RASIKAS.ORG - NEW FORMAT

Pratyaksham Bala · Post by **Pratyaksham Bala** » 16 Jan 2011, 04:59

srkris:
THANKS FOR THE PONGAL GIFT!
IT IS A PLEASANT SURPRISE!

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 16 Jan 2011, 05:09

I like the look. Thanks for the new year gift to the members from srkris

vs_manjunath · Post by **vs_manjunath** » 16 Jan 2011, 05:37

Very Pleasant format. Just enjoying working in this format.Thanks srkris

Enna_Solven · Post by **Enna_Solven** » 16 Jan 2011, 05:47

The Edit button seems to be missing on my posts. Is it gone?

Pratyaksham Bala · Post by **Pratyaksham Bala** » 16 Jan 2011, 06:02

The post # is missing.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 16 Jan 2011, 06:06

Thanks, Srkris! Nice surprise when I logged back in.
Yes, I like the new layout. But having the post number and edit button back would help.

aaaaabbbbb · Post by **aaaaabbbbb** » 16 Jan 2011, 06:09

It came as a real surprise to see the new format!It looks fresh and appealing.
Thank you so much.

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 16 Jan 2011, 06:45

Sweet.....

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 16 Jan 2011, 08:01

I thought I went to somebody else's house by mistake.

vgovindan · Post by **vgovindan** » 16 Jan 2011, 08:15

srkris,
New format is very nice.
The link (URL) is required to be contrasted more against the background; it is not visible unless highlighted.

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 16 Jan 2011, 08:27

PUNARVASU wrote:I thought I went to somebody else's house by mistake.

Just like when someone paints their house a new color for Pongal!!

pazhayana kazhidalum pudiyana puhudalum ( out with the old, in the with new )

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 16 Jan 2011, 08:33

Environmentally friendly (green)

priyaram78 · Post by **priyaram78** » 16 Jan 2011, 09:36

Very nice. Soothing to the eyes. Thanks.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 16 Jan 2011, 10:41

Thanks, all comments noted. Any other changes desired?

enna solven wrote:The Edit button seems to be missing on my posts. Is it gone?

No, you can only edit your posts if they are within the previous 3 days, all other posts cannot be edited. Also delete button exists for posts made within the last 60 minutes. This is how it has been earlier too. Only the background theme has changed, the functionality remains the same.

srikant1987 · Post by **srikant1987** » 16 Jan 2011, 10:53

Earlier, I think there were separate buttons for Editing and Deleting (with the 3-day and 60-min limits respectively). Now, I'm only seeing the Delete button for my recent post in the "doubt in sAranga" thread in rAga / AlApana section.

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 16 Jan 2011, 11:13

Good one, Kris.....well done..Like the new format...it is easy to read

Regards

Sam

smala · Post by **smala** » 16 Jan 2011, 11:19

skris - edit, delete quote report buttons are very very faint - there are senior citizens and others with possible eyesight difficulties - please make them pop out with some brightness.

Also, is there a reason why delete is allowed only 60 mins after post while edit is for 3-days?

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 16 Jan 2011, 12:38

S-P,

The design of the buttons is like that. When you move the cursor over them, they brighten up, and also show plain text for better reading. I hope everyone are able to at least see the buttons. However, I will make them brighter as you suggested, thanks.

Deletion is allowed only for duplicate posts or posts made in haste. Deleting the first post of a thread deletes the entire thread. Hence deletion is not allowed beyond 60 minutes. Editing a post is allowed for 3 days in case someone wants to revise their post soon after posting it. Editing is disabled after 3 days of posting to preserve the integrity of the forum, else anyone would be able to edit out all their posts to remove past content, making the forum threads quite meaningless.

Srikant,

You should be able to see edit if your post was made in the last 36 hrs

Pratyaksham Bala · Post by **Pratyaksham Bala** » 16 Jan 2011, 13:00

'Current Time' is not shown in all pages.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 16 Jan 2011, 13:47

Post number, current time and last visited time have been added.

Pratyaksham Bala · Post by **Pratyaksham Bala** » 16 Jan 2011, 13:59

Thanks, thanks.

venkatakailasam · Post by **venkatakailasam** » 16 Jan 2011, 14:05

can the headings be made in blue color which may look bright?

sureshvv · Post by **sureshvv** » 16 Jan 2011, 15:30

Question:

What does it mean when the thread title is in Red?

I think the animated icons have gone away now. Thanks!

Pratyaksham Bala · Post by **Pratyaksham Bala** » 16 Jan 2011, 15:45

In the Board Index instead of Royal Blue for the Topics, Denim Blue will be soothing.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 16 Jan 2011, 17:52

What does it mean when a certain username is in red? Also, the title of the thread appearing on top of every post is not necessary and seems to be a waste of space.

Srkris: I must say, your dedication and alacrity in dealing with user comments is phenomenal.

Radhika-Rajnarayan · Post by **Radhika-Rajnarayan** » 16 Jan 2011, 19:59

The links (URL within a post) show up in grey and are actually visible only when the mouse moves over it. Would it be better to have them in the usual blue?

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 16 Jan 2011, 20:22

Color Color Color what color do you choose?
srkris
Time and again this is almost the 4th time you are changing ? For sure there is one benefit of this change more to do with readability , but I prefer you to do all the changes do a round of internal testing with possibly a small set of forumites and then roll it out(We are 5000 + with different varying users). With this change there are few annoyances coming up color is one, hitting active topics is giving an information like sorry but you cannot search, the users who are posting is not that clear , possibly a heading like for each user in his post will give a better usability

Was anything notified to any one atleast like VK (I am sure you would have not) Possibly in the old avatar the same font and background would have done the trick.For me I loved the forum_flux the previous avatar that was active till some time in 2010 Feb was the most effective,then the previous blue now I dont know if I can call it as green or red or blue.

To me if you wanted to really make a change that benefits all of us the most you could have concentrated on getting the advanced search it is just too broken.

I know for sure you will fix all of that but why do it, but why is this veshaparitchai again and again done?

satyabalu · Post by **satyabalu** » 16 Jan 2011, 20:24

Nice.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 16 Jan 2011, 20:57

For those with a weak vison (like myself) the 'change font size' as well as print view (all under Advanced search) at the top right is a boon indeed!

girish_a · Post by **girish_a** » 16 Jan 2011, 21:14

Not good, sorry. This new format makes the site look frivolous. Bring back the old theme. It had a more academic feel to it, and was easy to read.

People don't care if this site looks jazzy or not. They come here for the content, not look-and-feel. So my advice is, if you want to make changes to the site, focus on content, readability and usability, not on look and feel. Keep the other changes, like the time restriction for editing posts, but go back to the old theme.

White backgroud, black/dark blue foreground - that's much better.

There is an intellectual atmosphere about this site to which you have just dealt a blow by making this change.

Pratyaksham Bala · Post by **Pratyaksham Bala** » 16 Jan 2011, 21:26

srkris:
Even after 18 hours, it is still uncomfortable to see the margin at the right side (with the name & number of posts). We are accustomed to having margins at left side - whether it is a letter or a note or even old rasikas.org format.
Please consider shifting the margin to left side.

Even in the Edit post, the smilies can be brought to left side.

veeyens3 · Post by **veeyens3** » 16 Jan 2011, 21:33

May be it is due to inertia, it took sometime for me to adjust and reconcile to new format May Sri Rama bless you

Enna_Solven · Post by **Enna_Solven** » 16 Jan 2011, 21:35

Thanks, all comments noted. Any other changes desired?

enna solven wrote:The Edit button seems to be missing on my posts. Is it gone?

No, you can only edit your posts if they are within the previous 3 days, all other posts cannot be edited. Also delete button exists for posts made within the last 60 minutes. This is how it has been earlier too. Only the background theme has changed, the functionality remains the same.

srkris,
I do not see the edit button for a post I just posted. I saw only delete and report buttons. After 12 hours I now see only the report button, no edit button. Did you mean to say you would fix it or it is already there? I am not a senior citizen and I can see grey or grey

sorry, no dig at senior citizens but at srkris. (srkris, please forgive me.)

Also, the quote functionality is gone. I am cutting and pasting your post and quoting it with the button at the top of edit panel.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 16 Jan 2011, 22:45

I don't have any strong feelings, and I am not complaining!

I would say, though, that the textured background, whilst it looks lovely, does not give the same clarity to type and other content as a plain shade would..

I'd also, if there were a vote, vote for margins on the left.

I like the blue, I like the green. I don't mind which is used where.

Pratyaksham Bala · Post by **Pratyaksham Bala** » 16 Jan 2011, 23:02

Enna_Solven wrote:I do not see the edit button for a post I just posted. I saw only delete and report buttons. After 12 hours I now see only the report button, no edit button.

I am getting all the four buttons - edit, delete, report and quote. Do these appear only selectively? I wonder.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 17 Jan 2011, 00:28

Enna_Solven wrote:I do not see the edit button for a post I just posted. I saw only delete and report buttons. Also, the quote functionality is gone. I am cutting and pasting your post and quoting it with the button at the top of edit panel.

It should work, as it works for PB above. There is no reason why it shouldn't work for you.

Nick, we just have to get used to the margins and the texture. Besides, the poster's username is there near the posted date, so it's not really necessary to "look at the right" to see who posted something.

Girish_a, I don't see how an intellectual atmosphere can be vitiated by having a different look and feel? You are entitled to your opinion, but I have to weigh in everyone's preferences here.

Rajeshnat, it was rolled out to a small group of persons for feedback for a few days before being rolled out to all. As you can see, a small group cannot be 100% representative of the entire community, and I have to accommodate the others who dont belong to that group. What appears to you to be a veshaparitchai is a surgery that is necessary to keep the forum alive. I don't wake up one fine morning and decide I'm going to make something different, what I do is based on a long period of testing and experience. Don't forget I am a user too on this forum.

balakk · Post by **balakk** » 17 Jan 2011, 07:38

Please, no textured backgrounds..

Also contrast is important - for example, the "Online" indicator, and the other button text are less readable.

Thanks for the Refresh though.

srikant1987 · Post by **srikant1987** » 17 Jan 2011, 08:10

Now this comment is REALLY important. Please try to change the following smiles.

and

and maybe

The difference between

and :tmi: is a little too subtle.

I particularly like

;( :$

among the present ones.

srikant1987 · Post by **srikant1987** » 17 Jan 2011, 08:12

Especially try to make the

non-toothy.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 17 Jan 2011, 08:23

The format change is ok for me - one format is never going to please everyone! Like others I am not too keen on the textured backgrounds.
A useful feature would be the availability of members to 'watch' a thread and then bring up the list of watched threads that shows the threads you are watching and any unread posts. This feature is available to members of http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/

Radhika-Rajnarayan · Post by **Radhika-Rajnarayan** » 17 Jan 2011, 09:07

Help! Help! Where is the 'edit post'? I just want to remove a comma---

smala · Post by **smala** » 17 Jan 2011, 09:14

I too agree the contrast with the light grey and print is poor and a strain to the eyes - white background with black print is indeed academic Yesterday the royal blue showed up instead of the green in headers - that was much easier on the eye. Also, in the new margin, I don't see persons "online" in the right margin.

skris - please make it a democratic vote :

sample questions :

Do you like this textured background ? Y/N
Do you like this dull grey background ? Y/N
Do you like the green for headers ? Y/N
Do you like the right margin ? Y/N

Enna_Solven · Post by **Enna_Solven** » 17 Jan 2011, 09:34

srkris,

I checked again in both Firefox (my default browser) and IE8. After logging in, I do not see any Edit button on my yesterday's post. No quote button either. Looks like at least another user RR is also seeing this. Any idea how to debug this at my end? Will firebug help?

srikant1987 · Post by **srikant1987** » 17 Jan 2011, 10:39

I like things a bit dull -- I find that that strains the eye less. This green-on-grey looks very beautiful too. The textured background gives a paperish feel to it, which I like too.

However, I'd like a Serif font, because otherwise l and I look too much the same.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 17 Jan 2011, 11:00

Radhika-Rajnarayan wrote:Help! Help! Where is the 'edit post'? I just want to remove a comma---

There is an 'Edit' button near the 'quote' button of your post

srikant1987 · Post by **srikant1987** » 17 Jan 2011, 11:16

And where's THAT? I see only post-number, post-title, Report-post, Poster, Email-poster and Top as buttons. Now my Delete-post button's gone too! (It used to come to the left of the Report-post buttons.)

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 17 Jan 2011, 11:58

Yes, some new features need getting used to, I agree, but....
Haven't seen that Edit button since the new format came about

Let alone the 'intellectual' quality (?!) of the new format, without the Edit button, we may appear to be semi-literate too (at least in my case!).
Something which would make the print look sharper (change of font, perhaps?) would help the gray panthers as well.

Pratyaksham Bala · Post by **Pratyaksham Bala** » 17 Jan 2011, 12:54

Somehow I find the background soothing to the eyes and the fonts are not hurting which used to be the case with a bright background. Daily I work for nearly 12 hours with the computer and I feel comfortable now.

girish_a · Post by **girish_a** » 17 Jan 2011, 13:21

srkris wrote:Girish_a, I don't see how an intellectual atmosphere can be vitiated by having a different look and feel?

Yes it can. The UI change is somewhat akin to a text book being converted to a comic-book (the fancy background colour is the main culprit).

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 17 Jan 2011, 13:28

srkris wrote: Rajeshnat, it was rolled out to a small group of persons for feedback for a few days before being rolled out to all.

Good to hear that, may I know that small group by private email at least. I personally find it easy to my eyes with this light grey background with this font.