Problem

Why are old unwatched threads popping up as new items, some are years old. Also the format appears different. What's going on?

We have converted to the new forum format I introduced here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1409917/

I'm not sure why the older threads have bubbled up, but they will undoubtedly sink again once new posts are made with the new format :-).

So why do we have to preview now in order to post??

Sheila, I noticed the same things as you.
and have the same questions....

Terese

It's just the way it is set up. If we find it is too tedious, we can have the techs tweak it. But honestly, hitting a preview first is usually a good thing for me and my too-fast typing :-)

Terry, how many posts are now on a page? This is not friendly at all. And when I click on skip to new it goes directly to the reply to this thread box.

Am I correct that I can no longer click on someone's name and go to the page with their info?

There is a square with nothing in it between the previous post and the reply to this thread post.

Terry, how many posts are now on a page?
I think it's 40. This solves some of the problems we've had in the past with threads that are very difficult to navigate because of their length.

This is not friendly at all.
It will take some getting used to, but it really is pretty user-friendly. Melody and I have both been testing it for a few weeks now and once you become familiar with where things are located, and how it works, it is in many ways easier than the old format. Scout's honor :-).

And when I click on skip to new it goes directly to the reply to this thread box.

That's a bug we'll get figured out ASAP.

Am I correct that I can no longer click on someone\'s name and go to the page with their info?

That is an issue the techs are working on as we speak.

There is a square with nothing in it between the previous post and the reply to this thread post.

I don't think I see any empty square. The avatars are hit-or-miss, and the techs are also working on that.

I don't see any of this being particularly user friendly or efficient. If threads are too long, why not just automate a warning suggesting a new page, Coffee, and Pull up a chair are notorious for getting to long but rather than punish everyone why not go to the heavy users and give them a nudge? Seems like a lot of bugs for something tested as well as you and Melody do.

Terry, I'm looking at the page with windows 10 edge. and the box is gray below your post - it's about 3 X 3.

I think the reply option should be right there with the preview for those of us who don't wish to preview.

At the bottom of this page is the More DG Site Updates Threads - they have a date - I think - of 07 and 08. I'm assuming they are 2007 and 2008 and I wouldn't consider any of them updates.
site

The changes will take some time to adjust to. We're shooting these issues to the techs as soon as we see them and/or you guys report them.

"Mega-threads" is a VERY long-running issue. By the time a thread gets too long, it's too late - we couldn't "break" it into two or more parts to make it easier/faster to load. And people are notoriously reluctant to say anything to those participating in a long thread, for fear of offending someone. So having threads automatically break up into 40 post "chunks" has been on our wish list for a very long time.

I joined in 2001.
Format been the same the whole time. Now some smart as* thinks he can make it better.

If you wan t to find me, I am on Facebook as Bernard Kleinschmidt or Bernies Cabinets or Country Gardens Vegetables.

[quote="elsie"]Terry, I'm looking at the page with windows 10 edge. and the box is gray below your post - it's about 3 X 3.

That is something we'll see about tweaking, but for now there is and will be a preview first. if it had been here from the get-go, none of us would think twice about it :-).

That has already been reported to the techs - thanks!

I appreciate your input - but the problem is what you mentioned off the bat. It's been the same since 2001. No website can remain frozen forever. We held off on changes for as long as possible, but in order for DG to look/function/work like most websites do these days, it was time to make some changes. No one was attempting to be a smart as* about it - in fact, the changes were suggested, tested and made with nothing but respect and sensitivity towards the members of this community. So I'm sorry if you feel that way, and I really hope you'll give the new format a fighting chance.

I will say this about FB. As much as I love being able to keep up with many of my far-flung and long-lost friends and family members via FB, their techs implement changes and "improvements" at a lightning-fast pace compared to here. And when there is howling and demands to change it back, I have never found them to be responsive in the slightest to their community.

Whether we like change or not (personally I do like constant change, but I know not every does), it is inevitable in nearly every aspect of our lives. And the pace will only continue to get faster.

I contacted Melody this morning and was given the same reason for this mess -- improving the site. She is going to look into two specific threads and not just offer more "this is an improvement" . This is December but for "Pull Up a Chair" thread and "Coffee and..." most of the posts in the messed up version are from September. If you hit "Go to New" it just goes to more September posts. I've been patient with all the attempts to redo the DG site but this borders on total ineptitude on the part of your site developers.

What a MESS!! I can't get to anything I used to visit and the posts are all mixed up. Where are the usual boxes? I don't mind change, but this is ridiculous!

I was surprised to see a thread that has had no new replies for five years pop up on my homepage. Interesting...

Us, too! I think it probably has to do with the migration to the new format, but it is definitely disconcerting :-).

Personally, changing the font and juggling the dates of long running threads, doesn't look like a site update to me at all. That would be the same as a newspaper changing their typeface and the names of the section and calling it updating. All the content is the same, it just that now we can't get to it without shuffling through years of old unwatched threads. How is this productive? We are your only paying members and that number is shrinking daily. I don't think you have accomplished anything with this fiasco.

And in spite of the fact I previewed, I didn't see any oblique symbols scattered through my post, so obviously they were donated by the gremlins you hired to mess this up.

This message was edited Dec 9, 2015 8:21 PM

We haven't changed the font - as far as I know, it's still Ariel or some other similar sans serif font :-).

YEs, there are gremlins scattering backslashes. it was one of the first issues we reported when the rollout was complete, and we're frustrated by them, too. Fortunately, once they get the programming bug fixed, it should be instantly cleared up across the site and all existing posts.

So many problems for something upgraded to "better this site and make it more like other sites".

I see the grey boxes, too. They are just under some posts, not under all of them on this thread I see 2 of them both under Terry's posts.
To me the Preview Post is just an extra step. I usually only use it when posting pictures or using special font modifications but I never use it when posting just words. I can re read right in the posting box no need for an extra Preview Box on those types of postings.

Exactly, Holly Ann, I see the gray boxes too. I read my post for errors before I hit send, and make corrections and some still slip through. It's just an extra keystroke that is useless for the majority of people.

So the font is the same. That doesn't change my view that nothing has been accomplished with this waste of programming time, and huge number of errors and misdirections. Lends new meaning to the phrase "you can't get there from here".

I'm on many threads, all going over to cubits, as much as I'm not a fan to whiteness of the page makes it more than difficult to read for someone with poor eyesight

When on a thread to get to last post made you have to go down and click on last page number, at least make the last thread page the #1

Yes we make errors but friends on the thread either read through and laugh or bring it to our attention..far easier than having to ' preview'

You cannot tell me the individuals who see this change as beneficial use these threads all day long as a form of entertainment with their online friends or some of these changes would never have been made

I like others will give it a few days but then that is it

Many other sites are more inviting to chatting

While I understand your need to constantly change or update, there are plenty of us out here that are quite comfortable knowing that when we open up DGs, that our favorite threads and such are just a click away - not pages and 'open to new' clicks multiple times. Yes, I understand you all are working on it, and will eventually make it the way that works best for you.
While FB, like most of that type social media, attracts the younger set, Daves and others like it on the web appeal to us over the age of bathroom selfies (well, most of us I assume), and we like Comfortable... easy on the eyes backgrounds, easy to maneuver, easy to find. Personally, I like the ease of 'point and click' one or two times to find my favorite threads, groups and pics. Sifting thru pages and pages of 40 isn't. Can we get the option of setting our own posting limits back, so we can just click to the 'newest' like it was? Or even show the newest and reverse the pages so if someone wants to scroll back to 2007 postings, they can set their own options to do so? Consider what the throngs of us out here would be comfortable with, not just the programmers ideas of what they like... ☺

I'm struggling. To me it seems as though several different threads and topics are all jumbled together in one post? I'll keep trying, but I'm feeling some frustration.

The "skip to new" is not working properly - we identified it right off the bat yesterday and immediately alerted the techs. We're having a conference call with them in about an hour - we should know more than on how soon the fixes will begin rolling out.

As far as the frequency of changes goes, I think it's safe to say we have staved off changes for a lot longer than most sites. That's both good and bad - we left things alone, which a lot of our longtime members really liked. Newer members have let us know that the dated functions and look of the site are a turnoff. At some point, we had to bite the bullet and move the site forward.

We have tried - and will continue trying - to balance the needs of all groups: new/longtime members, younger/older members, as well as work on a growing array of platforms: desktop and laptop computers and Macs, tablets and smart phones that our members use :-)

Joan, can you send us a link (or links) to the forums that seem jumbled.

I appreciate that the tech staff is working to fix the issues. Before they get too far into it, maybe someone should actually decide to make things easier rather than harder.

There is no reason in the world that every post has to be previewed. Those who need to preview it will be there - those who don't well we can hit reply.

As far as skip to new. If that is not going to bring me to the newest post on a thread then it isn't going to work. Right now there are 5 pages on a thread I am on. When I click on skip to new I expect to land at the new post. Not at page one but on page 5. If this can't be done then I guess this upgrade really isn't an upgrade at all.

I don't see why the page that has now been limited for a thread is now filled with old threads under the heading of updated threads.

FYI - I've seen the blank grey boxes too and have had discussion about it on the other thread that people have been reporting issues on. Have pinpointed that the blank grey boxes show up where ads would be if you had the ad preference turned on. Melody let me know that this problem has been identified to the techs for correction.

while making changes after the glitches are fixed
How about DELETING OLD MEMEBRS Who never participate in any threads make it so people have to buy a membership of 2 months after that if they do not renew their membership they are deleted all their info should be deleted ecept for plant files they donated ..

JUST Keep track of the PAID Up Members if they want plant info they should pay for it like the rest of us .

preview & post should stay the same as it always has been
background is hard to read many post . keep the older background PLEASE .

yes the block is still between some post .

QUOTE :
Newer members have let us know that the dated functions and look of the site are a turnoff. At some point, we had to bite the bullet and move the site forward.

AS for the younger members let them learn to adapt the same as we did when we joined :)

get rid of this read more ad also PLEASE when we cope & paste . our trade list to send to friends .

Read more: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1411088/#ixzz3txJVurTb

Noticing on moble device that I do not have the option to skip to new posts in a thread. (scratch this part, I found the "more" button)
Also, I do not have the notifications that there has been a new post in posts I am following or are a part of. Just checked one of them, indicated "no" for new posts but when I opened it, there were 10+ new posts.

This message was edited Dec 10, 2015 9:42 PM

Thanks - which mobile device are you using? (iOS or Android, and phone or tablet?)

Android.
I checked again just now. Did the same thing.

I'm assuming this has been mentioned, though I have not seen it posted.... on the Home Page, where all the "watched forums" are listed.... the dates are not "tracking"
~ Snippet of my home page attached...

the last post date is not keeping up with current posts, plus I'm not getting any notifications for this forum even though it is one of my "watched" forums.

Just in case you were not aware.

by reading that LONG thread, the "watch" was mentioned. I clicked it.

Does this mean now every time we have to click "watch thread"
when before any time we posted in a thread it would automatically "watch" it?

Noticed the "date" is up today... thank you, very helpful.

Terese

I'm getting dozens of forum that I don't watch or have never watched, on my list with "Yes" regarding a new post, however my watched ones don't show up with new posts even though there have been updates to the thread.

I am having all the same problems and difficulty as all the above posters.. This is not an upgrade but a complete disaster.. I sure wish I had not just renewed.. Wasted that money..I cannot see how this can ever be a good thing..

Who wants all the old post from years ago showing up all the time.? Updates? Either not getting most of them or have to wade through pages

Someone should go back to the drawing board? Why were paying customers not even consulted and maybe allowed to try this before throwing it in our face.. Not a good thing..

Larkie

>>Who wants all the old post from years ago showing up all the time.?

Larkie -- only the first time I logged on after the "upgrade" did I have the old threads pop up for me, and it was only 1 thread [could have been a lot worse]

It does seem the "behind the scenes folks" are making headway with the bugs.... Just a few things bother me now, and maybe I'll get used to them in time.

Terese

Terese, at the bottom of each page is a list of updated threads that aren't updated - the ones now are from 2007.