Site Updates

[Gruntlord6]

I just noticed that my post count is down from the previous board; I hit leet several months ago, and now I'm at 1334 (1335 with this post). Are those posts deleted or renamed?

The site knows your not 1337 and fixed your post count :P

[SandChigger]

Is there a link somewhere for getting a list of ALL new posts since the last time you logged in, like the old version used to have? Edit: I guess this can be fudged using the "active content" link. Meh.

What about replies to your posts?

IMHO this pretty much SUCKS so far. The only good thing is being able to put people on iggy. :D

[Edric O]

[c=#00dd00]I miss the old Statistics page, with its monthly post count. It was extremely useful in judging the level of activity on the forums. Speaking of which, the frequency of posting seems to have fallen off a cliff...

Many posts are still showing up as blank. See this page and this one for example.[/c]

[MrFlibble]

Any progress with fixing unreasonably large margins?

[athanasios]

...

Many posts are still showing up as blank. See this page and this one for example.

Censorship on my page or hacked by capitalist secret services? LOL! ;-)

[Gobalopper]

Sorry guys, I'm too busy atm to work on changes to the site, I'm hoping by the end of October I will have more time. The problem with blank posts is invalid characters, the post will show up if you edit it and remove those characters. Eventually I will have a script to fix those posts.

Edric there is a stats program in the admin panel that you should have access to. If you can't find it I can send you a link, its under the forums tab.

[SandChigger]

No probs. All good things in time? :)

[c=#00dd00]Speaking of which, the frequency of posting seems to have fallen off a cliff...[/c]

Ah, so it's not just me what thinks so!

[Dante]

I was thinking something similar myself. I realised that, as much as I prefer reading posts in the new board, something about it really turns me off writing them. I'm not sure what it is (possibly slightly slower loading times have an effect), but that's why I've been quieter of late, at least.

[Andrew]

I don't like how on main page there is the "new" icon. It is there forever unless you click on it which marks every post as read. So basically to get it to work for me I need to click on it which could mark threads I havn't read as read. Which I really don't like.

[MrFlibble]

I don't like how on main page there is the "new" icon. It is there forever unless you click on it which marks every post as read. So basically to get it to work for me I need to click on it which could mark threads I havn't read as read. Which I really don't like.

I suppose it sits there if there's at least one unread post in the forum - as opposed to indicating that new posts have been added since the user's last visit (which I think was the case in the old board).

What about the wide margins in the default skin? Anyone else have those? Should this be fixed? BTW, it had just occurred to me that these margins are so broad (117 pixels wide each) as if the forum "body" width was set for a lower resolution, like 800x600.

Oh, one more thing I noticed: not only some of the old posts don't show because of "bad characters", but also old smileys are not interpreted by the new board engine, and appear just as plain punctuation marks.

[veK]

I don't like how on main page there is the "new" icon. It is there forever unless you click on it which marks every post as read. So basically to get it to work for me I need to click on it which could mark threads I havn't read as read. Which I really don't like.

This is bothering me too a lot. I also still have those skype telephone numbers everywhere. And I still can't sort the topics backwards so that the first post on the first page is the newest post. I also did misclick quite a few times and hit the wrong reply button. Somehow some personal messages also got totally messed up. And... ah well I don't want to continue with the list. Fact is I haven't been to the site nearly as much as before, not reading as many posts and hardly writing any. In my opinion this new forum sucks and the old one was way better. It was plain and simple and I never really had any problems with it.

[MrFlibble]

Somehow some personal messages also got totally messed up. And... ah well I don't want to continue with the list. Fact is I haven't been to the site nearly as much as before, not reading as many posts and hardly writing any. In my opinion this new forum sucks and the old one was way better. It was plain and simple and I never really had any problems with it.

All too true :(

[SandChigger]

Active content in the last week: There have been 20 entries in the last week

Is that correct?!

I post nearly that many comments all on my own over on Jacurutu. In a day.

[Andrew]

it was a dead week or so. I'm going to be more busy this winter than other winters, so not as much posting for me :O

[Edric O]

[c=#00dd00]We have a crisis on our hands. In just a couple of months, the forum went from holding steady with the same level of activity that we've had for years, to being almost dead. Obviously, the new software is to blame. People don't like it, so they stopped posting. Presumably most people are still reading the forum, though, so we have to act quickly to restore activity before they stop doing even that and FED2k dies.

I will petition Gob to restore the old software. Clearly the IP.Board experiment is a failure. If restoring the old software doesn't work, either because Gob disagrees or because it's not technically possible, then those of us who are still here must make a commitment to increase our posting drastically for at least a month, like during the Great Dune Revolution of Dunenewt.

I love FED2k. We cannot let it die.[/c]

[Edric O]

[c=#00dd00]If you are wondering, the monthly post statistics since June 2010 are as follows:

June: 1313 posts

July: 740 posts

August: 676 posts

September: 656 posts

October: 330 posts (lowest number in all FED2k history)

November (so far): 173 posts[/c]

[Lord J]

On the one hand I feel like the people who are complaining about the new board software are... somewhat silly. Personally, I see the software and layout of the site as a vehicle, and it's not very important to me how it looks or how well it works, so long as it serves its purpose: allowing for interesting discussion.

On the other hand, if people are genuinely not posting due to the fact that they feel uncomfortable with the changes, regardless of how I feel about them as individuals, the vehicle is not serving its purpose.

[Gobalopper]

The forum software isn't changing guys. As I said before I'm going to work on improvements based on what people have recommended but I'm not able to until closer to the end of November. Every fall/winter I do scheduling for a local ice hockey league and this year they expanded to almost 300 teams, from about 80, and that has eaten up any spare time I have had these last couple months.

As for people posting less I'm sure some of it is due to the forum software but a lot is due to people growing older and moving on in life to other things. There also hasn't been a Dune game released in years so we aren't exactly drawing in new users.

Whatever happens the site is still going to be here even if no one is posting.

[Edric O]

As for people posting less I'm sure some of it is due to the forum software but a lot is due to people growing older and moving on in life to other things. There also hasn't been a Dune game released in years so we aren't exactly drawing in new users.

[c=#00dd00]Gob, several people have already said that they've been posting less precisely because of the new software. And you can't argue with the statistics: posting levels were holding steady since late 2008, and then declined dramatically over the last few months. Last month, in particular, was a disaster.

We can wait another month if you wish, and then I can draw you a graph of post counts over the last few years and I guarantee that you will see a sharp drop immediately after the new software was introduced.

FED2k's strength is not in its novelty. This is not a place where people come to discuss recent developments in games, literature, or anything else. This is a meeting place for old friends. The reason why people post on FED2k is because they have an emotional connection to this community. Like it or not, nostalgia is our main selling point. By changing the look of the forums, we have weakened the emotional ties between our members and the site. Trying to recruit new members is a lost cause; what we need to do is to keep old timers coming back. And that purpose is best served by a retro look, not by updating to the newest software.

Even if the decline in activity is only partially due to the new software, what are the positive aspects of IP.Board that outweigh this downside? Why do we have it?[/c]

[Andrew]

[c=#00dd00]I love FED2k. We cannot let it die.[/c]

Let's cyrogenically freeze it!

Then in the future USS Enterprise will find it floating in space and will see the forum in all its glory.

The new forum doesn't technically prevent people from posting and is quite similar. Maybe less nostalgic which discourages new posts.

Just nothing worthwhile to post.

Need a new Dune game.

[Edric O]

The new forum doesn't technically prevent people from posting and is quite similar. Maybe less nostalgic which discourages new posts.

Just nothing worthwhile to post.

Need a new Dune game.

[c=#00dd00]There hasn't been a new Dune game in, what, 9 years? I don't see why people would pick this particular time to post less. The new software is the only possible explanation...[/c]

[Lord J]

Edric, it's a simple empirical question: would the creation of a new Dune game increase membership/activity?

Well, I like to think of you as enough of a social scientist to know what to do next: design an experiment!

Your job is simple Edric: create a new Dune blockbuster.

We're waiting.... ;) ;) ;)

[SandChigger]

On the one hand I feel like the people who are complaining about the new board software are... somewhat silly.

Likewise, I'm sure.

No, I'm certain. :)

Edit:

Just read Edric's post on the previous page... I think I've asked this before, but can't recall ever having received a serious answer: Why the panic about post counts? I'm assuming that Gobalopper pays for the server, that this is not some free site/domain dependent upon activity for continuation. Right? So what's the big deal?

My comment last night wasn't a complaint, just an expression of surprise at how little posting there had been, compared to the past. I personally haven't been coming around that much because I just got thoroughly fooked off at the stupidity in the PRP forum. And let's be honest, there's not really that much interesting Dune discussion going on here.

This new version of the boardware loads a little slower on my home connection, but it's not that big a deal. And the new ability to hide posts by people I'd rather wish death in a fire upon is GREAT! There's just not that much reason anymore to pop round, though, in the first place.

FWIW, that's where I'm at.

[Khan]

I stopped posting mainly because i've been swamped at work. And whoring around. Doesn't leave much time for posting but I'm going to try to be around more. Missed this old place

[MrFlibble]

[c=#00dd00]We have a crisis on our hands. In just a couple of months, the forum went from holding steady with the same level of activity that we've had for years, to being almost dead. Obviously, the new software is to blame. People don't like it, so they stopped posting. Presumably most people are still reading the forum, though, so we have to act quickly to restore activity before they stop doing even that and FED2k dies.

I will petition Gob to restore the old software. Clearly the IP.Board experiment is a failure. If restoring the old software doesn't work, either because Gob disagrees or because it's not technically possible, then those of us who are still here must make a commitment to increase our posting drastically for at least a month, like during the Great Dune Revolution of Dunenewt.[/c]

I agree with what you say, maybe editing the forum skin so that it looks as close to the original as possible would be a solution?

[c=#00dd00]FED2k's strength is not in its novelty. This is not a place where people come to discuss recent developments in games, literature, or anything else. This is a meeting place for old friends. The reason why people post on FED2k is because they have an emotional connection to this community. Like it or not, nostalgia is our main selling point. By changing the look of the forums, we have weakened the emotional ties between our members and the site. Trying to recruit new members is a lost cause; what we need to do is to keep old timers coming back. And that purpose is best served by a retro look, not by updating to the newest software.[/c]

All of it is true. To me, FED2k was the very first Internet forum I joined, and over the years, I've come to think of it as a "home" of sorts. Now it feels alien, and the decline in activity of other old-time members, as well as their open statements about how they feel, suggests that I'm not the only one who has such sentiments.

It is true that the discussion of Dune books here has all but died out in recent years, yet people would still come and have a chat, friendly or not as much, and FED2k used to be a meeting place for people who have at least some interests in common, and are willing to go on with their mutual communication no matter what. The drastic decline in activity after the forum software change is by no means a coincidence: even before the event itself, many people expressed their misgivings about the upcoming changes, presumably for exactly the reasons Edric has mentioned.

[c=#00dd00]Even if the decline in activity is only partially due to the new software, what are the positive aspects of IP.Board that outweigh this downside? Why do we have it?[/c]

Personally I haven't noticed any pros in the new software. Embedded YouTube videos? Do we really need them? The new smileys aren't as good-looking as the ones in the "comic" set that was available in the old version (even though this one might be my personal preference). Moreover, smileys in the many old posts are not displayed as such; likewise, several other types of formatted text in the old posts do not show correctly, e.g. some types of lists or images. Even more, some of the old posts are not displayed at all, because the new software doesn't like the use of some characters within them.

You might say, okay, those are some inevitable screw-ups that will be eventually sorted out. Fine, I agree with that. But I'll repeat Edric's question: what are the real upsides that the forum had gained with software change?