Seems some of you are having the same problem as I am. I cannot view anything at all, unless I sign in. But I'm sure that will be fixed soon, as my concern is that any guests looking in won't be able to see the forums at all. I know I can't if I don't sign in.
As for Active posts, I pefer that than View New Posts. I like to see what I've missed and the Active post list is much longer.
I guess we just don't like change, I don't particularly like anything to change that I am used to. But as long as I can view without logging in, and can view Active posts, then I'll be okay.
I also close down my computer at night, and that logs you off everything.
Julian gave an exclamation and nudged George.
"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"
I selected the option to stay permanently logged on, and I too have not had to log in since. Obviously, you could only do this on your own computer/phone/tablet/etc, because if someone else comes onto the forums, they would have access to your account.
Personally I haven't experienced any problems, concerning the changes, and I don't think much is very different, really. I have only really noticed the search bar at the top of the page, and a few of the options there have changed in order a little, but otherwise, all is very similar to how it was before.
"Beware of young men with long hair - that's what dad says, isn't it?"
Pat, Holiday House
Julie2owlsdene wrote:Seems some of you are having the same problem as I am. I cannot view anything at all, unless I sign in. But I'm sure that will be fixed soon, as my concern is that any guests looking in won't be able to see the forums at all. I know I can't if I don't sign in.
As for Active posts, I pefer that than View New Posts. I like to see what I've missed and the Active post list is much longer.
I guess we just don't like change, I don't particularly like anything to change that I am used to. But as long as I can view without logging in, and can view Active posts, then I'll be okay.
I also close down my computer at night, and that logs you off everything.
I can't really understand what you are doing, Julie, as nothing has changed for guests at all, it is exactly as it was before the changes - you do not have to log in to just read the posts. Also for both you and Katharine, it is no good just not logging out when you turn off or go to another website, you must use the button which says stay logged in and then it doesn't matter if you switch off and go away for a week, you will still be logged in when you get back!!
Sorry about any issues you've experienced lately. Last week, the server was updated to use a newer script (PHP v5.2 to v5.4 in case you want to know) and this involved a number of very small but critical changes that disallowed the use of certain bits of code many website designers like to use. So I'm having to go through all my websites and update things. Even one tiny syntax error will throw error messages onto the screen or even disable an entire site. For tech-minded types, the biggest two issues were specifically declaring global variables (ie, $_GET and $_POST) and escaping strings (putting \ in front of apostrophes so it doesn't confuse the database when submitting forms).
Everything is MOSTLY working now, and I'm out the lookout for lingering problems. So feel free to report them here on wherever.
As part of all this, I updated the phpBB forums to better deal with the newer PHP v5.4. Hence the forums update.
I've enabled the "View Active Topics" page. Apparently there was a known bug in the old forums we were using that had this enabled whether it was supposed to be or not. The new version corrected this bug, so I had to go through and manually enable it because it was actually set to "off" before!
The old "Quick Reply" feature was previously a hacker's add-on, and everyone loved it so much that it's now included in the new phpBB forums as part of the package. I just enabled it (see the foot of this page) and used it to post this message.
I know there are some differences in layout. Anita mentioned differences in colors too, but honestly I didn't notice! Now I wish I'd taken a basic screenshot to see what it looked like before. Does anyone have one? On the other hand, I'm not sure it's at the top of my priority list at the moment. The thing is, whatever I do to adjust things manually makes the next update that much more fiddly, hence why I didn't update it for years. So the less I mess with it, the easier it will be to update in the future.
Just to clarify, when you sign into the forums, make sure to check the box that says "keep me logged in." This sets a permanent cookie so you won't have to log in again (unless you clear your cookies). If you DON'T check that box, you'll stay logged in for the duration of your session only. If you close your browser or restart your computer, then you'll be logged out.
You definitely don't need to be logged in to view the forums, though. Only for posting.
I know the control panel layout at the top of the page looks different, but I don't know what's different about it either! When the update completed, it was a bit of a mess because it had merged all my previous tweaks with the default layout, and it had some of the buttons twice and so on -- hence what I said above about meddling. I ironed it out a bit, but I can change things around a little if needed. I personally use "View New Posts" more than anything. Again, if anyone has a screenshot as it used to look, it might be interesting to see it.
On the main site, the Cave of Books is now working, as is the Journals section as Tony mentioned in an email.
Let me know if you spot anything else that needs fixing!
Everything is working spot on for me, now. I can read posts by logging in and as a guest, and the Active Topic button is working fine. The only difference I can see is when you log in, that is on the left and before it was on the right, but that's not a problem at all.
Thanks Keith.
Julian gave an exclamation and nudged George.
"See that? It's the black Bentley again. KMF 102!"
I still can't stop my "Topic information" being sent to my email account. I have tried countless times to reset it - the "no" button is highlighted but still they keep rolling in! I had hoped it would have righted itself after all the tweaking Keith, but sadly not.
'Tis loving and giving that makes life worth living.
I think this might be a problem with the Cave. If you use the quick links to popular series you get the usual introductory blurb and other details of annuals, games, jigsaws etc. but if you go through the Novels/Novelettes link and click the series you want it's just original editions/reprints.
"I love everything that's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines." Oliver Goldsmith
Kate, that's just because the Novels/Novelettes page is for novels/novelettes only, whereas the quick links are all-encompassing for those series. It's working correctly even if "quick links" may be a misleading title.
Thanks very much for sorting things out, Keith. It's great to have things running smoothly again.
Keith Robinson wrote:Anita mentioned differences in colors too, but honestly I didn't notice! Now I wish I'd taken a basic screenshot to see what it looked like before.
Oh, it's nothing important. I just happened to notice that members' names (to the right of their posts - beneath the avatar if they have one) are now blue, instead of dusky red. (Admin, including yourself of course, still have their names in bright red as they were before.)
Links in people's forum posts are also now showing up as blue instead of dusky red.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.
"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.
Now I know why there's been an update to the Forums!
One thing, though, I doubt anyone will be able to get used to (for a while): the new left-alignment of the LOGIN/LOGOUT.
It might not be so bad for those of us posting through desktops and laptops. But for those of us able to view the desktop version of the Forums using smartphones/iPhones, the new left-alignment might make the LOGIN/LOGOUT hard to click upon!
Oh, and only "Show active topics" when we click the link thereto, please... not to display within each and every section!
It's great to have things running smoothly again.
