12 replies to this topic

[morti]

this new forum is terrible,we need to go back to the old one

[grumpyoldram]

this new forum is terrible,we need to go back to the old one

TOTALCRAP.com

I agree morti. Why fix what ain't broke ?

[BatleyFanAndy]

Agreed

[Blind side johnny]

Posted on the main forum:

"as a traditionalist I am disgusted.
the heart's been ripped out of the forum, and we have been sold down the river and shafted. I suspect Lindsay, Lewis, Wood, Hetherington and Murdoch are behind all this."

Well it made me laugh.

You'll soon get used to it, just wait and see.

[Hunslet2012]

it sucks half of the links dont work......bit like keighley website

[alienboy]

Totally slow it's like a throwback to the mid nineties waiting for pages to come up. Rubbish.

[Blind side johnny]

For anyone who is having problems with the new-look forum I recommend having a look at this thread:

http://www.totalrl.c...for-a-new-year/

[Tom Coates]

The decision to revamp the forum wasn't taken lightly, and it certainly isn't a case of changing it for change's sake.

Calls for the company to upgrade the website were becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore. A significant investment of time and money has been made to enhance the forum experience for users. There are a few kinks left to iron out and the inevitable snags that come with a project this big are being worked on. John, who carried out the work to update the site in his spare time, was up until 4am last night addressing issues reported by users.

The most noticeable difference is the 'new look'. The forum width has been increased to make better use of the space on a computer screen, and we've added a collapsible sidebar to the portal page (click the 'X' to get rid of it).

What might not be immediately apparent is the changes that have been made 'under the hood', many of which were urgently needed. The software that generates the forums has been upgraded to the latest version. The site is now less vulnerable to attacks from hackers, meaning data entered by users when they signed up (like email addresses) are much safer than they were before. The update also guards against server crashes, which can take the whole site offline and result in posts going missing.

The old forum engine, which did a good job for us, had been in place for almost eight years and was becoming increasingly open to attacks from hackers, and more susceptible to server crashes. Remember, prevention is usually cheaper than the cure.

Another advantage the new forum has over the old one is that it is optimised for access from iPhones and other mobile devices. If you have an iPhone, a Blackberry or any other mobile phone with a web browser, type totalrl.com/forums into your phone's browser to give it a try.

Also in the new update is the facility to connect your Facebook and/or Twitter account to the forum. This opens up the message board to thousands more people and allows current users to update their facebook/forum status from one place. You can now also approve and disapprove of posts by clicking the + and - buttons beneath each entry (similar to 'like' on facebook). A running tally is kept for each user, which makes life a lot more difficult for trolls (people who post with the sole intention of provoking a reaction from others).

...and that's only scratching the surface.

John Drake (the webmaster) and myself are still working through all the features and you can expect new things to be added over the coming weeks. You will see a gradually greater presence of the forums on Facebook, including the ability to make posts without leaving the site, and a few other surprises on this website designed to enhance the forum experience.

Fundamentally though, nothing will change. Users start threads and reply to messages the same way they always have, under the same user name and with the same password. The Facebook/Twitter functionality may not be for everyone, and that's fine. It's optional, and nothing that the old forum had has been taken away or replaced.

Yes, the new look may take a bit of getting used to but the least you can do is give it a try for a few weeks first. I'm sure you'll learn to accept it in time!

Those of you experiencing problems should email either myself at the address below or John (john.drake@totalrl.com). Please include details of the operating system (Windows XP, Mac OS etc) and the name of the browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome etc) you are using. This will help us pinpoint where the issues are. I recommend installing Google Chrome as your browser (click here).

Thanks.

[funkmaster flex]

The decision to revamp the forum wasn't taken lightly, and it certainly isn't a case of changing it for change's sake.

Calls for the company to upgrade the website were becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore. A significant investment of time and money has been made to enhance the forum experience for users. There are a few kinks left to iron out and the inevitable snags that come with a project this big are being worked on. John, who carried out the work to update the site in his spare time, was up until 4am last night addressing issues reported by users.

The most noticeable difference is the 'new look'. The forum width has been increased to make better use of the space on a computer screen, and we've added a collapsible sidebar to the portal page (click the 'X' to get rid of it).

What might not be immediately apparent is the changes that have been made 'under the hood', many of which were urgently needed. The software that generates the forums has been upgraded to the latest version. The site is now less vulnerable to attacks from hackers, meaning data entered by users when they signed up (like email addresses) are much safer than they were before. The update also guards against server crashes, which can take the whole site offline and result in posts going missing.

The old forum engine, which did a good job for us, had been in place for almost eight years and was becoming increasingly open to attacks from hackers, and more susceptible to server crashes. Remember, prevention is usually cheaper than the cure.

Another advantage the new forum has over the old one is that it is optimised for access from iPhones and other mobile devices. If you have an iPhone, a Blackberry or any other mobile phone with a web browser, type totalrl.com/forums into your phone's browser to give it a try.

Also in the new update is the facility to connect your Facebook and/or Twitter account to the forum. This opens up the message board to thousands more people and allows current users to update their facebook/forum status from one place. You can now also approve and disapprove of posts by clicking the + and - buttons beneath each entry (similar to 'like' on facebook). A running tally is kept for each user, which makes life a lot more difficult for trolls (people who post with the sole intention of provoking a reaction from others).

...and that's only scratching the surface.

John Drake (the webmaster) and myself are still working through all the features and you can expect new things to be added over the coming weeks. You will see a gradually greater presence of the forums on Facebook, including the ability to make posts without leaving the site, and a few other surprises on this website designed to enhance the forum experience.

Fundamentally though, nothing will change. Users start threads and reply to messages the same way they always have, under the same user name and with the same password. The Facebook/Twitter functionality may not be for everyone, and that's fine. It's optional, and nothing that the old forum had has been taken away or replaced.

Yes, the new look may take a bit of getting used to but the least you can do is give it a try for a few weeks first. I'm sure you'll learn to accept it in time!

Those of you experiencing problems should email either myself at the address below or John (john.drake@totalrl.com). Please include details of the operating system (Windows XP, Mac OS etc) and the name of the browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome etc) you are using. This will help us pinpoint where the issues are. I recommend installing Google Chrome as your browser (click here).

Thanks.

First of all I think you are assuming that most users on here are computer savvy blackberry carrying business men. I doubt that is true.
Most new phones have a built in ability to resize web pages accordingly. I have an Android handset and that does it automatically as does the Iphone. So im not getting the whole 'user experinace on a handset' thing.

The new look of the forum lacks a virtual meaning of charisma and instead looks boring and bland. It is less user friendly and in what i can only assume is a desire to simplify itself has become over complicated and fiddly.

I completely understand and applaud your efforts to increase security and improve efficiency on the servers. But did that mean such a drastic overhaul of the user experience was needed?

The whole facebook/twitter thing I think is something that will be nothing other than a waste of server space and seems to me, to fly in the face of what you were trying to achieve. I use facebook daily and cannot ever imagine a time when i would integrate the forum and my facebook account.

I dont know much about what goes on behind the scenes of running a forum and i know this forum is free, but for me you have tried to make fundamental changes for many reasons. In doing this you have overlooked one of the most fundamental rules of all - If its not broke, don't fix it. And whilst there may have been problems beneath the surface you have taken a good looking, user friendly forum and replaced it with something lacking style, attraction and made it look boring.

Your comment on the whole user experience being the same (you post, you reply etc) is like comparing a Ferrari to a Suzuki Swift, they both do the same thing, but have completely different attractions.

In regards to recommending Chrome as your browser i ask why? Overwhelmingly the most popular browsers are IE and Firefox with Chrome users making up a much smaller percentage. Surely you should tailor the site to work well on IE and Firefox assuming those are the browsers most users will be using?

Edited by funkmaster flex, 25 January 2011 - 08:30 PM.

[Tom Coates]

First of all I think you are assuming that most users on here are computer savvy blackberry carrying business men. I doubt that is true.

I'm not a savvy businessman and I have a blackberry. My mum isn't either and she has an iPod touch. In fact 73.5 million iPhones had been sold by the end of 2010, and another 100 million people haver blackberrys. That's not counting all the other 'smartphones' that are also capable of web browsing.

We're not assuming that most users have blackberrys or iPhones, but research conducted by League Express at the end of last year suggested that a rapidly increasing number of people do. It'd be foolish for us not to respond to what is a fairly significant technological advancement don't you think?

We also received a significant amount of PMs and emails asking us when we'd be optimising the forum for mobile use and when an app would be available.

Most new phones have a built in ability to resize web pages accordingly. I have an Android handset and that does it automatically as does the Iphone. So im not getting the whole 'user experinace on a handset' thing.

The old forum was displayed in full on Blackberrys, which meant an awful lot of vertical and horizontal scrolling, and a lot of time spent loading images in people's signatures and avatars. The new forum does not display images when accessed from a mobile device, meaning that it loads quicker and doesn't require any horizontal scrolling, and much less vertical scrolling - thus enhancing the user experience.

There's also a free iPhone app available from the Apple app store that is compatible with the new forum, but wasn't with the old.

The new look of the forum lacks a virtual meaning of charisma and instead looks boring and bland. It is less user friendly and in what i can only assume is a desire to simplify itself has become over complicated and fiddly.

I'm not sure I follow you here. The old forum was blue and silver and the new one is.. err.. blue and silver. All the buttons are in the same place and there are dozens of new features that make posting much easier. One example is the ability to embed youtube videos directly into a post simply by pasting the URL, and there are dozens more.

You say the new forum has become over-complicated and fiddly. Could you elaborate on this? Which bits are you finding difficult to use?

I completely understand and applaud your efforts to increase security and improve efficiency on the servers. But did that mean such a drastic overhaul of the user experience was needed?

To increase security and improve efficiency we needed to update the software to the latest edition. That required a substantial financial investment from the company. For your money you get the latest technology and a bunch of other bells and whistles. Some of them might be a bit gimmicky and pointless, sure, but I'm sure users will be very impressed with a lot of the other stuff the upgrade will bring/has already brought.

The whole facebook/twitter thing I think is something that will be nothing other than a waste of server space and seems to me, to fly in the face of what you were trying to achieve. I use facebook daily and cannot ever imagine a time when i would integrate the forum and my facebook account.

As mentioned in my previous post, the Facebook/Twitter connectivity may not be embraced by everyone. There's no requirement for users to associate their forum account with their facebook profile. We're still exploring the possibilities of the link between Facebook and Total RL (having only established it yesterday) and, naturally, there's a lot that it can do that we haven't figured out yet.

One advantage the link will have straight away (once a forum presence is established on facebook) is that Rugby League supporters who've never used this forum before will be able to post using their Facebook account, and not be required to set up an account on here. This has the potential to vastly increase the number of people contributing to discussions on here, which can only be a good thing. Not least of all because those connecting from Facebook will post as themselves, and be less likely to cause trouble behind an anonymous pseudonym.

I dont know much about what goes on behind the scenes of running a forum and i know this forum is free, but for me you have tried to make fundamental changes for many reasons. In doing this you have overlooked one of the most fundamental rules of all - If its not broke, don't fix it.

It was broke though, as I've explained. There would have been a lot more complaints if the old forum had been hacked and brought to its knees because we were too lazy/tight to upgrade the software.

John did not take the decision to upgrade the website lightly. He has long subscribed to the philosophy of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'. By the end though we didn't have a choice.

And whilst there may have been problems beneath the surface you have taken a good looking, user friendly forum and replaced it with something lacking style, attraction and made it look boring.

I've addressed this point already.

Your comment on the whole user experience being the same (you post, you reply etc) is like comparing a Ferrari to a Suzuki Swift, they both do the same thing, but have completely different attractions.

Well I'd rather have a Ferrari, or am I missing the point?

In regards to recommending Chrome as your browser i ask why? Overwhelmingly the most popular browsers are IE and Firefox with Chrome users making up a much smaller percentage. Surely you should tailor the site to work well on IE and Firefox assuming those are the browsers most users will be using?

Internet Explorer is the most popular browser due overwhelmingly to the fact that it is pre-installed on Windows machines. Google Chrome's currently small share of the market reflects the fact that it's only been around for a relatively short amount of time. By amount of people downloading it, Chrome is the fastest growing browser around.

Having said that, the website isn't tailored to any browser in particular. Indeed, Webmaster John prefers and uses Internet Explorer. I advised people to download Google Chrome because I think it's the best browser. You don't have to listen to me though.

[funkmaster flex]

I'm not a savvy businessman and I have a blackberry. My mum isn't either and she has an iPod touch. In fact 73.5 million iPhones had been sold by the end of 2010, and another 100 million people haver blackberrys. That's not counting all the other 'smartphones' that are also capable of web browsing.

I appreciate your journalistic style and that it is the norm to skew facts to fit an agenda, but since this site is quite clearly aimed predominantly at the UK Population, it would probably have made much more sense to quote UK sales. However, using your statistics I think its safe to assume therefore that 0.02% of people own either a Blackberry or an Iphone.

We're not assuming that most users have blackberrys or iPhones, but research conducted by League Express at the end of last year suggested that a rapidly increasing number of people do. It'd be foolish for us not to respond to what is a fairly significant technological advancement don't you think?

Actually a rapidly increasing number do not. Symbian OS and Android are the market leaders with Symbian being a current clear leader, but falling to the growth of Android. In fact Blackberry and Apple take up 32% of all smartphone users worldwide.

We also received a significant amount of PMs and emails asking us when we'd be optimising the forum for mobile use and when an app would be available.

The growth of this forum onto Mobile handsets is a good thing, and its own is great - Though why you have ignored the two leading Mobile OS I do not understand? Surely if you were marketing the forum based on the fact users have been requesting mobile apps, you would have started with the most popular?

The old forum was displayed in full on Blackberrys, which meant an awful lot of vertical and horizontal scrolling, and a lot of time spent loading images in people's signatures and avatars. The new forum does not display images when accessed from a mobile device, meaning that it loads quicker and doesn't require any horizontal scrolling, and much less vertical scrolling - thus enhancing the user experience.

Don't all phones/browsers have an option to display graphics or not? Or, as the BBC has, an option of a lo graphics edition. Would that not have been better?

There's also a free iPhone app available from the Apple app store that is compatible with the new forum, but wasn't with the old.

That's great.

I'm not sure I follow you here. The old forum was blue and silver and the new one is.. err.. blue and silver. All the buttons are in the same place and there are dozens of new features that make posting much easier. One example is the ability to embed youtube videos directly into a post simply by pasting the URL, and there are dozens more.

Let me explain. Can you remember Windows 95? It was a huge leap forward in terms of operating systems and created one of the biggest technology buzz's of the decade. Suddenly what was once difficult was now so much easier, but it looked horrible. It was not user friendly in terms of its appearance and lacked attraction. Look to Windows 7, or Vista or XP before that. Much more time has been spent on making it look good. Things have improved under the bottom but the appearance has improved drastically. If you think blue and silver look the same whatever their form or design then you are blind.

To increase security and improve efficiency we needed to update the software to the latest edition. That required a substantial financial investment from the company. For your money you get the latest technology and a bunch of other bells and whistles. Some of them might be a bit gimmicky and pointless, sure, but I'm sure users will be very impressed with a lot of the other stuff the upgrade will bring/has already brought.

Only this morning I couldn't log on due to server problems. Teething problems, I understand that. But that does not explain the look.

As mentioned in my previous post, the Facebook/Twitter connectivity may not be embraced by everyone. There's no requirement for users to associate their forum account with their facebook profile. We're still exploring the possibilities of the link between Facebook and Total RL (having only established it yesterday) and, naturally, there's a lot that it can do that we haven't figured out yet.

I get that and will watch with interest.

It was broke though, as I've explained. There would have been a lot more complaints if the old forum had been hacked and brought to its knees because we were too lazy/tight to upgrade the software.

John did not take the decision to upgrade the website lightly. He has long subscribed to the philosophy of 'if it ain't broke don't fix it'. By the end though we didn't have a choice.

Again I get that. My issue is the look and feel of the new forum.

Well I'd rather have a Ferrari, or am I missing the point?

Yes you are.

Internet Explorer is the most popular browser due overwhelmingly to the fact that it is pre-installed on Windows machines. Google Chrome's currently small share of the market reflects the fact that it's only been around for a relatively short amount of time. By amount of people downloading it, Chrome is the fastest growing browser around.

Having said that, the website isn't tailored to any browser in particular. Indeed, Webmaster John prefers and uses Internet Explorer. I advised people to download Google Chrome because I think it's the best browser. You don't have to listen to me though.

I think Firefox is.

I did try and quote the whole of your text but for some reason the forum threw up a warning saying I had tried to quote too much.

[Tom Coates]

I appreciate your journalistic style and that it is the norm to skew facts to fit an agenda, but since this site is quite clearly aimed predominantly at the UK Population, it would probably have made much more sense to quote UK sales. However, using your statistics I think its safe to assume therefore that 0.02% of people own either a Blackberry or an Iphone.

Symbian OS and Android are the market leaders with Symbian being a current clear leader, but falling to the growth of Android. In fact Blackberry and Apple take up 32% of all smartphone users worldwide.

The growth of this forum onto Mobile handsets is a good thing, and its own is great - Though why you have ignored the two leading Mobile OS I do not understand? Surely if you were marketing the forum based on the fact users have been requesting mobile apps, you would have started with the most popular?

The new forum is a lot easier to use on Symbian OS and Android too, since you ask, and we haven't ignored anybody - we're simply striving to meet the demands of our users. Many of whom have told us that they'd like us to work on making the website easier to access from a mobile device, which we have done.

We haven't yet explored the full possibilities for Symbian OS and Android users yet, but we hope to over the coming weeks.

Don't all phones/browsers have an option to display graphics or not? Or, as the BBC has, an option of a lo graphics edition. Would that not have been better?

The new forum automatically reverts to the lo-fi version when accessed from any mobile device. This was not the case with the old forum which, as I've already explained, displayed avatars and signatures when accessed from many devices, which meant that loading pages took a lot longer.

Let me explain. Can you remember Windows 95? It was a huge leap forward in terms of operating systems and created one of the biggest technology buzz's of the decade. Suddenly what was once difficult was now so much easier, but it looked horrible. It was not user friendly in terms of its appearance and lacked attraction. Look to Windows 7, or Vista or XP before that. Much more time has been spent on making it look good. Things have improved under the bottom but the appearance has improved drastically. If you think blue and silver look the same whatever their form or design then you are blind.

This isn't a skin John and I have slapped together by mucking about with colour palettes, it's a pre-designed theme packaged with the new software. We chose this colour scheme because it bares many similarities with the old one. You've decided you don't like it. I genuinely can't see why that is - and I don't think I am blind - but you're entitled to your opinion.

Do you like the new TOTALRL.COM logo by the way?

[Gary Coyle]

Do you like the new TOTALRL.COM logo by the way?

Its hardly what anyone would call a Logo Tom, simple graphical text is all it is but its "nice" all the same.