Forum Wish List

[Julie Wilber]

I said in the test forum that we would start a wish list for the forums. This is as good as spot as any, so let's begin.

Basically just post what you would like to see with the forums, and every week we'll reveiw it. Some wishes will be granted, some might be postponed, and some just might not happen, but we'll definitely look into them.



Thanks!

[DunkirkSystems]

Spell out CP

Hi... I'll make this an easy one - perhaps spell out "CP" (assuming it's Control Panel) or call it something catchy like "My Miva"?!

mp/m

[DunkirkSystems]

Make this message title stand out

And I'll add the second one too. :D

Make the message title stand out more - now it looks like the first line of the post. I'll leave the style to all y'all...

mp/m

[Pamela Hazelton]

Move the General below the Online Merchants. Yes, MIVA Announcements are important, but the #1 reason people will come here is for the MM specific forums. :)

[truXoft]

Is it just me, or is the forum database already broken?

Anytime I close the forum and access it later again, all threads already open and read, appear again as unread (yellow icons). To be sure I tested it with different browsers (MSIE6, Opera, Firefox), but there is no difference. And of course, I was always logged in, had cookies and scripts enabled.

This is rather disturbing, since I am spending my time in re-checking re-reading the same threads over and over. Is it just me, or does it happen to everyone?

[truXoft]

Hi... I'll make this an easy one - perhaps spell out "CP" (assuming it's Control Panel) or call it something catchy like "My Miva"?!

Personally, I am rather fan of minimalist layout, as little intrusive as possible. You can add detailed descriptions of the menu item with the help of the TITLE attributes in the hyperlink tags, though.

On the other hand, in comparison to other forums I am used to, I find the forum layout rather harming the readability. I'd prefer if the icons, avatars, frames, and other items not carrying any information were as unintrusive as possible. For example, especially the forum index page could well profit if the icons and frames were smaller, and if the forum table cells were maximally double lined, not triple lined as it is now - the page is far too long. I'd prefer if all forum descriptions were visible without scrolling. Also, I find the fading coloring of the table rows more disturbing the readability than serving any purpose.

EDIT:
Look for example at this vBulletin forum - it's layout is very simple yet very well readable, quite clear and nice in the same time (I think it is one of the built-in vBulletin layouts anyway). The only disturbing is the top menu that should be merged with the forum menu below it. And, of course, we also do not need a photo gallery as there is at the top. However, if this forum used as dense and clear layout as you can see on that page, I think it would be much easier to use.

EDIT2: Oops! I found the solution - at the bottom, tere is a style chooser. I simply switched to the "Miva style" and the layout is now as I wish

[truXoft]

Yet another wish - this forum's CSS uses fixed font sizes what is very inconvenient if you use to work with different screens and resolutions. I am used to adjust fonts with the simple and fast Ctrl+Scroll_Wheel (MSIE) or Num+/- (Opera, Firefox), but when the CSS forces fixed sizes, it has no effect, of course. In this way, in some conditions, the text is far too small to read, in others it is too big and kludgey. I'd recommend using relative font sizes - the user can then adjust the size quickly.

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

I vote yes on the variable font size...also, close up the white space as well (i.e, you could reduce the overall padding by a bit...and make padding variable as well...

Is there possibly the option of groups sumbiting their own skins? I could see the Developers all wanting a similar appearance (low color, very compact, all text, etc).

[Bruce - PhosphorMedia]

Oh, and another thing<G>...i know branding is importent, but the Miva Header is taking up 280 pixels of valuable realestate.... perhaps a smaller top header, or even a side bar branding effort would be better.

[Pamela Hazelton]

Calendar Bust?

Seems I can't access the calendar, which I believe is a calendar listing of upcoming events.

[PCINET - Andreas]

Works fine for me. I see a convention in NY.

[Pamela Hazelton]

DesignExtend-MSI, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

[truXoft]

Oh, and another thing<G>...i know branding is importent, but the Miva Header is taking up 280 pixels of valuable realestate.... perhaps a smaller top header, or even a side bar branding effort would be better.

I second the request. Why having two headers - why not branding directly the vBulletin header? Maybe something in this way:

[PCINET - Andreas]

Looks like your account isn't activated yet ... weird because you can post ... but Julie activated mine and I could post before activation too.

[Pamela Hazelton]

I've been activated. No problem with posting or any other tool.