I know I am being a nag, but so many other forums/discussion boards are so much easy to use, and their databases also so much more search-able. Take forums ran on a php platform such as vbulletin for example.
I am looking for information that should be easy to find because I'm sure someone's asked it before and posted about it, yet I can't find it because this forum is very uninviting, layout is intimidating (basically it has and holds the appearance that you should be an expert at using this community just to use it...) and it doesn't make see the possibility of helpfulness which it's supposed to show.
I'm sorry but I've grown frustrated just looking at it and not being able to gather the knowledge of where to begin.
Welcome to the forums. Here are a couple of hints for you.
Since I am on this forum often, I click on the link, "Posts you have not read", located next to my Avatar. This will bring up all the threads that I have not opened before and I won't see all of the other, past postings that I have already visited.
Also, when you post a question and you come back some time later after being gone awhile, the posting should show up in "Your latest forum posts" right below your avatar.
I do agree, sometimes it is difficult to search for something, if you do not know the exact expression to search for. But I do not do too much searching, since I have been on here for a long time.....
Any way, Gabriela, (you spell your name exactly the way my wife does ) Just hop in here any time to ask a question or just to browse around. You would be surprised at how much information you could pick up, here.
HuMJohn aka Hugh Johnson
I can think of only one thing that would be a particular and very desirable improvement.
If you enter the forum by a bookmark to http://coreldraw.com/forums/ the opening screen contains the list of threads with unread posts, which is good.
Not so good is that when you click on a thread title within that list, it takes you to the top of the thread and you then have to scroll past a list of posts which you have already read. That's not really consistent with the purpose of a list of unread posts -- which is that you want to go to the unread post.
The browser could do that very easily, since every post in the thread already has its own bookmark. For instance, http://coreldraw.com/forums/p/31038/146157.aspx#146157 and http://coreldraw.com/forums/p/31038/146162.aspx#146162 are two individual posts within this thread. Though even that would be only half a solution. The # number ensures the browser scrolls down until the specified post is on the screen, but it will sometimes be at the top of the screen, sometimes at the bottom and sometimes in between.
So, in addition to adding the # numbers to the URL, the first-unread post needs some visual distinction. Perhaps the words "Unread posts below" inside red horizontal lines, perhaps a big red "hand" icon in the margin above the poster's avatar, with the words "next unread" inside the hand, or something similar.
Gabriela Isabel:I had to "stay" on it.
That's one method, but there are others.
When you posted your first post, you should have seen an option [ ] Email me replies to this post. That would have notified you of the next reply -- and I think would also have given you a link back to the thread in case you wanted to post another reply.
I'm curious: What exactly do you find difficult about the forum? The search in particular works well.
I'm familiar with vbulletin as well as several other forum programs, and I don't see a lot of difference between them (unless you're skinning them). I can truthfully say I don't see where vbull is superior. But if there's something in particular you need help with, please tell us. ??
Hello! for example, to be able to see that there was a reply to this posting I had to "stay" on it. It's very hard to describe but If I hadn't, I just wouldn't have been able to even know where my posting "went", let alone if there had been an answer to it.
One bulletin forum I use is http://www.volusiariders.com/index.php and what it is very easy and identifiable is the categories and subcategories. Also it's search function it's allowed me to find what I look for every time, so far.
Sorry took me a while to type this I got distracted. As I was using it I found out I lost a friend.
Anyways... a simpler look to its format would help.
Thanks for the quick reply.
harryLondon: Gabriela Isabel:I had to "stay" on it. That's one method, but there are others. When you posted your first post, you should have seen an option [ ] Email me replies to this post. That would have notified you of the next reply -- and I think would also have given you a link back to the thread in case you wanted to post another reply.