PlaymoFriends

Getting Started => Technical Support/Testing => Topic started by: Sylvia on July 22, 2012, 21:49:54

Title: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 22, 2012, 21:49:54
The forum will be offline for a few days for general maintenance and the long overdue upgrading beginning tonight at 00:00 GMT.

Things may look a little different when we return, but hopefully all of the topics and important stuff will be unaffected (fingers crossed!).

Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 26, 2012, 14:26:35
Hi everyone :wave:

Sorry for the long downtime! Hope you weren't getting worried. :-[

The upgrade took longer than expected and there are still some glitches here and there which I have so far been unable to eliminate completely.

If you notice something off or receive an error message when trying to visit a page or execute an action, please let me know at once by replying to this topic.

I will have to put the forum in maintenance mode briefly again in order to completely fix the errors and to install and configure new files for the "Coppermine" Photo Album area, but I will leave it for a few days as I really need a breather. ;)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Wolf Knight on July 26, 2012, 14:45:09
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication, Sylvia!!! On a first glance, the new changes look very good and easy on the eye!! It certainly looks less heavier this way I think.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Pynedor on July 26, 2012, 14:47:52
Thanks for the information and work, Sylvia! :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 26, 2012, 14:50:37

It has been a hard slog and there were several nerve-wracking moments when I thought I had messed things up. This is what I get for leaving it so long between upgrades, I guess.

I quite like the layout. It's more modern and minimalist. There is a lot of grey shades but I think the avatars and other little icons help to make it look cheerful.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Pynedor on July 26, 2012, 14:54:15
It will take some time to get used to it, but it seems fine to me too. The only thing I noticed is that the "Mark All Messages Read" button is now at the bottom of the index instead of at the top. :lol:
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 26, 2012, 15:00:24
Just a style change, I guess.  :)

Also, instead of a "show all unread posts" link, you now have the choice of viewing unread posts by a selected category only by using the right-hand link in the category bar on the index page. :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Indianna on July 26, 2012, 15:23:48
Hi Sylvia!
Thanks for the info on the recent upgrades and, especially, for all the work you do to keep Playmofriends running so smoothly day after day!   :hatoff: :-*
I like the new look very much!  At this point, I don't have as much time to visit as I used to, but I found that I really missed Playmofriends when it was offline for a few days. 
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Ace on July 26, 2012, 15:37:57
It looks great, Sylvia  :cham:! I espescially like the new Klicky head background :blackhair:!
Ace :brownhair:
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: flatcat on July 26, 2012, 15:51:02
I am liking the new changes very very much! :yup:

Thank you very much, Sylvia! :wave:

Damo :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: playmofire on July 26, 2012, 16:01:38
Thanks for all your hard work, Sylvia, and it's good to have Playmofriends back.   :wave:
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: bonniebeth on July 26, 2012, 16:01:54
LOVE the new look, and thanks so much for all your hard work, Sylvia!!! I know it must have been complicated.  But it looks like your hard work has paid off. :)


I do see one thing.... there's a problem with my avatar pic not showing up, and I can't seem to find the place in my profile to change it. ???
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Rhalius on July 26, 2012, 16:08:25
It looks great, although it where just a few days I really missed the site.

Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: tonguello on July 26, 2012, 16:09:59
Looking great!!!! Thanks a lot Sylvia!!
I've missed you guys so much!!!
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: bonniebeth on July 26, 2012, 16:10:56
I know, it was fine for a few days, but yesterday evening I really started missing the forum!
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Pynedor on July 26, 2012, 16:29:24
Two quick things that I've noticed now:

1. Is there a way to make it so that more threads are visible on the first page of each individual forum? Now it seems like there are about half as many as there were on each page.

2. How do I find the Thread Notification settings? I can't seem to find it on my profile or account settings pages. There used to be a list of them and options for how to be notified in a little menu. :-\

Thanks! :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: VicKlicktor on July 26, 2012, 16:38:28

Thanks, so many thanks, GRACIAS!!!!
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Elric on July 26, 2012, 17:39:45
I am at work and have bot seen what the site looks like on my laptop but I can actually see pics when I browse with my Blackberry, I can see pics and avatars for the first time ever!  Thanks!  I don't have to wait until I'm home to see the pics!
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 26, 2012, 19:30:07
Is there a way to make it so that more threads are visible on the first page of each individual forum? Now it seems like there are about half as many as there were on each page.

There is.  But I really wanted to make the pages more compact in height since I thought that would be helpful for people browsing using devices with small screens. I reduced the number listed on each page, but it's really easy to navigate to the next page with the numbers at the top. I can change it back if it becomes a major issue for people.

How do I find the Thread Notification settings? I can't seem to find it on my profile or account settings pages. There used to be a list of them and options for how to be notified in a little menu. :-\

Many pages are now located in drop-down menus which branch off from the main menu. Go to your Profile section, click on Modify Profile (next to the Profile Info button). The 4th item in the drop down menu is Notifications. :)

I'm only just now getting used to where to find things after more than 3 days. It was quite confusing to begin with. ;)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: davidnbun on July 26, 2012, 19:39:50
Sylvia

I really appreciate all the hard work you put into this website.

THANK YOU!!!!    :love:

David
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 26, 2012, 19:59:19
there's a problem with my avatar pic not showing up, and I can't seem to find the place in my profile to change it. ???

I can see it OK. This sort of thing has happened to other users in the past and I'm not sure what causes it.
Maybe clearing your browser cache and reloading the page several times will make it reappear for you?

To upload a new avatar, click on the Profile button, then Modify Profile on the next page. In the drop-down menu is a link to Forum Profile.  :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: bonniebeth on July 26, 2012, 20:13:59
I can see it OK. This sort of thing has happened to other users in the past and I'm not sure what causes it.
Maybe clearing your browser cache and reloading the page several times will make it reappear for you?

To upload a new avatar, click on the Profile button, then Modify Profile on the next page. In the drop-down menu is a link to Forum Profile.  :)

Ok, thanks. Good to know others can see it, at least. Thanks, I figured I was just missing something on how to change it... I'll look again.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: playmofire on July 26, 2012, 20:23:36
I find the pages listing the forum areas and unread posts harder to read as there is less contrast than previously when the page had more colour.  For older people like me, contrast in text is important (well, it is for everyone actually).
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: rms008 on July 26, 2012, 20:32:50
personally i don´t like it i don´t find it comfortable for my eyes to read and its to bright like. but thats my opinion and don´t want to be the odd one. for the background with klicky heads its cute  like it. ánd secondly thanks loads for all yu do to keep this place running Sylvia thank you lot
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: playmofire on July 26, 2012, 20:58:10
personally i don´t like it i don´t find it comfortable for my eyes to read and its to bright like.

I find that too, Ryan.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: flatcat on July 26, 2012, 20:59:59
personally i don´t like it i don´t find it comfortable for my eyes to read and its to bright like

Hmm, now you mention it...  :-\

*runs and hides*  :P

Damo :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: bonniebeth on July 26, 2012, 21:15:12
You know, you can always turn the brightness of your screen down. That way really white screens don't hurt your eyes. A computer program I often run when I first get up in the morning has a bright white background, and  it hurts my eyes, so I always just turn down the brightness as far as it will go.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: tonguello on July 26, 2012, 21:16:54
Can't wait to see the Xmas version!!!  :love: :love: :love:
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: conniefrere on July 26, 2012, 21:21:57
Can't wait to see the Xmas version!!!  :love: :love: :love:

I was thinking the same!


Anyhow, glad the forum is back online.... I missed it a lot.

Thanks or all the work.

Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 26, 2012, 21:28:19
Well, I prefer the lighter colour scheme and find it easier to look at and read.  ;)

I'm also quite reluctant to modify too many things or mess about with the files since that could lead to problems at the next upgrade. I intend to keep the forum up-to-date with the current smf version from now on rather than allow 5 years to lapse. Making frequent small updates is far easier than attempting large upgrades.

Quite honestly I'm just glad that I managed to get the the forum back up without losing any posts or pics. During the past few days of some very scary moments*, the lighter background colour was the last thing worrying me.  :P

Bonnie's suggestion is spot on. All monitors have brightness settings which are easy to adjust to suit your personal preference. Please give that a try. :)

Glad to see that so far no-one has encountered any errors when visiting pages or making posts. I think the other glitches which I mentioned have sorted themselves, so I'm a very relieved and happy bunny.


* accidentally overwrote some crucial database settings and had to beg the host for help :0
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Pynedor on July 26, 2012, 23:10:05
There is.  But I really wanted to make the pages more compact in height since I thought that would be helpful for people browsing using devices with small screens. I reduced the number listed on each page, but it's really easy to navigate to the next page with the numbers at the top. I can change it back if it becomes a major issue for people.

Not a problem! :) I found a way to change from the default page-thread count in the Look and Layout tab.

Many pages are now located in drop-down menus which branch off from the main menu. Go to your Profile section, click on Modify Profile (next to the Profile Info button). The 4th item in the drop down menu is Notifications. :)

I'm only just now getting used to where to find things after more than 3 days. It was quite confusing to begin with. ;)

Ha, I totally missed that! Either that, or it wasn't displaying for me. I thought I only saw Account Settings and Forum Profile before, but now I've found it. Thanks a lot, Sylvia. You're a wonderful forum leader. :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Lynx on July 27, 2012, 11:30:28
Thanks for all the hard work, Sylvia! Looks good to me and I'll get used to the small changes quickly enough.
So far, I haven't had any errors or whatever, I'm just glad the side is back online. :klickygrin:
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: tonguello on July 27, 2012, 15:54:19
FYI... when you open the site with IE the playmo heads in the background don't show.

Other than that the only weird thing I found is that when you open the window for the extra smileys they show up first in letters and then transform into the actual smiley.  ??? Also, that window is very small and every time I open it I must make it bigger to see them. That's for either Firefox or IE.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: rms008 on July 27, 2012, 16:01:36
its not so with me but i set the windows for the other smilies to the size i wanted it once and it always opened so since than and they always load up as smilies immediately not with letters or so...
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 27, 2012, 16:35:53
FYI... when you open the site with IE the playmo heads in the background don't show.
Odd. It works on both for me. Maybe your browser has cached an earlier version from a few days ago because the background was originally just a gradient. I changed it just the day before we went back online. Try emptying your IE cache and reloading the page. If you don't want to do that, just wait it out and keep refreshing as often as you can because it will eventually resolve by itself. :)

Quote
Other than that the only weird thing I found is that when you open the window for the extra smileys they show up first in letters and then transform into the actual smiley.  ???
That is just an issue of download speed. Happens for me too. Once you have opened the window several times it should hopefully get faster to load. Emptying your internet cache will make it slower again, though.  :P

Quote
Also, that window is very small and every time I open it I must make it bigger to see them. That's for either Firefox or IE.
Yeah, I know. I want to try and improve on that. :yup: On the previous version, I manually edited a file's code to increase the size of that pop-up window. So far I haven't discovered which file holds that info, because it's not located in the same place as before. :-\
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: tonguello on July 27, 2012, 16:50:24
great Sylvia, thanks a lot. I'll try the cache thing...  ;D
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: PlaymoMan on July 27, 2012, 22:14:12
This layout looks great! Thanks for all the hard work - I'm really enjoying the new look! :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Erik on July 28, 2012, 09:51:23
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication, Sylvia!!! On a first glance, the new changes look very good and easy on the eye!! It certainly looks less heavier this way I think.

I couldn't have said it any better!Thanks a million, Sylvia!!! :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Lindama on July 28, 2012, 12:27:17
Came back and thought my puter was broken! It looks great Sylvia - thanks as always for this wonderful group!
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 28, 2012, 14:45:05
Thanks for the feedback! Glad that most of you are liking the new look. :)

I'm still trying to work out how to get the separate "Photo Album" area back up. I made a back-up of all the image files so nothing has been deleted or lost. It's just a matter of getting everything linked together again. Aaargh!
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: bonniebeth on July 28, 2012, 15:02:18
Hey, I just noticed a new feature I really like! You can now check off boxes and hit "mark selected messages read." Before you could only mark all as read, I believe.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: tonguello on July 28, 2012, 21:00:42
where? I don't have that. . .  but I always wanted it  :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Hadoque on July 28, 2012, 21:50:00
THANKS for all the work, Syliva!  :wow:

For me too everything seems to work just fine sofar.

Only remark:
I find the pages listing the forum areas and unread posts harder to read

I have to confirm this... I find it harder to look at the listing "show unread posts since last visit"; topics seem to be much closer to one another then before.
Especially when I'm in a bit of a hurry or have limited time, it is not so easy anymore to get a good mindset about which topics are of interest by just reading the topic-titles.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 28, 2012, 21:58:21
where? I don't have that. . .  but I always wanted it  :)

When you go to the Show unread posts since last visit page. :)

http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?action=unread

There are checkboxes on the far right next to each topic and a grey "Mark Selected Read" button at the top of the list. It turns orange when you hover over it. (see attachment)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 28, 2012, 22:11:00
Only remark:
I have to confirm this... I find it harder to look at the listing "show unread posts since last visit"; topics seem to be much closer to one another then before.

It's laid out a bit differently due to the new SMF theme we are using. Before you had a separate column for the name of the topic starter. Now that name is directly below the title of the topic. I think it has been done this way so that topics with quite long titles can now fit on one line, when before they often ran over to a second line.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: tonguello on July 29, 2012, 12:07:05
When you go to the Show unread posts since last visit page. :)

http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?action=unread

There are checkboxes on the far right next to each topic and a grey "Mark Selected Read" button at the top of the list. It turns orange when you hover over it. (see attachment)

I swear to God I don't have the little squares!!! What could be happening??
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: rms008 on July 29, 2012, 12:22:28
i haven't got those boxes to
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 29, 2012, 12:44:16

Gaston and Ryan,

Sorry that the "Mark Selected Read" feature isn't working for you!  :(

Maybe it relates to the browser you are using. Is the version completely up-to-date? Could you perhaps try a different browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc) and check if they are still missing?
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: bonniebeth on July 29, 2012, 12:47:13
I think I know what it is. It's a setting that's available to moderators. So Gaston, under the "profile" drop-down menu, select "account settings." Then you will see the "modify profile" dropdown menu, under that select "look and layout." The very bottom one is "show quick-moderation as" with a dropdown menu, where you can select "checkboxes." Then you should see checkboxes by the list of topics within the boards, where you can check them off and quickly choose to move or delete several topics at once. Not that you'd ever want to! :lol:

I already had mine set as that before, but the checkboxes didn't used to show up next to the list of unread topics.


----EDIT----

I tried it out by changing my own settings, and that's what it is. When I select "don't show" then I don't have that option with the unread topics either.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 29, 2012, 12:56:42
I think I know what it is. It's a setting that's available to moderators.

Ahhh....good pick-up! I only changed that setting on my profile just recently too, after you told me where it was.  ;)
If I hadn't, I would also have been clueless as to how to see the check boxes. :-[
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: tonguello on July 29, 2012, 13:21:32
 ;D ;D ;D ;D
yeah , now it works. Thanx bb!!  :love:
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: bonniebeth on July 29, 2012, 13:58:40
Glad I could help!
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: bonniebeth on July 29, 2012, 19:17:43
Hey! We now have klicky heads instead of stars over our avatar pics! That's really cute, Sylvia. It didn't show up for me at first, but I happened to look over Chris's shoulder while he was on his computer and saw it. I had to hit refresh for it to show up.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Pynedor on July 29, 2012, 21:15:43
Hey! We now have klicky heads instead of stars over our avatar pics! That's really cute, Sylvia. It didn't show up for me at first, but I happened to look over Chris's shoulder while he was on his computer and saw it. I had to hit refresh for it to show up.

I think those are a lot better too. They fit with the theme excellently, but they are also great because they all match, just with different colours. With the stars, some of them were different sizes, and it didn't look as smart.
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on July 30, 2012, 10:50:54
Hey! We now have klicky heads instead of stars over our avatar pics! That's really cute, Sylvia.

I thought it would look more fun! :yup:

While working on the icons I first toyed around with having klicky heads all in one colour rather than just different coloured hats. That didn't work so well. The moderator "stars" which I decided to scrap bore a distinct resemblance to a comic book character who becomes an uncontrollable monster when enraged.  ;D
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: bonniebeth on July 30, 2012, 11:41:15
 :lol: :lol: :lol: Not exactly the image we want to present!
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Wolf Knight on July 30, 2012, 12:04:27
The moderator "stars" which I decided to scrap bore a distinct resemblance to a comic book character who becomes an uncontrollable monster when enraged.  ;D

Oh come on!!! That would be fun!!!

Hulk smash!!!!!  

 :lol: :lol: :lol:
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: tonguello on July 30, 2012, 14:28:04
 :lol: :lol: :lol:
any resemblance to reality would be pure coincidence.  ;)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Pynedor on July 30, 2012, 15:17:11
Ha, that green head is hilarious! I'd have liked blue ones, as if they were frozen heads. :lol:
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Rasputin on July 31, 2012, 16:01:50
wow that was annoying, I know it was necessary but not having 4 days on here I felt like I was missing my morning cup of tea. It just was not the same productive day, its silly I know  ::)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: bonniebeth on July 31, 2012, 18:28:30
Yeah! :lol: It is like going four days without coffee. Or food. :P
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Indianna on August 01, 2012, 13:19:20
After spending several days getting accustomed to the "new look" here at PF, one very small complaint (if you can even call it a real complaint) comes to mind:  I wish the Playmo-head wallpaper didn't fade away a few inches down from the top of the screen.  I really like it as a wallpaper but I always feel sort of sad as I scroll down the page and the heads disappear and the page becomes very plain .  :'(  Can this be tweaked somehow so that the wallpaper shows all the time?   Just a thought.   :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Sylvia on August 01, 2012, 14:52:28
I wish the Playmo-head wallpaper didn't fade away a few inches down from the top of the screen.  I really like it as a wallpaper but I always feel sort of sad as I scroll down the page and the heads disappear and the page becomes very plain .  :'(  Can this be tweaked somehow so that the wallpaper shows all the time?   Just a thought.   :)

It would be quite nice all over the page, but that would be more complicated to do.  ;)

The curved borders you see everywhere are created by images, not code, so some of those would need to be edited. They are designed to blend in with a dark background at the top and a light one at the bottom. The original backdrop was a plain greyish-blue gradient. I edited it to make the playmo heads.

Yesterday I re-designed the portal page (www.playmofriends.com) to look more similar to the forum. I may add more to it eventually, but I quite like the uncluttered look it has now. :)
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: tonguello on August 01, 2012, 16:04:47
I saw the portal today, it looks awesome  :love:
Title: Re: Forum will be temporarily unavailable
Post by: Pynedor on August 01, 2012, 18:17:36
I just checked it out too; it looks great. :)