Captain's Log

[Second Summer]

You guys are more conservative than the Pope sometimes

I've made some changes to the grid layout of the index page again. Now there are mostly only two, sometimes three forums per row. Is that any better?

These grid layouts come as a response to how computer monitors are getting bigger, so that the available space can be better exploited. If you think it's still too crowded, make sure you're actually using the full width of your monitor by maximising the browser window. It should still look decent on a smaller monitor or tablet / mobile phone etc because the forum software is programmed with so-called responsive design techniques, so that the pages will automatically layout the contents in the most reasonable manner.

 

[KLS52]

You guys are more conservative than the Pope sometimes

Lol...I can't wait to get to my desktop. Not seeing anything different with iPhone.

 

[Spang]

These grid layouts come as a response to how computer monitors are getting bigger, so that the available space can be better exploited.

The grid layout disappears once you click on a forum. Gigantic monitors are best exploited by having lots of crap open and viewable at the same time, I think.

Is it not possible to give people the option to choose either the grid layout or the old-fashioned layout?

 

[Second Summer]

Is it not possible to give people the option to choose either the grid layout or the old-fashioned layout?

No, unfortunately not. I think I will suggest to the add-on developer that they tie the grid option to specific styles though.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

I'm a bit surprised it's looking any more crowded now on a tablet because the web pages are still supposed to adapt to the kind of resolution available on the viewing device. So while there are 4 forums per row when viewed on my computer monitor, there is only 1 forum per row when viewed on my mobile phone.

I usually use Tapatalk, so I didn't notice a change on mobile, but I checked it out on my iPad Mini and it's showing two columns, which is a lot crammed into that tiny screen. I'm not sure how other brands of tablets handle websites, by my iPad tends to show the full desktop sites where my phone will default to mobile styles when available.

 

[beancounter]

I usually use Tapatalk, so I didn't notice a change on mobile, but I checked it out on my iPad Mini and it's showing two columns, which is a lot crammed into that tiny screen. I'm not sure how other brands of tablets handle websites, by my iPad tends to show the full desktop sites where my phone will default to mobile styles when available.

I'm experiencing the same thing on a nook tablet. Also, on my smartphone, I no longer see a "new post" button. I have to click through a couple menus to get to "recent activity".

 

[Second Summer]

Thanks RL. On the iPad version on the right I notice the forum descriptions are written out in full, which will make it look more crowded and messy than in a desktop browser. I think it would look better if it didn't display the descriptions ... That might be something I could look into.

 

[Nightshade]

I usually use Tapatalk, so I didn't notice a change on mobile, but I checked it out on my iPad Mini and it's showing two columns, which is a lot crammed into that tiny screen. I'm not sure how other brands of tablets handle websites, by my iPad tends to show the full desktop sites where my phone will default to mobile styles when available.

You just spared me from having to figure out what Samsung did with my screen shot key. That's pretty much the mess that's on my tablet also. Still not a huge fan of it on the desktop monitor either but, at least, everything is large enough that I'm not having to go cross eyed trying to see what forum is what like I do on my tablet.

 

[Pirate]

I think it's a lot better now from the first grid. I can actually read things, on a widescreen laptop that is.

 

[KLS52]

I am on my desktop and I don't see anything different...

 

[Spang]

On my MacBook Pro 15", the message board does look less broken.

 

[Amy SF]

I'm willing to bet the reason why I didn't have an instant "I hate it" reaction was because I've been viewing it on my laptop (with a 15 inch screen) and not on a smaller digital device. I don't have a smartphone or tablet.

 

[Second Summer]

It displayed differently on tablets, it's not just that there is less space for everything. The descriptions for all the forums are written out (instead of being pop-ups) which breaks the alignment of the side-by-side forums.

 

[SummerRain]

FWIW I just noticed that I am now using the home page to navigate the forum, whereas before I just used the "what's new" list. I think the pictures get my attention more and make it easier to locate where I want.

 

[Second Summer]

I was changing some settings, and inadvertently the board became inaccessible for a few minutes. Oops!

 

[Amy SF]

I was having computer problems, so I never noticed. I probably just assumed it was my computer.

 

[Second Summer]

Have made some minor modifications: The "inbox" and "alerts" in the top right corner of the window are now icons rather than text.

 

[thefadedone]

Have made some minor modifications: The "inbox" and "alerts" in the top right corner of the window are now icons rather than text.

I like it!

 

[Second Summer]

Glad it was well received. I could substitute the username up there (next to inbox and alerts) with an icon as well, but not sure if it will be too confusing in households with more than one VVer on the same computer? Probably not ... Let me know if that is the case.

I've just made a config change that will hopefully improve load times a little in YouTube-heavy threads. (It will now default to HTML5 versions of the videos, but will fall back to flash versions if no HTML5 version exist....)

 

[thefadedone]

Glad it was well received. I could substitute the username up there (next to inbox and alerts) with an icon as well, but not sure if it will be too confusing in households with more than one VVer on the same computer? Probably not ... Let me know if that is the case.

We don't really have a lot of members that fall into this category , do we?