The changes to the main page are not being done for cosmetic reasons. The default setup for this and most other messages board systems is incredibly wasteful of space and resources on the front page. The purpose of the forum index mod was to put all/almost-all of the original forum index into a substantially smaller footprint. Now, i have the rest of the page for the new left column and for all the new content that is about to fill out the rest of the main index page.
The new layout will allow me to turn the main page into a more comprehensive start page for the site, it will require much less processing power to build each page and it will use much less bandwidth sending out the index page to everyone. Eric
Another great feature is a Shoutbox. Keeps a lot of the clutter and random thoughts out of the forums. I have one at the bottom of my forum index page.
Another great feature is a Shoutbox. Keeps a lot of the clutter and random thoughts out of the forums. I have one at the bottom of my forum index page.
If I could run something like vBAdvanced, I would be doing so. The forums were moved up into a forums directory to make room for a front page/portal software. Unfortunately, vBAdvanced and vBPortal both pushed my servers' server loads through the roof. When I installed vBAdvanced, my primary server's load jumped to over 200 and I had to block traffic to the box at the firewall in order to recover control of the box.
vBulletin needs to build this sort of functionality directly into their software and make the performance overhead for using it realistic. There are plenty of cool things out there for vB systems, that simply won't work on a site as big as mmine. Eric
Eric, the site is looking better and better. I'm spending more time on here, much to my wife's chagrin....
One suggestion, one question:
On arfcom, you can search for new posts and select what forums you want to filter. I'd love to be able to see new posts while filtering the threads from RI or PI. On the few occasions that I feel the need to hit myself in the head with a hammer, I'll head over to those forums manually.
What happened to the my threads/replies link? That's one of my favorites, as it prevents me from having to subscribe to too many threads. Is it gone, or am I just too stupid to find it's new location on the pages?
I, for one, would really appreciate that. I've already found myself starting to post in the wrong forum because the big GT at the top doesn't take you to the main room tab, it takes you only back to the last tab you were in. I've gotta get used to that.
But then again, if we can make our own tab, then I'll have the ones I peruse as the primary tab only.
But on the other hand (okay, Tevia) I won't see any new forums added nor will I poke around in forums I'm not normally in like I did when it was on one page.
-eh- I'll get used to whatever it ends up being, I guess.
I, for one, would really appreciate that. I've already found myself starting to post in the wrong forum because the big GT at the top doesn't take you to the main room tab, it takes you only back to the last tab you were in. I've gotta get used to that.
But then again, if we can make our own tab, then I'll have the ones I peruse as the primary tab only.
But on the other hand (okay, Tevia) I won't see any new forums added nor will I poke around in forums I'm not normally in like I did when it was on one page.
-eh- I'll get used to whatever it ends up being, I guess.
Eric... suscribed threads would be great, but it would also be great to keep the "my threads/replies" button. I used that more than any other feature here for quick reading and it was something that made GT more readable than other notable forums. Just my suggestion, if if you make it a part of the "Search" dropdown.
That said, the changes look great, Eric, and I love the new organization.
Eric... suscribed threads would be great, but it would also be great to keep the "my threads/replies" button. I used that more than any other feature here for quick reading and it was something that made GT more readable than other notable forums. Just my suggestion, if if you make it a part of the "Search" dropdown.
That said, the changes look great, Eric, and I love the new organization.
That simple set of links is hugely resource-intensive. I need to see if I can find a way to offer the same functionality with less resource use. Thanks for the input. Eric
That simple set of links is hugely resource-intensive. I need to see if I can find a way to offer the same functionality with less resource use. Thanks for the input. Eric
Would it be possible for you to give the difference in kb's between the 2 versions. Our seeing the numbers between the 2 versions and the associated savings in both server overhead and in bandwidth may go a long way in quieting people about things as well as placing and explaining the cost better to the majority of the users. If the old format was Xkb and the new/tabbed format was Ykb, with a net savings of Zkb.
Most people will quickly understand that it is necessary. Right now at the time of this post, there are roughly 1000 users. If we are able to knock of Zkb per load going with the tabbed browser, and the associated overhead on the servers, I'm all for it.
To everyone else: I know I hit the main page 12-20 times a visit, multiplied across the system and all users , we will save alot of costs. Example, if X is 40kb and Y is 30kb, we save 10kb per load, start adding that up folks.
The other suggestion is similar to what you did in a response. On the main page explain what feature is being tested a bit better. When you stated that you tried out something, it jumped the server load up by 200% or so, and that you had to use the firewall to cut the connection to regain control of the box.
It would be nice to be able to test out what's going to happen in VMWare or VirtualBox, but that isn't always practical.
I really like how the front page is now. Easy to find everything just like the old page, but still has a new feeling to it which I also like. I also really like the changing glocktalk graphic at the top of the page too. Lets me know when I'm staying up too late on GT when I should be sleeping :supergrin:
Keep up the great work Eric. We all appreciate the hard work you put into this site.
I like the way it is this morning! I can see all the top level forums in one view and if something catches my eye in a forum I don't normally look at, I click it. With those tabs there are quite a few forum groups that I'd never look into.
I'm hoping this look isn't a resource hog! :thumbsup:
hey I really like the changing banner on the top, but all these adds now,are they really necessary that way?.
could you change it, so they are really on the top and bottom of the page, not in the middle?.
Thats so annoying and makes the page look chaotic.
I would also prefer the possibility to remove the bookmarks frame on the bottom.
Allthough you add a lot of cool stuff, dont make the page look and feel overfilled afterwards. A lot of boards have problems like these,and at the moment I am a registered member on nearly 30 boards, have been an admin/mod a couple of times too
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