# Forum changeover this Sunday - Forum will be down for a few hours



## Mike Greene (Jul 12, 2019)

We need to do a switch to Xenforo 2.1. The forum is currently running on Xenforo 1.5, which is pretty old now. The current template (visual layout) won't work with Xenforo 2, so the new look will be significantly different. Better IMO, but we all know how that goes.  

The changeover will happen this Sunday (July 14, 2019) at around 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (or noon East Coast time, or 5:00 in the afternoon British time) and the site will be down for about three hours. We hope!

We've done a lot of testing, but there will undoubtedly still be various snags, things missing, or other problems, so please bear with us.


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## zolhof (Jul 12, 2019)

Mike Greene said:


> The current template (visual layout) won't work with Xenforo 2, so the new look will be significantly different. Better IMO, but we all know how that goes.



https://www.amazon.com/True-Temper-10-Tine-Ensilage-Fork/dp/B00004S1RF (This) is the highest-rated pitchfork on Amazon right now -- everyone get ready!

In all seriousness, I can't wait to see VI-C's new look. Whatever is best for the forum, Mike.


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## Saxer (Jul 12, 2019)

No forum for three hours? That will be the main trigger for my end time crisis. And you are responsible!


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## Paul Grymaud (Jul 12, 2019)

Me too. Not sure I can survive it !


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## dzilizzi (Jul 12, 2019)

Nooooo!!! I will have to make actual music or something.


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## chillbot (Jul 12, 2019)

I'm still deafened by the uproar caused by the last changeover.

Shall I expect to lose all my private messages again?

I swear if I lose even one "like" I will hunt you down Mike.


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## artomatic (Jul 12, 2019)

3 hours!! 
Well, okay. I’ll watch reruns of The Weather Channel then...


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## tack (Jul 12, 2019)

Good luck!

3 hours is a surprising amount of time. Out of curiosity, how big is the database?


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## JJP (Jul 12, 2019)

I'm still smarting over the animated emojis we lost in the last changeover. At least we got the pink elephant  and got this laughing guy .

But what's up with the Pulp Fiction duck? 


Edit: I shouldn't complain, though. Now we have a pager :emoji_pager: and a rolodex :emoji_card_index:.
We'd better not lose the pager and rolodex emojis or somebody's going home in one of these. :emoji_coffin:


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## Mike Greene (Jul 12, 2019)

chillbot said:


> I'm still deafened by the uproar caused by the last changeover.
> 
> Shall I expect to lose all my private messages again?
> 
> I swear if I lose even one "like" I will hunt you down Mike.


In theory, all messages and likes will remain intact. In your case, though, you'll lose them all, just because Jayden said it would be funny.


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## Mike Greene (Jul 12, 2019)

tack said:


> Good luck!
> 
> 3 hours is a surprising amount of time. Out of curiosity, how big is the database?


I have no idea. Claudio and André (CreativeForge) are the ones doing all the work. My only job is to check out what they do, then ask if we can fit more ads in.


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## tack (Jul 12, 2019)

Mike Greene said:


> My only job is to check out what they do, then ask if we can fit more ads in.


There is _always _room.


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## chillbot (Jul 12, 2019)

Mike Greene said:


> In your case, though, you'll lose them all, just because Jayden said it would be funny.


Joke's on you I will lock jdiggity in the bathroom and use his computer to get unlimited likes.


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## LamaRose (Jul 12, 2019)

This smells of NWO mind control... 9:00, 12:00, 5:00, July 14, 2019... these are all big-time occult numbers... and I won't even go into 2.1... how much more obvious can this be? But as long as there's some big sales that day, I'll keep my mouth shut.


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## InLight-Tone (Jul 12, 2019)

Damn, now how am I supposed to feel good about my Procrastination....


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## CT (Jul 12, 2019)

LamaRose said:


> This smells of NWO mind control... 9:00, 12:00, 5:00, July 14, 2019... these are all big-time occult numbers... and I won't even go into 2.1... how much more obvious can this be? But as long as there's some big sales that day, I'll keep my mouth shut.



I always had a feeling that Mike was one of the lizard people. Damn, he's been brainwashing me for most of my life. I used to watch Bill Nye as a kid. Now I'm a member here. Coincidence?


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## Loïc D (Jul 13, 2019)

On Bastille Day... Revolution is coming !
(Good luck with the update, Mike)


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## rudi (Jul 13, 2019)

Three hours offline? That means I'll be able to go three hours without spending any money on special offers, libraries and effects!!!


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## Mike Greene (Jul 14, 2019)

And we go dark in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...


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## tack (Jul 14, 2019)

... and we're back. 3 hours indeed!

So, this is the new theme, huh. A couple little niggles to work out, it seems? (Edit: better with a forced browser reload.)


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## Robo Rivard (Jul 14, 2019)

Nice!


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## Saxer (Jul 14, 2019)

Wow... this is bright... this looks like... what is it called? Daylight! I heard about that...


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## jbuhler (Jul 14, 2019)

I like it. Feels a bit strange but already seems to work better with my mobile devices.


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## Ben (Jul 14, 2019)

Saxer said:


> Wow... this is bright... this looks like... what is it called? Daylight! I heard about that...


There is a moon in the top right corner that enables dark-mode, so you don't have to fear the bright light anymore


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## tack (Jul 14, 2019)

I like the dark mode, but I miss the sticky top bar.


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## MartinH. (Jul 14, 2019)

Saxer said:


> Wow... this is bright... this looks like... what is it called? Daylight! I heard about that...



I was about to complain about that too, but check the top right corner, there is a switch for a dark mode. My eyes are saved!


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## Jdiggity1 (Jul 14, 2019)

You can even customize it with a different background. Personally, I like the dark blue one.


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## Drundfunk (Jul 14, 2019)

Ben said:


> There is a moon in the top right corner that enables dark-mode, so you don't have to fear the bright light anymore


You're a life saver. I haven't seen the sun for a while now and the bright design really hurt my eyes . I like the modern look, but luckily there is the dark mode. I don't think I could have ever adjusted to the light mode


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## R. Soul (Jul 14, 2019)

I like the new look. 

The text looks smaller though. Is there any way to customise that?


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## Geoff Grace (Jul 14, 2019)

Well done!

The one feature I miss so far is the History link—the ability to see the last 50 threads you viewed. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place? (In other words, _I don't know much about history..._)

Best,

Geoff


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## Saxer (Jul 14, 2019)

MartinH. said:


> I was about to complain about that too, but check the top right corner, there is a switch for a dark mode. My eyes are saved!


Wasn't complaining... it's just unfamiliar... I'll get used to. But the dark mode looks cool too!


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## JEPA (Jul 14, 2019)

just posting to see how my avatar looks like..


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## Sarah Mancuso (Jul 14, 2019)

New layout and logo look great! I'm glad things no longer scroll around when I mouse over a username, even though I'm sure in time I'll be just as vexed by the popup bubbles that happen instead.


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## jbuhler (Jul 14, 2019)

I miss the "recent posts" tab, which listed everything in chronological order compared to the "new posts," which lists things I haven't read.


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## Leslie Fuller (Jul 14, 2019)

Definitely the dark mode for me! Light mode is a bit too bright.


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## artomatic (Jul 14, 2019)

Really like the new, clean look!


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## tack (Jul 14, 2019)

jbuhler said:


> I miss the "recent posts" tab, which listed everything in chronological order compared to the "new posts," which lists things I haven't read.


Try clicking "What's New"


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## DivingInSpace (Jul 14, 2019)

I am a security Junkie that hate change, please turn it back so i can sleep tonight.


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## jtnyc (Jul 14, 2019)

Dark mode / Grid mode = perfect!


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## creativeforge (Jul 14, 2019)

jtnyc said:


> Dark mode / Grid mode = perfect!



I know, right? Rather cool.  I love that feature.


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## NoamL (Jul 14, 2019)




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## Rob (Jul 14, 2019)

wow, the dark mode is really cool! That's gonna stay


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## Przemek K. (Jul 14, 2019)

Geez, thats fantastic, love the dark mode. Have been waiting for this for ages. Thanks so much


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## NoamL (Jul 14, 2019)

You guys better change it to dark mode by default or Hans Zimmer will never post here again


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## pmcrockett (Jul 14, 2019)

Guess I'll finally have to choose an avatar image -- _username first letter_ just isn't doing it for me like _blue galaxy swoosh_ did_._


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## ironbut (Jul 14, 2019)

Plus for the dark one!
Overall,.. dig the change.


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## JJP (Jul 14, 2019)

Pulp Fiction duck is still doing its thing. No one knows why. I think I'll page Mike about that. I just need to look up his number in my Rolodex. :emoji_card_index::emoji_pager:


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## creativeforge (Jul 14, 2019)

*NOTICE that I started a new thread to show some of the new basic features. If you have any question on features you are used to but can't find, post it there and I'll try to find it for you.

*

*





NEW FEATURES - SHORT VIDEOS (July 14, 2019)


Here to help you find new features with the new themes. YOU CAN SELECT A DIFFERENT BACKGROUND. TOGGLE BETWEEN LIGHT OR DARK THEME. SELECT GRID VIEW.



vi-control.net




*


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## zolhof (Jul 14, 2019)

You had me at dark mode. 

The login overlay isn't aligned on Android (tested on Firefox, Nightly, and Chrome).






I'm also missing the "Latest Posts" button on the top, please bring it back if possible.

edit. the grid layout not only looks good but it makes browsing so much easier. Awesome update! 🤘


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## jbuhler (Jul 14, 2019)

tack said:


> Try clicking "What's New"


Ok, good to see it's still here, but it now takes two clicks to get to, whereas before you could do it in one. Also the difference between read and unread threads is not as distinct.

ETA: Never mind, found the other place What's New appears.


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## Garry (Jul 14, 2019)

Very cool update - really like the new look. Thanks VI-C.


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## SchnookyPants (Jul 14, 2019)

Looks pretty schnazzy.


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## tack (Jul 14, 2019)

jbuhler said:


> ETA: Never mind, found the other place What's New appears.


The criticism is still somewhat valid though: it takes two clicks on mobile now.

And speaking of mobile, the What's New view doesn't show who wrote the latest post, only who wrote the OP, which isn't as useful.


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## playz123 (Jul 14, 2019)

Liking the new look. Very modern appearance now.


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## brenneisen (Jul 14, 2019)

zolhof said:


> I'm also missing the "Latest Posts" button on the top, please bring it back if possible.



+1


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## creativeforge (Jul 14, 2019)

jbuhler said:


> I miss the "recent posts" tab, which listed everything in chronological order compared to the "new posts," which lists things I haven't read.



Hi, I will look into this. The former forum's code had been hacked to death, so some of the features may have to be reinvented to work the same way. Look for it in the coming days.


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## heisenberg (Jul 14, 2019)

Very nice. Likin' the new look. Three cheers for those involved in this initiative.


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## rottoy (Jul 14, 2019)

Slick redesign, I'm lovin' it!


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## steveo42 (Jul 14, 2019)

Looking real nice!! Like the jump to forums list at the bottom of the window.. You done good!!!


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## elpedro (Jul 14, 2019)

Nice fresh coat of paint!


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## Joe_D (Jul 14, 2019)

Geoff Grace said:


> (In other words, _I don't know much about history..._)



Biology?


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## kgdrum (Jul 14, 2019)

Nice new look


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## Jeremy Gillam (Jul 14, 2019)

Need to change the favicon to the new font!


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## NekujaK (Jul 14, 2019)

Looks nice on my PC, but unfortunately on my iPad 4 Safari, which is what I use for most of my forum surfing, it's pretty much unreadable 😥


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## pmcrockett (Jul 14, 2019)

Blue galaxy swoosh is now _my own unique avatar_!


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## ProfoundSilence (Jul 14, 2019)

This sucks... it almost looks like the premier forum for VI instruments now

but the old tacky style is like retro or something? Really though, I haven't used it enough to know if we ended up losing functionality - but it looks nicer and feels more responsive on mobile, ad dollars well spent Mr. Greene!


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## creativeforge (Jul 14, 2019)

NekujaK said:


> Looks nice on my PC, but unfortunately on my iPad 4 Safari, which is what I use for most of my forum surfing, it's pretty much unreadable 😥



Can you send a screenshot? What is unreadable?


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## brek (Jul 14, 2019)

R. Soul said:


> I like the new look.
> 
> The text looks smaller though. Is there any way to customise that?




Yeah, this. Love the new look overall, but the text is significantly smaller (and harder to read) on my phone. We need an "old eyes" setting.


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## creativeforge (Jul 14, 2019)

brek said:


> Yeah, this. Love the new look overall, but the text is significantly smaller (and harder to read) on my phone. We need an "old eyes" setting.



OK guys, I hear you. I'll try to beef up the fonts a bit. I too find I need to zoom in at times. Old eyes setting, I'll work on that tomorrow.


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## ptram (Jul 15, 2019)

The new one is a modern look. Yet, the older one seemed to me less fatiguing to the eye, very unique with its calming blue, and perhaps fitting more information in the list of messages.

The new one is good, but less unique.

Paolo


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## Manaberry (Jul 15, 2019)

Fresh new look. Very nice! If there is a dark version alternative someday, it would be nice (or at least a darker background image option, like a solid color dark one)


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## JEPA (Jul 15, 2019)

ptram said:


> calming blue


is there the possibility to set a "calming blue" style between "daylight" and "dark-mode"? just for the sake of old members? the modern look is great though!


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## X-Bassist (Jul 15, 2019)

Manaberry said:


> Fresh new look. Very nice! If there is a dark version alternative someday, it would be nice (or at least a darker background image option)


You should read the thread... darkmode and choice of background colors (top right, slider switch icon to change settings) 

Nice job CF! People just need time to adjust.


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## Manaberry (Jul 15, 2019)

X-Bassist said:


> You should read the thread... darkmode and choice of background colors (top right, slider switch icon to change settings)
> 
> Nice job CF! People just need time to adjust.



Jesus christ I should clean my eyes better in the morning. I edited will "solid color" background. I guess I'm going to use some CSS browser app to do that.


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## PaulBrimstone (Jul 15, 2019)

Nice new design, but ... “reaction score” ??? Sounds like going to the dermatologist.

How many “reaction scores” you got @chillbot ?


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## lpuser (Jul 15, 2019)

Great forum update! Thanks a lot Mike, really love it. And over here, it´s much more responsive too.

Cheers,
Tom


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## jamwerks (Jul 15, 2019)

Cool new look!


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## AdamKmusic (Jul 15, 2019)

Dark mode looks very very nice!


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## gpwilliams (Jul 15, 2019)

JEPA said:


> is there the possibility to set a "calming blue" style between "daylight" and "dark-mode"? just for the sake of old members? the modern look is great though!



+1 something between the glaring white and the black background choices would be a great option.


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## Drundfunk (Jul 15, 2019)

Is there a way to change the color of the icon if one doesn't have an avatar? I mean don't get me wrong, I love my D, but I wish it wasn't so feminine looking......


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## Diablo IV (Jul 15, 2019)

I like the new look, DARK theme FTW.


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## Tim_Wells (Jul 15, 2019)

Anyway to get the thread subject line back at the top of opened threads?


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## Ran Zhou (Jul 15, 2019)

Like the dark mode too


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## John Busby (Jul 15, 2019)

pleasantly surprised jumping back on this morning
great work VI team!


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## chillbot (Jul 15, 2019)

JEPA said:


> is there the possibility to set a "calming blue" style between "daylight" and "dark-mode"? just for the sake of old members? the modern look is great though!


This is me, too. I keep switching back and forth between light mode (too light) and dark mode (too dark). I'm sure I'll get used to it but wish there was something in the middle.


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## NekujaK (Jul 15, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> Can you send a screenshot? What is unreadable?


Here are some screenshots. Please understand that "unreadable" is not the same thing as "illegible". The text is readable, it's just that on the iPad, the layout and formatting of the forum is broken. Information is missing or placed inefficiently on the screen, making it difficult or impossible to scan topics or read posts. Also, there is no login button.

Hope this helps. Please let me know if you need additional info.
Thanks!


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## creativeforge (Jul 15, 2019)

NekujaK said:


> Here are some screenshots. Please understand that "unreadable" is not the same thing as "illegible". The text is readable, it's just that on the iPad, the layout and formatting of the forum is broken. Information is missing or placed inefficiently on the screen, making it difficult or impossible to scan topics or read posts. Also, there is no login button.
> 
> Hope this helps. Please let me know if you need additional info.
> Thanks!



This is disturbing to see. Help me by answering a few more questions? 

1- Which browser are you using on your iPad? 

2- Is it up to date? If not, could you update it and check again?

3- Is it the same with the Dark style?

I will contact the style developers and share this with them. 

Andre


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## creativeforge (Jul 15, 2019)

Tim_Wells said:


> Anyway to get the thread subject line back at the top of opened threads?



I will look into that, Tim.


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## creativeforge (Jul 15, 2019)

NekujaK said:


> Here are some screenshots. Please understand that "unreadable" is not the same thing as "illegible". The text is readable, it's just that on the iPad, the layout and formatting of the forum is broken. Information is missing or placed inefficiently on the screen, making it difficult or impossible to scan topics or read posts. Also, there is no login button.
> 
> Hope this helps. Please let me know if you need additional info.
> Thanks!



Hi, I checked on my iPad, using Chrome, and Safari, and it is totally different than what you show. It's clean and tight on my end. If you could tell me which browser you use, that could help. 

Cheers!


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## zolhof (Jul 15, 2019)

Hi @creativeforge you must be overwhelmed with forum work, so apologies in advance for bringing you more stuff to look into:


When I log out, the dark mode reverts back to the light mode. This is persistent on all devices I use (Windows 10 Firefox, iPad Safari, Android Nightly/Firefox/Chrome). Customization tab isn't affected though.


The top overlay is still getting in front of text on mobile (tested on Android, dunno about iPhone. iPad and desktop are fine)

I've attacehd a video showing both issues. Hope it helps!


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## ProfoundSilence (Jul 15, 2019)

Drundfunk said:


> Is there a way to change the color of the icon if one doesn't have an avatar? I mean don't get me wrong, I love my D, but I wish it wasn't so feminine looking......



we're all pink on the inside


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## creativeforge (Jul 15, 2019)

zolhof said:


> Hi @creativeforge you must be overwhelmed with forum work, so apologies in advance for bringing you more stuff to look into:
> 
> 
> When I log out, the dark mode reverts back to the light mode. This is persistent on all devices I use (Windows 10 Firefox, iPad Safari, Android Nightly/Firefox/Chrome). Customization tab isn't affected though.
> ...





OK, the overlay should be gone now, but could you confirm?

The reverting back is normal/ If you go to your Preferences:






Then select the DARK style and SAVE it. 






Then next time you log out, yes it will revert to the LIGHT, but as soon as you login it will be the DARK style. 

Hope this helps!


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## zolhof (Jul 15, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> OK, the overlay should be gone now, but could you confirm?


Gone! It looks perfect now



creativeforge said:


> Then next time you log out, yes it will revert to the LIGHT


Is it possible to not revert to the Light mode when we log out? Just a little something for the sake of consistency. Thanks again!


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## creativeforge (Jul 16, 2019)

zolhof said:


> Is it possible to not revert to the Light mode when we log out? Just a little something for the sake of consistency. Thanks again!



Thing is, this is a limitation of the theme which is LIGHT at the core, and the DARK stems out of it. So its default state is LIGHT. If I was to make the DARK the default, other people who use the LIGHT would face the same scenario. So it is a dilemma, I agree. So the solution would be to login when you come to the forum.

I'll ask the developers, however, if there is a work around.


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## Drundfunk (Jul 16, 2019)

ProfoundSilence said:


> we're all pink on the inside


Tell that my vantablack soul


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## YaniDee (Jul 16, 2019)

As someone who only views the forum on an "old fashioned" computer, I'm not that thrilled by the new format, but I imagine I'll get used to it..One thing I've noticed though, is that the posts on the home or portal page (https://vi-control.net/portal/) have shown the same topics for the last few days and it still looks like the old forum..Am I missing something?


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## Voider (Jul 16, 2019)

You'll hate me for saying that, but the old layout looked WAY better to me, more clear, bigger, wider, just better at all.


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## todo10 (Jul 16, 2019)

Voider said:


> bigger, wider


Click here and select full width:


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## Ben (Jul 16, 2019)

Try cleaning your browser's cookies if the page looks or behaves wrong and reload the page. Works most of the time.


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## Michel Simons (Jul 16, 2019)

todo10 said:


> Click here and select full width:



Ah, I see Hip Hop Creator is on sale...


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## NekujaK (Jul 16, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> This is disturbing to see. Help me by answering a few more questions?
> 
> 1- Which browser are you using on your iPad?
> 
> ...


My iPad configuration is definitely not the latest and greatest. I'm using Safari on an iPad 4, running iOS 8.3. I checked on my wife's more current iPad running iOS 12 and indeed, the VI Control forum displays properly.

I realize I'm running an out-of-date iOS on older hardware, so I don't have any expectation of full compatibility with current web technology. However, I will point out that all the other forums I regularly frequent (Gearslutz, Reasontalk, KVR, various plugin maker's forums, multiple photography & video forums) plus numerous websites, all display properly on my iPad 4. VI Control is, unfortunately, the only forum I'm no longer able to access on my iPad 😥

(FYI, I'm not updating my iPad because there are apps I use that don't support the newer iOS, and will disappear if I update.)

Thanks for your willingness to pursue this, but I'm guessing I'm out of luck. It's situations like this that make me feel like an old man...  Soon my daily mantra will be "Hey, you kids get off my lawn!"


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## creativeforge (Jul 16, 2019)

YaniDee said:


> As someone who only views the forum on an "old fashioned" computer, I'm not that thrilled by the new format, but I imagine I'll get used to it..One thing I've noticed though, is that the posts on the home or portal page (https://vi-control.net/portal/) have shown the same topics for the last few days and it still looks like the old forum..Am I missing something?



Nope, you are right. Still in the works, converting the plugin we used to the new version of Xenforo.


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## creativeforge (Jul 16, 2019)

NekujaK said:


> My iPad configuration is definitely not the latest and greatest. I'm using Safari on an iPad 4, running iOS 8.3. I checked on my wife's more current iPad running iOS 12 and indeed, the VI Control forum displays properly.
> 
> I realize I'm running an out-of-date iOS on older hardware, so I don't have any expectation of full compatibility with current web technology. However, I will point out that all the other forums I regularly frequent (Gearslutz, Reasontalk, KVR, various plugin maker's forums, multiple photography & video forums) plus numerous websites, all display properly on my iPad 4. VI Control is, unfortunately, the only forum I'm no longer able to access on my iPad 😥
> 
> ...



That is unfortunate, very sorry about that... They probably use a different, homemade platform for their forum, though. I'll keep that in mind and see if the developers have something to say about this.

Andre


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## creativeforge (Jul 16, 2019)

Voider said:


> You'll hate me for saying that, but the old layout looked WAY better to me, more clear, bigger, wider, just better at all.



No hate at all. I understand. Did you try the customization switch? You can change the layout to a full-width with that. Check the short animated GIF below. Maybe that can help?



View attachment fullwidthscreen.mp4


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## creativeforge (Jul 16, 2019)

NekujaK said:


> My iPad configuration is definitely not the latest and greatest. I'm using Safari on an iPad 4, running iOS 8.3. I checked on my wife's more current iPad running iOS 12 and indeed, the VI Control forum displays properly.
> 
> I realize I'm running an out-of-date iOS on older hardware, so I don't have any expectation of full compatibility with current web technology. However, I will point out that all the other forums I regularly frequent (Gearslutz, Reasontalk, KVR, various plugin maker's forums, multiple photography & video forums) plus numerous websites, all display properly on my iPad 4. VI Control is, unfortunately, the only forum I'm no longer able to access on my iPad 😥
> 
> ...



Well, I wish I had better news, but... here is the reality we're dealing with today. Here is the response from the developers:



> iOS8 was last updated in 2014 and doesn’t support modern css code such as unprefixed flexbox. In terms of software, it’s extremely outdated and has an estimated market share of 0.05%.
> 
> Unfortunately there are currently no plans to support iOS8, sorry about that!



I'm very sorry, maybe you will find an update for some of your older software to allow you to move up to be able to use the newer platform on your iPad. In the meantime, anything higher is better.

Regards,

Andre


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## todo10 (Jul 16, 2019)

NekujaK said:


> I'm using Safari on an iPad 4, running iOS 8.3.


What about using another web browser like Chrome or Opera?


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## TheUnfinished (Jul 17, 2019)

Don't know if this is the right place comment, but...

I just used the search function and the results weren't in chronological order, which isn't terribly helpful.

Any ideas?


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## Jdiggity1 (Jul 17, 2019)

TheUnfinished said:


> Don't know if this is the right place comment, but...
> 
> I just used the search function and the results weren't in chronological order, which isn't terribly helpful.
> 
> Any ideas?


That's likely a setting we can change.
For now though, if you open up the search filters or use "Search Forums" under the "Forums" tab you can select to sort results by date.


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## creativeforge (Jul 17, 2019)

Yes, that is a bit different than what I thought we had with the other forum. You can set filters, though. AND, you can search within a date range as well.

I'll keep my eyes open for a more straightforward search method, but so far that is what they give. Hope this helps!


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## Voider (Jul 17, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> No hate at all. I understand. Did you try the customization switch? You can change the layout to a full-width with that. Check the short animated GIF below. Maybe that can help?
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment fullwidthscreen.mp4


















Yes I tried that, I am in dark mode as well. I mean it doesn't look bad but somehow I felt the other forum was so nice minimalistic, clear and friendly looking. Now it's a bit eye-stressing to me. But maybe I just need to get used to it..


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## Michel Simons (Jul 17, 2019)

I cannot remember if it was already there when we still had the "olde" forum, but I now notice this old geezer on the right giving me funny looks. I tried switching to light mode, but he is still there. Disturbing...


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## NekujaK (Jul 17, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> Well, I wish I had better news, but... here is the reality we're dealing with today. Here is the response from the developers:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I really appreciate your follow-up on this, and completely understand the technology not being supported by my outdated iOS. This is the first forum to give my old iPad problems, but as time goes on, I'm sure it won't be the last. As another user suggested, I'll try another browser to see if that helps, but I know that eventually upgrading is the right way to go... I'm just dragging my feet about it.


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## TheUnfinished (Jul 18, 2019)

I got a notification that someone had responded to my post, but the email only gave me the opportunity to view the thread, rather than go to that response.

So, if there have been many new posts, it might be difficult to navigate to the reply.

Worth a look at?


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## mickeyl (Jul 18, 2019)

Excuse me, if it has already been mentioned, but the clicking on one of the "recent" threads on "http://vi-control.net/portal/" no longer leads to the actual thread I clicked on, but always lands on the forum overview page. That's a bit sad.


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Jul 18, 2019)

Has anyone else noticed that the main page does not take you to the post when you click on one down the right-hand-side panel?

I am sure someone else has noticed this...


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Jul 18, 2019)

mickeyl said:


> Excuse me, if it has already been mentioned, but the clicking on one of the "recent" threads on "http://vi-control.net/portal/" no longer leads to the actual thread I clicked on, but always lands on the forum overview page. That's a bit sad.


Just reported on this myself


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## creativeforge (Jul 18, 2019)

Shad0wLandsUK said:


> Has anyone else noticed that the main page does not take you to the post when you click on one down the right-hand-side panel?
> 
> I am sure someone else has noticed this...



Yes, not sure what occurred, I'm looking into it. Sorry all!


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## InLight-Tone (Jul 18, 2019)

I quite like the new forum look and feel, bravo!


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Jul 18, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> Yes, not sure what occurred, I'm looking into it. Sorry all!


NO worries man 
I am sure it will be fixed soon


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## artomatic (Jul 18, 2019)

Hi. Is it possible to have an option to automatically have the "View More" button activated rather than clicking it each time I want to see more threads?
Thanks. Loving the new look!


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## creativeforge (Jul 18, 2019)

artomatic said:


> Hi. Is it possible to have an option to automatically have the "View More" button activated rather than clicking it each time I want to see more threads?
> Thanks. Loving the new look!



Where do you see this option?


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## J.K. (Jul 18, 2019)

RSS!!! sweet


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## creativeforge (Jul 18, 2019)

Hmm really? This was disabled on the other one. People still use this? Interesting. I'm not going to touch it for now, so no worries. I'm just curious.


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## J.K. (Jul 18, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> Hmm really? This was disabled on the other one. People still use this? Interesting. I'm not going to touch it for now, so no worries. I'm just curious.



Oh my gosh, I use RSS for everything. If I had to visit all of my daily websites to get my news, it would take forever. Using an RSS reader to aggregate headlines from each website all in one place is a critical time-saver for me.


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## artomatic (Jul 18, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> Where do you see this option?




An option, meaning is it possible to view the whole first page without pressing the "View More" button on the bottom right of the last thread?


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## Living Fossil (Jul 18, 2019)

Honestly, i don't like that rage emoticon....
It brings in a negative energy...
There are lots of posts that may be provocative or controversial, but i think it's better to really discuss about controversies than to judge them...

I like that this forum has a very constructive atmosphere; you ask and there are answers.
I think it's good to have the opportunity to "like" a post, but i think it's better to formulate one's dislike in words...


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## creativeforge (Jul 18, 2019)

artomatic said:


> An option, meaning is it possible to view the whole first page without pressing the "View More" button on the bottom right of the last thread?



Yes, which page are you referring to? Do you have a link, a screenshot, is it on a desktop, mobile? I'm afraid I don't recall seeing "View More" on the homepage, or first page of a multipage thread. But I'd like to find an answer for you.


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## creativeforge (Jul 18, 2019)

artomatic said:


> An option, meaning is it possible to view the whole first page without pressing the "View More" button on the bottom right of the last thread?



I'm very sorry, I just found the View More you are referring to. It does seem strange, as all the other pages have page numbers showing at the bottom, letting us know there are 40+ more pages to browse. 

If you meant having an automatic load of these pages (lazyload), that's not something that is part of the software, it would have to be custom made. So I will look if anyone else has thought of that, and implementing it on other forums.

Cheers,

Andre


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## Victor N. (Jul 18, 2019)

you guys did good. i personally like the change and the dark theme


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## creativeforge (Jul 18, 2019)

artomatic said:


> An option, meaning is it possible to view the whole first page without pressing the "View More" button on the bottom right of the last thread?




What you are asking is putting 40 pages of post titles on one page, and that not be practical...


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## EvilDragon (Jul 18, 2019)

I think that new threads being shown in bold is not enough of a difference between old threads. Would be great if there's a bullet before the thread title that when clicked takes you to the first unread post. See KvR or Gearslutz for examples of this.


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## jbuhler (Jul 18, 2019)

EvilDragon said:


> I think that new threads being shown in bold is not enough of a difference between old threads. Would be great if there's a bullet before the thread title that when clicked takes you to the first unread post. See KvR or Gearslutz for examples of this.


+1


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## creativeforge (Jul 19, 2019)

EvilDragon said:


> I think that new threads being shown in bold is not enough of a difference between old threads. Would be great if there's a bullet before the thread title that when clicked takes you to the first unread post. See KvR or Gearslutz for examples of this.



Can you elaborate? What sequence of steps are you taking to see the threads? What page are you looking at?

I see a ton of orange tags on the home page that say NEW, but that's not what you're referring to I bet.

Thanks!


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## EvilDragon (Jul 19, 2019)

I'm referring to when you enter the subforum. I don't use the "What's new" page ever, I just go through subforums. That NEW orange tag would be welcome in the subforums themselves!

Here, situation in Commercial subforum:







No NEW tags here, just bold vs regular fonts. Not enough


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## Vik (Jul 19, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> I see a ton of orange tags on the home page that say NEW, but that's not what you're referring to I bet.


When looking at a list of threads inside a subforum, there's almost no difference between read and unread threads - only bold vs regular, which in this case don't look that different from each other.

But when looking here...





...we see all these orange NEW icons which have no function; new or not new is already indicated by the different color on the icon next to each subforum. Not only that, but on that page, it says NEW on most subforums most of the time, which I don't need to see - I know there are probably new posts in most subforums most of the time anyway. Can't speak for EvilDragon, but IMO the difference of new vs. not new look in the pic above only adds clutter IMHO. 

But I agree that the look of read vs unread threads inside each subforum should look more different from each other than they do now.


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## Vik (Jul 19, 2019)

Also, when comparing the regular thread overview at this and other forums, the font size is smaller here or the area is more 'busy', which matters if you read this eg in a studio where you have a mixer or MIDI keyboard between yourself and the monitor. This means that some of us need to zoom in to make fonts larger - but when we do, other pages start to look a little oversized. So there may be room for a more consistent use of font sizes...


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## Vik (Jul 19, 2019)

EvilDragon said:


> That NEW orange tag would be welcome in the subforums themselves!


I agree in your comments, ED, and it would be more useful – but I'd prefer to look at a page without a lot of orange squares. IMHO there are better ways to show new threads/unread threads than a very visible, orange and kind of large NEW icon next to each new thread, like for instance a • bullet. Or something.

Maybe one could just do what this forum did before the (otherwise great) change – differentiating between read/unread or new/old threads wasn't a problem or added clutter back then.


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## creativeforge (Jul 19, 2019)

Vik said:


> Also, when comparing the regular thread overview at this and other forums, the font size is smaller here or the area is more 'busy', which matters if you read this eg in a studio where you have a mixer or MIDI keyboard between yourself and the monitor. This means that some of us need to zoom in to make fonts larger - but when we do, other pages start to look a little oversized. So there may be room for a more consistent use of font sizes...




Are these screenshots from a mobile, iPad or desktop? My statement may be inaccurate depending on your answer to this question, but when I put two of your screenshots side by side, ours have bigger fonts. 

I'll work on those orange tags tomorrow (later, actually today, it's nearly 5:00 am here, got to sleep a bit), and find a better way to differentiate new and old. 

Cheers,

Andre


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## creativeforge (Jul 19, 2019)

EvilDragon said:


> I'm referring to when you enter the subforum. I don't use the "What's new" page ever, I just go through subforums. That NEW orange tag would be welcome in the subforums themselves!
> 
> Here, situation in Commercial subforum:
> 
> ...



I see what you mean. I'll look into it later today. 

Thanks!'

Andre


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## Vik (Jul 19, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> Are these screenshots from a mobile, iPad or desktop?


From a Desktop, all made with the same zoom level in post #137. But the specific pic you copied into your post was not made in the default zoom level, it was zoomed in. 

IMO the font size should be adjusted to how busy the area, contrast, and all that.

All I want is the site to be as readable as it used to be/as other similar sites are.


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## creativeforge (Jul 19, 2019)

@Mike Greene : Mike, could you address this?


Vik said:


> Also, when comparing the regular thread overview at this and other forums, the font size is smaller here or the area is more 'busy', which matters if you read this eg in a studio where you have a mixer or MIDI keyboard between yourself and the monitor. This means that some of us need to zoom in to make fonts larger - but when we do, other pages start to look a little oversized. So there may be room for a more consistent use of font sizes...



Could you give me the name/URL of this/these sites you screenshot-ed? I'd like to verify something. 

Thanks!


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## EvilDragon (Jul 19, 2019)

Vik said:


> like for instance a • bullet



Yes, this would be much better than garish orange NEW everywhere.


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## Vik (Jul 19, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> Could you give me the name/URL of this/these sites you screenshot-ed? I'd like to verify something.



One of them were Gearslutz, the other was another forum I randomly found (which has less clutter, but also an IMO slightly too small font if you sit slightly further than ideal from your monitor.) Btw, I see that you already changed something – thanks a lot!


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jul 19, 2019)

I really like the new design. Congratulations! 

My main issue, and I think others have mentioned this, is that the links are hard to see. 

If they could be in a different color, that would be great.


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## artomatic (Jul 19, 2019)

creativeforge said:


> What you are asking is putting 40 pages of post titles on one page, and that not be practical...




No, no and no. If you press the "View More" button, it'll expand the page 1 thread. Nothing more.
Oh well, it's not a biggie...


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## creativeforge (Jul 19, 2019)

artomatic said:


> No, no and no. If you press the "View More" button, it'll expand the page 1 thread. Nothing more.
> Oh well, it's not a biggie...



Ah, OK, so then removing that extra step of having to click View More. Got it.


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## Mike Greene (Jul 19, 2019)

A few thoughts:

1. Font size is a tricky game. Personally, I think the font is a little big in threads, but I guess a lot of people prefer it big, so I suppose we can keep it this way.

In that same vein, I suppose we could also make the font bigger in the thread listings as well, although I worry about it making things too big overall and VI-Control becoming a scrolling workout. The downside to bigger fonts is that each page gets a lot more spread out.

2. To Artomatic's point, I think the request is about making it so we immediately have the page number options at the bottom, like we would with Latest/Recent Posts, rather than the "View More" button we have now. In other words, when clicking "What's New," it would be nice if it behaved exactly as clicking Latest/Recent Posts.

3. Regarding how new posts/threads are indicated, personally I don't mind them simply being bold, but I do like the green dot idea even more. Hopefully that's possible.

4. I agree that links would be nice if they were a different color. That way it will be easier for people to see where they can check out Hip Hop Creator.

5. I notice there is an option for "Profile Posts," which I guess is like posting on a Facebook wall. I don't see a purpose to that, and I'll go so far as to say I find it annoying, especially because with it more accessible now, I worry there will be more of those wall posts. That's just my opinion, though, so let me know if I'm wrong and everybody else loves them Otherwise, lets ditch that entirely.

6. I kinda like the Reply button on the right. I'm not necessarily opposed to moving it to the left side, but if we do that, then it would be important to swap _all_ the relevant buttons, so that Reply will still next to "Like," and all the other buttons will also stay next to each other.


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## EvilDragon (Jul 19, 2019)

The new gray-blue NEW is much betterer than orange!


Now to have it in unread threads in subforums as well...


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## creativeforge (Jul 19, 2019)

EvilDragon said:


> The new gray-blue NEW is much betterer than orange!
> Now to have it in unread threads in subforums as well...



Look on the top submenu for *MARKS FORUMS READ*. Once you click this, it should remove it from everywhere. And then (I assume) ONLY the new posts from threads you follow, should show the NEW tag when it's REALLY something new, not inherited from the transfer to the new format.






Let me know if it works for you.


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