Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Why are these forums so dead?
- This topic has 38 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 1 month ago by Talaki34.
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February 11, 2016 at 3:49 pm #833550
SmittyParticipantSeems like before the relaunch this was a happening place. Have current events changed, or is the website not as user friendly? I think it certainly “looks” better, just not convinced that the functionality is any better – and in some cases (editing) is worse.
February 11, 2016 at 4:30 pm #833553
WSBKeymasterHi, Smitty.
The forums were added more than eight years ago by request.
Before our overhaul last month, they were broken, plagued by spam, inability to register, etc.
They’re fixed, aside from one big missing which we still hope to restore – the index of what’s new at a glance (“latest discussions”) – it’s not a feature that the software makers included. There’s a “new topics” module over on the right sidebar, and we have the option of including forum topics or replies in the ticker, and those are more-visible entries into this section than we ever had before.
I haven’t made a re-launch type announcement, waiting to see how people used them. The lost/found and jobs boards are of value, but not really discussion topics. Discussion these days – unlike 2007 – is splintered all over the walled Web. Is there still a place for more general, open spaces like these, linked to a publication like ours?
February 11, 2016 at 5:38 pm #833564
StringCheeseParticipantAgreed! I posted in the West Seattle Schools section days ago and have received only one reply. It is school choice season and I am certain there are plenty of parents out there with lots of questions and lots of parents with plenty of answers.
Without the running list of new posts on the forum splash page, if you miss the “newest forum topics” feed, people have to purposefully click on each section to see everything new that is posted. I know, that for me, I’ve read about and commented on many topics that I never would have thought to search for after seeing them on the index list.
If you’ve posted and fall off of the “newest” feed then I am not confident that there will be much traffic. Seems like such a small thing when held up to all of the wonderful information this site provides everyday. That said, I look forward to you finding a fix!
February 11, 2016 at 5:49 pm #833566
anonymeParticipantAlthough I like the cleaner look of the new site, it is a lot more difficult to use – as well as harder to read. Having the forum and/or news posts narrowly sandwiched between tweets and Facebook posts doesn’t really make sense to me. It’s too cluttered. And having comments on news stories (3 at most, often the same one) places the focus on the person making the comment, instead of the excellent news we’ve become accustomed to.
February 11, 2016 at 5:51 pm #833567
anonymeParticipantOh, and not being able to either edit a post nor report an inappropriate one is unfortunate.
February 11, 2016 at 6:22 pm #833569
WSBKeymasterYou should be able to edit a post here. It should be above the content box after you post a reply.
SC, the schools section seldom got much traffic. Two people have replied and I’m glad to see that.
What we’re seeing so far is actually more than the forums were seeing in the months before the overhaul, which again, we had no choice in. Getting out of the old site was like fleeing a burning building. We had to.
Many fixes have been made, subtle ones but important (for example, the pinch-screen-to-zoom on tablets is back). I’ve asked the tech folks to please do everything they can to accelerate news-comment editing, because that’s the flaw that’s getting most in the way daily.
A – I can’t see how you experience the site, obviously, but the content column is … in desktop view, anyway – 20 percent wider. Are you viewing in tablet? Landscape or portrait?
thanks all
TRFebruary 11, 2016 at 7:31 pm #833584
WSBKeymasterRe: editing – I found a setting that I could change without having to know code, raising the editing window to 5 hours. Please let me know if it shows for you now.
February 11, 2016 at 9:40 pm #833603
waynsterParticipantwait it just could be that time of year lol…..
February 11, 2016 at 10:12 pm #833606
justduckyParticipantI couldn’t find where to log in, so I switched from ‘mobile’ to ‘desktop’ to log in. I replied to a post, and the site boiled and refreshed the screen, only to show me that my post disappeared, or perhaps it is waiting in cyberspace.
I tried switching back to ‘mobile’ but when I reach the bottom of the page-after scrolling thru all the ads, the page shifts up, and won’t let me switch back. Perhaps some sort of frame size setting?
Oh, I think I can click it if I hold my phone in landscape…Perhaps that’s why the login area is missing on my phone.February 11, 2016 at 11:44 pm #833612
JeannieParticipantI agree with the OP. I noticed the same thing. Just post something dog-related or perhaps related to Seattle people being unfriendly – that might liven things up!
February 11, 2016 at 11:49 pm #833615
wsea98116ParticipantI have asked myself this very question- because this forum has died! It seems (to me) that the forum was very lively and vibrant before the re-haul, and has now become dull.
Perhaps the lack of spam frees up new resources for deleting the more provocative, and compelling posts?February 12, 2016 at 5:27 am #833630
JeannieParticipantWell, we can always talk about food.
February 12, 2016 at 5:35 am #833633
miwsParticipantPerhaps the lack of spam frees up new resources for deleting the more provocative, and compelling post
Ummmm…..I highly doubt WSB all of a sudden magically has the time to delete posts they find “provocative” and/or “compelling”. Nor do I think that they have adjusted settings in the software to automatically do so.
Even if they had the time to manually do so, or the ability to “automatically” do so. That is not how they run their site. Something/someone has to be in a huge violation of WSB’s rather few, but basic and logical rules in order to be met with deletion/banning.
Mike
February 12, 2016 at 7:33 am #833636
JoBParticipantI have noticed a lapse in time between when i post some things and when they appear on the forum… but i doubt it has anything to do with selective editing.
it’s a problem for me because with my cognitive disfunction i often have to edit posts and when it takes them a while to show up i am frustrated.
on the other hand.. I had trouble seeing my posts in the old format and had to edit more than in this one which is easier for me to read.
you win some.. you lose some.
as for the lull.. I don’t see a lot of difference between what is happening here now and what was happening in the month(s) prior to the update… wading through the spam was daunting.
i agree that having a new posts category will make it easier to check in and snap off a quick comment… often you don’t know what you are looking for until you see it ;-)
but i think it is too soon to count the forums out. This was and still is a passionate and lively community…
- This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by JoB.
February 12, 2016 at 7:43 am #833638
lazybeardParticipantThe new site layout requires you to make one-additional more click into a specific forum now, whereas it just threw you into it. It was an head-scratcher for me at first as I said to myself “where did all the posts go?” then I realized I had to navigate to a specific area now.
February 12, 2016 at 8:09 am #833639
WSBKeymasterRe: the delay – after googling around again last night to see if anyone else who uses this forum software (as explained before, it is still bbPress, but a few years back it was incorporated into our main content-management system, WordPress, rather than being standalone as it was in 2007) had found a way to configure it not to hold anything but obvious garble spam, I threw a bunch more words out of the filter, stuff left over from attempts to stop spam attacks years ago. It hasn’t held anything since then so that might be the solution. I will still keep looking at the admin side as often as I can to see if anything is marked “pending” until I’m certain that worked. – TR
February 12, 2016 at 8:26 am #833641
wsea98116Participant@miws- mike, respectfully, how would you know how often, or which posts are deleted? Have your posts ever been deleted? I’ve had many deletions- some I understand, some I do not, and most- insightful, ground-breaking, thought provoking, and/or hilarious. ;)
February 12, 2016 at 8:41 am #833651
JTBParticipantI think there was a lot of ebb and flow in terms of activity with the old forum. I did have to learn my Android mobile device does better with the “desktop” version of the new program than with the “mobile.” I couldn’t get an actual login box with user name and password with the mobile version but everything works properly in desktop.
February 12, 2016 at 9:01 am #833655
PangolinPieParticipantI miss the old forum activity too. Besides the missing listing of recent posts, it seems like we do not get email notifications of replies (at least, I haven’t). Has there been any thought to locating a discussion forum on another platform, like starting a separate Facebook group, or using some other existing setup? Clearly there’s a need and desire among people who frequent this forum to have a venue for discussion. A quick search for “free forum software” brings up a lot of possibilities…not trying to criticize the amazing efforts of the wonderful WSB owners; what you folks do in providing a constant flow of news is unmatched.
February 12, 2016 at 9:11 am #833658
StringCheeseParticipantIn case you are keeping track of such things, it took over 4 hours for my post in the schools section to show up the other day.
February 12, 2016 at 9:17 am #833659
miwsParticipantwsea98116, because I trust Tracy’s/WSB’s professional and personal ethics when she points out to those occasionally making claims of censorship/post deletions that the claims of censorship are outright false, and the deletions are relatively rare, considering the overall level of posts/comments made here in the Forums. And when those deletions occur, it is for a blatant violation of commenting rules, or an otherwise legitimate reason.
I’ve had a few comments deleted too, over the years. Some of those times in thinking back, I could understand, or, at least, guess why, and maybe a couple time could not figure out why. But, that’s life.
Another point on this, it seems inevitable that related to deletions, the question of “Why?” comes up. Sure, it would be nice to know, but Tracy hardly has the time to explain why in each case.
Mike
February 12, 2016 at 10:25 am #833664
SueParticipantFor me, it’s a big issue of not having the recent discussions thread. I’d never venture into the politics or schools or lost pets sections, for example, if not for a compelling subject line that would entice me. I also find navigating this new site a bit frustrating. Most of the time I’m on the forum, I’m at work where it does not save my log-in info, and I’m forced into using IE11 as my browser (which I do not use at home). When I click in the bottom right scroll bar to go down the page, it often doesn’t work – I don’t know if this is a function of the new forum or my computer, and I can’t call IT and ask them why I can’t access a non-work-related site. :) So if I want to scroll down I need to go up to the top and drag down to make it move. This is frustrating. I actually think it has something to do with the flashing banner, as if I pause it off, I don’t seem to have the scrolling issue.
The other issue I have is with logging in. Because my work computer doesn’t allow me to save my log-in, I need to do it every day. But the log-in screen doesn’t appear on the right when I’m in the middle of the thread, ready to reply. In this case, I had to read this thread, go back one page, log in, and then click to come back. To be honest, most of the time my comment doesn’t seem worth the time to click all over, so I just say nothing.
And if you’re taking suggestions on new forum sections, I would love to see something about finding rentals (apartments/houses) in WS. I know it’s considered against the rules as advertising, but it seems to be very difficult for people to find affordable rentals in the neighborhood without driving all over looking for signs or browsing Craigslist. It would be very helpful to have this as another resource.
February 12, 2016 at 12:29 pm #833679
FranciParticipantPrior to the upgrade it was near impossible for me to log in and comment on a post..
It was really frustrating – I would see a post and want to comment, if I went out of the post, logged in, came back. That particular post didn’t recognize that I was logged in. It did on other posts, not ones I had already opened. Many folks may not realize this has been fixed.
Post Upgrade – I am once again able to log in and comment on posts I see. I too really miss the forum splash page with recent entries from all folders.
February 12, 2016 at 1:41 pm #833689
dobroParticipantI agree that the lack of a splash page, difficulties with editing, and the weird thing with some posts appearing immediately and some later, are making it a little frustrating to post.The login thing is better. Maybe it will just take awhile for people to get used to the changes but I know it has slowed my posting behavior.
February 12, 2016 at 3:08 pm #833696
blblParticipantFor me, I’ve almost stopped reading the blog altogether because the new format is so busy it’s more difficult to read and use. It took me too long to even figure out how to log in to post this. I used to be able to log in at the bottom of any comment thread. Bummer because it was my number one source for local news.
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