an increased number of unrelated ads showing up in the forum?

Michael

[Jesse]

Hmm I don't think that fixing that it possible. Because we use insertion tags from Google. We don't have access to the actual embed tags so we can't edit such properties... I never see Flash ads in those slots. Are they common?

[MichaelxxOA]

That makes sense, I don't really see Flash ads, but I am seeing some car ads and such... no big deal, just didn't know if it had been noted or not.

Michael

[Strok]

should work now

[Flash Gordon]

fixed!

[astgtciv]

Hahaha I was looking at http://actionscript.org/forums/memberlist.php3?do=getall&page=2&pp=30&order=desc&sort=posts and was trying to figure out why almost all the ads that come up are for pest control - humane ways to kill squirrels and badgers... then I realized that it's all on account of one of the users being called "20 Ton Squirrel"! Hahahahah :D

[Flash Gordon]

should work now

http://actionscript.org/forums/showthread.php3?t=124862

still has issues. but maybe that is just how you want it to be.

[Jesse]

That thread looks fine to me...

[Flash Gordon]

FF 2.0

attached:

The long url line that cause the left cell to shift, but maybe that is what you want. I dunno.

[CyanBlue]

That problem happens in FF 1.5 as well... Hm...

[jsebrech]

This is why slashdot inserts spaces in comments every so many non-space characters.

[Jesse]

Hehe i didn't see that because of how big my monitor is.... That's always been the way with the forums... I think it's less of an issue... isn't it?

Such things can always be put in a code tag to get around it:
Error opening URL "file:///E|/Documents%20and%20Settings/OddasS/Desktop/flashdb%5Fgbv2/GuestBook.php?action=read&r=493&NumLow=0"

[Cota]

I'm not too keen on the new skin. I really became attached to the old one, then again, I do fear change.

[CyanBlue]

Yeah... I want the old skin and smilies back... :D
But I guess it will have to stay since Jesse and Strok spent good amount of time to fix it...

[Cota]

agreed!

[MichaelxxOA]

I don't mind it either way. ;)

Michael

[Jesse]

Let's keep the new one for a few weeks and return to the topic then. I've learned this is the best way to deal with such matters :)

[astgtciv]

I don't mind the fact of new smilies, but the particular set just look so... square :D

[senocular]

I feel like Im in a circus.

[Jesse]

I feel like Im in a circus.

Umm, OK, seno doesn't seem to know... who's going to tell him he is?

[Cota]

I'll break the news...Seno...this is in fact, a circus.

[astgtciv]

I can't say I like the logo that has appeared in the upper left at the expense of the menu - just a gratuitous design element with no practical use. I often click on "User CP", previously it was easy to find as it was the upper-leftmost option (the highest value screen property!), now to find it I have to follow directions "find the logo, turn right, etc...". Of course I'll get used to it, but if it's just branding I don't think I see the value.

[Jesse]

Yeah I can see what you mean. It was my idea to keep the logo on the page somewhere. More for consistency than branding.

What if it went on the right hand side? I mean, who really clicks "Logout"? (Semi-serious)

[astgtciv]

It's true that I never click "Logout", but I have trouble picturing the logo there. Another possibility is to include a smaller (or rearranged) version of the logo inside the box with the menu, so that it appears directly above "User CP" and "FAQ". Personally, I would also find it great if that version of the logo was static and did not include the rotating element as I tend to find it distracting.

[CyanBlue]

Another possibility is to include a smaller (or rearranged) version of the logo inside the box with the menu, so that it appears directly above "User CP" and "FAQ". Personally, I would also find it great if that version of the logo was static and did not include the rotating element as I tend to find it distracting.
I love that idea... :)

[Strok]

I can't say I like the logo that has appeared in the upper left at the expense of the menu - just a gratuitous design element with no practical use. I often click on "User CP", previously it was easy to find as it was the upper-leftmost option (the highest value screen property!), now to find it I have to follow directions "find the logo, turn right, etc...". Of course I'll get used to it, but if it's just branding I don't think I see the value.

the logo is gone!

[astgtciv]

So it is, thank you! I hope I didn't rob anyone of enjoying the logo in that position... :D

[Cota]

I like it better the way it is now.

[CyanBlue]

Yup... I like the way it is now... :)

[astgtciv]

I think it's time we started more pointed criticism of the smilies instead of just saying "I like the old ones better".

1. I think "BigSmile" (:D) and "Smile" (:)) are backwards. BigSmile looks like a sad brown smirk, and I was so used to that one...
2. The "question" emoticon (for the threads) has a teeny question mark and is in general very hard for me to interpret it as a question - maybe from the facial expression? Doesn't work for me...

[Strok]

I think it's time we started more pointed criticism of the smilies instead of just saying "I like the old ones better".

1. I think "BigSmile" (:D) and "Smile" (:)) are backwards. BigSmile looks like a sad brown smirk, and I was so used to that one...
2. The "question" emoticon (for the threads) has a teeny question mark and is in general very hard for me to interpret it as a question - maybe from the facial expression? Doesn't work for me...

the problem is that a VB using the same icon image : icon10.gif
For the "talking" (icon for your message from) and for the "big smile" (smiles)
As a matter of fact this is the only image which used twice.
I can reverse the smiles, but this one :) will become a "talking" (icon for your message from)
Up to you guys, just let me know...

[CDHBookingEdge]

You said
the problem is that a VB using the same icon image : icon10.gif
For the "talking" (icon for your message from) and for the "big smile" (smiles)
As a matter of fact this is the only image which used twice.
I can reverse the smiles, but this one will become a "talking" (icon for your message from)
Up to you guys, just let me know...

And I'm just trying to make sure that I understand you. "the problem is that a VB using the same icon image : icon10.gif" What are you trying to say here?

I mean let's look at it. I"m sitting here trying to type a message whilst I have icons on the top and on the side that are making movements.

That being said I have no problems with smilies, I could care less about smilies. The concept is content. Or, at least it is in my mind.

So why don't we all just agree that whatever happens with the smilies goes and all...all of us focus on some other aspects?

Design is important, I will not deny that, but if you were sitting there trying to write code with things blinking at you wouldn't you find that ennervating?

Here's a question that I've not seen answered though I might have missed it. What was the impetus behind changing the smilies (and the logo)? Maybe a nice succinct explanation of that might help put this whole thing at riest. So that other endeavors can be worked on.

[Cota]

The logo was distracting. So they removed it from certain pages. I personally dont care about an animated smiley..I dont go into "advanced" mode much, so it isnt an issue.

[CyanBlue]

I gotta tell you that 'Go Back' button that replaced AS.org logo is wicked... It really goes back way back... :D

Smilies... It's not something that's critical... I am one of those people who do not like the new smilies, but people just need time to get accustomed with it and move on... It's not the show stopper... I'd say we(?) move on and work on the more important stuff... ;)

[Cota]

I agree 100%...smilies arent really worth going crazy over.

[CyanBlue]

I agree 100%...smilies arent really worth going crazy over.
I really want to... :D :p

I am sure somebody will come up with better smilies if they really don't like them... I know we have great designers around... :cool:

[Flash Gordon]

I am sure somebody will come up with better smilies if they really don't like them... I know we have great designers around... :cool:

senocular has an entire set like 100 or so smilies he made.......

[Jesse]

OK so I think the only people who likes the new smiles are me and Strok. Strok, maybe we should change them back? ;)

There really was no real driver behind changing them. We're just trying to give the site it's own cohesive feel. I agree that smiles aren't something to argue endlessly about, but if the general consensus is that the new smiles are worse, then we will set them back.

(You can't tell me you don't love this smile: :mad: . I just can't wait to use it more often)

[astgtciv]

I actually do like that one, Jesse! Too bad I never get mad...